Life Lessons from Matthew

We've had a great summer here at Grace! I've been very impressed with our worship attendance. Thank you for your faithfulness in worship participation! We experimented this summer with a sermon series and special Bible study both focused on the Book of Genesis. I think the dual focus helped attendance in both the class and worship. The sermon series ends this week with the completion of the Joseph narrative (Genesis 45); the Bible study ends in a couple of weeks.

Our next worship series kicks off on Back to School Sunday, August 13: "Life Lessons from Matthew." Here's an outline:

August 13: Matthew 14:22-33
August 20: Matthew 15:10-28
August 27: Matthew 16:13-20
September 3: Matthew 16:21-28
September 10: Matthew 18:15-20
September 17: Matthew 18:21-35
September 24: Matthew 20:1-16

One of my favorite Christian authors is John Ortberg. Years ago he wrote a fun book called If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. It recalls the amazing story of Peter and the other disciples on the boat in the middle of a storm. Already terrified, they really freak out when they see Jesus walking on the water toward them-- only they think he is a ghost. Jesus tries to assure them, but Peter is not convinced: "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water" (Matthew 14:28). Jesus simply says, "Come." Could you do that? Maybe after learning more about Jesus' vision for our lives, we'll have courage to step out of the boat.