The Lake County Lutheran

Looking For Me?

2011-01-12T08:39:00.000-08:00

Please check out my new blog, www.ycitywitness.blogspot.com for sermons, Bible Studies, and the content you were used to seeing here. Thanks for your interest!

Last Day at Our Shepherd

2010-12-17T14:45:00.001-08:00

Today marked Andy's last day at OSL, as we will be moving soon to serve in Zanesville. Our Shepherd provided everything we hoped for him, and I'd like to thank Mrs. Wojkowski, Mrs. Lelle, and Mrs. Koscik for being "Jesus with skin on" to our son for the past two-and-a-half years. Here's Andy [far right] with his pals Jacob and Joshua, and the very end of the class Christmas party. God bless OSL!

The Boar's Head in Hand Bear I...

2010-12-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

The Herald and Good King Wenceslas relax after Tuesday night's festival.

It's Boar's Head Time

2010-12-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

My final Boar's Head series begins this week. For more info, go to www.lakecountyboarshead.blogspot.com

Here Am I; Send Me

2010-11-18T11:01:00.001-08:00

Pictured here is the beautiful Luther window of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zanesville, Ohio. I have accepted the call to become their pastor and will begin my service there in January 2011. Please keep St. Paul's, Trinity, and me and my family in your prayers at this time of transition.

Confirmation Class Look-in: Biblical Archaeology

2010-11-07T15:21:00.001-08:00

Christian archaeologist Randy Greene speaks to our confirmation students about his experiences in Israel. Special thanks to Deb Hoffman for arranging this presentation.

The True Treasure of the Church

2010-10-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

On October 31, 1517, 493 years ago, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed a paper to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This in itself was not unusual. In those days the church door served as the town bulletin board. But this particular notice written by Luther was quite unusual compared to the conventional religious wisdom of that time. That paper began the Reformation, a worldwide revolution that has continued relevance today.
The subject of this paper was the sale of indulgences. Martin Luther had 95 things to say about indulgences and hoped someone would be willing to debate them in a scholarly setting. Why was this so revolutionary? Because Luther was starting to lead a charge back into the Word of God. The Church of Luther’s era had built something almost unrecognizable over the foundation of God’s Word—a religion governed by human tradition—a religion by which heaven could be purchased by the consumer. Luther would lead a charge back into the Word of God—a charge to dig back into the foundation—a charge to discover what God really has to say to His creation.
One of the Bible passages that would come to mean so much to Luther was today’s Epistle reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans. The parallels between Paul’s situation and Luther’s are obvious, but no less striking. Paul was writing about his own people—the Jewish people at the time of Christ. The Jewish leaders had developed a distorted picture of themselves. By thinking they could fully obey the Law of God, they had developed a pride that was destroying them. The religious system of the Jewish leaders no longer required God. They felt they could fulfill the Law themselves.
But the Law, Paul asserts, cannot make us righteous. The Law shows us our sins. What we do to keep the Law will not make us right with God, because we could never do enough. And it was not only the Jewish people who had a problem with pride. Paul also cautions his Gentile audience. No one is righteous, he says. There is no difference. All have sinned. What then becomes of pride? It is excluded. A person who is truly walking with God has nothing to be prideful about. We are justified, literally, declared “not guilty,” by faith, apart from works of the Law.
The Church of Luther’s time declared just the opposite. Pope Leo X wanted to complete St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. Much money needed to be gathered before the mammoth project could be completed. Pope Leo ruled that indulgences—certificates of God’s pardon—should be sold in Germany. Chief among the pardon peddlers was a monk named John Tetzel. When Tetzel rolled into town, bells tolled, organs sounded, a red cross was set up bearing the pope’s coat of arms. Once in the town church, Tetzel would preach about the miraculous power of indulgences. It was proclaimed and believed by most that whoever bought an indulgence not only received forgiveness of sins, but would also escape punishment in purgatory, a kind of holding tank for souls never once mentioned in Holy Scripture.
The pope, Tetzel claimed, had more power than all the apostles and saints, even more than the Virgin Mary, for all of these were under Christ, while the pope was equal to Christ. Tetzel claimed to have saved more souls with his indulgences than Peter with his sermons. He even had a little commercial jingle—way ahead of his time, that Tetzel—“As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” As a result, many were led to believe that they did not need to repent of their sins, and that trust in Jesus Christ was unnecessary. Just buy some indulgences, and you’d be straight.
Luther was incensed when he heard about this. He knew that souls for whom Jesus died were at stake! The Gospel of Jesus was being denied by the very organization that was supposed to proclaim it! Luther protested the sale of indulgences because it threatened to destroy a Christian’s relationship with God. As Luther wrote in Thesis # 62: “The true treasure of the church is the most holy Gospel of the glory and grace of God.”
It is that same concern for souls; that same concern for getting the gospel of Jesus right that moved Paul to write to the Roman Christians. It was of utmost importance that they understood that Jewish tradition did not give Jewish people an advantage with God. Knowing the Law does not save people. Only those who always do exactly what the Law says can be saved by the Law. Since all—both Jew and Gentile—have sinned, all will die.
Luther used what Paul wrote here to demonstrate from Scripture that we are not saved by the things we do. We are saved by what Jesus has done for us. God offered His Son as “a sacrifice of atonement.” We have life “through faith in His blood.” The Church of Luther’s era had deteriorated into a self-serving, self-preserving organization. In almost every important way, God’s Word was only historically incidental to the organization. The immediate needs of the organization and its security took precedence over the Word of God. Luther used this passage and others like it to tear away the human organization where it needed to be torn. The Word itself was the demolishing and reforming force. The Law tore down. The Gospel built up. The Gospel built on the only real foundation—Jesus, the Messiah.

Let’s stop for a moment to consider the question: when is the best time to repair your home? Let’s say you notice a problem with a board on your porch. When should that be fixed? What will happen if you wait too long to fix it?
The Reformation at the time of Luther was a major event because the necessary ongoing repairs had not been done. Forget a loose board; the whole house was about to collapse. The foundation of the Church had been undermined. Because smaller repairs had been ignored, pride in tradition grew as Christ was displaced.
If reformation can be compared to keeping our house in good repair, then it is worth asking today, of ourselves, what do we need the Word of God to fix? What does the Law need to tear out of us? What does the Gospel need to build in us?
If we think of Reformation Day primarily as a day where it’s okay to slam Roman Catholicism, then we’ve missed the point entirely. We are no different than the Jews and Gentiles Paul wrote to. We are not “better people” than the Catholics, ancient or modern. We are always in danger of slipping across the boundary from confidence in what God does for us to pride in what we think we can do ourselves. Perversely, there is even a type of pride we can take in being “heirs of the Reformation” that amounts to a schoolyard attitude of “We’re smart and they’re dumb.”
But pride, of course, is excluded, according to the apostle Paul. How—by the way of works? No, by the way of faith. We are convinced that a person is justified by faith without the works of the Law. Pride is excluded by the faith that the Holy Spirit gives to us. Faith builds. Faith reforms in line with God’s Word.
The Law tears down our efforts to build a proud tradition. The grace of God points us to people who need to hear the Gospel in a way that makes sense to them.
The Law tears down our efforts to “protect the church.” The Gospel sends us to be God’s ambassadors, to take risks in showing Jesus to those who are as of now estranged from Him.
The Law breaks down our self-righteous attempts to make the church an exclusive club. The Gospel opens our hearts to other sinners that Jesus wants to reform.
The Law finds what is broken, what is rotten, what is dead, and rips it out. The Gospel of full forgiveness of sins in Jesus repairs. It makes new things. It reforms us in the likeness of Jesus, as we live through faith in His blood.

adapted from sermons by Rev. Paul Muench and Rev. Andrew Simcak, Jr.

Lord, Have Mercy

2010-10-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

“God, I thank you that I am not like other men…” What a prayer! If you sense Jesus using some satire here, I think you’re right. He’s exposing the self-congratulatory religion of the Pharisees, that, when brought out into the light of day, is patently ridiculous. “God, I thank you that I’m better than those guys. God, look at the good I do.” Those prayers make us chuckle because they’re so blatantly self-righteous. But the funny thing about satire is that while it makes the Pharisee the obvious target, it allows us to pause and reflect. Maybe we’re laughing at the Pharisee because we recognize his attitude, alive in ourselves.
I’ve never heard a Christian publicly pray the way the Pharisee did in Jesus’ parable, but I’ve seen plenty of examples of the attitude in action. Anytime a Christian feels as if “God owes me something” because I go to church on a regular basis, the spirit of the Pharisee is alive and well. Anytime a Christian feels as if “the church leaders ought to do things my way because I give the biggest offering,” the spirit of the Pharisee is alive and well. Anytime a Christian takes smug satisfaction in their own so-called “Christian maturity” by pointing out the shortcomings of others, the spirit of the Pharisee is alive and well. If we’re still laughing about the Pharisee’s prayer, it’s probably to keep from crying. The urge to measure ourselves against other people is irresistible. It is also a sad attempt to justify ourselves before God, which misses the mark completely, because that’s not how God measures us.
The Lord does not measure our actions, words, and thoughts relative to other people; he measures us according to the exacting standards of His Law. If you are starting to squirm, that is most appropriate. The Law says, put God first in your life, as the only number one. The Law says, don’t misuse God’s name. Watch your speech. The Law says, honor God’s Word with your time and attention; and honor the authorities God has placed over you, beginning with your parents. The Law says, don’t murder. Don’t even hurt someone. The Law says, remain sexually pure, even in your thoughts. Don’t take what isn’t yours. Don’t destroy someone’s reputation with gossip or slander. Be content with what you have and help your neighbor to keep what he’s got. That’s the standard by which God measures you! Do you dare to say, “God, I thank you that I am not like those who do such bad things?” Are you really willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pharisee in the temple? If so, then remember Jesus says that man went home “un-justified.” He went home with no blessing from God. It was a waste of time for this guy to go to the temple, because the person he really worshiped was himself.
If, however, you have heard the Lord’s exacting standards and are embarrassed of your track record; if you are crushed by your own failures in living by God’s Law, then let’s go stand over by that tax collector—the one the Pharisee pointed out—and hear what he has to say. Wow—he looks crushed, too. He won’t even look up. He’s so upset he’s taking it out on himself. But listen to what he’s saying: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
Now there’s someone God can work with—someone who has given up trying to impress God. Someone who has been deflated by their own sins—someone who just can’t seem to get it right no matter how hard they try. Someone who has hit the bottom and realized there is only one way out; one way to live; and that is to appeal to God’s mercy; to plead with God to spare us from the punishment we deserve. The tax collector knows that the only way life with God is going to work is if God shows mercy. God is going to have to hold back the hand of punishment. He is going to have to do something about our sin, because we can’t.
What we call the Good News is this: God did do something about our sin. He did not ignore it. He did not overlook it. He forgave it. Now, our sin had to be dealt with somehow—someone had to pay for it. That’s where the man who told this story about a Pharisee and a tax collector comes in. Jesus stepped into our world; stepped into a human body; stepped into our sin; stepped into the punishment; stepped into the unfathomable consequence of sin…and He did it all for you. He did it so that His Father could justly hold back the hand of punishment from you. “Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy” has been the church’s song ever since. It is the song of the tax collector, and everyone else who understands, “I don’t deserve God’s blessing at all.”
What’s interesting is that a baby could not begin to claim that he deserves to be in God’s kingdom based on all the good he’s done. No infant I’ve ever seen (outside of the movies) is in any position to claim membership in the kingdom of God based on who they are and what they’ve done. Yet Jesus says, “…whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” So how does that work? It’s simple, really. Jesus says, “…for to such [babies and children] belong the kingdom of God.” Babies can’t do anything to “get into” the kingdom, but Jesus can bring them in. By His Word, by His touch, by His name with baptismal water, Jesus brings them in His kingdom and says they belong. “Receiving the kingdom of God like a child” is a matter of letting Jesus bring you into His kingdom. It’s a matter of letting him give to you. Just like with babies—adults can’t do anything to “get into” the kingdom, either. But Jesus can bring you in. He’s the only one who can.
When we speak or sing, “Lord have mercy,” what we’re saying is, “Lord, I don’t deserve your blessing at all. But if you want to, you can bring me in to your kingdom.” And you can be sure that He wants to, because He went to the cross for you. Receive the kingdom like child. Let Him give to you. Let Him bring you in. Let God’s Law kill the Pharisee inside you, and find rest in the fact that it’s not about you. Life that matters is about a God who is merciful, and His Son, who is love.

Live from St. Paul's Annual Hayride

2010-10-24T12:23:00.001-07:00

Wrestling with God

2010-10-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

It was one of those nights where the minutes feel like hours. All Jacob could do was wait for his brother to show up. Sounds simple, but word was that his brother, Esau, was coming with an army of four hundred men. Yes, there was a score to settle. Jacob had done his brother wrong in two major ways. He engineered a trade—some bread and red soup in exchange for his brother’s birthright—and the more boldly deceitful action of stealing Esau’s blessing by pretending to be Esau! Needless to say, Esau was ticked. His plan was to wait for their father Isaac to die, then kill Jacob. Wisely, Jacob is sent away. Many things happen to Jacob during this time away.
God makes some amazing promises to this deceitful, crafty man—one key one being “I will protect you wherever you go”—even as Jacob finds out what it’s like to be on the other end of a deceitful scheme. That’s another story for another time.
Eventually; inevitably, Jacob and Esau are coming face to face again. Jacob gets the idea to send Esau a generous set of gifts to smooth things over. Then he finds out that Esau is coming with a four hundred man posse. Night falls. The “moment of truth” has almost arrived. Jacob wonders, “Will Esau try to kill me and my family?” He prays to God, calling to mind the underserved promises the Lord has made to him. And then, all there is to do is wait. The minutes seem like hours.
Suddenly, the sickening tedium is broken by an invader in the camp. A fight breaks out between Jacob and the assailant, and it is quite a match. The scuffle continues through the night, until the day’s first light. Who is it? Esau is the obvious suspect. Whoever it is, Jacob fights. And fights. And fights. Even after his opponent knocks his hip out of joint, Jacob keeps his grip on him. That’s a tough guy right there.
So why does Jacob put up this sort of struggle? He believes the promises God has made to him. He aggressively believes the promises God has made to him. Jacob puts up a fight because God said he was going to do great things through him, so much so that he’s lying there with a dislocated hip and still defending himself. In fact, Jacob’s faith is so aggressive that he says, “I will not let go unless you bless me.” Somewhere in the smackdown, it occurs to Jacob that he wasn’t wrestling with Esau or an assassin, but he was wrestling with God. With the day’s first light, it dawns on Jacob he’s going toe to toe with the Lord God of heavenly armies. The Lord God of armies changes Jacob’s name to Israel, meaning “one who struggles with God.” Incredibly, Jacob/Israel struggled with God and lived. And as Jacob/Israel limps away from this experience, he is reconciled with his brother, Esau.
Now, as wild as that story is, you might feel like it is pretty close to your experience. What I mean is, you might feel like you’re wrestling with God right now. That nighttime invader might come to you as an illness or an accident. Or you might feel God wrestling with you in an important decision. Maybe you’re wrestling through a difficult relationship or financial hardship. So often, as we’re struggling, we’re wondering, “Why? Why me? Why now?”
Maybe, just maybe, God is wrestling with you for the same reason he wrestled with Jacob. Maybe he wants to see if you will trust his promises so aggressively that you will stand up and fight. When things get rough, will you grab hold of God, saying, “I won’t let go unless you bless me?”
This aggressive faith would be impossible, if it were not for God’s habit of taking on human flesh in order to wrestle. God took on human form to put Jacob’s faith to the test. More crucially, God took on human form to wrestle again, and this time it was a death match. In our flesh, as one of us, Jesus would clash with Satan, get hammered by sin, and suffer hell on the cross. And it would kill Him. Looked like total defeat. Easter changed everything, turning the results of the loss inside out. Jesus’ bout with evil and his victory over it has huge repercussions for you.
It means you, like Jacob, are forgiven. Your sins do not negate God’s promises. His Word to you stands. You are blessed to be a blessing. Life in this world will often feel like a struggle, and life as a Christ-follower will often feel like a struggle with Him. Don’t shy away from that feeling. Hold God to His promises. Fight the good fight of faith. Don’t let go until He blesses you.

Walking in the Word: LWML Sunday

2010-10-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119: 105

Most health experts tell us that it would be beneficial to do more walking. Some have set a goal of 10,000 steps a day in order to increase cardiovascular health. While we may know the benefits that walking provides, that does not mean that we are going to do anything about it. Many people say to themselves, “I should get some exercise,” but then they proceed to just sit down again. Exercise is an individual decision, and it is not enough to have the desire to go for a walk. You have to actually do it. You are free to walk or to sit still, but the decision you make will affect your health, one way or the other.
God’s Word has something to say about walking in the way of spiritual fitness: In Psalm 119 it says: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” God invites you today—and every day—to let His Word light your way through life. And just like walking itself, you are free to use God’s Word this way or to leave it alone. The decision you make here will also affect your health, one way or another.
As a pastor, I have visited many people in the hospital, and one thing that I have seen firsthand is that is does not take long for our muscles to weaken from lack of use. Without walking on a regular basis, legs that once worked well can now only hang there helplessly.
If I may be so blunt; I would say that far too many Christians have been sitting too long without being active in Word of God. As a result, their faith muscles have atrophied. In fact, many have wandered from the faith. They fail to apply the teaching of the Word in their lives and have become spiritually unhealthy. The church needs to return to the spiritual bodybuilding that happens when we let the Word of God speak to us. Only then will we be healthy enough to reach those who are even weaker than we.
One example of how the “church at large” is doing this is through the mite collections of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. City of Hope, right here in Cleveland, is supported in part by the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. They are providing spiritual and physical health to the community by opening “Urban Family Learning Centers” in Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown and Cincinnati. These programs reach out to children and families with Saturday Schools that provide a weekly round of music, crafts, and Scripture memorization along with a nourishing meal.
Walking daily in the Word of God can inspire us to serve others like the volunteers at City of Hope. That same Word also calls us to remember who we are. The Word shows us where we gone off track. The Word of God tells us the truth: All have sinned—and the paycheck for sin is death; death of the body and the death of the soul, cut off from God’s goodness forever. I need to hear this. I need to understand the danger of sin. I need the call to repentance—the call to change—the call to go in a new direction by the power of God. His Word also reminds me of a Friday on which Jesus died on a cross to handle the debt of my sin. Just as importantly, it reminds me of a Sunday on which the Lord of Life broke the chains of death for me. Instead of the paycheck of death, Jesus hands me an invoice that reads: ‘Paid in Full.” He paid off all that I owe. He shares the resurrected life with me. When I’m walking in the Word of truth, there is confidence, knowing I am walking in the right direction.
All people need to hear the truth of God’s Word. One of the mite missions of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League brings this truth by supporting a female missionary who works with Muslim women. In the Muslim world, women are not allowed to have conversations with men who are not their husbands or close relatives. But another woman can speak words of truth to them. And another woman does, at great personal risk, because the good news of what Jesus has done is too important to leave unspoken.

So how much do you walk? It depends on how healthy you want to be. Do you need to change the way you walk in God’s Word? We need the help of the Holy Spirit to exchange our poor habits for good ones. When a child is learning to walk, there is a lot of falling that happens. But there is a built-in determination to get it right! Maybe you have fallen down in the study of the Word. Now is the time to get up and get into it again. There really is no in-between—you’re either walking in the Word towards spiritual health, or letting your faith muscles weaken with each passing day.
But there is help! Groups like the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League exist to help people walk in the Word and to help people communicate Jesus to their world. This congregation provides a variety of Bible Studies that are designed to help you exercise your faith. There are more personal devotional resources available to Christians now than at any time in history—many right here in our own church library—just waiting for someone to take them off the shelves and open them up. The point is that walking in the Word of God cements and sustains your personal connection with Jesus. Do you need to change the way you walk? The get on your feet and let God’s Word light your way through life. The Holy Spirit, sent from Jesus Himself, will give you energy and determination you need to be in step with Him.

Adapted from a sermon by Rev. Kenton Wendorf for LWML Sunday 2010

Bible Study: the Gospel of John

2010-09-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

Chapter Four
Lessons at the Well

Samaritans were descendants of Israelites left behind after Samaria’s destruction (722 BC) and included foreigners imported by Assyrian kings (2 Kings 17: 24—28, 33—34). Their Jewish heritage had been adulterated through intermarriage. They inhabited the area between Judea and Galilee. The accepted only the Five Books of Moses as authoritative, worshiped on Mount Gerizim, and rejected Jerusalem as the proper place of worship. Most Jews considered their observance of Judaism as corrupt and regarded Samaritans as outside the bounds of the covenant people and avoided them.

Why was Jesus crossing the boundary lines here?

Gift (v.10) Greek: dorea, occurs only here in the Gospels; “bounty”

Living Water (v. 10) Hebrew expression for flowing water (as opposed to stagnant); Jesus uses this phrase to mean what? (John 7: 38—39)

According to ancient manuscripts, it was an apostolic custom to baptize in living (flowing) water.

What do you think Jesus is talking about in vv. 21—24?

Jesus uses this venture into Samaria as a “teachable moment” for the disciples. What is trying to convey to them? (vv. 31—38)

What do we learn about “signs” from the Samarians—in other words, what had the greatest effect on their hearts? (v. 41—42) What lesson might there be for us here?

How is that same lesson reinforced by the story of the Official’s Son?

Contentment is Counter-Cultural

2010-09-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Timothy 6: 6

There once was a rich man who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked."Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch more fish than you need?' the rich man asked.
"What would I do with them?""You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me."The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?"
"You could sit down and enjoy life," said the wealthy man.
"What do you think I'm doing now?" the fisherman replied.

Can you relate to that fisherman? Or do you find yourself on the rich man’s side? Today we have the chance to think about one of the lost values of the Christian faith. That “lost value” is contentment.

In our Epistle lesson, Saint Paul is writing to a young pastor named Timothy, and near the end of his letter, the topic turns to money. He writes, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.” Paul holds up contentment as a key value for us to live by. God would like for us to be happy with what we have and to enjoy the blessings we’ve been given. But are we happy— do we enjoy our blessings—or is there something always pulling towards more, more, more?

Contentment is counter-cultural. Have you ever heard an advertisement or a sales pitch that begins by saying, “You know what? What you have right now is OK. You don’t really need anything else”? Of course not! We are submerged in a consumer culture that is constantly trying to convince you that you won’t really be happy, you won’t really be fulfilled, if you do not buy this product immediately. What you’ve got isn’t good enough and people will think you are way behind the times unless you purchase this item as soon as you possibly can. This is a real force that influences our thoughts and motivates our actions. We have been trained to want more and our sinful human nature happily complies.

In today’s Old Testament lesson, Amos was warning Israel, but it’s like he was thinking of 21st century America when he said: “You lie on beds…and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.” God is crying out through Amos, “Do you realize that you are teetering on the edge of spiritual ruin? Or are you too busy eating, shopping, and entertaining yourself to care?” Who’s he talking about? Israel? Or us?

God knew that we needed to be saved from ourselves and our own out-of-control desires for more. That’s why Jesus became one of us. That’s why he lived perfectly (and remember: his perfect life was totally devoid of huge houses, fancy cars and a mountain of junk). That’s why he sacrificed his life on the cross—because no bigger and better payment we could come up with would work to pay off the debt of our sin. That’s why he came back to life—to give you life that is free from the exhausting chase after more. In Christ, you truly have all things. Through the adoption of baptism and the gift of faith you become a family member and friend of the Almighty God. He shares his riches with you, and unlike worldly wealth, His riches go with you out of this world when nothing else does. He gives you identity. He defines you as His own child. You no longer have to define yourself by what you buy and how new it is or how expensive it is. Instead of running after those things, you are free to run after Christ! Content with what you have and who you are, you can run after godliness and faith! Content with the identity God has given you, you can pursue love, endurance and gentleness. It is good and right for you to want more of these things, because they will actually fill you up! Pursue the way of Jesus. Let Christ break the cycle of more that controls your thinking. Enjoy the life that flows from Him, and you may just learn that contentment is right under your nose.

There is a story about the millionaire William Randolph Hearst. He invested a fortune in collecting art treasures from around the world. One day he heard about a valuable artifact. So he sent his agent abroad to look for it. After months of searching, the agent finally found the treasure. To the surprise of Hearst, the priceless masterpiece was stored right in his own warehouse. He had been searching all over the world for a treasure he already possessed.

In God’s great design, you may already have what you thought you wanted. Let him take off the “more goggles” so you can take a new look around at your life. What riches you have! What love you’ve been shown! All of it given in hopes that you will be drawn to the Giver—that you will be overwhelmed by his generosity—and find contentment in Him.

Church Tour Artwork

2010-09-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

We have wrapped up church tours for the preschoolers. Their artwork reflects some of the things they learned, as you see here. Our lighted cross proclaims Jesus as the light of the world that never goes out. Our preschoolers also learned that pastors talk about what is in the Bible, and that the Bible is all about Jesus. They heard that baptism is the way God brings people into His family. They also learned that the church is a place where we make music to praise God and learn about Him.

There's Nothing In Those Trucks!

2010-09-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

The Preschool Support Board was wiped out after two of our three services this past weekend, and after the third service, there was nothing left. Thanks for your generosity!

Apostolic Prayer Priorities

2010-09-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

If you’ve ever wondered why we make it a point to pray for our nation’s President, our state Governor, and other elected officials, today you have your answer. The Apostle Paul tells us to. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life…” One of the kings Paul was writing about was Nero, notorious ruler of the Roman Empire. So, clearly Paul is not saying, “Pray for those officials with whom you agree, who belong to your party or worldview” but “Pray for all who are in high positions.” So we do, almost every week, in the Prayer of the Church.
Why should we do that? Paul answers that question, and answers it well. A peaceful and quiet life, he says, “is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Paul’s reasoning makes sense. Good leaders provide stable civil government. A stable civil government allows Christians to live and work without harassment. The uncommon peace and prosperity of the Roman Empire opened many doors for Paul to carry out his ministry throughout the Mediterranean region, even as today, American Christians are, for the most part, free to live as followers of Jesus, the Son of God. Praying for our leaders is in the best interest of the Gospel, though we might not have thought about it that way to begin with.
One of the things that I find endlessly fascinating about prayer is that it has that quality to it. What you started out praying for may not be where you end up. What you asked for at the beginning may not be what you end up getting. If you think of prayer mostly as “asking God for things,” then this might seem pretty frustrating. But there’s a lot more to prayer than that.
Paul begins this section of his letter to Timothy by saying that it is of “first importance” that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,” including kings and authorities. Each of the four words used here gives a different perspective on prayer for us to think about. First of all, Paul urges supplications to be made. In that word you can hear another: supply. A supplication is indeed a request for God to supply us with specific needs. But when we make these requests in faith, we make them with an openness to the way that God is going to answer that request. In other words, what we ask for may not be what we get, but faith enables us to see that what God supplies is always best. To give you a personal example, when I became the pastor here at St. Paul’s, I prayed and prayed every day that our house in Twinsburg would sell, so we could move up here as a family and purchase a new home. As months went by, my prayers started to become more questions than comments, until the day that it became clear that we were to move in next door to the church. That’s not what I was originally praying for. That wasn’t the ‘order of operations’ I had in mind. But God supplied what was best, and months of prayer helped me to receive His better gift.
Next, Paul urges that prayers be made for all people. Prayer is a pretty generic word, but it is worth reminding ourselves that prayer is simply speaking to God in words and thoughts. It is nothing more complicated than that. If you can talk, you can pray. If you can think, you can pray. The idea is, you are communicating with your heavenly Father. But here’s the thing: a life of prayer is more about relationship than it is outcomes. A life of prayer is more about relationship than it is outcomes. If someone close to you suddenly stops speaking to you, there’s a problem, right? Relationships depend on communication. Faithful prayer should be more like checking in with a beloved friend, but too often we come making demands, saying give me this, give me that, do it my way, on my timetable, or I’m gonna get mad. It has been said that prayer ought to seek the face of God more than it seeks His hand, and I believe that that is when prayer is most meaningful, when the focus is not “God, give me something,” but just “God.”
Paul also urges that intercessions be made for all people. An intercession is a prayer that you offer on behalf of someone else, and therefore it is a very Christ-like way to pray. It is one of the great privileges of discipleship that we are allowed to approach the throne of God in order to “plead the case” of people we care about. This too is reflected in our weekly Prayer of the Church, as we intercede for those with all manner of special needs.
Lastly, Paul urges that thanksgivings be made for all people—to say “thank you” to God in our words and thoughts. Forgive me for sounding pessimistic, but this type of prayer is the one probably said the least. Remember when Jesus healed ten lepers, and only one came back to say “thank you?” One in ten might just be the ratio that He is used to in this respect.
However, the serious Christian knows that we could never adequately thank our Lord for all He has done for us. He’s better than the best friend we could possibly have. We could never pay back what we owe Him for what he did on the cross. He deserves our never-ending thanks for all He has done. And even though eternal life in His light and peace is the greatest blessing, He still gives other gifts of grace every day. Giving thanks to Him will always be part of our prayers, because the gifts that Jesus gives last forever.
One last thought, and in a way, we’re going back to the beginning. Paul, remember, urged that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. He continues, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all…”
Here again is Paul’s progression of thought: Praying for those in authority contributes to stable civil government. A stable civil government allows Christians to bring Jesus into everyday life. This is a good thing, because God wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth. And the truth is that Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all of us. Since God wants everyone to be saved by this message, then it follows that our prayers will center on what God wants. We will pray a lifetime’s worth of prayers of repentance leading to the forgiveness of our own sins in Jesus. We will pray that the message of Jesus will break into places where it is not welcome, and we will pray for the safety of those who are not afraid to stand for Jesus in those locations. We will pray for the people we know who still hold Jesus and His gifts at arms’ length, bringing the Holy Spirit to bear on their hearts and minds. And we will pray that the message of Jesus goes out into our community, and the more we pray this in faith, the more we will understand that we are the ones called to take it there.

Preschool 'Church Tour' Card

2010-09-16T12:18:00.001-07:00

I received this card after leading preschool church tours today. Thank you, Sam!

Puppets with a Purpose

2010-09-15T12:54:00.001-07:00

Sue and Andy performed at the Great Geauga County Fair with the "Puppets of Peace" from Peace Lutheran Church in Munson/Chardon. Despite a rainy, cold day, they reflected the Sonlight in a wonderful way!

