We like to understand people and the world around us. No, it’s more than that. We long to understand people and the world around us. For instance: 

• Why do our next door neighbors make the choices they do with their homes, their loved ones, their jobs?
• Why do some proposed community projects come and go without anyone hardly noticing — while others compel thousands of comments and reasons both for and against?
• Why are some countries so much better at ____ (fill in the blank with what moves you: educating their children, taking days off to rest, feeding their people, combating a pandemic…)? 

Probably for as long as there have been people, we’ve used stories to try to answer those and all of life’s most pressing questions. What kind of stories best help you flesh out those demanding questions? 

Now, what does any of this have to do with this week’s readings and worship? Hopefully, more than we might initially think. The first letter by John tells us that we are Children of God and thus sin is not to be part of our program. Then, the gospel of Luke shows us that the resurrection is far more than just a promise of life after death. Instead, it is a challenge to all the things that bring death into our world. 

So where does that leave us?

Do you know — really know deep in your soul — that you are a child of God?

Can we as a congregation, as a people, live in such a way as to make the resurrection truly sing in the world?

How might we do that? 

Pastor Dave will tackle those questions and more this Sunday, April 18th, in his sermon, “Show, Don’t Tell.”