FREEDOM! Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior who frees us from bondage to sin and death! This July we have all kinds of fun events occurring, fireworks, cookouts, potlucks, and other family and friend gatherings to celebrate and appreciate our freedom. Our Church calendar this month culminates with a 5^th Sunday potluck and Church meeting where we will be discussing what is going on in our local Church, our Conference and our Denomination. I hope you all can come and bring some delicious food (hint: CHEESECAKE!). One point of historical interest in the Methodist Church is we are a product of the American Revolution, we began as a movement within the Church of England and when we kicked the redcoats out, we also kicked out the clergy because they were officially agents of the crown. That left groups of Methodists without pastoral leadership, so John Wesley began to send newly appointed clergy and appointing lay persons as clergy to form the new Methodist Church in America. It is amazing how God continues to move us into new relationships and organizational structures to keep the Word and the Love flowing into the world! So we celebrate our independence, but what does freedom really mean? Does freedom mean doing whatever you want, whenever you, however you want? If so, what can possibly keep in check the darker aspect of our human nature? This question of freedom is something that goes much further back than 1776; in fact it is addressed by Paul in his letter to the Galatians 5:1- “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” This is intriguing; Christ set us free from sin for the purpose of standing firm in faith, representing the One who set us free. But still what are we to do with this freedom? Well Paul does not leave us hanging- “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Then entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”(Galatians 5:13) So we have been freed from our sin, so that we can unselfishly love others, as God loves us. Celebrate your freedom! Praise God!

May you be blessed and have a wonderful July!

Pastor Donnie