Sermon - 1/30/22

Grace to you and peace from God our parent, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   <p>Today I want to talk about the nature of God. So first a disclaimer, I have not studied this, I have not taken classes on this, this is what I’ve pieced together and have learned over the years as I’ve grown as a person and as a Christian. It is what I have learned from many sermons from many great pastors, especially Pastor Ellen. And mostly from what I have grown to feel deeply within myself as to who God really is. While I certainly enjoy hearing and learning about the historical and academic details behind Bible passages, sometimes it helps to go with what speaks to my heart and soul instead of just what speaks to my brain.</p> <p> </p> <p>If you would have asked me years ago the question “Who is God?” I would have probably answered that He is the creator of all, and if asked to describe Him I would have said an old white guy with white hair and a beard.  You know, like God is often depicted in movies and art, at least in our American society. I would have also said that the Old Testament God was an angry, revengeful God who stuck to rules and punished people who were bad and that He had a change of heart with the New Testament and Jesus and turned into a God that was forgiving and loving.</p> <p> </p> <p>I’m so glad that with what I’ve learned over the years, and continue to still learn, that my image and thoughts about God have grown, expanded, and changed. Thinking back now to my first thoughts, I can easily see how narrow and short sighted, and in some cases nonsensical this image of God was. With descriptions like that, God is clearly being placed inside a very small box designed to use God for certain purposes.</p> <p> </p> <p>So - how would I describe God now?  To put it very simply, I personally believe that God is Love. Not that God loves or that God is expressed and seen through Love, but God themselves is Love. The very nature of Love is what God is. When I think about what it means to feel close to God or