Messy Spirituality

God is Calling….. Will you respond with; Here I am Lord?

2012-01-19T09:41:00.002-06:00

John 1

43 Thenext day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him,“Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew andPeter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him ofwhom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, theson of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out ofNazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael comingtoward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is nodeceit!” 48 Nathanaelsaid to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip calledyou, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answeredhim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesusanswered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do youbelieve? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him,“Truly, truly, I say to you,11 you will see heaven opened, and the angels of Godascending and descending on the Son of Man."

I am a first yearseminary student, who is on a journey of the exploration into a call ofministry. This call is my call, but weall have calls to share.

Although I did notunderstand it at the time, God has been preparing me all of my life, throughpersonal relationships, hardships, and occupations. We all have a call from God. Some are toEvangelize; others are to give of time or talents. Some are to be teachers, while others may be calledto organize others. All of these arecalls from God, if we are willing to listen for God in all that we do.

About 10 years ago, Iasked a trusted group of a men's bible study I was a part of, should I be or doyou see me as a Pastor? I received avery quick, abrupt, resounding NO from the group. By their standards and thestandards of worldly things, I should not even be here today. We can not let the perception of others overrule the reality of what God has made us to be.

In the Gospel today,we hear Nathanael say "Can anything good comeout of Nazareth? Here Jesus is being per-judge, based upon where he comesfrom, from his background. We knowthis never happens anymore right? Wenever hear anyone say that nothing good can come out Chicago, or nothing goodcomes out of urban Milwaukee? We knowthis is not true, it is not fair or just ?..but it happens.

Whatwould have happened if God had forsaken Moses, that premeditated murder! Godhowever forgets and forgives the past and looks to the future. Mosesfuture was greater in Gods eyes. God had plans, but Moses did not believe hewas qualified and it took him some time to willingly follow the call that Godhad for him.

Samuelwas born of a woman that was barren for many years. She was well past childbaring years. Not onlyshould Samuel not been born, but he did not come from a priestly family,.. yet,he ends up serving in the church, becomes a judge and a prophet.

God usesthe unlikely, the lowly, the unwanted, the sinner to accomplish God's work hereon earth.

Is itabout the past, your past....my past, your neighbors past? NO, it is about the future God has in storefor his people, you and me. Nathanaelis impressed by a parlor trick of Jesus. He believes that Jesus is the Son ofGod, because Jesus knows who Nathanael is, even though he only seen him underthe fig tree, without ever talking to him, he knows him by name.

Yes, Godknows us all by name. Knows ours past, knows every hair upon our heads andknows our sins. Yet God chooses to forget our past and forgives our sins in thename of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesustells Nathanael that it is not this parlor trick that should convince him thathe is the Son of God, but the future and all the wondrous things he willwitness.

Some of us may be whatothers would consider fortunate, to have those mountain top experiences torealize just what our call is in life. Some of us gradually find our calling. Some muddle around inmultiple calls, experiencing many different avenues to achieve their ultimatecall. Now you may think that muddle is abad thing, however muddle is what many experience in their life. So if muddle is whatmany experience, never feeling as if you have found what God is calling you todo, this is okay. Those that muddle can haveexperiences that more people can relate to and more avenues to reach others.

For those that havemountain top experiences, this is neither good nor bad but their own experiencethat also can be used for the good of God. It is not our experiences that ultimately define us, but what we do and how we use thoseexperiences for God's kingdom.

God is calling you,yes! YOU, each and everyone one of you. Look at your neighborin the Pew?...He or She has a call from God. Now take a lookaround the sanctuary, everyone you see here, has a call from God. Just like God called to Samuel......God isspeaking?..., speaking to you....Do you hear His call?

God says look to thefuture, so much more will be revealed to you. It is not the past but the future. Just like the song that tells Samuel's story of the Lord calling to himin the night....

Here I am Lord:

I, theLord of sea and sky,
I have heard my people cry.
All who dwell in darkness now
My hand will save.
I who make the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Here Iam, Lord. It is I Lord.
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, where you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

Pastor Richard lastweek listed many accomplishments that the members of Faith Santa Fe haveaccomplished just this last year. Children have been called to baptism and confirmation. Faith Santa Fe is the beacon, ..the light ofGod in this community. By fixing up thebuilding, you have made it safer and more inviting to the community. You haveextended the love of God to more people. This is not a time to stop reaching out, this is the time to keep onreaching and expanding your horizons and continue to quest to satisfy thethirst of the community, for Gods love.

What were you? Didyou commit a crime? Did you steal, injure someone, commit adultery, the listcan go on. Are you labelled for your last name, the area you live in, the colorof your skin, the amount you make, the lack of possessions?

All of these candefine us to others in this world but not to God. God calls us each to a future, a future thatGod has for each of us, one rich in diversity centered, around the Love of Godin Jesus Christ. Are you ready tostand up and answer the call of the Lord? Your call may be as simple as writing a letter:

Some of you may knowof an actor by the name of John Wayne. His characters were almost always that of a very rough and toughguy. This carried over to his reputationpersonally as well. You may not know what happened to him before he died. Thisis that story!

Robert Schuller, a well known pastor in the United States had a teenagedaughter, Cindy, who was in a motorcycle accident and had to have her legamputated. John Wayne is a big fan of Robert Schuller. He heard Dr.Schuller say on one of his programs that his daughter had been in an accidentand had to have her leg amputated.

John Wayne wrote anote to her saying:

Dear Cindy,
Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you will be all right.
Signed, John Wayne

The note was delivered to her and she decided she wanted to write John Wayne anote in reply.

She wrote:

Dear Mr. Wayne,
I got your note. Thanks for writing to me. I like you very much. I amgoing to be all right because Jesus is going to help me. Mr. Wayne, doyou know Jesus?

Isure hope you know Jesus, Mr. Wayne, because I cannot imagine Heaven beingcomplete without John Wayne being there. I hope, if you don't know Jesus, thatyou will give your heart to Jesus right now. See you in Heaven.

Cindy

She had just put that letter in an envelope, sealed it, and written across thefront of it "John Wayne" when a visitor came into her room to seeher. He said to her: What are you doing?

She said: I just wrote a letter to John Wayne, but I don't know how to get itto him. He said: That's funny, I am going to have dinner with John Waynetonight at the Newport Club down at Newport Beach. Give it to me and I willgive it to him. She gave him the letter and he put it in his coat pocket.

There were twelve of them that night sitting around the table for dinner. Theywere laughing and cutting up and the guy happened to reach in his pocket andfelt that letter and remembered.

John Wayne was seatedat the end of the table and the guy took the letter out and said: Hey, Duke, Iwas in Schuller's daughter's room today and she wrote you a letter and wantedme to give it to you. Here it is.

They passed it downto John Wayne and he opened it. They kept on laughing and cutting up andsomeone happened to look down at John Wayne. He was crying. One ofthem said: Hey, Duke, what is the matter?

He said (and can't you hear him saying it), " I want toread you this letter." He read the letter. Then he began to weep. Hefolded it, put it in his pocket, and he pointed to the man who delivered it tohim and said: "You go tell that little girl that right now, in this restaurant, right here, John Waynegives his heart to Jesus Christ and I will see her in heaven." Three weekslater John Wayne died.

You never know how your witness to another will effect their eternity! Neverwaste an opportunity to show what you are made of and who loves you more thananything.

In Colossians 4:5-6 it says, Be wise in the way you acttoward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full ofgrace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

We are in the business of changing lives!

Are we ready to bethe future that God has in mind, saying:

Here Iam, Lord. It is I Lord.
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, where you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

E. C.Baird, a Christian Hymnal Song author said;

You mayask: What is the will of God?

Well,heres the answer true;

Thenearest thing, that should be done,

That hecan dothrough you!

Each of you at FaithSanta Fe, can answer the call of God to be what God has called each of you tobe, walking in the light of God all the while saying, Here I am Lord. I will go, Lord, whereyou lead me. I will hold your people inmy heart.

Visit to ELCA Church Wide in Chicago IL

2012-01-19T09:22:00.004-06:00

I invite you to check out a couple of pictures and video from my visit to ELCA Church Wide.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1816162060055

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/402087_332370916786393_118086764881477_1046053_467527637_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/398034_331364250220393_118086764881477_1043928_586592274_n.jpg

Blessed

2012-01-14T07:12:00.001-06:00

I am coming close to the end of my 10 day emerson into urban Milwaukee, as part of a Seminary class. First and foremost this experience has been a blessing. My class have received such a warm and giving welcome by the communities we have visited. There has been so much ministering going on......to us.

To often as the white middle class coming to a poor community we see it as our job to lift up and minister to the poor. However what we find is that we are truly the ones that are poor where it matters, in spirit. Yes, those we have visited may be poor financially but are well beyond imagined riches in their spirit. We have had contact with people of faith, who walk hand and hand with the Holy Spirit.

There are many great ministries happening in Milwaukee. There are no boundaries created by organizations to keep others from contributing to, participating in or partaking of the ministry. There is cooperation between those that want to help across a broad spectrum of organizations. However most often the help is not from the government.

The government is restrictive and thus cannot provide the well rounded need as faith based organizations can. Just throwing money around does not change how someone feels. A self realization of God's love goes well beyond money and food. Lives are changed in Christ and each life changed in a community brings a wholeness to the community and in the process changes all things in the community for the better.

Little status update

2012-01-02T15:59:00.001-06:00

All unpacked, but we are not fully organized. Down to the office. Kris worked very hard to get it all in order. She will be heading to South Elgin to live until she finds a job here. It will be Travis and I until Friday, then I head off to Milwaukee.

Tonight I will be making my first batch of beer here on campus. My neighbor also brews and we will be teaching someone new how to brew.

I still continue to feel the Spirit at work here. Our family has been welcomed with unconditional open arms.

As I write this, I wait on a fellow Distance Learner student who will be on campus for three weeks. I will be helping her move a few things in. We do a lot of moving here at Semiary.

Where is the Spirit?

2011-12-28T07:42:00.001-06:00

At noon on Decmeber 27th, I saw evidence of the Spirit at work. Unpacking of our moving truck began. Students of Wartburg, members of my congregation, and family all tackeled the daunting task.

Very quickly the truck and trailer were cleared and all things in the house. Then onto the community of Wartburg beyond the assistance. Pizza, beer, pop and for one young Norwegian boy, lots of orange juice.

Space was quickly cleared in the house......however, you will never guess, we hung out in the crowded kitchen laughing, sharing, sharing of a meal and of ourselves in Christian fellowship.

The Holy Sprit is wherever two or more gather in His name. The gathering to move a fellow Seminarian student and family and the fellowship that followed.

Eyes always open to the presence of the Spirit.

Thanks and Blesings

2011-12-25T16:49:00.001-06:00

First, from the entire Dill family, we wish to express our gratitude for all the support over the years and especially at the "Deportation" party in December. My last service as your Deacon was December 24th-25th. Obviously you all are in good hands with Pastor Ben, Deacon Glen and the entire elder board. Each of them are very deeply committed to each of you and for the life of Trinity Lutheran.

I am filled with some very mixed emotions as 5 years has come to an end but at the same time a new beginning has started. If it had not been for the wonderful support of the members of Trinity, YOU, this would not be possible. My family and I have been welcomed openly, as you do everyone that comes to Trinity. I write this on Christmas day and last night was so wonderful to see so many of you there. On one hand I am very sad to be leaving, on the other, very excited. All along knowing that none of this would be possible without each of you allowing the Spirit guide you in my path. Although you may have not been aware and neither was I at times aware of plan, God has always been aware.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV. These words have been a cornerstone to this faith walk of going to seminary. To know that God has a plan, I may not know the plans, but God does and the plans are for my good and not for evil and all of this is for my future and will include hope. Wow, these are some powerful words when stepping out of the boat. Of course, I also lean back upon, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deuteronomy 29:29. The plans may not have been fully revealed yet but when God reveals the plan, it belongs to us and our children.

Packing and moving is a stressful time. No matter how much or little help you may have. Even if you hire someone, you worry over how they will handle your belongings. Now let's mix in loosing a house, job, down sizing the home and move around the holidays. We made two trips so far to Wartburg. On the second trip there was about 12 people there to help unload. This really helped. As I told people where to bring things, Travis helped move and direct in the house. We spent much of the rest of the day unpacking and organizing the house. On December 27th, we take the final load and the Muellers have volunteered to drive down from Platteville WI just to help us move in. My brother in-law is with family in Iowa and will also meet us in Dubuque. Between family, friends, fellow students and members of the congregation, this should go very fast.

Just to catch you all up on a few loose ends:
Kris is still interviewing for a customer service job in Dubuque.
Kris at this point will be living in South Elgin with her brother.
Becky will be moving to Dubuque at the end of her semester, January 12th.
Travis is signed up for college classes in Iowa.
I will be taking a class in Milwaukee from January 6th through the 17th.
My first official day of Spring semester is January 30th.

We are still trying to work with the bank on the details on the short sale of the house in Elburn. So far they still want me to make some significant payments for the next three years. Our lawyer has given our objections to the bank and we are waiting to hear back.

As we get any updates we will let you know. For more up to date status information, please check out my blog at http://messy-spirituality.blogspot.com Also look for updates from Kris as a spouse's perspective of Seminary. We will be posting pictures on the Trinity Facebook site and links to our family site in the near future.

Peace/Concord

2011-12-25T01:51:00.004-06:00

Peace/Concord on Earth

As we wait in anticipation of the Christmas season, welook to what we have been told happed over 2,000 years ago.

Areading from Luke 2:13-15

¹³Suddenlya great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God andsaying,

¹⁴“Gloryto God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to thoseon whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵Whenthe angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to oneanother, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which theLord has told us about.^{^[1]}

Even during the years priorto the birth of Jesus, the birth was foretold as well as the peace beingforetold. It says in Isaiah 9:6

⁶ For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon hisshoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Princeof Peace. ^{^[2]}

We are also told that theLord will be the shepherd of His flock and there will be peace.

Micah 5:4-5

Andhe shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the nameof the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now heshall be great

to the ends of the earth.

⁵ And he shall be their peace. ^{^[3]}

I have had to pleasure ofexperiencing both stress and peace. Thepeace of the Lord has been presented to me while in the midst of stress. The stress is most often created by myself,when not trusting in what God has planned for me. We are never promised a stress free life noran easy life. As Pastor Ben mentionedlast week, God works all things for the good. This does not mean however that short term results will bepainless………but in the end it is for the good. Turmoil, pain, stress, loss, grief are all part of this world. At the same time, so is peace, joy, strengthand comfort.

