Life Lessons & Moral Dilemmas // M-Note 8.5.23

Last Sunday night, Dave Merrill (our Executive Pastor) and his family lost their beloved dog, Java. He reflected on the life lessons he learned from Java. It really connected with me, and I bet it will connect with you as well.
 
"On Sunday night, we said one last “good night” to our sweet Java girl. She was with Kara and I for 13 years, and she taught us a number of lessons on life. Here are a few:
 
- Keep the heart of a puppy as you age.
- Slip through open gates from time to time. Seek adventure.
- Demand play time because it’s good for you.
- Focus on your strengths. Who needs back legs when your front ones will do just fine?
- Never miss an opportunity to show people how much you love them. She greeted everyone at the door in a big way every time.
- Let nothing stop you from doing what you love. (Chasing squirrels even when old age and cancer are kicking your tail)
- Eat as a family at the table. She only ate her food when we were all together at the table.
- Never be intimidated by “bigger” dogs.
- It always feels best to come home. We never had to chase her when she got out…she just returned.
- Search for the ones that love you. We always played “Find Kara“ or “Find Dave” at the dog park when she was younger. She would stop what she was doing and sprint across the entire field to find us.
 
Good bye, sweet Java. Go get all the squirrels!"
 
This weekend, I am beginning a new series called Let’s Talk About…I asked all of you to tell me what you wish the church would talk about and the responses were fantastic (even the jokes). The list included things like suffering and why bad things happen, heaven/hell, Christian nationalism, sex and gender identity, forgiveness, and how to interpret the Bible. I am going to try to address many of these over the next few weeks. 

For this week, a lot of you asked me some version of the question, “Is it OK to…,” and the topics ranged from using marijuana to having premarital sex. So, this Sunday, to kick it off, I will help you figure out, “Is it OK to use marijuana…and other moral dilemmas.”
 
This is going to be a fun series. It is also relevant to a lot of the questions people are asking both inside and outside the church, so it is a great time to invite a friend. Make worship a priority this weekend as we kick off Let’s Talk About... Have a great weekend, and I am looking forward to a great Sunday.
 
Peace,
Matt

P.S. I want to thank so many of you who wrote me about our last series #blessed. If you missed a sermon in the series or want to share it with a friend, you can find it online.