Hey friends!

We hope you enjoyed the message brought to us by Pastor Shawn this weekend! 

Have you noticed how busy social media has been lately? I don't know if you feel overwhelmed, but I certainly feel like I can't keep up sometimes. Every day there are more movements to get behind, more posts to like, and more stories to reshare. You may feel like you can relate to what you see, you may feel like you need to share and let your voice be heard, or you may feel a little pressured to show up because everyone else is. As believers, are we connecting to the culture first or Christ when we post? What does your social media presence say about your beliefs?

I am totally guilty of connecting to the culture first. This past year I was consumed by social media to the point where it felt exhausting and depressing to be on there. Endless scrolling of anger, injustice, heartbreak, racism, hate speech, and more. I was quick to repost because I felt I needed to stand up for what was right and support my friends who were hurting. It took me a bit to shift my focus from connecting to the culture in their anger to connecting to God in his sovereignty. When I did finally shift, wow, was it a load off of me! I didn't have to attack these hard topics with anger first but thought, "what does God say about this" instead. I'm still human, and of course, it still angers me when I see another young black or brown man dead. When I see more kids separated from their parents at the border. When I see hate speech and racism happening to Asians, Hispanics, and blacks on the street. Now instead of adding on to the hate with my anger, I can offer hope in Christ. I can offer healing words. Instead, I can offer grace.

When you scroll this week and come across something that makes you mad, that isn't right, that isn't fair, think about how you can share how to make it right instead. Instead of just being angry too, how can you share God's perspective instead of your emotional perspective?

We look forward to seeing your posts this week!

We love you all! Jesse and Marissa