September 4th, 2026 | Rev. Angie Long

Greetings, Friends!

Hopefully you've had a chance to go back and watch last Sunday's sermon if you could not be with us. We have begun a series on forgiveness. As I shared on Sunday, I believe forgiveness is a fundamental value of our faith, perhaps even its foundation. Through Christ, we are a forgiven people. Through Christ, we are redeemed and reconciled to God and to one another. And yet...

Forgiveness is hard. I find that for a forgiven people, we often struggle to accept forgiveness and just as often struggle to offer it.

What is it about the human condition that makes forgiveness so difficult? This series is meant to help us wrestle with that question and seek to hear what God longs for and calls us toward. I do not expect that after four weeks we will suddenly become "good at forgiveness." Yet I do believe that when we open ourselves to God's grace, guidance, and accountability, we can be transformed. The Holy Spirit still heals, reshapes, and changes us.

We began this journey with Jacob wrestling with God at the Jabbok, inviting us to stand in that same place and wrestle honestly with ourselves and with God about who we truly are. It may be that this is where forgiveness begins, in facing ourselves, receiving God's grace, and allowing God to reveal what needs to be healed within us.

My prayer is that you will hear the love and grace woven throughout these Scriptures. I pray they will offer thought-provoking questions, deeper insight into who we are, and renewed hope in God's presence among us. Most of all, I pray they will remind you that God is never finished with us and continues to work in our lives in ways both seen and unseen.

I hope you will join us this week as we continue this journey toward forgiveness.

Blessings and love,

Pastor Angie