In A Nutshell | May 28, 2021

Join Us as We Celebrate the Valor of Veterans and the Triumph of the Trinity

What a difference a year makes! Last year’s Memorial Day weekend was anything but a holiday. No picnics, no amusement parks, no ballgames, and very few vacation options. This year, restrictions are being lifted, and life as we knew it just a few years ago is beginning to return. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

At Oak Chapel, we will usher in the summer season this Sunday with a very special Memorial Day Service that will honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to preserve our freedom, as well as those who served our country, including the very loyal and dedicated veterans in our congregation.

Laying down one’s life — or even the willingness to do so — is the highest form of love and devotion. As we will discuss on Sunday, Jesus said in the Gospel of John, “no one has greater love than to give up one’s life for another.” Indeed, that is the ultimate sacrifice — the one that Jesus made for us on the cross. His selfless act and subsequent resurrection atoned for our sins and created a pathway to eternal life in our Father’s Kingdom.

Memorial Day is a bittersweet occasion. It is a day in which we mourn the loss of so many innocent but courageous souls, while reflecting on the magnitude of their incredibly selfless gesture.

We will also celebrate the Holy Trinity on Sunday, a day in which we recognize and honor the doctrine of the Holy Trinity — three persons in one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

While this remains a mystery in many ways, we know enough about the Trinity to understand its significance and its value in our lives. God the Father, creator of the universe, formed us in His image and likeness, meaning that we have much in common with Him and are, in fact, a descendant of His. God the Son — well we know His story and His Role in saving us after our original sin and our continued fall from grace. And finally, God the Holy Spirit, perhaps the most underrated and undervalued member of the Trinity. He is a gift and a constant companion, sort of like a built-in GPS system — there to guide us away from trouble and toward our ultimate destination.

Let us rejoice on this special Sunday as we celebrate the gift of life and the gift of faith, which comes to us from the Holy Trinity. We hope you can join us for what we hope will be a joyful and uplifting celebration!

Until then, I leave you with a familiar passage from II Corinthians 13:14, which is often used as a concluding exhortation: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”

Until We Meet Again, Be Blessed! – Pastor John