North Korea may be the most oppressive place on Earth for Christians. It’s a totalitarian communist state, where believers are forced to hide their faith entirely – even at times from their own spouses, parents, and children. Due to tyrannical and ever-present government surveillance, gathering for Christian worship or fellowship is next to impossible.

What’s worse, gross idolatry is mandated by lethal force. Worship of the ruling Kim family is required of every citizen of North Korea. Those who don’t comply are arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or killed. Entire Christian families are banished to hard labor camps, where unknown numbers die each year from beatings, overexertion, and starvation. Those who attempt to flee to South Korea through China risk life imprisonment or execution.

Not only is North Korea cloaked in spiritual darkness, but the nation announced on Sunday that it is prepared to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier in order to demonstrate its military might. From Pyongyang, the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un seems ready to wage war. Jong-un will ensure his regime’s survival at all costs. One emotional, impulsive outburst on the part of this very unstable man could result in hundreds of thousands – or even millions – of casualties.

Rehearsals for an impending disaster have long been underway. Every two months, always in the early afternoon, the sirens begin wailing in Seoul. Cars and buses screech to a halt, civil defense officials take up their positions at busy intersections, and volunteers wearing yellow armbands guide pedestrians into the nearest shelter. There are literally hundreds of shelters in the South Korean capital.

As two Japanese navy ships joined a U.S. carrier group for exercises in the western Pacific, President Donald Trump ordered the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group to sail to waters off the Korean peninsula in response to rising tension over the North’s nuclear and missile tests – as well as its threats to attack the United States and our Asian allies. The stakes are now high, and this is a somber moment in world history.

As of this blog posting, North Korea remains defiant: “Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike,” threatened Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party. Friends, where there is no God, there is no peace.

One may question North Korea’s military capabilities when it comes to effectiveness on the ground, ballistic missiles, or even nuclear capabilities, but most experts agree that the artillery units being tested this week present a “clear and present danger” to many parts of the world, including American allies. It’s a wake-up call for everyone who’s breathing.

Now is the time to pray for clear-headedness to prevail. Now is the time to pray for those in authority over us to govern, lead, and respond wisely. Now is the time to pray for spiritual revival in our own land – that we may once again export to the ends of the earth the greatest news the world has ever known!

Christianity once flourished in the north as well as in the south of the Korean peninsula. And, despite extraordinary persecution under the Kim dynasty, Christianity has survived in North Korea – even under the most brutal of circumstances. Let’s face it: Christianity’s continued existence challenges the current Kim’s rule. That’s one of the reasons why his behavior is so unpredictable, and one of the reasons why he hates America. You see, when it comes to pride, the gospel is also a clear and present danger.

Pastor Charles

Rashad Jennings was released by the New York Giants on February 13. That makes him an NFL free agent running back. You may have seen him on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. What you might not know is that Jennings displayed his Christian faith on the national stage. It happened on April 10, when Jennings and his dance partner Emma Slater danced to Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally.” The pair earned a rare score of 39 out of 40 from the four-judge panel.

Jennings was raised in a family that was far from perfect. Mostly due to serious alcohol abuse on the part of his father, Jennings’ childhood was filled with anguish – as he longed for the acceptance of his dad. Growing up, Jennings describes himself as an “overweight, chubby, asthmatic kid with these big red rim glasses.” His father provided financially, but Jennings wanted a close relationship with his dad – a relationship which seemed always to evade him. For many years, the emotional connection between father and son was strained at best. Maybe you can relate.

But as the performance ended that Monday night, Jennings left the dance floor and did the unexpected. He rushed into the crowd to hug his wheelchair-bound, double-amputee father. The two openly wept as they embraced. As the people jumped to their feet, it was like a real-life scene from Christ’s Parable of the Prodigal Son.

No one reading this blog posting can escape the need to forgive and to be forgiven, including the writer. Like you, I’m tempted to manufacture a million good reasons why I don’t need to extend forgiveness when I’ve been wronged. But God’s Word teaches us, and in fact requires us, to forgive: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31–32). As you know, this is seldom easy.

As Rashad Jennings danced to “Unconditionally,” he was attempting to make an important point: “All the things that I’ve been able to achieve have been because of … unconditional love that we all have for one another in our family, but especially between me and my dad.” It was a powerful moment.

