I have two items for my write-up about church this morning:
1. The pastor in his sermon was presenting the scenario of people
making a movie about Jesus. The viewers are wanting a hero, but they
are disappointed that Jesus is a servant.
I think that there is something to what the pastor was saying, for
Jesus did serve. But, on some level, Jesus is also impressive and
heroic in the Gospels. He stood up to the religious establishment and
could refute its arguments. He healed people. He had authority over
demons.
2. God said that he was well-pleased with Jesus at Jesus’ baptism,
and the pastor asked how we can be well-pleasing to God. Essentially,
he said it was by doing good. There are evangelicals who may cringe at
this, for do we not become well-pleasing to God by accepting Jesus
Christ as our personal Savior? I’m sure that my pastor believes that we
are saved by grace through faith, but he would probably also say that
there are things that we do that make God happy, and things that we do
that make God sad, maybe even mad. God loves us, and each of us is
God’s special creation. On some level, I’d say that God delights in us,
period. But I also believe that God is happy when we do the right
thing: when we trust in God and are considerate of others.