Church newsletter pastoral column for St. Peter Lutheran Church, Greene, Iowa, for August, 2021.
Jesus Rescues Me
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
– Psalm 27:1
It was so good to be back together with many of our congregation’s kids and families this year for Vacation Bible School! (And THANK YOU to everyone who helped or gave a donation!) VBS is always one of the highlights of the summer for me, and I especially appreciate that it’s something so many of the churches in our community do together. Our theme for this year was “Jesus Rescues Me” and we looked at three stories from the Bible where God rescues us.
And of course, these stories are good for us to remember at any age, so I’m sharing them with you in this space as well! These may be familiar stories to you, but perhaps you’ll get something a little different out of them now than you did in Sunday School or VBS. I encourage you to open your Bible and see what God might be saying to you through these stories.
When I Run Away…Jesus Rescues Me: The Story of Jonah – Jonah 1-4
When Jonah is given an assignment to deliver God’s message to the people of Nineveh, he runs away, boarding a boat to Tarshish, in the opposite direction. Perhaps it’s because he’s afraid God will forgive those evil Ninevites, or perhaps it’s because he fears he won’t survive delivering the message, but either way, he says no to God and runs away.
But God doesn’t give up on him – just like God never gives up on you. There is nowhere you can run where God cannot find you…and that’s good news! It takes a huge storm and a few days inside a giant fish, but Jonah eventually gets the message and does his part to fulfill God’s plan.
When I Am Scared…Jesus Rescues Me: The Story of Jesus Calming the Sea – Mark 4:35-41
The disciples are out on the sea of Galilee in a small boat, with Jesus asleep in the stern, when a dangerous storm comes up. Fearing for their lives, they wake up Jesus, who speaks to the wind and the waves, saying, “Peace, be still.” And miraculously, the storm is calmed. The wind and rains cease.
What are the storms in your life that you can ask Jesus to calm? What fears, worries, or concerns can you turn over to Jesus, trusting that he and he alone has the power to protect and rescue you?
When I Sin…Jesus Rescues Me: The Story of the Cross and the Resurrection – Mark 15:1-16:7
The climax of the entire Bible is when God’s ultimate rescue plan comes to fruition. This is not a rescue just from earthly powers, but a cosmic, spiritual rescue operation once for all time. On the cross, Jesus takes our sins—everything we have ever done wrong, everything we’ve thought, done, or failed to do that goes against God’s will—and he puts it to death on the cross. In Christ’s death, we are given forgiveness. God’s mercy is a free gift for us, but our freedom comes at a cost, the cost of Jesus’ own life given for us out of love.
Then, in that moment when it looks as if the devil has won, just when it looks like death has gotten the last word, Jesus is raised! The tomb gives up its victim. Death is defeated. We are rescued from death and set free for eternal life with our Savior and our Creator. It’s the ultimate rescue for all of eternity!
Check out the VBS recap video here:
In Christ,
-Pastor Daniel Flucke