Preschool 'Church Tour' Card

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

Puppets with a Purpose

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

“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

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

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

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

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