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Unoffendable: A Better Way To Live
“How Just One Change Can Make All Of Life Better”
I know. I know. We live in a time when everyone is trying to tell you they can make your life better. All one has to do is go to a bookstore or perhaps google “self – help books” and the response can be amazing! There are products and gurus to improve your relational, financially, mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health. All you have to do is buy their book or their program or their supplements or a ticket to their presentation! All you have to do is to sign up – and pay – for a few lessons!
But this advice is different. It comes from Jesus and it is offered free of charge. Jesus said, “I have come that they (that YOU!!) might have life - and have it to the full.” Jesus came so we could have the best life possible –yes, certainly forever with Him face to face in heaven - but also every day here and now. And in these next few weeks we are going to look at one change that He would empower us to make that will make our whole life better!
So, how is life working for you? Could it be better? Are you stuck? Are you willing to listen to what Jesus has to say? After all, you don’t have to buy a ticket or a book or other products….and this in itself would seem to make it different from all the others, some of which you may have tried. So, what do you have to lose? We’re even going to GIVE you something; a FREE book with the deal! So why not give it a try?
Saturday, Sep. 9th and Sunday, Sept. 10th Leaving the Anger Behind (The Better Way)
Ok. Be honest now. What gets you offended? How about when another driver does something down right inconsiderate – or even stupid? How about when things don’t go your way at work or school or on vacation? Or maybe when the mechanic doesn’t get your car fixed? Or maybe when your spouse does that thing again?..or maybe when your children do what they do? Or maybe because of all the stuff that is just NOT RIGHT everywhere you look? So, given all this, how often do you have an attitude of offense? Did you know when you look up the word, “offended” in a dictionary, it will invariably use words like “anger” or “resentment” in it’s definition? So, let me ask another question. How often do you have an attitude of anger? …And how’s that working for you? Today, Jesus gives us a better way to live.
Saturday, Sep. 16th and Sunday, Sept. 17th Living in “Beautiful Expectation” (Gratitude vs. Anger)
When Sarah, our oldest, began to crawl, we immediately moved the things we had on shelves on all the furniture in the house up a little higher…and then a little higher…and then a little higher. We also put those plugs in the electrical outlets and those baby locks on the cabinet doors. Why? We knew what kids do. It’s just who they are. But what we had to get used to was seeing all the amazing things she did day after day. And we were thankful. Today, Jesus would change the way we see things, empowering us to live in gratitude – in “Beautiful Expectation” – instead of anger. It really is a better way to live.
Sat, Sept. 23rd and Sun, Sept.24th Living in Grace: Received And Given (“Being” vs. “Having To Do”)
In the home I grew up in, we always helped with everything. Yardwork. Dishes. Clothes. Housework. It didn’t matter. We always did it together. But I remember, as the years went by and Jane and I would come home for a visit, how I would jump up after dinner to do the dishes and mom just said, “Just leave them. Let’s go sit in the patio and talk.” There is a difference between “being” and “having to do.” It’s called grace. It is a better way to live. Interested?
Living in True Relationship (Self-Righteousness vs Peace) Sat, Sep. 30th and Sun, Oct 1st
“I can relate.” Have you ever heard this phrase? Have you ever said it? When you think about it, the one place we can all relate is in the things that don’t seem to go right…in our common brokenness. In fact, is it not when we self-righteously deny our brokenness – or at least say and believe that we are better than the other guy - that we lose relationship? What is the conversation stopper – to connect with others in brokenness or to communicate that “this brokenness” has never touched you? Self – righteousness as one compares themselves to another is a relationship killer. Refusing to be offended by others is a powerful door-opener to actual relationships. Only when one is at peace with themselves and who they are can there be true relationship. This is the gift of Jesus to you today. Interested?
Sat, Oct. 7th and Sun, Oct.8th Injustice: We Have to Do Something! (Anger vs. Action)
I was talking with a friend of mine a couple of years ago concerning the death of his father. It was during WWII. His father was not in the military because he worked on the farm. One day his father suffered an appendicitis attack. They took him to the one hospital that was near them, but it was now on an Army Base which was on a routine lockdown. They refused to allow his father on the base. By the time they did, his appendix had burst and the ensuing infection killed him. There are many things in our world that are just wrong – things that need to be changed and that cause us to be angry - but what should be our reaction? Should we “fly off the handle” in anger or look to respond in action?...or is this a false dichotomy? Today, Jesus would guide us in the better – the best - way to live!
Sat, Oct 14th and Sun, Oct. 15th Living Healthy- Just Chill Out! (Fear vs. Trust)
Vitamins. Supplements. Protein powder. Regimens. New diets. It seems everyone has an idea about healthy living. Today, Jesus would show us what it means to live healthy –in trust, not fear. Interested?
Sat, Oct. 21st and Sun, Oct. 22nd Living in The Bottom Line: Grace (Power vs. Weakness)
So, bottom line, where is the place of power when it comes to living our lives – and what is the place of weakness? And how do these flesh out in our lives? The bottom line is grace. In grace is power to live a better –the best - way. Today, we explore what this means and what it looks like with Jesus as our guide. For He came so we could have life more abundantly!
Life Animated
Can you believe it? August marks the beginning of a new school year!! Back to school we go! What a great time to revisit this fun and exciting special focus using the animated children’s films Inside Out, Zootopia, and Moana. This is going to be a blast! It will be like “going to the movies” but even better! Come and check it out! And bring your friends! It just may make “going back to school” a little easier! Oh, and we just may have an “ah-ha” experience or two as we see how these stories reveal things about ourselves and how our stories intersect with the story of God for us in Jesus! Don’t miss out on this fun adventure!
Life Animated
He (Jesus) did not say anything to them without using parables. Matthew 13:34)
Can you believe it? August marks the beginning of a new school year!! Back to school we go! What a great time to revisit this fun and exciting special focus using the animated children’s films Inside Out, Zootopia, and Moana. This is going to be a blast! It will be like “going to the movies” but even better! Come and check it out! And bring your friends! It just may make “going back to school” a little easier! Oh, and we just may have an “ah-ha” experience or two as we see how these stories reveal things about ourselves and how our stories intersect with the story of God for us in Jesus! Don’t miss out on this fun adventure!
Our lives are made up of stories. Perhaps this is why we are story tellers. Books. Plays. Musicals. Films. Aesop’s Fables. Ancient Greek tragedies. Shakespeare. It seems that humankind has always had a need to tell stories. Stories are meant to explain our existence. They point to a voice within each of us that whispers to us of a “backstory,” a greater story behind our stories which somehow intersects with our individual stories to make sense of our lives.
Through these stories we almost instinctively try to answer “the big questions” that are part of each of us. Stories are a window into our soul. They can touch our hearts or communicate a point to us in a way that mere words cannot hope to do. They can give us that “aha” moment of truth like no other medium. Jesus often told stories, called parables, even coming to the point where He only spoke using these stories. In this way, He intersected God’s story with our stories.
Embedded in the stories we tell are the longings of our souls…which all, finally, point to the only place these longings can be met; Jesus. On these three Sundays, we will use these three stories in film to examine our human condition, the longing of our souls, our need for a greater story, and how the greater story of God in the Savior meets us squarely in this place of need. Whatever your age, this series will connect with you in your story with the story of Jesus!
Sunday August 20 - Moana
Ok. Have you seen the movie? Music is great. Colors are wonderful. Set in the beautiful ocean. Characters are delightful! But what does this movie reveal about ourselves and our stories….and how God’s story connects with our stories? What does this movie say of the ancient questions we are asking that are embedded in the stories we tell over and over again? What are we trying to explain? What are we trying to understand?…and where does the God’s story in Jesus connect to it all? Come and see!…and maybe, for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather together your family and/or friends and watch the movie one more time!
Sunday, August 27 Inside Out
We all want to be happy – right? But given how we are put together, with all the conflicting emotions that make up who we are, what is the key to being happy? This is what the story is about in this wonderfully creative movie! And as we explore the wisdom in this movie, it cannot help but point us to the wisdom of God in Jesus! do you want to be happy! This is the day for you! Come and see!...and maybe, just for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather your family and/or friends to watch the movie one more time!
Sunday, September 3 Inside Out
What am I supposed to do with my life? Where do I fit in? What makes me unique? And how am I to use it? Humankind has asked these questions since the beginning of time. And our children – and us - continue to ask them. That’s what this movie is about…finding our way and our unique place. Did you know that God, in His love, has something to say about this as well? Again, His story intersects with ours! Come and see! …and maybe, just for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather your family and/or friends to watch the movie one more time!
Stories….Told By Jesus… “How the Kingdom of God Works”…
Have you ever heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words?” The idea is that one could use a thousand -10 thousand – words to describe something to you which is beyond words…and in just one moment of seeing it, you would have a greater understanding than all the words in the world could give you. Such things as the vastness of the ocean stretching beyond the eyes…or the crashing of 20 foot waves on the shore…or the awesome grandeur of the Rocky Mountains… or a blanket of snow that covers the Great Plains for miles. This is why Jesus used stories –pictures put to words – to describe how the kingdom of God works, so that we might see a picture of the hidden kingdom revealed and come to a greater understanding than all the words in the world could give us
Stories….Told By Jesus… “How the Kingdom of God Works”…
Have you ever heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words?” The idea is that one could use a thousand -10 thousand – words to describe something to you which is beyond words…and in just one moment of seeing it, you would have a greater understanding than all the words in the world could give you. Such things as the vastness of the ocean stretching beyond the eyes…or the crashing of 20 foot waves on the shore…or the awesome grandeur of the Rocky Mountains… or a blanket of snow that covers the Great Plains for miles. This is why Jesus used stories –pictures put to words – to describe how the kingdom of God works, so that we might see a picture of the hidden kingdom revealed and come to a greater understanding than all the words in the world could give us.
