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3/2/08
2008 February2nd
Questions are one of the ways we learn. If you don’t understand
something and can’t figure it out, you should ask questions. You
know what they say, “There are no stupid questions – just
stupid people asking questions. But I tell you what, I would rather be
a stupid person asking questions than a stupid person thinking I know
the right answer, when I don’t. You know what that leaves them?
Everybody plays the fool sometimes. We think we know something, and we
won’t be swayed, only to find out we were wrong. It happens to
everyone at one time or another.
The disciples and the people of their time thought that the reason
people were born blind was because of sin. They were blind because
their parents had sinned. If they couldn’t figure out what their
parents could have done, it was thought that the person themselves must
have sinned in their mothers womb. They didn’t realize that there
were other possibilities.
The Pharisees also thought that a person born blind was a sinner and
had nothing to offer people like them who followed all of the rules to
the letter of the law. They didn’t realize that there were other
possibilities.
The Pharisees also thought that Jesus was a sinner because he broke the
letter of the law working on the Sabbath. Since he was a sinner he
couldn’t have healed the blind man and were baffled by Jesus.
They didn’t realize that there were other possibilities.
They knew about Moses, believed in Moses and the laws of the church,
the commandments of the church but didn’t know about this Jesus.
They didn’t realize that there were other possibilities.
Even after 500 years of Lutheran preaching I wonder how many of us
Lutherans still believe in Moses, we know Moses and the commandments
but have we let go of Moses and embraced Jesus? Do we really realize
that there are other possibilities?
I have never gone rock climbing, but I have climbed rocks and trees. I
never let go of the rock or branch I am on until I am somewhat secure
on the next one. This has always worked for me. But can you hold on to
Moses while you embrace Jesus. The Pharisees didn’t think so.
They had no intension of letting go of Moses. They didn’t realize
that there were other possibilities.
One of my professors encouraged us especially during lent to do things
different than we usually do them. If you always drive home a certain
way take a different rout home. Try some different kinds of food. For
some of us doing something different might things like reading the
bible, praying or going to worship. The point is to break the routine.
It will help you to see things a little different. Here is another
exercise, take a piece of paper draw a line down the middle. On the
left hand side write down 10 of the best places to meet Jesus. If you
wanted to feel Fourth Sunday in Lent A like you were in the presence of
the Almighty what are the top 10 places you would go?
Then on the left hand side write the top ten place you would not expect to meet Jesus.
During the rest of Lent without putting yourself in harms way go to
those places you don’t think you will meet Jesus or one of them
and see if you meet Jesus. If it is impossible for you to get there try
to imagine. Imagine Jesus in that place. Then try to figure out what he
would be doing there.
Remember the last two weeks we have seen Jesus in places he was not
expected to be. He met a Samaritan woman at the well, he met a man
blind at birth and he was with the Devil. The people of that time never
would have expected Jesus to be in those places with those people.
Since we have the bible and have read these stories we are not
surprised. Could there be things we think we know about Jesus that
could be wrong? Maybe there are other possibilities.
Wouldn’t it be better to ask those questions and do some
exploring and not risk being one of those people who THINK they know
all the answers? Remember there are no stupid questions only stupid
people asking questions. But wouldn’t you rather be the stupid
person asking questions and learning than the stupid person that stays
that way?
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3/9/08 “Hope”
Dear God,
· If you watch in church on Sunday I will show you my new shoes. Mickey D.
· If you let the Dinasor not exstinct we would not have a country. You did the right thing. Jonathan
· And this one kind of relates to our gospel reading: Instead of
letting people die and having to make new ones. Why don’t your
just keep the ones you got now? Jane
All of the readings this week have to do with Hope. Hope was 90 years
old living in a nursing home, not unlike Angels Care here in town. Hope
did not resemble her name. She had had a rough life. She was married
twice neither one working out very well. One husband left her the other
one she should have left. She was left with little kids to take care
of. She did the best she could. Hope didn’t have much money but
she had a lot of love and a lot of faith. You could say she was like
Israel one who strives or struggles with God.
Hope needed that faith bringing up those kids, they were a handful. But
now at 90 years old with the kids gone, and grandkids gone many of whom
she was left to raise, with them gone, Hope faced another challenge,
Parkinsons. She didn’t have the usual type, she said I
don’t shake on the outside, it all happens on the inside. This
together with her bouts with depression just beat her down. When her
pastor stopped to see her he noticed how this skinny woman was wasting
away to nothing. This inspirational prayer warrior of the past was now
nothing but skin and bones. He couldn’t help feeling that it
would be better for her to pass away in her sleep. He hated to admit,
that he had given up hope. When God sent the prophet Ezekiel to his
people they had given up hope. Last time we talked about the people of
Israel, the ones who strove with God, the ones who struggled with God,
the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they had been wandering in
the wilderness. They were looking for water and edtting bit by snakes
while they journeyed to the Promised Land. They finally got to the
Promised Land. They took over the land God had promised them. In time
came King Saul, then King David and King Solomon. After King Solomon,
the glory years, the kingdom fell apart. And after a time they were
taken over by other countries. They were taken away from the land of
promise, the land flowing with milk and honey and forced to live in
exile in Babylon. While they were living in exile away from their
promised land, the land of their god, you could imagine morale was not
too high. They lived in exile for 40 years. It would be tough enough if
you knew you only had to suffer so long and then you would be able to
go back to your home land. It is even tougher in the middle of it. They
were not only living in a foreign land away from the people and the
land they loved but they wondered where God was. They wondered if they
would continue to be a people or just fade away. They lived in a land,
the land of a people who worshipped other gods. The people of Israel
compared themselves to dry bones. What hope is there for dry bones?
What hope of life is there for bones once the bones are dry.
I remember wanting to break the wish bone with my brothers. We wanted
to break it right away but that was almost impossible. While there was
still moisture in it, the bone would bend and crack but it was
impossible to break. My mom always wanted us to wait until it was dry.
Then it was easy to break. God sent the prophet Ezekiel to prophecy to
the bones, which was really the people of Israel, the people who had
begun to give up striving with God, struggling with God. They thought
they had no hope. I just love this passage Ezekiel prophecies what God
told him to prophecy. And the bones started rattlin, the bones came
together, the skin and the sinews came on the bones. Then God sent his
breath of life upon those bones. In this way the people of Israel who
were a people without hope became a living hoping people during this
dark hour in their history.
From all that they could see, from all that they had experienced they
had lost their hope but God breathed life and hope back into them.
We also read the story of Mary and Martha mourning the death of their
brother. “If you had been there… they both said
…our brother won’t have died”. They had had faith
and hope in Jesus before their brother had died. Did they have hope now
that he was dead? Martha had said to Jesus “even now God will
give whatever you ask”. But did she really have hope? When Jesus
went to the tomb which was a cave, where dead Lazarus had been laid and
said “Take away the stone”. Martha warned about the smell.
Did she have hope? Obviously she should have. It’s obvious
isn’t it? All she had to do is read a few verses ahead. But
Martha was not an actress in a play. This was the real world, Real
life, real death, with no hindsight vision. Just like us.
Aren’t there times we give up hope, it maybe with a sick older
person or with a young person, it could be a life and death situation
or someone’s direction in life. There are times when we look at a
situation and we see no hope; we see nothing but dry bones. Will these
bones ever live again? There are times we look at people the decisions
they make in life and we give up on them thinking there is no hope, dry
bones. Maybe we look at our own lives, we see no way out, we see no
future, not hope, just a field of dry bones.
The apostle Paul in his letter reminds us today that if all you see,
all you trust in is what this world offers us, if all we see is what we
can do for ourselves or what the government or technology can offer,
there is no hope, it is or eventually be nothing but dry bones.
But Paul also reminds us that with God, there is hope, Jesus reminds
Mary and Martha, you and me, that even is the midst of death there is
hope. God reminds us through Ezekiel it may be nothing but dry bones
there but God can put meat on those bones, God can breathe life into
those bones. God wants us to be Israel, a people that strives with God,
sometimes struggles with God, but never giving up hope, no matter how
dark the day may be. Even in the face of the death of our savior. Them
bones are gonna rise again. Let’s say that together.
· In the face of trouble, we say Them bones are gonna rise again.
· In the face of doubt, we say Them bones are gonna rise again.
· pain and suffering we say Them bones are gonna rise again.
· In the face of heart ache we say Them bones are gonna rise again.
· As people of God we say. Them bones are gonna rise again.
Amen.
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3/12/08 Frustrating Stuckness
The next chapter of our study of Messy Spirituality is entitled
Unspiritual growth. Yaconelli calls it that because he is uncomfortable
with “Spiritual Growth” as it is portrayed and marketed. Go
to any Christian bookstore he says, and you will find books on how to
grow spiritually. Yanconelli says and I quote “Spirituality has
become an industry, a system, a set of principles, formulas, training
programs, curricula, books and tapes which if followed promise to
produce maturity and depth”. “Authentic spiritual growth
doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not a formula, take two
verses wash it down with some prayer and call me in the morning”.
I think a better title for this chapter would be “Frustrating
Stuckness”. I love this quote “getting stuck is a
prerequisite for getting unstuck”, “getting stuck is a
prerequisite for getting unstuck”. Usually we Christians think of
getting stuck as a bad thing that perhaps God is closing a door leading
us to the smooth riding highway of life. Yaconelli challenges us to
consider “stuckness” as a divine leading. College student
evangelist.
In his book The Easy Yoke, Doug Webster tells a story about an
idealistic college student who ended up on a mission trip to one of the
more dangerous housing projects in Philadelphia. A brand-new Christian,
this wide-eyed urban missionary didn’t have a clue how to
evangelize the inner city. Frightened and anxious to share his new
faith, the young man approached a very large tenement house. Cautiously
making his way through the dark, cluttered hallways, he gingerly
climbed up one flight of stairs to an apartment. He knocked on the
door, and a woman holding a naked, howling baby opened it. She was
smoking and not in any mood to hear some white, idealistic college boy
tell her about Jesus. She started cursing him and slammed the door in
his face. The young man was devastated.