An Old Poem says;

In the center of thewhirlpool, while the waters rush around,

There’s a space of perfectstillness, though with turmoil it is bound;

All is calm, and all isquiet, scarcely e’en a sense of sound.

So with us—despite the conflict—when inChrist His peace is found.^{^[4]}

I was speaking to a friendabout peace and calm and was relating this to when Jesus calms the storms asJesus and the Apostles cross the sea.

Matthew 8:25-26

²⁵Andthey went and woke him (Jesus),saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶Andhe said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose andrebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ^{^[5]}

Even when I was relatingthis story back to my friend, I recall picturing a painting that we were shownduring our first Advent service this year. Warner Sallman’s “Christ our Pilot”…….

Traditionally we might thinkof Jesus calming the Storm, making things peaceful all around us. However inthis painting, Jesus has not calmed the storm but is guiding the personsteering the boat. We are in control ofour decisions but Jesus is there to help guide us. My friend Julane says that her husband, Tim, oftensays; sometimes Jesus calms the storm…………….. but sometimes…… Jesus calms thecaptain.

Where do we receive ourpeace from? Each of us is different inso many ways. What one person receivesas peace may be stressful to another. Atthe same time, we are always growing and what we receive as peace today is notnecessarily what will be peaceful to us later.

God is the peace in wisdom of the Father. God the father has given commandments to befollowed. In following those wise commandmentspeace can be found for some.

Jesus is the peace from the guidance of him as acompass, always pointing us to North. Wecan follow the path using the Jesus as the compass in asking, What Would JesusDo?

The Spirit is peace that surrounds us in uncertain times. Wheneverything is all stirring around us, the Spirit calms us and can gives uspeace inside.

Peace as inserted in theGospel reading today, just doesn’t do full justice to what God is having theangels tell the shepherds. In the Greek,we can translate this using a couple of other words, in place of peace. These I believe give a much more robustmeaning to what is being conveyed.

Harmony can be used in placeof peace.

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth harmony among those with whom he ispleased!” ^{^[6]}

This conveys a muchbetter meaning but even at that, this still does not fully convey what Ibelieved is said here. A little morewordy but better yet is;

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth a state of concord among those with whomhe is pleased!” ^{^[7]}

Concord is not a word usedoften today, so I did some more research.

From Webster’s dictionaryand example is given;

“living in concord with people ofdifferent races and religions”

Yes, concord issynonymous with peace and harmony. However when you look at the origin of concord as an English word thatwe could use for translation, this more clearly presents what the Greek isconveying:

Concord comesfrom Middle English, from Anglo-French concorde, from Latin concordia, from concord-, concors agreeing, from com- +cord-, cor being heart .

It is not a wordI would have used, had I not researched this verse. However it makes sense. To be in agreement in heart,……. in all races,…..in all religions, ……in all nations….in God. To be in concord…….

Some of you mayhave heard of, the Book of Concord, which contains the foundations core to ourLutheran beliefs.

What can we do toobtain this peace? Be aware of who weare in relation to God. Be open to Godthe Father in the Father’s wisdom. Askourselves…….What Would Jesus Do? Alwaysbe open to the Holy Spirit both in calm and in those turbulent times. The Spirit will provide peace even in themidst of the storm. We must always be prepared to receive God’s peace.

Here in thiscongregation, we share the peace with each other, every Sunday. We can be used by the Spirit to be God’sagents in Christ to be peace givers to all of the world, not just here in thesefour walls.

Norm Stevens was oneof those people that gave peace to all those that he sournded. The same goes for Pat. Each were at peace with who they were andwere not afraid to share that peace with others. They accepted whatever came at them, alwaysknowing that the Spirit was there to be with them in the storms.

Let me leave you today withthis story:

Can you sleep when the wind blows?

Yearsago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertisedfor hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along theAtlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic,wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

Asthe farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream ofrefusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer."Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him.

"Well,I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, Hired him. Thelittle man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and thefarmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Thenone night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, thefarmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleepingquarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm iscoming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

Thelittle man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I cansleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot.Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, hediscovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarps. The cows werein the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. Theshutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothingcould blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so hereturned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

Whenyou're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing tofear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?

Thehired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farmagainst the storm. We secure ourselves against the storms of life by

groundingourselves in the Word of God.

Wedon't need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in themiddle of storms.

^{^[1]}The New International Version (GrandRapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Lk 2:13–15.

^{^[2]}The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Is 9:6.

^{^[3]}The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Mic 5:4–5.

^{^[4]}Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Bookof Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: ThomasNelson Publishers, 2000), 606.

^{^[5]}The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Mt 8:25–26.

^{^[6]}The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Lk 2:14.

^{^[7]}The Holy Bible: English Standard Version(Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Lk 2:14.

Grace Lutheran sued by estranged members - Leader-Telegram: Front Page

2011-12-02T07:03:00.000-06:00

Grace Lutheran sued by estranged members - Leader-Telegram: Front Page

This is a perfect example for the title of my blog. Just no matter how you slice it, it will be a very messy deal.

Giving and Receiving

2011-11-30T13:27:00.001-06:00

Many of us have heard that it is better to give than to receive. Advent is the awaiting of a gift from God, in his Son Jesus Christ. As we await this gift, we also await another gift, the one of salvation that comes apparent at Easter. Yes, I know this is Advent, it is not even Christmas and here I am speaking already about Easter. However they are all so much related, it becomes difficult to separate them out. In fact, how can we separate them? We cannot have Easter without Christmas. What is Christmas without the Advent's anticipation and wait of the Gift of a Messiah to be born on Christmas? We have this chicken and egg conundrum every year to ponder. God however has a handle on this as of course. God always has. So no need to fret, God said let it be done and so it was and is.

It is not so bad being on the receiving side. In fact, it is humbling to be a receiver of gifts, ones that you can never pay back, and gifts that were given for the sake of Christian love. Our family has always tried to be generous wherever possible. We have tried to be the giver of gifts. Remember, better to give then to receive, right? However, this year has been a tough year for our family and many other families as well. We have had to learn, yes I said learn, to be humble about receiving gifts. As you may have heard, the Dills are moving to Seminary and Doug is now unemployed. This obviously means a complete change in life style for all of us and reliance upon many others to help us through. In these tough financial times, many are going through similar or worse situations. In learning to let others help, we have learned to accept the gifts vs. giving the gifts. This is not always easy to do. However someone wise told me once, that for others to give, some have to receive. If we fail to allow others to give to us, then we are stopping them from getting what they need as well. Hummm, now there is a thought, it can be better to receive than to give. Now, back to the season at hand.

God gives the gift of a Messiah to his people and again gives them the gift of forgiveness and eternal life with God the creator and redeemer. For God, it is better to give then it is to receive. However for us it is better to receive these gifts, for only God can give the gift and God does not need the gift but we do, the greatest gift that all of mankind has ever received, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

God blesses you with God's Gifts, accept them humbly and proclaim the Good News in Jesus Christ for all the world to hear!

Important Recall Notice

2011-11-18T11:43:00.001-06:00

RECALL NOTICE:

The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.

This defect has been identified as "Sub sequential Internal Non-morality," more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some of the symptoms include:

1. Loss of direction

2. Foul vocal emissions

3. Amnesia of origin

4. Lack of peace and joy

5. Selfish or violent behavior

6. Depression or confusion

7. Fearfulness

8. Idolatry

9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect.

The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R.

Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure.

Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:

1. Love

2. Joy

3. Peace

4. Patience

5. Kindness

6. Goodness

7. Faithfulness

8. Gentleness

9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (BEST Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

- GOD

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee mail'!

Because HE Lives!

Called To Be True Witness

2011-10-28T11:28:00.003-05:00

I came across this and felt called to share.

Click on the title to link to another blog with the full story.

Christian friends

2011-10-19T21:06:00.001-05:00

As I get closer to moving to Wartburg Seminary with my family, I really have started to learn the vast importance of having Christian friends. These are the friends that keep you in check. They keep you on the straight and narrow path that God is leading you on. When you so badly want to stray, when you become less dependent upon God and more self reliant, the good Christian friend brings you back to reality. It is getting closer and closer to the move date. What I was so sure of a month ago seems blurry and scary today. I still trust in the Lord, but still cling for the need of concrete proof of what I am about to take my family through, is for the good of us all. It is difficult to see the forest sometimes....when you keep shutting those darn eyes.To Christian friends, God Bless

Grace vs. Law, Wedding Feast

2011-10-10T11:09:00.001-05:00

WhenI began to study the Gospel reading for today, I first said to myself,"hey, this is an easy lesson. Everyone will get this. It's obvious thatheaven is where the banquet is and we have been invited, yet some willrefuse." End of sermon, right?

Ialways have to laugh when I see how simple God has made things and howcomplicated humans have turned God's simple requirements around.

Don'teat from the tree of knowledge. Simple don't do it. Eve did it and Adam let herand then joined in.

Thingsfinally get so bad that God floods all of the earth.

Duringthe Exodus, the people only needed to follow Moses who was being led by God andall was provided. Simple, right? Listenand it is given. Did they listen? Nothey complained and then when God was giving Moses the 10 commandments, thepeople were in the process of violating all ten in one night. Well maybe notall ten, but I suspect it was pretty darn close.

Godasks us to have no other Gods and to love the Lord your God with all yourheart. Simple yet we make it so complex.

Weare given all that is good. Opportunities are abundant and God's love isabounding. As Christians, we need to accept the faith in Jesus Christ that isavailable to all of us. It is in that acceptance that all else can fall intoplace. The invitation is given. Do we accept the invitation and dropeverything? Do we go about our busy lifeof friends, family and work? How do wetreat the agents of God? God sends hisservants to us daily. Are they sent away, rejected or worse yet killed? Killing doesn't have to be a physical thing.It can be mentally or worst yet, spiritually.

Goddoes not give up on us. Although God has no reason to keep after us, except in his boundless love,God continues to...reach...down....to....us. There is a feast waiting for us.All we need to do is accept the invite to the banquet. God knows we are notworthy of the banquet and provides us the robes of justification so we can sitat the banquet in confidence.

Ihave been reading Martin Luther's works, Volume 26. This particular volume contains Luther'sviews on Galatians. While reading thisweek, I came across something I felt was profound, so I posted it to myFacebook……. “Thisis the true meaning of Christianity, that we are justified by faith in Christ,not by the works of the Law.” Now atfirst, this does not seem to fully mesh with today's reading. However, the conversation that started tiesvery nicely in.

The first response was; “I like to think itis also how I live out my faith, put into action, serve Him, etc etc…” My response was a paraphrase from some of myreadings of Luther, “If it is also how you live out your faith, then you arenot justified by faith but by the works of the law, and Jesus is the law giverand Moses is the redeemer. Martin Luther said, “Now if justification does nothappen through grace but happens through the Law, what did Christ accomplishwith His suffering, His preaching, His victory over death and the sending ofthe Holy Spirit? Either we are justifiedthrough Christ, or we are made sinful and guilty through him.”

I also posted; Our works come as a responseto our justification by God in Jesus Christ, through our receiving,undeservedly, the Grace of God being showered upon humans in their faith inJesus Christ. The response I received was; “For just as the body without thespirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James 2:26 Then the next post was Romans 3:21-31, which says: 21 But now arighteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Lawand the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faithin Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all havesinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by hisgrace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented himas a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this todemonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sinscommitted beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice atthe present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who havefaith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On whatprinciple? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For wemaintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 IsGod the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentilestoo, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised byfaith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullifythe law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Myresponse was, So, Jesus condemns the sinners of the Law and Moses is theredeemer. Those of Moses time had faithand the law and through the law they were saved? Only by Grace are we saved not by works. The Grace we receive in faith. John 3:16-18 says; “For God so loved theworld that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall notperish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the worldto condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believesin him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned alreadybecause he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” I continued with, however we could quote bitsand pieces of scripture but its the totality of the NT using the OT tounderstand the NT. I guess this is whythere are so many denominations. Loveyou my sister in Christ. Peace and Graceabounds.

Atthis point the conversation was only between myself and one other. Then another person chimed in. Their postwent as follows;

Itisn't “either/or” it's “both/and”. Thereis nothing one can do to earn heaven without the free gift of grace. Catholic teaching is quite clear about thatand always has been. However it is quiteclear in Apostolic teaching that we have free will and therefore must choosewhether to accept that grace, cooperate with it, and allow it to work in and throughus in the process of our sanctification; or reject that grace and by doing soreject salvation. Just like Jesus in thegarden we don't always “want” to do the will of God “Father if it be possiblelet this cup pass from me.” And justlike Jesus we are called to choose “not my will but yours be done.” Fortunately for us, no sin- whether as sin ofomission or commission is greater than God's mercy. While we know we fail occasionally, we mustnevertheless strive to live in grace not outside of it. Translated, we must seek to do good and avoidevil. And when we fail we must repentand turn back to God rejoicing in His mercy. You are spot on correct that bitsand pieces of scripture should not be viewed in isolation. Rather we must look at the totality ofscripture and view it through the prism of Apostolic tradition if we are tounderstand the implications. A personwho confesses with his lips that Jesus is Lord and Savior and yet continues tolive a life of sin (omissions of good works, commission of evil works) risksbeing cast out of the heavenly banquet and we do him a great disservice tosuggest otherwise. On the other hand, wedo a disservice to another if we teach him that his salvation is a matter ofdoing enough of the right works. Youdon't have to be Mother Teresa in this life; you just have to strive to be thebest version of yourself. Only Jesusmakes it possible for us to attain heaven. Only ourselves make it possible not to attain heaven.”

Theoriginal responder chimed in for a another response; “Thanks to both of you forinspiring me to further contemplate, study and reflect on the Word, my faith inHim and my role within the Body of Christ!

Iresponded with; It is a fine line we walk. We cannot earn our way, but we can prevent our way. If we are not wearing the robes ofrighteousness that God freely gives us, then we reject the Grace of the robesof righteousness and risk not staying at the banquet. See Matthew 22:1-14, which was the readingfor today.

