Pastors Column
My family recently visited Lancaster. It is a beautiful ride. There are gently rolling hills of farmland dotted with farmhouses. Usually behind the houses are silos built to hold various grains. These silos can be a huge help to the farmer. They store feed for livestock (or indeed grain before it goes to market). In the silos the grain is protected from the weather, bugs, and other elements. However, silos can be dangerous. In fact, the same properties that help them keep grain stable and fresh, can also be downright deadly. Silos aren’t dangerous when functioning well, but they do possess inherent danger. For instance, some grains function like quicksand and unsuspecting farmers can drown if they are not careful. Also, the grain develops static electricity as it is moved in the silo and can produce thousands of volts of electricity. This can be very dangerous for workers moving the grain.
Sometimes the ministries of the church operate like silos. Good programs can be great at keeping everything together and intact, but sometimes they neglect the wider church family. Sometimes they do not think of the needs of others. In extreme cases they can even work against the vision of the church. One of the challenges of church ministry is knowing how to set up and run ministries that advance the gospel without becoming full of small groups which seek after their own preferences. Thinking about silos in ministry raises two questions. First, how do you prevent ministries from becoming isolated from one another and the wider church? Second, how do you identify and help isolated ministries within the church?
The answer to the first question is fairly straightforward. Churches remain united together when they share a common vision. Thankfully, the Lord Jesus gave us just such a vision in His preaching ministry. I touched on it just a few weeks ago at our vision Sunday. In Matthew, Jesus invites us to come to Christ (Matthew 11:28) and to go for Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). To put this another way, all Christians and all churches should seek to know Christ and make Him known across the whole world. In order to do this, we (pastors, elders, and deacons) have adopted a fourfold description of ministry. We want to REACH-BUILD-SEND-SUPPORT. The second question is a little bit more complicated. The short answer is that Spiritual Council and Consistory have spent months praying about the life of the church and the various ministries within the church. While this review has produced many wonderful examples of warm hearted, generous people and ministries laboring sacrificially for the kingdom of God, we have also seen areas of disconnect between ministries and the wider life of the church.
I want to see Leidy’s Church be a flourishing church full of Christians who are also flourishing individually in their Christian life, in their marriage, and in their service to the Lord. In order to accomplish that, we are introducing Wednesday Central. I don’t know if you have ever been by the church on a Wednesday evening, but it is buzzing. There are all kinds of groups, ministries, and activities around the building. I have watched; the lights kick on early and they stay on late into the night. It is an amazing sight. While many people come for many of the activities, there are still many others who have not really become plugged into the life of the church. Wednesday Central is a ministry for the WHOLE CHURCH. It will provide an excellent forum for clear Bible teaching, discipleship, training and pastoral care, and fellowship. Each week we will gather for dinner, at 5:15pm. After dinner there will be a talk on a range of topics such as parenting, how to be sure you are saved, the work of the Holy Spirit, the cross, the environment, the culture, heaven, hell, Islam, old age, suffering, marriage, LGBTQ, how to pray, evangelism, church history, and many more. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers. Then we will split into our groups where the same leader will lead each week (alongside his wife) providing pastoral care. Once a month, we will have our prayer meeting to pray for the world, nation, Leidy’s Church, and her ability to speak into the culture. It’s going to be a great night! Our prayer is for 150 or more of us gather in the Fellowship Hall while the youth and children will gather in the youth and children’s rooms for their own teaching. This will mean there is childcare. Prayerfully, both parents can join us each week. We are serious that Wednesday Central would be a ministry for the whole of Leidy’s Church.
We are also excited that we will begin the Fall with two guest services at which the simple truths of the gospel will be clearly presented for all, especially guests. Bring your friends, family, and coworkers who do not know Jesus. This will launch our year on an evangelistic footing which we will continue with Hope, Discipleship, and Partnership Explored.
We recognize that these plans and intentions are pointless if you don’t know about them, so we are also reviewing our communication and want to make it easy for congregation members to know what’s coming each quarter. This summer, prayerfully, we will be launching a new website and new welcome materials with information to get involved. As programs run, change, and develop over time we know these communications will, too.
