If the Son has set you free...

Knowing that today's sermon at Warsaw Central would be in English was only the second reason I decided to get up the hour and a half earlier and do the whole walk-train-tram-walk thing to Foksal street. Number 1 reason was that Roman Chalupka would be translating, and by now there aren't many people who don't know that I am the president of the Roman Chalupka fan club. I absolutely love the man and would like nothing more to be his personal assistant.




In the end, whatever the reason was, I am so glad that God lead me to Warsaw today. If it wasn't obvious enough by name and language that Dr. Bert Beach was an American among us, his sermon topic made it all the more sure. Liberty. Americans (historically) have been driven to be free in a way few others have- especially Adventist Americans. The loss of religious liberty and the danger this posses to us as a minority is ever before us and it seems to me, though I may be wrong, that it does not weigh as heavily on the minds of other mentalities.

I for one think about religious liberty a lot. I also live to be liberated from all things which ensnare me and from time to time, I even weigh the price of jumping into the ultimate 'abyss of freedom'. All of this, teamed with the translator, had me hanging on every word for the next, oh what was it, hour. And I felt really impressed by a few things in particular:

John 8:34-36 "Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

I Cor. 3:21-23 "Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come- all are yours. And you are Christ's and Christ is God's."

2 thoughts. I like the idea of all things being mine but I do not like the idea of being anyone's slave, especially a slave of sin. And in a totally non-obsessive way, I decided while sitting there that a liberty lovin' gal such as myself should start to seriously thing of how I can find this ultimate liberty in Christ. What changes would I need to make in my life to feel this kind of liberty?

Here is some info on Beach:
http://parl.gc.adventist.org/aboutus/staff/beach.html

I was so lucky as to sit next to his lovely Belgium wife during church. Very charming. I also decided while talking to Dr. Beach and from an earlier conversation with Chalupka on Thursday when he told me about washing hands in the men's restroom once with the (at that time) future president of Poland, that I would like to live a life running with the big administrative dawg. Dawgs such as the top three on this website: http://www.advent.pl/zarzad/kontakt.html

They are my 3 favorite church leaders in Poland. Yes, I love them. And Maks and I often ride the same WKD and tram on Wednesday mornings and we talk either music or church politics the whole way. So. Maybe I can find summer employment as Chalupka's personal assistant. Maybe, (if I can overcome a somewhat unfairly jaded past) I too can be a religious liberty hero or a big administrative dawg. And most definitely upon searching, I will find a path that leads to an abyss of 'liberty' as found in Jesus Christ.

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And on a less philosophical note, today's activities beyond church included stang admiring (what was that bad boy doing in Poland?)



and sweet savoring at Wedel.