He walked out to the street, sat on the curb, and wept. Look at me. How
in the world could someone like me think I could tell anyone about
Jesus? Then he remembered that the baby was naked and the woman was
smoking. The plan forming in his head didn’t seem terribly
spiritual, but He ran down the street to the local market and bought a
box of diapers and a pack of cigarettes. When he knocked on the door
again, he showed the woman his purchases. She hesitated and then
invited him in. For the rest of the day, he played with the baby and
changed its diapers (even though he had never changed diapers before).
When the woman offered him a cigarette, even though he didn’t
smoke, he smoked. He spent the entire day smoking and changing diapers.
Never said a word about Jesus. Late in the afternoon, the woman asked
him why he was doing all this, and finally he got to tell her
everything he knew about Jesus. Took about five minutes. When he
stopped talking, the woman looked at him and said softly, “Pray
for me and my baby that we can make it out of here alive,” so he
did.
This college boy received a lesson in spiritual growth. In one
frustrating afternoon, he learned about the power of sensitivity, the
meaning of evangelism, the hopelessness of those who live in urban
areas. He also learned that sometimes the Holy Spirit asks us to
violate our convictions for a season in order to live the faith, not
just talk about it. When this young man returned to college, he
didn’t start smoking, but he did start listening to the leading
of the Holy Spirit. What an education! What a growth-producing
experiment.
Can you imagine this young man standing in front of his congregation
talking about his new program of smoking evangelism? It certainly
would be an interesting evening. Doesn’t sound much different
than the day Jesus let a woman waste a bottle of expensive perfume on
him. I have the feeling there was spiritual growth going on around the
dinner table that night. Conflict resolution in marriage and other
relationships.
When Sandy and I talk to pre-marriage couples one of the topics we talk
about is conflict resolution. We talk about conflict resolution because
believe it or not there can be conflict in marriage. Husband and wives
need to learn to get beyond the conflict for them to have a successful
marriage. Some couples have told me that they never fight. This is a
red flag in their relationship.
If they never fight they are not in a relationship they are not
communicating. I’m not talking about physical fights I’m
talking about disagreements, conflict. If there is no conflict it means
that there isn’t honest intimate communication. If you are
communicating you will find things you disagree about. You need to
learn how to get past that. I think they realize that but what
surprises them sometimes is when we tell them that conflict is actually
a good thing. Getting stuck in their relationship is a good thing. The
place you get stuck is an area you need to grow. Working through the
conflict actually makes your marriage stronger than it was before.
Sometimes we can be stuck in our spiritual life and don’t even
know it until God intervenes. During the puppet show Ricky was pushed
out of his comfort zone. Maybe our comfort zone is part of our
stuckness. Ricky was pushed into going to the nursing home. Then Mr.
Wilson grabbed his hand pulling him out of the “stuckness”
he didn’t even know he was in.
Getting stuck is frustrating but it’s the only way to grow. If
everything is going well – why change? It is in the struggles, in
the “stuckness” that we grow. So should we strive to be
stuck? Who would want to do that? There may be times when we will have
to face our fears which may be part of our stuckness. But I don’t
think we need to go looking for stuckness. God will make sure it
happens.
ollowing a set of principles or learning formulas, going to training
programs, following a curricula, reading books and listening to tapes
may a more glamourous way to grow spiritually. It sounds like more fun,
organized and a safer way to grow. And don’t get me wrong, there
is a lot of helpful insights out there. But I can’t help thinking
that it is easier to approach spiritual grow as a parlor game that way.
Getting down and dirty, working through the stuckness of life we
realize that it is not though our efforts that we grow spiritually
anymore than physical growth is. If we were able to make ourselves grow
physically, I’m referring to vertical growth, getting taller. Yes
I know we are able to make ourselves grow horizontally, getting wider.
But if we could make ourselves grow vertically you think I’d be
this height? The theology of “stuckness” shows us that it
is by the grace of God that we live and grow and have our being. So the
next time you get stuck and can’t find a way out – get
excited. It’s time to grow in faith.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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3/23/08 Easter
Mary and the other Mary went to the tomb. They went to the tomb because
Jesus had died. They were going to anoint his body with spices, his
dead body. There was a sound like an earth quake and angel descended
from heaven and moved the stone, more like a bolder from in from of the
tomb which was more like a cave. It isn't real clear whether or not
they saw the angel descend or saw them move the stone. We know the
guards did. They were so afraid that they were overcome with fear.
We know that the angel told the 2 Marys “Do not be afraid”.
Whether or not they saw the angel descend from heaven or move the
stone, they were still afraid. The angel said don't be afraid.
“Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; he’s
been raised, Come, see the place where he lay. Then they said, “go quickly and tell his
disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will
see him.’”
So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy. ,Running from
the tomb with the message and with fear and with joy Jesus meets them.
Jesus also tells them “Do not be afraid”. So the angels
told them “Do not to be afraid” and Jesus told them
“Do not be afraid” but I tell you. BE AFRAID, BE VERY
AFRAID.
Picture this scene. There is this big bully who was oppressing and
terrifying these people. He was the rule. He was the Boss. They didn't
like it but that was the way it was. That was all they knew. Then one
day someone comes up to the bully and slaps him as we say in Ny upside
the head. He slaps him down to the ground. Immediately the people are
shocked and scared at the same time and a little excited.
They are shocked because no one had ever questioned or stood up to the
bully before much less hit him. At the same time they were scared,
wondering what the bully would do? What would this mean for them? Would
things get any worse? Would he exact revenge on the one who slapped
him, would he take it out on them? They were also excited. Is this the
end of the bully’s reign? Would they now be free? But if they
were free what would they do?
BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID. My friend Pastor Kevin Jones told me
something that might surprise you. He told me that when his son was to
be baptized he was scared. No one had ever talked to me about being
scared at their child's baptism. I have known parents who were excited,
proud, even, unfortunately bored but never afraid. He said that he was
afraid because his son by being claimed by Christ, by being officially
a child of God, he would be beginning a new life. He said that new
life, the life of being a Christian is not always easy, in fact it is
often much harder.
BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID. The guards had good reason to be afraid. The
two Marys had good reason to be afraid, you and I have good reason to
be afraid. Jesus changed the world forever. It is a fact of life that
people live and they die. We don't like it but that's just the way life
is, or was. God raised Jesus and destroyed the power of death.
We are imperfect people we make mistakes, we sin. We live in a world
where you have to pay for your sins, pay for your mistakes, or you had
to pay for your mistakes. God raised Jesus destroying the power of
sin and forgiving people who don’t deserve it. God raised Jesus
from the dead setting us free from as Luther would say, free from sin,
death and the power of the devil. God raised Jesus and set us free from
sin, death and the devil. But let me ask you do you think the Devil,
and all the enemies of God are going to take this laying down?
BE AFRAID BE VERY AFRAID Speaking of being afraid there is a story in
the bible that always puzzled me. Remember when Elijah went up to Mount
Carmel and had this contest with the 450 prophets of Baal. Baal was a
fertility god? The prophets of Baal were enemies of God, enemies of our
God, the true God. I won't go into the whole story but Elijah wins. 450
to 1 and Elijah wins. Well he kind of cheated because God helped him
but he wins. He not only wins the contest but the 450 prophets were
killed by God's people. The good guys won the bad guys lost. Elijah
should be really happy really excited right?
Wrong, when Elijah’s group wins Elijah leaves, runs away and is
all depressed. Yes he won the battle but he feared what might come
next. Like the bully that got slapped down. It looks like good
news but now what is going to happen?
I said BE AFRAID BE VERY AFRAID kind of as a joke , but it can be a
scary thing. It is a vuja de experience. You know what a
Déjà vu experience is. Déjà vu is when you
experience something and you get a feeling that this experience has
happened to you before. That you have experienced it before. A vuja de
experience is the feeling that this has never happened before. The
guards and the Marys experience something they had no experience with
well no body had experience with angels descending from heaven moving
stones, finding empty tombs where dead people are suppose to be and
those angels telling them the Jesus has risen from the dead. This
doesn’t happen every day. Life in Christ can lead us into new
experiences, ones that can be very scary. When that happens there is
only one thing to do – BE AFRAID BE VERY AFRAID, no rely on Jesus.
Today we celebrate Easter. We celebrate Jesus’ victory over sin,
death and the Devil. The angels and Jesus are right when they say:
“Do not be afraid”. They tell us this
because things happen that are scary. Sometimes they’re scary
because they are different. But even though life gets scary Jesus can
turn it into something very good.
Story from Father Andrew Greeley:
Once upon a time there was a terrible fight in a certain family. The
father and the mother had slipped into the habit of low level nastiness
with one another and were drifting apart. The children (teenagers) were
routinely snarling at one another and at their parents. Sometimes they
joined in the mean-spirited exchanges between the parents. No one left
the house, there was no divorce nor even the talk of divorce --but
there were lots of thoughts about it. What was once a happy and loving
family, as families go, had turned into a battleground in which four
armies were fighting, and not taking any prisoners.
Then, the girl teen was in an accident in which her car was totally by
a drunken driver. The other three rushed to the hospital and found her
in bed, covered with bandages, but able to smile, weakly. I had one of
those near death experiences, she informed them (what selfrespecting
teen in an auto accident doesn't have one of them) and God told me
we're a bunch of geeks. He told me we should stop fighting with each
other. Now! So they all hugged one another and cried and promised
they'd start over again.
Almost losing a loved one is a very scary experience; so is making
promises to start over. But “now the family had new life and it
was Easter.” It was scary when Jesus was crucified died and was
buried. It was scary when the tomb was open and the body was gone. It
was scary when the angels said Jesus had been raise from the dead.
It can be scary living life as a Christian. Being an ambassador of love
and forgiveness instead of giving people what they deserve instead of
giving them what is fair. But Jesus says to us today as he said to the
two Marys, DO NOT BE AFRAID.
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3/30/08 “In Defense of Thomas”
As I was studying, preparing for my sermon this week I was having a
hard time. I have been a pastor since 1990, for about 18 years. Every
year for 18 yrs the reading for the 2nd Sunday of Easter is the story
of Jesus appearing to the Disciples who were scared to death, scared of
death, in a locked room. It’s not like most other Sunday were you
get a reading from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The second Sunday of
Easter is always John 20:19-31. Do you feel bad for me yet? Probably
not.
