• Church,  Pastoral Letters

    Forgiving One Another

    Our Pastoral Letters are presently looking at the various “one-another” passages in Scripture (see parts one and two here).  This week, we’re going to look at perhaps the most difficult of the one another passages so far: forgiving one another.  Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Forgiveness In Real Life Louis Silvie Zamperini lived an extraordinary life.  In 1936, he competed in the Berlin Olympics, setting a lap record in the 5,000 meter race.  Upon his return to…

  • Pastoral Letters

    When the Church Acts Like the Church

    Some days, I can feel quite holy.  I have my devotional time, time in prayer, and I feel ready for my day.  I love that time early in the morning, just me and my Bible.  But then, people happen.  Time to stretch those spiritual muscles: bearing one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2), encouraging one another (1 Thes 5:11), stirring one another up to love and good works (Heb 10:24-25), being patient with one another (Col 3:12-13), and the most difficult of all- forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven us (Eph 4:32).  Some days, the holiness that feels so profound in private fades away when it’s time to put…