LISTEN & WATCH...
AUG 13th - The Kingdom of God is Like the Greatest of Treasures
A picture is worth a thousand words. Today, the picture is one finding such a great and awesome treasure that he would give up everything to acquire it. Through this picture, Jesus teaches us something about the eternal, hidden, kingdom of God. Interested?
AUG 6th - The Kingdom of God is Like a Mustard Seed... and Yeast!
A picture is worth a thousand words. Today the picture is of what a plant grows into from a mustard seed and how yeast causes bread to grow. Through these pictures, Jesus teaches us something about the eternal, hidden, kingdom of God. Interested?
JUL 30th - The Kingdom of God is Like a Farmer Planting Seed
A picture is worth a thousand words. Today the picture is of a farmer planting seed in Israel in the time of Jesus. Through this picture Jesus teaches us something about the eternal, hidden, kingdom of God. Interested?
Blueprint for Ministry
INVITE, CONNECT, APPRENTICE, SEND
Blueprints. When I was 9 years old, my mom and dad put an addition on our house. I will never forget when they rolled out the blueprints and showed us what it was going to look like! It was so much easier to visualize after seeing those blueprints! And, of course, without those blueprints, the builders would have had no directions, no guide, no “map” with respect to what they were doing!
Did you know God is a God of “blueprints?” All one has to do is to look at a living cell or the DNA molecule as well as countless other examples in nature! It even says in the Bible, talking about our lives together as the people of God, that, “God is not a God of disorder but a God of peace.”
Blueprint for Ministry
Invite, Connect, Apprentice, Send
Blueprints. When I was 9 years old, my mom and dad put an addition on our house. I will never forget when they rolled out the blueprints and showed us what it was going to look like! It was so much easier to visualize after seeing those blueprints! And, of course, without those blueprints, the builders would have had no directions, no guide, no “map” with respect to what they were doing!
Did you know God is a God of “blueprints?” All one has to do is to look at a living cell or the DNA molecule as well as countless other examples in nature! It even says in the Bible, talking about our lives together as the people of God, that, “God is not a God of disorder but a God of peace.”
Have you ever wondered or struggled with what a life as a disciple of Jesus should look like for you? Have you ever wondered where/how you can live out the calling of Jesus in your life?…Where you “fit in?”…Where/how you can reflect the love and call of Jesus in actions? Or perhaps you are not yet a Christian but are curious about what a life lived as a follower of Jesus might look like and what it might accomplish? Would a blueprint help?
In the next few weeks, we will look at our “Blueprint for Ministry” here at St. Matthew. We will explore how we will organize into Ministry Teams to carry out the vision for mission that Jesus has given us. We will explore what this looks like, what drives us, where this takes us individually and together as followers of Jesus, and what we are trying to accomplish.
As we do this, what we are really seeing is what it looks like to live as followers of Jesus together in this place and how God is calling each of us to be a part of it. As the Bible says, “Now you (you all) are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it!
Sunday June 25 Blueprint for Ministry: Invite
When my dad invited you, you knew you were welcome. Do you know what I mean? Some people are just like that. What comes through is their genuine care and even love for you and their sincere desire that you respond to the invitation. Sometimes with my dad, it was just a sincere desire to have a conversation with one of my friends, who would later tell me how cool my dad was. Other times, it was to join us for dinner or for a Christmas get together (always room for one more) or just to hang out. For my dad inviting was a lifestyle. He was genuine, real, transparent, welcoming, caring, and always had an open and inviting heart toward literally everyone. Looking back, it really is a great way and a rewarding way - to live! Today, we focus on what it means as followers of Jesus in our ministry together to live an inviting lifestyle in Him.
Sunday July 9 Blueprint For Ministry: Connect
Jane and I moved to Indiana to attend the seminary. It was in the Summer and it was 90 degrees and about 90% humidity. The day after I moved us into our apartment, I was on the Seminary grounds and met another guy who with his family was moving into a third floor apartment that day. Lee and I sweat all afternoon together and we got him and his family moved in. But something else happened. We connected. Do you know what I mean? Over the next four years we studied together, we supported each other when our wives had babies, and our families did life together. We remain close to this day even though many miles separate us. Connection is powerful. We were built for it. We experience it as the family of God. And we are called to do everything we can to connect with those around us in this same love of Jesus…and together, as His people, to do everything we can from the heart to connect with every single person that God, the Holy Spirit, brings into our circle. This is our focus today.
Sunday July 16 Blueprint For Ministry: Apprentice
I had a roommate in college who decided to become an electrician. He went through a two year apprenticeship program, working side by side with an electrician during the day and going to electrician classes at night, again taught by people who were already electricians. This is what it means to be an apprentice. It's kind of like on the job training, working with someone who is already a master in the field. Jesus, THE master, ran an apprenticeship program. He said, Come, follow me and so began the apprenticeship. In fact, it seems to me for us another word for apprentice would be disciple. Jesus was training each of his disciples to be a master in ministry who in turn trained others (apprentices!) to be masters in ministry after them. It is the same for us. Each of us is called to be an apprentice, to be mentored as a disciple and each of us is also called to be a mentor, one who is training an apprentice to take their place in ministry as mentors and leaders themselves. This is our focus today.
Sunday July 23 Blueprint For Ministry: Send
It happens every year in graduation ceremonies across the nation. People are sent out to use what they have learned and who they have become to make a difference in the world! But finally, it is only Jesus who can make a lasting difference an eternal change in our lives and in our world. In one sense, He has already done it as He cries from the cross, It is finished! But in another sense, He is continuing His mission to restore all things which will finally culminate in His second coming. Until that time He sends us out not alone, but with the Holy Spirit to join Him as His people in His ongoing mission to make a difference to restore all things - in Him! This is our focus today.
The Story Continues
Have you ever watched a movie which was a true story and at the end of it they tell you what happened to the various people in the story as their lives continued? “Remember the Titans” was one movie that did it. So did, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” And just recently, “Heartbreak Ridge.” It really pulls everything together, doesn’t it? It reminds you that these were real people and their stories continued….and in fact, maybe they lived through a number of stories after the one you just saw.
The Story Continues
Have you ever watched a movie which was a true story and at the end of it they tell you what happened to the various people in the story as their lives continued? “Remember the Titans” was one movie that did it. So did, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” And just recently, “Heartbreak Ridge.” It really pulls everything together, doesn’t it? It reminds you that these were real people and their stories continued….and in fact, maybe they lived through a number of stories after the one you just saw.
The story of Jesus did not end with Easter…or with the Resurrection Stories that we have just focused on. No, rather, His story –and His mission of love and grace for you and for all of humankind –continued and continues to this day. In the next few weeks, we are going to focus on that part of the story that came right after the Resurrection Stories. Just like with the above movies, it really fills in the blanks for us…..and helps us to understand our part in His continuing story entwined in ours.
Sunday May 28 Living in Anticipation
God has a great sense of the dramatic. I think He would have been a great script writer…oops, I mean He is! Today, it is like He is saying, “Drum roll please” as he is building up the anticipation for a climax of grace that will crash on the world like a giant wave! It’s like that song…”An-ti-ci-pa-a-tion!” It is what happens next in the story of the living Jesus and how His story entwines with ours. Through it, He would touch us with something about Himself and empower us to live every day in anticipation in Him!
Sunday June 4th Living in Power (The Crash of the Wave)
I'm tired.” When is the last time you have said this?…or thought it? And what kind of “tired” was it? Physical? (Not enough sleep tiredness… or muscle tiredness?…or?) Emotional? (some situation just draining you?) Mental? (I have to think it through but I can’t find the answer!) Psychological? (I need to get away!) Spiritual? (It seems that I am like a zombie with my relationship with God!)
We sometimes get tired out….really. It is part of our human condition. Even the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Even youths grow tired and weary…” What do you do when you get tired…I mean, really tired? Today, the living Jesus pours out His power on His people, a power that can “lift us up on wings like Eagles.” (Isaiah again) Interested?
Sunday June 11 Living In The Snapshot
I am not sure how a dictionary would define the word, “snapshot.” For me, it is a photograph that catches a significant moment in time, revealing an abundance of knowledge concerning the people in the photograph and what their lives were about in that moment. A snapshot is a record of the moment – the where, and how and what and when! It shows a situation. It shows the emotions. It puts life to the relationships. Have you ever wanted to be part of what you saw in a snapshot? Today, God gives us a snapshot of the aftermath of the wave of grace of Pentecost. It is a snapshot that we are meant to be a part of….this is God’s gift to us today!
Sunday June 18 In All Things, A Love That Serves Father's Day Celebration!
Today we celebrate dads. We celebrate families. We celebrate love. We celebrate dads who in great love lay down their lives for their wives and their children. We recognize their service and their importance to their families. And we praise God, celebrating this gift of God to us wherever it is found! And it is my heart felt hope and prayer that each of you has great joy in this gift. Yet, we also remember the struggles of being a dad. We remember the challenges. And we remember those who on this day struggle with things that “should not have been,” whether it is a dad or child who has died, a dad or child who was not what they should have been, or one who wanted so much to be a dad, but it was not meant to be. Yet, in all these places and in every broken relationship, we remember the love of our Heavenly Father which, in Jesus, continues to serve us in all things, empowering us to do likewise!
Resurrection Stories
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with a friend of mine – a young guy about 30 years old. We were talking about God-stuff and applying it to our lives when all of a sudden he looks at me with a smile on his face as well as in his eyes and says, “Imagine how it would change you if you came face to face with Jesus right now! Wouldn’t that be amazing?”…What do you think?...