Please be patient as we introduce these changes for the good of the church. Let’s be prayerful as we ask that the Lord might grow us in maturity and numbers, and let’s be proactive as we all seek to serve in new ways wherever the needs may lie. Above all please pray that Leidy’s Church would be a united church. May it be the kind of church Paul describes in Ephesians 4. Before he begins giving specific instructions to the people, he implores them to be united and reminds them that THERE IS ONE BODY AND ONE SPIRIT, JUST AS YOU WERE CALLED IN ONE HOPE OF YOUR CALLING; ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL WHO IS OVER ALL AND THROUGH ALL AND IN ALL.
As a united family and body of Christ, may God help us to be a church that is kingdom minded, always thinking about the mission of the church, a church that is friendly and full of all kinds of folks partnering with one another to advance the gospel, a church that demonstrates the love of Christ in its lasting love for one another, and a church that is committed above all to the glory of God.
Tony
From Point A to Point B (it’s complicated)
There is an old golfing geometry joke (that means you know it is going to be great!) which asks, “What is the shortest distance between two points?” The geometry student answers, “a line”, but the golfer knows it’s the cart path. This leads me to another question. What is the shortest distance in life? Specifically, what is the shortest distance between where I am spiritually and morally right now and where I am called to be? In one sense we can easily say that the shortest distance is the rest of our lives. I simply mean that all Christians will continue to grow in the Lord until He calls them home. It is the fact of living in a fallen and sinful world. Listen to how Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians. He writes, BUT WE ALL, WITH UNVEILED FACE, BEHOLDING AS IN A MIRROR THE GLORY OF THE LORD, ARE BEING TRANSFORMED INTO THE SAME IMAGE FROM GLORY TO GLORY. How do we understand this process to happen?
In order to understand the distance between where we are and where we are called to be, we need to look both at ourselves and the endpoint. Because we are not all in the same spot, let’s begin by looking at the end point. Paul tells the Thessalonians that God’s will for them is their sanctification. Sanctification is a big word. The Greek word behind that is hagiasmos. It can sometimes mean to consecrate which is to set aside for a special purpose. That does not capture the full meaning. You see, sanctification is related to another New Testament word which gives us profound insights into God’s calling upon the life of every Christian. The word is holy. The word holy and the word sanctification share the same root. It is appropriate to read into Paul’s words to the Thessalonians that God’s will for His people is their holiness. If we are honest, this is simply another way to state God’s command in Leviticus 20:7 YOU SHALL CONSECRATE YOURSELVES THEREFORE AND BE HOLY.
When we understand that we are to be holy and that this life is a life of sanctification or growing in holiness, we begin to see that regardless of our age the distance between where we are and where the Lord has called us to be is quite large. At the same time that we recognize this vast chasm, we also remember that the one who began that good work in us (that is God) will see it through until it is complete. This still does not change the fact that today, at this moment, I have some maturing to do. In fact, if I am honest, it gets even worse. I have been a Christian for more than 20 years. I have grown quite a bit. Even as I have grown in my Christian walk, I see that the lessons I thought I knew I sometimes have to relearn. In short, the Christian life is not a line. It isn’t a clear path forward. It is not as though I always mature and move forward. In the moment, it sometimes feels like I just go in circles from struggle to struggle. The problem with going in circles is that you never get to an end point (which is our completed sanctification). If you have moments like me when you feel like you are simply going around and around, stop, take a minute, and reflect on all of your Christian life. My guess is that you aren’t really going in circles. Don’t get me wrong, you may well have continued difficulties as you move through life, but I’ll wager that God’s Spirit has been working through God’s Word in you as time goes on. It means that we go through life progressing toward holiness in a spiral. Sometimes we are going up; sometimes we are going down. However, we are always, because God is working in us, moving toward Him. That is fantastic news. That is comforting news. That is stress reducing news. It is not idle news.
Though God is at work within us and though God is drawing us to Himself all the days of our lives, it does not mean that we are not also working. The same letter that describes God completing His work in us also describes how we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We do that by joining with the body of believers in worship of the Lord, allowing the preached Word of God to seep down into our bones. We spend time reflecting upon the Scriptures and allowing them to transform our hearts and minds by God’s Spirit. We join others in times of conversation, learning, and study to grow in our understanding of who God is.
Maybe at this moment you are on the upward swing of the spiral, but maybe you are on the downward slide. Either way, I would encourage you to seek the Lord and seek to grow in your understanding of Him. One way of doing this is to join us for Hope, Discipleship, and Partnership Explored. Each has a slightly different focus from basics of Christian faith to ongoing growth in Christlikeness to working with other Christians to glorify God in the world. I would love to have you come and learn. Come and talk to me about it.