Rally Day: Repentance and Renewal

2010-09-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15: 10

“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1: 13--16

Imagine—our congregation and countless others are named after a man who attempted to stamp out the Christian faith, only to be given a second chance by Christ. The mercy and grace given to him through Jesus changed him so profoundly that he began promoting the faith he once persecuted. Reading his letter to Timothy, it’s obvious that Paul was very up-front about what he had done, and what Jesus had done to him. In fact, what Paul is saying here is, “Hey, look, I was the worst sinner I know, and if Jesus can change me and turn me around, he can do it for anybody. He can do it for you.”
Our church is named after a man who tried to destroy Christianity, only to be given a second chance by Christ. We are worthy of the name St. Paul’s only if we continue to be a place where Jesus offers second chances; and third chances, and fourth chances. We’d better change our name if we act in a way that shows we don’t really believe in second chances. Paul’s example shows us that being a Christian means living a life of repentance.
In today’s Gospel lesson we have two stories Jesus told to get his point across. The ones we heard today are ultimately stories about repentance. These parables are among Jesus’ most well-known tales. The plots are simple. A sheep goes missing. The shepherd goes looking. A woman loses a coin and turns the house upside down to find it. But here’s what I want you to notice today: the stories end exactly the same way. Both the shepherd and the woman, having found their lost objects, call their friends and neighbors and say, “Rejoice with me! I have found my lost sheep! I have found my lost coin!” Jesus uses that to say, “…in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent,” and “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” According to Jesus’ words, heaven erupts in celebration when sinners repent.
Do you see how these readings line up? First we meet Paul, who, with his past and his second chance, is a model of repentance and faith. Then Jesus tells us stories about the joy in heaven over the sinner who repents. Are you getting the idea that repentance is a crucial part of your life with God? But do you wonder, what repentance really is?Well, there are a number of ways of trying to describe repentance. Going for a literal meaning, it is a turning around—a change of direction in life. I’ve heard repentance described as admitting your sins, feeling sorrow over them, and asking God for forgiveness. More and more I have come to think of repentance simply as being honest with God.
If I am honest with God, then I will be forced to admit that even as I am serving Him, there are evil thoughts and feelings that well up from my heart and mind. If I am honest with God then I have to admit that my love for Him is far from full and complete, and I don’t love my neighbor as I do myself. If I’m honest with God then I have to tell him where I have done far less than I am capable of, that I have nursed grudges, that I have been unfair and unloving in even the most important relationships. It’s this type of honesty that repentance is made of.
Remember Paul’s example of honesty. Writing to Timothy, he admitted, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.” He confessed to being the worst of sinners. He wasn’t trying to fool anybody. Just the opposite. He was telling the truth about himself. “Lord, here’s who I am and what I do. Save me. Forgive me. Change me.”Do you have this kind of honesty with God? Are you just beginning to discover it? Are you at a point in your life where it is painfully obvious that sin is ruining your life? If so, then rejoice, because heaven is rejoicing. Take heart, because you’re being honest with God, and that’s what he wants. Listen to this and believe it: your sins are forgiven before God through Jesus Christ. The Son of God himself took your death sentence upon himself at the cross, releasing you from the penalty of your sins. Your record is clean. There are no charges against you. A life of ongoing honesty with God keeps you plugged into the freeing power of forgiveness. Paul was not afraid to talk about his past, because it meant he would also be talking about Jesus, the giver of undeserved blessings. We do not have to be afraid to talk about our sins, either, because the same do-over given to Paul is given to you. Honesty with God allows you to enjoy the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his triumph over death on Easter. It is dishonesty about your sin that prevents you from living in the gifts of Christ.
On this Rally Day (weekend) we have the specific chance to renew our commitment to the study of God’s Word. We have yet another chance to be honest with God and admit that we have prevented ourselves from living in His gifts as fully as we could because we do not immerse ourselves in the Bible as we ought to. We can recite lines of dialogue from our favorite films, but we cannot recite verses from Holy Scripture. We proudly reproduce sports trivia, memorizing stats and player biographies, but we don’t know the biographies Moses, Elijah, or Deborah. We know where all the good stores are located, but we don’t know if the book of Colossians is located in the Old or New Testament, and worse, we might not particularly care. For people who claim to follow Jesus, this is simply unacceptable. Disciples of Jesus are not Biblically illiterate. How could that be possible? Why would you willingly ignore the words of the person you claim to follow? Return to the Lord! Renew your commitment to listening to His voice by studying His Word in whatever setting words best for you. Plug into God’s Word. It is the source that powers a life of faith in Jesus. It is the source that powers a life of forgiveness. And it is not too late to be honest about your need for this power, and to plug into it. It is waiting there for you. Jesus is waiting there to fill you up.

There Can Only Be One # 1

2010-09-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, I used to try to make time every Saturday morning to listen to Casey Kasem’s American Top Forty. It was kind of a big deal to find out what song was #1 on a given week. These days, I don’t know if there even is such a chart—I know records are kept for how many times a song is downloaded from iTunes, which is not quite the same thing. But back then people were really paying attention to what the # 1 song was.
Pretty soon college football season will be in full swing, and the hotly debated question will be, who is #1, according to the BCS rankings? With all the win/loss records, strength of schedule, and whatever other formulas go into that, at the end of the day, there can only be one #1, although when it comes to college football you wonder sometimes.
That’s a hard reality for athletes and entertainers and for everybody: there can only be one #1, and all our charts and lists pale in comparison to the command that God gives and the expectation that Jesus lays out here in Luke chapter 14. What God demands from his disciples is this: He needs to be your #1. There can be nothing more important to you than Him. Jesus asks you to think about it; to count the cost. Can you do it? Do you even want Him to be #1 in your life? Your answer is extremely important, because Jesus goes on to say that salt that loses its taste is no good, and it gets thrown out. If you’re into a comfortable Christianity where nothing is really expected of you and you hope you don’t really have to do anything in Jesus’ name, this message is not for you.
Kind of scary, isn’t it? This is not the smiley, huggy Jesus of our imagination; this is the real Jesus, God in the flesh, the teacher, saying to you and me, “There can only be one #1. If you’re going to roll with me, I’ve got to be it. If not, you’re just pretending at this.” And somewhere deep in our hearts, we know that this is the type of commitment that is called for when it comes to life with Jesus. The faith in us, fighting for life, allows us to sense that God should be #1 in our lives, and that our decisions and actions ought to be in harmony with God’s #1 spot. But all too often, we let go of that lifestyle. There are other concerns, other issues, other people that we prioritize above Jesus, the Son of God. Our families are an excellent example, and it is no coincidence that Jesus uses that example himself.
At first, the language here is extremely off-putting. When Jesus talks about hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even your own life, well, we almost make a little mental deal to ignore Jesus here—to pretend that He didn’t just say that. But good scholarship tells us that in Biblical Hebrew, the word ‘hate’ can mean loving someone less than another. You don’t hate them in the sense that you despise them; but “hate” in this Hebraic figure of speech means that there is a pecking order. Both are loved, but there is a favorite. So it would be valid to translate verse 26 this way: “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, more than your own life.” Now that takes the weird “hate” part out of it, but it still leaves us with an extremely difficult choice. But there can only be one #1. There will be a personal price to pay in your family if Jesus is your #1. It’s true. Same thing in your daily work and your friendships. Nothing can be more important than Jesus, not sports, not your boyfriend or girlfriend, not your hobbies, not your business, not your own personal comfort. It’s not hard to figure out what you love more and what you love less—just look at the decisions you make every day and where you’re spending your time. It’s not hard to tell where God is on your list. There can only be one #1.
If Jesus’ words have hit a nerve with you, then the thing to do is be honest. Be honest about how impossible it seems to put God at #1 in your life. Ask Him for the forgiveness that only He can offer. Come to Jesus, and look at the commitment He made to you. Jesus loved His Father more than He loved Himself. That’s how He could empty himself of all majesty to become truly human. That’s how He could be obedient to His Father and carry out the mission that had been given Him. What’s equally true is that Jesus loved you more than He loved himself. That love, not the nails, held Him to the cross, where His total commitment to you resulted in His suffering and death. Because Jesus loves you more than He loves himself, you are spared from having do deal with sin and death on your own; you are spared from eternal separation from God. To use the Hebraic figure of speech, Jesus hated Himself and loved you. Otherwise He would have never gone near the cross. But he did. His love for His Father and His love for you is the only explanation “why.”
When you trust in this Jesus and when you have been connected to Jesus through Baptism, you have access to His commitment. The apostle Paul urges us to remember our baptism and to daily “put on Christ.” I don’t think we really realize the great power we have been given access to. Through baptism and faith, Holy Scripture promises that we share in the mind of Jesus. We share in the humility of Jesus. We share in Jesus’ way of life, which values and loves others more than self. When Jesus starts talking about carrying our own crosses, this is what He’s getting at, and let’s take his advice: let’s count the cost, here. What does it mean to carry a cross for Jesus?
First, carrying a cross for Jesus means dying to self, meaning, I’m not # 1. This is a good thing. It means freedom from lusts and passions and being controlled by them. It means freedom from a life of trying to get more, newer, better stuff. Secondly, carrying a cross for Jesus means living a life of love and sacrifice. When God is #1, we are free to commit ourselves properly to relationships that are supposed to bring blessing into our lives. That’s by God’s design. He wants us to serve and love our spouses, our children, our co-workers, our friends and everyone with whom we live. We can get those relationships right, because our most important relationship is right.
Too often, we stunt our own spiritual growth, because we’re afraid of total commitment to Jesus. We’re afraid that we’ll miss out on something or lose the things we like. And, in truth, you will lose old ways of thinking and acting. But take a second to count the cost and see all the freedom that you gain when you carry a cross for Jesus. You lose old ways that lead to despair and death. You gain a new way that is life, unending, in the light of God’s commitment to you.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Humility: How to Enjoy a Feast

2010-08-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever sat in the wrong seats at a ticketed event, like a sporting event or a play? That can be embarrassing, especially when you think, “Wow, we really got good seats,” and then an usher appears, asking to check your ticket, and then you have to move to seats that are less than ideal. That can be really awkward. A lot of times, those mistakes are unintentional, but they are still embarrassing nonetheless.
What would be worse would be going to a dinner or banquet and, even though you are not the guest of honor, or a member of the wedding party, you decide to sit at the head table. Then the host would have to come over and ask you to move. Everyone would feel uncomfortable. Someone who knows you well enough might ask you, “What were you thinking?”
Jesus describes a similar scenario in today’s Gospel lesson, and he offers what, at first, just seems like good social advice—proper etiquette, if you will. When you show up at a wedding banquet, Jesus says, take a lesser seat, and let the host decide where you belong. Makes sense. You’ll certainly avoid the embarrassing scene of being asked to move And you just might enjoy the honor of having the host say, “Move up here, to a better place.”
What I would suggest to you today is that this “where should I sit” story is more than just a lesson in manners or social interaction. If we look closely, we will see Jesus highlighting a fundamental attitude he wants us to have. That attitude is humility.
Humility is a peculiar virtue and is easily misunderstood. The author and performer Garrison Keillor has gotten a lot of mileage out of describing the extreme humility of the people of the Upper Midwest., where folks are brought up to be deeply mistrustful of any compliments, to the point that they don’t believe they have any good qualities at all! But humility is not self-hatred. At the other end of the spectrum are those who are well acquainted with the language of humility, but don’t believe a word of it. When they say, “It was nothing,” they really mean, “I was awesome, wasn’t I?” It turns out, false humility is just pride in disguise.
Now we have named the real enemy: pride. “Where should I sit at the banquet” is really a question of pride. How important do I think I am, really? What do I think I deserve? These are important questions to consider, not just when it comes to choosing a table at the next wedding you go to, but in all of life, including how you relate to God Himself.
Here’s what I mean: we are tempted to seat ourselves at God’s best table based on us; on what we do. We perceive that our kindness toward others, or our link to a church, or our belief that we are really being obedient to God means that we deserve a plum position of some sort. These attempts at self-glorifying seem appropriate, because we are constantly told that hard work will get you moving up the ladder. You deserve good things because you’re a good person. Ok, you’re not always good, but you’re not as bad as the people sitting next to you. Pride plants the idea in my heart that God owes me something. Pride says that what matters most is what I want. But Jesus is saying that if you bring a prideful attitude into His kingdom, the least that’s going to happen is that you’ll end up embarrassed. The reality is that pride is a far more serious threat to faith. Not surprising, then, that pride takes a beating in Holy Scripture.
Listen to these passages that leave no room for pride in the Christian heart: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23). “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse (Galatians 3: 10). “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all out righteous deeds are like a polluted garment (Isaiah 64: 6). We cannot barge into God’s banquet and demand a seat based on our best performance. God will not allow it. So where does that leave us? Embarrassed and awkward? Maybe. Recognizing our sin can make us feel that way. But when we confess those sins and own up to them, we are voluntarily taking the lesser seat. When we finally see how helpless sin makes us, we are beginning to understand what real humility is. And when we come in repentant humility to the feast of God, you will let the host seat you wherever he wants to. That is the great news for us today: barging into his banquet won’t work; but when you come confessing your sin, when you come to the party in humility, the host will be happy to come out and get you and bring you to where you belong.
This summer my son and I had the experience of waiting in a long line for a special store to open. We got in that line about an hour before the store was to open, and even so there were quite few people in front of us. There was no way that we could’ve forced our way in. But with about forty minutes to go, a friend of ours who worked in that store came out, saw us waiting, and said, “Come with me.” We waltzed past those who had been ahead of us in line and right through the front entrance. It was a pretty great feeling. It really is about who you know.
That’s how it works in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We can’t muscle our way in—the truth is we don’t deserve to be there at all. Jesus was made like us in every way so that he could step in for us, be punished on a cross for us, suffer hell instead of us. Jesus became one of us to defeat the devil and to break the power of death by rising to life on Easter. When we approach God’s feast in humility, the crucified and risen Savior actually comes out to get us to bring us in to where he is. He comes out with forgiveness and life, saying, “Friend, move up higher!” Move up higher—be washed in the baptismal water and joined to Jesus. Move up higher—receive forgiveness of your sins and be reconciled to others. Move up higher—hear the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit create a new heart within. Move up higher—eat and drink at the feast of the Lord, where Jesus’ body and blood are offered for pardon and peace. Let’s never forget that all of us are here in the kingdom of God, feasting at His table, for one reason alone: we have a forgiving, gracious Host. With humility and faith in Jesus, let’s live gratefully and generously. Your host will seat you now!

God's Love Is Wide, But His Door Is Narrow

2010-08-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
And we say, “Really? A narrow door? Isn’t it a bad thing to be narrow-minded?” Here we have more uncomfortable words from Jesus—words that put us, His disciples, at odds with conventional wisdom. For while it is true that God’s love is deep and wide, the way to that love is a narrow door. Salvation—being re-routed from hell to heaven—is the work of Jesus alone. This is the holy, Christian, apostolic message: “There is no other name for people to call on to save them.” No other name but Jesus.
If you really live by this narrow truth, you can expect some blowback, or opposition. Jesus never said discipleship was easy.
One of our members here at St. Paul’s tells the story of being invited to say a few words at a nursing home memorial service for his father. Now, his father had never made a confession of faith—it was just something that he didn’t talk about. So when it came time to talk, this Christian man made a clear witness to Jesus as the one and only way to heaven. Then he went on to say that he hoped his father went there, although he could not be sure.
If you can imagine a wheelchair-bound angry mob, that is what this man faced after the service. They rolled up to him, fingers wagging, “How can you say that? Of course your father went to heaven! He was a good man.”
And that is what passes for conventional wisdom and cultural spirituality today: as long as you’re a basically decent human being, heaven, if you care to think about it, is a shoo-in for you. But that’s not the narrow door of which Jesus speaks. In fact, our Lord ups the ante considerably when He teaches that mere knowledge of Him is not enough either! Being a “passing acquaintance” of Jesus isn’t going to do it! Listen to His words: “When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us,” then he will answer you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!”
To put this in everyday language, just knowing about Jesus is not enough. Having your name in a church record book is not enough. Participating in the rituals of the church is not enough. Even calling yourself a Christian is not enough. The question is, do you trust in Jesus? Do you believe the things you say about Jesus in our creeds? Do you believe the things you say about yourself in our confession of sins? Is it your sincere conviction that you deserve nothing but punishment for your sins and sinfulness? Do you truly believe that Jesus has provided the only way out from under God’s wrath through His innocent suffering and death? Do you believe that his resurrection paved the way to heaven not for “good people” but for repentant sinners? Jesus has some alarming news to share. People who are, in fact, casual acquaintances of Jesus are going to be mighty surprised on the day of judgment, whether that’s the big one or the little one of their own death. “Hey Jesus—I knew about you!” isn’t going to work. “Jesus, I believe in you—Jesus, I depend on you completely—you are my life…” That is the relationship He is looking for from us. “Jesus is someone that I know because I’ve met Him in His Word, I trust in what He’s done for me, and I thankfully live life His way!” People who have that attitude are being drawn through the narrow door by the undeserved, unending love of Jesus, the Son of God.
However, there are still those who object to this singular focus on Jesus. And, truth be told, in our private thoughts we may harbor an occasional doubt or two. The idea of all religions being equal in value and validity can be persuasive, especially when we have connections to people who practice those religions. But consider this scenario:
Just imagine that a new, mutant virus begins to spread around the world, creating a panic that makes last year’s swine flu scare look like a birthday party. People are dying by the thousands. There is talk about the 21st century Black Plague. The virus is introduced to the United States through air travel, and the plague begins to spread rapidly inward from both coasts, cutting a wide swath of death across our country. Then, in an amazing turn of events, a cure is discovered. Pharmaceutical factories work around the clock, cranking out pills that, once swallowed, can reverse the effects of the disease, and restore life to the individual. In every case where they had been tested, they proved to be effective, with no adverse side effects. The pills also worked as a vaccine, ensuring that the virus would never be able to kill the person who had taken them. Best of all, the pills were free and readily available to all who wanted one.
How likely is it that someone would say, “I don’t think the plague is a problem?” Or “I won’t get sick. I’ve never been sick before, and I won’t catch this either.” Or “I don’t think it’s right that the cure is only in pill form—I want mine as a shot!” Or “I don’t believe that this pill will help. I’ll go chew on some plants instead, that ought to work.” Human nature being what it is, I have to grant that some folks might actually answer that way. But by and large, I believe most people would gladly take the pill that would save their lives.
There is one cure for the plague of sin, and His name is Jesus. He has negated sin’s heavy price at the cross of Calvary. He has reversed the effects of death with His resurrection. He offers protection and peace to the person who takes Him as Savior and Life-giver. He invites you to help yourself to His gifts at no cost and to live in connection with Him. Turn away from sin. Turn away from self. Run to the open arms of Jesus. A celebration that lasts into eternity is waiting for you through His narrow door

Bible Study: the Gospel of John

2010-08-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Signs and Teaching

John calls the miracle at the Cana wedding “the first of [Jesus’] signs.”

Signs: Greek semeia; revelations of God’s mind and work. Not only are these miracles but they are actions demonstrating that Jesus is the Messiah.

John refers to “signs” seventeen times in his Gospel. What effect did these signs have on people? (See John 2: 11, 23—25; 12: 37—38; 20: 30—31)

After the “Cleansing of the Temple,” Jesus is asked to produce a sign that will give evidence to his authority. What “sign” does he give the Jews? (2: 19) What does John “give away” in verse 22? Why do you think he does this?

For that matter, why do you think John places the “Temple Incident” towards the beginning of his book, when the other Synoptic Gospels put it towards the end? (John 1: 11 might be helpful in answering this question.)

Why is Nicodemus willing to call Jesus “a teacher come from God”? (3:2) What stereotype does Nicodemus instantly explode? (3:1)

According to Jesus, how does one “see and enter” the kingdom of God? (3:5)

The original language adds clarity and a greater sense of wonder to Jesus’ saying about himself as the “Son of Man” in 3: 13. Rendered literally, it says, “And no one has gone up into the heaven except he who out of the heaven came down, the Son of Man who is in the heaven.” (Remember the full meaning of “Son of Man” from Daniel 7: 13.) What does Jesus say must happen to the Son of Man? (3: 13; Numbers 21: 9)

John 3: 16: Loved: Greek agapao; sacrificial, unconditional, selfless love

Bible Study: the Gospel of John

2010-08-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

The Baptizer’s Message and the Calling of the Disciples

The Pharisees sent priests and Levites to ask John, “Who are you?”

Why would they ask, “Are you Elijah?” (2 Kings 2: 11; Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17: 12)

Who are they talking about when they ask, “Are you the Prophet?” (Deuteronomy 18: 15—18)

What identity does the Baptizer claim? (Isaiah 40: 3—5)

To what is John referring when he calls Jesus “the Lamb of God?” (Exodus 12)

What experience is John recounting in John 1: 32—34? (Matthew 3: 13—17)

It appears that Andrew was a “disciple” of John the Baptist before he was a disciple of Jesus. Who may have been the other of the “two” mentioned in v. 35? (The film assumes this is the identity of the “other” disciple.)

What do you think of Philip’s “evangelism technique?” (v. 46)

In the span of two verses, Jesus is identified as both “Son of God” and “Son of Man.” This reference Jesus makes ties together two Old Testament events—what are they? What is Jesus saying here? (Genesis 28: 12; Daniel 7: 13)

Worried Sick

2010-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Jesus says to you, “Do not be anxious. Don’t worry.” What do you say to Him?
Do you say, “Well, Lord, it’s not that simple. You don’t know what I’ve been going through. There are so many terrible things going on in the world. I just can’t help it.”
Jesus says to you, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.” What do you say to that? Do you say, “Yeah, Lord, that sounds very spiritual and everything, but I’ve got to put food on the table and clothes on my family’s back somehow!” Or do you say, “How can I not be anxious about life when I just received this diagnosis or when my loved one is in declining health, or they live far away, where I can’t help them?”
When Jesus starts telling his disciples “Do not worry,” we start to tune Him out. For so many of us, the idea of being free from anxiety is a beautiful thought, but so far from reality that we don’t even take it seriously. That’s a shame, because our Lord Jesus clearly intends for us, His disciples, to do something other than worry ourselves sick.
What does He intend for us? He lays it all out in today’s Gospel lesson. First of all, Jesus calls us to consciously reject worldly priorities. He does this first with the story of the Rich Fool. The meaning of the story is easy to understand: God calls this man a fool because he spent his whole life trying to accumulate more stuff; then dies, effectively losing all the stuff he had dedicated his life to gaining. Now sitting in church we may piously give our agreement to this story, but in our everyday lives, do our actions match our agreement? Have we consciously rejected “getting more stuff” as something that matters to us, or are we still on the treadmill of going after more, bigger, and better? In addition to being a meaningless goal, it brings with it many worries, to the point that we stop possessing our possessions and they start possessing us. Worry is neutralized when you consciously reject the lie that “getting more stuff” is going to make you happy. That takes some doing, especially when so much advertising is based on creating a desire in you for something you don’t have. That’s why Jesus doesn’t just say, “reject this mindset,” but continues by saying “replace it with something better.”
But before we get to that “something better,” Jesus pauses and asks us, His disciples, to reflect on His Father and our Father. Jesus asks us to think about the birds that fly around our backyards and the flowers beautify the landscape. God tends to them both. Neither birds nor flowers worry about their existence, yet God provides for them. And if that is the case, Jesus says, don’t you think that God is going to tend to you, as well? You are much more valuable to God than a bird, Jesus says, and that’s not a put-down to birds. It’s just that God values you more; so much so that His Son was raised up on a cross to take your punishment. He didn’t do that for the birds or the flowers; he did that for us, for you and for me, so we could be forgiven; so that we would trust Him with our eternal well-being, along with everything else.
That is the choice Jesus holds before you today. You can worry, or you can trust God. You can torture yourself with a thousand “what ifs,” or you can place your problem in the hands of the God who formed this world and still tends to it. You can worry yourself sick, or you can enjoy a healthy trust in your Father to do what is best for you. You are invited today to just trust that God knows what is best for you, and is working through every little detail of your life, to provide for you and put you on the path that will bring the most blessing to you. That doesn’t mean the most stuff; but that does mean freedom from the agony of anxiety. Just trust that your Heavenly Father knows what to do and will never leave you. Let go of the illusion that your worry is going to change anything. It’s not. Just trust that God has it handled and that He loves you and that His answers are the best answers. They are. The sacrifice of His Son on the cross is proof of how far He would go to care for you.
And when you just trust in the Lord, you are ready to replace old ways of thinking with something much better. Listen to Jesus describe that “better way”: “Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after such things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
Seeking the kingdom of God, Jesus says, is the better way to live. But what does that seeking mean, exactly? Well, at this point, it would be tempting to refer to what our sister in Christ Rachel is doing, by going to Taiwan to share the light of Jesus there. And that is wonderful work, make no mistake. It is a privilege to be a part of that and to be involved in sending her today. But what I am afraid of is giving you the impression that its only people like Rachel who are seeking the kingdom of God by going to far-off locations, or for that matter, that it is only professional church workers who are out there seeking the kingdom, and that’s simply not the case! He wants you to seek His kingdom, and you can do that without ever leaving this community! Seeking the kingdom means living in a way that shows God’s reality in your life. It means knowing what He says in His Word. It means valuing what He does for you in the divine service. It means adopting God’s priorities as the priorities that you will live by. It means giving freely from what you have and who you are in response to Jesus’ kindness. Seeking God’s kingdom means that you are sold on Jesus Christ and want to bring his compassion and mercy and truth into your corner of the world. Jesus promises that when going after His kingdom is your first priority, you will lack nothing. You’ll have nothing to worry about.

Why not try it, and see?

Bible Study: The Gospel of John

2010-07-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Grab your Bible and join me in this study of John's Gospel, which I have been leading on Saturday nights, in conjunction with the 2003 film, "The Gospel of John."

The Gospel of John
Session One
Prologue: Establishing the Identity of Jesus Christ

What deliberate connection is John making in 1:1? (Genesis 1:1)

What does it mean to call Jesus “the Word”? (How did God create? (Gen. 1: 3))

Word: Greek logos; root of English words such as “logic” and “-ology” (the study of…)

What event and action does John want us to know Jesus participated in?

Take a look at what the Old Testament says about the connection between the Word and light in Psalm 119: 105, 130;

“John” in verse 6 is not John the author, but John the Baptist, whom we will meet in verse 19. How does verse 7 describe John the Baptist’s task?

What is the tragic irony of the arrival of the true light in the world? (vv.10—11) At the same time, what does John say also happened? (vv. 12—13)

Right: Greek exousia; meaning “freedom” or “authority.”

“Dwelled among us” in the Greek is eskanosen, which means “tabernacled.” Why would John describe Jesus taking on human flesh as “tabernacling”? (Exodus 40: 34—35)

According to verse 15, what did John the Baptist proclaim about Jesus?

Fullness: Greek plaromatos; meaning “plenty of,” “abounding in,” “complete”

What basic interpretive principle is described in verse 17?

Verse 18 sets up a major theme of John’s Gospel. What is it?

One Nation Under God

2010-07-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

Polite society, we are told, welcomes neither religion nor politics in everyday conversation. Well, I guess this is going to be an impolite sermon, then, because we’re going to talk about both. And how can we not? We are Christian citizens after all, and Scripture has much to say about navigating our way through life as both Christian and citizen.
Let’s start here: God has revealed the directions for national strength in a program that is surprisingly plain. These words of God say nothing about imports or exports; inflation or deflation; unemployment; bailouts or campaign finance reform. They don’t even mention the words Democrat or Republican. Yet these words are intensely practical. They penetrate to the first cause of everything helpful and everything destructive to the nation. Here is God’s direction for building a better nation, from Proverbs 14: 34: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Sin destroys. Righteousness builds a nation.
When God warns that “Sin is a reproach to any people,” this is not theory or pessimism—this is history. Where today is the mighty Roman Empire? The world dominion of Alexander the Great? And this is more than ancient history. We see the ugly results of greed in our own nation today. The Biblical concept of marriage and family is disintegrating before our eyes, and in the families that are together, living in relationship with God is seldom the top priority. We hear every day about environmental disaster, ballooning national debt, attempts to destroy lawful and representative government. Behind all this, in one form or another, is the sure consequence for every uprising against God.
Here it is again, and it is no more complex than this: “Sin is a reproach to any people,” no matter how wealthy, how large, how proud, or how brilliant. Don’t argue that we are too strong or too resourceful to fall; if our programs and plans disregard divine truth, dethrone God, and smile on the carnivals of sin, no matter how ingenious or scientifically correct these plans may be, they must fail. Over the lost glory of every nation both the hand of God and the pen of history have written the verdict, “The reproach of sin.”
However, that is not the only word God has for us: remember, He also says, “Righteousness exalts a nation.” This again is not merely idealism talking—this is history! Wherever people have been blessed by Christian righteousness, they have proved themselves to be the “salt of the earth” that has prevented decay. Early Christianity changed the world of its day, exalting marriage, children and parenthood. The first Christians brought honestly and love to cultures that had never thought such a way of life was possible. Christian missionaries literally changed entire regions through the power of the Gospel message. And these things still happen when Christians are courageous enough to actually live out their faith!
Of course, Christians must vote intelligently and prayerfully. But more than this, the United States needs Christians to be Christian—to not just go to church but be the Church, so that our fellow citizens will be persuaded by our lives lived to God and attracted by the righteousness of Jesus that they see in us.
Every single day, Americans are bombarded with promises of happiness and fulfillment: just buy this product; try this exercise system; go on this diet; read this book; practice these principles; take advantage of this government program and you will get what you want. And if that doesn’t work, you can entertain yourself to death. But the Christian Church has something better for our people—and every nation—the one power that can create a clean heart and a right spirit within them—and that is faith in Jesus Christ, his cleansing blood and his victorious resurrection.
To overcome the reproach of sin for you, to break the curse of death in your life, to free you from the nightmare of hell, your heavenly Father did not simply overlook sin. Instead, he sent his only Son, Jesus, to bear on the cross in his crushed and bleeding body my sins and yours, to stand before the bar of eternal justice and plead guilty for us, to take upon himself everything sinful and wrong in our lives, to pay the penalty for sin on our behalf, to bring us full forgiveness of that sin and to open the gate of heaven to all who believe this. This is the most vital message of all human history; this is life; this is heaven and eternal blessing. Believe it, because he did it for you. Even if you have been living like God doesn’t matter and that you matter most, listen to this: Even at this moment, Your heavenly Father invites you to turn around and come back to Him. His arms are open wide, and so is his heart. Reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace are real, thanks to Jesus and his suffering, death, and resurrection.
When Jesus is your Savior, the faith in your heart will show itself. You will have the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures and the Sacraments by which sinful passions are tamed, selfish desires removed and small faith enlarged. You will want to make Jesus known to people, so that they can experience this peace and new life as well.
This is the righteousness our country needs more than any Senate legislation or government program. You and I have been chosen to be the delivery system by which people are introduced to the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the great gifts that he loves to give. In these critical, decisive days, we still have the freedom to speak of Jesus and to peaceably come together around His Word and Sacraments. May the Spirit make us bold to seize the opportunity our freedom affords us; to broadcast, in word and deed, the power and love of Jesus Christ. Because with Jesus in more American hearts and lives, we will have, by His promise, the righteousness that will exalt this nation!