Afinal poster who had been reading the other posts put the final post to thisdiscussion;

Iam sitting hear reading all of this and just thanking God that I know and loveall of you. How precious it is to havefriends who go beyond just having head knowledge of Christ but to go further toserve Him to learn to and help all of us have a better understanding of who weare in Christ. God bless and be with youall.

Now,I do not fully agree in all aspects of what others posted but on the otherhand, what was posted was following along with my contention and ended upleading into the message for today. Ialso know that the others who posted do not fully agree in all aspects of whatI posted either. We are able to lookpast those areas of contention and look at the totality of the Christianmessage that we preach either by words or by actions.

Asmy brother in-law starts his messages, let me end with this today; from Latin:

pax et bonum,which in English means Peace and good.

Amen

Ecumenical News International

2011-09-29T13:39:00.002-05:00

Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
28 September 2011

Lutheran pastor appointed dean of Anglican cathedral in Canada

Winnipeg, Manitoba (ENI)--In a historic move, the Anglican diocese of
Rupert's Land appointed a Lutheran pastor, the Rev. Paul Johnson, as
dean of the diocese and incumbent for St. John's Cathedral in Winnipeg,
reports the Anglican Journal. This is the first time a Canadian Lutheran
pastor has been appointed dean in an Anglican cathedral in Canada. A
dean is the priest in charge of a cathedral ("mother church") and
occupies a senior position in a diocese. [263 words, ENI-11-0519]

LCMS to check qualifications before Chaplin to provide service

2011-09-28T23:09:00.000-05:00

http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article.cfm?article_id=10165I am glad Jesus never qualified those he would minister to. LCMS as Chaplains in the military will "Harrison said LCMS chaplains would provide word and sacrament ministry to Lutherans in uniform "on a case-by-case basis."

Need money for Seminary?

2011-09-28T22:58:00.001-05:00

Going to Seminary is expensive. On top of that, finding a scholarship can be really difficult. That's why I was so excited to find this Seminary Scholarship website today. Not only are they giving away a $1,000.00 scholarship and a digital theological library, all I had to do to apply was watch a short video and answer a few questions! It took less than 15 minutes. What is best of all is that if you're in seminary and apply for the Seminary Scholarship, and put my name as the person who referred you, if you win the scholarship, so do I! We could both get a $1,000.00 scholarship and digital theological library. So, do us both a favor and go apply for the Seminary Scholarship today.

Law and Gospel

2011-09-27T08:27:00.001-05:00

As a Lutheran, we believe we are bound by the law but freed by grace. We can find the freeing grace in the Gospels. I have been reading Martin Luther's works, vol 26 and 27. Volume 26 and 27 is Luther's discussion on Galatians

. This is a promise to a professor of mine from Seminary. I have to say, it is some very enjoyable reading. Here is something I came across in volume 26. "...let every Christian learn diligently to distinguish between the Law and the Gospel. Let him permit the Law to rule his body and its members but not his conscience. For that queen and bride must not be polluted by the Law but must be kept pure for Christ, her one and only husband;...". This just says so much and is so freeing. Yes, law and grace but grace frees us from the punishment of the law. Amen

Pope visits Lutheran Monastery

2011-09-24T12:21:00.000-05:00

Click clink below for article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/world/europe/pope-visits-venerated-lutheran-monastery.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Good book about a personal journey

2011-09-24T09:40:00.001-05:00

Take a look at this book written by a friend of mine. This is a personal account of her journey from Hinduism to Christianity. Jo Kinnard is in her senior year of seminary at this time and will bring unique gifts to the Church.

God is all around us

2011-09-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

As I began to write this sermon, I had one thing in mind butlike it often happens, God had another thing in mind. I had planned on letting everyone here knowthat I was going to be leaving to attend Wartburg Seminary for the next fiveand a half weeks, studying Greek. However,it would appear that I will not be going out to Wartburg and that I amadjusting my schedule to take Greek next summer now, God willing.

I have been informed by my office that we will be lettingone of my employees go and I will be responsible for picking up his work. In doing so, I will go back to a 60 hr. aweek job. This is most likely going tohave severe impact on my studies. It hasbeen suggested that I lower my hours at school. However, if I were to lower my hours at seminary, I would no longerqualify for financial aid and the tuition would also increases. Additionally I would be required to pay backwhat loans I have taken out so far. Another option I have is taking a leave of absence from the school. By taking a leave, I am able to come back andmy student loans will not come immediately due. This last week I have been asking myself, where is God in all of theseweeds that keep growing up around me?

Jacob realized that God is sending his angles down among us. He saw God’s ladder in his dream and came toa realization that the heavenly precedence is not only in heaven but here onearth as well. We all experience Godaround us, it is a matter of do we see what God is doing in our lives? If we see it, do we acknowledge it? Even when it would seem that someone has goneinto our field and planted weeds among our field of Wheat, God is stillpresent, waiting on us. How do werespond when the sorrows of life really kick us in the stomach? I have been tested a lot as of recent. How about you? What is hitting you today? How about last week? This week when that car was driving slow infront of you and me, we were in a hurry but obviously the other driver was justone of those slow pokes….How did we respond?.... What thoughts did we have? …. What maybe didwe say out loud or was it just in a hand gesture?.... Remember…. God’s love is in all of us. God has given every human being the HolySpirit so we could respond to God. So,what did we say or do or think to that other person……The one with God in theirheart. The one with the Holy Spirit inthem? We all I am sure we all respondedin the same way that the Spirit would have. We used the Spirit in us to respond, right? I used an example of a person driving slowlyin front of us. This applies toco-workers, friends, relatives, the cashier, the garbage man, the policeofficer that pulls you over and on and on and on. It is not so much what we think. It is a matter of how we react to what we think. Having bad thoughts is not a sin. We cannot control our minds and what wethink. The bad thoughts are temptationand even Jesus was tempted yet He was without sin. We can control how werespond to those thoughts and over time, the thoughts can be trained, “in amatter of speaking”. However we arestill going to have bad thoughts…..

We have never been promised a bed of roses. God has given us a promise in Christ. God being perfect in all ways had the perfectplan for us to forever be in relationship with God for all of eternity. Eternity starts upon our resurrection. We are not ready to have the fullrelationship with the Father today. However that does not stop God from reaching down to us to be in arelationship. God knew that we would not, stop turning away from God. However, God’s love is so great that Godwanted us lowly humans to always be with God. The Father does not put conditions on love given to us. The Father loves us even when we are the onesthat plant the weeds among the field. Howcan that be? Did we not hear that theones that sowed the weeds were agents of the Devil and are the weeds? Are they not going to be pulled up in the endand thrown in the fire? As we heard lastweek, Jesus said the greatest commandant was love your God with all yourheart. The second was love your neighboras yourself. I agree with Pastor Ben,that really, this does come down to a single commandment. If we were to really love God, with all ofour hearts, why would we treat our neighbor as anything but how we want to betreated.

Back to the weeds…..

We don’t know when Jesus is coming back because he told usthat only the Father knows. What can youdo to prevent being that weed that is gathered up? What can I do to prevent from being that weedbeing gathered up. Love your God withall your heart, mind and soul. The loveyou give to God is better than any weed killer on the market. It is life changing and life giving thoughthe power of the Spirit. We may beplanting weeds today unknowingly or maybe even intentionally. Change the focus from inwardly to outward upon God. God’s face is shining upon you. Jesus is the Light of the world and it isthat light that we can gaze upon and smile and know that God loves us so muchthat God was willing to take into God all of humanity in the incarnation ofChrist in Jesus. Jesus Christ took allthe bad we are and all the bad we will be with him to the cross.

The question is this? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God? Do your truly believe with all your heart,mind and soul, that God came down and became incarnate in Jesus and that it wasGod who took away our sins in Jesus Christ and gives us the opportunity forenteral life? Some of us might be saying,yea I do but I have doubts sometimes. Itruns through my head and I just can’t stop it. Remember, we cannot control what we think…….

Rick Warrensaid, "Too often we get it backwards. We doubt our beliefs and believe ourdoubts. Instead, we should doubt our doubts and believe our beliefs!"

We can control in how we respond to what we think. Do you turn back to God? Do you face the Light of Jesus, the guidinglight to the Father who forgave you your sins and asks that you come live withFather, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for all of eternity?

I want to end today with a story, one that illustrates thatThings are not always what they seem and that God is looking out for us.

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the homeof a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay inthe mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in thecold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw ahole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the olderangel replied,

"Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but veryhospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had thecouple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night'srest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and hiswife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay deadin the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel howcould you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helpedhim, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to shareeverything, and you let the cow die.

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.

"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was goldstored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed andunwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't findit."

"Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death camefor his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what theyseem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way theyshould. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is alwaysto your advantage. You might not know it until sometime later

Scholarship Opportunity for Seminary

2011-06-23T18:52:00.002-05:00

Tell your friends about SeminaryScholarship.com, and if they win the scholarship, SO DO YOU! Simply have them enter your name in the "how'd you hear about the scholarship" box. If they are selected as the scholarship winner, we'll give you both a $1,000.00 scholarship and a copy of the Logos Bible Software: Scholar's Library. That means the more applicants who enter your name, the more chances you have to win the scholarship!

What is the Holy Spirit

2011-03-27T20:51:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to preach again.
I have provided a link with my sermon. Hope you all enjoy.
What is the Holy Spirit

Approach to Think About Understanding the Christian Message

2011-02-17T16:19:00.000-06:00

There are several things I do to come to a deeper understanding of the Christian message. Some of the resources I use the most consist of: the reading of scripture, devotionals and prayer. I have also enjoyed conversation generated from readings assigned in the classes I have taken, as well as conversation over scripture. Anytime you have conversation or read devotionals, there is an element of discernment to determine if the message being presented is correct.

For myself, I rely on first and foremost a litmus test of, “Does what is being communicated to me, reflect the love of God, for the world, through the Holy Spirit and as presented by Jesus Christ?” This is at the center of what I believe the Christian message should reflect. My pastor continually reminds me about two things. One, it is all about the love that God has for the whole world. Number two is, if the message detracts from the focus as explained above, it is most likely not correct. He says this in other words, “Does it really matter what Moses sandal size was?” There are other factors I used to also evaluate the message as well, but still with the lens as described above. I have pastors and instructors I rely upon for guidance. Sometimes for me it is a matter embracing faith and letting go for now what I don’t understand.

The focus of my litmus test, matters a great deal to me. The love of the world by God, includes humans, and in such, includes myself. More importantly I think, is the love of God through the Holy Spirit and manifested in Jesus Christ for the world. Knowing God understands the human condition and is willing to take it to the cross for humankind gives a real sense that God does understand humans and their brokenness.

Knowing God’s love in the context laid out above not only matters to me, but should matter to all humans. Eternal life is at stake in believing the message or not. Even life here on earth is affected today and tomorrow by God’s love and how others understand this love.

Justification and Justice, my understanding

2011-01-07T17:17:00.000-06:00

Justification from a Christian perspective is the act of becoming right, or being made righteous by God. Jesus Christ accomplished this when he died upon the cross. However, Justification is not simply an act that has been done, but is an ongoing process in which the Holy Spirit along with the Father and the Son continues to justify humanity

We need to always look for justification, and receive it through the cross of Christ. Even the acceptance of the justification is not an act we can do on our own. This act of acceptance is done through faith, and faith in itself, is a gift of God. It is important to realize that justification is not warranted for humankind but comes from the agape love of God, through Christ to us from the faith God has given to us.

Justice, true justice, comes from within justification. We are called to be just to all humankind. We must act upon this. Not only justice to those who are like us, or those that we love, or they love us but for everyone. In fact, the fight for justice is at it’s best when we advocate for those that we struggle in: understanding, loving, and liking. The act of being just however, is not because of a required response or a needed response, but a natural reaction upon acceptance of the justification that we undeservedly receive from our Triune God.

When we see the poor, it is more than providing assistance to the poor. Justice is more than righting wrongs that we see. Justice forms a community where there is no, “Us” and “Them”, no more “You and “Me”. It is a community of “We”, where all of the “We” accept each other as their neighbor, and love their neighbor as themselves. In doing so, justice is served to keep a balance in how humankind relates, works, treats and loves each other and God. As related to me by my pastor, who gives credit to a seminary professor of his, as soon as a person makes the separation between “us and them” or “you and me”, God stands not with us, but with the others we distanced ourselves from. Justice is no longer served and justification is once again, in need.

The thin spot

2011-01-07T17:14:00.000-06:00

As part of an assignment, I was to come up with a place, where I felt most close to God at. The video of a favorite fishing spot in Canada tells it all.

Government is God's servant

2010-11-05T23:23:00.000-05:00

This article by Rev. Mark S. Hanson, the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, is a must read.

http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/11/government_is_gods_servant.html

Mothers day

2010-11-03T18:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know it is not, and not even close. However, this sermon came up recently, and I had never posted it, so I thought I would today.

Here are some facts you may or may not know about Mother's day:

Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia decided that mother's day would be a wonderful way to honor her deceased mother. Two years later, Jarvis and friends began a letter-writing campaign to create a Mother's Day observance.

Soon after, in 1914, the US Congress passed legislation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

How Many Mothers are there?

75 million

Estimated number of mothers of all ages.

67

Percentage of women in Kentucky, ages 15 to 44, who are mothers. This is among the highest rates in the nation. The national average is 57 percent.

Facts, facts can't really tell us what mothers are about. We all had one. We looked up to them for years but what are they really? Who are they and why do we have them, other than for the obvious, or is it. Just because someone has a child, does not in itself, make them a mother. When we think of mother's day, we think of mommy, mom.....that person who when we were growing and learning, was there for us each and every time.

It is really amazing, or is it, how many things that mothers do, that can be related to passages in the bible. When we are in need of comfort, they are there. Just like in 1 Peter, Chapter 5:7 “Cast all you anxiety on him because he cares for you. Or in Ps 91:15, He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. When you need mom, she is standing there right beside you, if not even holding you.

Mother's do all sort of things that fathers would not think of doing. Fathers have this ability to push it off and be the “tough” guy, while the mother takes on the challenge of loving this little human, who some day will be all grown up. Mothers only ask for love in return, but even when they do not get that, they still love their children. As the child grows and learns from mom, they start to become independent. This independence of doing vs being done for can be difficult on mom. They may joke that they can't wait for the day that their child can move out and life becomes much more simple, but deep down, they long for one thing, to hold their child close, no matter what age, no matter what the child has done or not done, and give and receive love.