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with a friend of mine – a young guy about 30 years old. We were talking about God-stuff and applying it to our lives when all of a sudden he looks at me with a smile on his face as well as in his eyes and says, “Imagine how it would change you if you came face to face with Jesus right now! Wouldn’t that be amazing?”…What do you think?...
In the next few weeks we are going to focus on “Resurrection Stories” - on people who actually did come face to face with Jesus after He rose from the dead. We are going to marvel how He connected with them in their tears and fears and doubts and emptiness, offering and giving them a new life in relationship with Him. We will see how it changed them, the difference it made in their lives…. And how it can for us, also, as through these same stories the living Jesus mysteriously comes face to face with you and with me!
For the “Resurrection Stories” do not end with those we read in the Bible. I see them and hear them every day. They are happening all over the globe and right in front of us. Jesus came, finally, to bring His story into our stories of brokenness, emptiness, doubts, tears, fears, and death; the story of each of us personally but also of all of us together –all of humankind. Jesus is alive –and He is on the move! - and through these stories He comes “face to face” with you to give you your own “Resurrection Story!” Where do you especially need this in your life?
“Imagine how it would change you if you came face to face with Jesus right now! Wouldn’t that be amazing?”…What do you think?...
Sunday, April 23rd In Great Fears, Peace
Peace. Say the word out loud. How do you long for it? What fears grip you, getting in the way of peace? We live in such a time of fear….fear of violence, fear of the other political party, fear for our children…or grandchildren, fear that we “won’t have enough.” Fear. And it causes us, at times, to have such violent thoughts and words and actions, doesn’t it?..In what fears do you especially need peace?...a peace that covers everything?.. Face to face, it is what Jesus, the resurrected one, gives.
Sunday, April 30th In Great Shadows, Light
When is the last time you’ve been “in a funk?” You know, when it is like you are walking under a shadow? Sometimes we know how we get there and sometimes we are just there and we cannot even figure out how-right? Usually what puts us there is that the stuff or people in life we thought we could depend on no matter what becomes unstable or unsure, like quick sand, though sometimes it is just a shadow over our souls that, as I said, we don’t know where it has come from. Where do you need a little light in the great shadows? It is what Jesus, the living One, would bring to you face to face; a light to chase away all darkness.
Sunday, May 7th “In Great Doubts, Certainty”
My brother and I shared a room and slept in bunkbeds growing up. He was four years older than me and we were always close, every night talking in the dark after the lights were out. One night when I was maybe in the third grade, I must have been struggling with some things because in the dark after the lights were out I said something like, “Steve, what if this God-stuff isn’t true?” To which –after a pause where I asked the question again - in a typical big brother way he answered with absolute certainty, “Ah Brad, shut up and go to sleep.” It was enough for me. Do you have some doubts?...even great doubts? Today, the living Jesus would come face to face with you to give you absolute certainty!
Sunday, May 14th “In All Things, A Love That Trumps All” Mother’s Day Celebration!
Today we celebrate moms. We celebrate families. We celebrate love. We celebrate how love –the love a mother has for a child – so often trumps everything and results in such wonderful acts of love and service. We celebrate this gift of God to us joyously! And it is my heart felt hope and prayer that each of you has great joy in this gift. Yet, we also remember the struggles of being a mom. We remember the challenges. And we remember those who on this day struggle with things that “should not have been,” whether it is a mom or child who has died, a mom or child who was not what they should have been, or one who wanted so much to be a mom, but was not able. Yet, in all these places and in every broken relationship, we remember a love that “trumps all,” the love of the living Jesus, who would come face to face with you in His love today
Sunday, May 21st “Everyday, Presence and Purpose”
My dad retired, due to health reasons, about two years before my mom. But even when she went to work, it was like they were never apart. Once he recovered somewhat from the surgery, they would sit down every night and put together a “to do” list for my dad for each day…things that they wanted to accomplish together but that he could get done when she was at work. And while he was accomplishing them it was like she was right there with him because she was a part of it. This gave my dad “companionship” and a purpose. Do you ever feel like you are “all alone” doing meaningless things like a mouse running in circles? It is easy to do as one day runs into another and as we instinctively long for a purpose greater than ourselves. Enter Jesus, the living one, face to face. He is with us every moment of everyday doing life with us and giving us a purpose that transcends our lives! Interested?
Jesus: Face to Face…
There is something about a face to face encounter. For generations and even to this day, the way professional boxing advertises a fight is to have a poster (or perhaps a still on Television) of the fighters face to face –nose to nose even – with faces contorted, ready for battle. The WWF (World Wrestling Federation) takes it even a step further as they have their wrestlers go face to face screaming at each other on live television. It’s good for ratings!!...and for ticket sales! People want to see even more who is going to win! In the next few weeks we are going to be in the audience as Jesus goes “face to face” live with some interesting characters. He WILL win (and yes, it’s worth the “price” of admission!)…but He will also show us what in each case this win looks like and how we can go face to face with these same characters in our lives and win also…in Jesus! And here’s a hint; when Jesus wins, it is always for the good of those He came to save!
Sunday, March 5th …With Satan (The Enemy)
There is a Bible passage in the Old Testament which goes something like this; “This enemy is too great for us. We don’t know what to do. But our eyes are on You!” Have you ever been faced with an enemy that was just too great for you?....one that would overpower you no matter what you did? ...an enemy whose strength was so beyond yours that no matter what you did, you knew you would be overwhelmed? Today, Jesus squares off with the enemy of all enemies –Satan Himself – face to face. Who do you think will win? What do think the win will look like? And what does this mean for us who daily square up with the same enemy face to face? Come and see!
Sunday, March 12th …With Nicodemus (The Seeker)
Every teacher, instructor, and professor, at least in my experience, said, “you can ask any question” and also, “there are no dumb questions.” But sometimes, at least in my case, this wasn’t true. How about with you? I even remember one professor who was kind of a bully and who would yell at you to “speak up!” but then would be quick to make you look silly! Today, Jesus comes face to face with “the seeker” who had many questions and who just didn’t seem to get it. What do you think Jesus did? What did His victory look like? And what does this say to us when we are ‘the seeker” or when we come face to face with “the seeker?”
Sunday, March 19th …With a Samaritan Woman (The Skeptic)
Have you ever seen the bumper sticker that spells out the word, “coexist” in a way which represents all the major religions of the world? It seems to me the message here is, “one is just as good as another and there is no ‘right’ one, so just get along and we ‘enlightened skeptics’ will put up with you.” Today, we see what happens when Jesus comes face to face with an “enlightened skeptic.” And in seeing, we are shown how, as His followers, we can do the same. Interested?
Sunday, March 26th …With A Blind Man (The Broken)
Have you ever noticed how we tend to want to blame “the broken” for their brokenness? When a person dies, especially one who was seemingly healthy and “younger than me,” we want to find a reason, something wrong that they did, perhaps to calm ourselves that it won’t happen to us. When people fall into unfortunate times, we want to blame it on “something they did!” (and conversely what we did not-and will not- do). Today, we will see what Jesus did when going face to face with the broken. Yes, he wins!...but His win is far different than we might think. And yes, in His win, He shows us His face when we are “the broken” and also how to win when going face to face with “the broken.”
Sunday, April 2nd …With Lazarus (The Dead…and Grieving)
Do you remember the story of how Robin Hood and Little John met? They each started across a log bridge from opposite directions at the same time. When neither would back down, they had to fight it out until one “hit the water.”
Today, we see Jesus coming face to face with death…and grieving. Guess who “hits the water?” Come and see what this means for us in the lives we live when we come face to face with death…and grieving, not only for us but in the lives of others. Sooner or later, death…and grieving, touches each of us. But in Jesus, we too can win!
Sunday, April 9th This One You Can Follow Palm Sunday
Have you ever been disappointed in a leader? Perhaps it was a politician or sports figure or religious leader who did something horribly unlawful or immoral. Perhaps it was a teacher or professor who belittled you or held you up to ridicule. Perhaps it was somebody close that you looked up to, followed, and trusted…who then betrayed that trust. In the first movie in the Hobbit trilogy, one dwarf is explaining to Bilbo why they follow Thorin Oakenshield, the dwarf who leads them, and towards the end of his story, he says, “Here was one they could follow.” Today, we come face to face with a King we can follow. He is a King “like no other.”
Maundy Thursday Worship One….in JESUS!
April 13th , 7pm
It seems that we are put together to want and to need to be a part of others, to be part of a group, something beyond ourselves. We have families and couples and communities and circles of friends and clubs and well, it goes on and on. Even those of us who are extremely independent would find ourselves living in emptiness if we had to live a totally isolated life. Tonight, we are renewed in what brings you and me together and makes us one. It is not me. It is not you. It is another. And it is all about Him! And He is always with us!
Good Friday Worship, April 14th, 7pm “Grace”
More and more, when I have the honor of walking with a family during a difficult time, I find myself praying with them out loud asking God, the Holy Spirit, to give them hearts and insight to give each other a little grace as they go through this difficult time together.
How about you? When is the last time you needed a little grace? And where do you have an opportunity to give it? Life is hard. Sometimes we foul up. Sometimes tragedies strike us. Sometimes the enemies just seem too great and we fall. Sometimes –maybe all the time? – we need a little grace. And sometimes –maybe all the time? – we need to be able to give a little grace as well. Tonight, we see the source and heart of grace; Grace given to us…and grace that we can give another.
Easter Sunday, April 16th “No More Going to the Mailbox”
On this day -Easter Sunday- millions of Christians as well as millions of others who are not sure or who are searching and are welcomed in hundreds of thousands of Christian Churches throughout the world will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Why? Because we don't have to go to the mailbox anymore.
At the Cross
Lenten Wednesday Worship
Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, once said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” How about you? When is the last time you stepped back and examined your life – how you are living and, perhaps more important, what or who you are living for?