Inspired by and adapted from a sermon by Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier

Are You Bearing Fruit?

2010-06-27T04:39:00.000-07:00

You can learn quite a bit by planting a garden or caring for fruit-bearing trees. One of those things you can learn quickly is how little control you have when it comes to making things grow. Sure, you can help the process in a variety of ways, but in the end, and you green-thumbed people know this best, there is really nothing we can do to make fruit appear. The appearance and growth of fruit—and the conditions that support it—are controlled not by our willpower but by the patterns woven into creation by God Himself.
The Apostle Paul, writing to Christians in Galatia, urges them—and us—to “walk by the Spirit,” that is, to allow the Spirit of God to lead us in thoughts, in attitudes, in what we say and of course in what we do. Significantly, Paul refers to these right thoughts, attitudes, words and deeds as “fruit of the Spirit.” The idea is not hard to catch: Paul is saying that if the Holy Spirit is present in a person, then the Spirit in that person will produce right thoughts, attitudes, words and deeds. And just like in the created world, this is not a matter of our willpower, but it is a process that proceeds from God Himself. He has chosen to live in you, and since He is there, He will produce certain characteristics in you. Paul spells out what those characteristics are—so let’s look at each one in a little more detail.
The first fruit listed is love. Love that proceeds from the Spirit of God finds its highest expression in self-sacrifice. “Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” Jesus said, and He also lived it. Not to be confused with infatuation or lust, Godly love is a willing commitment to put the needs of others ahead of your own. Are you bearing the fruit of love?
Paul also mentions the fruit of joy. This is not simply happiness, but truly enjoyment of God and His gifts. Joy is being amazed at what God has done for you in Jesus Christ. For that reason, joy is not dependent on favorable circumstances. Joy is what the Christian still has, no matter what, even in the worst of circumstances: membership in God’s family! Are you bearing the fruit of joy?
The next fruit of the Spirit named is peace. While we’d settle for a definition of peace such as “the absence of conflict” or maybe just “quietness,” peace rooted in the Holy Spirit means that a lasting truce has been called between you and God. The great big debt incurred and compounded by your sin has been paid off by the agony and death of Jesus on the cross. There is now no doubt about your identity: you are a baptized, adopted, forgiven child of God, and when you know who you are, there is wholeness. Are you bearing the fruit of peace?
Paul says that patience is also a fruit of the Spirit—but I’m afraid it’s fruit that nobody really wants. We live in a world in which “instant” almost isn’t even fast enough for us. And yet those walking in step with the Spirit will have patience. Maybe it would help us to think of patience not so much in terms of “waiting,” and instead think of it as “accepting God’s timing as the right timing,” and trusting that he knows the best “when.” Are you bearing the fruit of patience?
Kindness is next, and while it seems like simple fruit, it also seems to be sorely lacking nearly everywhere you go. Interestingly, kindness is not just a state of being. I’ve never heard anyone being urged to “have kindness.” No! We are urged to be kind! Kindness is being mindful that how we speak and the way we act matters—a lot. Kindness could be thought of as grace in action. Are you bearing the fruit of kindness?
Goodness is another fruit of the Spirit, and let’s not confuse “goodness” with “being nice.” In case you haven’t noticed, it’s not easy to be good and to do good. The opposite of good is evil, and being good will sometimes mean you have to confront evil and call it out, and that takes courage only God can provide. Have you taken a stand for good lately? Are you bearing the fruit of goodness?
The Apostle Paul says that faithfulness is fruit produced by the Spirit, and it is a special and beautiful fruit. Faithfulness is not merely possessing faith, but it is the ongoing pattern of being true to that faith. Faithfulness means orienting your entire life around the Lord and His Word and His wishes. Are you bearing the fruit of faithfulness?
The fruit of gentleness might be the most underrated quality on this list. Men, in particular, might hear “gentleness” and think “that sounds wimpy and weak.” But Spirit-grown gentleness is actually strength under control. Some of you have met our dog, Theo, a one hundred and two pound Newfoundland. He could knock just about anyone off their feet if he wanted to. But he knows not to, and he doesn’t. That’s gentleness, and that’s not a bad way to deal with people, either. Are you bearing the fruit of gentleness?
Finally, there’s self-control. The Spirit grows in us the ability to say no to things that are bad for us and yes to things that are good and Godly. The fruit of self-control makes it hard for the Christian to use the excuse, “I just couldn’t help it.” Self-control means you can always say no to the devil’s lies. Furthermore, you can say yes to meeting God in His Word, yes to His presence in your life and in worship, yes to anything that is going to make that bond stronger. Are you bearing the fruit of self-control?
I love what Paul says next. After making this list of Spirit-borne fruit, he says, “against such things there is no law.” There are plenty of laws against sinfulness, but you cannot be too loving. There is no restriction against being too joyful, or too filled with peace, or too patient. There is no penalty for being too kind, too faithful, too gentle, too self-controlled. God will only be pleased to produce this fruit in you and let you use it.Now, an unfortunate by-product of this “fruit list” is that it does point out what we are not. At the end of each fruit, the question was asked, “Are you bearing it?” And you may have honestly answered, “no,” or “I don’t know,” or “not as much as I should.” If that’s the case—and it’s the case for me—you are urged to confess this before God and admit where you fall short. Do so knowing that even now your sins are forgiven, removed, and cancelled by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The punishment that brings you peace was placed on Him. By His wounds you are healed. And then simply ask the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in you and for you to be aware of it. You may not realize all that the Holy Spirit is already doing in you. You may be bearing this fruit unconsciously. That’s how it is supposed to happen. After all, our tomatoes and apples don’t grow by our own willpower. Neither does the fruit of the Spirit appear in us by our own determination. It is His work in you that makes it happen. Just ask Him—provide Him withthe fertile soil of your heart—and let Him grow miraculous fruit in you.

Love, Obedience, and Abraham Lincoln

2010-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

I took our car in for an oil change, and I was sitting in the waiting room, which was empty except for me and one other man. There wasn’t much to do, so I struck up a conversation, and pretty soon we were talking about United States Presidents. And that’s when things started to get a little strange. You see, this man began talking about Abraham Lincoln; that he not only considered Lincoln to be the greatest President ever, but also the greatest American of all time and possibly the greatest man in history, period. In fact, he even said that he tried to live his life according to the teachings and example of Abraham Lincoln.
Well, now, this piqued my curiosity. I’d heard of Buddhists and Confucians, but I’d never met a Linconian—a disciple of Abraham Lincoln. I didn’t even know there was such a thing. So I just had to ask a few more questions:
“Are there others like you?” I asked. “Oh yes, there’s a group of about 40 here in Lake County; we meet once a week on Friday evening—that’s the day Lincoln was shot. Our leader has a Masters Degree in American History. Every week, he reads a selection from Lincoln’s writings, and then he gives a talk explaining what it means and suggesting ways we can apply it to our lives. And of course, February 12th, Lincoln’s birthday, is a big holiday for us. We have parties, exchange gifts, and sing Civil War songs. It’s fun.”
“That’s fascinating!” I said. “So you must study Lincoln’s life and writings?” “Well, not exactly,” he said. “I do own a leather-bound copy of Lincoln’s complete works—his speeches and letters. I also own several biographies of Lincoln. One of these days I really do plan to read them. I just haven’t had the time.”
I started to push him a little. “But how can you be a disciple of Lincoln if you don’t read what he wrote?” “Well, it’s mostly common sense stuff, really,” he said. “Do unto others, the golden rule, be nice to people, free the slaves, that kind of thing. And besides, I listen to a half-hour speech about Lincoln every Friday.”
“I see. So how does being a follower of Lincoln affect your life?” “Well, like I said, I go to a meeting every Friday. I celebrate Lincoln’s birthday once a year. I own a leather-bound edition of his writings and speeches. Oh, and most of my friends are also Linconians.”
“So, when you get together with your friends, do you talk about Lincoln’s life and how to live out his teachings?” “Oh, no, not really. That stuff’s for Fridays, when we go to the meetings. No, we mostly talk about sports, politics, our families. We’re normal people, you know.”
As you may have guessed, this conversation never really happened. I just made it up. But it would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it, for someone to claim to be a follower of Abraham Lincoln, and yet not study his writings…not be familiar with the events of his life? You might reasonably doubt the depth of someone’s devotion to our sixteenth president if they had never heard of the Gettysburg address, or the Emancipation Proclamation, or Ford’s Theater. You would rightly expect that if a person claimed to be a disciple of Lincoln’s, it would have an affect on how they lived, beyond attending a meeting once a week.
Do you see where I’m going with this? If you are a Christian…if you are truly a follower of Jesus Christ, it will affect much more of your life than just Sunday morning. Following Jesus isn’t a hobby. It’s a way of life. It’s a way of life that makes us different from the world around us. It’s a matter of identity—it’s not just a matter of what you know, it’s a matter of who you are. To say it another way, Christians define themselves by their connection to Jesus Christ. That connection is a real thing. Again, it makes us who we are: people who have Jesus living inside them. Question number one in Luther’s Small Catechism: What is Christianity? Answer: It is the life and salvation given in and through Jesus Christ. Not a code of regulations. Not a list of do’s and don’ts. Not a burden of guilt to motivate us. Christianity is being chosen by God, adopted by him, cleaned up, forgiven, and being plugged into life with Jesus that lasts forever.
So how does someone respond to all this? Jesus tells us in his usual straightforward manner, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Now, right away you might hear that and think, “whoops,” because we know ourselves. We know our own track record with keeping God’s commands. We are weak-willed, rebellious, in a word, sinful. That’s what made Jesus’ suffering and death on a cross necessary. But again he did that for you so you could be chosen, adopted, cleaned up, forgiven, and plugged into eternal life. So if you return to God and admit your sin and spend some time at the foot of the cross, then your debt is paid in full. You have the proverbial clean slate. Not only that, but you have the Holy Spirit as your counselor and advocate. He goes with you through life pointing you to Jesus. Having given you these priceless gifts, your resurrected Lord gently asks you, “Do you love me?”
If you do love Jesus, then you will want to obey his commands. You won’t have to be forced to. You won’t obey Jesus because you’re scared of what’ll happen if you don’t. You obey his commands because you love him and know that’s what’s best. If you didn’t love Jesus, then you wouldn’t really care what he commanded, would you? If you do love him, then you do care, and you’ll want to do things his way.
By the way, what are the commands Jesus wants us to obey? Any idea? Earlier in this same conversation, Jesus said it clearly. This is chapter 13 verse 34: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Are you sensing a theme here? Love seems to be very important to our Lord Jesus…but he’s not talking about sticky sweet sentimental feelings or warm fuzzies. When Jesus talks about love, he’d usually talking about sacrifice.

How will you respond to Jesus? As you think about that, consider this poem quoted by Pastor Gregory Dawson:

Christ has no body now
But yours
No hands
No feet on earth
But yours

Yours are the eyes
Through which he looks
With compassion on this world
Yours are the feet
With which he walks to do good
Yours are the hands
With which he serves all the world

Yours are the hands
Yours are the feet
Yours are the eyes
You are his body

Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Let’s show Jesus to each other by obeying his commands.

Can You Relate To A Triune God?

2010-06-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

If Trinity Sunday is nothing more than a chance to rehash a set of doctrines about God that nobody understands, then this might just be the most boring weekend on the church calendar. And I say that as someone who believes that correct doctrine is of great importance. The Bible itself says that we are to pursue true apostolic teaching. But here’s the rub: God is not a set of doctrines. God is God. God is an intelligent being. God is spirit, and yet more than that—He actually came down and walked around as a human being on this planet that he created. My prayer today is that Trinity Sunday will be transformed when you realize that God wants you to know Him. In other words, He wants to live in relationship with you. He wants you to know what He is like, and He wants to know you in the deepest possible way. Through the words of Holy Scripture, the one and only true God approaches you and says, “This is who I AM.”
The very idea of “having a relationship” has its origin in God. The God of the Bible has, from the very beginning, lived in relationship with Himself. Way back in Genesis chapter one, God can be overheard talking to himself, saying “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Who could he be talking to, except those parts of himself that we have come to know as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? That very idea is expressed in a most beautiful and moving way in today’s Old Testament Lesson from Proverbs 8. Here, Jesus, the wisdom and Word of God, is portrayed as a master workman alongside his Father, crafting the world with creative power. Their work is joyful, but a careful reading of verses 30 and 31 reveals that the act of creation is not the only happiness described; it says, and this is from Jesus’ perspective: “I was his daily delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of men.” Does that not “wow” you just a little? As the Father is raising the skies and filling the oceans, his delight is in His Son. You can almost envision His hand on His Son’s shoulder as they share this indescribable experience. Father, Son, and Spirit have lived in relationship with one another from eternity. The act of creation is a decision God made to live in relationship with other beings beside Himself—namely, human beings. He wanted—and still wants—to live in relationship with people so that his delight and rejoicing will be multiplied! What a thought! When you live in relationship with God, He rejoices! You are fulfilling His purpose for creation.
But sadly, it’s hard for us to live in relationship with God. We may be born with a God-shaped hole in our souls, but on our own, we don’t know what it is. We know there’s an emptiness there, so we try to fill it with achievements; with friends, family, or anyone who seems to care; with possessions; with excitement; and when things get desperate, we put various substances into ourselves trying to fill that hole up. But we will never do it. What we try will never work, because it is a God-shaped hole. The only thing that will fit there is a relationship with God. And because we are by nature sinful, selfish, and spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, we cannot initiate the relationship that can finally make us whole.
Knowing this, The Father, Son, and Spirit formulated a plan that would keep their dream alive—their dream of living in relationship with people. The Son, with whom the Father had hung the stars in the sky and laid the foundations of the mountains, would become one of the human beings that they cared so much for, and in this way, God would deal with the problem of sin. Sin had a devastating effect on relationships. It made people not care about God and even less for their neighbor—witness the son of Adam and Eve murdering his brother. But if sin could be dealt with—more than that, if sin’s cost could be paid for—then a renewed relationship could be possible.
And so Jesus is born into the world he helped create; and so Jesus speaks continually about His Father; about honoring His Father; about being sent from His Father; about His Father giving Him glory; about knowing His Father; and about doing His Father’s will. And it is His Father’s will that he, Jesus, should become the once-and-for-all offering for sin, and that makes it all sound very neat and tidy. It is His Father’s will that He, Jesus, should be hated, betrayed, made fun of, spit upon, beaten, whipped, and finally nailed to a wooden cross. Yet none of that was the worst. No, the worst came when the Father turned away from his Son, withdrawing his relationship from his beloved, co-creating Son, ignoring the cries of the one in whom he had so delighted. This is the hell that Jesus faced on the cross. Not some lake of fire, but his Father walking away.
And there was only one reason for this. Because of our sins of thought, word, and deed; because of the things we have done and the things we have left undone God could have and should have walked away from us. He would be justified in turning his back on us in sadness and disappointment. But the Father put Jesus in the place we were supposed to be, and Jesus willingly and obediently took what we deserved. He took it. He didn’t complain that it wasn’t fair. He didn’t run away or bail out at the last minute. He took it, because He, with His Father and the Spirit, had one goal: to live in relationship with you and thereby to delight and rejoice in you.
Having dealt with sin and hell at the cross, and having crushed death with the resurrection of Jesus, God could now go about initiating the relationship with us that he so desired. So the Holy Spirit goes into action. Through water and the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that very Spirit initiates the relationship that is so precious to Him. In Holy Baptism, the Spirit wraps his arms around one whom he loves, and gives that one the gift of faith—the ability to respond to the Spirit’s embrace with one of his or her own. The Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see all that Jesus did so that you can live in relationship to God. It has all been done for you. It has all been done to you. Spirit, Son and Father moved heaven and earth for you. The relationship between Father and Son was broken so that your relationship with Him could be repaired. He just wants the joy of knowing you.And as you are drawn into a relationship with Father, Son and Spirit, you realize that there is another way you can multiply His delight. That is to live in relationship with other people with the commitment and love that God showed to us. Beyond the greatest gift of our relationship with Him, we also have been given the gift of living in relationship with mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, friends, teachers, students, co-workers, and the list goes on. Sin can damage these relationships just as sure as it can damage a relationship with God; but when our relationship with God is strong, then we will approach all of our other relationships with the grace that we have received and learned from Jesus. We will see the other person that we’re looking at as someone who needs mercy, compassion, forgiveness and friendship, and we’ll share those gifts because Father, Son and Holy Spirit shared them with us. We were made for relationship with this Triune God of ours; and we were made for relationship with each other. How He must rejoice when we finally “get it.”

I Know The Plans I Have For You (Wedding Sermon for David and Anja Durfee)

2010-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Anja and David,

Grace and peace are yours in abundance in your knowledge of God and your Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

God’s Word for this day of blessing is found in Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This is the Word of the Lord.

“I know the plans I have for you…” Indeed, the Lord God has allowed an incredible plan to unfold in your lives. Elsewhere in Scripture, in the book of Isaiah, we hear: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord, and to that you might say, “boy, that’s the truth.” Not too long ago, your plans and your thoughts may not have included becoming husband and wife to another—but here you are, at the direction of your loving heavenly Father. And so today is a day of great rejoicing, as we humbly and gratefully trust in the plans God has made for you.

Clearly, God knows the plans he has for us, as it says in Jeremiah. The problem from our perspective is that although He may know the plan, it doesn’t always seem like He’s telling us the plan, at least as fully as we might like. At the time, God’s plan seems to us like a brick wall or a dead end. If we’re being optimistic, we might call it Plan B. But over time I have come to learn that, when you submit your life to God, the “B” in Plan B stands for Blessing.

One small example of that happens to come from our own wedding day. I had made reservations with the Ritz Carlton in Cleveland for our wedding night. After driving through a severe thunderstorm to get downtown, we were told that our room was still occupied and there were no other rooms available. After explaining our circumstances to the hotel representative, we were ultimately sent east to the hotel on the grounds of the Cleveland Clinic. With rising hope we were escorted to our room, only to find that the room key didn’t work. More waiting and checking ensued. When our bellhop finally reappeared, he got us back on the elevator and pushed the button for the very top floor. The doors opened to a kind of luxurious accommodation that I had never seen before and will definitely never see again, and later we were told that this is where the oil magnates stay when they’re in town to be seen by the Clinic doctors. Plan B, we learned, stands for “Blessing,” and that principle has held true in our marriage for close to twelve years now.

David, Anja, I think you can relate to the idea that Plan B stands for “Blessing.” The plans that God had for each of you included each other. Who would’ve thought? Well, God did, and that actually provides a wonderful basis for a married relationship. When you are convinced that your Almighty God and Father is responsible for bringing the two of you together, you stand on the strongest foundation possible. Your starting point for relating to each other is that God intends for you to have and to hold one another. David is God’s gift to you. Anja is the Lord’s to you. What satisfaction there is in knowing that your union is really God’s idea.

And yet we must acknowledge that we can frustrate the plans that God has for us. We do that when we make selfish choices and when we do not forgive as we have been forgiven. In marriage, we can frustrate the plans God has for us when we think in terms of “me” instead of “we.” And I think it is interesting to note that when the Lord first spoke the words “I know the plans I have for you…” He was speaking them to the rebellious people of Israel. He was telling them that they would have to live away from Jerusalem for seventy years because of their hard-heartedness! They literally could not go home again—to the land God had given them—because they had turned their backs on Him. God was enforcing the consequences of their actions, in hopes that they would repent…in hopes that they would wake up and realize what they had done…in hopes that they would return in humility to the one who truly loved them. Even as He is punishing them, God gives away His inmost thoughts. He tells his wandering children, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” What love is packed into these words!

I bring up the context of this passage because the success of a marriage is not based on how strong your feelings are toward one another, but how well you can forgive each other. That is so crucial, I will say it again. The success of a marriage is not based on how strong your feelings are toward one another, but how well you can forgive each other. What God wanted from His people was a change of heart. He wanted them to return to Him, so that forgiveness and reconciliation could happen. When your relationship is put to the test, and you must know that it will be, remember that this is what the Lord wants for your marriage as well. Come to each other in humility. When you do wrong, admit it. Confess your sins and return to one another. Forgive one another from the heart, just as in Christ Jesus God forgave you. In this way you will be living according to the plan he has for the two of you.
David and Anja, it is a special privilege to proclaim God’s Word to you on your wedding day, because I know that you will take it to heart. Therefore I say to you, continue to trust in God’s plans; place your mutual hope in Jesus Christ crucified and risen, and enjoy your future together. Celebrate His gifts as husband and wife; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Holy Spirit, Ever Clarifying

2010-05-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Lorenzo deMedici, was a great Florentine patron of the arts who was very proud of the spectacles he staged for the citizenry. Among his productions were several amazingly realistic religious pageants performed in church. But one Pentecost, Lorenzo went too far: he used actual fire to depict the descent of the tongues of flames on the apostles. The fragile stage set caught fire and, before horrified onlookers, the entire church burned to the ground (Marching Off the Map, Harper, 1952). The moral is clear: pray for Pentecostal power, but don’t try to manufacture it.
Unfortunately, there are a couple different ways of misusing Pentecost and misunderstanding the Holy Spirit. Some believe that babbling in a nonsense “language” is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s presence, and then judge others based on whether or not they’ve had that experience. Reaction to that sort of thinking can be so extreme that the Holy Spirit gets shoved into a closet, rarely mentioned in conversation. Neither viewpoint is Scriptural. Clearly, the Holy Spirit was sent by the ascended Jesus to the disciples for a purpose. Equally clear is the Biblical truth; that “no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” The work of the Holy Spirit was vital at Pentecost and his work is just as vital today. The Day of Pentecost recorded in the book of Acts is a demonstration of what the Holy Spirit does and what he enables human beings to do. Simply put, the Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus and enables people like you and me to believe that is Jesus is the Son of God. On top of that, He creates in us the ability and the desire to communicate the truth about Jesus in an effective way. All of these things that the Holy Spirit does are nothing less than miracles.
The root of our problems communicating with each other and the root of our problems communicating Jesus Christ to others is—you guessed it—sin. In today’s Old Testament lesson we see the outcome of man’s pride: God scrambles their common language. Confusion and lack of communication becomes the norm. An old marketing adage says that you have to send a message seven times before the average person starts hearing you—and we are so bombarded with messages today that some researchers now think that it’s a multiple of seven before your message sinks in. All of which is to say that sin makes it very difficult to communicate well. In fact, it is impossible for us to speak or listen or think accurately about God without His guidance. That’s where the Holy Spirit steps in.
What started at the tower of Babel—communication confusion—the Holy Spirit starts reversing at Pentecost. People who normally were separated by culture and language were hearing the actions of God proclaimed in words they could understand! The Holy Spirit translated the speech of the apostles so that everyone could hear the message of Jesus. The Holy Spirit cuts through the clouds of confusion with a sharp and true presentation of Jesus as saving Messiah and giver of eternal life. The Holy Spirit makes it possible to believe that Jesus lived a perfect life, laid it down as a sacrifice, and returned to life and that He took those actions for me. With all the sinful static and chaotic distractions issuing from my own soul, it is truly a miracle that I could believe this about Jesus. And yet, I do. The credit goes to the Holy Spirit and the wonderful clarity that he brings.
In the final analysis, that is how you can know if the Holy Spirit is at work in your life. It is not a matter of hearing a rushing wind blow through your home. It is not a matter of seeing a flame flickering above your head. It is not a matter of whether or not you have spoken a bunch of nonsense syllables in a trancelike state. It’s not even a matter of how you feel on a given day. All you need ask is, “Do I believe that Jesus is God’s Son and my Savior from eternal death? Do I believe that Jesus went to a cross and came out of a tomb to make things right between God and me?” If you can say yes, then you can also know without a doubt that the Holy Spirit is actively working in you, creating the miracle of faith, writing the story of Jesus continually in your heart. That you would hear and respond to God’s voice, with all the deception and distraction that’s out there, is evidence that the Holy Spirit is going about doing what he does.What this means for us as a church is really pretty simple. If the Holy Spirit is present in this place—if he is present in us—then our calling card will be the clear and consistent communication of Christ as our Savior from sin and Lord of Life. We will care about being faithful to Jesus’ teaching. We will have an urgent desire to share our clear communication of Christ with those who need it most, and we will work to make it happen. We will live it. We will put our money where our mouth is. And we will do this with great wonder and joy, marveling that the Holy Spirit would choose us to tell the mighty works of God.

Lydia and the Power of Plan B

2010-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

In the opening pages of his autobiography, "An American Life," Ronald Reagan writes, “I was raised to believe that God had a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan. My mother told me that everything in life happened for a purpose. She said all things were part of God’s plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best. If something went wrong, she said, you didn’t let it get you down: You stepped away from it, stepped over it, and moved on. Later on, she added, something good will happen and you’ll find yourself thinking -- ’If I hadn’t had that problem back then, then this better thing that did happen wouldn’t have happened to me.’ After I lost the job at Montgomery Ward, I left home again in search of work. Although I didn’t know it then, I was beginning a journey that would take me a long way from Dixon, Illinois, and fulfill all my dreams and then some. My mother, as usual, was right.”
Call them what you want--setbacks, roadblocks, Plan Bs—eventually they happen to each of us. At the time, they only seem like a loss, a defeat. I’m sure that when Ronald Reagan lost his Montgomery Ward’s job he didn’t celebrate. Yet as his mother pointed out, that negative thing paved the way for something better. People who believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit believe His promise; that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” It sometimes takes quite a bit of God-given faith, though, to really trust that the wall I just ran into is God’s way of re-directing me. But that’s what faith does. It looks at the roadblock and says, “All right, Lord, where are we going now?”
For evidence of the power of Plan B, look no further than today’s first reading. The life of the Apostle Paul was a series of Plan Bs—beginning with his conversion and continuing on through ministry teams falling apart, shipwrecks and house arrest. You almost get the sense, reading the book of Acts, that nothing went according to Paul’s plan. And yet everything went according to God’s plan, and Paul learned to live with it.
We have an excellent example of that dynamic in this passage from Acts 16. Paul, Silas, and Timothy had their own travel itinerary, but we learn here that the Holy Spirit had other plans. God wanted them to head to Macedonia, going so far as to send Paul a vision of a man requesting their help. Clearly, Paul had learned to live by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, because it says that the group set out for the Macedonian region “immediately,” concluding that God had called them to preach the Gospel there. Let me just stop the story for a second to ask you: Is the Holy Spirit prompting you to help someone today? Is there a request for help that has reached your ears—a situation that you know you could bring the Gospel to—that the Spirit is quietly drawing you towards? Will you respond with the faithfulness demonstrated by Paul, Silas, and Timothy?
Back to the travelers—when they arrive in Phillipi, God’s Plan B begins to come into focus. There, at the riverside, they meet a woman named Lydia. Lydia was a pretty interesting woman. She was a “worshipper of God”—a phrase used to describe non-Jews who had come to believe that God of Israel was the true God. She was a business owner—and a fairly successful one at that, since purple goods were highly sought after, expensive items. Best of all, as Paul shared the good news of Jesus with her, the Lord opened her heart to receive his gifts, and she, along with her family, was baptized. Filled with the new life of Christ, she is also moved to extend hospitality to the missionary team, and her home likely became a makeshift sanctuary for Philippian Christians. Here is the power of Plan B in motion. The original frustration of Paul and company not going where they had wanted to go gave way to a call for help—and the outcome was the salvation of Lydia and her family. This was not the result of some great strategy or program, just a few men who were open to the direction of the Holy Spirit and faithfully went where He said to go. Do you and I have that same openness today? Or have we learned how to ignore that still, small voice that says, “Go and help people in My name?” Now there’s something to think about.
It is appropriate that on this Mother’s Day weekend, we pause to give thanks for all the Lydias among us; all the faithful women whose hearts have been opened by the Spirit, and who listen eagerly to the saving Word of Jesus Christ. We give thanks for the faithful women who through patient prayer and loving example have brought entire households to the Lord. We give thanks for the faithful women who have taught the faith to succeeding generations, embodying God’s unconditional and forgiving love. They are all around us and we acknowledge you today as honored, vital members of the Body of Christ.
We also give thanks for that saving Word itself; for it is through that Word that the Holy Spirit goes to work. The Word and Spirit confront us with our sins and the death sentence that is deservedly ours. The same Word and Spirit offer God’s solution; it is Jesus, who would stand in punishment’s way for us on the cross and assume our debt--all of it; leaving us forgiven and free. The same Word and Spirit promise an eternal connection to the risen Son of God, meaning victory over death! The same Word and Spirit promises that all things are working together for good for you and that the Lord will shepherd you through every roadblock you experience. If the Holy Spirit has opened your heart to believe these promises, give thanks to Him today, for you own the greatest treasures a person can have! This news is for all people, not only for the Lydias and those searching for truth, but also for those who are far away from God, who as of now are wandering in the dark, waiting for someone with some light. Will you be the one to shine the Gospel of Jesus their way?
Today we humbly and boldly pray that God would put up walls for us to run into—just like with Paul—and that with each wall we run into we ask, “What’s God’s will here?” and that at every turn he would make us open to the Holy Spirit and sensitive to the cries for help. Because it’s not our plans that matter—it’s the people the Lord places in our path. Let’s serve them in Jesus’ name and leave the plans to Him.