Truth is, grace is conditional. Forgiving love is possible only because an important condition has been met. Because of His great love for us, Christ has satisfied the righteous requirements of God’s Law (Romans 5:19; 7:6). Christ has fully accomplished this for us, and His righteousness has been credited to us. Our sins are no longer held against us. We’ve been released from sin’s penalty and power. And one day we’ll be fully released even from sin’s presence. We are free!

So now, in Christ, we are free to love as we have been loved. Thank you, Rashad, for reminding us.

It takes a real giant to forgive. Jesus showed us on the cross (Luke 23:34): “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Pastor Charles

Hopefully you will allow me just one more blog posting on the subject of This Is Us. Thank you for bearing with me as I’ve attempted to draw some important parallels between the popular television series and typical church life. In short, loving each other – and sticking with each other through thick and thin – will sometimes test every fiber of the fabric of who we are. But we can do it: we are Christ’s body.

If you have a Bible handy, take a look at First Corinthians 12:21-27. “Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.” This body illustration is powerful stuff. What is the Apostle Paul driving at? Simply this: we need each other! We desperately need each other! That’s why the eye can’t tell the hand to get lost. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” That’s how the church is designed to function in real life.

You may be wondering why I picked a sad scene from the series for this last posting. My reasoning is simple: we have to be “in it” for the suffering too. Today our U.S. military dropped America’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. It’s the first time that this type of weapon has been used in battle, according to officials. It was A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), which is nicknamed the “mother of all bombs.” Other than that it’s been an ordinary day.

As our Air Force deploys a 21,600-pound bomb to target an ISIS cave and tunnel complex, we may be sailing into some choppy waters. And I haven’t even mentioned North Korea. But here’s the deal friends: the Lord reigns! He is so not surprised by any of this. As a matter of fact, “He’s got the whole word in His hands.”

Afghanistan is a troubled part of the world, and its people are desperately in need of the gospel of Jesus. Since the last king of Afghanistan was overthrown in a coup in 1973, there have been decades of fighting, killing, bombing, invasive wars, and absolutely devastating civil wars. But – make no mistake about the events of today – the seas may get rough here too. The storm clouds may gather. The winds may howl.

In the end, the story of God’s world will not be written by the media. Neither does Afghanistan, in the ultimate sense of reality, belong to the Taliban. Nor to al Qaeda. Afghanistan does not belong to warlords or tribal elders. And America does not belong to politicians or pundits. The story of Afghanistan, just like the story of America, is being penned by God – and the glorious end of the story has already been written.

The same is true regarding our story as the church. No matter how turbulent things may appear: globally, locally, or personally. We have each other, and Christ has us. And we are resurrection people, every day! God never intended for any of us to walk the road of life alone. And we don’t.

We are His, and this is us.

Pastor Charles

I’ve been focusing on the This Is Us television series featuring Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Kevin, and Randall – and the drama of their relationships across multiple generations. I have likened the show’s fictional family to “us” as a church family. Sometimes we can be a bit emotional and “multilayered” in our own drama, but we’re still committed to each other as a family of believers – no matter what. We’re a real family. It’s a human family, but it’s also Christ’s family. Our worth is in Him. So is our perseverance.

One of the strengths of This Is Us is the writers’ ability to keep the viewers guessing. One episode feeds into the next, and we’re left waiting for “the rest of the story.” We’ll even put up with a little saccharine as long as there’s enough intrigue. Sounds like church life to me! But, in all earnestness, we owe it to each other to hang in there when the drama of congregational life does erupt. None of us is above being the source of the drama, and none of us is immune from being swept up in the drama. How can I say it nicely? Sometimes we need a Savior to save us from us.

So here we are, charged with bearing one another’s burdens. That’s where I left you in my last blog posting, and it leads me to say something which may seem obvious to you, but I must say it: we can only lighten another person’s burden in the power of the Holy Spirit! I would not be shepherding well if I admonished you to take care of each other, but then left you with the false impression that you could do that in your own strength. Simply stated, you can’t. Neither can I. We need a power source that isn’t us. And that’s what separates “us” from any TV drama.

In the power of the Holy Spirit, you and I become paracletes on behalf of each other. A paraclete is an advocate, a counselor, and an ally – one who will represent you well when you can’t represent yourself. After Jesus announced to His disciples that He would be leaving them soon (John 14:16-17), He then gave them a word of tremendous encouragement: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” With and in.