For millennia, Christians have used the 40 days before Easter (not counting the Sundays) as a time of reflection, repentance, and growth, to prepare anew to celebrate - and live in - the Easter victory of Jesus through His cross and resurrection from the dead! We intentionally take time on these 6 Wednesdays before Easter to slow down, admit our brokenness, and turn away from how we have embraced and lived in this brokenness in our lives and in the relationships that make up our lives. By God’s grace, we take time to turn our eyes on the cross and what this means for us. And in all of this we strive to remember – and live in – the reality that God is with us, He became one of us, He is not far away from us, but rather He continues to step into our world and our lives to lift us up out of our brokenness and to empower us to live in His victory! We take time to examine our hearts and our lives….and to humbly receive anew by faith the life we were meant to have –and to live in – in Jesus! Beginning with Ash Wednesday, we do this by focusing on the thoughts and lives of those who were “At the Cross,” seeing ourselves reflected in their lives as they come face to face with Jesus.
Ash Wednesday – Wednesday, March 1st “Barabbas: ‘This Changes Everything’”
Have you ever seen one of those pictures where if you look at it one way you see one thing and if you look at it another way you see something else? Tonight, even as we begin by remembering our brokenness and sin with ashes, we focus on the “picture” completely changing for Barabbas….and also for us… in the midst of our brokenness. What will this mean as we go forward?
Wednesday, March 8th “A Face in the Crowd”
Have you ever wanted to be “anonymous?” Perhaps you hated to get called on in class…and not because you might not know the answer, but just because you wanted to be “no one” – invisible, so to speak, so that nothing and no one would have a claim on you. Or perhaps you just wanted to go in to work, do your job, but not have anyone realize you exist. Nameless. Faceless. Invisible. When did you want to be simply, “a face in the crowd?” Today we meet a “face in the crowd” at the cross. Funny thing is, Jesus doesn’t seem to “let it go.”
Wednesday, March 15th “Peter: ‘Rock or Quicksand?’”
Each of us pictures ourselves in an idea of who we are...our self-identity….and we try instinctively to live within this self-identity. We try to live as who we conceive ourselves to be. And this is good because most of us would like to think we are super heroes as opposed to super villians. We have expectations of ourselves driven by our self-identity. Who do you think you are? Have you ever disappointed yourself? What did you do? What happened? How did you feel? Did it perhaps shake up your self-identity? Tonight, we look at these things under the cross.
Wednesday, March 22nd “Simon of Cyrene: ‘Drenched in His Blood’”
Have you heard the stories of someone being robbed or shot or beat up or even raped with lots of people around hearing something happening….but no one wanted to get involved? When we hear these things we instinctively recoil at the injustice and heartlessness of those who did nothing. How dare they!.. But when was the last time you chose to do nothing when you could have done something? Where, in fact, is this even a mindset or a lifestyle for us? And how can we possibly get it straightened out so we can change once and for all?
Wednesday, March 29th “Mary Magdalene: ‘Free’”
Do you remember the film, Braveheart? It focused on a real historical figure that fought and died for freedom for Scotland against the English. In the final scene, he is suffering a horrible execution and, as the cameras pan out away from the awful scene, he cries out, Freedom!!! What “demons” do you have that tend to rob you of freedom? Tonight, we focus on a woman whom Jesus set free!..and how she lived in that freedom….and how we can as well.
Wednesday, April 5th “Joseph of Arimathea: ‘Reboot’”
Reboot. It’s what the computer does once in a while – right? It’s like a death and resurrection. And it’s not just with computers. My cell phone was acting crazy the other day. I asked my electronically astute son, James, what to do…and he said to turn it off and then on. Death…and resurrection. It’s kind of like when the TV doesn’t work or when the copier in the office goes wacko and when everything else fails, we turn it off and on and presto! It works! A death and resurrection. A new beginning. Today, we focus on Joseph and his “reboot.” Where do you need one?
Playing to Win
Do you remember the board game called, “The Game of Life?” The players wind through a number of different circumstances in “life,” and at the end of the game, the one with the most money wins...kind of like monopoly. But the “win” could be different. Last week my daughter skyped me and showed me the board game – I think it was “The Game of Life” - she had been playing with Lili, my almost three year old granddaughter. She raved about how Lili could throw the dice and begin to count how many spaces to go. This was “the win” for Sarah and Lili! It had nothing to do with how much money they had at the end of the game. Theychanged the object of the game and with it what they focused on, their mindsets, what they worked for, and what they celebrated. And from what I saw, they were in a great place!
How about you? As the holidays fade into the rear view mirror and you get back into the full swing of the game of life, how are you doing? Do you feel like you’re winning? Or do you feel as if something is missing?...that you are somehow falling short of the win? As you look at the game of life you are playing, what is the object of your game? And how is it working for you? What are you focusing on? What’s your mindset? What are you working toward? What are you celebrating?.....And how’s it all working for you? Would you say of yourself, “I’m in a great place!”...or something less?..
In the next few weeks we are going to focus on “Playing to Win” for each of us in the game of life. Interested?
Sunday, February 5th Eyes Up (What Are Your Eyes On?)
One of the things that gets drilled into you by a running instructor –whether it’s sprints or long distance – is to get your eyes up and focus on where you are going. This keeps your energy pointed in the right direction as well as your body pointed in the right direction, not veering to the right or the left. What are your eyes on? And how’s it working for you? In your “game of life,” are you going in a straight line?...or do you keep veering this way or that? Today, God shows us where to focus our eyes so we can “Play to Win!”
Sunday, February 12th Mind Set (What Are You Working For?)
When I was 10 years old I wanted to play on a little league football team. The only problem was that I weighed 8 lbs. too much for my age group and they would not allow me to “play up” in the next age group. What did I do? Since I had a paper route and therefore my own money, I bought these Sego diet drinks and ate nothing but those drinks for lunch (my parents didn’t know) and very little for breakfast or dinner for a week. And when I was still a pound over on weigh-in day in the morning, I simply did not eat or drink anything until the afternoon weigh in. And yes, I made weight! (though I did see stars and almost pass out in the ensuing practice…) When one knows what they are working for, it makes a difference! Do you know what you’re working for? And is it enough? Today, God shows us what He, in His grace, would have us work for as we look to “Play to Win!”…And yes, it is always enough!
Sunday, February 19th Training Smart (How Smart Are You Training?)
In High School, I had a terrible time putting on weight – which was pretty important, since I played football. When I got to college the weight coach told me (rather forcefully, as I remember) that I was training “way to much” and he cut down what I did and how I did it drastically….and presto-chango, I put on weight and got much faster and stronger. It matters how one trains. In this “game of life,” how are training yourself so that you can “win?” And how’s it working for you? Today, God, as the greatest coach ever, shows us how to train so that we might “win!” Interested?
Sunday, February 26th Tasting Victory (It’s A Done Deal!)
“It’s so close, I can taste it!” Have you ever heard this expression? Every football team runs “polish” with their offense the day before a game. There is no one lining up against them. The object is to run each play perfect. For many coaches, this includes practicing the celebration when they score. They want their players to geta foretaste of celebrating the victory so they know what they are playing for! -“It’s so close, I can taste it!” Today, in this game of life that each of us is in “to win,” this is the gift our loving God would give to us: to taste the victory so we can live in it right now! “It’s so close WE can taste it!”
God With Us….Fleshing It Out!
On Christmas Eve, our focus was on the presence of God with us in our worldthrough the reality of Christmas; that God, at a particular point in history, really and truly became a human being and stepped into our world, taking our brokenness on Himself that He might make us whole. We focused on this Jesus stepping into the existence of humankind – our existence - stepping into the stuff of life, healing the sick, raising the dead, making the blind to see and lame to walk, and bringing a message of life and hope, doing all that was necessary to make this message certain through the cross and the empty tomb. We focused on Jesus as He came to do life with those around Him when He walked this earth, and how He continues, as Immanuel – God with us - to come to us to do life with us, not as a God who is far away from our condition, but as our brother who understands and has come to rescue us. In the next few weeks, we will flesh out a little more what this message of Christmas – God with us - means (or was meant to mean) in our lives. Let’s keep opening these wonderful gifts of Christmas!
Sunday, January 1st Restart!/Fresh Start! (Yes!..It IS possible!)
God seems to have built the idea and message of the hope of new beginnings into the very fabric of our existence and really into our very souls. No matter how difficult today is, night will come and then a brand new morning….a brand new day, a brand new month, a brand new year! And on this day there will be the joy of beginnings as babies are born, marriages are begun, first steps are taken, and new things are learned; as humankind throughout the world experiences a myriad of new beginnings in what we do, learn, create, and experience! All of these point to the new beginning that God would give us through Jesus, who is Immanuel, god with us! As it says in the Bible, “God’s mercies are brand new every morning!”...Where do you need a new beginning in your life? Where do you need a “fresh start?” And where, as you see your past, are you sure you have no hope of one? This God of new beginnings, who began something brand new on Christmas as He came as Immanuel – God with us – has plans to give you a brand new beginning right where you need it in Him!
Sunday, January 8th The Gift of Belonging The Wisemen (This Family’s Big Enough for You!)
You can always tell. You can always tell when you are being welcomed as family…and when you’re not. Growing up and even into High School and college, my dad was great at honestly, from the heart, welcoming any of my friends as family. What was amazing is that they knew it…so much so that when I moved away they kept stopping by my parent’s house, especially at Christmas, to see my dad!... who had become “family” even as he welcomed them as family. Some of them, who I hadn’t seen in years, even came to his funeral. Today is about God welcoming you as family. This family’s big enough for you!
