The Lamb of God: Ancient Symbol, Present Reality The phrase “Lamb of God” is woven deeply into the story of Scripture, stretching from the earliest sacrifices to the coming of Jesus. In John 1, John the Baptist sees Jesus and proclaims, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John's words would have stirred the hearts of those listening, calling to mind the Passover lamb whose blood marked the homes of God’s people and the Temple sacrifices offered for forgiveness.

Responding to God’s Call The story of the Magi in Matthew 2 invites us to reflect on what it looks like to notice and respond to God’s unique call in our own lives. These wise travelers from distant lands didn’t receive a direct word from Scripture or a visit from an angelic choir. Instead, God met them through a sign in the heavens—a star. They were paying attention, noticed that something in their world had shifted, and chose to follow, stepping out in faith on a journey into the unknown.

The Mystery and Wonder of the Incarnation At the heart of Christmas is a beautiful mystery: God chose to come and live among us, taking on our human flesh. The Incarnation is not just a fragile idea, but one of the greatest acts of love and power God has ever carried out. Instead of remaining distant or removed, our Creator drew near, becoming vulnerable like us, while still remaining fully divine.

Shall We Shell? My wife Barb is an avid sheller and gifted shell finder. I'm her assistant. Of course, Sanibel is notorious for its shells, but then, we are not in the shell hot zone of Sanibel. We stay at a place called ''Tween Waters. It's between Sanibel and Captiva Islands. That's' not to say the shelling there isn't good. It is...just not as good. Not to grumble, but we have oodles of glass containers, even a rather large one shaped like a fish, all around our home filled with seashells. We even have framed shells on our walls, along with prints of shells framed on the walls. We are beach people. Today, the last day of our five-day vacation together, we walked and talked about how shells remind us of just how great our Creator is.

A Friday Message from Sara Buffington, Worship Leader 5-9-2014

From Kevin Higgins, International Director of Global Teams

Dear Friends,

Last week, the man born blind grew in his understanding of Jesus, and marked a path from assessing Jesus as a man to finally worshipping him as Messiah. Father Carl asked us to consider where we are on this path, and to consider why we might be stuck anywhere short of worship. I hope you have taken some time to do that for yourself and have prayed that those you love will be freed to move closer to Jesus as well.

Scriptures for today. Psalm 72 · Leviticus 19.1-18 · 1 Thessalonians 5.12-28 · Psalm 119.73-96 · Matthew 6.19-24

Scriptures for today. Psalm 61, 62 · Leviticus 16.20-34 · 1 Thessalonians 5.1-11 · Psalm 68.1-20 · Matthew 6.7-15