Prayer of Confession
We seek oneness with you but fail to accept and love our neighbors. We say we care for all. In reality, there are limits to our caring and our willingness to take risks for love. Forgive us, O God! Re-ignite our love and commitment. Make us more like Jesus. Open our hearts that we might sit among the tax collectors and others rejected by our world. Amen.
Assurance
God knows it is hard. God knows that you want to live as Jesus taught. God also knows it’s scary and intimidating and sometimes confusing to do so. God will stay with you. God will keep challenging you and holding you in God’s arms and heart. God will love you when you make the next mistake. God will not give up on you. You are beloved.
Tim strives to share God’s extravagant love for all–no matter what & without strings. Seeking to follow the lure of the Spirit, Tim writes about what it means to be a follower of Jesus in an era where Christianity has come to be associated with hatred and political wedge issues. “Heinous things have been said & done (& still are) in the name of the One who breathed in the Divine,” notes Tim, “but Jesus shows us that God loves extravagantly.” Following the teachings and life of Jesus is about inclusion not exclusion. It is about compassion, grace, and admitting no one has all the answers. It is about responding lovingly to the best of our human ability. It is about people not institutions. It is about social justice. It is about caring for creation. It is about being who we were each created to be. Tim is a former early childhood educator, a runner, a hiker, a devoted husband, father of two adult children and their spouses, and a grandfather of four perfect grandchildren. Tim serves as Lead Pastor of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Albany, Oregon. He writes from home, from the coffee shop, and wherever the trail leads him.
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