Sunday, January 15th The Gift of Community (Doing Life Together)
Have you ever noticed how we are all interconnected? Whether we like or not, it is as if someone put life together in a way that made us interdependent on one another…so that life, by necessity is made up of community. In a real sense, from a Christian perspective, we “love our neighbor” when we do our work (our vocations) honestly, before God, to the best of our ability and for the good of those we serve, whether we are a plumber, a grocer, an engineer, a parent, or an elected official. Life with Jesus – the life we live out in flesh and blood – was also created by God NOT to be lived out alone, but rather in a community of believers. We were not made to go it alone! We were created to be interdependent on one another. We are meant to be gifts of God to each other! This Christmas gift is also for you!
Sunday, January 22nd The Gift of Relationship (It’s Personnel!)
Fifty percent of Americans have no one to talk to. We live in an epidemic of disconnectedness! We can move in and out of large crowds and yet be alone. (Did you go Christmas shopping this year?) Even when we are together with people or with an individual, we can maintain our isolation as electronic connectedness takes precedent over flesh and blood connectedness. But we know there is something missing! Deep down we know we were made to be personal with others and have others be personal with us. This too is a gift that God would give to us through one another. Together, we are His Family. And in this Family, we are empowered to be personally there for one another in the flesh and blood of life, the flesh and blood into which Jesus was born. This Christmas gift is also for you!
Sunday, January 29th The Gift of Purpose (Lived Out In The Family)
Some of my earliest memories is of working together with my dad and brother to accomplish a task…painting a fence, doing yard work, putting on a new roof, tearing down a wall, etc… It was a blast….not because of the task but because of who we did the task for and with! What, finally, gives something purpose and meaning? The task or the one we do it for and with? God would fill our lives with purpose and meaning as we live them out in flesh and blood for Him!...But again, we were not made to go it alone! Rather, He gives us one another to work with and for as we live out our mission in Him! And yes, this Christmas gift of Immanuel – God with us – is also for you!
The Call of Christmas
Together with the kids next door, my brother and I would often spend summer nights sleeping under the stars in the backyard. I remember that sometimes, as we looked up at the stars into the vastness of space, I would feel so very insignificant and yes, alone – even though my brother and friends were around me. It was as if the vast universe had overwhelmed me, yet it was silent. Do you ever feel this way about God? You feel overwhelmed and you long to hear His voice, but all you hear is silence? There was a 400 year span between the last word given by God and written down in the Old Testament and the first coming of Jesus. 400 years where God’s people longed to hear Voice but only heard silence. It was the messengers of God – the angels – who broke the silence first to Zachariah, then to Mary, Joseph, and finally the Shepherds, all of them pointing towards that moment when God would break the silence toward all humankind with the voice of a baby. On these three Wednesdays leading up to Christmas week, we focus on how God broke the silence then and now. On these Wednesdays, will hear anew the call of the angels, the call of Christmas. Where do you feel all alone? Where do you long to hear God’s voice? Where are you desperate to know God’s presence in your life? Where do you especially need Christmas, yet the cacophony of the many voices of bus-y-ness in our world during this time only makes it seem that God is even farther away and even more silent? Right here is where God would speak to your heart on these three Wednesdays in Advent with, “The Call of Christmas.”
Wednesday, November 30th “Hope Grows Where Hurt Was Rooted” (God Breaks the Silence: Zechariah)
Zechariah and his wife were both old. They had vainly longed for children. They had lived in that place where God seemed silent as they poured out their hearts to Him. Hope had gradually faded and died in the seeming silence of God. Where can you relate in your life? But God did not leave them in this place. He broke His silence to Zechariah. He breaks His silence to us as He gently calls us to Christmas.
Wednesday, December 7th “When WeSay ‘Yes,’ It Changes Everything” (An Angel Comes Mary)
Mary was probably just a teenager…a humble believer in Jahweh, the saving God who had promised to send a Savior. She live in a small village. Not many knew she even existed. It would have been understandable if she thought that God didn’t even know she existed…or at least cared that she existed. But God knew. He had plans for her. And when the angel came, in humble faith she said, “May it be to me as you have said.” And it changed everything. He also sees us- you and me, even when we don’t think anyone knows we exist. And the Christmas message is that He comes to us, also, to change everything. What will we do?
Wednesday, December 14th “God Uses the Humble to Do Great Things!” (The Angels Appear to the Shepherds)
Shepherds, in the time of Jesus, were on the low end of the economic and social totem pole. No one would have thought God would choose them to experience the Bethlehem angels! Yet, God chose well. They obeyed the angels and excitedly went in search of the baby. Why? Because they knew they needed Him. Why? Because they knew they needed God and He had spoken to them through the angels. So, God used them and honored them to be the first eyewitnesses to the birth of Jesus! God comes to us, also, through His Word. Most would not understand why He would choose us….but He has and He does! And just like the Shepherds, as we witness to the baby, we do great things for the glory of God! How can you witness to the baby right now?
We Still Need -We Still Long For- Christmas
“Lift up your heads….Look, the King of Glory comes!” Ps.24
Deep down there is a longing in the heart of each of us…a longing to know hope and love, to experience joy, and to live in peace….and to give these things away in our lives. Perhaps this Christmas, you find yourself especially hoping and dreaming and longing for these things. Where is this longing especially great in your life? We dream of a world ruled by these things. We desire these things for those we love. We long for these things in our own lives.
Christmas is a time when these universal longings of the heart that mysteriously are part of every human being bubble up and burst out from beneath the surface in unmistakable ways. Donations to charities go way up as many want to help others experience the hope they themselves so desperately want to know and feel at Christmas. Heart- warming special movies and programs on TV are seen-some newer, and some shown over and over again (Charlie Brown’s Christmas, The Grich that Stole Christmas). Most buy gifts for one another, a tangible way of trying to bring hope, love, joy, and peace into our lives and the lives who are special to us. Certainly, people cry out about the “commercialization of Christmas,” but it seems to me the fact of the matter is that we all are looking and longing for hope, love, joy, and peace, with the giving of gifts just one way we try to find –and give- these things. We may stuff these longings inside of us for a whole year, but finally, it is impossible to keep them buried. We all –every single one of us- know that our world and our lives are broken. Every day we experience hopelessness, lovelessness, joylessness, and no peace in our lives and our world… AND WE KNOW THIS IS NOT THE WAY THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE!
We long for hope in our lives…For love in our lives…For peace in our lives…For joy in our lives. We need Christmas. We long for Christmas…And not just for a moment or a day or a month, but a Christmas that transcends all time…every day of our lives and beyond.
The problem is that so often year after year we look for it in all the wrong places. We try to build it or to find it in all the wrong ways. And like one who is insane, we keep thinking we will get something knew –that we will finally find Christmas - by doing the same things that have not worked over and over again. This year, God would give us the gift of what Christmas really is…His gift of hope, love, joy, and peace that can and does transcend all time, transforming our lives and our world not just for a season but all year through and beyond. Where do you especially need -long for –Christmas? Right in this place, God would bring you the free gift of the hope, love, joy, and peace of Christmas. This is our focus on the four Sundays leading up to our Christmas celebration. Interested? We’d love to have you join us!...and bring a friend! (Bring these gifts into their lives as well!)
“Lift up your heads (from all that would weigh you down!)…Look, the King of Glory comes!" Ps.24
Sunday, November 27th“You Can Know (and give!) Love -Christmas Love- Even Now, Even Today”
Love. We – everyone – seems to know instinctively, deep in our souls, that we both need love and we need to give love away for life to be what it was meant to be. Where do you especially need love in your life right now? Where is your life being turned upside down and you just need someone to hold you close in love? Where do you know you have fouled up and don’t deserve it, but still so desperately need someone to still love you? Where do the dangers and challenges and questions of life seem absolutely overwhelming so that you cry out for someone to stand with you – to be there for you – in love? All of these is what God does- what He offers you and empowers you to give away – in the love of Christmas….the special love called grace. Where do you need this love in your life? To whom can you give it?
Sunday, December 4th “You Can Have (and Give!) Hope –Christmas Hope- Even Now, Even Today”
When I was in Hungary for the first time, my heart went out to a number of people who talked to me about how there was no hope for change amongst the people –and especially the young people- of this proud yet at times economicallystruggling country in Eastern Europe. No hope that anything can or will change….maybe this is a good definition of hopelessness. Where do you need hope - hope that things can change, that things can be different - in your life?...and in our world? To whom can you bring such a hope? Such is the hope of Christmas…a free Christmas gift to you….so you can give it away!
Sunday, December 11th “You Can Experience (and share!) Joy –Christmas Joy- Even Now, Even Today”
Have you ever played with a Beach Ball which has sprung a leak? As the air goes out of it, gradually it loses its form and soon you can’t do much of anything with it. Joy is being filled with a deep happiness. But often we spring a leak and soon lose it, especially if our joy was based on something that was “here today and gone tomorrow.” Christmas joy is a gift that transcends all time. It is a gift that God would give us every moment of everyday and beyond. Christmas joy is meant to fill us up always….and it is a gift that was meant to be given away. Where do you need such joy in your life? To whom can you give it away?
Sunday, December 18th “You Can Live in (and share!) Peace –Christmas Peace- Even Now, Even Today
Peace. It seems like a pipe dream, doesn’t it? Where do you struggle to live in peace?...Peace in body, soul, mind, and spirit. Peace that “passes all human understanding.” Peace that transcends all time, peace that is greater than any situation, any problem, any hurt, any pain, any-thing. Peace to take into our world. This is Christmas peace, a free gift that God would give us today and always. Where do you especially need such peace in your life? To whom can you give it away?
Christmas Eve Worship- With Us.. With You!
Is God there for us?...for you?...For me? Christmas is God’s resounding “YES!” answer to this question. It is our focus tonight. It is for you.
Christmas Day Worship Good News! Joy! For All!