To the praise of His glory,
Michael
July Pulpit Schedule
July 3 Psalm 24 – The earth is the Lord’s
July 10 Psalm 32 – The guilt of my sin
July 17 Psalm 93 – The reality of evil
July 24 Psalm 95 – The flock of the Lord
July 31 Psalm 98 – The call to global mission
Thank You!
VBS Volunteers, thank you so much for your hours of long labor! We had a blast looking at God who creates, designs, and redeems us. More than 50 kids came and heard the gospel through your faithful efforts. lease join with us in praying that God’s Spirit would implant His Word deep within their hearts.
Ukrainian Resettlement Efforts
Throughout the past 14+ months Leidy’s Church made various attempts to help resettle refugee families. Those efforts came to naught for a variety of reasons. Now, however, it looks as though efforts to resettle a Ukrainian family may come to fruition.
A woman, her 14-year-old daughter, and her 67-year-old mother currently are residing in a refugee camp in Poland. If all works out, they will be coming to the United States within the next little while under the sponsorship of Leidy’s Church. Several of the details have yet to be worked out, but working with Love Cradle as the intermediary, things are looking good at this point.
This family would come via a two-year emergency program. The intention is for the family to return to Ukraine at the end of the two-year program or as soon as the war is over and conditions permit their return, whichever comes sooner.
We’re thankful for the number of persons who already have volunteered to help in this endeavor. Guess what? We’ll need more volunteers – and for the long haul. The biggest need at the outset is for housing. If you have any leads that would be suitable for this family please let the church office know or contact Pat Niederhaus. None of the family members speak English, which makes things a tad more difficult.
For more information or to volunteer to help, contact Pat Niederhaus at 215-718-6539 (pniederhaus@gmail.com).
SLMT Work Weeks
The dates for the SLMT ’22 work weeks are July 25-20 and August 15-19. The site is Life Turning Point Philadelphia at 5200 Wayne Avenue. We’ll be focusing on starting the rehab project of the Carriage House on the property. Initially, that means removing an abundance of vines that have overgrown various portions of the building and roof, scraping and repainting some wooden surfaces, and possibly replacing some windows on the second story.
To rehab the entire Carriage House will be a multi-year project. But we’re getting started with some basic needs-to-be-done jobs this summer. We need workers with all sorts of skills and no skills. Brian Radcliff and Sherman Focht will utilize all comers!
Sign-up sheets are posted on the narthex wall. Note that we will be meeting at the church at 7am to be transported to the job site. Work will begin at 8am, we hope. Lunches, snacks, and drinks will be provided – and they’ll be tasty and in abundance. The trek back to the church will begin at 4pm so we can be back by 5pm. All these times are flexible until we see how the traffic patterns work out for those times of day.
Volunteers will be soliciting prayer and financial support, so be ready to respond positively generously. For more information speak with Brian Radcliff, Sherman Focht, John Niederhaus, or someone on the Mission Committee.
Mission Presenters
Leidy’s Church is always eager to hear from the missionaries and Christians Workers whom they support. July will feature two such reports. These folk will be in the Issues and Answers class from 8:45 to 9:45 and then make a short presentation during the service of worship. Here’s the line-up.
Steve & Kelly Marks & family will be with us on July 17th. The Marks family is serving in Thailand. Their sponsoring organization is Christian Veterinary Mission. Steve left a flourishing vet practice in Bucks County to head off to the mission field. He and Kelly will have lots to relate when they are among us. Kelly teaches in a Christian School in their area while Steve does much outreach work, especially among refugees from Burma [Myanmar] which is still suffering from an oppressive, persecuting government. They have seen God at work in their midst and look forward to sharing with us what He has done.
Jared & Abby Alleman & family are slated to be at Leidy’s Church on July 31st. The Allemans have recently relocated from Florida to Indiana. Currently, they are serving with The Welcome Network. This is a ministry located in Hammond, Indiana, that resettles refugees and asylum seekers and works to aid immigrants in long-term residency. They’ve made the transition from sunny Florida to the more frigid climate of the Chicago area quite well, despite what we might think. Who wouldn’t prefer to live in Indiana compared to Florida, after all! Jared and Abby both grew up on the Souderton area and still have parents and family among us. They are excited to let us know what the Lord has been doing in and through them in this new ministry.
