Outdoor Service Continues

There will be two canopy tents, each located on the east and west side of the parking lot close to the building. Chairs will be set up so that people can practice social distancing.
As always you can stay in your vehicle if you so desire.

Minnesota Nice… or Minnesota Ice?

Hello Friend,

Growing up, my mom instilled in me the value of being courteous to others. “Tom, (she would say) when you want something say, ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You!’ And when you meet someone, greet them with a smile and say ‘Hello!’”

As an adult I have endeavored to implement those polite gestures to everyone I come in contact with. Most times those to whom I have greeted reciprocated in the same way. However, one of the push-backs of being courteous to others has given me the label of being, “Minnesota nice.” According to Wikipedia – “Minnesota nice is a cultural stereotype applied to the behavior of people from Minnesota implying residents are unusually courteous, reserved, mild-mannered and passive-aggressive.”

Most recently, I have noticed an uptick in the lack of responses from people I have said “Hello” to. It’s almost as if our “Minnesota nice” has turned to “Minnesota ice.” But as I reflected on this recent lack of common courtesy in our culture, I realized that people are not saying “Hello” because they are cold, but rather because of the Coronavirus, individuals don’t want to be passing that disease on to others. According to the FDA’s website “The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to person, typically through respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, or talking.” I guess you could say that people by not talking to me were nicer than if they did.

In Romans 5, Paul speaks about a disease we all have caught, when he gives a great dissertation on spiritual death through Adam and eternal life through Jesus. In verse 19 he writes, 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (NIV)

Because we are descendants of Adam we have all inherited the disease called “sin.” We all are sinners. The consequences of our sin is guilt, shame, regret, death and an eternity apart from God. However there is a cure, Jesus. Jesus is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus took away our sins by dying on the cross for us. The death of Jesus was significant because only that death was the complete and final, once for all sacrifice for the sins of the world. “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

Friend, remember to thank the Lord for providing the cure for the disease called “sin.” And if you don’t know Jesus as the cure for your spiritual ailment, go to Him in prayer today. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin and take it away, and He will do so.

God bless,

Pastor Tom