Thoughts
If the Apostle Paul had a fan club I would be a member. I think many know, for me, next to Jesus, Paul is my favorite New Testament person. His life gives powerful testimony to the transforming grace of God.
 
In his early years Paul (Saul) was on a mission to destroy the early church. To say he lived that mission with zeal probably doesn’t do justice. “Meanwhile Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers.” (Acts 9:1) That is pretty intense to put it mildly. Nothing put the powerful grace of God could change such a heart. Paul did an about face as he answered the call of Jesus that day on the Damascus Road. 
 
Like many who follow Jesus, Paul was unsure of what was happening and he was certainly unsure how he would be received. After all, why would the people he once pursued believe him, yet alone trust him? Still, he said yes, and he never looked back. Paul spent the rest of his life traveling far and near declaring the Good News of Jesus Christ. The voice that once uttered threats now offered life and grace to all who would respond. 
 
I give thanks for the life of Paul and his example to me and to everyone. Encounters with Christ are life changing. Not everyone responds positively but, like Paul, those who do never look back. They look forward, living into the transforming power of grace. That grace leads, sustains and empowers the ordinary to do extraordinary things. 
 
In all honesty I believe Paul wouldn’t care much about a fan club but he would care that his life and his words helped turn people from darkness to light. I think he would also care that we build upon the foundation he laid and that we continue on in the work he began. Are we willing to do as Paul did? Are we willing to look forward and live into the transforming power of grace and are we willing to carry on the work and mission of Paul?

Week 2 of the 12 week series Jesus of Nazareth; from Baptism to Transfiguration
Wednesday February 8 @ 5:30 pm in the Sanctuary
We will be reading “Jesus of Nazareth” by benedict XVI.  This bold, momentous work seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent “popular” depictions and to restore Jesus’ true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, Joseph Ratzinger (the recently deceased Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and invites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.
In Jesus of Nazareth: The great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought?
The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who formerly unveiled his countenance gradually first to Abraham, then to Moses and the Prophets, and then in the Wisdom Literature—the God who revealed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth.
He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love.”

Baptism to Transfiguration (by J Ratzinger; see Connie or Jonathan to get a book or you can get a digital or audio copy from Amazon)

March 30 at 5:30 in the Upper Room (3rd floor conference room)

Please let us know if there is anything in the church or on the grounds that needs immediate attention; take a photo with your phone and email (or text) it along with the details to janitor@centenary-umc.net so we can keep our church looking clean and beautiful.