On Sunday, July 14, 2024, VLC gathered in person and also broadcasted online via YouTube. Gio Serrato shared a message about when Jesus encountered ten men with leprosy. Jesus chose to engage with them, and instead of healing them instantly, he told them to go to the priest and in their obedience they were healed. Though they were all healed only one took the time to return to Jesus giving thanks for his healing. This man was a Samaritan. From this we see that our encounters with Jesus are not mundane or predictable. Most often they will require something of us. Our obedience to Jesus is the gateway to wholeness and freedom, especially when we remember to return with gratitude, which imprints these interactions on our hearts.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:11-19 (NIV)