Don't Fumble Your Faith; Conquer With Christ (Version Two)

2010-05-05T05:30:00.000-07:00

The date: January 17, 1988. The place: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado. The situation: The Cleveland Browns have a chance to tie the game against the Denver Broncos with 1:12 remaining. However, on the hand-off from Bernie Kozar, Earnest Byner is stripped of the ball two or three yards from the goal line, fumbles, and the Browns’ hopes of going to the Super Bowl are dashed. The play known as The Fumble passes into Cleveland sports lore. Another opportunity missed in dramatic fashion.
That may seem like a weird way to begin a sermon, but stick with me. I bring up The Fumble today because the last thing I want to see happen is for you to fumble away your faith, but it can happen. This weekend, seven catechumens are going to stand up in front of the church, and among other things, they are going to say that they would rather suffer death than fall away from the Christian faith. And if you ever made your confirmation in a Lutheran church, you said the same thing, whether you remember it or not. Would you be able to say that today, and mean it with all your heart, that “you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?” If so, I commend you, and I renew my pastoral vows to help support you in any way that I can, because there are so many people and so many circumstances that are trying to strip you of the ball. The devil himself wants you to fumble your faith. He can’t take your faith from you, but you can drop it, and if you fumble it away, you lose. I don’t want to see that happen—no one here today does—so let’s think about what it means to share in the victory of Jesus.
In today’s Epistle reading, we hear God say: “To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Do you know what it means when God talks about giving thirsty people the water of life? It means people who thirst for the forgiveness of their sins. It means people who thirst for God in their lives. And you heard God say: “The one who conquers will have this heritage…” The person who conquers, or wins, is the person who hangs onto the ball by staying faithful to Jesus no matter what. That faithful person will have the peace of knowing their sins are forgiven and they will inherit eternal life, all because Jesus was the original champion over sin, death, and the devil. “The one who conquers will have this heritage…”A heritage is a story—a story that you get to be a part of—a story of identity and inheritance—and in this case the story of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection is your story, too. It affects who you are. It affects your decisions and your priorities. And you will inherit all the blessings of eternal life as a child of God…if you don’t drop the ball…if you don’t throw these treasures away. And that is possible. You have the power to walk away from Jesus and to reject His story. But do you understand what you would be losing if you do?
In order to conquer and win with Jesus, you don’t have to live a perfect life or be some unrealistic version of a Super Christian. Instead, winning with Jesus means believing that “God has granted repentance that leads to life.” That phrase is from today’s reading from Acts 11. Repentance that leads to life is a gift from God. It means that instead of pretending to be a perfect person, you are honest with God. You’re real with Him, and you admit your sins to him, trusting that He loves to forgive you. He loves to include you in the story of His Son Jesus. When you have felt the power of forgiveness, you will want Jesus to be the guiding force in your life. You will want to include Him in your decisions. You will always want Him by your side, because even when you mess up, He never turns His back on you. He will never reject you. He wants you to conquer and win. He wants you to be with Him forever. He will give you everything that you need in order for that to happen.
So instead of talking about it, let’s do it. Right now. Let us pray:
“O God, I surrender to you the habits and sins that, like frost, chill my soul and cause your life-giving energy to cease its flow in me. Uproot me from the weed patches of evil wherein I have chosen to sink my roots. Plant me instead in your field of righteousness.”“Direct the searchlight of your love into every crevice of my life that I may see to journey from this long winter of sin, to once again flourish in the summer of your goodness and love.“Send the gracious showers of your forgiveness to break the long drought ofspiritual dryness that has shriveled my soul, and grant, my Lord, that I may become more like you and less like my shadowy self.“This day I pledge to you and to myself that I will begin even now to pursue right thinking and right living, but my God, I need your help. Grant me forgiveness and life in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Pour into me your water of life. Make your story my story too. Amen.”

Prayer adapted from Dr. Norman Shawchuck

Don't Fumble Your Faith; Conquer With Christ (Version One)

2010-05-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

The date: January 17, 1988. The place: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado. The situation: The Cleveland Browns have a chance to tie the game against the Denver Broncos with 1:12 remaining. However, on the hand-off from Bernie Kozar, Earnest Byner is stripped of the ball two or three yards from the goal line, fumbles, and the Browns’ hopes of going to the Super Bowl are dashed. The play known as The Fumble passes into Cleveland sports lore. Another opportunity missed in dramatic fashion.
That may seem like a weird way to begin a confirmation sermon, but stick with me. I bring up The Fumble today because the last thing I want to see happen is for you to fumble away your faith, but it can happen. In a couple of minutes, the seven of you are going to stand up in front of the church, and among other things, you are going to say that you would rather suffer death than fall away from the Christian faith. Now, I support you in that 100%, and I thank God that He would enable you to say that, but I also know that the biggest challenges to your faith are ahead of you. In so many ways, people are going to try to strip you of the ball. The devil himself wants you to fumble your faith. He can’t take your faith from you, but you can drop it, and if you fumble it away, you lose. I don’t want to see that happen—no one here today does—so let’s think about what it means to share in the victory of Jesus.
In today’s Epistle reading, we hear God say: “To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Do you know what it means when God talks about giving thirsty people the water of life? It means people who thirst for the forgiveness of their sins. It means people who thirst for God in their lives. And you heard God say: “The one who conquers will have this heritage…” The person who conquers, or wins, is the person who hangs onto the ball. It means, the person who stays faithful to Jesus no matter what. That faithful person will have the peace of knowing their sins are forgiven and they will inherit eternal life, all because Jesus was the original champion over sin, death, and the devil. “The one who conquers will have this heritage…” A heritage is a story—a story that you get to be a part of—the story of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection is your story, too. It affects who you are. It affects your decisions and your priorities. And you will inherit all the blessings of eternal life as a child of God…if you don’t drop the ball…if you don’t throw these treasures away. And that is possible. You have the power to walk away from Jesus and to reject His story. But do you understand what you would be losing if you do?
In order to conquer and win with Jesus, you don’t have to live a perfect life or be some unrealistic version of a Super Christian. Instead, winning with Jesus means believing that “God has granted repentance that leads to life.” That phrase is from today’s reading from Acts 11. Repentance that leads to life is a gift from God. It means that instead of pretending to be a perfect person, you are honest with God. You’re real with Him, and you admit your sins to him, trusting that He loves to forgive you. He loves to include you in the story of His Son Jesus. Then you’ll be able to live without guilt and without fear. When you have felt the power of forgiveness, you will want Jesus to be the guiding force in your life. You will want to include Him in your decisions. You will always want Him by your side, because even when you mess up, He never turns His back on you. He will never reject you. He wants you to conquer and win. He wants you to be with Him forever. He will give you everything that you need in order for that to happen. That’s who you are saying “yes” to today. Say “yes” to Him every day. That’s the way to win.

Saul's Second Chance

2010-04-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

I hate being wrong—don’t you? Whether it’s something trivial or important, I really can’t stand the embarrassment of being proven incorrect. I remember one time when I was teaching a Bible Study, and in talking about another denomination, I misrepresented one of their central teachings. Someone in the class who had experience with that church body called me on it. I was confident of my position, but promised to look into it during the week. To my dismay, I looked into it, and learned I was wrong. I reported my findings to the class the next week and “took my lumps.” It ended up being a good thing, and I may have even gained a little credibility by admitting that I had been wrong.
We can only speculate about how Saul of Tarsus felt in the days following his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road. We tend to think of Saul’s conversion in immediate terms; one moment he’s Saul the Christian hunter, the next he’s the Super Saint. And to be sure, coming face to face with the resurrected Jesus utterly changed him. But I have to think that mixed in with the shock and amazement and wonder was an almost sickening realization that his entire view of the world had been wrong.
It seems to be a very quiet Saul that we see early in Acts chapter nine, silently processing what had just happened to him. His way of looking at and understanding and functioning within his world had been wrong. His notions of what was pleasing to God had also been wrong. As if to underscore just how wrong he had been, God blinded him for three days. It was like God saying: “This is what you were, Saul—blind to the truth.” Adding insult to injury, Saul was depending on the help of a Christian—the type of person that up until then he had been trying to eliminate. Saul had a lot to think about as he sat in that house on Straight Street. He had to find out how wrong he had been before he could do anything right. It was a painful process—he wasn’t in the mood to eat or drink for those three days—but it was a necessary process. You may recall that it wasn’t long before Saul went public, candidly sharing what he had learned, pointing people to Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises.
As far as the Christian Church is concerned, it is still the Easter season, and the story of Saul’s turnaround is a dramatic example of Easter in action. For it is nothing else than a conversation with the living Messiah that shook the foundations of Saul’s life. It was an audience with Jesus, once dead and now very much alive and well, that caused Saul to switch sides. Saul’s conversion is great circumstantial evidence for the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Why else would someone like Saul change so completely? He had nothing to gain by following Jesus, and had far more to lose. He had been thoroughly convinced that he was doing the right thing until the risen Jesus appeared to him. Something new was about to blossom in Saul. Because of his contact with the Jesus of Easter, a new person was about to emerge from the old. Saul was getting a second chance.
It is at this point that we meet Ananias, who is one of those great saints of Scripture who makes up the supporting cast of God’s salvation plan. A Christian living in Damascus, he is contacted directly by the Lord and told to go minister to Saul of Tarsus, who is in a house on Straight Street. This would be like God sending a message to you saying, “Go to the house on Mentor Avenue and look for Osama bin Laden—he is expecting you.” Just as you might object to the idea, so Ananias offers up some mild protest, but then the Lord reveals His thoughts regarding Saul’s second chance: He says, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” As astounding as these words would’ve seemed to Ananias, they would be proven true. Saul would do all the things God mentions here and then some. And to his credit, Ananias goes and finds the man who had been one of the most intimidating enemies of the faith. All sorts of thoughts and feelings must’ve swirled through Ananias as he drew close to the man who had relished binding Christians and throwing them in prison to await execution. But Ananias speaks only words of grace, saying, “Brother Saul”—just think of it, Brother Saul—“the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately his vision is restored—moreover, his entire way of seeing the world is remade as he is baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Now his second chance had really begun, and Saul, we can safely say, made the most of it.
Saul had to see how wrong he had been before he could do anything right. He endured those dark days, and now, because of the mercy and love of the very Jesus he had been persecuting, he was a new person. He was baptized into the Christian faith—the faith that held Jesus to be the Son of the Father; the true and greatest Passover Lamb; the Messiah from David’s family tree. Saul spent some time in the company of the Damascus Christians, and can you imagine what those conversations must have been like? Saul had been given a second chance, and he wasted no time in doing his first Christian preaching there in the Damascus synagogues. According to verse 22, Saul confounded the Jews in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ, and Saul would continue confounding his world with the cross of Christ Jesus as his message and a Christ-like life as his living letter to the world.
I say all that about Saul so that I can say this to you today: the life of Saul is proof that our God is the God of Second Chances. Our God wants everyone to admit how wrong they have been so that He can heal them with His mercy and fill them with His right-ness. Our God aches to forgive people and grant them a second chance. But here are the questions and you probably knew they were coming. How do you do at offering forgiveness and second chances to those who hurt you? Is this church a place where forgiveness and second chances describes how we deal with one another? Or is there another spirit at work?
I will never forget a statement made by Dr. James Bollhagen, a professor of mine. He said, “The church is not a place where people are granted forgiveness only if they can first prove that they don’t need it.” Did you catch that? I’ll say it again: “The church is not a place where people are granted forgiveness only if they can first prove that they don’t need it.” And yet so often that is exactly how Christians can act. It creeps so easily into any relationship—the withholding of forgiveness—a running tally of offenses committed—especially when the other person just doesn’t seem to care. We pass judgment on others, clinging to nuggets of conventional wisdom such as “A leopard doesn’t change his spots” and “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” We should be overflowing with forgiveness and second chances. We should be quick to give people the benefit of the doubt and just as quick to explain things in the kindest possible way. If we’re not, then maybe we still don’t really get what Jesus is all about. Or maybe we just have to see how wrong we’ve been before we can do what’s right. If you have guilt about the way you’ve treated people, be honest about it with God. Think of the shame that Saul must’ve felt as he sat in darkness for three days. You are invited to admit your sin to the God of forgiveness and second chances. If you are ready to own up to your sin, Jesus is ready to forgive it. The same Jesus who paid for your sin with His suffering and death is the same living Jesus who can send you on your way with new vision and new priorities. You have been given a precious gift: you have another chance to let the grace of Jesus dominate your thinking and spur you on to action. Do not take this gift for granted. Confound your world with Jesus in your words and deeds, and let’s honor Him by being a second-chance kind of church.

Not Seeing Is Believing

2010-04-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

A five year old boy got his hand stuck in an expensive vase. The vase was especially precious to his mother. The vase had been her grandmother’s and it had been given to her on her wedding day. No matter what the boy’s parents tried, his hand would not come out of the vase. Dad suggested breaking the vase as a last resort. Mom suggested contacting the family doctor. They were able to get in to the doctor’s office, and the doctor examined the vase to see if maybe someone with pottery skills could cut a section out of the vase without too much damage.
Then the doctor looked at the boy’s free hand. He took the boy’s hand, opened his palm, and curled the thumb toward the little finger. Then he asked the boy if he could do that with the hand inside the jar. The boy said, “I can’t do that. If I do, I’ll lose the quarter I’m holding.”
We often hold on to things because we’re afraid of losing what we know. We do not believe that we may actually have greater blessing if we let go and trust in God. That is the basic struggle we have with faith. That struggle is reflected in two statements that come directly from today’s gospel lesson. The first is from Jesus. He says: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The second is from Jesus’ disciple, Thomas, who said: “Unless I see…I will not believe.”
Do you feel like I sometimes do? Lord, unless You show me the answer to my financial problems, unless you show me the answer to my problems at school, unless you show me how to function within this organization, unless you give me a break from the illness that I’m dealing with…unless you come across, I’m really not going to believe you are a loving, helping Father anymore.
But you and I can’t make deals with God. He says to us, “Believe in me, and I will show you more than you ever dreamed could happen in your life.” Now, this is not “stay positive and you will get ahead” type thinking. This is Jesus asking you to notice the people whose faith released his power—the Roman centurion, the demon-afflicted man, the woman at the well, the paralyzed man, and many more. God doesn’t make deals. He will always escape you until you see Him revealed in Jesus His Son. So often in our relationship with God, we are pounding on a door that is already unlocked. Jesus is the key. Getting to know Jesus and trusting in Him means that the door to God is open. Faith like that is so simple, yet it can be so hard for us to grasp.
A Christian was talking about the age-old problem of human suffering. “Why does God allow it?” he asked. A friend of his answered, “This much I know: I have seen a lieutenant send one of his men, a dear and trusted friend, to certain death because the mission had to be accomplished. And the man spent no time in asking why. He saluted and went. And in my own life sometimes I do not know why, and I am not asking. I am just saluting, if that is my post.”
In your own heart, are you willing, no matter what confronts you, to say, “God knows. He has a reason for allowing this to happen. I trust him. That’s enough for me.”
That is the challenge Jesus has for you and me. It was the challenge he had for Thomas. “Stop doubting and believe.” It sounds so easy. It’s anything but. There are so many pressures tempting you not to live a life of faith. Our own laziness and self-centeredness do not help, either. But Jesus won’t make deals, and he’s not interested in excuses. He just wants to know, are you willing to walk by faith and not by sight? “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Let me assure you today this faith is a gift from God to you which comes when you repent of your sins and trust in the healing power of Jesus. He has saved you from eternal death and makes you a child of God. If you want to be and remain a child of God, it will mean letting Jesus work in you through faith, breaking through your doubts, and letting him say to you, as he did to Thomas, “You are blessed. You haven’t found all the answers to the questions in your life, but you have still believed in me. You are blessed.”
There was a woman who was well known in her community for her great calm in the midst of many troubles. Another woman went to visit her one day, thinking, “I’m going to find out the secret of her happiness.” And as she met her she said, “So you are the woman with the great faith I’ve heard so much about.”
“No,” came the reply. “I’m not the woman with the great faith. But I am the person with the little faith in the great God.”
Can you say the same?

Blessed Easter

2010-04-04T03:32:00.001-07:00

Standing Outside the Tomb

2010-04-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

Today we stand outside an empty tomb. Of the four great religions of the world resting on personalities, the Christian religion is the only one that even talks about an empty tomb in relation to its founder. Abraham died some two thousand years before Christ, but the Jewish people never claimed he is resurrected. In fact, his tomb is still carefully preserved in Hebron in southern Palestine. No resurrection is ascribed to Buddha, either. In fact, Buddhist scripture says that when Buddha died it was “with that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains behind.” Mohammed died at Medina on June 8, 632, and he is buried there, and thousands of Muslims visit his tomb annually. So millions of Jews, Buddhists, and Muslims do not claim resurrection for the founders of their religions. They lie in dust in their tombs.
But in Christianity, we have something else. We have a broken seal, a stone rolled away from the door and an empty tomb. Jesus does not rot in a Palestinian grave. He lives and is ruling over all things. For He is risen, just as He said. And because He has risen, we can boldly claim that Jesus is the Son of God. His teachings are truth with a capital T, God has accepted the sacrifice of his Son for the reconciliation of the world and all believers in Jesus will rise to eternal life. Now, if the Easter bunny led any of you here this morning in the spirit of “everybody goes on Easter,” allow me to disturb you enough to see what this day is really all about. It is about an empty grave—for Jesus and for you.
This empty Easter tomb signals that God’s mission of rescuing human beings for eternal life is complete. Jesus has done it all. The only way to explain why God came up with this plan—and why Jesus went through with it—is because he loves you and treasures you. He loves and treasures you, even when you do not love or treasure Him.
Was there a single day this past week that you planned without first taking your schedule to the Lord in prayer? Have you been trying to salvage a crumbling relationship by purely human means? Have you agonized in loneliness and wondered why God isn’t speaking to you—and yet your Bible remains closed, your baptism forgotten, and Holy Communion ignored as a living source of God’s power?
Truly, when you and I examine our lives, we must confess that we often live as if Jesus didn’t really exist as a personal reality in our lives. We often live as “practical atheists” even though we call ourselves Christians. We live the “as if” life—as if Jesus were still in the tomb, dead, and not alive in our hearts and homes today. The apostle Paul speaks for all of us when he says, “My own behavior baffles me. For I find myself doing what I really loathe…I often find that I have the will to do good, but not the power…the evil I don’t really want to do I find I am always doing…who can set me free from the prison of this mortal body? I thank God there is a way out through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
And so you and I need to say this happy Easter day, “Lord, be merciful to us sinners. Don’t give us what we deserve. And thank you, Jesus, that there is a way out of the tomb of selfishness.” It is Jesus who leads the way out of the tomb. It’s Jesus who is the way out of the grave. Jesus was crucified and buried to cancel out your sins, and he stood outside of the tomb that first Easter so that you can be confident that you will also stand outside of your tomb on the Day he returns. Your grave will not be able to hold you down. The reality of Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. It is the defining event in the history of this world. Will you let it be the defining event in your life? Will you let the reality of a living, personal God change everything about you?
In the gospel reading for this Easter we see Mary Magdalene come face to face with her resurrected Teacher. I don’t think it’s possible to put into words the emotional impact this encounter would’ve had on Mary. And yet, Jesus says, “Let’s not get caught up in the moment, Mary. You need to go and tell that you have seen Me.” If the resurrection of Jesus is real to you and me, then we are going to talk about it. We are going to tell others about a Savior who died but came back to life and is still alive. We’re going to speak about the risen Jesus in the hospital and the rehab center; the nursing home and the funeral home; and especially at the graveside. We won’t let the name of Jesus go unsaid. How can we, when we know that He has defeated death and stands outside of the tomb?
There was a young administrative assistant in an office building who exemplified what I am talking about. Jesus was a personal reality in her life, and she did talk about him with other people. In fact, she made such an impression on a sailor who visited the office building one day that he wrote a letter to her employer. He told her boss how he had come into that man’s office, lonely and scared to death about sailing again. He needed to talk to someone. So when the woman at the desk greeted him, he asked if there were any jobs available, and if there weren’t that was okay. And he said, if only a person had something to count on, or something worth dying for, then things wouldn’t be so bad.
Then he related how the woman smiled, and said, “Jesus is coming through and He’s worth dying for.” He said he just stared at the woman because she talked as if Christ was alive and a good pal of hers. In fact, he recalled, he was so struck by her comments that he sort of expected Jesus to walk through the door. It was that real.
He was only in the office ten minutes, but the brief encounter made such an impression on him that it changed him somehow. He was no longer scared like he was before. He wrote: “It was as though she had said, “I want to make you acquainted with my Friend Jesus. You ought to get to know each other since He’ll be going your way.” I’m nineteen and I never knew before that there was a God like that who would go along with a guy like me.”
“I never knew before that there was a God like that.” That’s the God that you can know in Jesus Christ—a God who is real and alive—a God who moves us to “show and tell” others about Him so that His power can change their lives, too.
Life-changing power is available to you this Easter day. Unlike other world religions whose founders lie as dust in their graves, the tomb of Jesus is empty. He is risen, just like he said he would be. Because of this, you can be sure that nothing can stand in the way of your connection to Him. We who used to be lost can now call God “Our Father who lives in heaven.”
He wants you to let Him live at the center of your life right now. He wants you to let Him remove the crippling power of fear from your life. He can do this because He stands outside of his own tomb. Trust Him to pull you out of yours today and for eternity.

Good Friday

2010-04-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Jesus, I will ponder now
on Your holy passion;
with your Spirit me endow
for such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
may the image cherish
of your suffering, pain and death
that I may not perish.

Save Us Now, Lord Jesus (Palm Sunday)

2010-03-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

God’s Word comes to us from the gospel of John, the 12th chapter: “The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Who was watching the parade on that fateful Palm Sunday? Who were the faces in the crowd? Just like at any modern parade or mass gathering, there were people from different walks of life represented on the Palm Sunday parade route. John mentions at least three distinct groups of people who were there when Jesus entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey’s colt. These groups and individuals each had their own ideas and expectations about the One for whom this impromptu parade was thrown. For a brief time, they seemed to be united in their excitement, shouting, “Hosanna!” a word taken from Psalm 118. It is a Messianic Psalm, and the word Hosanna means “Save us now!” But don’t you wonder what all these different people were asking to be saved from?
Who does John mention in this passage? First of all, in verse twelve we are introduced to “the large crowd that had come to the feast.” The feast mentioned here is the feast of the Passover. The population of Jerusalem would routinely swell during the big holy days, and it is this combination of residents and guests that go out, with palm branches in hand, to meet Jesus. The palm branch was more than just a handy thing to wave—it had become a symbol of the Jewish nation—a Jewish nation that deeply desired independence from Roman rule. Their enthusiasm to greet Jesus was fueled by reports that he had actually raised someone from the dead. Could this miracle worker be the one to restore Israel and be its new King? The Large Crowd That Had Come To The Feast seemed to think so.
The next group John mentions is “the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb.” A couple things are implied here. One is that this group accompanied Jesus along the parade route and were distinct from the crowd that came out of Jerusalem to greet him. Another is that this group included the twelve disciples. What is not implied but explicitly stated is that this group “continued to bear witness” about the great sign Jesus had done in raising Lazarus from the dead. This bunch we might call the “true believers.” They had seen many of Jesus’ miracles, and they themselves had said things like “we believe and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God” to Jesus. But, in the spirit of full disclosure, John also reports that they “did not understand these things at first,” and it was only after Jesus was glorified that they could see the big picture.
The last group John names is the Pharisees, the obvious enemies of Jesus. Already in the fifth chapter of his gospel, John had revealed that the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus because of his allegedly blasphemous comments. Now this Palm Sunday parade only added to their desperation. “It’s useless,” they say. “The world has gone after him.” But Jesus’ surging popularity does not make them give up—on the contrary, their plan to get rid of the rabble-rousing rabbi goes into overdrive.
So that’s quite a mix of people lining the palm-strewn path. You have curiosity seekers, you have those who are willing to jump on the bandwagon if it means an independent Israel, you have the true believers who had been with Jesus from the beginning, and you have his sworn enemies. All with their own hopes and expectations about this man on the donkey’s back. And all of them—the curiosity seekers, the bandwagon jumpers, the enemies, and the true believers—will be forced to re-evaluate their hopes and expectations when the parade grinds to a halt at the Hill of the Skull. For some, the death of Jesus on a cross was disappointing, but not earth-shattering. For others, it was a terrible tragedy. For still others, it was “problem solved.” But all of them were sure that the story of Jesus had come to an end.

If you were to somehow be transported and dropped into the crowd on that Palm Sunday, where would you fit in? Would you find company among Jesus’ enemies? Are you skeptical of the claims that Jesus makes? Would you prefer not to have to listen to or deal with this Jesus at all? There are many who still seek to silence the Son of God.
Would you find kindred spirits among those who hoped that Jesus would guarantee worldly prosperity? Are you looking for Jesus to come through with a big miracle that’s going to improve things for you? If he doesn’t do what you ask, are you going to walk away? Jesus did not come into the world to give us whatever we want—yet many hold Him to this standard, and reject him when he doesn’t deliver.
Would you find a place among the true believers—ready and willing to follow Jesus wherever he might lead? Are you sure about that? Even if that means following Jesus into a suffering like His? Even if that means people look at you funny? Even if it meant that your life was on the line? Many people want the benefits of being a “true believer,” but are you willing to pay the personal and social cost of being a follower of Jesus?
No matter who you identify with in the Palm Sunday parade, the cross of Jesus gives you reason to re-evaluate the expectations you have of Him. Here’s what I mean:
Jesus did not ride that donkey into Jerusalem to improve our lives but to save them. The King of Kings did not ride into Jerusalem to replace Roman rulers but to rescue the human race. Jesus did not endure the agony of the cross to change the political landscape, but to fundamentally change you. Instead of marching immediately to a throne, Jesus stumbled up the Hill of the Skull and was executed. This was not some accident—it was the plan. It had been all along. God punished His Son, the Messiah, the Holy One of God, instead of punishing human beings for their sins—instead of punishing you for your sins. By going to the cross, Jesus answered the Hosanna request. We are saved now—saved from torment; saved from eternal separation from everything good and godly; saved, in other words, from hell--because Jesus took our death sentence. The King took the punishment His people deserved. This was not the salvation that anyone was expecting. It’s not always what we’re expecting or looking for from God. But what Jesus has done meets our deepest need. You can know you are loved and forgiven and that God is for you, not against you.
Whatever your expectations of Jesus were when you entered this building today—please hear me on this: Jesus has died your death and offers you a brand new life. You are forgiven of all your sin. You have eternal life starting this moment. Jesus is alive and He is with you in your pain, as well as your joy. When sinners pray “Hosanna! Save me now, Lord Jesus,” He says, “I have; I will.” Then He forgives sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and He adopts people through water and His Holy Name, and He feeds people His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the renewal of faith. Hosanna! This is our word now. It is what Jesus does.

Press On Toward the Goal

2010-03-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Each year a few thousand hopefuls run the Boston Marathon. The first place runner will typically complete the 26 miles in just under two hours and ten minutes. That’s running at a pace of a little over five minutes a mile. Those who are serious—but not world class—runners will finish in about three hours. Those running just for the fun of it will finish in six hours or less. Because of injury, cramps, heat exhaustion, or failing to follow the proper course, a significant number will not finish the race. Others who quit before the finish claim to have come to their senses before it was too late!
The Apostle Paul indicates that an athlete competing for a ribbon or medal is a good metaphor for life in Christ. And that life is not a sprint. It is very much like a marathon or cross-country race. Paul writes: “…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Keep striving to exercise your faith in Jesus, no matter where you’re at in the marathon of life.
Where are you in the race today? The first ten miles of the race can be compared to our childhood, teenage, and young adult years. At the beginning, the adrenaline is pumping, the crowd is cheering, and some runners go out fast. Others find it frustrating to be stuck in the pack until it begins to move apart. Patience does not come easily when you are ready to go for it. You have the talent and the energy, but do you have a plan? Are you tempted to cheat to get an advantage? Runners can also make major mistakes when they are overconfident and refuse to listen to good coaching. In the first ten miles, we feel like we’ve got a lot to prove to everyone—including ourselves.
The second phase of the race, from eleven to twenty miles, is like our middle years. The early energy and adrenaline are gone. Boredom and fatigue are now the primary obstacles. There aren’t many spectators lining the streets at this point. It’s at this point in the race when you might begin to doubt your career; your calling; your marriage. The future doesn’t look so great, and it’s too late to go back and start over again. So what do you do? Quit? Take a shortcut? Keep plugging along? This is where the reality of the race sets in. Some find a good rhythm; some struggle to put one foot in front of the other.
The third and final phase of the race consists of the last six miles. It’s said that because of the drain on your body’s reserves after running the first twenty miles, it’s like you’ve only run halfway. It takes as much or more courage to run the last six miles as it did the first twenty. And at about twenty miles in, Boston has something called Heartbreak Hill. It is steep and long and it eliminates more runners than any other part of the course. This is the point at which many hit the proverbial wall. Some runners simply collapse, while others manage to make it to a nearby curb before their muscles give way.
It is heartbreaking to make it to the home stretch of life only to have to battle chronic pain or heart disease or cancer. It can be deeply disappointing to hit the wall after you’ve worked so hard to get to this point. You want to keep running the race of faith, but that curb over there looks awfully inviting.
Now, what if I were to tell you that, no matter where you are on the racecourse today, I could guarantee that if you keep running, you will share in the winner’s prize? Well, that’s the glory of the gospel—the glory of the good news about Jesus—because that claim can be made. If you run the race of life trusting that Jesus is already the Champion over sin and evil and death, then He will share His victory with you. In today’s Epistle, Paul is talking about the confidence that comes from being on Jesus’ team.
Listen again to what he writes, and bear in mind that he most likely was writing this while in prison: 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Paul was given strength, courage, and joy because he knew Jesus as His Savior and Champion. As he says here, the goal of his race was to be raised from the dead so he could live with Jesus for eternity. Knowing that he would be with Jesus in the future changed him in the present. It freed him to run his race with excellence, with urgency, and without fear. Paul knew that the prize of eternal life with God was already his because eternal life with God was never something he could earn or achieve. Jesus had won it already. Jesus stands at the finish line with trophy in hand, and beckons to us to run well and to run with grace, because the outcome is certain. It is true: what we know our future to be can actually change our present.
Think of it this way: there were two men who were both going to be doing the same job. It was a terrible, awful, Dirty Jobs-type of task that nobody wanted to do. Eighty hours a week, backbreaking, disgusting, menial work, and they wouldn’t get paid until the end of the year. One of the men knew he was going to be paid $15,000; the other knew he was going to be paid $15 million. Now, how do you think knowing that might affect the way they viewed their work? Mr. 15 Grand would probably complain, find ways to cut corners, and might eventually just quit. The fifteen million dollar worker, on the other hand, would likely whistle a happy tune while he worked. What you know your future to be actually changes you in the present.
And here’s what we know: Jesus went to the cross to pay off the high cost of our sin. Jesus disarmed death by his return to life. Jesus did these things for you so that you will one day stand in a resurrected, perfected body in full relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit in a Day of joy that will last forever. Believing in Jesus and his actions, that is what your future will be. Fifteen million dollars could not redeem one soul for heaven; but the blood of Jesus does for any who trust in Him. This is the prize you’ve already won!
Wherever you’re at on the racecourse of life, press on toward the goal to win the prize, confident that Jesus already has the victory in hand. Give your best effort to the One who gave His all for you.