I was surfing the Internet looking for some inspiration when I came
upon something very interesting. I found this document entitled:
“In Defense of Thomas”. Scholars have had a very difficult
time dating it but they do know it is very, very old. It was translated
from the original Norwegian, I mean Greek. It turns out a relative of
the Apostle Thomas attempted to clear his ancestor's name. I have
original transcript of the trial.
Narrator: In order to follow the trial: Andrew will read “The
Defense” part, ______ will read “The Judge” part and
I will read the “Thomas group” part.
Narrator: Here is the opening statements,
The Thomas goup: We intend prove that the Apostle Thomas has been
unjustly characterized in the Biblical tradition as well as the
Christian Church. Preachers have been the most slanderous in their
interpretation, through their preaching and teaching of Thomas in
Jesus’ 3rd resurrection account as recorded in the Gospel of John.
Thomas’ response to the witness of the Disciples was no different
than that of the other Disciples; in fact Thomas made a confession of
faith unrivaled by any of them with the exception of Peter. We will
prove beyond a shadow of a doubt – pardon the pun- that the
singling out of this faithful, thoughtful disciple with the title
“Doubting Thomas” is unwarranted and it should be stricken
from the record. It should be forbidden to betray him in this light.
Narrator: In their opening remarks the Defense made a strong move to have the case thrown out of court.
The Defense: Your Honor, we would like to submit into evidence: The
gospel of John chapter 20 vs 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your
finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my
side. Do not doubt but believe."
The Defense: What else do we need your Honor?
The Thomas group: Translating of the Greek word apistos as doubt is not
very accurate Judge, since pistos means to believe or believing.
Apistos literally means believe not, unbelieving, not having faith.
The Defense: “That's the same thing as doubt Your Honor. This is just semantics.”
Judge: I’ll let the trial continue.
The Thomas group: Your Honor we are glad that the defense brought up
verse 27. As you can see Jesus asked Thomas to touch his and hands and
feet and to look at him.
The Defense: Judge, they are just proving our point. He didn’t believe until he saw and touched Jesus.
He was a “doubter”.
The Thomas group: Your Honor if we would be allowed to continue without being interrupted.
Judge: I’ll sustain it for now but I must tell you the Defense makes an excellent point.
The Thomas group: Please Your Honor, if we could continue.
Judge: Go ahead
The Thomas group: Your Honor we would like to go back to the beginning
of the chapter where Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb. When she arrives
at the tomb….
The Defense: No one is claiming that Mary Magdalene believed without seeing Your Honor.
Narrator: You really can't make out what it says here but it continues with The Thomas group.
The Thomas group: Thank you your Honor. She arrives and sees the empty
tomb. Then she runs and tells Peter and "the one whom Jesus loved", we
also take exception to John referring to himself as the “one whom
Jesus loved” as if Jesus didn’t love the other disciples
but I digress. Mary tells them "They have
taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid
him." Peter and “the one whom Jesus loves” run to the tomb.
Who do you think gets to the tomb first? It was “The one whom
Jesus loved” of course. (Sarcastically)
Judge: How the Apostle John characterizes himself is beyond the scope
of this case. If you wish to pursue that issue you will have to file
another petition; right now you are wasting the Court’s time.
The Thomas group: Sorry Your Honor. They arrive at the tomb Peter goes
in first and see where Jesus had been. “The one whom Jesus
loved” looked and believed.
The Defense: Peter is not at issue here Judge but John saw the empty tomb and believed even though he didn’t see Jesus.
The Thomas group: What did he believe?
The Defense: Judge, It’s obvious he believed Jesus had risen from the dead.
The Thomas group: Oh, really Verse 8 says: Then the other disciple, who
reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; Verse 9
says: for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must
rise from the dead.
The Defense: Then what did he believe?
The Thomas group: Maybe he believed Mary when she said someone had
taken the body. Besides if John had believed then he would have told
the others. Why then if he did tell them are the disciples scared to
death or of death hiding in a locked room? Or did John tell them all
that Jesus had been raised from the dead and they didn’t believe?
Maybe they “doubted”?
The Defense: The Defense concedes Judge that John, “the one whom
Jesus loved”, probably didn’t believe in the resurrection
yet.
The Thomas group: Thank you so much.
The Defense: But let’s get to the locked room when Jesus came through the wall and they believed.
The Thomas group: We would love to. Your Honor we would submit into
evidence John 20:19 John says: 19 When it was evening on that day, the
first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples
(Not Thomas) had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
The Thomas group: It doesn’t say they believed
The Defense: What makes you think they didn’t believe?
The Thomas group: Judge at this time we would also like to submit vs
20, the next verse, AFTER he said this, he showed them his hands and
his side. THEN the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
The Defense: Yes that might be true but. Thomas doubted when the Disciples told him about it.
The Thomas group: We would rather say did not believe. Your honor, who
among us believes everything they are told. Should we believe
everything anybody tells us? How many emails do we receive about some
weird thing happening. Are we suppose to believe all of those, of
course not. Sometimes we check it out. We go to the site on the
Internet, to make sure the story was true. And who can blame us. We
can’t believe everything everybody tells us. An intelligent,
responsible person has to look at all the facts and discern what is
true and what is not. This is the case especially if we want to be an
intelligent, responsible Christian.
The Defense: You Honor, Internet? Hoax site? What is the Inter-net? What is the Thomas group talking about?
The Thomas group: Oops! I forgot computers hadn’t even been invented yet.
The Defense: What?
The Thomas group: The point is Judge, that Thomas was being a
responsible disciple. He especially wanted to be careful when trying to
figure out if Jesus really had been raised from the dead. Think about
who was giving him this information, those other Disciples. They were
not the the most reliable and trustworthy group. They would promise
something and swear to it but when you need them… Oh, sorry
Judge, I digress again.
The Defense: But Thomas wouldn’t even believe by seeing Jesus he had to touch Jesus’ hands and side.
The Thomas group: We will concede Your Honor that Thomas did say he
wouldn't believe unless he touched Jesus' wounds but in reading John's
account it really isn’t clear whether he touched Jesus or not.
The Defense: O, come on!
The Thomas group: We do know Your Honor that He makes a confession of faith unrivaled. “My Lord, My God”.
The Defense: But Your Honor, the Thomas group hasn’t proven that Thomas wasn’t a doubter.
The Thomas group: We prefer to say, he did not believe.
The Defense: Either way he only stopped doubting or stopped not believing after seeing Jesus.
The Thomas group: Our point Your Honor is that Thomas was no different
than a lot of us. Sure there are people in scripture who came to faith
by just hearing the witness of a believer, like those people the woman
at the well witnessed to. In the future many of the mainline
denominations will come to faith in that way, especially the Lutherans.
The Defense: There he goes again Your Honor, Mainline? Denominations? What are Lutherans?
The Thomas group: Your Honor some of us come to faith without seeing or experiencing anything and that’s great.
The Defense: Jesus says they are blessed.
The Thomas group: Of course they are. But there are also many people
who have a “God” experience, or have gone through a tragedy
and as a result have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Martin Luther said
it is only at the foot of the cross that we see the real Jesus. There
are many ways people come to faith. One is no better than another. Your
honor, the important thing is that people believe.
The Defense: There’s that name again. Are you talking about a lute?, a musical instrument?
Narrator: Then there's a large space you can’t read and then the Defense says.
The Defense: The Defense rests your Honor.
The Thomas group: Your Honor, The Thomas group rests.
Narrator: Unfortunately we don’t have the Judge’s decision.
The rest of the document was destroyed. However you come to believe.
May you believe in Jesus Christ. May you have life in his name now and
forever.
Amen.
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4/6/08/Lk 24:13-35
You can learn a lot about God from children. From my nephew I learned, that God is left handed. God is
left handed because Jesus is sitting on his right.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our risen Lord. He has risen (respond he
has risen indeed).
This is the 3rd Sunday of Easter and again as last week, we have a reading that appears single every year.
I will not appeal for your sympathy, I didn’t get any last week and I’m sure I wouldn’t get any this week.
One of the things our reading talks about is the NEED and the BLESSING of Sunday worship. But that is not
the only thing this rich text says to us. This is a very rich text.
At the Men’s morning bible study The Men’s 6 am bible study
– still no sympathy right? I didn’t think so.
We were talking about rich texts. We were talking about how modern writing is very direct and to the
point. It goes from point A to point B . But writing has not always been that way. In the past, especially in
Antiquity writing was not direct from one point to another. Instead the writer would walk around the
subject so that you could see all of sides. We are in too much of a rush for that. Today we might call this
“beating around the bush” but I would imagine they would say that they better captured the thought or
the subject in its fullness.
This is one of the challenges we modern and post modern people have in reading and understanding
scripture today. We look for the plain and simple straight forward meanings in the scriptures when
maybe there isn’t one. Maybe it wasn’t written for that purpose. Maybe the goal wasn’t to give us the
answer maybe it was to help us on our journey. For instance, they say that a good rabbi especially in
Jesus’ time never gives a straight answer to a question. A good rabbi would always answer a question
with a question, or answer a question with a story. It forces you to think.
I wouldn’t say that the reading this week doesn’t have any straight forward information for us, it does. It
is also much richer than that. Stories are often like that. Don’t just look for the moral of the story. Enter
into the story. Let’s enter into today’s story.
Two believers in Jesus are walking along the road to Emmaus. Some of you might think that this is just
another one of those Bob Hope, Bing Cosby and Dorothy La More’s movies but it not.
As they walk along, talking with each other, a stranger comes and walks with them. They think he’s a
stranger. What are you talking about, He asks? What everyone is talking about. They say. Are you the
only one who hasn’t heard how Jesus, one, mighty in word and deed has been handed over to be
crucified and killed? We had hoped, that he would be the one, to redeem Israel.
He died 3 days ago and some of our women have said that his body was gone from the tomb and that
Jesus has been raised from the dead. Some of our men went to see the tomb and it was as they said,
there was no body. Only they didn’t see Jesus.
