Virtual Church 2021-01-10 Whom I love; with you, I am well pleased

• Repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Preparation.
• Repentance and Forgiveness help to prepare us for the next level of our Spiritual evolution.
• Former School admin who was 5 months behind on her rent to our church.

“If you do not count the rent and back taxes you can see my school is doing very well financially!”

Rationalization and Justification

• Sins! Missing the Mark!
• The bottom line all of us miss the mark In our life and repentance is not really that easy.
• First we have to admit there was a problem
• Perhaps that is why without a hint of irony (but unmistakable hyperbole) Mark reports that “the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem” came to receive John’s baptism and to confess their sins (1:5). The word was out.

Forgiveness of sins is already available, and so there is no need to think of what is coming as bad news (judgment for all) or even mixed news

• Jesus came to John to be baptized.

What was Jesus repenting from? Oh he was perfect it was just symbolic. Really? Would that have been honest?

Three Temptations gives us a window. Jesus had to keep his ego in check before starting his ministry.

Religion typically defines sin in some morality way. True, sometimes our unhealthy decisions and destructive have a moral component to them.

• However, if we consider Jesus, like all of us was in need of repentance his issues were surrounded by ego and the abuse of his power and gifts.
• This I know to be true about human behavior.

When unhealthy and destructive behavior has no consequences then there is no real reason to change to take place.

When those unhealthy and destructive behaviors are enabled by the individuals family or community then changing that behavior become incredibly hard!

• As an individual/Drunk Driving
• Repentance is changing his life—he then learns to forgive himself.
• I made a mistake I am NOT a Mistake.
• As a collective
• However, when we collectively and individually decide to repent, do an about face then we experience forgiveness for missing the mark, sinning so badly.
• One profound reality I see in this passage is God’s response to our repentance.
• God’s response to our taking responsibility.
• God’s response for putting our ego in check.
• God’s response for choosing to do what ever it takes to change our unhealthy and destructive behavior.
• 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
• God is Well Pleased! God’s response is the same for us!

“You are my Son, you are my daughter whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

That is indeed good news!

Thus ends the lesson