Pastor’s Note: True Freedom     

             As we celebrate the Fourth of July this week, we give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy in this country, freedoms hard-won through sacrifice and courage. Yet as followers of Jesus Christ, we know that there is a deeper, eternal freedom that no earthly power can give or take away.

The apostle Paul writes, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Through Jesus, we are set free, not only from the chains of sin and death, but also from fear, guilt, shame, and self-centered living. This is the freedom John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, preached about. It is freedom from sin rather than a freedom to sin. In other words, whenever we encounter the Risen Christ and are hit by His grace train, we are compelled to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Our hearts are transformed, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to love God and neighbor completely. Wesley taught that true freedom is found in holiness of heart and life, a life surrendered to grace, growing in love, and poured out in service. 

So, as we give thanks for our nation, let us also rejoice in the freedom Christ offers and may we use that freedom to do no harm, do good, and to love one another as Christ has loved us.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Margaret