The Greek word translated “Helper,” “Comforter,” or “Counselor” is parakletos. This form of the word properly means “one called to the side of another.” Like a good attorney who sits next to the one whom that attorney represents. The very presence of the lawyer indicates the strongest of support. The most capable representation. The very best case that can be made. In John this Counselor, or Paraclete, is God the Holy Spirit – the third Person of the Trinity who has been “called to our side.”

On any given day, we may be very hard to love. Others in our church family may be difficult to love. But, as we learn to love and take care of each other, we rely upon a “power from on high” (Luke 24:49): the ultimate Paraclete – who always desires the best for us, and who always represents us in the best possible light. He is that light. The Holy Spirit represents us in the light of what Christ has done for us on the cross. That, my friends, is just plain old gospel good news.

There’s no room for gossip in the church of Jesus Christ because everybody’s got everybody’s back. So go ahead and love the dickens out of your church family! I will too. I’ll share more thoughts on this subject in my next blog posting. Please stay tuned.

This is us.

Pastor Charles

I’ve been focusing on the This Is Us TV series featuring Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Kevin, and Randall – and the drama of their extended family across multiple generations. I have likened the fictional scenario to “us” as a church family: highly fallible, yet committed to each other – through the years – no matter what.

In my last blog posting, I unpacked the responsibilities which are ours when we have to confront another member of the family. That’s real life. Grace and truth are required of us (Ephesians 4:15) – and that’s not always such an easy task. But we’re learning to do it right because we’re learning to love.

All of this assumes that we’re pursuing healthy relationships with each other. Are we? The Millennials among us speak of wanting to “do life together.” That is in fact a very Biblical way to view the body of Christ (First Corinthians 12:26). We’re in it together! But we will never be able to “do life together” unless God enables us to create the space where trust can be developed. Real trust. We have to be around each other long enough to know each other. Once we know each other, we can really invest in each other. At the very least, we will have to sacrifice some of our time (and who has much of that to spare?) in order to make it happen.

Are you willing to give some of your time to this body? Are you willing to pour yourself out in meaningful investment of you in relationships which will last for eternity? Are you willing to devote precious time to really know – and to be known by – your brothers and sisters in this place? If you’re struggling with answering any of those questions in the affirmative, I’ll remind you of something penned by Oswald Chambers: “There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves.”

The gospel message is never about what I want or what I can accomplish on my own. Foolishness! The good news of Jesus is all about what He has done for me. Accomplished. Finished. Done. I now owe Christ my all. If He calls me to invest in others, and He does, then I must choose to be identified with Christ in this way. Will it cost me some time? Absolutely.

Could it be that James Taylor is an accomplished theologian? Perhaps the old guy’s onto something …

You can play the game and you can act out the part
Though you know it wasn’t written for you
But tell me, how can you stand there with your broken heart
Ashamed of playing the fool …

Oh, father and mother, sister and brother
If it feels nice, don’t think twice
Just shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things are gonna work out fine if you only will …
You can run but you cannot hide
This is widely known
And what you plan to do with your foolish pride
When you’re all by yourself alone?

For some reason I feel like goin’ to Carolina in my mind. But I digress.

Private life, overrated. Family life, priceless. Greater love has no one than this (John 15:13) …

We need you. The you God made and gave to us. I’ll share more thoughts on this subject in my next blog posting. Please stay tuned.

This is us.

Pastor Charles

If you missed my last writing, I centered on the This Is Us national craze: the TV series which follows Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Kevin, and Randall – and the drama of their extended family across multiple generations. I likened it to us as a church family: highly fallible, yet committed to each other no matter what.

I focused on Galatians 6:2, where Paul instructs us: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” And I left you thinking about all of our divinely-appointed situations and circumstances – all of the nuances of our own lives through which Christ is teaching us how to love. How to really love.

I’ve been thinking about love, and I want to give you something to ponder as well: To truly bear the burden of another person is directly contrary to every prideful “religious” impulse in us. Think about it. To really care about someone else – to the point of actually doing something to help their predicament – is the exact opposite of what Jesus observed on the part of the Pharisees. Those Pharisees were the religious leaders, for sure, but they were lost as a goose. Consider, for example, the statement of Jesus in Matthew 23:4, where our Lord described the Pharisees like this: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.”

Ouch!