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The stranger said, don’t you get it, This is what the prophets said would happen. This had to happen, the
Messiah had to suffer and die like this to enter into his glory. Then he explained the scriptures to them.
He explained God’s plan from Abraham & Sarah through the prophets and how it all related to Jesus.
When they arrived at the village the stranger appeared to be going ahead but it was late and they asked
him, “Please stay with us.” As they ate together during the meal the stranger took the bread, blessed it
broke it and gave it to them. All of a sudden they saw that this stranger was no a stranger. It was Jesus.
“He was revealed to them in the breaking of the bread”. But then he disappeared.
Then they realize something else, they said to one another, “didn’t our heart burn as he opened the
scriptures to us?” They quickly left and went back to Jerusalem and told the 11 disciples, “We have seen
the Lord” he was revealed in the breaking of the bread.
This is great story to put to memory. This story says a lot about the faith, our walk of faith. Most of us
here are Christians. We believe in Jesus. But even though we are Christians we are sometimes
disappointed. We have ideas about how things should be. We have hopes and sometimes those hopes
are not realized. We, like the men on the road could say, “We had hoped.”
We know of Jesus mighty in Word and Deed. We know he suffered and died. We know that it was
necessary. We have heard that he has risen. “He has risen” (response He has risen indeed) Even though
we know all this there are times when we can say Just like those men on the road, in disappointment
“we had hoped”.
When the men on the road said they were hoping he would redeem Israel, they probably were talking
about freedom from the Romans. When we say we had hoped he would redeem Israel, we are saying
we had hoped he would redeem us those who strive with God, the new Israel through faith. We are the
new Israel in faith. We had hoped he would save us from our troubles.
Sunday worship, I said that one of the things this reading talks about is the need and the blessing of
Sunday worship. But you didn’t see Sunday or worship anywhere in that reading did you? But what do
we do when we gather together on Sundays? We read the scriptures don’t we? We ask God to send the
Holy Spirit to help us find Jesus in the scriptures don’t we? Didn’t Jesus open the scriptures to those
disciples? We look for Jesus through the preaching don’t we? We also gather together on Sunday to
break the bread and drink the wine so that we can see Jesus. We gather together during Sunday
worship, so Jesus can be revealed to us and forgive us our sins.
Much of the time in the world we live in, God seems hidden. This hidden-ness of God is one of the
reasons the sacraments are so important.
In our HC class there were two benefits of HC, I wanted to make sure they knew and remembered. Are
there any 5th graders here today that remember what those 2 things I wanted you to remember?
Through HC we are forgiven and it is a place where we know Jesus is. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of
the Father but not literally. He is not limited to one place. He is somehow with us in HC. We know that
God is everywhere but sometimes it doesn’t seem like he’s anywhere. HC is such a great gift because it
is a time and a place where we can be assured Jesus is.
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Some people say we should have HC every week. HC gives us forgiveness and assurance of God’s
presence with us. A pastor friend of mine says HC is the best thing we have offer people. Increasingly
people don’t see the need to come to Sunday worship. He says, Since many people don’t come to
worship every week we need to make sure we give them the best we’ve got when they do come. HC is
the best we’ve got.
We come to worship also to be together with other people who also want and need to see Jesus. We
come to worship so that we can be like Jesus, mighty in Word and Deed in his name.
Sunday worship is not the only time and place we can receive God’s forgiveness and be in his presence,
thank God for that. Sunday worship IS the time and place where we are intentional about our faith. We
come looking for Jesus. We come with our joys and concerns, our sins and our hopes. We look for Jesus
in the written Word, in the proclaimed Word and in the Word revealed in the breaking of the bread. We
come to pray to him and praise him for all of his marvelous deeds. We come to see Jesus. He has risen.
(he has risen indeed)
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4/13/08/John 10’1-10.08
The true people of God are those who listen to Jesus. Those who work for Jesus, get their marching
orders from him. They do not try to keep people away from Jesus or his kingdom. That decision is
Jesus’ and he wants you in.
We know that Jesus loved children. “let the children come to me he said”. We know that Jesus loved
Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus, he wept watching them all morn Lazarus’ death. We
know that Jesus loved the whole world because he died for us all.
But what was it that made him angry? The first thing you might think of is the money changers in the
temple. Or maybe the time his own disciples tried to keep the little children from coming to him. I
think the parable or analogy of today’s reading is the result of something that made him mad.
We are in the beginning of the 10th chapter of the gospel of John. A while back we read the story that
covered the whole 9th chapter. It was the story of the man born blind. Jesus healed him. And it was a
big deal with the religious leaders. Not for what you would think. Not because in awe and wonder
they praised God for the wonderful miracle healing. No, they almost didn’t care that this man born
blind received his sight, except for the fact that Jesus did it on the Sabbath and that was against the
rules. In fact this man was kicked out of the Synagogue because he thought Jesus was pretty special.
Imagine thinking the person who gives you sight when you never had it ever in your life, is special.
Jesus was mad at those leaders. They were the leaders. They were responsible for caring for God’s
people. They didn’t care for the people. They cared more for rules then people. In fact they used the
rules to put the people down and keep them from God.
So here in the next chapter Jesus says, I am the gate. Only the shepherd that comes through the
gate is a real shepherd, one who cares for the sheep. Those who get in another way are thieves and
bandits. They don’t care about the sheep. The true shepherds lead by example, they lead the sheep
in and out and bring them to pasture.
Jesus is telling those religious leaders that they are not following God’s ways. God’s laws were meant
to help the people know how to live in relationship with him and with other people. The laws were
not meant to keep people away from God.
Jesus came to earth in order to repair our relationship with God. Jesus suffered and died to bring us
back into relationship with him. It is hard enough for Jesus like a shepherd to get together with his
sheep, to get together with his people. He says that the sheep hear the shepherd’s voice and don’t
follow the stranger but run away. He says they follow their shepherd’s voice, the good shepherd’s
voice.
I know they say sheep are some of the dumbest animals but if Jesus is using sheep to refer to us,
then we must be even dumber than sheep, because we don’t run away from the stranger. We run
away from Jesus. We do follow other voices. Maybe Jesus is saying we only follow his voice as
wishful thinking or as encouragement. Because that’s what he wants. He wants us to follow him and
not all the other thieves and bandits.
So it’s hard enough for Jesus to get together with us. And since it’s hard for him to get together
with us, He doesn’t want anyone or anything keeping us apart. He especially doesn’t what those
leaders who are supposedly working for God keeping people away from him.
So Jesus out of frustration wants to make things clear to them and to us. Jesus is the gate. He is
opening the door for us. What’s in the door? Abundant life.
Do you ever hear people telling you that there is another way to abundant life? Maybe if you just
follow this technique or listen to this speaker. Or are there people that try to make you feel that
because of who you are, what you’ve done, how you live your life, that you can’t go to Jesus?
The true people of God are those who listen to Jesus. Those who work for Jesus, get their marching
orders from him. They do not try to keep people away from Jesus or his kingdom. That decision is
Jesus’ and he wants you in.
And I’m not just talking about pastors or church leaders. Yes we pastors and church leaders have
great responsibilities but we are not the only ones. In all that we do each and every one of us, let’s
make sure we are not putting obstacles between God and his people.
What gets Jesus mad is people preventing others from getting to him. What makes Jesus happy is
making sure people have life and having it abundantly.
Let’s not get in people’s way to Jesus. But it’s not enough to just not get in people way to Jesus. We
need to ask, What can we do to make sure the obstacles between Jesus and his people are removed.
One way to remove obstacles is to bring them to Jesus. Today we baptized Micah. In the waters of
baptism his sins are forgiven and he is reborn a child of God. He is given something for his faith to
hold on to.
Jesus is the gate to Abundant life. Let nothing get in his way. Amen.
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4/20/08/John 14:1-14
Last words: When someone has died suddenly, I have often half joked
that this is the way I want to go. In some ways dying suddenly appears
to be an easy way out. You don’t have to think suffering a long
drawn out illness. You don’t have to think about dying or leaving
your loved ones. Many of us would like to go, when the time comes, we
are not talking about rushing anything or taking anything into our own
hands. Many of us would like to go to bed one night and never wake up.
Going quickly always seems to be the easiest way to go, for the one who
dies. Of course it’s one of the worst ways to lose a loved one.
We don’t want our loved ones suffer but usually we would like to
say goodbye. We don’t want there to be anything left unsaid. By
the way this is a good reminder to us all to let people know you love
them when you have the chance because you never know when the last time
you will have the chance.
It would be really scary to know when you are going to die. Would you
really like to be able to look into a crystal ball and see your future?
We’d all like to see what the next Powerball numbers would be but
what if while seeing those numbers you also see your own obituary? I
think that’s really scary. In a way Jesus could see his own
obituary, when he was washing the disciples’ feet he knew he
would die soon. He even knew how he would die. Talk about scary! If you
knew you would die soon what would you want to tell people? Are there
words of wisdom you would want to impart to them and future
generations? You might want to give them some advice in life or
encourage them. They might be upset with your dying, their living
without you. You would make sure they know how much you love them. You
would also remind them of their own gifts and abilities and that there
would always be a part of you in them.
Jesus knew he was going to die soon. He knew it would be hard on his
disciples. It might be a shock to them. He wasn’t sick and they
probably wouldn’t see his arrest, conviction and crucifixion
coming, even though he told them time and time again.
Jesus knew that he needed to prepare them for the time when he
wouldn’t be there with them, not in the flesh anyway. The
disciples would be upset and scared; scared because Jesus was arrested
and crucified and they might be next; scared because they would be
without them. How could they survive without him? Jesus wanted to calm
their fears they needed to not just survive but to thrive.
Funny thing about the church, the people of God, went our goal is to
just survive we never do. When a congregation gets scared and goes into
survival mode it usually dies. My nephew recently got a unicycle. I
don’t know much about unicycles but it seems to me by just
looking at it that it is not made to stand still. It is made to move,
even if you want to stay in the same place you have to move.
Jesus didn’t want the disciples to just survive, he wanted them
to thrive. How does he calm their fears, encourage them empower them?