Fellowship Luncheon
July’s Fellowship Luncheon happens on July 10th. Immediately following the service of worship, a simple, substantial, and satisfying meal will be available in the Fellowship Hall. Everyone is invited to stay. There is no cost. It’s a chance to get to know a person or family you’ve seen but not talked to, or a chance to catch up with old friends, or chance just to relax because someone else has done the cooking and someone else is doing the clean up!
A Good Listen
In June Leidy’s Church hosted a concert of Indelible Grace. It was great to see so many come and worship the Lord singing great songs that tell the truth of the gospel in the midst of life. It has led to other questions like, “Where do I go to find out more information about music, hymns, and singing in church?” The Hymnology Podcast is one resource you might check out to learn more about how and why we worship. Even more the podcast suggestions for modern hymn writers. Check it out wherever you listen to podcasts!
Women’s Ministry
Ladies of Leidy’s
Ladies of Leidy’s is hosting a night to just hang out on Friday, July 15, beginning at 7 pm in the Youth Room. We’re getting together to eat some glorious treats and just talk. We won’t have a program or anything─we just want to create space to connect. Could be a game or two if people want to. So, if you’re a lady and you’re at Leidy’s, you’re welcomed! Even if you don’t come to the regular Ladies of Leidy’s meetings, please come. If you want to bring a snack, great. But come anyway if you don’t want to bring anything other than yourself! We’d love to get together with you! If you have questions, speak with Ruthie Niederhaus or Tosha Kogel.
Summer Precept Prayer
During the summer months Precept will meet once a month for prayer. We meet in Rm. 117. The dates are:
- July 21, 9-11am
- August 18, 9-11am
Checking It Out
Hector Torres and the Haven of Hope have property in Puerto Rico they hope to develop into a new ministry center. Hector has encouraged Leidy’s Church to come down and check it out, to see if this might be a suitable locale for an SLMT week or two.
The Mission Committee has decided to accept Hector’s invitation to check it out. A team of four persons will be in Puerto Rico from July 14 to July 19 to do just that. Going down to Puerto Rico on this investigatory mission will be Justin and Emma Coale, Lorraine Reich, and Tony Kapusta.
Please keep this team in your prayers for safe and timely travel as well as for wisdom in discerning any purposes the Lord may have for Leidy’s Church to help serve in that location.
Rally Day
Rally Day, our academic year kick off, is September 11, 2022. Incoming first graders will receive their Bibles, adults will hear of some of the class offerings for year, and everyone will be fed. Mark your calendars for September 11 and be sure to join us as we start the year off right….with breakfast.
Prayer Card Sunday
Summer is here, and June is almost over. Eek! That means that fall will be here in just like 10 weeks! Parents, that means we need you take a picture of your cute and adorable children as you head to the beach, mountains, pool or wherever. Please email the photos of your children to the office by August 15 for prayer cards.
For those who may not know what prayer cards are, September 18th is Prayer Card Sunday. At the end of the service, there will be envelopes with pictures and details of all of our children. Consider taking one and committing to praying for a child every day. It is a great opportunity to love and care for the children of the church.
Hope Explored
In the words of 80’s cultural critic Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast sometimes. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Every time I stop and look around, I find that the world makes less sense and I am tempted toward despair. If this is something you have experienced, join us for Hope Explored on September 13. We will meet for three weeks at the Broad Street Grind Coffee Shop. We will look at the God who gives us hope, the God who gives us peace, and the God who gives us purpose. Spoiler alert, it is all one God! If you have questions about specifics like what to bring or who to bring, contact pastor Michael.
Blood Drive
On Friday, July 29th, Leidy’s Church will be hosting a Red Cross Blood Drive from 2 to 7 pm. It is important that we understand that donors of blood are urgently needed. There will be precautions in place to ensure that the donors and the medical personnel remain safe through the process of blood donations.
There are several ways you can sign up to make an appointment to donate blood. The simplest way is to go directly to www.redcrossblood.org and locate the menu box “Find a Blood Drive” and type in leidyschurch. When you click on this link you will see a list of times available to sign up. On this website, you will see options for giving blood, and choose your type of blood donation. You may also sign up by contacting the church office or register at the Blood Drive site in the narthex either before or after the Sunday morning worship services.
Thank you for your willingness to participate as a blood donor during this blood drive.