What is Christmas all about – really? How is it to be understood? This morning we remember: “Good News! Joy!...For All!” This is Christmas understood. And it is for you!
Worship in November
Worship in November
Sunday, November 6th “Celebrate, Celebrate, Dance to the Music!” (All Saints Day Celebration!)
We are family in Jesus. While God, the Holy Spirit, invites and gives us a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the gift of faith, it is never only just “Jesus and me.” Rather, we are part of the family of God! This is what the church is- the people who believe in Jesus and therefore are brothers and sisters (family!) in Him! This, really, is what we celebrate today. The word “saint” means “holy one” – and that is what each one of us is declared to be through faith in Jesus Christ. We are the family of saints! Today, we give thanks to God for our family; Those saints who have gone before us who were faithful so that we might know Jesus. Those saints around us –our living family in this place - who walk beside us in life and mission. And finally all of ussaints as we catch the vision of heaven when we will all be together with Jesus forever! Celebrate! Dance to the music, as today our focus and worship is led by Deacon Rich Toms. May God, the Holy Spirit, richly bless and empower him today as he serves us! And no, you won’t want to miss this celebration!
Sunday, November 13th Signs, Signs, Everywhere is Signs
Do you remember this song? To me, it kind of explores the idea that while you can have a sign that tells you to do something, you can also have a sign that points you to know a particular reality. This is how God talks about the signs he gives us in His Word, the Bible. Today, we look at the signs that Jesus gives us concerning the “end of the age.” Pastor Hank Scherer will lead our worship and what they are to mean for us in our lives until That Day. Interested? Don’t miss it!
Sunday, November 20th Jesus Christ is Lord and King! (Christ the King Sunday!)
Jane and I had three children, each of them two years apart with two of them being boys. It goes without saying that at times it was crazy - with some maybe even saying it was a "nut house!" But in trying to balance understanding, love, and control, I would say to Jane, "I don't mind a 'nuthouse,' I just need to be in charge of it!" Jesus Christ is Lord and king! He is in charge...always. He is the King! On this Sunday we welcome Pastor Mike Lange, the Mission Executive of the CNH District as we celebrate that Jesus is King and what this means for us. Mike will share with us what we are doing together in the CNH District as we partner with our King and Savior, Jesus, in His ongoing mission in this world He created and came to save! You really do not want to miss this as we rejoice in Jesus, our King, but also in the wonderful opportunities we have as together we work in service with our King!
Wednesday November 23 Don't be a Turkey Thanksgiving Worship
500 Years Later... What's a Lutheran?
500 Years Later... What's a Lutheran?
What does God think of me?...or does He? How can I know truth –for sure? Where/how can I know God?...for sure? Where is God for me?....for sure? What do I have to do so I know He is there for me?...
I went to the Seminary in Indiana. Someone from Indiana is sometimes called a “Hoosier” as is the sports teams for Indiana University. “Hoosiers.” The problem is whenever you ask someone from Indiana what a “Hoosier” is, no one - and I mean no one - knows. There may be a lot of conjecture and stories, but no one really knows. Period… Lutheran. What’s a Lutheran, anyway? How would you answer?....or don’t you really know? Exactly 500 years after the seminal event that started this whole business of “Lutherans,” we’re going to talk about it and see what relevance there is in it for us today. And we really know. It’s not look “Hoosiers.”
Money Matters
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” …Jesus
Jesus had a way of bringing out into the light the things that people wanted to keep hidden in darkness and not talk about. Sin. Hypocrisy. Servanthood. Money.
Ah money….the root of all kinds of evil, right? Ah, money…the thing that so often causes us so much stress and worry and despair, poisoning our lives. Ah money, the thing that can so easily disrupt relationships and break up friendships and marriages.
Ah money…the thing that also, used rightly and wisely, can do great and good things in our lives and in our world and for the Kingdom of God… Right?
Ah..money..
Did you know that the Bible talks about money a lot? (2,350 verses worth!!) ... its proper and wise use and place in the life of one who follows Jesus?...Money Matters!
Did you know that Jesus talked more about money than heaven and hell combined?...Money matters!
Did you know that 11 out of 39 of the parables (stories) Jesus told were about money?...Money matters!
Did you know that in one out of every seven verses in the Gospel of Luke Jesus talks about money?...Money matters!
Did you know that it was Jesus who said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth….But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven?”...Money matters!
Money and its proper and wise use and place in the one who follows Jesus does matter…and it matters to Jesus! But do you know why? Because YOU are so important to Jesus…He loves you! He wants your HEART for your sake!...and it was Jesus who said, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also!”
In the next few weeks, we are going to focus on money. It’s one of those things which, because of our sinfulness, we would rather keep in the shadows, doing it our own way. But taking our que from Jesus, who talked openly and boldly about money in front of crowds of thousands of people, we are going to bring it out into the open –out into the light! We are going to talk about it, wrestle with it, look to grow in wisdom and action with respect to it. We are going to look for His Spirit to guide and convict us, using the stories and words of Jesus as well as other readings from God’s Word, the Bible. By His grace, we will look to catch His Vision for us in this area of our lives, especially as His people who join him in His kingdom work in this place! By His grace we will look to be renewed in living our lives as His people in His wisdom! By His grace we will look to grow in this area of our lives! And by His grace, we will look to take concrete steps on our path of growth and discipleship! For finally, when things are brought out into the light of the victorious death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we find out how little we need to fear and what it looks like to live anew in His victory!
Money matters! What a blessing of grace that our Heavenly Father empowers and guides us to put money in its proper place, using it for His glory and the good of many from the heart of one touched with the love of the Savior!
Sunday, October 2nd Vision - Catch It! (A Matter of the Heart)
Vision. Perhaps a good definition would be “a reality which is described with words that can almost paint a picture and which communicate a truth or a preferred outcome so it is better grasped by the hearer.” The Bible gives us a number of them. One of these would be the vision of God as our great good shepherd and we as His beloved sheep. From “the Lord is my Shepherd” in theOld Testament to “ I am the good Shepherd in the New Testament, this is a comforting and powerful vision. Another would be the vision of heaven as a never ending feast as well as a place of perfect peace. And yet another would be the words found in Revelation 2; “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life.” Today, we are going to focus on the vision that God would give us with respect tomoney. It is at once a freeing, yet empowering vision. Interested?
Sunday, October 9th Renewal – A New Start (A Matter of the Mind)
“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” Every once in a while, a sports team gets beat so bad that when the coach asks what they will do he will say something like, “we are burning that game film because there is nothing we can learn from it, we were sobad!” Then he will say something like, “and then we are going to go back to the basics.” Today, we will focus on renewal with respect to our use of the money God gives us. We will not try to justify the past and somehow make us acceptable. Rather we will bury the past in the forgiveness of Jesus and start brand new in Him! How? By being renewed in the “basics” as God teaches us! Interested?
Sunday, October 16th Growth – Where Do I Go from Here? (A Matter of Wisdom)
I remember reading about a coach who, the week after the season was done, would meet with each player on the team, outlining, challenging, and encouraging each player in how he wanted him as an individual to grow in the off season. He perhaps wanted one player to lose some weight so he could get quicker while with another, he wanted him to work on getting stronger by putting on muscle weight, with each player challenged with a specific goal that uniquely fit his situation. Each of us is in a different place in our Christian walk concerning our use of the money God has given us. Today, God comes to each of us individually to guide, encourage, and challenge us to grow in a way unique to each one of us. Have you ever heard the phrase, “grow or die?” It is a life application of the Biological reality that only living things grow. Today, God would uniquely guide each of us who are alive in Him through faith in Jesus Christ what it means to grow in this area of our lives. Interested?
Sunday, October 23rd Action!..Just Do It,Take a Step! (A Matter of the Will)
Newton’s First Law of Motion states, “an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” This is kind of how we are, isn’t it? It is so hard for us to begin, to change direction, to take a different step! We tend to “stay at rest” or “just stay doing what we’re doing.” This is especially true of us and money – right? Thank God that Jesus and our being alive in Him is that “unbalanced force” that empowers us to make a new beginning - to get going again – and to even change direction! This is what He would empower each of us to do today. “Just do it – take a step!..” Interested?
Living for What Matters –A Gift From God!
Have you ever been sailing? A friend and I bought a sailboat when I was in college and I can still remember the exhilarating times when the wind was screeching and we were flying so fast in the water that the full-keeled boat was leaning so far over that I could almost reach out and touch the water! It was great! But sometimes, when there was no wind at all, the sail would hang limp, and we went nowhere until we fired up the engine. I can even remember one day when we were half way between Catalina Island and the mainland and not even the engine would fire up! We just sat there rocking gently on the water. No wonder they call it being “in irons” – it’s as if you are in irons because you certainly can’t move!
Does your life ever feel like it’s “in irons?” Does it ever feel like someone just “took the wind out of your sails?” Perhaps you have had the experience that what you have poured so much energy into wasn’t really worth it? (and maybe it wasn’t!!) Perhaps what you have influenced your child to be a part of or to do has proven to be a negative in his/her life? Perhaps you have suffered a setback or tragedy that has you wondering if any of it makes sense? Perhaps you have been on such a treadmill, going faster and faster, that you have forgotten why you ever got on it in the first place? Perhaps there has been such a change in your life that you feel disoriented and confused? Perhaps, in a darker moment, you are just unsure that anything you have really “lived for” made any difference at all?...and in an even darker moment you perhaps even wonder if anything at all is really worth living for??
There is an old song that Dionne Warwick, among others sang. It is called, “What’s it all about, Alphie?” This is the question we will focus on. Do you ever ask this question? Are you perhaps asking it somewhere in your life right now?