To just give them a pep talk and tell them to just work really hard
would be of help but it wouldn’t get the job done. Jesus
wasn’t willing to leave it up to our own powers, abilities and
will power. We are talking about the salvation of the world. Remember
how much God loves the world? He loves the world so much that he gave
his only begotten son, Jesus. Jesus came to this world out of love to
die for us. God has a lot invested in this whole operation, so God is
going to stick with it. So Jesus as he sees the end of his life, he
wants to prepare his disciples. He prepares them with a lesson in
reality and a promise.
Reality is that Jesus is in God and God is in Jesus. Jesus didn’t
go into this hold operation on his own. This is all part of God’s
master plan. How do we begin know who God is, what God is like and what
the plan is? We look to Jesus. If you see Jesus you see God. What has
Jesus said? What has Jesus done? He has died on the cross in love for
us. Jesus is going to die and leave them but in a way he will never
leave them. He will send the Holy Spirit to be with them. The spirit
will calm, guide and empower them to continue with this operation, with
this plan of God’s. God’s mission.
In the same way the Spirit speaks to us today. God’s work in the
world continues. God sends his spirit to you to be with you as you
continue with this operation, with this plan, with this mission. Bishop
Hanson made a point when he was speaking in Rochester recently, that
really connects with this. The bishop said that the church today should
not think of it’s self as making Disciples. Disciples are
students. He says a better term for today would be we training
apprentices. He said a “apprentice is a better term because, an
apprentice does learn like a student from a master but that’s not
the end of it. An apprentice is in training to do the job. Jesus
doesn’t want us to just be students he wants us to be on the job.
That might make you nervous. But as Jesus says do not be afraid.
Believe in God believe also in me. We might say, I don’t know
what to do. I can’t do it. I
don’t have the skills. That’s probably what Jesus’
disciples said.
The spirit will calm you, guide you and empower you. As I have been
going through the small catechism with the students that will be
confirmed in a couple of weeks I was reminded of the way Luther talked
about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He said, the Spirit
calls gathers and enlightens. The spirit calls us to faith, gathers all
the faithful, as he has done this morning here at Urland. We are
God’s faithful people. Not all of them but we are God’s
apprentices. We are certainly part of that body of Christ. The Spirit
is also enlightening and empowering us in God’s great operation,
plan, mission. As were working for the good of the kingdom, we are not
looking to survive here at Urland we are looking to thrive. Let’s
not be afraid and fall into survival mode.
Let us believe in Jesus. There is room plenty of room to be with Jesus.
Jesus promises that with him in him we will do great things.
I want to share a story of God doing great things through a little old
woman named Milly. David Beckman the president of Bread for the World
told us about a time when he was at a meeting in Washington DC.
President Bush was there as well as leaders of both parties. Beckman
said he wears his clergy collar when he goes to those kinds of events
to show people that God is there. They usually put in the back of the
room in those kinds of meetings but he is very good at moving his way
up during the meeting.
At the end of the meeting as the president was leaving Beckman timed
angled his departure so that he intersected with the president. He told
the president that they need help on the project he was trying to get
passed through. President Bush said, What are we about a billion short?
They were 1.5 billion short but Beckman was shocked. With all the
things the president has to remember he was right in the
ballpark. Beckman thought here I am talking with the president
I’d better push it. He said, Mr. President you really need to get
a senator to get behind this and push it. President Bush turned around
and saw Senator Lugar of Indiana. With his arm around Beckman he pulled
him across the room to Lugar. When he got to Lugar Bush had one arm
around Senator Lugar and one arm around David Beckman and the Speaker
of the house at that time turner around and looked. Beckman started
talking to them about the project. After a while the president left and
he was left with Senator Lugar. The senator said, I’m familiar
with this project. I’ve received some letters on it from one of
my constituents Milly, I don’t remember her last name. Beckman
had no idea who this Milly was but he was going to find out. Milly was
a 92 yr old woman living in a nursing home. Milly had organized a
writing group that advocated for the poor and hungry. It was because of
this 92 yr little old lady that the Senator listened to Beckman. God
worked some great things through this little old lady.
Let us believe in Jesus. There is room plenty of room to be with Jesus.
Jesus promises that with him in him we will do great things.
Lets say together:
We will not be afraid. We believe in Jesus. In Jesus, with Jesus in us, we will do great things.
We will do great things. Amen.
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May 4, 2009
Grace & Peace to you from God our Father & from Jesus Christ his Son our risen Lord. He has risen.
Last week we had a wonderful service. The Children’s message skit
was great as was Pastor Dean’s sermon. The skit if you
didn’t see it was about a garage sale. They were selling their
junk. Amongst the junk was a football, an old, flat, football. Nobody
wanted the football. Even when the price got down to $1 no one wanted
it. Here comes world famous football player Brett Farve. Funny he
looked a lot like my son. He takes the ball and autographs it, puts his
name on it. Now because the football has Brett Farve’s name on it
the price goes up, way up. It’s the same old, flat, football but
because it has the famous name on it, the value of it goes up so much
so that the owner who looked aIot like Madison, wouldn’t part
with it. It is so valuable with Brett Farve’s name on it.
This story of course ties into baptism. Because in baptism,
Jesus’ puts his name on you, in the sign of the cross. It’s
on all who are baptized. Because you have been marked with the cross of
Christ forever you are of great value. It’s nothing you did, or
will do, it’s like the old, flat, football, you are of great
worth because you have Christ’s name on you.
This fits in wonderfully to today’s event. You confirmants are
here today because you were baptized. You have Jesus’ name on
you. Today you are here to confirm your faith, to affirm your baptism.
Today is a day of commitment for you but more than that it is a day to
acknowledge God’s commitment to you. Today is your confirmation
day but the real commitment on your part only starts today. Today is
not an ending but a beginning.
When a couple comes together on their wedding day it is not the end of
their life, although many men have viewed it that way. Many women too
I’m sure. But seriously the wedding is not an end but a
beginning. The beginning of their life together.
Speaking of a life together in one commentary I read on John 17, our
gospel reading for today Brian Stoffergan writes how Jesus is telling
how God gave us to him to be his own. He says to use an experience most
of us have been through -- choosing up sides for teams -- God has
chosen us to be on Jesus' team. God puts us on Jesus' team. God must
think that we are valuable assets for Jesus' team. That’s a great
way to think about our life in Christ. God gave us to Jesus. We are on
Jesus team. On
Jesus’ team unlike some other teams nobody is supposed to be
sitting on the bench. There is a spot for everyone. On God’s team
everybody gets to play. Acts 1:8 talks about being on Jesus’ team.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth.”
We are on Jesus’ team, we are his witnesses. He is rooting for
us. Jesus is our fan. Isn’t this pretty cool to think about.
There are different kinds of fans. There are Fair weather fans and
Die-hard fans. My Dad sometimes is a fair whether fan. Sometimes when
we would watch the Mets together, when they were really bad, at the end
of the game and we were losing, my Dad would stand up and say –
they stink and walk out of the room. – I would get mad. I
didn’t want to give up hope. So what if we’re down 20-1
bottom of the 9th 2 out. There is still hope, right?
I think maybe he was a little superstitious & thought if he said that they would do better. Fair-weather fans.
Then there are the “Die hard” fans. Green Bay Packer fans
are either some of the greatest fans in the world or they are
idolaters, worshiping their team. Packer fans live and die with their
team. They want their team to win and they never give up. They root for
them even when the team stinks.
That’s the ways Jesus roots for you and me. He lives and dies
with our successes and our failures. He roots for you no matter what,
even when we stink.
Jesus is our fan but he doesn’t just sit on the couch with chips
and dip. Jesus is praying for us. In John 17:11b he prays. Holy Father,
protect them in your name….. so that they may be one, as we are
one. Jesus also offers his help & encouragement as he does here
through the Apostle Peter, 1 Peter 5:7-11 Cast all your anxiety on him,
because he cares for you. 8Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a
roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for
someone to devour. 9Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know
that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same
kinds of suffering.10And after you have suffered for a little while,
the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in
Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.
Today is your confirmation day. Today day you affirm the promises God
made to you in your baptism, the deal he offered you when you were
baptized. It reminds me of one of Jacob’s experience with God.
Jacob was running away from his brother who was going to kill him. His
brother Esau got all upset just because he tricked him out of his
birthright and stole his inheritance. People get mad of the silliest
things. Jacob is running away and he stops for the night. He has this
dream or vision of Angels going up and coming down from heaven.
Jacob wakes up and says the Lord is here and I didn’t know it.
Genesis 28:20-22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with
me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to
eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in
peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set
up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that you give me I
will surely give one tenth to you."
That doesn’t sound like such a great sacrifice for Jacob does it?
God bless me and do everything I want you to do for me and I’ll
cut you 10%. Tough deal for Jacob but this is the kind of deal God made
with you. God promises to give you his love, forgiveness and support
upfront. Today we ask you if you want to live like you’re on the
team, if you want to live like you’re in the family. Is this how
you want to live your life?
Do you want to live among God’s faithful people, Hear the word of
God and share in the Lord’s supper, Proclaim the good news of God
in Christ thought word and deed, Serve all people, following
Jesus’ example, Strive for justice and peace in all the earth?
Sounds like a good deal. I’d take it if I were you. God bless you, amen.
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Pentecost May 11, 2008
It was a Sunday not unlike today. It was Pentecost. But this Sunday it was also Mother’s day. There had
also been a terrible cyclone in Myanmar formally (Burma) that killed thousands. So the Pastor tied the
love of a mother and the love of God. He talked about how God reaches out though people like us to
help those people in dire need.
However, he didn’t change the readings. He used the same readings assigned for Pentecost Sunday. The
bulletins were all printed already and the readers had been practicing those difficult names so he just
left the readings as they were. No one seemed to notice or really even care except DD.
DD was one of the confirmation students who was really behind in her sermon notes. The last couple of
the ones she did didn’t count because she didn’t answer all of the questions on the form. The pastor
didn’t think she was really taking it seriously. This time she was really paying attention maybe that was
why she realized that the sermon didn’t fit the readings.
She was a little ticked about the whole thing so after the service she came up to the pastor who was
eating a piece of Mother’s day cake, something that didn’t really fit into his diet. Pastor, said DD I’ve got
a question for you. Ok, said the pastor. I know I should have this cake but it taste so good.