All that mom's do is about love. All that God does for us is about Love. To love is to be more like God. To love is to be “Christ Like”. What is more Godly and Christ like than the motherly love of a parent to their child? Teaching us, and loving us.

In Jeremiah 16:21 it is written, “Therefore I will teach them— this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD.”

In John 14:21 Mother's Love is show to us in the passage “He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

I remember growing up and although my parents did not take us to Church, nor even teach us about God, God put his love into my mother and she taught us how to love. The staying up with us when we were sick. She taught us right from wrong, sometimes with punishment, but really, it was we that made our punishment, not her. I can recall the fun that my mom tried to bring to us. She use to ride bikes with my sister and I. Roller skate, play catch, and tag. All those things that I am sure on the surface she not have really wanted to do, but did them out of love for us and to be our mother.

Can you be a mother, without ever bearing a child? You bet you can. Sometimes I would think that these are the greatest mothers of all. They have willing taken on the responsibility for a child that they did not give birth to. They do all the things a birth parent does and even more. This is true agopy love, the kind of love that does not ask for payment. The kind of love that is show to us in the father and son. In John 3:16 we are shown this type of love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Mothers do not want to part with their Children, and neither does God. He allowed his son to be sacrificed, just so he could keep us all with him.

When I began to write this sermon, I really was unsure what to say. I kept getting ramblings in my head. What is a mother? How can I really explain what a mother is? I wanted to be able to give the perfect example of what a mom was. To hold this example up for all to follow. However God did this for me. In 1 John 4:9 it is said “God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son, into the world that we might live through him.” Christ, the anointed one is that example to us. He is all that is good in a mother. A perfect example of motherly love. An example that mothers live by, is the actions of Jesus. He loves us no matter what. He will be there to comfort, protect and teach us.

Mothers have been important since creation. Eve was given the blessing to bear children. To be the mother of the entire world. Through Eve, God would have his children, the human beans living on this third rock from the sun. The bible mentions the word mother just,,, a few times. In the N I V, the word mother is listed 237 times in 224 separate verses. I would say there is some importance to that word mother.

In our reading today from John, Jesus is explaining that he must leave the apositles. However that he will come again to them. Before that time, God and the Holy Spirit will come to the apositles and teach them and remind them of what Jesus has taught. Jesus speaks about obeying what he has taught and if this is done, then the father will love them.

Mothers ask for obedience and out of it, they return to their children their love. As a parent, or someone who even knows a parent, sometimes love can be a difficult thing. We continually do things that God does not like, let along love at all times. Jesus gave us the plan, the greatest commandments to make all, fall into place. In Matthew 22 starting at verse 36, Jesus says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we could do this, all would fall into place, right? However, we are human, and yes, we do not do what we are told. What a struggle God must go through seeing all that we do that goes against what we should. It takes such great strength to withstand these rejections we give him. Fortunately God gave us Jesus. He is the bridge between us and God. He is the filter that God uses to see us.

If we did not struggle, how could we grow to become more Christ like? Mothers raise children, from birth to the time they move out, or at least most move out. When that child hits the teen years, that is when mom really has to start to love the most. Dad's love as well, but we get to put up that tough attitude, even though, even if we will not admit it, we love our children just as much, and struggle as much as mom with raising of our children. The teaching, protecting, and comforting. Well, maybe not as comforting as we should be when we tell the kid “come on now, toughen up. No need to cry.” But mom, she is right there in the midst of it all being the balance between the child and father.

When that teen kid wants to completely reject mom. The daughter is to grown up to hang with mom. The boy doesn't want to look like no mama's boy. Wow, all those years of caring and loving, and they are just snatched away. Well, I really think that the teens just want to see how far our love goes. Is that what we are doing with God ourselves? He has told us, but do we always believe? Are we not like Thomas who said he would not believe until he saw for himself and put his hand in the side of Jesus and put his fingers in the holes of Jesus' hands?

We are told and shown the love. Love Love Love. To quote Pastor Ben from one of my Diakonia classes, “it is all about love”. Yet, we still reject the love sometimes. It is fortunate that we have mothers to remind us that it is all about love. For they show the love to us each and every day. Love that can be seen. That we can touch and put our hands inside of and poke our fingers through. Look at your mom's today, give them a hug and say “Mom, thanks for being my mom, thanks for loving me, in spite of me. Mom......I love you with all my heart”.

I would like to end today with a story that was shared with me. Now I do not agree with the theology of the story, but the message is there and the message is about mothers and about love.

STORY

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth Tomorrow,but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have

to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you

how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it's life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

"You will simply call her, "Mom."

Irresistible Grace, Is it?

2010-10-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

If the Grace of God is irresistible, how should we receive it, if we even choose to accept and receive this irresistible grace? Paul was a contemptible person, out to kill Jews. He was some of the worst of the worst of people. There was no way that Paul deserved the grace that was given to him, and he chose to accept.

As I wrote this message, I reflected back on my life. I too have done so much that I should have been rejected by God. However, his grace, that irresistible grace, was one that I tried to reject, time and time again. Finally, I accepted his grace. The grace is not something I deserved. By accepting this grace, there was a choice in what to do with it.

In Greek, there are many definitions of Grace. Grace can mean beauty, gratitude or benefit given. I fail to keep in mind gratitude and benefit given. I have a difficult time saying thank you sometimes. Not because I am not grateful, but more because I am embarrassed by needing someone’s help. I have been trying to show my gratitude in saying thank you for the Grace given to me by others, in that I have receive benefit from what they have done. They have given Grace to me, and by failing to show I am thankful, I discourage them from showing Grace again. So, the question is.

Once you receive grace, what next? Well, Paul took the grace and used the grace for others. So, how did that look? Well, for starters, Paul made three missionary trips. Paul made some very convincing arguments for the Gentiles to be able to join the Christian church officially. Good thing for you and I, not being Jews, that we can be part of the Christian church. Paul did not stop there. He started many churches as well.

So, what did Paul do with grace? He received it and acted upon it. He did not hoard it to himself. Grace freely given by God to Paul, to be given away to others. Have we accepted God’s grace? If so, what do we do with it? Some people waste it. They accept it but do not use it responsibly.

Let me read to you from John 6:25-30

"When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?" (John 6:25-30, ESV)

So, let me ask you, what had Jesus done the day before? Does anyone recall? That previous evening, Jesus fed 5,000 people. And with what? Five loaves of bread and two fish.

Jesus had show and given grace. These people that had been feed accepted this grace. They accepted it, but did not do so responsibly, as they did not go and use it that was given. So let’s go back to John 6: Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?"

Okay……Are you saying Duhhhhhh? Say with me, Duhhhhhhhh. These guys looked like they just wanted another free lunch. What sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? Is that not a call of do it again, so we can feast? Hey Jesus, it is dinner time again, we need you to feed us.

Jesus goes on to make it pretty darn clear to the crowed, who he is, and what they need to do. However, this is not what they really wanted. They didn’t want to do the work for accepting the grace that was given to them.

In Ezekiel, God points out that some “religious people” ignore God’s grace. They receive and do nothing with it.

In Ezekiel 33:30-32, it says.

"“As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it." (Ezekiel 33:30-32, ESV)

Now, this is a bit harsh, but it does point out that some believers who come

don’t put Biblical teaching to practice.

Like not sharing God’s grace with others

Like coming to church to listen to beautiful songs but ignore the words.

It is a feel good experience, but for heaven’s sake don’t challenge me to “walk the walk!” Don’t make me get out of the boat, NO, NO, NO, NOT THAT!

There is no law that says you must accept the grace. Nothing is stopping you from saying no. So, is grace irresistible?

I know my answer? Do you know yours? Are you ready to accept the grace, and put it to use?

When you sing the next song, smell the roses. When you sing the next song, hear the words. When you sing the next song, sing the words and let them resonate.

Love your God with all your heart

Love your neighbor as yourself

Love your spouse

Love your children

Look for opportunities to serve

Look for the value in all things

Look at God's creations

Stop to smell the roses

Stop to hear the words in Christian songs

Stop being a Christian that is non responsive

Begin to look for God's Grace, in everything

Begin to look for ways to share God's Grace

Begin to be in relationship with Christ.....Today

Grace is given to us in the cross. The cross of love shed by the body and blood of God, in human form, Jesus Christ, or Lord and Savior. I invite you to go with me and go forth today and respond to the grace of the cross.

Amen.

Being Intentional

2010-09-28T10:57:00.001-05:00

The church I attend is on a sermon series about grace. Many of us have been exposed to many different ways of looking at grace. I would like to take an opportunity to share with you some more thoughts on the same subject. So what does being intentional have to do with grace? It is the response to grace. Pastor Ben said that to call ourselves Christians, says that we are in relationship with Christ. This relationship is free from law. The relationship is bound in love and grace. This must go many ways, just down from God. Grace when received, must be given back, all around you. Jesus not only wants that relationship, which in Jesus' own special way becomes a relationship in the Trinity, but Jesus wants us to be in the same type of relationship with others.

We must be intentional on how we express the grace that God has given us. We must do this, if we say we are in relationship with Christ. Passive Christians do not exist. You cannot accept the grace of God, call yourself a Christian and be passive about it. That does not mean that there is law involved. Your response should be an intentional loving and gracious response the gracious and loving God. A response in Love not Law. That love is a response to love others, as you would want to be loved. To love others the way God loves you. God is always willing to help you and others. You should be willing to help others. To do that, you need to be intentional in looking for ways to help. God always loves you. You need to be intentional in how you love others.

Be intentional in all that you do, looking for ways to be Christ like. While at work, when another employee lashes out at you, or when a customer lashes out at you, do not lash back. Treat them as you want to be treated. Even you disagree, and even when you are right, treat the person with love in your response.

Be intentional to:

Love your God with all your heart

Love your neighbor as yourself

Love your spouse

Love your children

Look for opportunities to serve

Look for the value in all things

Look at God's creations

Stop to smell the roses

Stop to hear the words in Christian songs

Stop being a Christian that is non responsive

Begin to look for God's Grace, in everything

Begin to look for ways to share God's Grace

Begin to be in relationship with Christ.....Today

May the Grace and Peace of our Lord and Savior shine upon you.
May the Grace and Peace you have received, be a beacon of light to all.

Amen

You are something special

2010-09-28T08:01:00.000-05:00

I received this from my wife. It really hit home, and just felt compelled to share.

http://www.sermonspice.com/product/33768/skit-guys-gods-chisel

Only Sinners go to Heaven

2010-08-28T14:54:00.000-05:00

I am here to tell you today, YOU must be a sinner to get to Heaven. Because only Sinners make it to heaven!

As I began to learn more about my faith, one of the scariest things I can recall, is being told I should be telling others about Jesus. Imagine that…., I need to tell others……, Evangelize. I was suppose to become one of those “nut jobs on the street” or the ones that go door to door and just will not leave alone when you tell them no. Better yet, maybe I should hang at the airport to Evangelize. Good thing for the TSA now, keeping us safe from those people at the gates… The ones that I am suppose to be like. Believe it or not, that is what I thought, that is what I believed sharing my faith was. That was the definition of Evangelism. Now I am sure that I was not alone in this belief, but…….

What really are we suppose to do and how? Many of us know the great commission. Where Jesus commanded

(Matthew 28:19-20, TNIV)

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”"

So, we know what we have been commanded to do go make disciples, but how do we do this? How do we respond, what are the dangers, how can we overcome them? So many questions, so little answers, or are there answers? All that we need has been given to us, in just the proportions that God has determined that we need.

(Romans 12:6-8, TNIV)

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

Ok, make disciples of nations, but by many means. Maybe you believe this or not, but it is true, that all of the gifts we have, can and do lead to being Evangelists, if we choose to use them. Now comes the scary part, the really scary part. Going out and being with the people that are non believers, the ones that are lost and needing us the most. The ones who may have rejected God and even our attempts to give them the good news. Ultimately the hardest part of what we need to do, is answering those tough questions that we will get asked by those we try to Evangelize to.

Here are my top three objections I have come across:

1) God must have created Evil, since he has created all.

2) God does not care, because I do not see him stopping bad things from happening.

3) I am a good person, that is all that matters.

For the first objection I have a story to tell you that I received via an email. Now this is only a story but holds very true.

'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.'

The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand

'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'

'Yes sir,' the student says.

'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely '

'Is God good?'

'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'

'Yes'

'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I'm evil.'

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!

Pause

He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you.

Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

'Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'

'I wouldn't say that.'

'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?'

The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'

'Er..yes,' the student says.

'Is Satan good?'

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'

'Then where does Satan come from?'

The student falters. 'From God'

'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'

'Yes, sir..'

'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'

'Yes'

'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'

Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'

The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'

'So who created them?'

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them?' There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.'

The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'

'No sir. I've never seen Him.'

'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'

'No, sir, I have not..'

'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'

'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'

'Yet you still believe in him?'

'Yes'

'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist... What do you say to that, son?'

'Nothing,' the student replies.. 'I only have my faith.'

'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat? '

' Yes.

'And is there such a thing as cold?'

'Yes, son, there's cold too.'

'No sir, there isn't.'

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'

'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation.. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'

'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can you explain how?'

'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains.. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor.. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'

'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.'

'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?'

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I Guess you'll have to take them on faith.'

'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in The multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'

To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'

The professor sat down.

Now for number two, God does not care, because I do not see him stopping bad things from happening.

How can you tell what God has stopped from happening? If God had not intervened, what else could have happened? God is active in our lives all the time and just because there are bad things that happened to us, does not mean that God does not care. In fact, he cares so much that he has prevented so much other stuff from happening. Prove to me that God did not prevent worse things from happening to you. Remember, God only gives you what you can handle.

Lastly, number three

I am a good person. That is all that really matters.

Since I am good, God, if there is one, will accept me into heaven.

Far from it. Good people do not make it to heaven, only sinners make it to heaven. We are human, and by that virtue we are sinners. If you cannot truly acknowledge that you are a sinner, you have no chance of making it to heaven. It is only through acknowledging your sin, that you relay upon Jesus to bridge the gap between your sin and God.

(1 John 1:8-10, TNIV)

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us."

Many of us are familiar with John 3:16, but let’s go just a little bit further.

(John 3:18-21, TNIV)

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. All those who do evil hate the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But those who live by the truth come into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."

