On Sunday, February 18, 2024, VLC gathered in person and also broadcast online via YouTube. Pastor Stuart shared a message about when Jesus was tested by an expert in the Law regarding the greatest commandments from the Law. Jesus declared that to love God is to love your neighbor, which seems like an upside-down message. The expert wanted to justify himself by passing over this reality and sought to justify himself by following the letter of the law. From this story, we see that salvation comes by faith, not by following the Law. Sometimes we skip over the reality before us in favor of knowing the right things instead of doing the right things. Lastly, we need to get beyond the justification of our lives and get back to repentance, humility, and the desire to be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Stuart shared a song at the end, which you can see here.

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:25-29 (NIV)