IronPigs vs. Wilkes-Barre Railriders
What a great night for a ballgame! The date this year is Saturday, July 23rd. So, get your tickets to the IronPigs vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders from the friendly Fellowship Committee rep after church. Tickets are only $11/person.
The opening pitch on July 23rd is scheduled for 6:35 at Coca-Cola Park. You’ll want to get there by 5:30 or so to see all the pre-game activities. There will be an awesome fireworks display following the game.
Sunday In the Shade
On Sunday morning, August 14th, our worship service will be held on the parsonage lawn beginning at 10:00 am. Don’t forget, bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on. Your attire should be conducive to being outdoors in the heat of summer, although we will set up the podium and seating areas under the shade of exceptionally large trees. Remember to bring your Bibles or Bible apps to read the Scriptures. We will be enjoying a picnic lunch and time of fellowship together immediately after the worship service, so please come prepared to eat and have an incredibly good time. Don’t forget to bring sunglasses, sunscreen, cold bottled water, and most importantly your heart prepared to praise and worship God together in spirit and in truth.
July Ushers
Usher Captains: Nathan Kulp, Ken Merritt
Ushers: Bob Bugge, Doug Guest, Mike Kehs, John Vasey, Dave Freed, Brett Keeble, Seth Brunner, Dave Guntz, Anthony Sciacca, Ken Murphy, Ted Brunner, Tony Kapusta, Herb Wogelmuth
August Ushers
Usher Captains: Kendall Musselman, Aaron Vogelzang
Ushers: Ken Ritter, George Frueh, Francis Weiss, Steve Radcliff, Jack Parry, Frank Bivighouse, Mike Hughes, Ed Schmidt, Tom Kraus, Byron Rimmer, Stan Radcliff Rod Shoemaker
Summer Communion in July
Every summer Leidy’s Church serves Holy Communion at a selected service of worship. This summer is no exception. The date for the summer Communion will be on, July 24th. This notice may help people planning family vacations and who do not want to miss the worship service when Holy Communion is to be served.
Consistory
On Wednesday June 8, 2022, the Consistory of Immanuel Leidy’s Church met. Ken Merritt and Tim Leidy were absent. The following are a summary of its minutes. Pastor Tony opened the meeting with a devotion explaining what an evangelical was. Specifically, evangelicals are people of the Word. God’s point of contact with the world has always been his Word. Evangelicals are those who receive that Word, believe that Word, and share that Word. Minutes were reviewed and accepted. Staff and committee reports were submitted.
Financial Report: Dana presented the financial report for May 2022. Income to the church through giving and the hub totaled $77,526 which was very close to our monthly expenditures of $28,911. This gives the church a Total Fund Balance of $101,050. Renovation Fund contributions totaled $3,565 and the expenditures, which included a new roof for the fellowship hall at the HUB, totaled $53,200. This leaves a fund balance of $162,418.
Pastor Steve’s Strategy Group Report: Pastor Steve gave a summary of his subcommittee examination of the ministries of Leidy’s Church and highlighted ways in which the church succeeds in the care of its people and possible avenues of improvement. The recommended areas of improvement included discipleship and more intentional training, the better utilization of technology to communicate across the life of the church, intentional counseling at an informal level, and ways that we can glorify God by raising the profile of Leidy’s Church within the wider community.
Pastor Tony’s Strategy Group Report: Peter’s summarized the groups focus on drawing people into the church and shared the Annual Integrated Strategy which includes Hope, Discipleship, and Partnership explored as a way to draw folks into the life of the church. He also explained the structure of reach, build, send, support as a way of summarizing the ministries of Leidy’s Church in order to give focus to producing disciple-making disciples of Christ. He concluded by describing the concept of Wednesday Central as an opportunity for the whole church to learn and grow in Jesus.
Vision Sunday: We discussed the heart of vision Sunday rooted in coming to Christ and going for Christ reflected in our cornerstone. Pastor Tony is to preach and present the Annual Integrated Strategy, Pastor Michael is to present Wednesday Central, Pastor Steve will talk about counseling, shepherding, and pastoral care, Jeff will present on missions and the school, and Dana will speak to staff restructuring.
Job Descriptions: Newly created job descriptions, approved by Spiritual Council, were distributed. The need for a youth pastor along with a job description for a part time pastor were presented and discussed. There was discussion of the allocation of funds to pay for the pastoral care of youth and children with a recommendation for certain benevolence giving to be reallocated to staff salary. After much discussion, it was decided to reconvene as a the Consistory on Sunday, June 12, 2022 to discuss the pastoral care of children and to determine more precisely the line items to be reallocated.
