In 2017, a painting called the Salvator Mundi—a depiction of Jesus Christ—was sold at auction for a record-breaking $450 million. It became the most expensive painting ever sold in human history. But it didn't start out that way. For decades, that exact same painting was passed around from owner to owner, hidden away in dark hallways and dusty basements. At one point in the mid-1900s, someone heavily painted over it to hide its cracks, entirely ruining its original appearance. It looked like a cheap, ruined copy. In fact, in 1958, it was sold at an auction for a mere $60. Sixty dollars! People looked at its outer layer—the dirt, the grime, the bad paint jobs, the damage of time—and decided it was practically worthless. But then, a group of art restorers got ahold of it. They didn't add anything new to the canvas. Instead, they spent years painstakingly peeling away the layers of dirt. They scraped off the cheap paint that the world had slapped onto it. And as they got down to the original canvas, they discovered something breathtaking: underneath all that damage was the undeniable brushwork of the master himself, Leonardo da Vinci. The painting hadn't suddenly become valuable because the restorers fixed it. It was valuable the entire time because of who created it . The world just couldn't see it through the grime. Church, many of us walk through life feeling like that $60 painting. We look at ourselves and all we see are the bad paint jobs. We see the layers of grime that life has thrown at us. We see the criticisms from our past, the mistakes we made last week, the labels our culture has slapped onto us: Unproductive. Unattractive. Unsuccessful. Broken. And we mistake that outer layer for our actual value. But the Gospel is God, the Master Restorer, looking at you and saying, “I don't care what layers the world has stuck on top of you. I know exactly who made you. I know whose image is stamped on your soul.” God’s love doesn't wait for us to clean ourselves up to become valuable. God’s love is the very thing that peels back our shame, removes our failures, and says, “You were a masterpiece the entire time. You are my chosen. You are my beloved.” In worship this past Sunday we encouraged all of us to pray the following prayer every morning, and wait for the change God will work in our life… Lord, before I accomplish anything today...before I succeed or fail...before anyone praises me or criticizes me...help me remember who I am. I am your beloved. Help me live today from your love instead of living for someone else's approval. Amen. -Pastor Ray

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. (Ephesians 3:16-17) September is here, which means that summer break is over and school is back in session! The calendars are being filled. The meals are being planned. The homework is being done. Everything is picking up pace! For many of us, as the pace of life starts to pick up and the calendar gets full, we are creating new rhythms and picking back up old ones. Amidst this, though, we sometimes fall out of the rhythms that are most essential to our lives. Rhythms for our time in community. Rhythms for taking care of ourselves. Rhythms for tending to our relationships. Rhythms for being in Christian community. Rhythms for our spiritual practices. It’s easy to fall out of these essential and life sustaining rhythms. The rhythms that fill our cups are often the ones that require us to slow down amidst the fast pace of life. It takes a lot of intentionality to maintain them. The good news is that God is always inviting us into these rhythms. And sometimes all we need is a reminder. A nudge. An opportunity. As you settle into new and old rhythms throughout September, I challenge you to be intentional with your rhythms. I challenge you to find one way to fill your cup so that it might overflow with God’s love. To include time for prayer. To include time for Scripture reading. To include time for worship. To include time for service. To include time for fellowship. Ephesians 3:16-17 is part of a prayer that Paul prayed for the readers of his letter to the church in Ephesus. As we find our rhythms, I echo that prayer for you. "I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.” Amen. -Daniel Polito