What are we to learn? For starters, simply this: sometimes we can be blinded by our own zeal. Perhaps you’ve heard the adage: “People don’t care how much you know ‘til they know how much you care.” So true. Sometimes those around us need more than our verbalized theology, but the need may be for something as simple as a listening ear, a word of appreciation, or an offer to take their kid to the ballpark. What’s one more in the van, anyway? My point is that the gospel of Christ can sometimes be lived out by us in ways that require very little of us. But we must be living it out! The good news of Jesus was never meant to be words alone (James 2:17).

We must also make certain that we’re not emitting false impressions of our own “goodness” or our own “spiritual success.” You’ve heard it like this: “Never believe your own press.” Sometimes we try so hard to look our very best that we become unapproachable in the eyes of others. Let’s avoid that kind of smug superiority at all costs. It only weighs people down, and it never lifts them up.

If all we’re doing for others is constantly telling them how they “should” live as a “good Christian,” then we’re doing more harm than good. We’re no better than the Pharisees. Our hope is not in who we “should” be, but our hope is in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His yoke is easy because He has already carried the heaviest burden for us. The Pharisees so majored on life’s “should’s” that they lost sight of the bigger picture of grace.

And, if we must on occasion point out the wrongs of another, we better get our own house in order first (Matthew 7:3-5)! After all, the only right reason for pointing out another’s imperfection – Jesus made it quite clear – is so that we can help our brother or sister rise above it. I’d call that love.

I’ll share more thoughts on this subject in my next blog posting. Please stay tuned.

This is us.

Pastor Charles

I don’t know if you caught the bug of the This Is Us craze at some point during its first season. The television series follows adult siblings Kate, Kevin, and Randall as their lives intertwine. Kate and Kevin were originally part of a triplet pregnancy. Their biological brother was stillborn. Their parents, Jack and Rebecca Pearson – determined to bring home three babies – choose to adopt another baby boy. Randall is an African American child who came into the world on the same day as Kate and Kevin, having been brought to the same hospital after his biological father abandoned him at a fire station. The series takes its viewers to L.A., New York, and New Jersey, with flashbacks to Pittsburgh and occasionally Memphis. But – wherever the action is – the drama surrounds family.

In my opinion, the widespread appeal of This Is Us stems from its ability to connect generations. For example, in one of the fall episodes, the Pearsons are serving up Thanksgiving dinner. Randall particularly loves Thanksgiving, as evidenced by his getting up at 6:30 to make it happen, with Paul Simon’s Graceland playing in the background. Traditions abound, including cheese dogs. Cheese dogs, why? No one knows until a flashback to the ‘80s, when Jack had to fight to keep his family happy after a mishap on the road en route to spend the holiday with extended family. Tire popped … car through fence … we’re not gonna make it to Grandma’s. The family walks exactly 3.4 miles down the road to the nearest gas station. Long story short: a long walk, a cruddy motel, and cheese dogs for Thanksgiving. Happiest. Thanksgiving. Ever.

It’s those traditions which keep the family memories alive: “There’s no one else I’d rather be too hot or too cold with.” That’s Thanksgiving. And connecting the generations explains the life of the family today.

If you’re in Christ, you have a family. This is us. We’re fallen, frail, and fallible, but we’re family. Sometimes we stumble. Sometimes we wear out. And sometimes our hearts break to the point of utter grief. We understand that we’re to be consistently heavenly-minded as we embrace a life of faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:2), but every one of us knows what it means to falter along the way.

This is why the church is invaluable! Sometimes our situations and circumstances get very heavy. And, when one of us buckles under the weight of life, we are not alone. Other believers are right there to help steady the load. The family of God becomes just that: a family. Our culture, and even our flesh, scream: “Take care of yourself. It’s all about you!” But God sees our lives very differently. Because He loves us, He is ridding us of our natural self-absorption.

Galatians 6:2 is, in many ways, the centerpiece of the Apostle Paul’s instructions to the Galatian churches. In this great epistle, Paul has defended the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And he has combatted a series of popular doctrinal onslaughts against the gospel – including the notion that believers are under the Law. In terms of establishing the proper context for understanding what Paul means in this verse, an earlier verse (5:14) is highly instructive for us: “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” So we know that Paul is now explaining how that is to be done in real life – how we are to live out the word of Christ. How we are to love.