Be Reconciled; Be a Reconciler

2010-03-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

“The man I ate dinner with tonight killed my brother." These words were spoken by a woman at a Prison Fellowship banquet in Seattle. She told how John H. had murdered her brother during a robbery, served 18 years in jail, then settled into life on a dairy farm, where she had met him in 1983, 20 years after his crime. Compelled by Christ’s command to forgive, Ruth Youngsman had gone to her enemy and pronounced forgiveness. Then she had taken him to her father’s deathbed, prompting reconciliation. Some would not call this a success story: John didn’t become a Christian. But at that Prison Fellowship banquet last fall, his voice cracked as he said, "Christians are the only people I know that you can kill their son, and they’ll make you a part of their family. I don’t know the Man Upstairs, but He sure is hounding me."
John’s story is unfinished. But just as Christ died for us regardless of our actions or acceptance, so Ruth Youngsman forgave him without qualification. Even more so, she became his friend.
Reconciliation is at the heart of the Christian faith. Putting a relationship back together--with forgiveness as the glue--is how the whole thing works. We know this. And yet we can hear a story like Ruth Youngsman’s, and a part of us thinks her foolish—thinks her naïve—or weak—or just strange. Because she forgave. Because she did what Christ would have all of us do. Where we hold to this double standard; or worse, where we withhold forgiveness from others, we need to repent and change direction. No buts; no what ifs; no listen to what they did to me’s. Repent and change direction, or else “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” are just words that we whisper from memory, with no real meaning at all.
But maybe I’m putting the cart before the horse. Reconciliation with other people really is not possible unless we are first reconciled with God. If we have real trouble reconciling with others, that suggests we may not be sure about our reconciliation with God.
Perhaps that’s why Saint Paul, writing his second letter to the Corinthians, comes on so strongly: “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” The word “implore” here means to beg. In other words, the apostle says: “I’m begging you to get right with God through Jesus Christ.” Is Paul speaking to you, too, right now? If so, the very next verse explains how you can “get right with God”: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” It isn’t complicated. It’s a simple exchange. Jesus gets our sin; we get his goodness. That’s the gospel. For some people, that’s just too good to be true.
A pastor recently told the true story of one of his church members, an attorney, who after meditating on several scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months.
He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail.
One by one, the letters began to return, unsigned and undelivered.
Perhaps a couple people had moved away-- though not likely. 16 of the 17 letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts.
The first step in being reconciled to God is realizing that He is not out to get us! As a matter of fact, He is the one who wants reconciliation! He wants to be reconciled to you so much that he applied your debt of sin to his Son’s account, and made Him pay! Jesus paid that debt by going to what St. Paul liked to call “the tree.” That was one way he talked about the cross on which Jesus died. But there’s more to the “tree” reference than just: the cross was made of wood, and wood comes from trees. The cross is our tree of life—an image that our Hymn of the Month asks us to consider. On that tree, the exchange has been made. Jesus agrees to suffer, die, and endure hell itself for you--so that you never have to. Believe it! And if the devil tries to drag your old, previously-forgiven sins back out in front of you, shove the letter in his face and show him where it says “Tetelestai…Paid in Full…It is Finished.”
The reconciliation that God offers is not the stuff of the theological ivory tower—the forgiveness that flows to you from Christ is not hypothetical –it is meant to become a real, driving force in your life. It takes on flesh and blood in the decisions you make each day. That’s probably the best way that we catch the power of forgiveness—when we actually receive it or see it being given by a Christian person like Ruth Youngsman, or the kindly bishop in “Les Miserables.”
Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Miserables” tells a story of a man named Jean Valjean, who served nineteen years of hard labor for the crime of stealing bread. When he was finally released, Valjean was a hardened, tough ex-convict. Soon after his release, a local bishop invited him to stay in his home for the night. After the bishop and his sister were asleep, Valjean stole the family silver and ran off into the night. The next morning, he was captured by three policemen and bought back to the bishop.
“So here you are!” the bishop cried to Valjean. “I’m delighted to see you. Had you forgotten that I gave you the candlesticks as well? They’re silver like the rest, and worth a good 200 francs. Did you forget to take them?”
After the policemen had gone the bishop gave the candlesticks to Valjean, who was speechless and trembling. “Do not ever forget,” the bishop said, “that you have promised me to use the money to make yourself a new man."
That’s the promise we stand on the edge of today. God does not repay us as our sins deserve. Instead, He gives us the silver and the candlesticks. He gives forgiveness and life that never ends, and other blessings besides.
Do not forget how He has dealt with you. Bring it into every corner of your life. I’m begging you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God, and let the pardon you have received become the pardon that you give.

What To Do With Disaster

2010-03-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Lately it seems that the news has been bringing us stories of one large-scale disaster after another. First there was the devastating earthquake in Haiti; then another bigger quake in Chile, complete with tsunami warnings. Then came another in Taiwan.
A little closer to home, each new day brings word of personal disaster that people are experiencing. The unexpected death of a spouse or a parent. The implosion of a marriage or the loss of a job.
When disaster strikes, there is a predictable human reaction. We begin to ask questions. We want to know why something terrible happened. We can take that a step further and ask, “What did they do to deserve such a horrible experience?” And some people are more than willing to try to explain. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a prominent televangelist was quick to say that New Orleans deserved it because of their high degree of sinfulness. (“Where does that leave Las Vegas?” I wondered at the time.) In the case of Haiti, there have been similar conclusions drawn. “Voodoo is prominent in Haiti, therefore God zeroed in on them,” and so forth. The underlying message is “they had it coming” because “they” are way more sinful than “we” are.
That’s a nice, tidy theory. But is it true, according to Holy Scripture? Is that how we are supposed to interpret disaster when it strikes? Let’s take a look at the beginning of Luke chapter thirteen for answers.
Some people came to Jesus, reporting an ugly incident that had taken place in which Pontius Pilate apparently had some Galileans put to death. This was just an awful situation and extremely provocative. But see how Jesus gets to the heart of the matter? He discerned that this story was being reported to him so that he could affirm that ““those Galileans” had it coming” because “they” are way more sinful than “we” are, and then everyone could go on their way feeling better about themselves. Jesus meets that expectation head-on and says: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” To reinforce his point, Jesus brings up His own disaster story; a quick account of a tower falling on eighteen people and killing them. Then he asks: “do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Jesus first refutes the theory that “they had it coming,” and then turns the entire discussion around so that it’s directed at you and me. He’s not interested in getting into a discussion of “why do bad things happen.” He’s interested in where you are at spiritually. He knows that we get hung up on the wrong questions, so he cuts through all that and asks the right ones. The ones that matters most. Are you ready to have a change of mind and heart? Are you ready to turn around? Are you ready to go in God’s direction, confessing your deep need for forgiveness? What is it’s you that the tower falls on? What if it’s you that’s crushed in the earthquake? What is it’s you who has a massive heart attack and dies before they hit the ground? Are you ready for what comes next?
The person who is ready and well prepared is the person who knows that their sin ought to exclude them from heaven. The person who is ready has realized that there is only one hope; one path; one key that opens heaven’s door; and that is the Son of God, Jesus Christ, put to death for the price of our sin and raised to life to lift us into heaven. Our Lord Jesus knows that we procrastinate and put it off and would do just about anything to avoid thinking about our own mortality. Yet it is absolutely necessary. So he sidesteps the perplexing theological questions about the existence of evil and “why does God permit such things to happen” and says, straight up, what really matters is whether or not YOU truly know your need for God. What really matters is whether or not YOU believe in His Son’s sacrifice and risen life. If you reject God’s mercy, you will inevitably die, but that’s just the beginning. What comes next is a living nightmare, an existence where access to a loving God is no longer possible, and things like forgiveness and kindness are forgotten.
But that’s not what God wants for his creation. That’s why He placed the punishment for sin on His Son. It had to fall on someone, so God had it fall on Jesus instead of you and me. With that awful price paid for, God invites you leave sinful ways behind and to receive the gift of forgiveness. He invites you to change your mind about your old ways and to live in a whole new way. His Holy Spirit is at work at this very moment to guide you to Jesus, that you would trust Him and Him alone for a never-ending life with God. A person who is gifted with this faith is a person who can withstand disaster when it comes. Because of Jesus they can live with urgency, yet without fear.
There is an old Japanese movie that I love called “Ikiru.” The story is simple; a man who has a desk job in the local government goes through the same lifeless routine day after day until he learns he has stomach cancer. After absorbing the shock of this news, and after trying the “eat, drink, and be merry” approach to this news and finding it empty, he latches onto a purpose that gives the rest of his days meaning. He decides to push a project through the system—the building of a children’s playground—and he goes after this project with great urgency because time is obviously running out. He also goes after it without fear. He realizes this when the local Japanese mobsters try to prevent him from building the playground. They threaten him with death, and you see this look of awareness cross the man’s face—their greatest weapon means nothing. Threatening to kill someone’s who is terminally ill is not going to scare them very much. And yes, the playground gets built. Incidentally, the title, “Ikiru,” is a Japanese word meaning “to live.”
If you return to God and believe the good news about His Son Jesus, then you know what it really means to live. You will live with urgency, picking up the mission God has given you to complete, because no tomorrow is guaranteed. You will live without fear, because you trust that Jesus—who defeated death and came out of the grave—will be with you in this life and the next. And you will live through times of both delight and disaster with confidence that every heartbeat brings you that much closer to the endless, joyous Day of Heaven, thanks to Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rejecting Jesus

2010-02-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

God’s Word comes to us from the 13th chapter of Luke, where Jesus says: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”

Most of us are so familiar with the image of Jesus as the Lamb of God that we don’t give it a second thought. But “Hen of God”? That’s another story. In the words you just heard, Jesus compares his love for the people of Jerusalem to the nurturing, protecting love of a mother hen, draping her wings over her chicks. It is a tender, comforting image. And yet there is tragedy in these words. There is heartbreak. Jesus has tried to gather His children together, but they have rejected him.
Chances are, you have known the pain of rejection. Whether it’s rejection in a relationship; rejection at your job; or the rejection of wanting something so much only to be passed by; we know how it feels. So just imagine, if you can, how the Son of God feels as he journeys toward Jerusalem—His holy city—the location of His Father’s house, the Temple—and the reception he receives is rejection. He has come so that people—his people—can truly know God. He has come to bring forgiveness and a new direction. He has come to offer never-ending life to his people and all people. And the response is: No thanks, Jesus of Nazareth. We don’t want you. We don’t want what you’re selling. Keep this up, Jesus, and things might get ugly.
Now, Jesus was not surprised by this rejection. He even said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Perhaps He was thinking of Jeremiah, who in today’s Old Testament lesson is threatened with death for speaking the Word of the Lord. Human beings can have strange, extreme reactions to God’s Word of repentance and mercy, as Paul writes in today’s Epistle: “For many…walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Enemies of the cross of Christ. Enemies of forgiveness and love. Enemies of all that is good. Rejection of Jesus is all around us. Pop stars try to recast Jesus in their own image in interviews. Fathers and mothers try to lead families apart from the wisdom and will of God. People crave power and control, despising those who promote the peace and forgiveness of Christ, who still desires to gather a people unto himself. He is not surprised by all this rejection. But it still breaks His heart. The worst of it is, this is not just a message about how “those people” reject Jesus—it’s also about how you reject Him, and how I reject Him, people who really ought to know better.
How, you may ask, do I reject Jesus? Well, let me ask you: Is Jesus, the Son of God, the most important person in your life? Would you drop everything that you’ve worked for to follow his calling? Do you share your faith in Him with other people? Do you care for those who are worse off than you and look for ways to serve them? Do you try to live a life of purity and obedience to the Lord on a daily basis? Do you hunger and thirst for Jesus’ words, not to mention His body and blood given in Holy Communion, or are there other places you would rather be than a boring old church service? If you wrote down all the things you do in a given week, would they reveal that Jesus is your number one priority? Would He make the top five? I am willing to admit that I fall under the condemnation of these questions and that I have rejected my Savior in ways to numerous to mention. Are you willing to admit the same?
If not, I will pray that you wake up before it’s too late, because you are choosing a road that leads to personal destruction. If you are willing to confess and own your rejection of Jesus, I want you to listen to this. It’s going to sound too good to be true, but it is the Truth. Jesus is not surprised by rejection. And even though it broke his heart, he pressed on to Jerusalem to the hill outside the city wall where criminals were put to death. Jesus does not handle rejection like we do. When we’re rejected, we either lash out in anger, or more often than not we shut down, we curl up into a ball so that we don’t get hurt again. But not Jesus. He kept putting one foot in front of the other all the way to Calvary, in the face of the most bitter rejection imaginable. Where we help only our friends or those who can reward us for our efforts, Jesus helped those who hated him and prayed for their forgiveness. Where we would turn our backs to those who reject us, Jesus offered his back to the whip, absorbing the punishment for sin. Where we shut down and put self-preservation first, Jesus thought more highly of you than his own life. Rejection did not stop Jesus from proving his love for you. His wish came true. He gathers his children with outstretched arms—on the cross. He gathers his children with the wings of forgiveness and reconciliation. Though his arms are nailed fast to the wood, His love embraces the world. That love embraces you and me—people who have resisted and rejected Him—and what He wants most is for you to turn around and return the embrace. His arms are still open wide.

How Jesus Said No To Temptation

2010-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

It is not a sin to be tempted to sin. Would you agree? If it were a sin simply to be tempted by the devil, then we would all be lost. Why? Because Jesus was thoroughly tempted to sin by Satan himself. If being tempted is in itself a sin, then Jesus sinned, and his sacrifice on the cross has no power to save. I hope it’s obvious that I’m not suggesting that’s the case. Jesus presented himself as a perfect offering for our sin. Jesus resisted temptation by relying on Holy Scripture. It’s no sin to be tempted. It’s what you do with temptation that counts.
Unfortunately, that usually means we fail and fall and it becomes a sin. The comic strip “Cathy” totally nails our sorry approach to handling temptation. The one I’m thinking of went like this: Cathy goes for a drive to get her mind off of the temptation of eating candy. She thinks, “I’ll go for a drive, but I won’t go past the grocery store.” Next frame, “I’ll drive past, but I won’t stop.” Next frame: “I’ll stop, but I won’t go inside.” Then, “I’ll go inside, but I won’t go down the candy aisle.” “I’ll go down the candy aisle, but I’ll just look. I won’t pick up any candy.” “I’ll pick up the candy, but I won’t buy it.” “I’ll buy it, but I won’t open it.” “I’ll open it, but I won’t smell it.” “I’ll smell it, but not taste it.” “I’ll taste it, but not eat it.” Then, “EAT EAT EAT.”
There is humor in that description because we recognize how true it is and how it mirrors our own struggles with temptation. But make no mistake: choosing to sin is no laughing matter. It may not be a sin to be tempted, but when we believe the lies of the devil and choose to sin, we are choosing evil. We are choosing death. I’m guessing you wouldn’t think that drinking a bottle of poison is a good idea, yet when you indulge yourself in sinful behavior, that’s exactly what you’re doing to your heart and soul. Worse yet, as a Christian, when you give in to temptation and deliberately choose to sin, the net effect is that you’re saying the death of Jesus on the cross was no big deal. Ever thought of it that way? Serious business, this temptation stuff. Is there any realistic way for us to deal with and overcome temptation? I believe there is, and that we see it in Jesus in Luke’s gospel here.
What we need to know, first of all, what we really need to consciously realize is that every temptation that the devil serves up is a lie. Jesus called Satan “the father of lies,” because deception is his specialty. You see that in the temptations he dangles before Jesus. He tries to cause Jesus to doubt his own identity as the Son of God. Satan acts as if he has authority over creation and the kingdoms of the world. He tries to distort and manipulate God’s Word, which was the way he caused Eve to stumble back in the Garden, asking the question, “Did God really say…”? The devil’s temptations are all lies! He did it to Jesus and he does it to you. I could spend the next ten minutes giving you example after example of how the devil’s temptations—every single one of them—are lies. Instead of doing that, here’s a little story to remind you how most temptation works. In Southern Mexico lies the Cave of the Lighted House. As you make your way to the cave you walk through a lush rain forest. The cave is fed by 20 underground springs, beautiful watercourses which teem with tiny fish. The cave itself is home to spectacular rock formations and beautiful ponds. The environment is inviting. Yet accept the invitation and you’ll soon be dead, because the Cave of the Lighted House is filled with sulfur--poisonous gas. That’s temptation. Satan presents something to you as inviting, exciting, attractive, and life-giving. But it is a lie. In reality, it’s poisonous and toxic. Once you walk into the cave, it’s too late. You’re not just “getting away with something.” You’re not just “being naughty.” You’re choosing death of body and spirit. We all need to be conscious of the fact that when you are being tempted, you are being lied to, and no one is going to laugh at you harder than Satan when he gets you to walk into the cave of sin. If he gets you to go in there, he has played you for a fool. You bought it, and now you’ve got to pay for it—with your life. Isn’t sin and temptation hilarious?
Thanks be to God that you have Someone who loves you and values you so much that He would come alongside you and say to you: “I know that you bought the devil’s lies and you’ve got to pay for it with your life. But let me. Let me pay for it with my life. My life for yours. I want you to stay with me” That’s what Jesus has done for you, for me, and for everyone. That’s why he allowed himself to be flayed open and nailed to a cross—to make the payment that would erase your sins. And that’s why we see him resisting temptation perfectly—his sacrifice on the cross had to be perfect, and it was. He had to respond to temptation perfectly, because you and I could never do that. He did, and the majesty of the gospel is that it counts for you. Your account has been credited as “paid in full” in Jesus name. In order to enjoy the benefits of this gift, all you need do is trust that Jesus has, in fact, made this payment on your behalf. Then forgiveness and new life is yours.
Part of that new life in Jesus is a new perspective on temptation and sin. The Holy Spirit will work to change the way you think and feel about walking into that Cave. In Paul’s letter to Titus, he writes, “…the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…” (2: 11—12) A self-controlled, upright and godly life is something that a Christian will want to pursue if he or she truly understands the gift of grace they have received in Jesus. The Christian will look to Jesus first for forgiveness and restoration and then for direction and guidance. And Jesus has a great lesson for you about resisting temptation when you examine the way he did it. In each case in today’s gospel—when the devil tempts Jesus, Jesus responds with words from Holy Scripture. He is able to draw on his knowledge of Holy Scripture to combat the lies of the devil and stand for what is true. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but this is one critical reason all of us need to get into God’s Word and study God’s Word and know what it says— for the purpose of discerning the devil’s tempting lies and saying no to them! The stronger we are in the knowledge of God’s Word, the more conscious we will be of sin’s high price. The stronger we are in the knowledge of God’s Word, the more apt we will be to live in the pattern of repentance and faith. And the stronger we are in the knowledge of God’s Word, the more plugged in we will be to the power of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to make godly choices in the heat of the moment.
There is a space between the moment something happens and how we respond. Those who are growing in spiritual maturity work to make that space larger so that they can choose their responses. Trusting in Jesus and animated by His Spirit, we can choose to not continue in a conversation that is engaged in gossip; we can choose to not pull the trigger on our temper; we can choose to not stab someone in the back; we can choose to not lie or fudge to truth. We really can say no to the devil’s lies. Holy Scripture says so.
Today’s gospel lesson ends on kind of an ominous note. It says, “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from [Jesus] until an opportune time.” The devil would be back with more attempts to derail Jesus’ mission. He was willing to wait until the time was just right: maybe when Jesus was tired out or emotionally spent or when he was opposed by his own religious teachers or abandoned by his own followers, then the devil would try to sell one more lie. If that was true for Jesus, then you can bet it is true for you. The devil will wait for just the opportune time to tempt you; he’s patient enough to wait until you’re stressed out or vulnerable or angry—or maybe the opportune time is when everything’s going great. The point is, Satan will not give up. He knows when you’re weak and he will wait to take his shot. But never forget this fact: the devil did not succeed. He failed. His lies did not prevent Jesus from being the spotless Lamb of God. His lies could not keep the Son of God in His tomb. His lies will not stop Jesus from returning to the world He saved. And his lies cannot separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus will always share His victory and His truth with you.

Transfiguration and the Jesus Pattern

2010-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

There is a certain brand of Christianity that says that if you only put enough trust in Jesus Christ, then you will have your best life today. You’ll own the home of your dreams. You’ll experience success in all that you do. This brand of Christianity sells. It fills stadiums. People naturally gravitate to this message. We want it to be true. We want God to give us glorious lives today—and it’s easy to assume that if things aren’t good and glorious, then something’s wrong with either me or God.
When you’re disappointed or even heartbroken about the way things are going in your life, you need to go back and look at the life of Jesus. Let God’s Word speak to you about Jesus and the pattern of His life. In the pattern of Jesus’ life you will find the pattern of your life, too. The pattern of Jesus’ life changes our expectations about life with God and what we can expect. And that’s key; because sometimes our faith in God is shaken because we have expectations of God that are rooted in our own wishful thinking, and not in His promises.
The Transfiguration of Jesus is a perfect place to examine the pattern of Jesus’ life. During the teaching phase of his ministry, Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a mountain to pray. During this prayer time, Jesus’ appearance was transfigured. He changed. He started to shine. Moses and Elijah, who ordinarily would be in heaven, come to have a conversation with Jesus about the actions he would take in Jerusalem. The voice of God the Father Himself rings out: “This is my Son my Chosen One; listen to Him.” And Peter responds to all this by wanting to prolong the experience. He wants to build tents so that the visitors from heaven can stay. Peter doesn’t want this glory to end.
But it does. It has to. Jesus was not born into the world to transform and sit on a mountaintop in a little tent. That’s not the pattern. He has work to do. That’s what He was talking about with Moses and Elijah. It says “they spoke of [Jesus’] departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” In the original language, the word “departure” is literally the word “exodus.” I’m assuming that it was Moses who talked about Jesus’ work this way. Soon Jesus was going to suffer terribly and go through crucifixion. Then He would rise from the dead. By doing those things, he would free us from slavery and lead us on to the promised land of life in heaven. This “exodus conversation” is extremely important. First, it is the Word that gives life to those who believe. In other words, it is the saving Gospel. Second, it reveals the pattern of Jesus’ life. And the pattern is not “Only Glory In This Life With More Glory To Come.” Instead, the pattern of Jesus’ life is: “Glimpses of Glory Mixed With Significant Suffering In This Life With Great Glory To Come.” The pattern of Jesus’ life is: pain and heartache mixed with love now; and then an entrance into full glory. Or to really bottom-line it: The pattern of Jesus’ life is: suffering; then glory. That’s the pattern of Jesus’ life, and that’s the pattern of life for those who believe in Him.
Jesus was very up-front about this. To those who wished to follow Him He said “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” He also guaranteed: “In this life you will have trouble.” But he followed that immediately with: “But take heart. I have overcome the world.” If we walk in the way of Jesus Christ, we will still experience trouble, loss, grief, sadness, pain and suffering. Despite what some claim, Christianity is not a vaccine against such things, nor can you will them away by having “more faith” or “believing harder.” What Jesus offers you is peace in the midst of problems. When He died on that cross, He paid for all of your sins in full. That means when bad things happen to you, you never have to wonder, “Is God punishing me?” The full punishment for your sins was handled by Jesus on the cross. Because the Son of God died under the weight of that punishment, God counts no sin against you. We face turmoil in our lives because sin has infected everything and because evil is real. It’s no joke. We must pass through the valley of the shadow of death. You could argue that we do that every day. But we do not go alone. Your Good Shepherd goes with you. He knows how to use that rod and staff to protect you. Most importantly, He’s been this way before. He’s already taken this path. He knows where it comes out.
It comes out in true glory—the glory of heaven. The glory of perfect joy in the Lord who is with His people forever. The glory of endless light and love. The glory of worship alongside angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, sending perfect praise to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Obviously, we’re not there yet. But you will be, as certainly as Jesus endured his time of suffering and then entered the glory of resurrection. Jesus offers you not only peace in the midst of problems, but also a future home in heaven. Remember, as a believer, the pattern of Jesus’ life is yours. Heaven is your Promised Land. Jesus is leading your life right now. It may seem like wandering in the wilderness at times, but think about what you’ve left behind. Nothing less than slavery to sin! Two kinds of death: the living death of a self-centered, Godless life, and the second death—the death of the soul in eternal self-imposed exile from God. Jesus has brought you out of that. You need never go back. Yes, there will still be suffering and sadness, but it is temporary, and it will pass away. You will not. Your life continues with Christ, because that’s the pattern. Suffering, then glory.
And to encourage you and me, we see glimpses of that glory along the way. We glimpse our Lord Jesus Christ in the pages of Holy Scripture. We catch a glimpse of Him as we are given His body and blood in the sacrament. We get a glimpse of the activity of heaven when everyone is singing to the Lord from their hearts. We glimpse His compassion when someone performs even the smallest act of grace for us, and we are touched by their kindness. God lets us catch these glimpses because He loves us. He knows we need His strength, because we are so easily discouraged. He knows—and so do we—that today, we cannot stay on the mountaintop, because that’s not the pattern. There is still work to do and much to endure. But thanks to Jesus, you can endure. Thanks to Him, the pattern will hold, and one day you will enter into the full glory of God. And you will enter to stay. May the Holy Spirit give you contentment and confidence as your life traces the pattern of Jesus’ suffering and glory.

