May 8, 2026, 12:00 PM
Greetings in Christ and I pray you've had a good week so far.
With Mother's Day coming up this Sunday (May 10th), I want to make a comment about how much Jesus elevated women in society.
During Old Testament times, the roles of women were severely restricted and limited by Jewish law and custom (as they were in essentially all other cultures at the time). Generally speaking, women’s lives were not valued much. During Jesus' ministry, He preached a revolutionary message, consistently treating women and men as equals. Don’t ever let people tell you that Jesus is anti-female. It’s simply not true.
That's just one of the reasons that maybe my favorite "Jesus Encounter" is one that takes place in the 4th chapter of John's gospel.
Jesus takes time to speak with one of the least likely of people -- a Samaritan woman. This woman was a social outcast with a history of broken relationships with many men. On top of that, Jews did not associate with Samaritans. It was especially unheard of for a Jewish man to speak in public to a Samaritan woman!
Yet Jesus takes time to not only notice but share meaningful conversation with her!
He tells her "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
Nicky Gumbel writes, "Jesus came to quench our thirst for acceptance, relationship and meaning. The life we receive is the life we give. We become a source of life for others."
Let us reach out to the "least and left out" of our communities. Remember that one of the most important messages that Jesus brought was that he was the Christ for ALL people.
May we bring the "living water" of Jesus (that is welled up inside of believers) to those in desperate need around us! That is a good prayer for us all!
I also pray we'll see you this coming Sunday (May 10th) at FCC. It's going to be a BIG day at FCC!
First, we will celebrate Mother's Day by recognizing ALL the ladies in attendance with a special gift.
This coming Sunday is also our "Baby Recognition" Sunday. We have three little ones that we will recognize and pray especially for.
Finally, this coming Sunday, we'll also kick off our "Baby Bottle Blessings" campaign with Assurance. Who is Assurance and what is this campaign for?
Assurance is a non-profit, specialized health clinic providing free medical services, compassionate care, and accurate information on all options to women facing unplanned pregnancies. It's an honor for FCC to stand with ministries like Assurance in helping save lives of the unborn here in Central KY. The Baby Bottle Blessings campaign is an easy and fun way to engage an entire congregation in support of those facing unplanned pregnancies in our community. From Mother's Day until Father's Day, we will be collecting change, bills and checks and putting them in baby bottles provided by Assurance. I pray that you will be part of this wonderful campaign that says "YES" to life!
Until I see you next...May God Bless You!
God Bless,
Greg Herriford
