Dear Brothers and Sisters,

      I suppose there is not a person alive who doesn't know something about temptation.  In saying that, it is also true there probably isn't a person alive who hasn't given into temptation they wish they hadn't given into.  I have plenty of those situations in my life.   But oftentimes our vulnerability to temptation is especially effective when we don't recognize it - we just don't see it coming.     Moses, in his third sermon given to the children of Israel before they enter into the Promised Land, warned against the great temptation, perhaps our greatest sin in chapters 9 and 10 of Deuteronomy.    You can read them and see if you can locate the sin.   On Sunday, we will look together at perhaps our greatest sin and its remedy.  

See you there,

Bill

P.S.  Several of you have sent word that the pre-packaged communion was a problem for you.   I am sorry I didn't explain why we were doing that Easter Sunday.   We have two wonderful communion deacons and four team members who come early every first Sunday, prepare hundreds of cups of grape juice, and numerous plates of cracker pieces for the communion celebration.   On Christmas Eve and Easter, the number of people in our services is higher, and there isn't time to individually serve everyone in our usual manner of coming up when you're ready.   For this reason, on those two occasions, we pass the trays down the rows.   Inevitably, in passing the trays the juice spills, gets down in the trays and cleanup becomes a bigger deal.   Then after the first service, it is a mad scramble to clean the trays, reload them and have enough ready in time for the second service.   It was our communion deacon's request on those two Sundays to use the pre-packaged cups versus our traditional plastic disposable cups that we fill, in order to serve everyone in our time frame without spilling, etc.   I can assure you we all take the Lord's Supper very seriously, but wanted you to know why we made the decision we did.   Thanks for caring enough to question us and for your desire to take our worship seriously.