Words of Welcome

View from Mount Nebo Deuteronomy 34:1-12 When we lived in Santa Barbara, we would occasionally hike to Inspiration Point. It wasn’t the highest spot in the area, but it was high enough so that on a clear day you could see the entire coast. We could see the Channel Islands poking through the fog to the West. We could look south toward Ventura and then up the coast to where the state takes a sharp turn to the north. Of course, we also could look down on the city below. We would look for our house and the church. We would find the schools where Brett attended. We would situate the Mission, the Arlington Theater, the Court House, and Stearns Wharf. Climbing a hill or a mountain gives you a different perspective from what you can see from the valley floor.  Our climb to Inspiration Point might not compare with Moses’ visit to Mount Nebo, but it gives me a sense of what he might have experienced that day when God took him up the mountain to see the Promised Land. Moses ...

Joshua 24:1-15 When Moses was nearing the end of his life, he gathered the people of Israel, so he could prepare them to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the Promised Land. Even though Moses wouldn’t cross over with them he wanted them to know that God would be with them (Deut. 1:1-8 ). Now it was Moses’s successor, Joshua, who was nearing the end of his life. Like Moses he gathered the people of Israel to prepare them for a new future without his leadership. Again, the message is God is faithful and God will be with you as you move into that new future. He does this by retelling the story of Israel. He begins with Abraham and takes the people on a journey through time.  Joshua reminds the people how God led Abraham to Canaan from the land beyond the Euphrates, making a covenant with the promise of many descendants. We hear again the stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, as well as the sojourn in Egypt that leads to the call of Moses and Aaron, who led the ...