What? No, said DD, I want to know which reading had to do with the sermon. The pastor a little relieved
put down the rest of the cake and asked. Readings? Yes said DD. You didn’t accept the last couple of
sermon notes I did because I didn’t say which reading the sermon related to. The pastor said, Well you
also didn’t say what the sermon was about. Whatever, she said.
To answer your question DD, my sermon wasn’t related to any of the readings not intentionally anyway.
But I thought.. Let me see what you have there. That looks pretty good. He said.
Speaking of reading, DD, do you remember what those readings were about?
No she said.
O come on, you’re suppose to be listening to the reading too not just the sermon.
It was about the spirit blowing around.
Right that was the first lesson about how the Holy Spirit made quite an appearance filling the room and
the disciples; giving them the ability to speak in all different languages. Actually the people speaking
were all Galileans. They spoke in all the languages, all the languages known in the world at that time.
Did it give them the ability to pronounce all of those names of peoples in our readings? DD asked. Good
question, said the pastor.
How about the second lesson? What was that about? Oh yeah, it said “no one can say Jesus is Lord
without the Holy Spirit”. Is that true?
Oh, I remember, said DD. See I do pay attention. It said that the Holy Spirit gives different abilities to
different people. Like, we’re all different. Some people can do some things some people can do other
things.
Have you ever thought about being a pastor DD? You don’t know me very well pastor. I get in a lot of
tro…
You get in a lot of what?
Um, that reading from the gospel of John, didn’t we just read that story about Thomas? Why do we have
to read that again? Shouldn’t we be reading stories about the Holy Spirit? It is Pentecost the birthday of
the church. DD you really surprise me, said the pastor. My parents say that all the time but I don’t think
they mean it as a complement.
The story is about more than Doubting Thomas. Oh yeah, Jesus walks into the locked room. I thought
they had to open the door for him to come in. I remember, He says Peace be with you.
Actually he said,Oh I know, I watched this thing on tv about the Hebrew language and actually the world is Shalom.
Right, said the pastor, we talked about this in confirmation. DD said, I don’t remember that but on the
show they said Shalom doesn’t just mean peace it means complete wholeness. That is sweet, but what
does that have to do with the Holy Spirit?
What do you think? I don’t know you’re the pastor.
One part of it is forgiveness. Oh, oh, oh, I know, if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven. If you
retain any they are retained. What does it mean to retain. It reminds me of my retainer.
What does your retainer do? I don’t know I never wear it. Could it maybe keep your teeth in place? So
when you retain them they stay in place, I mean they stay with you? I thought Jesus was about
forgiveness.
So what is the Holy Spirit doing today? The world seems like a mess. Is the Spirit doing anything?
What do you think DD? I don’t know you’re the pastor.
Well how about in my life, he gave those people the ability to speak all those languages. I’m not doing
the greatest in Spanish, not to mention Language arts. If he gave me gifts, I don’t know what they are.
DD that’s a good thing to think about. But don’t just think about the big things. As you’re thinking about
the big things like what should I do with my life, think about what God wants you to do today.
That’s hard. Said DD. Another thing you can do said the pastor, is ask yourself if there is anyone whose
sins you are retaining. Are there any you can forgive?
I’ve got to go pastor. Ok DD, We’ll talk about this later if you want. Whatever.
The pastor picks up his cake and DD comes back. I thought of one thing I can do for God. Great! What’s
that? I can remind people that they should take better care of the body God has given them by eating
right. Oh, look DD, your parents are leaving. See ya later pastor.
Today is Pentecost, the spirit comes and gives birth to the Church. Happy Pentecost.
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5/18/08 / Mt 28:16-20
Today is Trinity Sunday. Is it ok if I tell the adults a little joke
before we talk about Trinity Sunday?
There once was a little girl that went to church every
Sunday. And even though she sometimes drew in her bulletin or colored she still
listened to everything
that went on in the service. She didn’t
always understand
everything but she always listened. For example she heard words
like Resurrection,
Justification,
Sanctification. Seemed like a lot of church words ended in
tion. Well one day in school the teacher was teaching the class some
words. Do you know what this
word means? Do you know what that word means? She
didn’t know what hardly any of them meant but she really wanted to answer a
question. Finally the teacher
asked doesn’t anyone know what procrastination
means? The girls hand shot up. She said, I don’t know what it means
but I’m sure my church believes in it.
Not all the difficult words in church end with tion, for
example Trinity
doesn’t end with tion but it is a difficult word. It’s a difficult word but today is Trinity
Sunday
so by
law I have to talk about what Trinity means.
But you do know something about this word. What words begin
with “tri”.
Tricycle three wheels, triangle three angles,
tribunal –ok forget that one.
So we have this church word trinity, it has to do with three. I’ll give you a
hint. It has to do with God. What are some things you know about
God?
Do you know some things God has done? Created the world. Saved
the world. Gives faith helps people understand God better.
So the trinity is God the Father, God the Son – Jesus,
God
the Holy Spirit. But two important things about the trinity. The first thing is
we are not talking about 3 separate Gods. It’s not over here we have
the Father God, and the Son
God and the Holy Spirit God. It is the 3 in 1.
Talk about pretzels. Three holes one pretzel. Put fingers
in the holes.
It’s like you. Are you a son or daughter? Do you have any
friends?
So you are a friend. Do you believe in Jesus? So you are a Christian.
Are you three different people? No you are one person and
here are some things we know about you. You are a son or a daughter – hopefully
you know which. You are also a friend.
You are also a Christian. You are all these things but you are one
person.
God is also at least Our Heavenly Father, Jesus who came to
earth to save us, and the Holy Spirit that is with us always. That’s three
things about God but it’s only one. But God is one.
Do you know everything about the Trinity now? No. Do you
know everything about God now? No. But you do know something about the Trinity.
Next time you hear the word Trinity.
You are going to think. God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – One God.
I’m going to talk some more about the Trinity. You might not
understand everything but you keep listening. Ok?
Thanks for coming up and for your song.
Do you know why we have difficult words in church? To keep
people from knowing what the pastor is talking about. I think there has been a
time in most peoples’ lives when they have
wondered, why do those people use
those big words? Why don’t they just use simple words people can understand? First of all smart people like to show off.
Well there is that but there
are also some things we want to say or think about
that little words don’t quite explain.
One of the great things about learning more is that you
learn better words to say what you want to say
or what you want to think about. It starts when you are a baby. How does a baby
let her parents know what she want. She sends them a text message or an email,
right? No, they cry.
They cry and we struggle to find out what they want. She’s
hungry, She’s thristy, tired, she’s got her diaper full – that’s easy to figure
out. And when you can’t figure it out what they want
or what’s wrong you say,
“I think she’s teething.”
Then they learn words like Momma. They want food - Momma. They want their bottle, Momma. Their
diaper is dirty, it’s 3 in the morning
that’s definitely - Momma. As you grow
up you learn more and more words.
The trinity is a word that helps us understand God better.
It’s kind of like the scientific method. Let’s see if I get it right. I’m sure
the kids will correct me. You gather information; from
all the information you
can get you make an educated guess, a theory to go beyond the information
you’ve gathered. Then you set out to prove it.
So we gather what we know about God like what I talked to
the kids about. God created the earth, Jesus saved the world, and the Holy
Spirit is the great teacher, teaching us about God.
So we say God is Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Since we only have one God we say it is the three in one.
One God three different things we know about God. We try to hold it together
with the word Trinity.
But this is the bare basics about the Trinity and for God
for that matter. Today is the last day of SS but since this is the day of the
year we talk about the study of God, that is Theology.
I just want to put a
plug in for continuing our understanding of the faith. If you think you know it
all or know all you need – then you probably don’t know enough. The more you
know about God,
the more you can imagine how much more there is to know.
By the way in the past there has been an unwritten rule that
worship attendance is like school; Summer comes and no one expects you to be
there. Well we are revoking that here at Urland.
If you are in town I expect to
see you here. If you’re at the lake, I expect you to worship at the nearest
church. People will be visiting around here and coming to worship with us and
that is a blessing.
Be a blessing to another congregation if you can’t be here.
I am going to be here. And it is better here when you’re here.
God bless you have a great week. I’ll see you next week.
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May 26, 2008 Matthew 6:24-34
Joke. What do you do if you break your arm in 3 places? You don’t go back to any of those places.
Today we are going to talk about things like Worry, hope, concern, trust, the gospel, and maybe the 1st
commandment.
Before we look at the readings I want you to do something for me. Take a minute right now and think of
the one thing you need to be happy. Or to put it another way: What is getting in the way of you being
happy right now? Think about that for a minute. Somewhere on your bulletin write down what you need
to be happy or what is getting in the way of your happiness. Remember, spelling counts. Just kidding no
one will see what you write down unless you show them. Put that in your hymnal or something and let’s
move to the readings.
We start out in our first lesson with God speaking through Isaiah the prophet to the people of Israel. The
people are in exile. The glory days and David and Solomon are gone. The Northern kingdom of Israel has
fallen. The Southern kingdom of Judea has fallen. They have been taken from their homeland to live in a
foreign land. This is very difficult for us Americans to imagine. Maybe some of our ancestors faced
something like that or if you are a Native American forced to live on a reservation you can begin to
understand, but to most of us it’s hard. It must have been a terrible life. These people were no doubt
depressed. They are supposed to be God’s chosen people but where is God? Does he still care about
them?
Maybe you have never lived in exile but maybe you have felt the same way. Jesus loves me this I know,
so where is he? Where is Jesus? Why am I hurting, I need help and I have nowhere to go.
God tries to comfort the Israelites tries to encourage them by reminding how he has helped them in the
past, all of the marvelous things he has done for them, how he saved them from slavery, lead them
through the desert into the promised land. You are my children he tells them, I am like your mother and
what mother can forget her child or not care for her?
Of course we do know mothers who treat their children poorly. We know of mothers who do forget
their children. But not God. God is the good mother, the mother who truly loves us, loves us like no
other can.
God also encourages them through Isaiah by promising to help them in the future. The Israelites are
having trouble in the present. In order to encourage them God reminds them of the past, and makes
promises for the future. Why should they believe him? Why should they trust in him? They can look at
the past, hasn’t he always kept his promises? Of course he has. He kept them in the past he’ll keep them
in the future.
