I am excited to journey with you over the next five weeks through the five books of the Torah. Torah means "guidance, instruction or teaching" and is many times defined as "law." As I will be talking about the book of Genesis this upcoming Sunday, I wanted to provide a focused scripture reading schedule for you as we prepare for our time together on Sunday. As you read, write down a question or two that comes to mind from your reading, and I will plan to include a question and answer time during the sermon. Also, to help you in your time of reading, three great questions to ask are these:

I came to work today thinking about the election, as everyone has to some degree or another, and not as concerned about who our president is as much as I am concerned about the body of Christ's response to who our president is, and what our response in our country and our world should be as we move forward. As Christians, our identity and call is the same regardless if a president and their policies and decisions makes it easier or more difficult to live it out.

I didn't see the news about the tragedy in Orlando until yesterday after church. Our hearts are broken over this tragedy, and in times like this it is difficult to even know what to do. We feel utterly helpless, sad, angry, devastated, and many other emotions. My heart is heavy for the moms and dads who lost their children yesterday. My heart hurts for the brothers and sisters who lost a sibling. Friends lost dear friends.

As you prepare for worship this weekend, I wanted to remind you what the season of Lent is about. Dennis Bratcher on his website says, “Lent is marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter."

Here is a reflection that I was going to share with you all tonight! It is from crivoice.org.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It is a somber day of reflection on what needs to change in our lives if we are to be fully Christians. It was not always the way we know it today. Ashes marked on the forehead of worshippers were not given to everyone, but only to the public penitents who were brought before the church. Much like Hester Prynne bearing her scarlet letter, these open and notorious sinners were marked publicly with the sign of their disgrace.

So what happens when we are all snowed in and can’t make it to a church on a Sunday morning? What we might easily think is that we have to miss worshipping God today, but to think that would be to miss out on the reality that our worship of God is not limited to a 60-90 minute time window on a Sunday morning.

It's hard to believe that the new school year is upon us. And I certainly can't believe that my son is starting Kindergarten next week. Newness and the change that newness brings is refreshing and also at times a little nerve wracking. My son got a book in the mail about a month ago about a boy going to his first day of Kindergarten, and the unfamiliarity and the newness has the little boy excited and nervous all at the same time. The boy arrives to school and is afraid to go in, but with some prompting of the teacher and the mom, the boy eases into the classroom to check it out. Although new and unfamiliar, there are some things that are familiar to him. He sees letters, and he sees numbers, and then he sees other children doing activities that he has done before, just in a different environment. With a little time, he becomes comfortable and even likes his new environment and wants to stay at school.

My heart is feeling many things today. My heart is glad over the great things that happened this past weekend at the Ladies Retreat. God certainly showed up in amazing ways, and I am thankful for all that He did in so many of our women. My heart is thankful for the women who gave leadership, time and effort into making this a great event.

My heart is also heavy and sad. It is heavy for the suffering that is taking place in Nepal due to the earthquake. I invite you to be in prayer with me for those who lost loved ones and for those who are still uncertain of the status of their loved ones.

I am excited about our new series "Jesus is ___________." If you missed this past Sunday, we began this sermon series by affirming that Jesus is the Savior of the world. The name of Jesus means "God saves" and we as Christians affirm and believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, not just a savior among many saviors.

This past Sunday, we started a 7 week sermon series on the book of Revelation. I highlighted a few things to keep in mind as we read and interpret Revelation.