Galatians 6:1 is about how I am to humbly and gently seek to restore a brother or sister who has erred, but Galatians 6:2 is even broader in its application. It’s about my compassion and self-sacrifice when I see a brother or sister who is weighed down by a trial of any kind. I’m to be there for him. I’m to be there for her. In that moment, or even in that long season, I become the love of Christ for a member of my family – a member of Christ’s family.

I don’t know if you’ve thought about it before, but – unlike the Law of Moses – the law of Christ is nowhere written down. The exact details escape us, as this is an internal law – not an external one (Jeremiah 31:33; Second Corinthians 3:3). I want to encourage you to find this freedom to love liberating and exhilarating! God knows exactly where you are. He knows exactly who you live with, and who you work with. He knows all of the encounters that will be on your agenda today and tomorrow. And, in each of those divinely-appointed situations and circumstances, CHRIST is going to teach you how to love.

And that’s exactly who we need you to be.

I’ll share more thoughts on this subject in my next blog posting. Please stay tuned.

This is us.

Pastor Charles

Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and protests abounded across the globe. Some were visual statements about basic rights for women, some were expressions of gender solidarity, and some were just downright angry. It’s great to celebrate women. What is not great, however, is to protest in such a way that we dishonor Christ. I was saddened as I read about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to spend $650 million dollars on “reproductive health rights,” as I know from talking with many women over many years that such “freedoms” do not in the end bring joy, relief, or prosperity on any level.

That being said, we who are Protestant were born out of protest. The very idea that each one of has access to God through the mediatorial work of Christ – and that access independent from any intervening human priest (Hebrews 7:26 – 8:2) – was a scandalous concept in the face of a powerful, wealthy, and doctrinally askew church. People gave their lives for the truth of salvation “by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.”

Theism is intrinsically connected to human rights. We see this in our nation’s founding documents: “… all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights …” Thomas Jefferson chose to use words which appeal to an awareness of a Creator God. And we find even deeper roots of “human rights” in the Hebrew Scriptures, in Christianity proper, and in the gospel of Jesus.

So, in our world where everyone wants a voice, as you decide personally what to protest – and perhaps what not to protest – I’d like to humbly offer a few suggestions for followers of Christ.

1. We must make sure that we’re speaking up for what is right, and not just for that with which we’ve grown comfortable.

It’s really hard at times for us to differentiate between our political leanings and our Biblical moorings. I hate to burst your bubble, but they don’t always align with perfect precision. Likewise, sometimes we misinterpret the “tried and true” as the automatic “right and best.” We have a plumb line, but it isn’t our experience. It’s God’s Word (Second Timothy 3:16-17). As a matter of fact, the Protestant Reformation was all about restoring the Bible to its proper place in our lives – that all of our experiences might be subjected to its final authority.

2. We must remember that we need each other.

In history, and in American history particularly, not every Christian believer landed on the exact same issues at the exact same time. Sometimes, as in the case of slavery, the Lord awakened a few people first. Others were much slower to be convinced that slavery was wrong, even though they also were committed to the Scriptures. This ought to be a lesson for us. We need humility. We need patience. We need to remain open-minded, in the best sense of the term (Proverbs 18:13; John 8:31-32). Perhaps we’ve been wrong on a particular point. We need to make sure that we’re not screaming so loudly in “protest” that we can’t hear the still, small voice of God.

3. It is better to speak up for the well-being of someone who has no voice than to demand our own way.

“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute …” (Proverbs 31:8-9). Those are our marching orders. But, here’s the reality: as a movement for sweeping cultural and social change, Christianity rarely thrives in the halls of uncontested power. We do far better when we feel weakened and marginalized – when we’re desperately dependent on our Savior for His strength and His persevering grace (First Corinthians 13:4-7; Second Corinthians 12:10).

That doesn’t answer every particular question, and it doesn’t fully settle the issue of whether or not you should support Disney when they make a poor choice in the world of entertainment, but it does give you a little food for thought.

You are loved!

Pastor Charles

O.K., I know we’re not a big city. But I’ve been reading about the Little Caesars Arena and “The District Detroit.” It’s a 50-block span of sports, entertainment, dining, business, and public parks. If you’re a hockey fan, you probably know that – upon completion – this will be the new home of the Red Wings. It’s a $1.2 billion development. Some have already dubbed it the “Pizzarena.”

