Pastor Prince

One of the many extraordinary things about Jesus is the way in which he reached out to people on the margins of life.  Our new worship unit focuses on how he did that, and how he calls us to do the same! Luke 5:17-26 tells the story of the paralyzed man whose friends lowered him to Jesus.  His friends took him to Jesus on a mat in faith that he would heal him.  When they arrived, the house in which Jesus was teaching was so crowded, they couldn't get him to Jesus.  So they went up on the roof of the house and tore a hole in it.  Then they lowered the man to Jesus! When Jesus saw their faith, he decided to heal the man.  He told him that he had been forgiven of his sins, and could take up his mat and walk.  And he did! This is one of many incidents recorded in the New Testament in which Jesus healed people.  Why did he do it?  First, it was a sign.  Luke 7:18ff says that John the Baptist sent some of his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are you the One who is to come, or sho

The book of Job is a deep dive into the problem of suffering.  It's one of the wisdom books of the Old Testament.  Wisdom books like Proverbs often teach that God blesses righteous people and judges wicked ones.  But Job challenges that assumption.  In Job, a righteous man suffers, and struggles with what God has allowed to happen to him. After Job has lost everything and been afflicted with terrible sores all over his body, three friends go to be with him.  When they see him from far off, they don't recognize him.  As they draw near, they begin to weep.  They tear their clothes and fling dust in the air, which were ancient demonstrations of grief.   Overwhelmed, they sit with Job seven days in silence! Here, Job's friends show how we can be with each other in difficult times.  They went to him, they empathized with him, and they stayed with him.  Though they didn't say anything, their presence indicated their love and care for Job. Sadly, things fe