Thankful Tuesday ~ A Pastor Who Preaches Mercy

Today I want to let the whole world know that I’m thankful for my pastor and his family.
(I apologize for the poor pic, but you know I don't like to do posts without pictures).

Tyler, Sis. Sullivan, Pastor Sullivan, Kadee, & Trent

My pastor, Ken Sullivan, is awesome! He is always preaching about showing mercy and forgiveness toward others. He preaches love, kindness, mercy, and empathy all of the time. And, he doesn’t just preach it, but he lives it. I’ve seen times where people have made big mistakes; and he’s given them mercy. He has also taught us that you can tell if someone who calls themselves a Christian has the work of the cross in the life or not by observing their actions. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. Erring and sinning is just a way of life – however, it’s our responses to our mistakes, failures, and sins that show whether or not we truly have the work of the cross in our life. God’s word is very clear that in order to be forgiven, we must forgive others. If the cross is working in your life, you will show mercy and forgiveness to others, even when it’s undeserved; especially when it’s undeserved. After all, that’s what Jesus Christ does to us every day. It’s mentioned many times in the Bible. Just this one quote alone “His mercy endureth forever.” is mentioned in 42 verses (King James Version).

Pastor Sullivan relaxes after my sister's wedding; November 15, 2008

This morning on my drive in to work, I was listening to Good Morning, Gina onThe Fish , and she was having a discussion regarding the Christian high school girls’ basketball coach who was fired after winning a game 100-0 and refusing to apologize as the school board wanted (story on Fox News here ). I chimed in with my two cents saying “It shouldn’t matter whether it’s a Christian school or not - I don’t think it was nice of him or that it taught good sportsmanship for him to chant “100, 100, 100” and not put in his second string until the last few minutes of the game. I think he should have put in his second string after half-time. However, the school is being hypocritical by not showing him mercy and firing him.” This is what I thought of instantly because my pastor preaches mercy.

There were many other good quotes I heard from other callers such as:

· God’s word tells us to follow through with something we start; so if we say that the losing team should have forfeited, we’re telling them it’s okay to quit if we aren’t winning or things aren’t going our way. We’re also sending a message to the winning girls that we should quit when we’re doing a good job; that we shouldn’t finish it through to the end.

· By firing the coach, they’re telling the other team that they aren’t responsible for their actions of not making any points.

· Another caller thought it was terrible and that he has no idea of what mercy and empathy means, but that he shouldn’t have been fired, he should have been suspended until he wrote an essay on mercy and empathy.

What do you think?