I loved the picture Kim painted for us last Sunday as she reflected on Jesus and Peter from John 13. If you were at church in person or watched online, you heard her describe the moment when Jesus was about to wash Peter’s feet. There are so many times when I wish we had a video to watch of that moment, but we’re left to our imaginations as we seek to put ourselves into the stories of the Bible. This is one of those times. 

The moment Kim shared from this story was when Peter loudly exclaimed, “No. You won’t wash my feet.” I wish I had a clear picture of the look on Jesus’ face at that moment. Kim helped me to realize that Jesus was looking at Peter with eyes of love, compassion, and maybe even with a gentle smile on His face. Do you ever picture Jesus looking at you with such love? 

Let me encourage you to pull your Bible or Bible App out and read the last supper story from John 13. As you do, picture Jesus and Peter in your mind as their eyes connected for those moments. Peter may have remembered all the times when he blurted out an inappropriate emotional reaction to what Jesus was doing. It may have caused him to feel shame or regret. I don’t think Jesus was recalling any of Peter’s failures or emotional blunders. I imagine Jesus was thinking of the Father’s words from Jeremiah 31 when God says to His people, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” I believe Jesus was contemplating all He loved about Peter with an understanding that He would soon go to the cross to erase all Peter’s shame and guilt. I believe Jesus was looking at Him with eyes of compassion.

That makes me want to ask you what you think Jesus thinks about you. Is it glare of disappointment or anger, or does Jesus look at you with the same eyes of love and compassion? Will you meditate on that scene and place yourself in Peter’s spot at the table? Sit and reflect on Jesus’ love for you in that moment. 

This Sunday, we get to observe Communion together. It’s a time to remember how much Jesus loves us. It’s a time to recall His time on the cross, where He hung there with all the pain and shame of this cruel form of death – and He did it because He loves us. When we can rest in His love, we can have hope in the middle of the moments of life when we feel that we’re not worthy of being loved. So please make sure to be at church on Sunday because Communion is a time when God reminds us of our identity in Him. We are His BELOVED. 

Here are some upcoming opportunities to SHARE LIFE, STRENGTHEN FAITH, SERVE OTHERS, and SPREAD HOPE to our family and community. 

As part of SERVE OUR COMMUNITY, we will host the Nevada County Foster Care Family Fair tomorrow, Saturday, May 14. We will be supporting several of our county agencies and organizations for a day of fun, encouragement, and resource sharing from 10:00am-2:00pm. This event would be an excellent opportunity to learn more about the foster care services in our community and how you can help support these families. It’s free and includes lunch! 

GROWTH PATH is Sunday, May 15. Growth Path is a fantastic time to find out more about our church and how you can fit in here. We all need a place where we can know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served, and celebrate and be celebrated. So, I hope you’ll go to our website and register to attend the class that fits you best. We are eager to talk about God’s call on our church and how you can belong and participate in a meaningful way as we practice the way of Jesus together.

The next DRIVE-THRU FOOD DRIVE collection day to support Interfaith Food Ministry is Friday, May 20, from 8:00-10:30am. Please bring your non-perishable foods to the church, and we’ll make sure all the food gets delivered to Interfaith. This is a huge help to the resource-challenged in our community. We will also be receiving specific items to help Hospitality House. Here’s how you can find out what they most need. Just bring items from this list with your food donations.

CELEBRATE BAPTISM on Sunday, May 22 in both gatherings. If you’ve never taken this meaningful step with Jesus by identifying with Him and His church through baptism, we want to encourage you to “go public” with your faith. You can find out more on Sunday, May 15 by attending our baptism class that meets at 9:00am. Please visit our website and indicate your interest or meet at the Coffee Bar for this one-time class.

RUN FOR THE COMMUNITY is Saturday, June 4. What an excellent opportunity for us to serve the local running Grand Prix. You can sign up to serve or participate in the 5k Run/Walk. Just go to our website or look for the SPREAD HOPE table on Sunday while you’re at church. All the proceeds from this event will be funneled back to our local Community Partners to encourage them in their mission to make Nevada County better.

THIS SUNDAY we begin a new series called ROOTED: Grow Deep, Build Up, Live Strong. This series is directly out of the New Testament book of Colossians. On Sunday, we will set up the series by giving the context and purpose for this beautiful letter written by the Apostle Paul. You might consider reading all four chapters before Sunday to prepare your heart for what God wants to say as we dig into this book. We will also have a moment to observe Communion together as part of our gathering.

Here are the links you’ll need to prepare for Sunday’s Service: 

• Message Notes and Study Guide
• Weekly Spotify Playlist
• Children's Ministry
• Student Ministry 

Joyfully living everyday life on mission in intimacy with Jesus and others,

New Paragraph