tea. worship. God.

Hi everyone,

So just to update you, Epsilon has started a Bible Study for the campus this semester.

The Bible Study started from just a need we felt to collectively learn more about God. simple.

We are now studying 1 john.

Last week in ch. 2 a verse stuck out to me...

1 john 2:2:

2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

In this verse john is telling us that Jesus came not only to atone for our sins, but for the WHOLE world's sins. This reminds me of a story in Matthew.

In Matthew 9:10-13

At Matthew's house Jesus was having dinner with tax collectors, his disciples, and the Bible says "sinners" came and ate with Him too. Pretty upstanding crowd? Well, that's exactly what the Pharisees thought too, sike!

The Bible goes on to say, when the Pharisees saw this, they asked the disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

When Jesus heard this He said the famous words, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

He didn't end there, He continued with...but go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Wow! my favorite part is when Jesus says 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'. How many times do we "sacrifice"? or can i say, How many times do we only give to that ministry, go to church, volunteer for the nursery, talk/give to that person asking for money outside wal-mart because we consider it a sacrifice of ourselves? Well in Matthew it says that he doesn't desire sacrifice, but mercy. How about mercy for the ministry that is trying to get started, what about if we desired to attend church, what about if we forgave the person who twists our arms to work in the nursery, what about if we gave of ourselves because our heart broke for the person asking for money?

Jesus goes on further to say, 'I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'

Shouldn't we do the same?