Union Congregational Church of Hecla

Scripture Reading Hebrews 4:14-16 We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. . . . Hebrews 4:15 Shortly after her husband died, my sister said, I feel so terribly empty. I try to explain it, but no one knows just how I feel. She had it right. Unless we have lost a spouse, a child, or another person close to us, we cannot really know what it is to lose someone we love. That explains why, in the Old Testament, Job complained that his long...-winded friends were miserable comforters (Job 16:2). But according to today’s Bible passage in Hebrews, there is Someone who does understand: the Lord Jesus. He came to earth to live our lives from beginning to end. Born as a human being who dealt with all kinds of struggles and challenges just as we do in life, he identified with usand much more, because he also gave his life so that we can have new life and be reconciled with God. As Hebrews assures us, we have a high priest who can feel what we feel. As The Message puts it, We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it allall but the sin. When no one else understands or knows how we feel, the Lord Jesus knows. If you feel alone and misunderstood, come and talk to him. He knows how you feel and what you have gone through. Come to him boldly, with confidence, and tell him exactly how you feel. And when you do, you will receive mercy and find grace in your time of need. Prayer

Hecla Church 10am Message: " He Sure Is "

Scripture Reading Mark 1:29-34 The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. Mark 1:33-34 In a conversation about Jesus’ miracles, someone asked, If, Jesus ‘healed many who had various diseases,’ and if ‘Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever,’ why should we not expect him to heal also today?... And doesn’t Psalm 103:3 say that the Lord forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases? Some people have said that perhaps Jesus doesn’t always heal because people do not have enough faith. But that idea has upset many faith-filled Christians who have prayed and prayed for physical healing for someone they lovedand yet there was no healing. Or could it be, as some others have said, that the time for miraculous healings has passed? Well, neither of those ideas makes sense. Miraculous healings still happen today, and some people have seen healings before their very eyes. We don’t know why some people are healed and some are not, but it does not have to do with a lack of faith. During his ministry on earth, Jesus did not heal everyone. And he did not promise physical healing for all who asked. (See also 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.) But Jesus does promise to give us strength to bear whatever burdens we may carry (Matthew 11:28).

Scripture Reading Matthew 11:25-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. . . . I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29 A song we sang at a worship service had these words: The world is searching for answers. Whom can we turn to? And it answered: There is someonehe is the answer. His name is Jesus. A ray of hope in a hopeless world.... But if Jesus is the answer, why do we still have so many unanswered questions? Why so many problems, and why so much suffering? God himself gave the answer to many of our questions on the day Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago. His answer came in the form of a baby, his one and only Son, who came to save the world and all who believe in him (John 3:16-17). In today’s Bible passage the Lord Jesus explains why he is the answer. He offers to give us rest for our souls by making us God’s children. He is, in the words of that song, A ray of hope in a hopeless world. All we need to do is accept his invitation to come to himand when we do, we will find rest for our souls. Then will we know that he truly is the answer.