Okay, so we know we are to spread the Gospel, but we still need the comfort that we will be able to do this. Can we do this on our own? Not a chance. We are going to get tough questions? Darn right! Sometimes questions we believe we cannot handle. However, God is always with us to help us and guide us. Jesus tells us this in

(John 14:15-17, TNIV)

" “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

It is acceptable to tell someone that you don’t have an answer for them, but you will get the answer for them? Yes, this always acceptable. This is an opportunity to speak with them again, hummm, God planned? Maybe…... Use the resources that God has given you. Our Bible, our Christian friends, and your Pastor. Get the answers and report back. You will be guided to who/what you need to get the answer from.

We are sinners, all of us. To make it to heaven, we must acknowledge this sin, freely, and without shame and ask Jesus to be our Advocate to God. This is why only sinners make it to heaven, because we all sin, and fall short of the glory of God and in acknowledging our sin, and acknowledging that we cannot get to heaven on our own sinful merit, Jesus Redeems us in the eyes of God, and we become justified sinners.

Ontario Fishing Lodges Canadian Trips Pipestone Lake Resort Remote Boat Vacation

2010-06-02T09:32:00.000-05:00

Ontario Fishing Lodges Canadian Trips Pipestone Lake Resort Remote Boat Vacation

This is just a great place to fish, and be treated like family.
Looking to go fishing in Canada? Want a fly in but without the hassle,
expense, and shorter dates? Try Pipestone, you will love it.

Invite the Holy Spirit In

2010-04-30T16:18:00.005-05:00

Grace and peace be to you all, and may the Holy Spirit be invited into your lives and work wonders in you and with you.

As I mentioned in my last Sunday message, the Holy Spirit is something that is difficult, at best to see or hear or feel. I will say, for those who have experienced the Spirit’s presence, the experience is not easily forgotten, nor does it make it any better to describe to someone that has not been able to discern that experience yet. To feel a wind, when there is no wind, and unexplainable joy, a hug but no one is hugging you . A new found energy or excitement that you cannot contain. All of these are just human attempts to describe that which is not human and cannot be contained by human boundaries.

The trinity is a concept that is difficult to understand, and for many has to be taken solely upon faith. But let’s keep in mind that when you invite the Holy Spirit in, you are also inviting God and Jesus as well. We invite one, we invite all. However, that is one of the so many great things about our God as a trinity.

God, as the creator, when he came down in the form of Man experienced all that man is and does. This is also experienced by God and the Holy Spirit. It is through the Spirit that all things can be accomplished, should we let the spirit in. Our free will sometimes prevents the Spirit from working best in our lives. It is not that God/Jesus/Spirit cannot, but chooses to allow us the privilege to accept or deny God in our lives.

So often it is what I can, how I can, what I can’t and how I can’t do something. The key, however, is it should never be about us. Time to think of something new. In partnership (WE) with the Spirit. We can accomplish all things. Therefore there never is about I but about WE. Now, do not take this to in any way to mean that God must use us to accomplish anything. Obviously we were not there during creation, and I don’t want God asking me what He did to Job.

Job 38:4-7

⁴“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

⁵Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

⁶On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone—

⁷while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels shouted for joy?

Above is only a small portion of what Job was lectured on. So, again, please do not take it that God needs us but chooses to use us through the Sprit to accomplish things here on his earth. However, if you are not willing to be open to God’s will in your life, how can you allow the Sprit to work in your life, and use you to work on others?

I pray that each of you will invite the Holy Spirit into your daily life and be open to God’s will for your life. In this I pray to the Sprit, for in Him, all is possible.

Amen

The Shack Bible Study

2010-04-08T22:22:00.002-05:00

Please check out the Bible/book study on "The Shack"
All are invited and encouraged to come

Facebook Invite to "The Shack"

Start Time:	Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 7:00pm
End Time:	Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 8:30pm
Location:	Trinity Lutheran Church
Street:	3201 Meadow Drive
City/Town:	Rolling Meadows, IL
	View Map

Description

Bible/Book Study
We will meet each Wednesday night for 1.5 hrs.
This could be 4-6 weeks long.
Hope to see you there.
Pastor Ben Bergren will be leading the study.

Live the Gospel

2010-03-25T08:36:00.003-05:00

"Preach the gospel always, If necessary use words." ~ St. Francis of Assisi

My daughter knows how to live out what St. Francis of Assisi said, so many years ago. I am proud of her as her father and as a fellow Christian. While my daughter was attending Lent services, she was approached by a young girl that she plays bells with at the church. The girl decided to share with by daughter, that she was thinking of killing herself, and had written that on one of the prayer cards last Sunday. This girl is 11 and mine is only 14. It is hard enough to think an 11 year old would have these thoughts, but to put this also on a 14 year old is tough as well.

God is very important to my daughter, and she lives the gospel. Not always, and neither do any of us, but apparently enough for this girl to approach her. The girl confided in my daughter and spoke to her about her feelings. Now, this was done in confidence to my daughter and caused a great deal of stress for her. Does she tell anyone, doesn't she. Will this hurt the girl for telling someone, or not. May daughter listened for what the Holy Spirit was telling her.

Next she went to her mother and a staff person of the church. She was advised that the staff had believed that it was this girl, but that had not confirmed it yet. My daughter was extremely upset by the news, confused as to what to do, by what she believed may be a betrayal of confidence and on and on.

The news was shared with the Pastor. He tanked her and reassured her that she was doing the right thing by coming to some adults who could help. He went on to say that they had believed that this was the girl that had filled out the prayer card, but they also were not sure until now. Pastor then asked if she would be willing to help out a little more. Since the prayer card did not say when or how, he asked my daughter to have another conversation with the girl, since there was a trust that had been established. He went on to say, to let the girl know she was upset and crying about what was told to her.

My daughter agreed to additional conversation, and was able to determine there was no plan as to when or how at this time. However, both exchanged phone numbers and agreed to talk more about this and other issues. While on the way home from church, the girl texted my daughter and said to her, thank you, I will see you Monday at Bells. She also advised that she and her mother talked, and they are going to see a doctor to get her help.

A life saved, for Christ, through Christ, by being the Body of Christ, here on earth,....
"Preach the gospel always, If necessary use words." ~ St. Francis of Assisi

AMEN!

Unused Gifts

2010-03-20T12:23:00.001-05:00

As we went through session two of the Walking on Water video last night. I began to wonder, what people I know who's God given talents are not being used, and how I might be able to help them discover them, and assit them in getting out of the boat, so they can walk on water, using their gifts. First of all, what are my gifts? Well, you need to take a gifts survey. Some are long, some are short. I have found a couple on the web to be taken as well. Keep in mind, these gifts can change, so this is NOT something you take once. God is always, through the Holy Spirit, working on you, through you and with others for you, to improve upon the gifts that you were given.

http://www2.elca.org/evangelizingchurch/assessments/spiritgifts.html

After you take this, then discuss it with someone that knows you.
Discuss it with your Pastor.

Discuss it, act upon it, don't burry the talent!

A new thought for Easter

2010-02-27T11:39:00.000-06:00

Christmas has always been my most favorite time of the year. When I was a child, yes, it was about presents and Santa. My family did not go to church ever, so Christmas to me was the snow, the decorations, presents and Santa. As I gained a greater understanding of our Savior, Christmas had a much different and deeper meaning.

So, what is all this talk about Christmas, when the title is “A new thought about Easter”? Don’t get me wrong about Christmas, it is very important, but Easter to me is far more important. Easter is culmination of a great promise of the Love that God has for us. It is the icing on the cake, the cake that only God can offer his children. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in hi m shall not perish but have eternal life.” God has always been about Love, relationship and fellowship. He makes us righteous through his son, and to fulfill his want for a complete and full relationship with us, he Son rises after death. This is the hope that is given us.
We cannot have Easter without Christmas, but without Easter, we cannot be in heaven and be with our heavenly father. To be in heaven, and have the comfort knowing that no matter what, we too will conquer death and will spend eternity in perfect bodies, with the most perfect of all, God himself. I really just cannot think of a greater gift than the gift of perfection, eternal life and a perfect, lovingly, forever relationship with our God in heaven. When things seem their darkest, can we look to the manger? Sure, does it point the way to our final destination? What about looking at Easter in our times of trouble? Doesn’t it all come down to the end, or is that really the beginning?

It is not required that we are to worship on Sunday, nor are held by the Old Testament to worship our God on the Sabbath day, which for the Jews is Saturday. However, there is some reasoning and biblical truth to gathering for worship, teaching and preaching on Sunday, the first day of the week. Jesus was raised from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday. Matthew 28:1 “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” Matthew 28:5-6a “5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.“

There is evidence that the early Christian Church also worshiped on Sunday. Acts 20:7a “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people”. When Paul wanted to collect monies from the church in Cornith, he did so on Sunday. 1 Corinthians 16:2 “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. “

After Jesus’s resurrection, he makes appearances on Sunday. John 20:26 “A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ ” Revelation 1:12, 17-18a “12On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet…17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! “ “

What a gift indeed God has given us. A new life, perfect in every way, to be spent with Him forever. What a gift in that his resurrection was on a Sunday, and we can celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and God’s gift each and every Sunday.

Earn Our Way to Heaven?

2010-01-03T14:04:00.001-06:00

Many of you know my background when it comes to faith and religion. Growing up non Churched, and then going to a Roman Catholic church, tended to lead me to look at “What do I need to do, to go to Heaven?” How can I do the right things? What are the right things and how much is right? It is the question of the ages, if not all religions? How do I get to heaven or achieve a future beyond this life?

Spiritual questions have different answers than human questions. In life, there are certain things that just must be done. I must earn a living. I must pay taxes. I must obey the laws. You are judged in this life on performance. Sometimes that is formally—if I obey the laws, I am a good citizen. Or sometimes informally, if I am a nice person, my neighbors judge me to be a good guy. Or in certain situations, if I look like I fit in, then I am ok. If I am different than everyone else in the room (for whatever reason) then I am not ok. I have been to churches where I did not fit in because of my looks , size of my wallet and where I lived.

But its not just me. We all have different arenas or situations in this life we must prove ourselves. It’s just a part of life. Let me give you an Example:

On New Year’s Day, 1983, the Louisiana State Tigers played Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Jerry Stovall, Louisiana State coach, had been chosen Southeast Conference Coach of the Year in guiding his Tigers to an 8–3-1 record in 1982. In December, 1983, the LSU Board of Supervisors ignored widespread fan and alumni protest and fired him. Just twelve months earlier they had given him a bonus—now they gave him the sack. So much for collegiate sports being merely for the thrill of competition! It’s win, tie, or be canned. This win complex subordinates the worth of individuals to the team’s record.

Now I am sure at one time or another, we have all had occasion to try to achieve a goal. Some seem very obtainable, however the larger the goal, the more difficult. Cub Scouts looking to get their Arrow of Light. Boy Scouts to become an Eagle Scout. Students to get all A’s on a report card. Students to graduate from college with a Bachelors, Masters or a Doctorate. Becoming a manager at work to opening your own business. I could go on and on of all the things that we have worked at to obtain our goals.

I recently bought a new Translation of a Bible for someone I know. The new version called “The Voice” was released in 2008 and currently only has the New Testament. When they started to read Matthew, there was a very concerned voice I heard. “I can’t do it. There is no reason to try, there is no way I can make it into heaven.” Have you heard anyone say that or something similar to that? So, what did they read to cause them to say this?

Matthew 5:20 (NIV)

Jesus says,

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.^{^[1]}

So, what is Jesus trying to tell us. Well first of all, as Pastor Ben said to me, surpassing the righteousness of a Pharisees was setting the bar low! Of Course, that is from our 20^th century view of what happened 2000 years ago. At the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were looked upon by the common Jews as being righteous. Thus for Jesus to say that you could not enter the kingdom of heaven without surpassing the Pharisees, what a big deal that was in their minds.

Now, if we go back a few verses, Jesus says in:

Matthew 5:17 (NIV)

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.^{^[2]}

The key here is “to fulfill them”.

So, how does Jesus fulfill the law? Jesus becomes the Sin offering for all mankind, for past, current and future. The Sin offering before the Sin was ever committed. Before we even knew we were going to sin, Jesus has been sacrificed for our Sin. Also the fulfillment of the law and prophets is love. God’s love. Love is the centerpiece of fulfillment of God’s plan. The sacrifice was done in love. That is……… the bigger story behind the sacrifice.

In Matthew 19:22 (NIV) Jesus says:

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.^{^[3]}

So, now we have Jesus telling people that if they have money, they can’t get into heaven. So we have been told you have to be more righteousness than the Pharisees and you can’t have too much money. But it’s not about the money. It’s about the love of money that gets people into trouble. Their attention is on the wrong thing and it is a false “security blanket” for this life only. Money doesn’t get you anything more than “Stuff.” That sure does not make it easy for us to earn our way, work our way, or pay our way to get into heaven, now does it?

When the disciples heard what Jesus said about being rich and getting into heaven, they reacted.

Matthew 19:25-26 (NIV)

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶Jesus looked at them and said, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

^{^[4]}

Ahhhh, a little good news, ……well maybe, kinda. For you it is impossible, but it is possible with God.

So, what can you do? Can you do anything?

In John 1: 17 (NIV) it says

¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.^{^[5]}

Grace, so what does Grace have to do with us getting into Heaven? Through Jesus’ fulfillment of the law, in his sacrifice for our Sin, God’s Grace of his own sacrifice, through himself as Jesus, we are made righteous in God’s eyes. Now that we are righteous, we can go to Heaven. How do we know that after we die, we live? Jesus defeated death and he promises us that we will. If we cannot believe God, who can you believe?

We often recite what you can do to get into Heaven. The question is, do you really believe, truly believe what you recite. Not with your brain, but with the heart?

Below are a few of the key statements that deal with what we need to do, to get into Heaven.

I believe in God, the Father, almighty,

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

Was crucified, dead and was buried;

The third day he rose again from the dead.

The forgiveness of sins,

The resurrection of the body,

And the life everlasting.

It’s an all or nothing proposition. You either believe all the promises that God makes, or you don’t . Sometimes that is a hard pill for some to swallow. Just ask Pr. Ben when he teaches confirmation.

Can it really be that easy? Can it now? We have been told, if it is to good to be true, then it must not be true. Nothing is life is free.

