Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." (2 Cor. 13:11, 13)

First of all, I am not going anywhere. These are Paul's words that we recently studied in Wednesday morning Bible Study. Paul was leaving to try to join with the Corinthians one more time to assist in their ministry, and it was a tough ministry, in a tough place.

As we studied these words from God we are encouraged by Paul's encouragement. Here at Christ's church we believe that we are living in peace; and because of that, that the God of love and peace is with us. We have been showered by the love of God, the grace of Jesus, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. It is good to be the church. We are putting things in order and are listening to God's appeal to Go! We even have general agreement about what is truly important for Christ's church. As we read Paul's appeal closely, he wrote to "agree with one another." Paul didn't say to agree about everything; this helps us because we know that wea all have separate opinions about many different subjects. I know that if I were to take a poll on Sunday about a hot topic, we would see a range of opinions. On what do we agree? In Bible Study, we came up with quite a long list. The major agreement was on the article of faith that we call the Apostles' Creed.

As time marches on, there will be many things that might divide the church. We need to remember those things on which we agree and how we live in peace. According to Paul, if we put things in order, listen, agree, and live in peace, then the God of love and peace will be with us in powerful ways. I know that the God of love and peace is here in Christ's church. I see it every Sunday morning and at other times when we gather. It is the Holy Spirit that calls us together, ad we live in that communion.

No matter where you find yourself this summer, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. See you in worship.

Aloha and Peace,

Pastor Dave