RECEIVE GOD’S UNDESERVED LOVE

“Gethsemane Lutheran Church of Spokane Valley, Washington, exists to receive God’s undeserved love and to give glory to God by growing in faith and spreading the Gospel.“

 As a Christian congregation, that is really the mission statement for our congregation.

Gethsemane Lutheran Church of Spokane Valley, Washington, exists:

· To faithfully proclaim the Law and Gospel; to lead sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for life and salvation.
 

· To strengthen believers in faith and Christian living through the Means of Grace.
 

· To train believers as disciples, stewards, and witnesses for sharing the Gospel of Jesus with our fellowmen.

That is the reason why we exist.  We exist to receive the blessings we have from God, specifically in Word and Sacrament, God’s grace.  These means are the only way that we receive Jesus.  Without Jesus, those objectives really don’t mean much at all.

Here’s another way to think about it.  Is your life as a Christian first and foremost an interaction with other people?  Or, to rephrase the question, what about your interaction with your Savior?  Jesus made clear that the greatest commandment was: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37, 39).  The second is similar:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (1 John 4:19).  We love because He first loved us.  We have no motivation or direction for loving each other if we do not first understand the love God has shown to us.  That love starts in Jesus.  We imitate that love (Eph. 5:1) as we deal with each other, whether that be fellow members or others.

That also puts first things first.  The MOST important thing I do is receive the grace of God and I need to receive it regularly, day by day. Jesus responded to Satan’s temptation by pointing out the priority we have in life with this quote from the Old Testament:  “Man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”  (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).

This is why worship is the most important thing we do as Christians. In worship, we are assured of the forgiveness of our sins in Jesus Christ.  We hear the Word of God.  We baptize. We distribute the Lord’s Supper. It is also why Bible Class, Sunday School, Confirmation Class, family devotions, and personal Bible reading are the building blocks for Christian faith.  With these things, we are assured of the forgiveness of our sins and motivated to live for Jesus by living for the Lord and others.  Without them, we do not receive the grace of God and our faith is weakened.  We begin pushing ourselves further from the Lord, we are unmotivated to live for the Lord, and our emphasis is on ourselves and what we want, instead of what God desires for us.

As a congregation, this is our first priority and always has been our first priority to nourish our faith upon the Word of God.  It is appropriate then, that we reflect that priority in our daily lives as we “ give glory to God” in all we do.

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Robert List