Both statements seem to be correct, until you read it the way that Jesus tells his parables. Remember, many of the really important things Jesus said were in parables. First are the last, last are the first. Tear this temple down and I will rebuild it in three days. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Yes, we have to do one thing and one thing only. God gives us his faith, and his Grace so that we can believe. That is it, believe, believe and believe.

There is a great article that illustrates the concept of grace written by Charles Stanley. “One of my more memorable seminary professors had a practical way of illustrating to his students the concept of grace.

At the end of his evangelism course he would distribute the exam with the caution to read it all the way through before beginning to answer it.

This caution was written on the exam as well. As we read the test, it became unquestionably clear to each of us that we had not studied nearly enough.

The further we read, the worse it became. About halfway through, audible groans could be heard through out the lecture hall.

On the last page, however, was a note that read, "You have a choice. You can either complete the exam as given or sign your name at the bottom and in so doing receive an A for this assignment." Wow? We sat there stunned. "Was he serious? Just sign it and get an A?" Slowly, the point dawned on us, and one by one we turned in our tests and silently filed out of the room.

When I talked with the professor about it afterward, he shared some of the reactions he had received through the years. Some students began to take the exam without reading it all the way through, and they would sweat it out for the entire two hours of class time before reaching the last page.

Others read the first two pages, became angry, turned the test in blank, and stormed out of the room without signing it. They never realized what was available, and as a result, they lost out totally.

One fellow, however, read the entire test, including the note at the end, but decided to take the exam anyway. He did not want any gifts; he wanted to earn his grade. And he did. He made a C+, but he could easily have had an A.

This story illustrates many people’s reaction to God’s solution to sin. Some people look at God’s standard--moral and ethical perfection--and throw their hands up in surrender. Why even try? They tell themselves. I could never live up to all that stuff. Others are like the student who read the test through and was aware of the professor’s offer but took the test anyway.

Unwilling to simply receive God’s gift of forgiveness, they set about to rack up enough points with God to earn it. But God’s grace truly is like the professor’s offer. It may seem unbelievable, but if we accept it, then, like the stunned students who accepted the professor’s offer, we, too, will discover that, Yes, God’s grace truly is free. All we have to do is accept it.

Christians can be grateful their Master treats them differently. He doesn’t order us out of the kingdom if we have a bad day. God won’t fire us if we have a record of ten wins over temptations but three defeats. He won’t thumb us to the sidelines and out of the church when we run into a spiritual dry spell. And he will never disgustedly call for our resignation if we just can’t get a handle on a temptation, however zealously we try. With grace at work in our lives, Christ’s unique life compensates for our failures. He pays the difference between the little we can afford to pay and what heaven costs to enter.

Remember this—God’s promise not mine:

John 3:16-18 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.^{^[6]}

Amen

^{^[1]}The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005 (Mt 5:20). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^{^[2]}The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005 (Mt 5:17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^{^[3]}The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005 (Mt 19:24). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^{^[4]}The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005 (Mt 19:25-26). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^{^[5]}The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005 (Jn 1:17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^{^[6]}The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005 (Jn 3:16-18). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Advent Challenge

2009-12-03T19:58:00.001-06:00

Now that we are in the Advent season, I would like to issue myself a challenge. Prayer was never something that came easy for me. Still at times it can be difficult to give prayers of thanks when getting caught up in all the muck of daily life. I know I have a choice of how I want to see my life and even the world. I could choose to look at it as half empty or half full. This also goes with prayer as well.

Prayer can and does work. God will change your life through prayer. He wants to have that relationship with us. As God has grown me in my faith, he has made it easier for me to pray directly to him or the Holy Spirit. However, at one point in time it was very difficult to pray to something/someone that I could not relate to. God had always seems more of an enigma than anything else. God came down in human form as Jesus, so now we have a physical person that we can relate to, when we pray. God always has a plan that includes us, so let’s include him in our lives.

So, here is the challenge I take, and I pray that that you will join me as well. I will daily pray, and pray multiple times a day to our God, through Jesus our Lord. When I pray, I will try to always give a two to one on thanks to each want/problem. This way I will keep my prayer life half full or better, rather than half empty. To help remember this, I am going to put a small smiley face on my phone. This will help me to remember to pray, and to keep the prayers uplifting. Why my phone you ask? Maybe you did or did not, but I will tell you anyway. I don’t carry a watch, but I do carry a phone. This is my watch, so when I check time, I will see the smiley face. When I get a phone call, I will see the smiley face. When I get email, I will see a smiley face. I think you see where I am going with this.

I challenge myself and you to take this Advent challenge of a more prayerful life. While doing this, keeping my prayers uplifting and not half empty. I have already begun to pray and pray that you take on this challenge. Won’t you join me?
Lord Jesus, there are many things that I can pray for help and guidance on, and you know what these are. Today, I thank you for the leaders in your Church. I thank you for the leaders at Trinity. Jesus, I thank you for what you have done on the cross, but most of all, what you still do today because of the cross. You are ever present in my life and I could not lead it, if it were not for you.

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." – Philippians 4:13

Amen

Community

2009-10-04T21:24:00.002-05:00

As Pastor and I batted around ideas for a sermon today, community is the one that he decided that I should speak on.

Community, what is it? Well, let’s get back to that in just a moment, but keep that question in your head.

What’s the Largest Organism in the world? How about the Blue Whale weighing in at 109 tons and over 100 feet long? Or maybe a giant redwood at over 200 feet high with a trunk 100 feet around?

No, actually it is the Quaking Aspen. It rarely gets over 100 feet high and you’ll seldom find a trunk more than a foot wide.

But…… the Aspen’s have a secret.
When you look at an Aspen, you do not get the entire story, until you dig deeper.

The Aspen’s preferred method of growth is by new shoots off the old roots. In this way an individual plant may cover hundreds of acres all growing from a single interconnected root system.

While the individual stems rarely live over a hundred years, a stand like this one may be 8000 years old.

The interconnectedness of the Aspen gives life and strength. When a fire comes through the forest every tree may be burnt down.
However… the Aspen root survives and quickly reestablishes itself, usually taking over territory formerly inhabited by Pines, Maples and Oaks.

Does and Aspen live in community?

Back to, what is community?

Merriam-Webster defines community as:

A unified body of individuals, joint ownership or participation, common character.

Community is can also be defined as Sharing, participation, and fellowship.

Let’s think of the Church. What should the Church look like?

We in the church are meant to be like the mighty Aspen, not like the oak fighting for survival on our own, but growing from a common root of fellowship in Jesus Christ.

It is not to often in the Bible, that we see that we are told to do things on our own. Prayer is one of the few things, but there is also the command to pray together. As a matter of fact, most things we do as Christians should be done together.

God created family so we could have relationships that become intimate so we could enjoy one another’s company and companionship. God wants companionship, relationship and fellowship with us. If God wants this and we are made in his image, then we should seek out the same. Have you ever noticed in the wild how there are swarms of bees, flocks of birds and herds of buffalos? Coincidence? I think not.

In a lot of major cities there is something called HOV or Car Pool lanes on the highway. High Occupancy Vehicles lanes get you there faster because you’re not slowed down by individual vehicles driven by individual people.

These lanes are meant for vehicles with multiple people, and not as some have done, manikins, or animals dressed as people.

On the Highway of life, God wants you to travel in a High Occupancy Vehicle. When traveling in the HOV lane you pass up most of the jams you would have gotten into alone. That is the gift of community. You need to fully participate, to enjoy the benefits of the gift.

Listening to Christian Podcasts is not really community.
Listening to Christian Television program is not really community. Not in the sense that we are called to do. Community is not simply belonging, but participating fully, not to be faked or dressed up like a manikin or an animal in the car of a HOV lane.

If you stand by yourself, you are week. If we stand with others, we are much stronger. There really is strength in numbers.

In Ecclesiastes 4:10 it says:

If one falls down, his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

There is no strength and support in being alone. But in community we find both strength and support.

As some of you know, I grew up in a non church going home. As a new Christian my original ties to the churches I went to were a personal relationship with the Pastor. This was NOT community.

However, the pastor at a church in Carol Stream recognized the need for community. He suggested I play softball on the church team. From there I started to go to Bible studies because some of the guys I started to meet were also going to studies. Softball was a fellowship community that sparked me to get into a small group that was doing bible study. From there, I was involved in many other groups over the years.

Well, my wife and I decided to move to Elburn. I had asked a couple of the people at the church to assist us with the move. So on moving day as the couple of friends arrived to help me, I noticed many more than I had asked for help from. All in all that day, about 20 people showed up. What I expected to take all day and night, turned into 3 hours. I was amazed at the fellowship that was taking place and the community that I had been apart of and had not even realize it. God was working and gave my wife and I strength in numbers.

Claria Knall a young mother from Oklahoma wrote, it was one of the worst days of my life. The washing machine broke down, the telephone wouldn’t stop ringing my head ached and the mailman brought a bill I had no money to pay. Almost at the breaking point I lifted my one year old into the high chair, leaned my head against the tray and began to cry. Without a word my son took his pacifier out of his mouth and stuck it into mine.

From the time were born we know people who need love and need to be cared for. The church ought to be a place where the deepest love and the deepest caring for each other is real.

Fellowship and community is also the place of accountability, which means growth towards the right things!

By having community with fellow Christians, we have models of Christian behavior and ethics. These models are very important to keeping us on the right track. The world can be a very tempting place. We never get so spiritually mature however, that we don’t need the gentle rebuke or reminder from a Christian friend.

In Acts 15, one of the most pivotal moments in Christian history took place. The question arose, “What do you have to do to be a Christian?” People strongly disagreed!
Let me give you a flavor of this by reading the first 2 verses of that chapter.

Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²This brought Paul and Barnabas into a sharp dispute and debate with the others. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

Paul being the sharpest theological thinker of his time and possibly ever, had his own ideas of how to resolve this issue. And instead of making a decision that impacted everyone that followed him, he instead went to take up the question with the other leaders of the Christian church. He went to Jerusalem to consult others about this important issue.

Why? Because he was accountable and a part of a larger fellowship. He knew he was not living in a vacuum where he could unilaterally make decisions for everyone.

Even the brightest minds in Christianity are accountable to the others.

We too have a place (the church) in which we are accountable to each other—not in a rigid sort of way, but a place to bounce ideas and thoughts off of one another to get other perspectives.

We as Lutherans’, come from a disagreement in the first place. Prodistents are nothing more than protesters. Even Martin Luther wanted to debate the issues, not break the Church. In the ELCA we have always been good about the idea that there is room for ideas, even if we disagree, we can agree upon our disagreement, so as NOT to break up the community known as Church. We are stronger together, even disagreeing on some things, rather than being apart due to the disagreement.

A preacher in Tennessee said his father was not a Christian and never went to church. He said everyone else in the family would get ready and go to church and his dad would stay home.

A preacher would come by and visit and his dad would always give him the same pat answer; I know why you’re here and I know what you want, you want another name and another pledge, you don’t care about me. He said if I heard my dad say it once I heard him say it 20 times.

He said towards the end of his life his dad got throat cancer. He had surgery and couldn’t talk. He said as his dad was wasting away in the hospital room it was filled with flowers and cards almost all of them from someone in the church.

Food came to his house from his mom’s Sunday school class at the church. He said people came and prayed with my dad from the church.

He said one day even though my dad couldn’t talk he took a scrap of paper and scribbled words from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. “In this harsh world draw your breath in pain to tell my story.”

He said, dad what is your story? His dad with a trembling hand wrote on the scrap of paper, “I was wrong, I was wrong about the church.” He said he got to talk with his dad about salvation in Christ before he died, simply because of the love and the fellowship of a church.

Our good deeds speak loudly! And that only happens when we are on the same page as a church!

Not only does that work outside the church to help others but also here on Sunday morning.

Sam Walton founder of Wal-Mart early on in his business, had a pledge he made all his employees say.

From this day forward if a costumer comes within 10 feet of me regardless of what I’m doing in this place I’m going to look them in the eye, I’m going to smile, I’m going to greet them with a good morning, or good afternoon or what can I do for you, so help me Sam.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone in this church would make a “good Sam” pledge? From this day forward every person who comes within 10 feet of me regardless of what I’m doing in this church, I’m going to look them in the eye, I’m going to smile, I’m going to greet them with a good morning, or good afternoon, or what can I do for you, so help me God.

In Ephesians 6:7 it says-- Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord!

How do you serve when you are all alone? You only serve yourself. It is within the fellowship of believers in which you can then serve and help others.

All to often we find excuses as to why we cannot participate in Fellowship and Community within the church. That is not to say you must be at all events, participate in all Bible studies, and never miss a function. By no means is this the case. But ask yourself.

Are there things that I am avoiding?

Groups I am not part of but maybe should be?

Are there opportunities for me to grow in Christian Fellowship and community?

It takes a community to raise a child. Imagine what a community of Christians with Christ can do.

Thank God for the community of believers that he has built.

Amen

Dust

2009-09-04T13:39:00.004-05:00

Take a look at this cool video by Pastor Rob Bell.

Dust, Part 1

Dust, Part 2

Prayer Journey

2009-08-03T23:45:00.002-05:00

Below you will find a short sermon I used while with the Boy Scouts in Boundary Waters. I hope you will enjoy.

As we gather today at the Boundary Waters, I get an awesome sense of God’s majesty. So much of our days are spent in hustle and bustle. But here, at the Boundary Waters, we get to see what God has designed for us. In Genesis Chapter 1, it says that God created the heavens and the earth. He has created all we see today. I cannot think of a better time or place to have a worship service. To be one with God and his splendor.

After God created all we see, the water, the plants and animals, he then created man and woman in “their” image. See Genesis 1:26-27. He gave us dominion over all earthly things. With that however, comes great responsibility. As we can see here today, and the days to come on this trip, much of what we will experience will be much the same as how God created, and what he intended the land to look like. The Boundary Waters, have been kept up, and essentially not changed. We as Boy Scouts know that we should put things back in better shape than how we found it. This is nothing to be taken lightly. No, this is a duty and honor and our responsibility as charged by God himself. As we travel, travel in prayer to God and see what he has in mind for you. God will surround us the entire time.

God knew long ago that he had many plans for his people, you and I. As a Christian, we believe in the Holy Trinity. God the father, through his Son and the Holy Spirit with in us and through us all the times. While in the Boundary Waters, God’s Land, as he created it, be aware of the Spirit. He will come and visit. Be mindful of God and look for his prescience.

