Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 4:29-5:2

Attention! I do not usually paste such a large chunk of scripture into one post. But… wow! Just wow! If all you do today is read the above few verses and skip my writing then that is fine.

Take Paul’s words to heart, then ask God to direct the way that you live (and the people you follow) based on this teaching. That would be more than enough.

Rebekah used the passage as the text for her message. More on that later.

Good people and good vibes:

Temperatures Sunday morning did start out a little chilly at 16-degrees, but there is nothing like going to church, attending Sunday-school, participating in worship, and connecting with great people for warming up in all the right ways.

Not just any people, some of the very best; we had an entire pew full with Wake Forest peeps and it felt so wonderful to sit with them in worship.

And, no, I do not have a picture of us all. There is no excuse other than to say we were hugging necks, and shaking hands, and talking, and listening, and catching up, and all these good things that are so much more important than taking a photograph.

One entire row! Dan and Kris Root; Jane and Ray Evans; me; Scott and Leslie Krussow.

I did grab a few images from the YouTube live feed, later, so you can pick out the pew in question in you want. I have to give a shout out to the work accomplished every Sunday by the AV team. Sometimes I get credited with “Great photo, Derek!” when all I have done is to point my camera at my computer screen while it is running the video on-line. Hence the opening photo.

The Message:

I will take credit for the photograph of Rebekah, which I grabbed in the sanctuary just before Sunday-school.“Thanks for taking a great photo,” She said. So I said, “No, thank you for being so beautiful and photogenic, it certainly makes it a lot easier for the guy holding the camera.”

She preached “Part Two” of her mini-series on perspective. The message is anchored in the idea that when we begin to see one another the way Christ sees us, then everything changes.

When we look at anything through the eyes of Jesus we see with compassion, with love, with belief, with grace, with mercy – and so much more.

(You can watch/listen to the sermon here – including an amazing story I couldn’t begin to summarize – at around the 28-minute mark in the HMPC YouTube Feed.)

That is my brief word for Monday morning. Today, try to see everything – especially other people – through the eyes of Jesus.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love.”

the Apostle Paul