Please read the note from Pastor Woodhouse regarding his sermon below:

One theme we find many places in the Old Testament that might give us pause is the identification of the people of Israel as God’s chosen people. If we pay close attention to the history of the Old Testament, we find that it primarily tells the story of the tribes of Israel and their special relationship with God. They are called to be faithful to Him, receive His promise of salvation, are richly blessed by Him, and are delivered time and time again from trouble and oppression. But very few of us are likely able to trace our own ancestry back to those tribes. How can we be sure that God’s promises apply to us, too?

Our Gospel reading for this week speaks directly to this concern. Jesus’ ministry is primarily to the people of Israel, who were set aside to receive the Messiah as one of their own… but Jesus performs miracles, and teaches, and finds faith among the outsiders – the Gentiles – too. And because of this, we can be assured that the promises God has made throughout the Bible are ours to claim, too!