A Fish Story

2010-02-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

He was a commercial fisherman, with hardened callouses on his hands from dealing with oars, sails, and nets. He had the scars from thousands of bristling fins and errant knife strokes that cleaned the fish.
It’s hard to calculate how many hours he had spent enduring bad weather, griping about catchless nights, cursing torn nets, quarreling with other fishermen over choice fishing spots. He could’ve easily snapped at his wife when she complained about lean times. It would’ve been easy to envy others who seemed to have an easier way to make a living.
This fisherman had open sins and hidden sins of the heart. He may not have given his spiritual condition much thought, or even thought in such terms as “sin” and “spiritual condition.” Whether he did or not, one day a man came to him with a strange request. He wanted to use one of the boats as a kind of podium from which to speak to a large crowd that seemed to be following him. What could the fisherman say? No? So he put the teacher out a little bit from land, and thus began the experience that would change Simon Peter’s life forever.
You heard what happened next in today’s Gospel: Jesus taught the crowds. He preached. And then he turned to Peter with an even stranger request—a command, really; one that did not make sense; he wanted Peter and his fellow fisherman to let the nets down one more time, even though fishing had been lousy that night on the lake. For whatever reason, Peter obeyed, certainly with the expectation that nothing was going to happen. And suddenly, he had no time for reflection, because the nets were bulging and breaking with fish—more fish than he and his partners had ever seen.
There was something about the combination of listening to Jesus teach and then seeing this sign with the fish that caused Peter to arrive at the conclusion: I am in the presence of God. And this was not a pleasant conclusion. At the speed of thought, Peter concluded that He was in the presence of God, and since that was true, then his every thought, his every word, and his every action was an open book to the One who stood before him. Call it shame; embarrassment; repentance, even; it sent Peter to his knees, and he said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” This commercial fisherman hardly had time to pursue theology as a side hobby, but he instinctively knew that holiness and sin don’t mix--and that he fell squarely on the “sin” side of the equation. The right thing to do was to ask Jesus to leave. Or so Peter thought.
Instead, Peter hears these words: “Do not be afraid.” In those words, Jesus says, “It’s all right. I know who you are and what you’re like. I know what you do when you think no one is watching. Peter, you just did what I wish everyone would do. You humbled yourself. You were open about your sin. And I forgive you.” Being allowed to stay by Jesus’ side without fear—that probably would’ve been amazing enough to Peter. But then Jesus continues “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.” Just try to imagine the questions that this commercial fisherman had racing through his mind at this moment. Not only had Jesus just forgiven his sins, but it also sounded like Jesus had just enlisted him in some kind of…what? A Movement? An experiment? Something to do with the kingdom of God that Jesus had spoken about? Whatever Peter thought “catching men” meant, it captivated him so much—and Jesus had gotten to him so much—that he and his partners James and John left their old way of life behind almost instantly. Luke tells us that “when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” It doesn’t sound like the fisherman sat down and made a “pros and cons” list. There was no: “Let me prayerfully consider your offer, Jesus.” They had been changed, and that was that.
I don’t think I really need to tell you that you and I are meant to strongly identify with Peter the fisherman. When God comes around, there’s always a natural sense of fear. You see a very miniature version of this when a pastor enters a room full of people who have no Christian faith to speak of—you can literally see the discomfort in their body language and eye contact is avoided at all costs. Isn’t that because they know who the pastor represents? (Hopefully it’s not his personal grooming.) But do you know what I mean? And when we’re being honest, we will even admit that we too avoid God’s holiness. We act as if we can hide things from God. We want God to bless us, but we don’t want Him to get too close to us…to really see us…but in the end, we can either lie to ourselves, or make Peter’s confession, “I am a sinful person,” our own.
Then it’s our turn to be amazed as Jesus says: “Do not be afraid. I forgive you all your sins. That’s why I suffered. That’s why I was wounded. That’s why I bled and died on the cross. From now on you will be catching men.” You see, you were not just saved from the fear of God and the fear of punishment by Jesus, but you were saved for this same catching of men Jesus told Peter about. You have been enlisted in the high calling of fishing for people. If you are “fishing about” for a purpose in life, this is it. You are to join Jesus on a journey that will make your life an adventure—where you will be dragging people out of the pounding surf into the lifeboat. This is what you have been saved for—to join Jesus’ team…to rescue people with Him.
I love the way that author Mark Cahill describes the adventure of fishing with Jesus. He writes: “If I threw a birthday party for you where every guest would receive $100,000 in cash and a Mercedes convertible, and I gave you fifty tickets to your party, how many people would you have at your party? No doubt, you would have fifty people. Isn’t that similar to what God has done for us? He has given us a pocketful of tickets, and it is up to us to hand out ticket after ticket to a place called heaven. Do you realize how many Christians are going to die and stand in front of God with a pocket full of tickets to heaven? You had all these tickets to heaven. You could have given them away to anyone you wanted to, but you died with your pockets full of tickets.” Cahill concludes, “My goal is that I am about to die, I hand my last ticket to a police officer or an ambulance driver or an emergency room doctor. And then I’ll take my last breath, die, and stand in front of the throne of God with no tickets left in my pockets.”
Jesus has saved you from the fear of death and saved you for the catching of men. This means a Spirit-filled shift in your thinking. It means you start looking for people to give tickets to. It means…well, it means a lot of things, but maybe we should just talk about the first step, because I know the idea of handing out these tickets to people is terrifying for us in our natural hearts.
Do you remember the first step Peter, James, and John took? After Jesus had created faith in them by his preaching his Word, did the fishermen stay put in the same old routine? No. They left their old way of life behind and went on a journey with Jesus. That was their first step as disciples. Believing is easy; it’s a gift, after all. Putting your beliefs into action—that’s not so easy, but that is discipleship. Jesus doesn’t call anyone to believe in Him and do nothing. He says, “Come fish with me!” And the first step is leaving behind whatever you need to leave behind in order to do that.
What is holding you back from going fishing with Jesus? What keeps getting in the way of you handing out gospel tickets to people? What do you need to say “no” to in order to say “yes” to this journey of a lifetime? Whatever it is, it’s time to leave that boat by the lake. Tie it to the post and leave it behind. It’s not too late to walk away with Jesus by your side. “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

I Want To Know What Love Is

2010-01-31T09:00:00.001-08:00

A young man went off to college, and at every break, he would bring home a different girlfriend. His father was amused.
But every time, his mother would say something. “Son, she’s beautiful, but isn’t she a little too serious?” Or with the next, Mom would wonder, “I don’t know, she’s so picky.” And with another, “She just strikes me as too quiet for you, my dear.”
At last, the young man brought home this splendid young woman. So bright and brash! He had this sneaking suspicion that he had found someone a lot like his Mom, a suspicion confirmed by the fact that his mother was almost instantly thrilled with the girl.
It didn’t take long for his father to take the young man aside and say, “Son, I’ve always kept my opinion to myself. As long as you’re happy, I’ll love this girl. But I can’t put my finger on it: there’s something about her I just don’t like!”
Ah, love. There is something about love that inspires human beings. Countless stories have been told; countless songs have been sung; countless poems and novels and screenplays have been written about love. Storytellers have tried for centuries on end to get at the fundamental truths about love, and have attempted to define what love is; how to acquire it; how to keep it; and what you should do if you lose it. The singer-songwriters and screenwriters and authors of our 21st century popular culture are fairly uniform in the way they define love: it can be summarized as a feeling that sweeps you off your feet—a huge rush of emotion—and since these are the storytellers we listen to most of the time, we have come to accept that this is the ideal when it comes to romantic love. We have also come to accept what the same storytellers say about the downside of love—they say that this “knock-me-off-my-feet-type feeling” can disappear at a moment’s notice, and if the feeling is gone, then love is too. So cut your losses and go hunting for that feeling with someone else. That’s human culture’s idea of love. But is that what the Bible says about love?
What adds to the confusion about love is that “love” is one of those words that is notoriously elastic—it can stretch in many different ways, depending on the context. For example, so far we’ve been talking largely about romantic love as our culture defines it. Something else is being expressed when a parent says, “I love my kids.” Same word, but there’s something else at work. Same thing when your friend says to you, “I love you, man.” And then the word can simply be used to mean we really enjoy something, like, “I love my Nintendo Wii” or “I love the Browns (you poor soul)” or “I love ice cream.” Love, as a word, is messy, and it can be hard to pin down just what is meant by it. One thing I’m afraid of is that Christian people hear Jesus say stuff like “Love one another,” and because of confusion surrounding the word “love,” they get the wrong idea. They think, “I could never have warm, fuzzy feeling for that guy.” But that misses the point. When Jesus talks about love, He’s not talking about feelings—at least not in the late 20th--early 21st century sense of love being an intoxicant. When he talks about love, he’s talking about a conscious decision to look away from self and to look to the needs of others, and to work towards meeting those needs. And it should not surprise you that Saint Paul talks about love in the same way. You see it in the Epistle reading today. Paul provides us with a detailed definition of godly love. It is challenging to come to terms with this Scriptural definition of love, because it really has nothing to do with the “knock-me-off-of-my-feet-type” love that is far more prevalent and popular. But the truth is that the Bible’s definition of love that we encounter today is higher and better and more rewarding, because this love comes from God Himself.
Listen again to what Paul says love is (or is not):4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8Love never ends.
Now that is quite a list, and if you take it seriously, it explodes a lot of modern myths about love. Remember, Paul is simply saying that this is what love it or what it isn’t. That means if there’s something going on in a relationship that is the opposite of what is described here, it may be a lot of things, but love is not one of them. Impatience or mean-spiritedness—not love. Jealousy or bragging—not love. Arrogance—rudeness—“my way or the highway”—not love. Irritability or resentfulness—not love. Love rejoices in truth. Love can always be counted on. I don’t hear much talk about love “rocking your world” or “blowing your mind” here. Instead, love is the will to do the right thing for someone else.
There’s a twist here, too, that we need to pay attention to: when Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, he’s really talking about how Christians should love each other and everyone in their world. All the weddings at which this passage has been featured notwithstanding, these words are not first and foremost about the love between husband and wife (though they certainly apply). Loving others—having the will to do the right thing for whoever is your path that day—is what Paul calls a “still more excellent way” to live than having a bunch of spiritual gifts. And remember—this Godly love is much more than some touchy-feely kind of thing. Love that comes from God is a real mental choice. It is a commitment to care—even when I don’t feel like it. As Christians, we are to love people even though they are unlovable, unbearable and undesirable. Why? Because there are times when you are unlovable, unbearable, and undesirable—and God still loves you.
We can only harness this type of love in our connection with God. He is the pioneer in providing this love to the world. The most famous Bible verse of them all says it best: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God’s will to do the right thing for his creation caused him to sacrifice his own dear Son—parents, please imagine what it would be like to exchange the life of your child for anyone else’s (sounds impossible, doesn’t it?)—but that was God’s choice, and it shows just how valuable you are to him. Jesus’ commitment to care for His creation led him to the cross, and Holy Scripture says two amazing things about that commitment. Number One: Jesus had moments, such as in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He didn’t feel like being horribly beaten and nailed to a wooden killing device. And Number Two: He did it anyway. Hebrews 12: 2 says that Jesus, “for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame…” The joy set before Jesus was the joy of knowing that his death and resurrection were going to set things right. His joy was in knowing that after going through the terror of hell and death, you would belong to Him, and that made it worth it.
The love Jesus has shown you calls you to something deeper than your natural response. It isn’t easy to love people—Jesus’ sacrifice makes that obvious. It isn’t easy to have the will to do the right thing for people who have hurt you or betrayed you or changed your life for the worse with their choices. When Jesus’ choice to love you finally flips your switch, and you choose to love others His way, it is never a matter of “I love you because…” You are saying, “I love you anyway.” That’s not anyone’s idea of romantic love, but it is the love that matters most. It is the love that has saved you from destruction. It is the love that can save others through you. To let Jesus’ love overflow from you is indeed the most excellent way to live.

Paying Attention Yet?

2010-01-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

It’s probably difficult for us to grasp the depth of emotion in today’s reading from Nehemiah. The occasion described in the Old Testament Lesson is a public reading of the Book of the Law of Moses--a public reading of the book of the law of Moses that lasted for hours. And already you might be thinking to yourself, “Yikes, what could be more boring?” That’s because it’s almost impossible for us to “put ourselves in the shoes” of the Judeans, who had lost everything, and were finally back home.
It might be easier to relate to these people, who stood listening to the Word of God with attentive ears, if our stories were similar. We might be more able to figure out why they would cry and bow and lift up their hands in response to God’s Word if we walked the proverbial mile in their shoes. That would mean living lives of practical atheism. That would include ignoring God’s Word for a long time and buying into the values of other cultures. That would include loving our possessions and building our world around getting more and better stuff. Well, gee, maybe we have more in common with them than we first thought. Oh, but then there’s this. Finally after this period of complacency and spiritual unfaithfulness, the Lord said, “No more.” He allowed the consequences of their sins to drop on them. Conquering armies swept into Jerusalem, leveling the city walls meant to protect them, and the people who felt that a life of luxury was their God-given birthright whether they paid any attention to God or not were captured and pulled from their homes and taken to other countries, where they would live as strangers in exile. Their homes; their temple; their customs; their treasures and the Word of God itself; all would be nothing but memories. They gambled on a life lived without paying attention to God, and they lost.
But a time of mercy came. The Lord allowed some to return to Jerusalem, and raised up a leader named Nehemiah, who would undertake a building project of epic proportions: nothing less than rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Many were dead set against the idea, and plotted to do harm to Nehemiah, but he remained committed. The project was completed in fifty-two days, and the result was that the nations surrounding Jerusalem were afraid, because they could read the writing on the wall: that the Lord God had caused this to happen with His blessing. And after many months of people coming back to their homes, this event that we started off talking about was scheduled and it went off as described in chapter eight.
Ezra, the high priest, read from the Book of Law from early morning until midday. The ears of the people were attentive to the Book of Law. This is truly a case of “you don’t know what you got ‘til its gone.” Hearing the Word of God again created a strong emotional reaction in the Judeans. They lifted up their hands. They bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with faces to the ground. And they wept, they cried, as they heard the words of the Law. We’re not told exactly why they cried, but it isn’t too hard to imagine. They cried because they were finally back home. They wept because they realized if they had only paid attention to God’s Word in the first place, all that pain and heartache could’ve been avoided. The tears came because they finally understood the value of God’s Word and they had another chance to listen and learn and live.
What is it going to take for you to really start paying attention to the Word of God? God permits all kinds of wake-up calls to take place in order to open our ears and our hearts. If you recall, in the immediate wake of 9/11, churches were full; ears were attentive to the Word that gives life; but when it seemed that the coast was clear, the attention went back to T.V. and sports and the tabloids and business as usual and the extra seats in church were no longer necessary.
God is urgently seeking your attention. Will you give it to Him? Or will he have to resort to a wake-up call? An invading army is probably not going to whisk you away from your home, like the Judeans, but there are many “exiles” that He can use to get your attention. There’s the message from the doctor saying, you’ve got to come in for some more tests. There’s the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one. There’s the threat of losing your job. There’s the disintegration of your marriage and home. In amongst all these troubles, the Lord is calling out to you, “Are you ready to listen to me? Now are you ready to hear what I have to say in my Word? Are you ready to hear the answers that I have for you? If not now, then when? When will you pay attention to Me?”
Nehemiah and Ezra the priest saw the people crying as the Law of God was being read. They saw the grief and sadness as their people realized they had brought their trials upon themselves. So they spoke gentle words of comfort, saying, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep. Celebrate and share what you have, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
When you are paying attention to God, this is the message that predominates. Your Heavenly Father wants to wipe your tears away. He wants you to know the greatness of His love. To that end, He gave you the gift of His Son Jesus. He made His Son to be the blood sacrifice that would erase your sin. He raised His Son from death to share eternal life with you. He purchased you with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, wrote His name on you in Holy Baptism, feeds you heavenly food and drink at his table, so that you can listen to him with attentive ears and a willing heart—so that the joy of the Lord—the enjoyment of what Jesus has done and is doing for you will be your strength—so that you will live right there—enjoying the Lord, loving Him, listening to Him, believing Him, serving Him.
Does He have your attention yet?

Jesus--The First One In the Water

2010-01-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Imagine this scene, if you will. It’s a Sunday morning worship service; the front pews are packed with unfamiliar guests toting camcorders. Near the conclusion of the first hymn, four adults stand up, and one of them, holding a baby, comes forward to the altar. All of them look nervous, as if they might turn and suddenly sprint down the center aisle. The pastor reads from the hymnal and then motions for the adults to take the baby over to the side, where a gold basin is waiting. After speaking some more words together with the congregation, the pastor reaches into the bowl and douses the child three times as he says the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. After a few prayers and a final blessing, the adults, looking visibly relieved, take their places back in the pew.
Now let me ask you a question. In that scenario, what just happened?
Some might say, “nothing much.” Some might say, “it was a rite of passage not unlike rituals in other cultures.” Some might say, “it was something we did to get Grandma off our backs.” Some others might say, “this symbolizes your sins being washed away.” Some other others might say, “I’m not sure what happened nor do I really care, but the baby sure was cute.”
Now, let me tell you what the Bible says just happened. Saint Paul writes that a person who is baptized is united with Jesus Christ in a death like his and is united with Jesus in a resurrection like his. So that baby held above the baptismal font has been connected to the crucifixion of Christ, and has risen with Jesus’ resurrection. Everything that Jesus did—everything that Jesus is—has been poured onto that little one and the same is true for anyone who has been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, you die and live again with Jesus. That’s not just picture language. That’s reality for the Christian. What does that really mean? Listen to Paul:
“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again…so you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
What might life be like if you and I kept this in mind? How might life be different if we remembered the value of our baptism every single day? How might the way you look at yourself be different if you just took the time to remember that God chose to adopt you in baptism? May I boldly suggest that if we would only take the time to reflect on what God has done for us in baptism, our whole outlook on life could be drastically different. But the truth is that much of the time our outlook on life is not that different from a non-Christian’s. We just plain forget (or don’t know what it means) that we’re baptized people.
Part of that may be due to the fact that you have no memory of the event because you were an infant at the time. Fair enough. I fall into that category. But our neglect of baptism’s blessings probably has more to do with our sinful nature than our memory. What I mean is this: baptism is an offense to all man-made religion. The biblical practice of baptism is offensive to all of mankind’s homemade, homegrown attempts to get to God. Why? Because God is the one doing the action. Part of the problem I naturally have with baptism is that I didn’t DO anything—it just happened TO me. And the sinner in me doesn’t like the sound of that at all. The sinner in me wants the credit for everything—even my eternal destiny. And that’s what so many people who live right next door to you believe—that there is no doubt that they will go to heaven when they die because why? They have been a good person. And along comes baptism, a practice founded on the Biblical teaching that human beings are dead in their sins unless God intervenes—a practice founded on the Biblical teaching that you don’t have it in you to climb up the ladder to God, so He climbs down the ladder to you—and there’s something about that truth that human pride just hates. This is one area where we ought to always let God’s Word change our mind, because it is so easy for something even like Christian faith to be about ME and how I’m doing and what I’m feeling and how hard I’m working. Returning to the Bible’s description of baptism is like pushing the reset button and starting over from the beginning. Baptism is the visible, tangible working out of this fact: the work of saving you from imprisonment in hell is God’s work alone. The work of building a bridge from earth to heaven is the work of Jesus Christ alone. The delivery system by which you receive the gifts that only he could give is baptism.
And so in today’s Gospel we are presented with a curious sight: there’s Jesus going down into the water to get baptized. It’s true that Jesus did not need baptism to be forgiven. We needed Jesus to be baptized, so that he would be “the first one in the water.” Jesus was wading into the water of our sin. He got covered with our dirt. In the Jordan River he began his work of doing things he didn’t have to do for people who couldn’t do them. Part of the baptismal bond you and I have with Jesus is this amazing exchange: Jesus gets our sin, and we get his perfection. Jesus gets our punishment, and we get the rewards that he earned. Now that does not seem “fair,” but that is the Gospel, and thank God—literally—that it’s the truth.
The baptismal connection that you have with Jesus is much like the umbilical cord that connects a mother and child in the womb. Of course, we know that a mother supplies nutrients and oxygen to her child through that cord in a continuous flow, things that keep the child alive and growing. What you may not think of is that the child sends something back through the cord as well. The baby sends back poisonous wastes, and the mother eliminates them for her child. Baptism is that connecting cord between Jesus and you. Through God’s extraordinary baptismal connection, all the waste of your sin flows continuously to Jesus and is removed forever by his shed blood—He’s absorbed all your poison into his body. In return, Jesus’ life-giving strength and perfection flow continuously to you. His life is always being renewed in you! And since you are connected with Jesus in this way, you stand next to him in the water as the Father says: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." The words apply to Jesus, and they apply to you, too. You are God’s beloved child. He is well pleased with you. You can consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Live in your Baptism!

A Gift Fit for a King

2010-01-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

The story of the wise men (or magi in the original language) is one that has intrigued me more and more in recent years. As a child, one simply accepts the story as is, which is not a bad thing, but a number of nagging questions surround this account; questions such as: who were these guys? Where were they from—besides “the East”? What was it about the star that caused them to undertake such a lengthy and expensive journey? Matthew keeps the details to a minimum, and where Scripture is silent, human speculation loves to play “fill-in-the-blank.”
For example, there’s the old Christmas and Epiphany standard, “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” Dr. Paul Maier points out in his book “The First Christmas” that in just the opening line of that song, three assumptions are made that are unverifiable and probably faulty. First is the number three, you know, as in “We Three Kings.” The three wise men…it is simply assumed by nearly everyone that three magi came to worship the newly-born King of Israel. But does Scripture support that assumption? Not necessarily. A close reading of Matthew 2 reveals that Matthew never mentions a number in connection with the wise men. The only grouping of three we are told about is the three gifts given to Jesus; and from that the assumption was made: three gifts, three givers; one gift per wise man. That is possible—but it’s also possible that there were two or twelve. Matthew never says.
Next, there’s the “Kings” of the title, which is in the right neighborhood, but is a few streets away from accuracy. Good scholarship and research tells us that magi were not kings per se; but would likely serve as top advisers to heads of state in the ancient world. Magi were both magistrates and magicians. They were part college professor; part doctor; part astrologer; part fortune teller. Today they might be called “futurists.” But whatever they were, they were not Chief Executives—more like cabinet members.
Then there’s the “Orient” of the title. That too, while not totally impossible, is unlikely, given what we know about the magi of Babylon and Persia (which correspond to modern-day Iraq and Iran, respectively). Located east of Israel, the histories of the cultures provide us with most of what we know about magi, and in the case of Babylon, there would have been direct interaction between Israelites and magi during the exiles, which may help explain why the magi were interested in the first place.
All of which is to say that the magi are mysterious figures when you really go digging for information. But there is no mystery as to why they made the journey. It was to worship the Child. It was to present their gifts to the King. About that Matthew leaves no doubt.
Even little children know the gifts that they brought: gold, frankincense and myrrh, and much has been said about the significance of those gifts. Today I just want to bring the story of the mysterious magi down to a simple level. Here’s a review of the facts we know: some non-Jewish, well-schooled individuals went through a lot of personal and political trouble to bring their gifts—and their worship—to Jesus. On a global level, this signifies that Jesus is for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or social standing. Much closer to home, we see the wise men bring Jesus their gifts and their worship…and we are given the chance to ask ourselves, “What gift do I have for Jesus? What gift can I bring the King of creation?”
After all, he is the greatest gift, born into the world to help the helpless—to save us from eternal darkness—to bathe us in the life-giving light of his forgiveness. His birth and perfect life—his suffering and death—his own resurrection and ascension into heaven to rule over everything—all is pure gift. Jesus is God’s gift to us sinners, who would be spiraling downward to destruction if He were not given to us. But given the gift of Jesus was—God, in flesh and blood, came to rescue you and me—and given the gift of Jesus is—that same flesh and blood offered in His Church through wine and bread for the forgiveness of your sins. He’s come to promise you eternal joy in heaven. There’s no other gift like this.
So as we kneel alongside the magi, I ask you again, what gift will you bring to Jesus? We can learn a lot from our children, you know. This past week I asked a group of four and five-year-olds that same question: “What gift will you bring to Jesus?” and do you know what one little girl said immediately? She said, “My heart.” I’m not sure a better or more profound answer could be given to that question. “My heart is the gift I will bring.”
What else would Jesus really want? He wants your heart—as broken or scarred or corrupt as it might be. He wants the very heart of you; wants you to turn away from yourself and turn away from sin and to turn to Him. He wants you to stop placing your trust in yourself or in the wisdom of the world, and wants you to place your trust instead in Him. He wants your heart so he can cleanse it and remake it to resemble His own. He wants you to believe His Word, and in so doing, to enjoy the unexpected gifts of forgiveness, wholeness, and new life.
Here is true wisdom, available to all. Jesus: God in flesh and blood—our rescuer. Lay your gifts before Him and worship your King.

Happy New Year

2010-01-05T06:10:00.001-08:00

As you can see, I basically took the month off from blogging. It has given me some time to think about what I want the blog to be "about," and for the most part it will continue to be a clearing house of sorts of sermons, prayers, hymn stanzas, and the like, with perhaps a bit more in the way of devotional material and personal reflection.

If there's anything you might have an interest in seeing here at the Lake County Lutheran site, please leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do.

May your new year be blessed as you abide in Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

Glory to God in the Highest; and Peace to His People on Earth

Advent at St. Paul's

2009-12-03T20:33:00.001-08:00

More Thoughts for Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of his hand. Why, then, do we give the appearance of being pastured on the weeds? Why are we such worn and draggle-tailed sheep? Why is there so little gamboling on the green? Why is our life so drab? Perhaps it is because we have not learned the music of thanksgiving and petition, of praise and prayer. And they must be learned in that order, from thanksgiving to petition, because only living men can pray to God, and the people of God live, really live, only when they are thanking Him. He created us that we might be the firstfruits of his new creation; that we might show forth the praises of Him that called us. And we live, really live, as God's new creation only if we live in doxology, only in thanksgiving. And so we can pray and converse with this God of all giving only if we kneel upon a carpet of thanksgiving.

Rev. Dr. Martin Franzmann

Thoughts for Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

Neither the wit nor the strength of man called our country into existence, but the Lord. Neither the will nor the wisdom of man brought together people representing so many lands, ethnic groups, and languages, and united them into one great, free, and mighty nation, but the Lord. Neither reason nor the power of man preserved our country, bound its people together, and created its fortune, but the Lord. Our country was--and is--in His hand, as the vessel is in the potter's hand.

For this reason, away with all idolizing of man! Away with the thought that human wisdom, human courage, human power and human righteousness produced the many blessings this land enjoys! Let us praise the Lord, who says, "My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols" (Is. 42:8). Let us also exclaim, "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 118: 1). He has done great things for us, and for that, we are grateful.

Rev. Dr. C. F. W. Walther

The Truth About "2012"

2009-11-16T06:13:00.000-08:00

If you watch any television at all, then you have probably seen the trailer for a movie called “2012,” featuring famous landmarks crashing down as the world apparently comes to an end. Hollywood has mined this territory for decades, but this film has a pretty savvy gimmick; it is piggybacking on already existing speculation about the year 2012 as an end-of-the-world date. Why 2012? It seems that the ancient Mayan civilization had a calendar that stops at the year 2012, which has led some to suggest that the Mayans knew something the rest of us don’t. But let me draw a parallel, if I might.
The Lutheran Hymnal of 1941 had a chart on page 158 entitled “Table of the days on which Easter will fall from 1941—2000.” Pretty self-explanatory. Now, did anybody look at this chart and say, “April 23 of the year 2000 is the last Easter EVER!” No Easters are listed after the year 2000!” No, I don’t think so. But that’s what some people are doing with the Mayan calendar, so expect to hear a lot more 2012 talk in the years to come.
Human beings have always been fascinated with the idea of this world’s ultimate destruction. “2012” the movie is just one in a long line of “the earth is on the brink of destruction” films that have entertained audiences for years—but they also speak to a deeper concern we have. It is a concern expressed in many ways—from movies and T.V. shows to social movements attempting to “save the earth”—but it all circles back to this: we have a deep-seated suspicion that this world is going to end someday. There’s a good reason for that. The Bible says that’s precisely what is going to happen. It doesn’t give out dates like 2012 (although some Christians try to use the book of Revelation that way), but it does tell us, point-blank, this world will end. Jesus is coming back. And our Lord Jesus even gives us the signs to look for—you heard them in today’s reading from Mark’s gospel. Civil unrest. Natural disasters. The persecution of Christians. You might look at the list Jesus makes and conclude that all these things are happening now, today, in our generation, and you would be right. We can rightly say that we are living in the end times. We can’t throw out dates because Scripture doesn’t do that. But the Christian can properly come to a realization that, as far as the history of this world is concerned, we are rounding third base and are heading for home. And one of the most relevant questions you could ask about all this is: “So what?” Knowing that the Biblical signs are all there; Knowing that Christ Jesus could return at any time; Knowing that it is pointless and even counterproductive to try to pinpoint that time; so what? What are we, as Christians, supposed to do with this knowledge?
The writer of the book of Hebrews has some ideas, and I would like to share them with you today. He very clearly lists some things that Christians are to “be about” as we see the Day—the Day of Jesus’ return—drawing near.
These ideas for living in the end times all begin with Jesus. In Hebrews 10 verse 19 and following it says: “Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us…and since we have a great high priest over the house of God…” We start by acknowledging that we have been granted access to God Almighty through the blood shed by Jesus—that he is, in a very real sense, a new “high priest,” who, unlike the high priests of old, offered His own blood as a sacrifice for all sins, including yours and mine. Without Jesus’ mediation, we would have no business being in God’s presence—but with the price for sin paid in full, we are allowed and invited to enter into close contact with our Father. Since that is the case, we are invited to live in a certain way in these uncertain days.
First, the writer of Hebrews says, since Jesus has opened the way to his Father, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Because of Jesus, we are invited and enabled to draw near to God in full assurance of faith. We can approach God with a clean conscience because we have been washed. We have been cleansed in the saving blood of Jesus, and purified in the sacred washing of baptism. This has happened to us, and we believe that because God has acted in mercy, we can approach him without fear. Faith in Jesus drives out worry and fear, especially regarding our eternal well-being. Faith in Jesus means I believe He has done everything necessary for me to be saved—so that I can answer confidently, “I will go to heaven, not because I’m a good person (I’m not) but because Jesus did the work on my behalf.” The world is a scary place, and getting scarier by the day. In the face of war, murder, disaster, or the end of the world itself, you can have the full assurance of faith—absolute confidence that death, for the Christian, is merely a transition from life in this world to life in heaven with Christ.
Next, the writer of Hebrews says, since Jesus has opened the way to the Father, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” For Christians living in the end times, this is a sizable—but not impossible—task. To “hold fast the confession of our hope” means to remain faithful to Jesus in what we do and what we say. It means that we “stick to our guns” and we do not depart from the faith that has been created in our hearts by the Word of God and His Spirit. In the modern era there has been an unholy exodus away from the truth of Holy Scripture. Churches that once confessed the Bible as the inspired, mistake-free Word of God have allowed worldly wisdom to erode their confession. In American culture it has become socially awkward and nearly unacceptable to mention the name Jesus as anything other than a curse word. Far too many good Christians—and we might even look in the mirror on this one—have gone with the flow, not wanting to rock the boat. We need to repent, wake up and speak out! What are we worried about? Who are we afraid of? It says right here and we know it’s true: “He who promised is faithful.” He’s got us. He’s got our back. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus—so let’s talk about him while there is still time!
Finally, the writer of Hebrews says, since Jesus has opened the way to the Father, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” God’s Word says something so important right here. It says that when you take a look around and see the signs that the end is coming—keep doing what you’re doing. Keep doing what Christians do. Don’t change your approach. Keep thinking about and praying about ways we can “stir up one another to love and good works.” We’ve been trying to do that with our Faith Forums—looking at all the ways we can to stir up our love for Christ and one another and our love for those who are without Jesus—and what good works we can do to reach them and touch their lives with His grace. God’s Word says here that when you take a look around and see the signs that the end is coming—don’t neglect to meet together. God’s people need to come together around His Word and Sacrament and simply be together. The idea that we can just be a bunch of roving free agent Christians simply isn’t Biblical. We need the strength that we get from one another—sharing our burdens and our joys as a new kind of family—truly, brothers and sisters in Christ. We need this encouragement. We need to know we are not alone. There are others who share in our confession of faith. There are others who are willing to share the love of Jesus with us. As we get closer and closer to that day, it’s not going to get any easier to be a sincere Christian. So let’s walk together as a family of faith.

If it’s not 2012, the world and the devil will throw other fears your way, trying to terrorize you into dropping your faith and hope in Jesus. When that happens, may the Holy Spirit help us to calmly remember that because Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us and rose again from the grave, opening a new and living way to the Father, we can:

· live in the full assurance of faith, because Jesus did it all
· hold fast to our confession of Jesus as Savior without wavering
· encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to live their faith
…and in doing so, may our Lord Jesus Christ find us faithful whenever he returns. Come, Lord Jesus!

Hymn Stanza of the Week: Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me

2009-11-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
Augustus Toplady; stanza three

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly--
Wash me Savior, or I die!

