Galatians 3:1-14: You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?
In a commercial, Santa asks his smart phone to locate for him an e-mail about who's been naughty and who's been nice. That thought--that we receive gifts only if we earn them--predominates as Christmas approaches.
But gifts cease being gifts if they must be earned; they then become transactions. Yet the belief that we must be good to go to heaven persists. Many people of the Christian tradition speak of grace, then insist that we must be good, moral persons in order to earn the favor of God.
Such a belief certainly is not limited to our own time. Paul wrote to the "foolish Galatians," who had come to believe that they had "received the Spirit by doing the works of the law." He told them that relying on their own behavior to earn God's favor negates the sacrifice of the Cross.
Of course, our behavior matters to God; people loved by God are called to respond by loving others. And we participate in the eternal, and "go to heaven," here and now, when we do choose to love. But do we earn our own salvation by being nice instead of being naughty? Absolutely not, you foolish Galatians!
That's not God you're thinking of; it's Santa Claus.
Psalm 80; 2 Samuel 7:18-29; Luke 1:57-66
Copyright 2011 by Carol Mead. This material is copyrighted, but you are welcome to share it in its entirety with others. To subscribe, visit the website at www.holyordinary.com
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SOCIAL
January LAF Luncheon
Join us for lunch on Sunday, January 8th following class in the Fellowship Hall. We will reserve several tables for LAF and look forward to catching up with you in the new year. This is an excellent opportunity to extend a personal invite to our recent visitors.
February Small Group DinnersSave the date for Small Group Dinners on February 18th. Please let us know if you are interested in hosting by emailing Natalia (nkelly@lungrx.com) or Elizabeth (ebwerdesheim@gmail.com). In January, we will start passing around a sign-up sheet in class.
2012 LAF Land Cruise
We are repeating our LAF adults-only trip this spring. The 2012 expedition is scheduled for April 12-15 in Negril, Jamaica at Riu Negril (http://www.riu.com/en/Paises/
OUTREACH
Thank you to everyone for donating gifts to Jashayla, Kayla and Jamesha. We got all of the gifts on their lists, and I wish I'd taken a picture of everything together - it was SO much! Their grandmother came on Friday and picked up everything, and was overwhelmed with gratitude. Friday was a big day for the girls, they had a court hearing for their grandmother to gain custody. So not only will they open gifts on Christmas morning and see every single toy they wished for, they'll be together with their family. It will be a very special Christmas!
TREASURER
Please turn in dues!! If you submit them through the church, please be sure to reference "Love and Fellowship" on the memo line so the funds get routed to our account.
Blessings,
Malia, David, Susan, and Wes
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