—1 Peter 2:24-25

—“Damage” by Wendell Berry

Over the past couple of months, the staff have been having regular Bible studies right after our weekly meetings, and I have truly enjoyed it. We’ve gone all over the place! We’ve been to Genesis, then to 1 Peter, then over to Galatians; I truly look forward to where God is going to take us next!

On Monday we studied 1 Peter 2:21–25, and verses 24–25 have been on my mind ever since. In our discussion, we talked about suffering, not judging, following Jesus, God’s choosing us (election), and many other matters. However, everything really came home in verse 24. We talk about salvation and being saved, and we talk about the cross as being part of all that. But do we really understand what we are talking about, or are all of these just buzzwords we’ve picked up along the way?

If we were to reduce Peter’s point in these verses and overall passage, it would be something like this: We suffer and bend under the burdens of this life because that is what Christ did for us. He did this for us because only He had the power to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. When Peter says He “bore our sins,” he is saying that He carried the burden and alienation we all share as a consequence of our constant rebellion against the will of God. Yet He shared our burden in perfect fellowship with the Father’s will, putting that condition (sin) to death so that we are now free, able “to live for righteousness.” As we like wayward sheep run this way and that, the Shepherd appears and redirects our hearts back toward God so that we might live at peace with God. Thus, Jesus Christ alone is the guardian of our souls.

Again, that’s the official answer, but let’s take it beyond the textbook. What did this care for us cost the Son? What was required of the Father for peace to be declared between us?

Here I reference the quote from Wendell Berry: “An art that heals and protects its subject is a geography of scars.” For Berry, all art is local, personal, and rooted in affection or love for persons and places. In a word, true love, true affection, is marked by its scars, the burden it bears for its beloved. Each of us is beloved of God, molded and shaped by the Father’s caring hands. Thus, that love was always destined to bear the scars we wayward, rebellious creatures would exact. And it is in the Son that we find the map, the Word, the geography of scars inscribed on the flesh of our soul’s wounded healer—“by His stripes, we have been healed.”

May this year be the year when you fall even more desperately in love with God, the true lover of our souls.

In Christ,

Pastor Sam

We will continue to gather for a fellowship dinner followed by programs for adults, teens, and children on Wednesday evenings through the remainder of the program year, with the exception of Holy Week. Dinner is at 5:30, and programs follow at 6:15. Our next meeting will be February 2. Please join us!

As we take steps to ensure the safety of all the children entrusted to our care, we ask parents to sign their kids in when they drop them off and sign them out at pickup. We have sign-in sheets at the nursery and for Kids’ Kirk and Sunday School, and we lock the doors of the education wing for safety. Parents can gain access at any time by using one of the key cards hanging by Lilly Osborne’s office door. We also ask that parents not distract students and teachers by hovering in the hallways during class time. Clear hallways also help us know that children are where they need to be when in our care. Thank you for working with us to keep our children safe.

You can watch the livestream of our worship services and other activities at FPC Bristol on YouTube. Click on the link and hit “Subscribe” to receive notifications of new videos. To connect to our various Facebook sites, go to Facebook and type in FPC Bristol. Several accounts will show up. “Like” the page or ask to join a group.

This Sunday, January 30, we will have an all-church skate event at Bristol Skateway from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. We will meet at the facility at 210 Skateway Drive (K-Mart Dr. for GPS). The suggested donation is $5 per person, or a maximum of $10 per family. For more information about the facility, visit Bristol Skateway or call 423-968-9680.

If you have not yet made your 2022 pledge, you can do so now by picking up a pledge card at the church or downloading a copy here. You can drop off the completed card at the church office, mail it in, or email your pledge directly to our business manager, Betsy Galliher.

We encourage you to use text, mail, or our website to safely continue your faithful support of our ministries during the pandemic. You can give online by going to our website and clicking on “Give” in the upper right corner. You can send your pledge, offering, or special gift by texting fpcbristol to 73256, or mail your checks directly to the church.