This helps us too. We can have confidence today because of the promises God gives us for the future.
We can trust him to fulfill those promise, we can believe him because of what he has already done for
us. Kind of like counting your blessings. We count our blessing to comfort us and encourage us with
today’s challenges and to give us hope for the future.
In the gospel reading for today we have one of the most difficult teachings we have from Jesus “…do
not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,.
Remember the song “Don’t worry be happy”? This year’s senior class motto is Hakuna Matata which
means no worries. I’m not sure they are basing their worry free life philosophy on Jesus or if it’s just
classic denial.
Out of curiosity, did anyone have eating and or drinking as the thing the need to be happy?
do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you
will wear.”I remember when I was on my internship, I was teaching the 8th grade class. We were
studying this teaching of Jesus. After we read it the pastor’s daughter said, “What are we suppose to
walk around naked?” That’s really one of the questions we have here right? Are we supposed to walk
around naked. No, not really, (Well I don’t) but how serious are we suppose to take this, how literal,
what is Jesus trying to teach us?
Short of nakedness, starvation or dying of thirst we should take this very for me to separate worry from
concern. You might say I’m just playing semantics, playing with words but hear me out.
Worry is when you see a potential problem; by the way did you ever notice that worry is always about
the future? You see a potential problem, you turn it over and over in your mind, raising your blood
pressure among other things. Worry is that which leads to nothing but physical and emotional stress.
Worry is worthless and sinful. That is what Jesus is talking about. We are not talking about denial. When
you foresee a potential problem you need to be concerned to one extent or another. The way I am
defining concern is seeing a problem and either doing whatever you can about it or giving it up to God.
Exodus 20Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land
of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3you shall have no other gods before* me.
Here God is telling the Hebrews, you have a God. I am your God. I am the one who brought you out of
Egypt. I helped you in the past. I will help you in the future. You don’t have to turn to any other gods
with your problems I am your God.
It is the same for us Jesus teaching his disciples what are you worry about. I feed the birds, I clothe the
lilies and the grass. I’ll take care of you.
We can’t forget that we are God’s hands and feet much of the time God is revealing these concerns to
us because we can do something about it. I think this weekend is a good example of people who gave
their life to do what they believed needed to be done. Many people have and do dedicate themselves
for what they believe needs to be done. This weekend we especially remember our veterans.
I don’t want to get into the politics of it all but we remember our men and women who were concerned
about our country. They believed that God had given them the ability and opportunity to do something
about their concern. We as American citizens benefited from their sacrifice.
I don’t want to bash anybody who have a problem with worrying many of us myself included struggle
with worrying. Worrying , whether it’s for ourselves or others is sinful. If all it does is beat down our
body and doesn’t lead to anything positive like preparation its sinful. Worry for the sake of worry is
sinful.
I hope I’m not adding to anyone’s worry but when we worry we sell God short. We either don’t believe
that God has given us what we need or we just don’t trust him.
The good news is you can trust God. When you have a concern something your anxious about look for
how you can make a difference. Some things we can’t do anything about for those things, God is saying,
Hey, I’m the God here! Trust me. You do want you can, but I’ll rule the world. You don’t have to rule the
world. In fact I don’t want you to. God says, “I’ll be the God.”
What was on that sheet of paper? Think about what you put down. Hasn’t God given you everything you
need to be happy?
There is a lot more we can talk about here but this is enough for now. God bless you. Have a safe
weekend and a great week.
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06/01/08
Matthew 7:21-29
Ole wore both of his winter jackets when he painted his house last July.
The directions on the can said
"put
on two coats".
Lena was being interviewed for a job as maid for the very wealthy Mrs.
Diamond, who asked her: "Do you have
any religious views?"
"No,"
said Lena, "but I've got some nice pictures of Norway.
When we
read Deut and it says: 18You
shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and youshall bind them as
a sign
on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead.
We probably
are not going to put boxes on our head but we take it seriously.
Like Gus. Gus got it in his head that he wanted to enter the kingdom of
heaven. So Gus studied the bible and he coincidentally found this reading f
rom Deut
that talks about blessings and curses. In fact would you believe it is was the
same reading we have for today.
He read
Deut11:26See,
I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the
blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your
God that I am
commanding you today; 28and
the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn
from the way
that I am commanding you today, to follow other gods that you have
not known.
This got
him all excited this he figured is the way to eternal life, so he set out to
live following the
commandments.
As he lived his life and observed the world
around him he noticed that indeed those
who
strove to follow the commandments were blessed. Anyone here believe that learning and following God’s
commands is a
good thing? Anyone believe that your life will be blessed if you follow the
commandment? Anyone believe it is good to teach our kids God’s ways.
But Gus noticed something else. Some of those who worked to live a
good life according to God’s laws weren’t doing very well. He also noticed that
some people didn’t seem to care
about God’s rules at all were doing quite well. We believe that there are blessings in following God’s laws but
do we
believe that if we follow all the commandments, that to say that no bad
things will ever happen to us?
If we
follow all the commandments, does it mean you will be rich?
Powerful? Popular? Maybe yes
maybe no. Can
bad things happen when we break
God’s commandments?
Gus went to the wisest man he knew and told him about his observations.
Yes said the man you are
right. Most
of the time the good get blessed and the bad are cursed or at least suffer but
not all the time. They both express
their frustration about this,
the unfairness of it all.
Gus comforted himself saying, Well at least we know God
loves the good more. What do you mean?
asked the
man. If we follow the commandments or at least do our best God
will love us more and we will enter into the kingdom of heaven. What makes
you say that? Said the man. Gus said, Well it seems obvious.
The man
said to Gus, The kingdom of heaven isn’t the only kingdom you’ve have been
trying to enter is
it? Gus was
confused and getting upset. What do you mean?
I believe in Jesus I don’t get
into any other
religions.
That’s not
what I mean, said the man. Weren’t you trying to get into the
kingdom of Gracy? Oh that said Gus. I
liked her if that is what you mean, with his cheeks
getting a little pink. You
tried to date her didn’tyou, said the man. Well yeah said Gus but it didn’t
work out.
Didn’t you
do nice things for her? Yeah, said Gus. Didn’t you buy her flowers and
chocolates, asked the
man? Yeah,
they said the flowers would probably win her
over but chocolate was a can’t
miss. But it did
miss even
that beautiful poetry, said the man. You wrote and that didn’t work how come?
She just
didn’t like
me, Gus said.
I can’t believe you’re bringing this up, starting to get annoyed.
Couldn’t
you get her to love you, asked the man. No, I couldn’t even get her to like me,
now starting to
get angry.
The man
asked, but you think courting God will be easier? What, asked Gus. You think
courting God is
easier?
Courting God? What do you mean?
The man
asked, you think you can get God to love you by doing good things? Jesus says, Matthew
7:21-29
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and cast out demons in your
name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’
23Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you
evildoers.’
Jesus says:
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my
Father in heaven.
Gus said, I
don’t know what you’re talking about. Gus, you want to enter the kingdom of
heaven? Listen to the will of the Father. You are a child of God because,
God chooses you to be. His will is that you love him and love your neighbor the
way you love yourself. Be like the wise builder, hear God word and do it, the
kingdom begins today.
People of
God, listen
to the will of the Father. You are a child of God because, God chooses you to
be. God chooses you to be his child. His will is that you love
him and love
others as you love your self. Be like the wise builder, hear God's word and do
it, the kingdom begins today. Amen?
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June 8th
Murphy's
laws
· If anything can go wrong, it will
· If there is a possibility of several things going wrong,
the one that will cause the
most
damage will be the one to go wrong
· If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway
· Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse
· If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously
overlooked something
· Murphy's
Law of Thermodynamics
Things
get worse under pressure.
· The
Murphy Philosophy
Smile
. . . tomorrow will be worse.
· Murphy's
Constant
Matter
will be damaged in direct proportion to its value
· Addition
to Murphy's Laws
In
nature, nothing is ever right. Therefore, if everything is going right ... something
is wrong.
· More
Laws
· Every solution breeds new problems.
· The chance of the buttered side of the bread falling face
down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
Hope
against hope
· Are you a glass half full type person or a glass 1/2 empty
type person. We have the Murphy's law people, Anything that can go wrong will go wrong people.
We also have the well
it could have been worse people. A
tornado hits the farm no one is hurt. The only thing to be destroyed is an old barn
they were going to be torn
down anyway. The farmer if I would have had more damage I could have claimed it on my
insurance. On the next farm everything
is destroyed but the foundation
of the house. The man says At least we have something to build on.
Lutheran’s
I believed often lean on the negative side. God loves you and cares for you,
yes but that doesn’t mean bad things can’t happen. The way Lutherans look at
the faith
is called, the Theology of the cross, which simply put means the way
we best see God and what God is like is in the Cross. We are comforted when bad
things happen because
we know that God is never more close to us than in our
deepest hour of need. We see the hope of the resurrection during the suffering
of the crucifixion.
But
God is around during
the good times too!
Just
because bad things might happen we can still be optimistic about the future
without escaping from reality. Sometimes it is hard for Lutherans to appreciate
preachers like
Robert Schuller and Joel Osteen. They preach about the
importance of positive thinking, the power of positive thinking. We might say
positive thinking is powerful and is important
but it’s not the whole story.
When Joel Osteen says God wants you to be successful we might say Well God didn’t
create us to be failures but what kind of success does God want
for us? I guess
it depends on how we define success.
But
isn’t it true that while God loves you and cares for you bad things can still
happen; isn’t it also true that God loves you and cares for you? Isn't that
good?
Even
though there is more to a life of faith than the power of positive thinking,
aren’t there reasons to be positive?
When
we look at ourselves critically we might see things that we would like to
change about ourselves. We might think about mistakes that we have made. There
are things we should
and could do to improve ourselves and there are things we need
to repent about. We also need to appreciate the fact that
God
made us. That is something we often forget, something
we don’t often
appreciate. One of the sins we need to fight against is wanting to be someone
or something we are not something we were not created to be. We need to
appreciate who
and what we are, who and what God created us to be. I’m not saying
we should be content in being something less than what God made us to be. Often
God gives us or created us with
potential, raw materials we need to develop.