As a Christian, we were given a model of how we should act. If we follow and do as Jesus did, we can please God at all times. Jesus, God mad flesh is our guide, even today. God loved and loves us so much that he reduced himself to human form. He lived among us for 33 years. He experienced what we have and what we will.
There is only a limited number of molecules in the world. So, what does that mean to us? It means that today, we could be breathing the same molecules that Jesus did. It means that the water we cross, bath in and swim in, could contain the molecules that once touched Jesus. Jesus is present in all living things. Through prayer this week, keep a watchful eye for Jesus. You never know when you might see him.
Jesus’ love was so great that he willingly put himself in situations that were going to cause him great pain, and eventually be nailed to a dead piece of his father’s own creation, a tree Jesus was nailed to and left to die. Jesus allowed this, not for his sake but for ours, so what when he rose, we would know that we to had an eternal life. Jesus had the power to stop his own death, but had the compassion and love to allow his death. “and Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit”, Matthew 27:50.
In Matthew 14:25 Jesus walks on the lake. Take an opportunity to be open this week, and see Jesus walking on the waters this week. See the awesome things that God has made for us. Pray, and keep right on praying. As we paddle, as we look upon what God has created, look and feel for the Holy Spirit. God, Jesus and the Spirit are waiting on us. They are reaching and looking for us. Make ourselves available for all that they have in store for us.

Amen

God's Game or Ours

2009-08-03T23:13:00.001-05:00

Games are something that we play to have fun, or to have a challenge. Some games are very simple, while others can be complex. Normally what makes a game complex, is the application of rules. There is a game however greater than Clue, or Operation or any of the games that man has created. God's game of Life was designed by him for us. God has given us the rules, and they are simple. As Jesus said in Matthew 22:36-40, Love God with all of your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. God's game has been on for a very long time.

We love to change the rules, and sometimes the game as well. In Genesis 2:16-17, God told man, eat of any tree, but not from the tree of knowledge. Woman, however, committed the first sin. She did this, by not following the rules set forth by God.

However, when man ate from the tree of knowledge, not only did he break the rules, but he changed the game on God. Another game was started, and the old one was tossed to the side. Adam and Eve now were playing Hide and Go seek, Genesis 3:8-9. Not a good choice however when playing with God as the seeker. God knows and sees all. So, now you know the first recorded game ever to be played.

What game are you playing? The one that God started, or maybe Adam's, or could it be another.

1) Do you play hide and seek with God?
2) Do you wear a mask and make others guess who you really are?
3) Do you take your mask off in front of God, so you can play his game?

Let's all try to remove our masks. Come out, Come Out from wherever you are. Our God wants to see us, our true selves and loves us just as we are.

Amen!

As we move from Spring time to Summer

2009-06-15T12:46:00.002-05:00

As we move from Spring time to Summer, I recalled these verses:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-7 –A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

As I look around I see so many things changing. The more changes I see, the more I want to see. Change so often is looked upon as something awful or even evil. However, there is a time for everything. What changes have you seen in yourself this past year? What changes have come about as you turn things over to God? In God’s Kingdom, there is a time to be born and born again. In what way? Our old self is always thinking about, “what’s in it for me?” to the new creation that Jesus calls us to think about others first. What does it mean to turn from being inward to outward? We are seeing some great examples here at Trinity and I look forward to more. The Church is not to here to serve us, but to reach out and to serve those outside of the four walls of the church. Some may not have caught the subtleness of Church vs. church. We are the Church, the body of Christ, to serve those outside of the Church, which tend to be outside of the building we call the church. How do we do this? We look for the times to change our community and go out and serve. This could be scattering the stones, inviting others to come to worship. So we can then gather the stones when they come to visit.
Some things to think about until next month:
How can God use me for change in this church and in the world?
1)
2)
3)

Just how much do we give?

2009-02-12T18:22:00.004-06:00

I have been taking a financial course recently, that uses the Bible to directly teach us how to manage our monies. Now we are taught we should tithe, but is that really what we should be doing? Now now, I am not saying we should not give 10% back to God. Actually, and I am saying something a little more radical.

To often I have thought in terms of how much to give. Lets assume, rightfully so, that all we have is not ours, but God's. He has loaned us all we have and has entrusted us to use what we have been given, for others good. If you have a car, you should allow others who need it, to borrow it. You have shelter, share. You have food, prepare meals for others. You have money, give.

Again, how much? 2%, 5%.....I got it 10%! Nope, not at all. Since none of the things we have, are really ours, but on loan, lets look at it in reverse of what we are use to. Let's ask God, how much should we keep, not give back. Hummm, now there is a thought. Not what we share back with God, but what we keep and all else we give back.

Recently I have come in contact with some very very generous people. They have given and given as the Spirit has called them to do. This is such a great thing. I have asked for help for others, and without question, they step right up to give back what God has given them. Such blessings were given by God, that they have been shared back with others in need. Wow, love to see the Spirit working like that!

Now, recently a family that others have stepped up to help, haven't been all that others thought they were. I have seen some dejected hearts. Some hurt feelings. Signs of mistrust and misgivings.....over their givings. I know these people, they are all good people with good hearts...................... So is the family that received their blessings. There is much good in all people. Some people struggle to feel the love of Christ. When this happens, they become dejected and start to look down and away from others and God. Just like the Samaritan Woman at the well.

When Jesus approached the well, he did not look at the woman as a sinner. He recognized her sins, and used her sins to give her hope, love and grace. When her deepest sins were exposed, there was no place but up. She was free to accept God's love and grace, through Jesus Christ. Sometimes that is what it takes......You must be so down, to be able to finally look up and ask for the help.

Back to the family and those who have helped but now feel betrayed. Yes, some of the monies did not get used as we felt they should have. No, the whole truth may not have been told. Lies were not told and nothing was taken without the intention of repayment. Was what was taken used for good? Not all of it, but some of it was and that is what really counts. As we share what God has loaned us, it really is not for us to say what God's plans are for the things he has given us to give away. This is God's plans, not ours. Once we question, is this person worthy, are they qualified, do they have God in their hearts, we stop using God's gifts for his children that he loves "NO MATTER WHAT".

I fear that some have been so hurt by what they perceived as misuse of "their gifts", that they will no longer share as they have. When really all that God wants us to do is be good and faithful stewards of his gifts he gave to us to give to others. We spread the gifts, just like the sower of seeds. Some will fall on fertile soil, some on rocks, others in the thorns. God will see to the fertilization and upkeep. Spread the word, give the gifts, do not hold back.

Amen!

Where to go

2008-12-23T23:14:00.002-06:00

So much has been happening, thus the reason I use tonight, for my lack of postings. :)

Well, it is true, much has been happening, and it is hard to keep my focus on what really matters. With the economy appearing to be such a mess, business failing and homes being foreclosed on, what do we do and where do we go?

My wife and I have talked about what if.........

If we were to loose our house, what if
Where do we go?
What do we do next?

I have been praying for some time and looking for an answer to what God has in mind for me, with regards to the Church. If the business I am fails, and I loose my house, that will send a real clear message. But, you know it is never that clear, now is it?

Looks like I will get some attempts at preaching again, soon. My pastor has said he wants me to be able to preach, and we are looking at setting up some dates. Is this what God is calling me to do as a Lay person, or is this preparation for Seminary?

Discernment has never been one of my high gifts, but when I took a gifts survey recently, I noticed that it has been gaining ground on the other gifts, while not detracting from the others. I guess when I know if I am to go to Seminary or not, will be about the time I score really high on discernment.

My son has had his ups and downs since being in the hospital. I try to remember that it is his conditions, not really how he feels that determines where he goes and how he treats me. With all the things that Travis has gone through, could be preparation for the future.

Right now, I am going to head to bed, it has been a late day for me. I like to be in bed by 8:30 am, so I can get up, but I must go now, and do a little sleeping in....at least this is what I see with my discernment skills at this time.

Becoming Overwelmed

2008-10-23T10:37:00.002-05:00

There are times when pressures just seem to take control of us. However, I know if I turn it over to God, he will handle it for me, in just a way that is perfect for me. Now do I turn it over? That is up to me and I do try, when I remember to. Recently our family had a crisis that was very difficult to work through. For the first hour, it was all us, and how do we deal with this. After that my wife and I did turn things over to God. From there, we were guided to call a former Pastor of ours, and I contacted a diakonia graduate friend and through God's hands, with the God's driven guidance of others, we got the help that was needed. This is not a quick fix what we are going through, however, we both realize that we all will get through it. I am sure there is a message that we need to get from the crisis, but I also just wish God sometimes would make it a tad more clearer. Nothing happens with out reason. I know I can look to the Bible and it tells me so:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-7

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

At times I really want to make sure I have all my plans in order, but then God tells me:

Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

So, even when I plan, he is going to determine what steps are needed for me to get there.

So, what I find works better is:
Be still
Wait
Listen

God will speak:

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, They are plans for the good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Take His plans and His steps and move in the direction that the Lord is leading, and all will be fine.
The key is to be still and listen. God does not always move as swiftly as we would like, but he moves as swiftly as is needed for His plans for us.

Keeping Focus

2008-08-18T14:28:00.004-05:00

Well, this post is closer to keeping it what I want. At least it is much sooner than the previous. :)
I watched as someone very close to me, kept getting negative as he faced some tough times in the hospital. He needed to be shook around a couple of times to keep his focus on the positive. He did not loose faith, but lost sight of reality. I do feel for him however. He let his church know he was in the hospital. In fact he was there for a week. However, not a single person from his church, not even the Priest showed up. However, many people from other locations, and churches did show up. He had two Pastors and two Deacons stop in to see him.

The focus here is NOT that people from his church did not show up, but that people who know this person (The most caring and loving great person you will ever know) showed up because the Holy Spirit moves in him and others can see this, and wanted to be at the hospital with him.

Recently I went to Canada on a fishing vacation. I would have to say, it was not the best vacation I had. Well, that is what I have been telling myself. However, it really was a pretty good vacation. I lost focus on the good, and only harp on the negative. Well, enough of that. We got there and back, with no harm to anyone. I caught some fish. I spent a lot of time with my nephew, which never happens. I saw some really cool things about my daughter. Time was spent with my wife and my son. Old friends were seen, new ones were made. There really was a lot of good things that happened.

When I got back to Church on Sunday, I got a couple of shockers. One of our praise band leaders' mother is on life support. He is really having a difficult time. Our greeter was not there this Sunday. He is always in the Church before me. He opens it up, opens the door for me, turns the lights on, lights the candles, etc etc etc. This is all before service. Turns out he is not feeling good and ended up in the hospital. Now, I could focus on the negative, but I choose not to. Jim is a strong person. He is old, but he is strong and taking it all well. The pastor has asked me to check in on him over the next couple of days and I am looking forward to it.

Until next time!

Inclusion

2008-07-13T23:37:00.004-05:00

Okay, can you believe it. Two posts in one month. Really really hard to believe. I had something happen today and really felt compelled to share. I am out at Leadership lab this week. For you that do not know what this is, it is a Christian based lab to help teens learn how to be leaders. http://www.leadershiplab.net

My son just got back from his mission trip, which I am happy to report was a huge success, from what I was told. I was going to leave lab at 4:30 AM to run back home, pick him and a friend up and bring them back to lab. I was not looking forward to this at all. I did not want to get up early, let along drive 3 hrs one way and turn right around and drive back. As I was signing up as a leader, I noticed someone with a Subway sandwich. Being hungry, and not wanting a burger, yet again, I asked her how to get to the Subway. She was very nice and told me. We started to talk, and my pending trip came up. Turns out, here I am in Rock Island, and I was now talking with someone that lives very very close to me. She also said her Church were going to be bringing kids tomorrow and she was sure they had room and could take my son and his friend with. WOW!!!!!! She called and confirmed and now I did not need to leave to pick him up.

God put that Subway in front of me to speak with her. It was his way of getting in included on some of the important morning activities that I was going to miss. The Pastor who invited me out to be a leader here, has really been trying to let everyone know that they need to make sure they step up and include the new people (me being one of them) in on all the activities. We were all at a reception party, and I was feeling a little left out. Then I noticed a young lady, standing all by her self. So I introduced myself and as I thought she had never been to lab before either. Not only was this her first time, but she was here as part of a Church exchange program, and she was her from Slovakia. We talked for some time. Now we both felt included. God always works, just not always in ways that we see sometimes, the first time.

God is so Awesome!!

God's Love is shown

2008-07-03T16:36:00.001-05:00

Well, I made it in less than 90 days this time. Busy, busy, busy. Sometimes I feel like I am so busy, I lose focus. However, lets change the focus today from what I have to do, to what has God done and does. Lots has been going on in our life and lots to keep us focused on God. Health care costs really have hit our family recently, and we had to make some touch decisions on how to take care of the family. But the entire time, we prayed for the answers, and God answered, as he always does, and has taken care of the family.

Just recently I had to call 911 for my wife. It was a scary time. I stayed calm, when speaking with my wife, who had something lodged in her throat, but just far enough that the Heimlich would not be of any help. When speaking with my wife, I was saying prayers at the same time. This is the second time something like this has happened to her, in 6 months. While in route to the hospital, I was following the ambulance. We were just going normal speed, since she could breath. Then, out of the blue the ambulance put in lights and siren and gained speed.

I was concerned, but knew that God had put the right people with her, and it was now in their hands with his guidance. All I could do was drive normal speed and see her when I got there.
As it turns out, she was unable to breath, as the food had started to come up and block her breathing now. She is ok and is seeking medical help for what has been causing the issues.

The kids were scared, but my son did a great job of staying calm, and keeping his sister calm.
Travis is a great one to have in an emergency. I remember in Cub Scouts, we had a tornado warning and everyone had to head to the basement of the school, during a pack night. One mom had 3 little kids. Travis went up to her to make sure he could help her take care of all of the kids. In emergencies, he thinks of others first!

God's Love can do all

2008-03-30T08:46:00.004-05:00

This may sound strange, I say it and have been saying it, but I REALLY believe it now. God's Power and Love can do all. His will, will be done. We only need to allow him to work through us, however even when we fight him, he still will use us and get us to our destination. We need to choose however to fight or help. Do we want to take the left fork in the road through the desert or do we want to take the right fork through paradise?