Elder Nominations: Elders Ken Merritt and Peter Martindell are both coming to the end of their second term on Consistory. Spiritual Council took nominations for me to fill their roles. Deacon Ed Schmidt and Elder Dave Reich were nominated to serve in their place. Additionally, Ed Schmidt, Tim Leidy, and Shaun Permar accepted nominations to serve as Elders on Spiritual Council.
Building Update: Pastor Steve reported that a new HUB lease was in process of being signed due to a discrepancy in the listed name of one of the subtenants. Also, Pastor Steve reported that while the work on the steeple seems to have fixed all leaks, the treatment to the walls for wicking does not. He noted RKCO Architects and Penn Builders are working to ascertain an alternate course of action.
Website Update: Aaron presented a proposal for a new church website with the main goals of improving navigating and update the platform. He explained that this will enable more individuals within the church the ability to help serve the ministry of Leidy’s Church in making necessary updates. The proposal estimate is for $5,000. There will be relatively small ongoing costs with the new website which is much the same as the current set up. Peter Martindell made the motion to approve the proposal. Aaron seconded the motion, and it was carried.
School Update: Coventry’s board has discussed and approved establishing a satellite campus at Leidy’s Church. They are working on a formal proposal but have been delayed with the end of the school year schedule. It was recommended that the school steering group begin to meet and work toward a proposal.
Pastor Michael prayed and the meeting adjourned at 10:58 p.m.
New City Catechism
Question 21: What sort of Redeemer is needed to bring us back to God?
One who is truly human and also truly God.
Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Commentary – Augustine of Hippo
He who existed as the Son of God before all ages, without a beginning, deigned to become the Son of Man in these recent years. He did this although He who submitted to such great evils for our sake had done no evil and although we, who were the recipients of so much good at His hands, had done nothing to merit these benefits. Begotten by the Father, He was not made by the Father; He was made Man in the Mother whom He Himself had made, so that He might exist here for a while, sprung from her who could never and nowhere have existed except through His power.
Bryan Chapel
Why do we need a Redeemer who is truly human? One reason is so that he can identify with us. The Bible says he was “in every respect . . . tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He went through our experience, so he understands what we go through. He is our High Priest. He understands how we suffer. We understand that God can identify with us, but even as he identified with us—by having lived a hard life, by having been humiliated, and by having gone through humble circumstances—he did it with perfect obedience, not doubting the love of his Father and not wavering from his Father’s path.
That means that not only could Jesus identify with what we experience as humans; he could become the perfect substitute for us. In my sin, I’m separated from God. He’s holy; I am not. For God to be just and holy, he cannot identify with my sin. God had to provide a way for my sin to be put on another. He did that by having his son come in human likeness, human form, but living perfectly so that he could be the substitute for my sin.
Because Jesus lived a perfect life, when he willingly suffered the penalty for my sin on the cross, it was a right, adequate, and perfect substitute for my sin and for your sin. Jesus could identify with what we go through, but because he lived perfectly in obedience, he became the perfect substitute for our sin. And because he took our sin upon himself, having identified with us, when he rose from the grave and ascended to his Father, he became the perfect advocate for us. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses. Because he retains his humanlike features and functions in his divine nature, he still understands the entirety of our human experience and knows exactly what we need.
But he’s also God. And because Jesus is God, he can accomplish the purposes for which he came. Even now, he can rule our world in such a way that all God intends for our lives will happen. And when he was put to death because he was God, he could not only fully pay the sacrifice for our sin and pay the debt that we owed, he could rise from the grave. Death could not defeat him. Because Jesus is alive, because he is sovereign, because he is divine and risen to god, he continues to advocate for us. But even more than advocate, Jesus accomplishes god’s purposes in our lives. He is the God who accomplishes all that we need, even as he is the man who understands all that we need and provides all that we need.
Jesus, perfect God, perfect man, is the Redeemer that we needed, and he accomplished all that was necessary by identifying with our humanity and doing what God had to do to save us.
Prayer:
Son of God and Son of Man, for generations you were prophesied. Only One who is both divine and human could live in perfect obedience and be a fitting sacrifice on our behalf. There is no other way to God but by you. Amen.