In the next few weeks we will focus on “living for what matters.” This says two things. 1. It can be done. There are things that matter and that are worth living for. And 2. We can know what they are. Both of these are a gift from the God who gave us life and who would lead us in the gift of living it for what matters. Interested?
Sunday, September 4th You Matter!!....to GOD!!
I was very young and I knew nothing about politics, but on the TV news I remember seeing Jesse Jackson talking to a group of young black people having
them repeat after him again and again, “I am a somebody! I’m not a nobody! I am a somebody! I’m not a nobody!” Tell me, why do you think he felt compelled to lead these young people in such a chant?....What do you think of yourself? What are you worth? Are you a somebody?...or a nobody? How do you know? Do you think what you do can have meaning and purpose? Why? Do you think that you CAN live life for things that count? Again, how do you know? This is our focus. Everything starts here. Interested?
Sunday, September 11th Jesus Christ is Lord!
I can remember one game in high school where, as a linebacker, I was just a little late on a counter play to the other side of the field that they ran a couple of times in the first series of plays. So, what I did when I came off the field was to go ask the cheerleaders what to do –right? No, no, no, that’s not right. I went and asked the trombone player in the band –right? Of course not. I asked my position coach who then had me make a small adjustment that made all the difference in the world! Jesus Christ is Lord! He is the voice of authority! He is the king of all! This was the first Creed of the first Christians – Jesus Christ is Lord!...And it changed the way they lived their lives…it gave them authoritative confidence and direction as they looked to live for what matters! And it can do the same for you! Interested?
Sunday, September 18th Jumping in with Both Feet
Have you ever watched a court room drama on TV or in a movie and one attorney says, “objection!” to which the other attorney says, “goes to frame of mind!” Today is all about “frame of mind” as we look to live our lives for the things that matter. It too is a gift from God! Interested?
Sunday, September 25th Take a Step!
What is the saying? “Once begun is almost done!” On the other hand, “never begun leaves you a bum.” (ok, ok, I made this last one up.) When Jesus called his disciples, he said, “follow me.” It meant that they had to take a step and then another and then another. Today, our focus is on taking a step as we look to grow in living for what matters. What will this mean for you?
Life Animated
He (Jesus) did not say anything to them without using parables. Matthew 13:34)
Can you believe it? August marks the beginning of a new school year!! Back to school we go! What a great time to do this fun and exciting special focus using the films Toy Story, The Lego Movie, Frozen, and Up. This is going to be a blast! It will be like “going to the movies” but even better as we will have a take home gift for you every Sunday! Also, the feel of a movie theater complete with popcorn will add to the fun! Come and check it out! And bring your friends! It just may make “going back to school” a little easier! Oh, and we just may have an “ah-ha” experience or two as we see how these stories reveal things about ourselves and how our stories intersect with the story of God for us in Jesus! Don’t miss out on this fun adventure!
Our lives are made up of stories. Perhaps this is why we are story tellers. Books. Plays. Musicals. Films. Aesop’s Fables. Ancient Greek tragedies. Shakespeare. It seems that humankind has always had a need to tell stories. Stories are meant to explain our existence. They point to a voice within each of us that whispers to us of a “backstory,” a great story behind our stories which somehow intersects with our individual stories to make sense of our lives. Through these stories we almost instinctively try to answer “the big questions” that are part of each of us. Stories are a window into our soul. They can touch our hearts or communicate a point to us in a way that mere words cannot hope to do. They can give us that aha moment of truth like no other medium. Jesus often told stories, called parables, even coming to the point where He only spoke using these stories. In this way, He intersected God’s story with our stories. Embedded in the stories we tell are the longings of our souls…which all, finally, point to the only place these longings can be met; Jesus. In these four Sundays in August, we will use four modern stories to examine our human condition, the longing of our souls, our need for a greater story, and how the greater story of God in the Savior meets us squarely in this place of need. Whatever your age, this series will connect with you in your story with the story of Jesus!
Sunday, August 7th A Story From Toy Story
Ok. Have you seen the movie? What could Buzz Lightyear and Woody possibly teach us about ourselves and our stories….and how God’s story connects with our stories? Come and see!...and maybe, for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather together your family and/or friends and watch the movie one more time!
Sunday, August 14th The Lego Movie
I have this HUGE plastic box of legos at home from my when my kids were young. Whenever I have young (and not so young) children in the house I get it down from up high in the garage and they LOVE it! How about you? Why is it we love to build things and create things? Why were we made this way? And what does this say about our creator? And what does it mean for us right now in the stories we are living out? Come and see!...and maybe, just for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather your family and/or friends to watch the movie one more time!
Sunday, August 21st Frozen
Did you know that this movie borrows its story line, albeit loosely, from a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale first published in 1870? Tell me, why do you think this story is being retold in the movie 150 years after it was written? What does it touch within us? What does it reveal about our stories? And how does God’s story intersect with it? Come and see! …and maybe, just for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather your family and/or friends to watch the movie one more time!
Sunday, August 28th Up
It has happened almost every time I have mentioned the movie “Up” to someone. They have said, “What a great movie! I just love that movie! Don’t you think it’s great?” Tell me, why do you think people respond almost universally, in my experience at least, in this way when I mention the movie “Up?” It seems to me it is because this story really touches something down deep within us that is at the heart of our stories. And just maybe it gives us a hint of how God’s story intersects with ours. How about you? Does this movie touch you? Why do you think that is? And where is God’s story in all of this? Come and see!...and maybe, just for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather your family and/or friends to watch the movie one more time!
The Summer of Love
“Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus
“Remember, when I’m gone, I want you guys to love each other.” My dad used to say this to us, his children, all the time. And as the years went by and he got older he said it more and more often. In fact, he said it to me on the phone the week before he died. “Remember, when I’m gone, I want you guys to love each other.”
On the night before Jesus would die on the cross, He met with his disciples before He was arrested. He had an intimate meal with them as family and established His personal, mysterious, presence with them from that day forward - and with us – as His family. Yet, before they left for the Garden of Gethsemane where He knew He would be arrested and go the way of the cross, where He knew it would be the beginning of Him not being with his followers visibly in the way He had been for three years, He looked at them and said, “My children, I will be with you only a little while longer…A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ...
This Summer-“The Summer of Love” – we will focus on what this means in our lives. What does it mean –what does it look like – for God’s people to love one another?...as Jesus loves us? How does God, in His Word, flesh this out in our lives? Where can we rejoice in what God is doing among us? What do we need to begin to do brand new? How is God leading us to think differently or act differently or speak differently? Where is He calling us to soften our heart? Where is He calling us to receive a new heart and mind? Where is He calling us to grow in His love toward each other? And what do we need to turn away from? That is, what sins of thought, word, and deed –in what we have done and not done - toward each other do we need to recognize, confess, and turn away from? And what do we need to be renewed in doing? Where do we need to be renewed in our minds? And how would God change our actions toward one another through this? What does it mean, what does it look like, for us to love one another in such a way that people recognize us –identify us - through the way we love one another as disciples of Jesus? And what does it mean for us that we more and more love in this way?
In I Corinthians 13, it says what it seems to me every human being knows deep down in our souls: “Without love, we are nothing.” And while humanity so often frantically searches vainly in all the wrong places for love to fill up our souls, it is only truly found in Jesus. He IS love. He reveals love. He births us and grows us in true love. He has come so that we might have “life to the full” in the love that can only be known and lived in through Him.
In our time together this Summer, we would be changed by God to more and more live in this love toward one another….and through this, be empowered to live in love toward all. For it is true. “Without love, we are nothing.”
“Remember, when I’m gone, I want you guys to love each other.”
“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Sunday, June 5th Love Never Fails
I see it in the faces almost every time these words –from the book of First Corinthians in the Bible – are chosen to be read in a wedding. The stare that says that somehow while we like these words and we want these words to be true and we even desperately hope they can be true for this couple…and maybe even somehow also in our lives…. what we have experienced is that love does fail…again and again and again. But the Bible –God’s Word to us – says that love never fails, that we can have and live in this certain hope and reality. How is this possible?
Sunday, June 12th Love is Patient (And It is About Community)
Jeff, my oldest son, was two years old when James was born. Almost as soon as James could move they would play together, with Jeff delighting in letting James maul him. It didn’t matter what James did, Jeff just laughed and loved him and put up with him, even when James started to scratch his face to such an extent that it looked like a cat had scratched him. But as the years went by I noticed a reciprocal relationship growing….where each one “put up” with the other in patience and love and longsuffering when it was needed. Tell me, how do you think their relationship is today? This is the gift that God would work in us as we live together in community – be patient with one another in love - as the people of God.
Sunday, June 19th In the Brokenness, Love Reigns!
Stand Alone Father’s Day Celebration (We Celebrate the Love of Fathers!)
Today is kind of a “stand alone” day. We step out of our series to remember and give thanks for God’s gift of fathers! Today, we unabashedly and joyfully celebrate fathers! We will talk about fathers. We will remember our Heavenly Father. We will have “manly” donuts. And we will give away not only a devotional to guide and strengthen our fathers as they look to live out their lives as Christian fathers, but also a manly coffee mug so every morning as they drink their coffee they can be reminded of who they are in Christ as Christian fathers!
But in those places of our brokenness where this celebration brings sorrow, anger, the pain of loss, and perhaps even tears - or even a bad conscience - God would touch us anew with Christ’s love that has overcome all brokenness and made us family in Him! He through Jesus would bring forgiveness, renewal, restoration, and a brand new beginning. Let’s celebrate!
Sunday, June 26th Love is Kind
Have you ever had the experience of having to take care of a business matter on the phone and the person was KIND to you? It really is not something we have grown to expect, is it? Or perhaps in a store? The other night with a very tight time schedule, I was waiting in a crowded quick check lane in a grocery store and the clerk who was running it, seeing that I only had 4 items, waved me forward and actually took me at an auxiliary cash register that he had. Again, he was really kind! And honestly, I did not expect it! Kindness is akin to grace, undeserved love. The Bible says that God is always kind towards us. And He calls us to be kind to one another.