The Art of Gift-Giving

2009-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Mark 12: 38--44

There comes a time in many people’s lives when you start liking to give gifts just as much, if not more than, receiving gifts. There’s just something about the process of giving a gift that’s just right that’s really enjoyable. Sometimes that means weeks or even months of hunting through stores or combing the eBay listings online. Sometimes that may mean hours upon hours of making something original for that special someone. Whatever it is, you think so much of that person that you think and plan and sometimes wait an awfully long time to finally present your gift, and then wait for their reaction. I think maybe you can tell I enjoy giving gifts, and in my vocation that’s probably a good thing.
If I’m not mistaken, everyone understands the difference between a gift given out of true love and affection, and a gift given out of obligation. Here’s just one example: Let’s say your child is invited to his friend’s birthday party, and you know part of the deal is that you have to secure a present for the birthday boy or girl. At some point, everyone gathers around and watches as the paper is ripped off the boxes, and when the child says “thank you,” the response comes back, “Yeah, well, my mom bought it.” Ah, the honesty of children. “Yeah, my mom bought it, I didn’t; whatever.” That is a gift given out of obligation, and it may be a cool toy, but it doesn’t mean very much, does it?
Have you ever stopped to consider why you give gifts to God? When was the last time you really thought about why you were putting money in your offering envelope? What motivates you to give of your time here at the church? Is it because you feel it’s your duty—that you must, or else? Or do you give gifts to God because you want to show him you love him?
Today in Mark chapter twelve, we see the story of a gift given in love. A widow has one mite to give—one thin dime to her name—and she puts that in the offering plate, and Jesus points her out as someone who gets it. This is a gift that shows a love for God that is stronger than love of self. This is a gift that displays a deep trust in God. The widow could not give this gift to God if she did not trust that the Lord would continue to take care of her. It is a gift that defies “common sense.” That’s why Jesus likes it so much.
In contrast to the widow’s gift, Jesus talks about what the rich and well-to-do people are giving. Those who are blessed with much epitomize “common sense” in the way they give. They give from what’s left over. After expenses are taken care of, they move on to savings, and after that they go to luxuries and just cool stuff, and then, oh, well, what do you know, there’s some left over. Good. We can give some to the church. And if that person was rich enough that left-over amount might be a pretty big number. But by drawing attention to the widow and her mite, Jesus is clearly saying that the number doesn’t matter. Jesus is asking, what is your gift saying? Lord, I love and trust you? Or, Lord, you’re an afterthought to me?
I mean, I know people who will not eat leftovers. They won’t touch them. And by now, most of you know what “re-gifting” is; taking an obligation gift and rewrapping it and passing it along to someone else. If you’ve ever received a re-gift, you know how special that feels. And if we gave gifts to our family the way we sometimes give gifts to God, can you imagine the trouble we would be in? I mean, the equivalent of how we treat God with our gifts could be like this: guys; it’s your wife or girlfriend’s birthday, and two minutes before the nice birthday dinner, you start digging through your junk drawer at home, looking for something, let’s see there’s something in here she might like, now how can I wrap this up? Now if you think that’s ridiculous, have you ever been at a church service, maybe it’s a special service, not the usual Sunday routine, and all of a sudden the offering plates start getting passed. You weren’t really planning for this, so you reach in your pocket or your purse and you pull out your wallet, and you start to leaf through the bills, and you go through the singles, and you’re not going to put a single in there, for crying out loud and you look and see what’s the next biggest bill and oh no it’s a ten! So you go back and count: how many singles do I have again? That’s giving from our leftovers, that’s giving God our scraps and what Jesus says today through His Word is that He doesn’t need our scraps and he doesn’t want our scraps. He doesn’t want the smallest bill in your wallet; He wants your heart. He doesn’t want you to write a check to the church for an amount that you won’t miss; He wants you. He wants your love. He wants your trust. He wants you to treasure the gift He has given you.
What is that gift? The Lord had promised to send someone to decisively crush Satan and counteract death itself; and when the time had fully come, Jesus was sent to our world to do just that. Like that widow giving her only coin, Jesus gave everything on the cross. The penalty for your sins and mine—eternal suffering and torment—could not be paid halfway. A few scraps here and there would never do. Jesus could only give everything to forgive the debt of our sin. And so he allowed himself to be falsely accused. He allowed himself to be betrayed and forsaken by his friends. He allowed himself to be made fun of and spit on and slapped and punched and scourged with the Roman whip and nailed to a cross and raised up where he would fight against the nails for every last breath…so that…so that…these words would have real power: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” “Take eat, this is my body given for you; take, drink, this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Now let me ask you again: Why do you give gifts to God? What do you get someone who has given his all for you?

Theology Must Sing

2009-11-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

This quote from Martin Franzmann's great Reformation sermon takes me back to Hymnody class at the Seminary.

Theology is doxology. Theology must sing. The church with psalms must shout, no door can keep them out. So at the Reformation, when the Word of Christ dwelt richly in men's hearts once more, when the peace of God was allowed to rule in men once more, there followed a burst of song almost without parallel in the history of the church. Here, too, the Reformation was not a revolution. It gave up nothing of the ancient song of the church that was good and profitable, and the Church of the Reformation ever since, when it has been true to its origin, has always welcomed each good new song.

But the history of the church's hymnody shows that the church has not always been true to its origin. The history of the church 's song is not an uninterrupted progress of triumph. So each generation of the church must try and test itself anew to see whether its song is true, to see whether its doxology is theology.

Photos from Family Chrismon Event

2009-11-02T05:38:00.000-08:00

Special thanks to Kirk and Marti Jacobson for their planning and hard work. This was a great event!

All Saints Day: Spoiler Alert

2009-11-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Revelation 7: 9—17

If you like to read movie reviews, then you probably know what a Spoiler Alert is about. A spoiler alert is when a reviewer reveals a film’s crucial plot point, probably a twist ending, in their review, and if you read it before you see the movie, it would spoil the element of surprise for you. Thus, the reviewer notifies the reader with a Spoiler Alert, giving the reader the chance to stop reading before they spoil it for themselves. Or, you can keep reading if you can’t wait to find out how the story ends.
As we consider God’s Word to us on this Festival of All Saints, then, I need to issue this Spoiler Alert. Today, Holy Scripture is going to reveal how your story ends. It will tell how the story ends for everyone who has been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve read every Spoiler Alert I’ve ever seen, and I would recommend we definitely go ahead and read this one, too. It is not there for us to ignore. It is there to encourage us. It is there to inspire confidence in us. So let’s take a look at the final scene of our story—our story made real through Jesus, our Lord.
The great vision of John we know as Revelation is filled with bizarre imagery, Hebraic number symbolism and repeated references to the Old Testament. It certainly must be the most controversial book in the Bible. For such reasons, many Christians want to leave the book of Revelation alone. They’d rather not read the Spoiler Alert, because it all sounds too weird and scary. But we dare not shut the door on this book. Believe it or not, there are scenes of astounding beauty to be found in Revelation. Our First Reading for this All Saints’ Day is one of them. It is a vision of the saints in triumph—a picture of heaven itself. Like the hymn we began with, it asks us to behold a host arrayed in white—a crowd of people so big that it is uncountable. The people in this vision are wearing white robes and are holding palm branches in their hands. They are Christian people who have been Oxycleaned in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. They are wearing the robe of holiness that was draped over them at their baptism. And they are holding palm branches in hand—that gesture of praise happened on earth, too, remember? Back then it was welcoming the Savior to his holy city—the city where his mission would be completed; here in Revelation the saints are welcoming Jesus home. And this is their shout of praise: We are saved by our God who sits on the throne and by the Lamb!” Here’s the Spoiler Alert! Because Jesus became fully human, lived His Law perfectly and then gave His life as a perfect offering, you will be one of those white-robed worshippers. The book of Revelation sends the clear message: be faithful unto death, and this is what you have to look forward to: you will see Jesus in person, the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. You will worship Him with the entire number of believers from all time and place. You will serve the Lord in perfect happiness. You will want for nothing and will lack nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. You will lack sorrow. You will lack grief. You will lack pain and suffering. You will lack sadness, disappointment, worry and fear. Those things you will lack. Those things will be lost forever as you look at the face of your Savior Jesus, the Shepherd and the Lamb, the Alpha and Omega, Your King and your brother. It will finally be Him. Jesus. He’s bringing you there. He put the white clothes—or is the right clothes on you. He put the song of faith in your heart. He will bring you over the canyon of death on the bridge of his cross into a scene just like this great celebration in Revelation.
That’s the Spoiler Alert. This is how your story ends, but as you can see, it’s really not an ending at all. Knowing that this is God’s promise to you ought to totally change the way your life gets lived. But does it?
All too often, I’m afraid that we are so distracted by life in this world that we don’t give much thought to life with Christ that never ends. The cares and concerns that trouble us get right up in our faces, so that we can’t see past them. The idea of heaven is pleasant, but distant. It isn’t until we come face to face with death that these promises start to really break through to us.
It might also be that, for as much time as we’ve spent in church, we’re still not all that clear about how you end up in heaven. We sit here observing an All Saint’s Day, but we wear the “saint” title awkwardly, if we claim it at all. It is time to change that. You need to realize that yes, indeed, you are one of God’s saints. Why? Because that’s what God says you are.
That’s what he calls those whom he has chosen and adopted in Baptism and washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. The apostle Paul also does it on numerous occasions. He calls the members of the congregations he wrote to “saints”-- which was kind of strange, considering he was usually writing to them to tell them to get their act together. But that’s the tension in which we live. We know we don’t deserve to be called saints. We don’t deserve to be called children of God. We know that when it comes to being holy, well, that’s a joke, right? We know that if a judge and jury were ever to sift through the evidence of our lives, they would be able to come up with incident after incident that would disqualify us from saintly status.
Despite our ideas and doubts about sainthood, God looks at Jesus’ cross and empty tomb, then looks at us and because of what Jesus did, he names us saints. So that’s what we must be. Just as he calls ordinary bread and wine his own body and blood; just as he calls a bit of water with his name “a washing of rebirth and renewal,” if God calls us saints, we’re saints, through Jesus Christ our Lord. If God can name the day day and night, night, then He can call us saints through the shed blood and risen life of Jesus. Are you going to tell God he’s wrong? That he’s made a mistake? “Not me, Lord, no, I’m not a saint.” God hears that and says, “Hey, listen, being a saint is not up to you! Because of what my Son did, I can and will say to you that in my eyes, you are a saint. You are someone for whom my Son was rejected and beaten and killed. Being called a saint isn’t an achievement; it’s a gift. Receive it and wear your white robe well.
Take this good news to heart: God considers you a saint, because the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus has been applied to you. Despite everything the devil and the world will throw at you in this life, you have heard and believed the Spoiler Alert that promises final and absolute victory in Jesus Christ! We are saved by our God who sits on the throne and by the Lamb. May God, in His grace, work through you and me to add more and more souls to that heavenly crowd of saints; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Happy Reformation Day

2009-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

October 31, 1517

"Out of love and zeal for truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following theses will be publicly discussed at Wittenberg under the chairmanship of the reverend father Martin Lutther..."

Sew Prayerful--Prayer Quilts

2009-10-21T05:11:00.000-07:00

St. Paul's has initiated a wonderful caring ministry to our shut-in members, led by JoEllen Graziadei. Called "Sew Prayerful," the group meets to assemble prayer quilts once a month.

The prayer quilts features strings that can be knotted to symbolize prayers that have been said on each shut-in's behalf. I have the distinct pleasure of delivering the completed quilts. One look at Rose Makee's face (above) lets you know how treasured and well received they are. Below left, her husband Ken admires his new quilt. Ken and Rose both live at the same elder care facility.

Sew Prayerful will meet for the next time at St. Paul's on Friday, October 30 at 9:30 a.m. For more information, please contact JoEllen at jgraz252@oh.rr.com

Pumpkin Patch Ministry a Success

2009-10-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

St. Paul's Youth Group, under the supervision of Ed and Linda Prib, sold over seventy pumpkins Saturday and Sunday, along with thirty-plus loaves of pumpkin bread. A verse of Scripture was attached to each item. Thanks to everyone who supported this well-received event--and special thanks to the Pribs for coming up with the idea, organizing it, and leading the youth in carrying it out!

Hymn Stanza of the Week: Built on the Rock the Church Shall Stand

2009-10-17T05:15:00.000-07:00

Built on the Rock the Church Shall Stand
Nicolai F. S. Grundtvig; TLH 467, stanza 6

Here stands the font before our eyes
Telling how God did receive us;
Th' altar recalls Christ's sacrifice
And what His table doth give us;
Here sounds the Word that doth proclaim
Christ yesterday, today, the same,
Yea, and for aye our Redeemer.

Hit the Homiletical Ball

2009-10-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Imagine a tennis player who concentrates on looking good but forgets to get the ball over the net. The point is: Hit the ball! The object of any sermon technique has to be getting the Gospel across to people. Is the message getting through? Are the people believing the Gospel and relishing the grace of God? The motto behind all homiletical method must be: Hit the ball! Do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission of winning lost souls for Christ. The pastor who gets hung up on pure technique for its own sake is actually self-centered, like a tennis player looking at his own shadow. The foremost question in his mind is "How am I doing?" but the preacher who employs technique in service of the goal is always asking, "How is he (the listener) doing?"

Dr. James Bollhagen

There's Always More With Jesus

2009-10-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Mark 10: 17--22

One of the keys to a good conversation is asking good questions. When you ask thoughtful questions, it shows you are interested in the person you’re talking to, and if you ask the right questions, you may unlock some great insight or information from the person you’ve questioned. That’s why we like to watch or read interviews of people who interest us. A thought-provoking question can produce a fascinating answer.
Then again, sometimes a question can be not thought-provoking, just provocative. An intrusive or ill-timed question can stop a conversation in its tracks.
Questions. We even have them about the Christian faith. That’s normal, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as I said, the right question can unlock some things that help us to understand or deal with an issue more fully. But sometimes people ask the wrong question. That’s OK, if they’re open enough to be challenged in their thinking. If not, though; if a person is stuck on a bad question and can’t proceed until they get an answer that “makes sense,” then that person might prevent themselves from hearing something they need to hear.
For an example, we need look no further than today’s Gospel lesson. A rich young man, who was obviously a “winner” by the world’s standards, comes to Jesus with a question. It is an understandable question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” It is a revealing question, probably much more so than that young man realized—because by asking “What must I do…” he put the burden on himself to do what needed to be done. It is the natural, human question to ask; it is the question that all man-made religion is based on; and it is the wrong question. Or maybe it would better to say that the question rests on a faulty assumption—that we can do something to inherit eternal life; that the ball is in our court, so to speak. At any rate, it would seem that this successful guy is coming to Jesus to find out what he needs to do to make an already exemplary life just a little bit more polished.
This view of Jesus creeps into the thinking of many people, Christians included. “Look how good a job I’m doing with my life, Lord,” we say, “just give me your seal of approval and I’ll continue to do a great job on my own.”
But Jesus will not settle for that. He is not content to be a divine Dr. Phil, dispensing advice or affirming our good decisions. And the way he answers the rich young man shows it. Jesus demands much of this man, much more than expected. Jesus asks the young man to give up the one thing that was closest to his heart—his wealth. Jesus doesn’t argue with this so called “winner” about his claim to have kept the Law from his youth. With this demand to sell his possessions and give to the poor, Jesus is asking, are you living in the Spirit of the Law? Do you really love your neighbor as yourself? And the rich young man comes to a sad realization. No, I don’t. I don’t love my neighbor as myself. I love the stuff that I’ve got. He went away full of sorrow, because he didn’t get the answer he had hoped. At that point in time, he must’ve been thinking, “if that’s what it takes to earn eternal life, I don’t think I can do it.” He was disheartened, because Jesus has basically answered his question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life” by saying, “There is nothing you can do. You’re serving a false God right now. Repent of that and I’ll show you the way.” And tragically, the rich man doesn’t think he can.
This is not “Jesus the nice guy” we’ve come to prefer. This is Jesus the truth-teller, and He won’t settle for surface-level stuff. Where we prefer a Jesus who affirms that we’re basically good people, the real Jesus confronts the sinner whose gossip, grudges, and insufficient charity toward others is proof that our wishful thinking is wrong. Where we prefer a Jesus who compliments our faithfulness to home and family, the real Jesus confronts the sinner whose secret thoughts and actions are often quite unfaithful. Where we prefer a Jesus who blindly gives us whatever we ask for, he confronts the sinner who typically forgets to say “thank you.” He confronts the sinner because he loves the sinner, just like he loved the rich young man and wanted to help him. He makes it clear: “There’s nothing you can do to inherit eternal life.” Once we finally believe that, then he can say, “There’s nothing you can do; but there is something I can do.” This is the great news of the Gospel.
Jesus wanted to be more than a wise teacher for the rich young man. When it says in verse 21 that Jesus loved him that means he was willing to go to the cross for him. Jesus had already predicted his death twice and he was about to do it again. In love, Jesus was willing to do what this successful person could not—what none of us could ever do—and that is deal with sin, and make its curse go away, once and for all. When we let ourselves think of Jesus, nailed to a cross for us, we are confronted with the severity of our sin—and the incredible mercy of God. There, at the cross, Jesus is punished not for his sin but for yours and mine. Why? He loves you.
Jesus required that wealthy young man to give up everything for him. He could not. Neither can we. Therefore Jesus gave up everything for us, to the extent that he would bleed and die and be forsaken by His Father, all so that he could say, “This is what I have done for you, so that you can inherit eternal life.”
Jesus demanded much more than the young man expected. But He also gives much more than expected. To those who are broken and remorseful; to those who repent of a self-righteous attitude; to those who have tried to fix themselves and are ready to give up, Jesus holds out his gifts, bought and paid for with his blood. Here is forgiveness. Here is peace with God. Here is meaning and life. Here is confidence in the face of our own suffering. Here is certainty in the face of our own death. Here is the promise of life with God that lasts forever—eternal life in which praise and worship and unity and service and love will never end. All of it brought about not by what I have done but by what Jesus has done by suffering, dying, rising from the tomb, and ascending into heaven to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to His Church. What must you do to be saved? Look away from yourself and trust that Jesus has done it all. Trust that his mercy covers you. Trust that baptismal waters cover you. Trust that the robe of Jesus’ holiness covers you. Trust that with Jesus, there is always more grace, more mercy, more forgiveness, than we can comprehend

Hymn Stanzas of the Week: Jesus! and Shall It Ever Be

2009-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Jesus! and Shall It Ever Be
Joseph Grigg; stanzas 5 and 6 (TLH 346)

Ashamed of Jesus? Yes I may
When I've no guilt to wash away,
No tear to wipe, no good to crave,
No fear to quell, no soul to save.

Till then--nor is my boasting vain--
Till then I boast a Savior slain;
and oh, may this my glory be,
That Christ is not ashamed of me!

Whose Side Are You On?

2009-10-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

On whose side is the pastor? Is he in a self-defense mode on the side of his office, or is he on the people's side? Don't try to answer, because the whole premise of the question is wrong. A pastor may at times have to defend the unique position and role of his office against naysayers, just as Moses had to defend his own mediatorial position (Numbers 12 and 16). But the question is still wrong. It presupposes that the pastor and the laypeople are sides pitted against one another and engaged in some kind of contest to get the most attention. The pastor and the laity constitute the same side, the Church, in the midst of a sinful world.

Laypeople are going to make mistakes and fail to get jobs done, but they should be given responsibility in the church. The church is not a place where people are granted forgiveness only if they can first prove that they don't need it.

Dr. James Bollhagen

Take Up Your Cross

2009-10-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

In giving of ourselves for Christ, we have given up nothing because Christ is everything. He is all in all. The true followers of Jesus are not the ones who answer the polls correctly in identifying who he is, but rather, they have the faith that brings the crucified Christ to expression in their own lives.

Dr. David P. Scaer

Make Some Noise for Lutheran Women's Missionary League!

2009-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

What weighs 32 1/4 pounds and spreads the Gospel message? That would be $253.43 in noisy mites. Combine that with the $181 of quiet mites collected on LWML Weekend and you have a total of $434.43 that will be sent to the LWML Ohio District. We pray that God will richly bless the various missions of the LWML in the Ohio District and around the world. To learn more about the LWML go to http://www.lwml.org . Please continue to "feed" your mites boxes and return them to church on a regular basis.

Thank You,
Billie Lelle - Friendship Circle Treasurer

Do I Benefit from Christ's Death?

2009-10-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

The afflicted person says: Christ died for everyone; but not everyone benefits from his death. How can I know that Christ's gracious work will help me? How can I be sure that I have a share in all that Christ has earned for us through his suffering and death?

The comforter says: God gives you the Word of His Gospel and in it He gives you all the grace of His Son. He stretches out his hand the whole day (Isaiah 65: 2). He calls and invites everyone. He is certainly calling you, too. What God offers you in his mercy, grasp with the hand of faith. What you believe, you receive. Faith grasps Christ, and in Christ it grasps God's grace, the forgiveness of sins, and everlasting life.

John Gerhard

The Family: God's Idea

2009-10-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

A young mother went down to her baby’s nursery one night and was surprised to find her husband peering down at their newborn child. She could tell he was captivated by the scene as he stood there looking at their beautiful sleeping infant. She was so touched that she tiptoed up behind him and slipped her arm through his, saying, “Honey, what are you thinking about?" And he said, “I just can’t believe we got this crib for under a hundred dollars!”
A woman was surprised by her 7 year old grandson one morning. He had made her coffee. She proceeded to then drink the worst cup of coffee in her life. When she got to the bottom there were three little green army men in the cup. She said, "What are the army men doing in my coffee?" Her grandson said, "Grandma, it says on TV, “The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup.”
To live in relationship with other human beings is God’s design. It is his intent for us to give and receive love from others—especially from those who share each day with us—the people we call family.
Today’s reading from Genesis shows the Lord putting the first family together. “It is not good for man to be alone,” said the Lord, and so he created Eve to be with Adam. This is no small thing. We are created to need relationship with others. Psychologists continue to report what the Bible has said from its opening chapters: It is not good for us to be alone. The more healthy relationships we have, the better off we’ll be. By the Lord’s design, that network of relationships begins with our family. The Bible paints a clear picture: He gave a man and a woman to one another, to share love, companionship, and to know the joy of creation with the blessing of children, and to know the further joy of their ongoing care.
There’s just one problem, and it’s a doozy; the problem of sin. The first family disobeyed God and put their wishes before His; the results: agony in childbirth; hard toil in the fields; and eventually, death. With the introduction of sin, you can see the relationship between Adam and Eve starting to crack. Once their sin is discovered, they start playing the blame game. That’s really a rather familiar pattern, isn’t it?
Sin had and still has a devastating effect on the relationships that matter most to us. In an awful perversion of God’s intent, sin can twist the relationships meant to nurture us into relationships that damage us. The very people who were meant to love and serve us instead hate and harm us, giving us permanent scars in our souls. This is not the way things are supposed to be. Jesus makes that abundantly clear in the Gospel lesson, where he condemns the practice of easy divorce, using phrases from Genesis to set up this statement: What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. Sin leads to the disintegration of relationships; the disintegration of relationships, especially in the family, leads to disintegration of our society; this is one of the most profound “ripple effects” of sin, and it affects everyone. You would be hard pressed to find someone whose life has not been made miserable by the implosion of a family, whether their own or someone else’s.
Sin complicates even the best of relationships. The fact is that by nature we sin against others every day. That means we have more opportunities to sin against our families than anyone else. We want to have our way. We can be needless cruel to those we profess to love. We have a hard time remembering Scripture, but we can remember how a family member “stepped on our toes” in exquisite detail. It would seem that our family relationships are doomed to fail. They would be, if it were not for the intervention of Jesus Christ in our lives.
The Son of God submitted to His Father’s will. In the words of the writer of Hebrews, for a little while, he was made lower than the angels. He became truly human, for the purpose of “tasting death for everyone.” That means that by becoming human and suffering and dying on a cross, he tasted the death of our selfishness. He tasted the death of our sin—the sin that wreaks havoc on our relationships. He tasted our death—the death that we should have died for hating instead of loving—an eternal, awful death—a death whereby relationship with God the Father is broken. He tasted it for you and me. He tasted it and he swallowed it, and it killed him. Yet in doing so, death was swallowed up forever, and when Easter rolled around, and Jesus walked out of that tomb very much alive, things would never be the same for his people again. You see, Jesus’ death and resurrection means that our sin has been swallowed up. It’s gone. We are forgiven an insurmountable debt. That means there is a new beginning available to you, truly a new life to live. It is what some call “the Jesus life,” a life that has accessed our hearts and minds through Baptism and the Word of God. Because Jesus loves you, and proved his love for you by being nailed to the cross for you, He is not ashamed to call you his brother. He is not ashamed to call you his sister. He is the way to love our brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, relatives and friends. See how Jesus expresses His love by humbly serving his disciples with a towel and a bowl. See how Jesus speaks the truth in love to his friends and followers. See how Jesus lays down his life for his friends; dying to self and dying for them. See how he forgives, even as our sin nails him to the tree of life. Service. Telling the truth. Sacrificing. Forgiving. Relationships thrive when Jesus is allowed to be part of them, because he brings these qualities to the table. Let Jesus into your relationships. I’m convinced that the primary place that we live out our Christian faith is in our families. Yes, we have more opportunities to sin against our families than anyone else, but that also means we have more opportunities with them to really exercise our Christianity. That happens when we confess our sin to one another and practice the art of speaking and living in forgiveness with one another. We can only do this because Jesus is not ashamed to call you his brother or sister. We can only do this because he proved that love by dying and rising. But that means we can do this, by the baptismal power that connects us to our Savior. Our family can be an oasis of forgiveness and unconditional love. Jesus has already begun to reverse the mess created by Adam and Eve and the serpent’s temptation. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil—the tree that brought so much sin and heartache into the world, has been trumped by the Tree of Life, the cross of Jesus, the Son of God, our brother who loves us.

Hymn Stanzas of the Week: Not What These Hands Have Done

2009-10-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

Not What These Hands Have Done (TLH 389)
Horatius Bonar, stanzas 1 and 3

Not what these hands have done can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.

True Christian Victory

2009-10-02T05:11:00.000-07:00

We're victorious not when we grow up and stop needing to rely on Jesus so much. We're victorious when we rely on him more every day. Every day remembering our Baptism and who we are as children of God. Every day dying and rising with Christ. Every day receiving his victory, life, and salvation. Growing not up and away from him, but growing into him. The Spirit taking the life of Christ and giving it to you. "He will take what is mine and give it to you."

Rev. James Douthwaite

Warriors of the Word

2009-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

In our day there is great fatigue for the fight against false doctrine, indeed a willful rejection of this fight. Men who wield the sword of the Spirit are decried as destroyers of the peace and as people who hinder the building of the Church. Indeed, if we are cognizant of the fact that the Church only and alone is built upon the Word of God, then we will regard it as completely self-evident that we must defend against those who would tear down this foundation. Because the life of the Church is precious to us, there are times when one must do more defending than instructing. So it was in the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The enemies sought to hinder the building. Thus one-half of the young men did the work and the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and armor. And even each of those who were doing the construction was equipped with a sword.

Rev. Matthew C. Harrison

The Service of Angels

2009-09-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Even in the hour of our death, the presence and service of the angels continue, giving us ample reason for comfort and reassurance. As the angels rereshed the Savior when he struggled with death in the Garden of Gethsemane, so Christians, according to Scripture, can expect to receive the aid of the angels in their final battle. They gather around the deathbed, and when the soul leaves its mortal body, they bear it up into the blessed dwellings of the heavenly Father. Oh, what love, of God we thus see revealed in the doctrine of the angels!

Dr. C.F.W. Walther

How Do I Live A Christian Life?

2009-09-29T05:00:00.001-07:00

We are called to follow Jesus, but He is not just an example that we are to follow. That is what we call "moralistic thinking." And it is a false understanding of the way the Gospel works.Moralism holds up certain Christ-like qualities--dedication, self-denial, and the like--and then says, "Work on these traits and you'll be a good Christian." But the evil lies in not seeing that these ideals are results of the Gospel. They are not something we can do. We do not focus on "dedication" as a quality in Christ's character which we want to emulate, for we fail utterly; we can't do anything. Rather, we focus on his death on the cross for us. "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil. 2: 13).Therefore, we look to Christ's commitment for and to us; and by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we respond back with our commitment: Christ in me.

Dr. Donald Deffner

Do You Have Salt in Yourself?

2009-09-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Mary Poppins—or The Sound of Music? That still confuses me sometimes. I like sugar and I know I’m not alone. Sugar can mask a lot of bad—or bland—ingredients. Salt, on the other hand, doesn’t overpower the flavor of food as much as it brings out what is already there. Salt also has the power to preserve—which is one of the reasons it was so highly valued in the ancient world. Roman soldiers were often paid in salt, which is where the phrase “he’s worth his salt” originated. Where am I going with this? Well today we hear Jesus say, “Have salt in yourselves,” and we need to drill down into what he means by this. I’ve found that it helps to contrast salt with sugar in trying to comprehend Jesus’ words.To this day, I prefer sugary cereals, even if it’s just a little frosting on the old shredded wheat. Shredded wheat without the frosting—you might as well chew a cardboard box. Sugar takes what is not so hot and makes it tasty.The devil and the world are well versed at this technique. They take things that are atrocious—things that, at their core are sinful and anti-God, and make them seem tasty! The sensation of pleasure we get from these sugary sins blinds us to the fact that we are eating garbage—that we’re killing ourselves with sinful behavior.
Never once does Jesus sugarcoat the problem of sin. In fact, listen to what he says:42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 44 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 46 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ’where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
The way Jesus says this is unforgettable: it would better, He says, for you to lose a body part that causes you to sin than to end up in hell. Nothing sugary about that! Now did Jesus mean that literally? I’d have to say no—Jesus was using extreme language to get your attention—but now that he’s got it, pay attention to the message, which is that sin is serious business. I’ve heard it said that the hands Jesus talks about represent the sin which we do, the feet represent where we go to in order to sin, and our eyes represent what we look at in sin. The message then becomes: If you do things that lead you to sin, get rid of those things. The same for places you go, or the things you look at. Those things are like sugar that overloads our senses so that we willingly swallow the poison of sin. In doing so, we risk something the momentary sweet flavor will never be able to mask. Namely, hell. Where the worm does not die, nor is the fire ever quenched. The world sugarcoats sin, so that we can swallow the taste of hell. Do we really see sin as being so serious that we would chop off part of our life rather than let sin get a hold of us? Do we see sin as dangerous as swine flu? Or do we just accept it-- or worse, do we like the taste?Moving away from sugar-coating for the moment, I wonder how many of you remember the days of getting a cut, or a deep scratch, treated with iodine? Do you remember that burning feeling, as the iodine penetrated the wound? I remember being on an oceanfront beach one time. I had been hiking, with a few blisters on my foot that had yet to fully heal. Without thinking, I waded into the sea water and “youch” I was treated to the power of salt.For centuries, salt, in one form or another, has been used to treat wounds. That action causes the stinging sensation. And boy can it sting. In fact, it can hurt more than the wound that it treats. But that cleansing, that purifying, is so needed! Otherwise infection could set in.Where sugar-coating only hides the effect of sin, God’s Word acts like salt. It gets into our lives, ripping out the curse of sin, healing the wound and protecting it from further infection. It will sting a bit, as we realize the damage done. That is the way the Holy Spirit works. He is like a surgeon who not only removes that which is causing sickness, but also leaves life and health behind. Your life is purified by the salt of the Gospel—the news that Jesus absorbed the sting of sin and death on the cross, once and for all, for you. So you would never have to know what that sting feels like. You will never know that pain because Jesus experienced it instead of you. The law and gospel of Jesus is like salt in our deepest wounds—the knowledge of our sin stings—but it is quickly overwhelmed by the generous forgiveness of Jesus, which has the properties needed to heal our minds and souls.Having been changed in this way, we too become “salty.” We become living examples of how not masking sin, but being open about it and repenting it can change a person. We can become people who do not swallow the devil’s sweet lies, but instead flavor our conversation with the salt of God’s truth, in the direct and loving manner of Jesus himself.
In today’s Old Testament and Gospel lessons, people raise questions about who should be doing the work of God. The Lord’s response in both cases is the same; He essentially says: I wish all of my people were salty. I wish they all loved my truth and refused to sugarcoat it. I wish they all wanted to apply the healing salt of my Son’s Gospel to the wounds of the world, and worked to do so!
As Christians, our lives are to be seasoned with mercy, truth, and loving service. These are not qualities to strive for, but realities that are already within you, because Jesus lives in you. You have His salt in yourselves. Sprinkle it out. Share it. Savor the difference that Jesus makes.

