Pastors Jonathan Malone and Charley Eastman offer this evening devotional. This week’s topic: Sin.

Here is the poem Jonathan read at the beginning of the episode:

Original Sin – Wendell Berry

Well, anyhow, it preserves us from the pride

of thinking we invented sin ourselves

by our originality, that famous modern power.

In fact, we have it from the beginning

of the world by the errors of being born,

being young, being old, causing pain

to ourselves, to others, to the world, to God

by ignorance, by knowledge, by intention,

by accident. Something is bad the matter

here, informing us of itself, handing down

its old instruction. We know it

when we see it, don’t we? Innocence

would never recognize it. We need it

too, for without it we would not know

forgiveness, goodness, gratitude,

that fund of grace by which alone we live.

And here is the prayer by John Wesley:

O merciful Father,

do not consider what we have done against You;

but what our blessed Savior has done for us.

Don’t consider what we have made of ourselves,

but what He is making of us for You our God.

O that Christ may be “wisdom and righteousness,

sanctification and redemption”

to every one of our souls.

That His precious blood may cleanse us from all our sins,

and that Your Holy Spirit may renew and sanctify our souls.

May He crucify our flesh with its passion and lusts,

and cleanse all our brothers and sisters in Christ across the earth.

O let not “sin reign in our mortal bodies,

that we should obey it in its lusts.”

But, “being made free from sin,

let us be the servants of righteousness.”

Let us commend our hearts to you,

and let all our ways be pleasing in your sight.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who live and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

– John Wesley (1703-1791)