Temptation, dear friends, is never simple. Temptation is always subtle and seductive. That’s why it is called temptation.
Look at Jesus’ first temptation: turning stone into bread. Who doesn’t want to solve hunger? But that’s what Satan is offering Jesus: To be able to be relevant to society, to help people. What is wrong with that? After all, Jesus is hungry, starved to death. It sounds reasonable. Why not accept the invitation? Well, as Jesus says, “Because man shall not live by bread alone.”
          And what about the second temptation: what kind of religious leader or preacher doesn’t want some kind of press or celebrity for getting out the word? After all, won’t that help the cause? It could get more people to come to church. Who wouldn’t want that? Just show off by performing a stunt every week by parachuting off the church steeple, or by hosting someone famous. It can work. Why not? Well, as Jesus says, “You shall not put God to the test.”
          Then again, what about the third temptation: Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms and nations of the world saying, “The world could use a strong man like you about now. Look at all the problems. Someone like you could whip the countries into shape. Think about it, Jesus. You don’t even have to tell the truth. Just say what people want to hear,” Satan says. 
But then comes the clincher when Satan tells Jesus, “All these things are yours, if you worship me…” And Jesus says, “You shall worship the Lord and serve the Lord alone.”
Again: temptation is not about a cartoon saying ‘no’ to Hot Fudge Chocolate! Rather, temptation concerns what is reasonable, what is helpful, and what is good; that is to say, fundamentally, temptation is not about the question, “Would you like to do something wrong?” It is about the tempter in the Garden asking Adam and Eve, “Would you like to be like God?”
Now what is wrong with that? Isn’t that what we are about? Isn’t that what we want?  What temptation is about is saying ‘goodbye’ to such silliness and saying ‘hello’ to more fundamental questions like what kind of God am I worshipping? Who is this Jesus I am following? It is about asking yourself: what am I going to do with my life? We need to understand that the struggle of faith, the path of discipleship, is a struggle between spirit and ego, true self and false self; it is about asking: what are we going to do with the rest of our lives?
During this season of Lent, how would you answer these questions?

Pastor Andy Kinsey

​You may or may not know their name.  You may or may not see them in action.  Without them however,  the church would not be what it is.  For example: He is the one who arrives before anyone else and gets tables and chairs set up, then stays late to put it all away and take out the trash.  She is the one doing the grunt work to make sure things come together as planned.  The one behind the scenes making sure details are taken care of and those of us up front look good.
They are the ones who give above and beyond without recognition so that another family gets Christmas.  They are the ones that buy extra food without expectation and put it in the pantry basket. He waters the poinsettias every year.  She cleans out the flower beds.  She checks expiration dates and rearranges the food in the donation cabinet. She prays in the middle of the night and ties fleece blankets for homeless youth. He packs sack lunches and knits hats and scarves to the homeless. 

They don’t do it for the  accolades.
They don’t do it for fame.
They don’t do it for money or prosperity.   
They do it simply because that is who they are; because that is how they show Jesus to the world. They are the disciples the rest of us count on.  The disciples whose shoulders we stand on.  The disciples the church was and is built on.

Her name was Tabitha, also known as Dorcus. She lived in the port city of Joppa and her trade was that of sewing - making clothing, tunics, and other garments for the locals there.  She served the marginalized and forgotten people of her community.

The church at this point is very young - gaining momentum.  It is critical that the disciples and the people they reach out to and minister to realize that it is the power of Jesus at work and not the power of the person being called to preach, teach, or perform miracles.  This is essential to the growth of the early church because this would set them apart from all the other false prophets, teachers, and alleged “gods' ' vying for their allegiance; an allegiance to the human and not the divine.  They needed to know it was Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law - the promised one and not some trickery or political plot supplied by the hands of power hungry, controlling people.

Underneath the public healings and all the noise, chatter, and energy that happened through the likes of Paul and Peter, however, was another layer spreading the message and promise of Jesus.  It was a more quiet and subtle, but no less essential and no less powerful truth.  A truth illustrating that the same force that moved in those who lead the charge was a work behind the scenes, in private homes, and with small numbers of on-lookers.  The same power that appeared through those who took on the public demands and faced obvious widespread challenges of the day, was at work through the lives of people like Tabitha.  Tabitha in her own way was just as much a disciple as Paul and Peter.  

The text itself tells us …a disciple whose name was Tabitha” (Acts 9: 36).  She is not identified as a widow, although she is surrounded by many at the time of her illness and subsequent death.  She is not identified as a wife with her purpose and status tied to her husband’s name.  She is not identified as  a foreigner although by using both her Hebrew and Greek name, the author is highlighting the fact that her story is told to a mixed community.  She is not identified as a daughter of so and so, or the mother of so and so. 

Dorcas reminds us of five crucial lessons:  
1  Use the Gifts You've Been Given to Help Others
2. Stay Faithful in Doing Good for Others
3. Build Relationships That Will Have Lasting Impact on Others
4. Make Service and Ministry Toward Others a Priority
5. Let God Use You to Witness to Others

To all who have eyes to see and ears to hear:  How does the story of Dorcas speak to you?  Where do you see Jesus’ invitation to bring who you are, use what you have and connect your life with the life of others? How does Dorcas challenge you? How does your life reveal the love of God, the hope of Jesus, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit?  How does your life reflect what it means to be a disciple - to be a follower of Jesus?   

 May God be with us as we live into the answers.  Amen.

​Pastor Jenothy Irvine

When we look about Aaron in the Bible, we get a glimpse of someone who is not the main figure in the drama of God’s salvation, but whom God uses anyway to play a vital role of communicating who God is and what God will do to the people. We see Aaron serving as Moses’ mouthpiece in front of Pharoah and leading as the high priest. In fact, the role of Aaron as the high priest was critical to the worship of God, both in the tabernacle and eventually in the Temple. When the people worshipped God, they looked to the high priest.
This is one of the reasons why the worship of the golden calf is so important: Aaron was to lead the people in the true worship of the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. It was Aaron’s job to make sure this was done according to God’s instructions, with all the sacrifices and rituals and guidelines. After all, the correct way of worship, according to Torah, would lead either to life or the incorrect to death, which is a reminder that how we worship is a big deal in the Bible – not to mention Who we worship.
Yet, there is still that nagging question about what makes Aaron special or unsung. Is Aaron somehow above judgement?
Well, first, we need to understand that God does punish Aaron. Aaron might not have received punishment at the time when Moses burned with anger and threw down the tablets, but Aaron was judged, first, by not getting to go into the Promised Land, and second, by losing two of his sons as part of God’s reckoning.
Yet, the thing that makes Aaron an unsung hero is how he was among those who repented, (32:26), who turned to God, admitting what he had done. He was able to receive Moses’s intercession for forgiveness (v. 30).
          And you might ask, ‘And that’s it? That’s the point?’ Yes, what makes Aaron an unsung hero like the rest of us is forgiveness: again and again, God uses flawed people like us to serve important roles. Aaron, who had led the people astray to worship a golden calf, was the one God chose to lead the people closer to God in worship, to seek and receive God’s forgiveness, despite what he and the people had done. God’s forgiveness made it possible for Aaron to lead!
          How does God’s forgiveness make new beginnings possible? What does a person like Aaron teach us about how we can move with God? How can a lack of humility lead to our downfall? 

​Pastor Andy Kinsey