I don’t remember many weekends in my life with more anticipation than this one. Early Friday morning (if not before) my new grandson should enter into this world. What a thrill it is to have a picture of God’s creative mastery and a lesson of what conversion and Christianity looks like! Looking forward to holding and blessing this young man.
Friday night my son Samuel will captain his team as a linebacker and emergency quarterback in the Backyard Bowl as the two best high school teams in the state of Oklahoma take part in what ESPN has called the best high school rivalry in the country. They play at the University of Tulsa on Skelly Field where I played my college football and I should get to watch the game with some of my family and my father.
Saturday morning, Lord willing, I get to take my other son and two daughters to watch my brother coach the University of Tulsa against Oklahoma University. I am excited to watch the young men from TU who attend our church play in this big game.
All three of these rank as exciting events I am anticipating (the grandson tops the other two by far – in case you were worried about my priorities 🙂 )
However, without any pretense and without any attempt to sound spiritual – I have as much or more excitement about getting to preach Sunday morning on what is the greatest text yet in our study of Galatians. I don’t know how more profound truth could be packed into so few words as the Apostle Paul does at the end of Galatians chapter 3.
“Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
I think verse 27 may be my new favorite verse in the whole Bible!
Hope you can come and would you pray that God would give you gospel anticipation for what the Lord might speak to you through His Scriptures?
So very thankful to be your pastor.
Joe