It has been a while since I posted, but much has happened. There have been issues with the family that really were a struggle. However I do know that it would have been worse, had I not allowed Jesus to take me by the hand and lead me through it all. Without getting into the nitty gritty, children have a way of testing and bringing on great amounts of stress. Some children more than others, and some in a single family more than others. It would even seen they thrive on this and purposely look for reasons and ways to put and allow ourselves to feel more stress, when we take it personally.

Learning and re-learning how to act and react to the opportunities put forth by God, can make all the difference. Sometimes I just do not realize that those things I consider stresses put forth through my family, are also there for a learning experience. That is, if we choose to learn! I have some great friends and family who have stuck by me as I have learned to learn. Recently I was called by a friend from Hosanna church. She had gone through many issues with her child as well. She learned that the experience was something God had put in front of her to be able to share all that she learned from dealing with her child, to others (me and more I am sure). I am extremely grateful for the time she took out of her busy schedule to speak with me. Sometimes it is just great to hear, "It's not you. Others have and will go through this as well."

This week I got to see a new movie. Well, new to me but one that has been out for a couple of years. I am a little slow on getting to movies, unless of course it is a sci-fi movie, then I will run on out to it as soon as I can. Anyway, the movie, was on the gauge of a Frank Capra movie. For those of you who don't known who Frank Capra was, his movies always seem to have a lesson, were predictable and were corny. Just my kind of movie. Later his movies were know as Capracorn. Probably the best know Capracorn was "It's a Wonderful Life". So, what movie did I see this week, well one that has just really shed some light on what God can do. Was it a true movie, no it was not, but it surely illustrated God's awesome love and power. My family watch "Facing the Giants". It was predictable but gave some great life lessons. Unless we fully trust God, how can he work in and through us? He gave us free will and respects that. So it is up to us to prepare the filed, so he can sow the crop. If we do not prepare ourselves, both in mind and body, then God's crop, will not be sown in fertile soil. Not that God will not keep working on us until we get it, but would it not be better to prepare for him, than fight him? Why not make it easy for God to work in us, so we can reap the benefits of God's Love, being with him in paradise today, then wait until tomorrow?

I love my God and want others to know his love as well. Love your God with all your heart and Love your neighbor as yourself. Seems like that is just way to easy doesn't it? Just do that and all else falls in place. We/I sometimes forget that God's Grace and Love, really is that easy. Jesus says so, and we need to follow Jesus' lead.

God Bless, and may God's Grace and Love shine on you.

Not only today but tomorrow and the day after and after and after.

Amen!!!!

A Quick Thank you

2008-01-25T17:47:00.000-06:00

Well, I just found out a dear friend has been reading this. I want to give a shout out to her. I spent two years in a Diakonia class with here, and had no idea that she even knew about my blog. However, she has responded to my last post on Adult Bible study. My son is welcome to attend this adult Bible study. I know we cannot make this week, as I am in California this week. However, I plan on trying to bring my son the following study. I hope he will come and participate and see a side of me he has not. Bible study really is something I enjoy and want him to as well, as he is in that questioning stage of life. Or should I say, that know it all stage of life as a teen! I love him very much. Sometimes I don't think he knows, but I do love him more than he will know.

Talk about a Double Standard

2008-01-18T15:25:00.000-06:00

I have a saying that I use in jest, but sometimes it just fits. Church would be a great place if it weren't for all those dang people!

My wife and I recently attended a bible study. It really was a great time. My son went to the High School youth meeting at the Church. His meeting is over at 8 pm. However the bible study runs to about 8:30-9 pm. So, I left and picked him up and brought him back to the bible study. Now I knew this was classified as an Adult study, but my son is 15 years old and is confirmed in the Church. He was allowed to attend and participate. On our way home he told us he really enjoyed this study and wanted to continue. This is a big step for our son. He always relates better to people that are older than he.

Since this was labeled as adult, we went to confirm that our son could continue. I was told however that the other adults were a little uncomfortable about talking in front of a 15 year old. Also the pastor did not think it was a good idea. Now, it is not like this is a support group, but a bible study for adults. I knew what my son would say when I told him. He did come back to me as I suspected. "Wait a minute, I am an adult in the Church. I have been confirmed and am considered an adult voting member."

So, now we put these young adults in a really bad position. You are an adult in the church, sometimes. You are a youth, when it makes other adults feel uncomfortable. Wait a second, you
are what you are, not what others want you to be when they do not feel right.

I will be speaking to the pastor about this situation, but I have decided to do my own study, that is for parents and their 9th grade youths or older. This is an Adult Adult bible study that will be very clear as to who it is aimed at.

New Beginings

2008-01-02T13:39:00.000-06:00

Well, we are in a new year now. It is a time to start a new. A new is good many times. For me it is a good time as well. I stepped back into a Church that I had not been in for over a month. It started off well, but right away, some back stabbing started to happen. It really pains me to see this. This is a place that I called my home Church for over 10 years. I knew it was only a matter of time, over the last year, that I would call a new Church home. I had prayed that the Church would heal and the people in it would as well. So far this is not the case, and they are not even close. All problems are blamed on the former pastor that left after only 18 months. This is not fair at all, but it is what it is. They have contracted with a Pastor to put them through healthy congregations. This really should help, should people start to step up and take responsibility for their actions, and help out in all aspects of the Church, especially giving.

I was finally coming to terms and peace, with all the turmoil that happened there, and then I went in to take care of a few loose ends. Well, I got dragged down with the crap again. I think it is now best I just avoid the place as much as possible. I promised to keep their computers and phones up and running until someone else can do this. So I will need to do this in the evenings, when I do not need to see anyone there.

The former pastor is healing as well. He is a great person and pastor. Yes, he made some mistakes. We all made them. However he was never allowed to recover from any of his mistakes and they were compounded by the members and did not let him forget or make up for them. I just listened to his podcast today. It is somber, but moving forward. http://www.wiredjesus.com

My family had a real good Christmas and a very nice quiet new years. We spend Christmas eve at Trinity Lutheran for both services and went to dinner with the pastor and family between services. For you that do not know, I am Deacon at this Church. (Side note, I have reapplied for synod Deacon position again.) I had to drop my application due to a commitment to my former home Church.

New years was a great time. My brother in law came over and a neighbor. We ate, drank and plaid Wii. It was adult video night. My daughter had a couple of friends stay overnight and my son finally had some friends come and eat, talk and play video games for several hours.

A good time had by all.

Thank God for all the blessings he has put upon my family and friends!

Rough Times at such a Wonderful Time

2007-12-18T19:29:00.000-06:00

This last week, I received news that a friend that attended Diakonia with me, was diagnosed with cancer. That really was a blow. She has a wonderful disposition, and continues it even now. She came through surgery well, and so far has a clean bill of health. I don't always understand "WHY", bad things happen. I do know that good without bad, is not good either. Bad helps define good. A top without a bottom is no top at all.

Does God have to allow pain and suffering? No, I don't think God must allow, but if all was just wonderful, how would we appreciate anything, including God himself. There is just no good way of explaining this very clearly. It can be difficult to a believer, but near impossible to a non believer or a seeker.

God has a plan. We may not know what it is, or at least fully. Discernment of God's plan is very difficult. However, I have a Pastor who likes to refer to Deut 29:29 to explain what we do not know. I think this covers it, and covers it well.

²⁹The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

If we have this to fall back on, and remember that really, it is all about the Love of God for his children and our love for him and his children, then "It's a Wonderful Life".

Uncomfortable - Love your neighbor

2007-12-05T14:59:00.000-06:00

Well, you know it is time to leave a church, when you get your stomach all in knots, just thinking about going there. Then when you are there, your whole attitude changes. Then when you run into people that have hurt you, you want to forgive, but have problems fully doing so. Humans have a difficult time of fully forgiving, however, God does fully forgive, through Jesus.

I use to think that God sending Jesus down to earth, was a plan B. However, I was wrong on this. Jesus is the Word. The Word is mentioned right from the start in Genesis. God had this plan from the start. From the beginning. There is much we do not understand, but hopefully sometime we will.

Now to jump around. Here I dread going to one Church, but so much look forward to another. I really look forward to Trinity and Hosanna. My family and I are searching for a new home Church. Now, for me, I will put my membership in at Trinity, so I can re-apply for Deacon through our synod. However, the rest of the family is still searching. My wife has been doing the initial visits and reporting back. Some have been good, other not so. She recently went to a Church of about 500, that was really crammed for space. Members did not greet her when she came in. The Church had only one Cross that she could see. I have had a past Pastor who use to say "If a Church has no cross, you have to wonder what they worship?"

Had advent supper and service today. It was a really nice time to be greeted by so many people and so openly. Pastor spoke of loving our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? Just the person next door? Just the person next door you want to talk to? When you love your neighbor, it is everyone. In passing, when you ask someone next time, how are you? When they respond "Good", "Great", "OK" or something else, how about you show a real love for them and ask them. So, what is going on today to make you feel "their response". This will start a conversation that will let them know you really do care, and not just ships passing in the night.

Tis the season to care and love one another as we would love Jesus.

Peace and blessings.

What a nice change

2007-11-27T16:26:00.000-06:00

Went to a new church for a Sunday service recently. The church was Hosanna, in St. Charles IL. What a pleasant change from what I am use to at my home church. No pressures, people all over greeting you. The pastor gave us a tour of the building and then asked a couple to continue on with us as he went to do service. What a very nice couple too. They spent about 20 mins with us and invited us to come back to the Wednesday Advent service and dinner. My wife sent an email to thank them and got a prompt response. Wow, I have not seen this in some time. I am use to this type of reactions at the church where I am Deacon at, but not my home church in some time.

I have decided that it is time to leave where I am at. I have some very mixed feelings, but I need to . They are a great church and have so much to offer. I am sure they will keep on, and will continue to grow. However, I have to drive 35 mins to get there. That is just to far for us as a family to remain connected. It is a time for a change, and the first of the year is coming and the timing could not be better.

We as a family will be visiting other churches as well over the next couple of months to decide where we want to put in our membership.

Well, that is all for now, but more to come.
I didn't have any major insights, not that I ever do, but maybe one day.

It is hard to keep on going

2007-11-12T08:26:00.000-06:00

This has been a very stressful last seven days. I sit on a Church council that is really having not only a troubled time with finances, but just with relationships. Any little thing sets people off. We have only one secretary, who has been working 40-45 hrs a week, but getting paid for 30! Money, money, money. How do we get it, how do we use it?

Well, we had decided not to authorize to move the secretary from a 30 hour payment to 40 hrs, with benefits. When I went home, I really struggled on this decision. I feel that we acted out of anxiety and not with the Holy Spirit. I felt called by the Holy Spirit to have the council re-visit the decision that had been made. Upon sending an email asking for this, boy, lots of anxiety was stirred. At the next meeting the President resigned, one of the other members blamed the Presidents resignation on me, told me I made a stupid and intentional move. How dare I do something like this. I just found out yesterday that the treasure has also resigned. We are missing several council members, anxiety is running around and the devil is taking advantage of it. It took me a little while to get over being beat up. I know that God called me to get corrected, what had been done. I knew all the heat I was going to take when I started to stand up for what was correct. It is still difficult, but Jesus has stood by my side, taking some of the heat off of me.

This started three months ago, and continues today. As a Pastor friend of mine has a saying that he had posted on the wall. "Faith does not always mean you win." How true is that! However, faith is something you have to live by. Winning and loosing is something earthly. It all goes away eventually to be replaced by everlasting life, love and happinesses.

There are always good things happening, even in the midst of bad. Some due to the result of the bad, but others, just happen anyway. My wife and I were recently approached by a couple of seekers. We were a little surprised, but were equipped by the Spirit to taken on the challenge. This is still a work in progress, but had my wife not had just gone to a Diakonia class, she may not have been prepared. Not only did this prepare her to talk to the seeker, but the talk, re-affirmed my wife's thoughts and cemented her beliefs on what she had heard in the class. That Had to be a GOD thing!!

Well, time is short, but I wanted to post my thoughts and get on to the next challenge.

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Where do we go?

2007-10-25T14:22:00.000-05:00

Where do we go? What do we do? How can we grow?

Want to grow in faith? Need to be around people who have faith and are willing to express it. Look for a Church that has small groups and fellowship events.

What do we do? Be involved, and open to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will take you where you need to go, but you need to be open to where you will be taken.

How can we grow? The Holy Spirit, and don't fight it. Know that even when we push back, the Holy Spirit will pull us back. Many times I know I felt as thought I was being pulled kicking and screaming.

I am trying to keep up with the Blog, and will get off topic from time to time, and that just shows you that we all get off track, but will be pulled right back in, if we are open.

Wow, what a long time

2007-10-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess no one missed me, but then how can you miss what you don't know about?

Some days just seem so much better than others. When I think I get how some of this works with God, that is when I start to get in trouble. Over all life is working out really well. Sometimes in my spiritual life, it seems to go slowly. At least more slowly thank I want. I am almost done with a book on growing churches.
"The Purpose Driven Church". I have learned a lot, and want to use what I have learned ASAP. There I go again, wanting to do things in my time frame, vs God's.

Slowly I need to keep reminding myself. We are not all in the same place and sometimes if I rush to move others there, or move myself to where they are, it all back fires.

God never intended us to be a bunch of Lemmings. All just following along blindly, just "Because".
If he had, why was there free will? Life is certainly more interesting this way!

Currently I am in a Diakonia class again. Pastor Ben is teaching the class and I am doing an audit of it again. I spent two years in Diakonia, and I am back again. I learned a lot the first two years, and I have a lot to say, but must keep that down, so the other students get a chance to learn.

Upcoming after this class is an opportunity to teach a Bible study on the Apostles Creed.
That should be interesting. No time frame, for the end. Hopefully no end, and it just moves on to another topic. I pray that God gives me the knowledge and wisdom to do this. I know I can, however I need to keep in mind that it is not I, but him, who does the work.

Wow, something great just happened while keeping God in front.
As I wrote this post, I kept having my screen flip away. I use Suse Linux for my system, and I can rotate desktops. Ever since I installed this, it has been a problem when writing. The screen just kept moving on it's own. Well, we know it does not do that, but it sure darn seems like it. Anyway, I just found the fix. It has been months of problems!! All fixed now!!!

Well, I am going to try to make this more regular, and I might even tell a couple of people about it.

Welcome

2006-03-30T09:46:00.000-06:00

This is my first post to my first blog.
Let's see where it goes from here.