According to Amy Eckert, the goal of the whole project is to create an “athletics nirvana.” Hmmm. Paducah. Hmmm.

I know that we don’t have the Tigers or the Lions around here, except for an occasional performance at Market House. But, Paducah’s got spunk! We also love eating out and strolling our own riverfront. We’re also very proud of our downtown, and we’re really enjoying our own Midtown renaissance. Good things are happening.

But here’s what struck me in my reading: Paducah loves sports! Despite our limitations of size, can we think outside the box? Ponder with me, downtown dreamers. Is there any way that we can bring sports into the downtown vision here? That would allow us to dramatically expand the horizons of our own city center. And, if we could get really creative about some mixed-use spaces like Detroit is doing, the sky could be the limit! I’m imagining creative tentacles into LowerTown. Picture this: a building that becomes an art gallery by day, and a large space for community theater rehearsals at night, and a “curb appeal” locale for an FBC “LovePaducah” event on Sunday. Imagine more hotel space, and a decisively “destination” feel, albeit with our own version of small-town Southern charm.

Lots of walkable area for sports fans, singles, families, athletes, and even those who would otherwise be couch potatoes. A vibrant setting for Paducah to connect at its core. And how cool would it be to add to our community all of the new jobs – and all of the people those jobs would represent – in order to make even some of this begin to happen?

For now, I have a sermon to finish. So I’ll leave the downtown dreamin’ behind for a while and get back to work. Maybe our friends Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau will dream with us.

But I’ll leave you with this compelling thought from the Lord: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you … and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare (Jeremiah 29:7).”

God bless Paducah. #LandThatILove

Pastor Charles

It was a treat to participate in END IT last night at First Baptist Paducah. Those who led us in worship, as well as those who called us to action, are very passionate about the cause: “Shine a Light on Slavery.” If there were ever an issue where Christ’s gospel is relevant and real, this is it. What we are seeing in the END IT movement is a grassroots viral effort to stop human trafficking in its tracks. This is an impassioned social movement to which – in my opinion – the church must speak.

In advance of yesterday’s events across the globe, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, convened a hearing to examine progress in U.S. global efforts to end slavery and human trafficking – including recent authorization of legislation for the End Modern Slavery Initiative. The February 15 hearing featured powerful testimony from actor Ashton Kutcher, co-founder of Thorn, and Elisa Massimino, president and CEO of Human Rights First, both sporting the END IT red “X” pin. That red “X” means that “you’re telling the world that slavery still exists and you won’t stand for it.” By using our influence and our hand, we carry the message of freedom on behalf of millions upon millions of victims.

It was so beautiful at our evening gathering to hear Samantha’s testimony. It takes a brave young woman to tell the story of her own depravity, just so she can testify of God’s redeeming grace! May we, like our new friend whom God brought from Los Angeles to Paducah, likewise humble ourselves and speak boldly of His power to deliver and set captives free. Our God is a rescuer, and He is on the hunt for those who are broken, marginalized, abused, and seemingly hopeless.

We who know Christ know freedom – because we’ve been set free – “free indeed” in the language of Jesus (John 8:36)! All Americans should value freedom, as our nation was founded upon the principle of “liberty and justice for all.” Our First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition our government for redress of grievances. Such freedoms form the very underpinning of our civic culture, and political freedom is a priceless blessing, but spiritual freedom is infinitely better.

We who are in Christ owe our spiritual freedom to none other than God, who by the death of His own Son, paid for it in full upon the Cross. Christ is the only Way for any of us to know true freedom (John 8:31-32). Christ’s sacrifice for us was not measured by money or political advance, but He gave and accomplished everything for us because of His great love for us.

Now you and I can enjoy the privilege of loving, as we have been so marvelously and lavishly loved. Love means noticing, caring, embracing, helping, and serving – and sometimes love requires even more. It is an action verb. I need those who are younger than I – and sometimes, I must admit, more energized – to remind me never to allow my love language to be all talk and no action.

As a matter of fact, I look forward to all of the ways in which the young people of our church and community will help us see the needs which are all around us. These are real needs. Human needs. Needs of eternal significance. May we respond like Jesus would have us practically love our neighbor in distress (Luke 10:25-37). Such mercy reflects Christ’s own heart, and so you and I must depend desperately upon His Spirit to make freedom a reality in and through us.

For freedom,

Pastor Charles