This past Sunday I shared a message about how Christ invites us to be yoked with him rather than yoked with sin. Sin can be an uncomfortable topic for us to talk about, yet it is an important one. Sin keeps us from being who we desire to be and more importantly who God desires us to be. Sin gets in the way of our relationships. Sin leaves us doubting our self worth.

Our response to sin, very often, is to think that we can handle it on our own. In this past Sunday’s sermon the scripture we examined (Romans 7:15-25), Paul describes someone who know what is right, but cannot seem to do what is right. Enthusiasm to change comes easy to many of us, but we hit roadblocks. In order to battle past those road blocks we must accept the invitation of grace to proceed. Have you accepted Christ’s gracious invitation to be yoked with him (Matthew 11:28-30)?

At Cornerstone UMC it is my desire and I believe God’s desire that we become so yoked with Jesus Christ that we fail to recognize the sinner we were before. That we love as much as we can and as often as we can, all the people that are our neighbors.

Next week we will begin a sermon series titled, The Apostle’s Tale. This series will examine a series of scripture from the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 through 9. Paul shares critical spiritual tools and practices that the church in Rome needed to survive and thrive as Christ’s disciples regardless of the degree of dystopia and toxicity they were encountering in their world. We will explore how the advice and encouragement Paul gave then can apply to our lives now. Join us from July 16 through August 6 for The Apostle’s Tale. 

In God’s Grip,

Pastor Chuck