Hymn Stanzas of the Week: Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadow

2009-09-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadow (TLH 554)
Paul Gerhardt; stanzas 4 and 5

To rest my body hasteth,
Aside its garments casteth,
Types of mortality;
These I put off and ponder
How Christ will give me yonder
A robe of glorious majesty.

Lord Jesus, who dost love me,
Oh, spread Thy wings above me,
And shield me from alarm!
Though evil would assail me,
Thy mercy will not fail me:
I rest in Thy protecting arm.

He Lives in Me (Part II)

2009-09-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile my old man (Eph. 4: 22) remains outside and is subject to the Law. But so far as justification is concerned, Christ and I must be so closely attached that He lives in me and I in Him. What a marvelous way of speaking! Because he lives in me, whatever grace, righteousness, life, peace, and salvation there is in me is all Christ's; nevertheless, it is mine as well, by the cementing and attachment that are through faith, by which we become as one body in the Spirit. In this way Paul seeks to withdraw us completely from ourselves, from the Law, and from works, and to transplant us into Christ and faith in Christ, so that in the area of justification we look only at grace, and separate it far from the Law and from works, which belong far away.

Dr. Martin Luther

He Lives In Me

2009-09-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Living in me as he does, Christ abolishes the Law, damns sins, and kills death; for at his presence all these things cannot help disappearing. Christ is eternal peace, comfort, righteousness, and life, to which the terror of the Law, sadness of mind, sin, death and hell have to yield. Abiding and living in me, Christ removes and absorbs all the evils that torment me and afflict me. This attachment to Him causes me to be liberated from the terror of the Law and of sin, pulled out of my own skin, and transferred into Christ and into His kingdom, which is a kingdom of grace, righteousness, peace, joy, life, salvation, and eternal glory. Since I am in Him, no evil can harm me.

Dr. Martin Luther

The Loudest Preacher

2009-09-23T05:35:00.000-07:00

Death is the loudest and strongest preacher to the unbelieving world. That world may shun all churches and avoid all preachers of the Word of God, but there is one preacher it must hear. Death's church is the whole earth and the heavenly vaults above it; its pulpits are the deathbed, the coffin, the hearse, the grave, and the cemetery. With a piercing voice that penetrates marrow and bone, this preacher calls into the world's ear wherever it goes: "Man, you must die! There is no remaining abode here. The earth is not your homeland. This life is not the destiny given to you. You must finally go out of this world, with all its glory, at an hour unknown to you. Oh, repent. Repent!"
But in incomprehendable delusion, the world does not want to hear death's call to repentance. It must then experience the great might of the king of terrors. If its loved ones die, it cries tears of doubt, then looks on as the grave locks up the corpses forever and their souls flutter and disappear like fog in the air. It looks into eternity as into an unknown land, tormented by doubt.

How differently believers stand by the coffins and graves of their loved ones who have fallen asleep in the faith! For Christ, in whom we have believed, has swallowed up death and removed its power, and He has brought life and immortality to light. Death has become a little bee that has lost its sting, and now it carries nothing but sweet honey in its mouth.

Dr. C. F. W. Walther

Installation of Jacob Rogers

2009-09-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

God’s Word comes to us today from the book of Deuteronomy, the sixth chapter, beginning with the 4th verse: 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. This is the Word of the Lord.

Dear Friends in Christ,

I stand here today as a preacher of God’s Word because of Lutheran principals and administrators. Now, they’re not the only factor in my becoming a pastor, but they were a factor. From Trinity Lutheran School in Warren, Michigan, to Concordia Lutheran School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to St. Peter Lutheran School in Hemlock, Michigan, to Valley Lutheran High School in Saginaw, Michigan, to Concordia University—River Forest, Illinois, (before it encompassed all of Chicago), to Concordia Theological Seminary, back in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I directly benefitted from the faithful administration of Lutheran schools, which gave me the opportunity to be steeped in and immersed in God’s Word of gospel hope and truth. No child is really conscious of it at the time, but in retrospect, I am very grateful that Lutheran principals and administrators were there to set the table for learning and growth in the Word to take place. For those kind of reasons I am also grateful for the opportunity to support Our Shepherd Lutheran School and to have the privilege of preaching the Word on this very special occasion of Jacob Rogers’ installation as our principal.
It’s no secret that Lutheran schools are facing rather large and intimidating challenges these days. I’m not going to attempt to get all sociological on you, or speculate as to the reasons why. Instead, let’s allow God’s Word to remind us why we have Lutheran Schools in the first place. Listen again to His Word from Deuteronomy: 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Lutheran schools exist to help families grow in their faith and knowledge of the one true God; God in three persons, and to help them walk in that faith and knowledge. Yes, academics and social skills and physical health are key components, but the ultimate purpose for Lutheran education is to impress upon children and their families the commandments and the promises of Almighty God; to expose the hearts of children and their families to God’s Law and Gospel; to show children and their families how to live a Christian life with integrity. Our Lutheran schools are the crowning jewel of our church body, for nowhere else are disciples so fully formed and equipped as in our schools, where Jesus is present daily, where His Words are studied daily, where teachers embody the wisdom of Christ daily. I pray, and I hope you will join me in this prayer, that at the local, district, and national level, we would fall back in love with our Lutheran schools and show it joyfully with willing sacrificial support—and not only that—but be quick to talk with our family and friends and acquaintances about the treasure that we have received from our Lord Jesus Christ in places like Our Shepherd.
Jacob, on behalf of everyone who makes up a part of the Our Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran School community, I bid you welcome in Jesus’ name, and I sincerely hope that you have been made to feel how genuinely thankful we are that you answered God’s call to serve here. I want to acknowledge the many challenges that you face as a result of your acceptance of the call to serve, and to echo what many others have said: that we stand in strong support of your professional leadership and your personal health and well being. I want to acknowledge the many hats that a Lutheran principal is asked to wear; from public relations to disciplinarian to team leader to state regulations expert and, of course, Christian role model. It is a sizable task. It is a noble task. It is a task that cannot be accomplished by one person alone—and the good news is, you are not alone. Jacob, you are joined to Jesus himself through the unbreakable bond of baptism. He lives in you and enables you with the gifts and skills you need to welcome and serve the children in His name. You are the servant leader of an unusually gifted and faithful staff of teachers (I didn’t say unusual, I said unusually gifted). Add to that a circle of dedicated parents who are committed to the success of Our Shepherd and congregations that cherish what Our Shepherd provides, and hopefully you do realize that you are not alone in this endeavor. You have been called into a family of faith that is so glad God called you here.
And so, in Christian love, we ask you to point this family continually to Christ Jesus, or Savior and Lord. Encourage us through Word and example to love the Lord with all our heart and soul and strength, and remind us of His forgiveness when we fail. Urge us to keep the commandments of God alive in our hearts, and see to it that God’s Word is being impressed upon the children who walk through these doors. Show us how to bring the Word of Life into our homes and what a daily walk with Jesus looks like. Teach us to wrap ourselves in the good news of Jesus Christ. Hold the Word of His cross and vacant tomb before our eyes, so that neither we nor you forget why we’re here in a Lutheran school. That’s what we need when families are going through difficult times. That’s what we need when there are disagreements and hurt feelings. That’s what we need when an immediate crisis crowds our vision. We need Jesus. Jacob, we need you to stand for him.
There’s a story about a severe thunderstorm that rolled in one night, much to the chagrin of a little boy who was trying to get to sleep. As the first wave of flashing lightning and rolling thunder swept through, he called out from his bedroom, “Daddy, can I come in there with you?” “No, son, it’ll be all right,” was the response. “Just close your eyes and get to sleep.” Well, of course, the storm continued to rage outside and after a couple minutes the boy tried again. “Daddy, can I please come in there with you?” “No son,” came the reply, “Just say your prayers and everything is going to be OK.” Well it wasn’t too much longer until a blinding flash and an immediate roar of thunder caused the boy to jump out of bed, hit the ground running and dive into bed between his mom and dad, getting as far under the covers as possible. And dad said, “Son, it’s all right. You’re going to be fine. Jesus was with you the whole time.” And a little voice came up from under the blanket, “But Daddy, I need Jesus with skin on.”
Jacob, the Our Shepherd family needs Jesus with skin on, too. The children and parents that make up this family need Jesus with skin on when life is scary—and when there are things worth celebrating. That is where you come in. By the power that enables him to do all things, even grant the gift of faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit would use you to be Jesus with skin on to this community. And we, with the same Spirit-born faith, promise to do the same for you—to be Jesus with skin on to you and your family, to work and strive together to receive the little ones in Jesus’ name. And may the Lord, who has begun this good work in us, bring it to completion at the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Do You Want To Be First? (Mark 9: 30--37)

2009-09-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

Who is the greatest athlete of all time? How about the greatest entertainer? What is the greatest movie ever made? The greatest person you ever met? It’s a human pastime to come up with our list of “greatests,” and there’s nothing inherently wrong with doing so, as long as we understand that God’s definition of what makes a person great is far, far different than ours.
Jesus’ disciples found that out in an embarrassing way in today’s gospel. Jesus had been teaching them about himself; telling them in plain language about his rescue mission. Jesus said: “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And after he is killed, He will rise on the third day.” To you and me, this is dangerously close to “old news.” To the disciples, it didn’t make sense, and they were afraid to ask questions. Instead, as they walk along the road to their next destination, the conversation shifts, and has nothing to do with what Jesus was talking about. Instead, they start opining about who of them was the greatest disciple! Some translations say they were disputing this issue. When they get to the house where they were staying, Jesus asks them, “What were you talking about on the way?” You probably could’ve heard the proverbial pin drop in the silence that followed, as the disciples thought it over. Jesus had just told them he was going to be betrayed and executed, and they had responded by cutting him out of the conversation and debating who is the greatest among us. What an uncomfortable silence that must have been. How patient of our Lord Jesus to keep teaching these guys who couldn’t seem to see past themselves. We might as well say the same thing about ourselves. How patient Jesus is with us, who so desire worldly greatness, recognition, and status. He never stops instructing us through his Word.
To understand God’s definition of greatness, we have to understand God. By nature, the almighty God of heaven and earth is a servant. He created Adam and Eve so that He might care for them. He created them in His image to serve one another and to take care of what God had made. When they sinned, He did not respond with raw power, instead, he promised to serve them again by sending a Savior who would crush the serpent’s head, decisively defeating death and hell. That’s the plan Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel—a plan to serve. That’s God’s nature. Therefore, when God measures greatness, he measures it in terms of serving. In God’s eyes, the one who is great is the one who serves others.
Sinful humankind measures greatness in exactly the opposite way. Our culture says greatness is when you have so much power that you are served by others. Greatness in our culture means you have some talent or quality that sets you apart and make you worthy of being admired, glorified, and yes, even worshipped by others. That’s why movie stars, musicians and professional athletes are idolized. Think about it: the word “idolized” says it all. Natural man looks at wealth, publicity, and power and says, “that’s what life is all about.” But lest we point the finger too easily at Hollywood or Washington D.C. or your local sports arena, we also need to look in the mirror, and ask: “in what ways have I been seduced by a need to be thought of as great? In what ways have I craved recognition or power or control? What has my need to be number one caused me to do? Even Jesus’ own disciples couldn’t help jostling for the number one spot. It is an almost constant human temptation.
And that creates some tension, to say the least. Jesus says, “In service to the people of the world, I’m going to suffer and die to buy back what is already mine.” This is the greatest service of all. By their discussion, the disciples said, in so many words, “Suffering and dying isn’t great. Rising up to be powerful is great. So which one of us will be the greatest of Jesus’ disciples? Which one will have the power and authority?” By their discussion, the disciples betray how far away they are from thinking God’s way.
What follows is what educators call a “teachable moment.” He sits the twelve down in response to their embarrassed silence and says, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” This would have been a startling statement to the disciples, and in truth, it is still startling to the sinful nature. Greatness is found in service? Being best is a matter of being last? What is that supposed to mean? To God, it makes perfect sense, because he is the servant who created us to serve; to man, it sounds ludicrous.
The “teachable moment” continues. A child toddling by is scooped up in Jesus’ arms as He says, “Whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but Him who sent me.” This, too, would’ve been so far away from the disciples’ conventional wisdom: the lines were clearly drawn, childcare was for the womenfolk, men did manly stuff like catch fish and fight wars. Yet Jesus declares that service to children is great service. He has come to save all people, children included. But this goes way, way past Jesus telling his disciples to serve the cute little boys and girls because they’re so doggone adorable. Jesus is saying: to be great means to serve those who can’t serve you back. Serve those who might not say thank you. Serve those who are in no position to reward you. You can almost see the disciples casting sideways glances at each other, with a mixture of shame and confusion in their eyes. They didn’t get it yet. But they would, after Jesus had made good on his promise to serve by suffering dying, and rising on the third day, and the Holy Spirit filled them on Pentecost. That means there is hope for us, too, as we grapple with God’s definition of greatness.
There is wonderful clarity in this idea; The Lord remains the Servant. He went to the cross and died for the sins of all people in service to all; and he still comes here to serve us by his means of grace, his Word and Sacraments. The Lord is a servant who sets you free from sin to be a servant. The Lord has placed you where you are to be a servant in that place. Parents; children; husbands; wives; employers; workers; retired; just getting started; teachers; students; wherever you are, God has placed you there to serve. The Lord may give you skills, assets, and wealth; should he do so, rejoice that t the Lord has entrusted these things to you so that you can serve others. On the other hand, if you have little in the way of resources, rejoice that the Lord has put you where you are, to serve with what you have, even if that’s just your two hands. This is the life of a Christian: Set free from sin by Jesus, the Servant who suffered on the cross for us, then conquered death by rising on Easter, we are set free to serve wherever the Lord has put us.
There is a special aspect of servanthood that Jesus brings to our attention in the Gospel lesson, and that is service to children. Obviously, Jesus places a great premium on “receiving the little children” in his Name.
Parents, this starts with you at home. In giving you children, the Lord has called you into the vocation of fatherhood or motherhood, and that means you have a multitude of opportunities to serve your children; and that includes serving your child’s spiritual needs. Read Bible stories at home. Look at the Small Catechism together. Pray together. Talk about the Gospel each day, and live it out as you provide both discipline and forgiveness in your home. Bring your children to church and Sunday School, but know that it is not enough. I hope you wouldn’t say, “Since the school hot lunch program feeds my child, I don’t have to provide food at home.” And so I also hope you wouldn’t say “Since my child gets a Bible story a week at church, that’s enough.”
The greatest service and the greatest gift you can give your child is to teach them God’s Word and to show them what Christian faith looks like, lived out day to day.
Receiving the little children is also played out here on Sundays at Sunday School. Sunday School is an overlooked treasure, too frequently thought of as a place to park the kids while the adults are doing something else. It’s far more than that. It’s a chance for children to be put in touch with their loving Savior through His Word. I want to take this opportunity to thank and encourage our Sunday School teachers. They are the unsung servants among us who are at the forefront of our efforts to receive little children in Jesus’ name. May we serve these teachers with thanks and support for their efforts.
And there are even more opportunities to receive little ones in Jesus name—our church has answered the call by supporting not one but two Lutheran Schools—St. Paul’s Preschool and Our Shepherd Lutheran School. In economically challenging times, it is easy to dwell on the expense of operating a parochial school. Let’s never forget why we should support and sacrifice for the good of our Christian schools: they are places where Jesus Christ is welcomed and present! Disciples are made as children learn the truth of God’s Word by heart. Future leaders, musicians, workers and pastors of the Church are being trained right now in our schools! I would like to recognize and offer thanks to the teachers of Our Shepherd who serve the children and families. Let’s serve those families also by continuing to strongly support Lutheran education in our community.
We are able to serve because the Lord Jesus has set us free to do so. Wherever He has placed you in life, make it your goal to serve as Jesus would serve, and do so knowing that you are fully and freely forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Hymn Stanzas of the Week: Dear Lord, To Thy True Servants Give

2009-09-19T05:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Lord, to Thy True Servants Give
W. Gustav Polack, stanzas 1 and 3

Dear Lord, to thy true servants give
the grace of Thee alone to live.
Once bound by sin, but saved by Thee,
They go to set the prisoners free,
The Gospel message to proclaim,
That men might call upon Thy name.

When all their labor seems in vain,
Revive their sinking hearts again;
And when success crowns what they do,
Oh, keep them humble, Lord, and true
Until before Thy judgment seat
they lay their trophies at Thy feet.

What Is Faith?

2009-09-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Faith means that we count ourselves as nothing and that we regard what God has done in Jesus Christ as everything. Faith does not look to itself, but it looks at Christ and says, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Faith gives shape and form to our lives, but, strangely, faith is never anything we do. Faith is not really a thing. Faith is not a quantity to be measured. Faith is not my personal decision to accept Christ; faith is God filling my emptiness with Christ. God lays hold of me before I lay hold of him. Faith belongs to me, but it is the Spirit's gift. Faith is not valued by what it is, but by what it believes, and it believes in Christ. When faith looks at itself, it is weakened.

Dr. David P. Scaer

Parker Place Devotion Time

2009-09-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I did my first devotional service at Parker Place Independent Retirement Village in Mentor. It is a beautiful facility, right at the corner of 90 and 615.

Using the large print bulletin from the past week's services, we did an abbreviated form of Divine Service 3 in Lutheran Service Book. I preached a message on John 3:16 and at the end of the service I distributed business card-sized Scripture verses to those in attendance. It was a good experience and I look forward to returning once a month for the rest of this year into the next.

Special thanks to Wren Cavender for helping to make the connections that enabled me to offer devotions at Parker Place, as well as providing musical accompaniment and joining me in a duet!

At left are some of the nice folks who joined us in the Parker Place Chapel.

Today's Prayer: In Temptation

2009-09-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Lord Jesus Christ, stay with me. There is evil around me, and I am so often attentive to it. It is beautiful sometimes, and sensible, and practical, and friendly--or so it seems.
Lord Jesus Christ, stay with me. There is evil within me, and I am so often attentive to it. I am easily overcome by my own desire to get away from you and be free to have everything I want and to do everything I want.
Lord Jesus Christ, give me the real freedom of your life in me. By your victory over temptations make me victorious. By the power of your love make me strong.
Lord Jesus Christ, without you I will fall. With you I can stand against the enemy. Stay with me. Amen.

Servant of All

2009-09-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

I often think of one particular seminarian from several years ago who obviously will remain nameless, as he himself would prefer. He was a quiet sort of man; you hardly knew he was around. But somehow he always appeared out of the woodwork when something needed to be done. Whether it was conducting the liturgy or reading the lessons or ushering or lighting the candles, he was there to do it. At a potluck supper he would be the one setting up tables and chairs and then seeking the end of the line filing past the buffet table. One day I asked him why he wanted to enter the ministry. Out of all the profound theological things he might have said, the only answer he could muster sounded like an incomplete sentence: "I...want to serve." May the Holy Servitude be filled with an army of such men who see the ministry as their work and not a status.

Dr. James Bollhagen

I Believe; Help My Unbelief (Sermon on Mark 9: 14--29)

2009-09-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

It is horrifying for any parent to consider. Your child is sick. Worse than that: Your child is actually possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. It controls his behavior. It tries to kill him. The parent who approached Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson was living every parent’s worst nightmare. Something’s terribly wrong with my child and I’m powerless to do anything about it.
The father of the possessed boy speaks up and reaches out to Jesus. He’s heard the miracle stories; he fumbles for words as he formulates his request: “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus replies: “If you can? All things are possible for one who believes.” And in that moment the boy’s father, desperately battling his own doubts and fears, says just about the most honest thing a human being ever says in the Bible; he says: “I believe; help my unbelief.” There was something Jesus responded to in that wrestling, awkward, transparent request—and he honors it. He does what his disciples could not—he extracts the demon from the boy; he gives the boy and his family a new life to live. Through Jesus, God is putting His broken creation together again one person and one family at a time.
“I believe; help my unbelief.” What a simple way to describe the war that goes on in our hearts and minds. It is a classic Christian paradox. We believe and we disbelieve. We trust and we trust no one. We build on the Rock and we build on sand. That’s us. And it’s not necessarily bad news. Well, unbelief is bad, but a spiritual struggle—an inner tension—is proof that faith is fighting for life. Faith that is gasping for breath is still faith; the thing we ought to really fear is no struggle—the fool’s gold of disbelief and the ethic of service to myself as the highest good.
In other words, to have faith in Jesus is to experience spiritual turbulence, because faith that trusts in God goes to war with the sinful self, and the sinful self doesn’t appreciate being fought against. It hates being exorcised. Only Jesus can cast out our sinful nature and fill us with something far better. And as I said, spiritual turbulence is better than no spiritual turbulence. Spiritual turbulence means that faith, which the Holy Spirit gave me through the gospel of Jesus and baptism, is alive and is beating down my sinful impulses. A complete lack of spiritual turbulence means I’m spiritually dead. It means I’m foolishly confident in myself, or I just don’t care about the things of God at all. Both those ways lead to destruction and finally separation from God.
“So Pastor, what you’re saying is that we either live with spiritual turbulence, or die eternally? Sounds pretty hopeless.” And I agree with you. That would be a bleak outlook on life. Let me suggest there is an upside to experiencing spiritual turbulence; the times when your struggling faith is nurtured, fed, and strengthened by a word from God. When we admit to our double-mindedness—“I believe; help my unbelief,” we are confessing sin, and when we confess sin, well, you know what God promises: “If we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus is quick to apply his mercy to our doubts. He is quick to forgive us our lack of trust; the prayer “help my unbelief” is one that it pleases Him to answer. But how? How can the Lord help our unbelief? The answer is elegantly simple. He wants to talk to you. Listen to these words from Isaiah, and imagine that it is Jesus speaking these words. It really is; he is the servant speaking in chapter 50. He says: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.” Here’s a slightly different translation: “The Lord God gives me the speech of the learned, so that I know how to talk to encourage the weary.” The encouragement and the knowledge that we need are found in the words of Jesus. The Word of God is the thing that is going to sustain our faith and keep it vital. Holy Scripture gives us the prequel to Jesus’ arrival; the main event of Jesus’ rescue mission to earth; and the sequels, where his followers take His good news into the surrounding world. The Holy Spirit breathes life into us through this story of Jesus! The Word of God is the antidote to fear, doubt, and worry. The Word of God replaces those things with peace, trust, and faith. The Word presents Jesus to us, inviting us to trust in Him not only for eternal life in the future, but also for the forgiveness of sins and help in our battles today.Kind of appropriate, then, that we find ourselves at another Rally Day, with the idea being that we rally around the Word of God and make it a priority. Here’s another place where it would be right to pray: “I believe; help my unbelief.” We might very well pray, “Lord, I believe that it is important to study your Word; help my unbelief that finds all kinds of way to prevent that from happening.” There are plenty of excuses for not being in the Word—I’m not going to go through them all, because we know what they are, and we know they are excuses, not reasons. Will we really rally around the Word of God on this Rally Day? Will we as individuals—as families—as disciples of Jesus—make learning the Word our top priority in the months to come? Will we as a congregation allow Jesus to speak to us in His own words? There’s an awful lot at stake, as our gospel lesson makes abundantly clear. Evil is real. The devil wants you to be his possession. He wants our children, too. And the stark reality is that you’re either Satan’s slave or God’s dearly loved child. There’s no neutral space. We’re either filling ourselves and our children with poison or purity; garbage or grace. We can fill ourselves and our children with junk that kills faith, or holy things that cause faith to grow deeper roots and stronger shoots. May the Holy Spirit inspire each of us to listen to the encouraging Words of our Lord Jesus. If you’re not doing that at all, make a fresh start. If you’re doing a little, push past that and do more. And let’s see what happens when we really listen to and act on the words of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Hymn Stanza of the Week: Preserve Thy Word, O Savior

2009-09-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

Preserve Thy Word, O Savior
Andreas Gryphius, stanza 4

Preserve, O Lord, Thy children,
Thine own blest heritage;
Resist, disperse and scatter
Those who against Thee rage.
Let Thy commandments guide us,
Grant us Thy heavenly food;
Clothe us with Thy rich garments,
Bought with Thy precious blood.

Scripture Meditation for 9/11

2009-09-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Luke 13:1-5 (English Standard Version)

1There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Today's Prayer: For Pardon and Peace

2009-09-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

Grant, we ask You, merciful Lord, to Your faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins and serve You with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit; one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hope For Pastors

2009-09-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Being Christlike in one's ministry always remains a distant and elusive goal, whether a man has served as a pastor for two years or forty years, but through Confession and Absolution he is daily empowered, not to give up, but to work in that direction. Ironically, the more a pastor works in his own life to conform his ministry to the ministry of Christ, the more attention will be drawn away from his own life.

Dr. James Bollhagen

Prayer for Labor Day

2009-09-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Lord God, our Father and Creator, we deserve to labor among thorns and thistles; to eat by the sweat of our brow; to work without reward; for we confess we have spoiled your creation by sin; we have marred our work by our neglect; we have hurt your work by our rebellion. We pray you, bless our labor by Him who came to be our servant, by Him who saved us to serve. For His sake keep us and all who labor from false dealing and unfair practice. Help us to labor with love anf faithfulness. Teach us that the best labor we give you is to believe in the One you have sent, and to love and serve our fellow man. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

Loose Our Tongues to Tell Your Kindness

2009-09-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Did you notice the link between the Old Testament and the Gospel lesson today? We have prophecy and fulfillment going on here. Isaiah proclaims that when God comes to settle the score and save His people, blind people will have their sight restored; the ears of the deaf will be unstopped; the lame man will leap like the deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. Some six hundred years after Isaiah’s poetic proclamation, Mark reports in his gospel that a man who was deaf and who had a speech impediment was taken aside by Jesus and healed, in the words of the text, “his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” God was doing what he said he would do, in Jesus, His Son. God had come to save. God had come with vengeance and with recompense. In other words, it’s payback time. Satan’s defeat is imminent. And God is already beginning to put his broken creation back together again, one person at a time, like the deaf man in the gospel of Mark.
When God comes around and acts in people’s lives, look at the response: “then the tongue of the mute sing for joy.” When God’s gifts hit home, there is a response of joy—an impulse to express our thanks to God, and, in the words of our liturgy, to “tell everyone what he has done.” The crowds who knew the deaf man in Mark’s gospel could not help themselves. The more Jesus charged them to keep this miracle on the down low, the more zealously they proclaimed it. Jesus had generated major buzz in the region of Decapolis. 1900 years before Arabella Katherine Hankey wrote her famous hymn, the people of that region were “Loving To Tell The Story,” saying “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” That’s just what happens when Jesus touches a human life. Or is it?
Is it true that people who have received the blessings of Jesus can’t stop talking about Him? Or have we learned to live in a different way? Are you quick to share with others the things that Jesus has done for you, or are you more likely to keep such things to yourself, obeying our culture’s dictates to keep “religion and politics” out of polite conversation? Now it is true that when we share our faith, we want to be tactful, winsome, and as gracious as possible. But it is also true that there have been times that the Lord put the ball on the tee for me; all I had to do was swing, and I didn’t. I didn’t speak even a simple word about what the Lord is up to, and I am haunted by that failure. Some of you may be able to relate with my predicament and the guilt that goes along with this type of inaction.
Our self-defensive nature shoots back: “But I don’t have some big conversion testimony to tell. I was never miraculously healed of a disease. I was never amazingly spared some accident. What do I have to share with people?”
Well, first of all, are you sure you’re not forgetting anything? Certain that the Lord did not come through for you in a major way at some point in your life? And, follow me on this, how exactly do you know that God never saved you from a disaster if it didn’t happen? More importantly though, can any Christian really say that God hasn’t done anything “dramatic” in his or her life? What about Jesus leaving the security of heaven, being born of a woman in an animal shelter, having to be hidden from paranoid rulers who wanted him dead? What about his baptism in the Jordan River, with the voice of the Father booming out and the Holy Spirit visibly appearing? What about his fulfillment of prophecy after prophecy, such as the one here in Isaiah 35? What about his clashes with the religious establishment? What about his unjust trial, the cruel beatings, the scathing words, the catastrophic effect of the Roman whip, the agony of his hours before the cross? What about his death on that Good Friday? What about coming back to life after three days in the grave? What about the fact that it was all for you? All so that your sins could be erased and forgotten? All so that you could live knowing that God has made peace with you? All so that you can die in confident expectation of heavenly joy and a future resurrection of the body? What about those things? What about your baptism, by which a life-giving connection was forged between you and Jesus? What about the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus serves you his own body and blood for the assurance that your sins are completely forgiven? You may or may not have a riveting “personal testimony,” but one thing is sure: you have this—Jesus lived, died, rose, and still rules so that your ears could be opened to hear his Word of truth; your eyes could be opened to see things His way; and your mouth could be opened to declare His praises. Since He has done all this for us, let’s be open about our faith and open to share His story—which is of course, our story now too.

Hymn Stanza of the Week: Salvation Unto Us Has Come

2009-09-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Salvation Unto Us Has Come (TLH 377, stanza 9)
Paul Speratus

Faith clings to Jesus' cross alone
and rests in Him unceasing;
And by its fruits true faith is known,
with love and hope increasing.
Yet faith alone doth justify,
Works serve thy neighbor and supply
the proof that faith is living.