You Have Been Washed Clean

Saturday before Easter was a soggy, rainy day which meant that when my dog, Ava, came in from chasing the squirrels, birds and ducks as she loves to do, she was a drowned rat and smelled like one too. Her feet smelled of pure mud as she had run through once mulched beds that were then covered with mud and water. At one point Ava came to me, nuzzled up and wanted to be pet but I told her "Ugh, you stink!"

By the time that you read this, we will have celebrated Easter and told one another that "He is Risen!".  My dog reminded me of the Easter message. Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, happened because "I stink!".  I stink with the many ways that I sin day in and day out. But God has not turned me away. He has continued to invite me to nuzzle up with Him. He accepts and loves me no matter how dirty or smelly I am. And not only that, He did exactly what I ultimately needed...to be washed clean of my sins. He sent His Son, Jesus, to live, die and be resurrected so that I may be made clean as snow and therefore  can celebrate Easter!!  Hallelujah!

I pondered the message of Easter and what Jesus has done for me. Though my act is not nearly as sacrificial as what Jesus did, I did give Ava a bath so that she was clean and smelled sweet again.

Easter Sunday 2019 may be passed but the Easter message lives on and on and on. 

Blessings- Pastor Patti

Archived Posts

Using Your Blessings to Bless Others

When I said that’s not what Jesus wants from you, I didn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t want your car, home, pans, phone, and TV.  He still has need of those things...

One more thing about Pastor Jessica's message:

To Be Jesus’ BFF
       There are Bible scholars who have come to believe that Lazarus was probably the best friend Jesus had—outside his family and disciples.  He is often in the home of Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus.  When there, it feels like Jesus is in a place where he can let his hair down among friends.

Those With Eyes to See, Let Them See

    There are a lot of people who struggle with traveling if they aren’t in the front seat of the car.  But them in the back seat or in the third row at your own peril, because there’s a good chance they’re going to get car sick.  Some folks just have a predisposition to motion sickness.  Other folks were just too slow in calling “shotgun” and use this excuse to bump someone else out of the coveted passenger seat.

Synecdoche - Defining the Whole with a Single Part. 

         After first service, someone who supports Donald Trump came up to me and told me that they didn’t like me using Mr. Trump’s use of nicknames in the 2016 campaign—despite being spot on as an illustration of synecdoche.  They thought it put him in a negative light.  They pointed out that I rarely mention President Biden.  I get it. 

It’s Not What You Know, But Who You Know…

We ran out of time Sunday, during the reception of new members.  I wanted to ask them a series of questions of which they had to get three of the four right in order to be welcomed into our fellowship.  Here are the questions I proposed:

Temptation Isn’t A One Time Thing
Not Even For Jesus

       In Luke’s version of the temptation of Jesus in the wildeness it says, “when the devil had ended everyt emptation, he departed from Jesus until an opportune time.” Yes, Jesus faced down the tempter and was able to ward off his weaker impulses in favor of the path God had laid out for him. But it doesn’t mean that Jesus never faced serious temptation again. Old Satan decided to wait it out for a more opportune time to try again.

Less Transactional and More Transformational

       Sunday, we talked about how easy it is to fall into a ‘transactional mindset’ when it comes to relating to other people.  Jesus wasn’t a fan of looking at others in terms of what they could do for him.  In fact, he was much more likely to wonder what he might offer to them.