Sunday, July 3rd Freedom!
Stand Alone 4th of July Celebration
I remember in Jr. High School going on a retreat at the Claremont Colleges entitled “Freedom through Slavery.” They gave us a little chain with a padlock and a key in it. We talked about how so many different things –even good things – can enslave us…and how true freedom is only found in Jesus. Today we remember and celebrate the freedom we enjoy as citizens of this nation. To our God be all praise and thanksgiving for this wonderful gift! But we also pause to ask what it means to live in the freedom that Jesus gives as servants to our nation and fellow citizens.
Sunday, July 10th Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs
My mom lived almost 90 years. She was as sharp as a tack until the day she died. She did her own bookwork preparing everything for her tax advisors –to the point where they said they really did not have much to do! She lived in the home I grew up in, taking care of everything that needed to be done. As a retired nurse, she could still, with great knowledge, converse on the subject with my son who had gotten his Bachelor’s degree in nursing. And she remembered everything!.... …except one thing. Whenever we would bring something up where we, as children, had fouled up, she honestly could not remember what we were talking about. It was as if she had forgiven us and wiped them from her brain. She only saw us as her dear children –and only the good stuff as she honestly did not remember the bad stuff. It’s a pretty good way to live with those whom you love. It is a gift that God would give us with one another.
Sunday, July 17th Love is Not About “Me”
“Love is something to be given away, given away, given away…Oh yes, love is something to be given away and given away some more.” Do you remember this song? What it says is simply this, “love is not about ‘me’.” It is about giving it away to the other. Today we focus on what this looks like as we live together as the people of God, joining Jesus on His continuing mission in our world. This too is a gift for without love –and living in it – we are nothing!
Sunday, July 24th Love Does Not Delight in Evil But Rejoices with the Truth!
Authentic. That’s a good word to describe my father. What you saw is who he was. He stood for the same things no matter what. I remember one time where a man who he worked with and who also went to our church engaged in behavior that was clearly wrong and immoral. It really “shook my dad up” as he honestly couldn’t understand why this man would do it and even went and talked to him, just the two of them. Jesus –His truth and His way of life – was joyfully and authentically real for my dad. It was who he was. And so it was just natural for him to authentically come alongside of others, including us, encouraging and exhorting us in our walk with Jesus. This is also a facet of us “loving one another as Jesus has loved us.” This is our focus today.
Sunday, July 31st Love Always Protects, Trusts, Hopes, Perseveres
Sounds like the love of a parent, doesn’t it?...always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.. Wouldn’t it be great if someone loved us in this way? Wouldn’t be great if we could love another and maybe another and maybe another in this way? Just as we began with Jesus and never really left Jesus in this “Summer of Love,” we come full circle back to Jesus, marveling in this gift he gives us. “Love one another as I have loved you.”
The Celebration Continues
Memorial Day. The 4th of July. President’s Day. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Special days of remembrance and celebration are powerful in our lives. They remind us and renew in us powerful things. In the Old Testament, God set up certain Festival Celebration times of worship on which His people were to remember and be renewed in the powerful, saving acts of their loving God. These reminded them and by the power of the Holy Spirit renewed in them who they were, who their God was, and what they were to be about. Do you ever need this?
In the same spirit, the early New Testament people of God also set aside special days of worship to remember and be renewed in the acts of God for them in the Resurrected One…to remember who they were, who their God was, and what they were to be about. The following Sundays are the celebrations of three such days.
Note: While Ascension Day is on May 5th as well as Pentecost and Trinity Sundays falling on May 15th and May 22nd respectively, we will celebrate them on the following three Sundays.
Sunday, May 8th In the Brokenness, Love Reigns Mother’s Day
When Jane was pregnant with our first child, we had some very close friends who were also pregnant with their first child. Our due dates were so close together that we were in the hospital at the same time having our babies. What joy we had as we greeted our first born – a healthy baby girl! Our friends also had great joy as they greeted their first child…but it was mixed with sorrow and concern as their baby had a number of special needs that would last a lifetime. Today, we celebrate mothers, a gift of God’s love to us! But in those places of our brokenness where this celebration brings sorrow, the pain of loss, and perhaps even tears - or even a bad conscience - God would touch us anew with Christ’s love that has overcome all brokenness and made us family in Him! Let’s celebrate!
Sunday, May 15th Where do We fit in?.. Bringing the Now Into Focus Ascension Day
Have you ever seen one of those “Where’s Waldo?” children’s books? Every page is completely filled with all kinds of different things, but somewhere on that page, camouflaged and hidden, is Waldo. You just have to find him. Do you ever feel like your hunting for Waldo as you are trying to figure out where you “fit in” to things? Today, God brings everything into focus and with it, He reveals our place in it all. Let’s celebrate!
Sunday, May 22nd Wind and Fire; Power to Live In! The Day of Pentecost
“I’m tired.” “Worn out.” “Done.” When is the last time you have said this?...or thought it? The followers of Jesus were told to wait for power from on high. It came in the form of wind and fire, like the roaring and power of a spreading brush fire….and it has never left us. Where are you weary? Tired? Worn out? Done? Where do you need to remember and be renewed in God’s power for you? Today is for you! Let’s celebrate!
Sunday, May 29th The Gift of Certainty Trinity Sunday
Have you ever tried to decide which restaurant to go to when neither one of you really cared and you both have problems making decisions? It is hard - even frustrating - to live in uncertainty. A couple of weeks ago, I saw the advertisement for a Television show where the host traveled the world exploring how humanity connected with God, kind of throwing them all “into the same pot.” Tell me, do you think they could all be right even if some were as diametrically as opposite as black and white? Today, God would give us the certainty of knowing who He is and what this means for us, no question about it. Where do you need this gift? Let’s celebrate!
Unshakable Faith
Have you ever heard of the “Unsinkable Molly Brown?” She was a real person! She was a Denver socialite who was aboard the Titanic when it sunk….and she survived! Even though over 1,500 people lost their lives she survived! But what was most remarkable is how she survived. In accounts written later, it was told how she had heroically and selflessly aided in the evacuation of the ship, even taking an oar once she was safely in a lifeboat, to help row to safety. Yet, once the ship went down, it was reported that she urged the crew of her lifeboat to return to the capsize sight in order to try to save others even though the crew of the lifeboat was afraid to do so. She was, in many remarkable ways, “unsinkable,” even when many others around her were not!
Unshakable Faith. This is our focus in the next few weeks. As we bask in the glow of the certainty of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ –He is risen! He is risen indeed! – how do we live in this reality in the challenging times of our lives (when the “boat” is sinking and many others are “going down!”) with “Unshakable Faith?” And what does it look like to live in this “Unshakable Faith?”
Where are you especially challenged right now in your life of faith? Where is the “boat” sinking around you? Where are others sinking around you? Where do you long to live in “Unshakable Faith?” Where do you need to be lifted up, empowered, to live in “Unshakable Faith?” And where do you need to know what this looks like? This is our focus in the next few weeks. We pray it is a blessing to you….and to all.
Sunday, April 3rd Facing Trouble - Catastrophic Trouble – with Faith
Catastrophic trouble. How would you define it? How about something like, “the crumbling away in our lives of the pillars that we thought would never crumble?” As a nation perhaps the Great Depression of the 1930’s is a good example. Individually, maybe the unexpected loss of a job. Or perhaps a relationship that disintegrates before our very eyes which we can do nothing to prevent. What would this look like in your life? What does it look like right now? Today, the question is, how can we face these things with “Unshakable Faith?” And what does it look like?
Sunday, April 10th Facing Failure With Faith
It is hard to try again when you have failed –or even feel like you have failed, no matter what others say, isn’t it? When children –or even adults – flunk a test or maybe a number of tests, it is so hard for them to have the confidence to continue, isn’t it? On the other hand, when we experience success, it is so much easier to confidently take the next step, true? Today, we talk about “Unshakable Faith” in the midst of absolute failure. Where is this for you right now in your life? Where do you feel like a failure? Or, Where have you failed? Where do you need the power – the confidence – to take the next step?...to try again?...to go forward? Where do you need to know what this looks like?
Sunday, April 17th Facing Doubt With Faith
We all have doubts –right? While we would like to vilify Pontius Pilate when he asks Jesus, “what is truth?” if we are honest, we can, at times, identify with his doubts, can we not? The problem with doubts is that they tend to paralyze us with respect to doing the right thing. Just ask any basketball player who, after shooting and making a particular shot perhaps hundreds of times, for some reason loses their confidence – doubting their ability to make it – and so passes the ball instead of taking a wide open shot. Where do you have doubts? Where do you need to be empowered to face them with “Unshakable Faith?” Where do you need to know what this looks like?
Sunday, April 24th Facing Grief With Faith
There are many types of and reasons for grief, but they all involve loss. How have you experienced grief? What - or who – have you lost? Where in your life are you grieving today? And how has this threatened your faith? Today, in His unshakable love for you, God would come to you right in this place to empower you to live in “Unshakable Faith” in the things that you will never lose! Today, He will show you what this looks like! Today is for you!
Sunday, May 1st Facing Illness –and Death – with Faith
This is where the rubber hits the road. None of us are getting out of here alive. Death touches each of us. And illness is not far behind, ravaging and destroying lives that once had such promise. It is THE human condition.
The temptation is to see only death and defeat and hopelessness. How has this temptation touched you? But there is a greater reality. It is the foundation and reason for an “Unshakable Faith” even in the face of illness and death. And in it is the power to live like it! Today, we see what this can look like in our lives!