The next step

Sermon preached by Barbara Moyer-Lehman, associate pastor, Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA. In the second sermon in a series on healing Barbara insists that God cares deeply about us, always stretching out his hand to us. He is wanting to heal us, sustain us, hold us up. Basing her remarks on the story, found in Mark 3:1-6, she quotes Jesus as saying to the man with the withered hand: "Come forward, stretch out your hand." Implicit in Jesus' words and action is that it makes all the difference as to how we, as his followers, react to this invitation to healing. It is important "how we receive him," she said, inviting the congregation to get beyond their wounded spirits, their self-pity and their self-perceived weakness to receive God's healing.