But instead of wishing we were something else how about loving and appreciating
how God made you.
Our
readings for today give us good reason to be positive in a realistic way. We
can be positive because of this great God we have. Like that meal time prayer, “God
is good, God is great….”.
WE
CAN & SHOULD BE POSITIVE BECAUSE GOD GIVES US HOPE hope for the tax man.
Today
we read about Jesus and a tax man. It might be a universal principle that
people don’t like Tax people. I don’t think I have ever heard any one speak in
glowing terms about their encounter
with the IRS. People hated and dispized tax
collectors in Jesus’ day. Jesus called Matthew a tax collector to
be
one of his 12 disciples.
hope for the hemeraging woman
In
Jesus’ women who were going through their menstral cycle were considered unclean,
not dirty but unholy, unworthy to be in the presence of God and God’s people.
This woman who had be
hemorrhaging for 12 years touched Jesus the son of God, something
an unclean person isn't suppose to do. Jesus praised her for her faith.
hope for the dead woman
Dead
people were considering unclean, unholy not worthy to be in God’s presence or
God’s people’s presence. Even people who touched dead people were considering
unholy. Jesus takes the
dead girls hand, not only takes it but grasps it and
pulls her out of the dead.
hope for an old man as good as dead – for having kids
In
our reading from Romans, The apostle Paul tells about the wonders of God who
takes Abraham who was as good as dead as far as becoming a father goes. God
takes this man this Abraham
who is as good as dead and creates a child. If we
think about it we shouldn’t be so surprised. God created this world
out
of nothing. God brought this world to life out of nothing. God can certainly
then bring life out of the dead.
hope for us
So
there is great hope for us. It is not blind hope, It is not mental games hope.
We are not talking about the placebo effect that if you are just positive you
will succeed. Our hope is based on a
Great and Good God. It’s based on a
God that creates out of nothing, loves the unholy and
gives
life to the dead.
WE
have good reason to be positive. This good and great God made you. Do you think
the God who created the universe, raises the dead makes inferior products?
God
is positive about you. It may be that you were not made to be a happy bubbly
positive person all the time. We need to be what we are. WE do however need to
recognize there are many
good reasons to be positive and happy in being a
Christian. Many good reasons to be the person God created you to be. Don’t sell
God short he did good work with you.
In
fact I challenge you to come back next week with 10 reasons for you to be a
positive Christian. Maybe some of you would like to share some of those reasons
with us.
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June 15th /
Romans 5:1-8
Vocation predicated on freedom predicated peace with God
predicated on God’s grace.
What does
vocation mean?
Vocation Noun
1. a
specified profession or trade
2. a. a
special urge to a particular calling or career,
esp. a
religious one
b. such a
calling or career
In
order to address you vocation, your calling as a Christian or I would say as a human
being you need to
be
free. In order to have the time and energy
and interest and passion to do the
things in life God has
called
you to do you have to be free.
If
you are imprisoned, in bondage, inhibited, captive, if you are previously
committed, if you are not free
you
cannot or will not answer God’s call.
Freedom
is predicated on peace with God. If you do not have peace with God you are not
free. You will
either
be in the bondage of this world or you will
be in the bondage of trying to find
peace with God.
Bondage
of this world can be found in our striving for meaning and purpose and
affirmation
through
other
people, through the things this world lifts up as success like good
looks, money, power,
fame.
As that old country song says “looking for love in all
the
wrong places”. If you
do not have peace with God and are looking for peace through what this world
calls success then you are not free to take up God’s calling.
The
Bondage of finding peace with God. This is one of the most cleaver and unfair
tricks of the Devil.
The Devil says “You want to free don’t
you?”
course we do. “You want to love Goddon’t you?” Which, hopefully we do. The Devil says: “If you want it so much and you believe it is so important
ou
should work for it.” And
when we buy into that he’s got us. “If you want it so much
and you believe it is so important you should work for it.”
And when we buy into that he’s got us. This is the biggest
trap for us, for us “Good religious people”. Good religious people want to be good Christians we
want
to do whatever we can to be assured of God’s love. We want peace with God. But
if you spend all your time striving to have peace with God you will in
effect
to living in bondage. You will not have the time or energy or interest or
passion necessary to take up God’s call. You will be previously committed and
unable
to do the work God needs you to do in this world.
God’s
call, God’s vocation for you is not to obtain peace with God. He is giving that
to you through the work
of Jesus Christ on the cross. What a waste of time,
energy and resources to
search after the
peace
and relationship with God that is given to you by grace. It is given to you by
grace.
By
grace we receive peace with God. When we are at peace with God we are free.
When we are free, we are
free to take up our calling our vocation. We are free
to do the work God has
given to us to do while
it
is day before that night comes when no one can work.
The
Harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Jesus called the 12, he gave
them a job. proclaim the
good
news, "The kingdom of heaven has come near.'
8 Cure
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,
and
cast out demons.
If
they didn’t realize that God’s grace was free through Jesus, that through God’s
grace they have peace with
God, that through the peace they have with God, they are free;
If they didn’t
realize that then they
wouldn’t
be free to do the work Jesus gave them to do.
There
are things Jesus wants done. There are people who need to hear of the kingdom
of heaven, there
are
sick who need to be healed , the dead need to be raised, lepers
to be cleansed,
demons need to be
cast
out.
There
is a lot to be done, a plentiful of harvest but the laborers are few. Maybe the
laborers are few
because,
not all are able to answer the call. They are not free to answer
the call, they
are previously
committed
to something else. All of their time and energy and passion are going somewhere
else other than
to God’s work.
The
harvest of our time is plentiful. God needs laborers to do the work he wants to
get done.
Jesus
wants you to be free. Jesus wants you to know that you have peace with
God.
Jesus wants you to
know
that this peace is a free gift. If you try to earn it, work for it, deserve it,
it won’t be free and it won’t
be grace and you won’t be free. You won’t
be free because you will spend all of
your time and
energy
searching for that peace.
If
the Son sets you free you will be free indeed. Get used to it. Get used to the
fact it is yours free. Get used
to it because the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.
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Matthew 10’24-39 / June 22nd
It’s not easy. That’s what he said. It’s tougher than it looks.
That’s
what he said. My father-in-law went to see my nephew play ball. He is a good
athlete, no matter
what
he plays, football, basketball, baseball. One day he was playing
baseball and
after the game. Grandpa went up to him and said. Some of those pitches you swung
at were too high. He said, you know
it’s not easy. There
is a lot of wisdom
there. It’s not easy. It is quite often harder than it
looks.
Long,
long ago in Brentwood, NY there was a young boy probably 2nd or 3rd
grade. He went to school and
met
another boy and they really hit it off. One day he had his friend
ride the bus
from school home with
him
so they could play after school. So they played with all the neighborhood kids.
For
some reason the neighborhood kids said to the boy, it’s him or us. You can be
friends with him or
you
can be friends with us but you can’t be friends with him and us.
From the
outside it might seem easy to figure out what to do. But when you’re 2nd or 3rd
grade and you have to choose between
kids you will see every day and someone you
will only see once in a while.. It’s
not easy. It’s tougher than it looks.
This
is what Jesus is trying to tell the disciples he is sending out. This is why
Jesus is going on and on
encouraging
them in their quest.
We
read the beginning of this last week. (Which by the way, if you weren’t here
last week you really missed
it. Great things happen every week here at Urland. You won’t want
to miss one
week.) Last week
we
read how Jesus gives them a job, a big job. He has given them the gifts and
abilities necessary to be
successful
but it’s a big job.
GO OUT AND TELL EVERYONE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN HAS COME NEAR.'
8 CURE THE SICK,
RAISE THE DEAD, CLEANSE THE LEPERS, CAST OUT DEMONS.
Even
though he has given them a job that they are capable of doing, it’s not going to be easy
We
know it is not going to be easy because Jesus goes on encouraging them and
warning them.
Warning:
14 IF ANYONE WILL NOT WELCOME YOU
OR LISTEN TO YOUR WORDS,
here will be people who will not listen to the message.
Encouragement:
SHAKE OFF THE DUST FROM YOUR FEET AS YOU LEAVE THAT
HOUSE OR TOWN. 15 TRULY I
TELL YOU, IT WILL BE MORE TOLERABLE FOR THE LAND OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH
ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT THAN FOR THAT TOWN.
Warning
16 "SEE,
I AM SENDING YOU OUT LIKE SHEEP
INTO THE MIDST OF WOLVES; SO BE WISE AS SERPENTS AND INNOCENT AS DOVES.
THEY WILL HAND YOU OVER TO COUNCILS AND FLOG YOU
IN
THEIR SYNAGOGUES; 18 AND
YOU WILL BE DRAGGED BEFORE GOVERNORS AND KINGS BECAUSE OF ME,
Encouragement:
19 WHEN THEY HAND YOU OVER,
DO NOT WORRY ABOUT HOW YOU ARE
TO SPEAK OR WHAT YOU
ARE TO SAY; FOR
WHAT YOU ARE TO SAY WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU AT THAT TIME;
20 FOR IT IS NOT YOU WHO SPEAK,
BUT THE SPIRIT OF YOUR FATHER SPEAKING THROUGH YOU.
Warning:
21 BROTHER WILL BETRAY BROTHER TO
DEATH, AND A
FATHER HIS CHILD, AND
CHILDREN WILL RISE AGAINST PARENTS AND HAVE THEM PUT TO DEATH;
22 AND YOU WILL BE HATED BY ALL
BECAUSE OF MY NAME.
Encouragement:
BUT THE ONE WHO ENDURES TO THE
END WILL BE SAVED.
Warning:
24 IF THEY HAVE CALLED ME A FALSE
GOD WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY’LL CALL YOU.
Encouragement:
28 DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO KILL THE
BODY BUT CANNOT KILL THE SOUL; RATHER FEAR HIM WHO CAN DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL.
29 ARE NOT TWO SPARROWS SOLD
FOR A
PENNY? YET
NOT ONE OF THEM WILL FALL TO THE GROUND APART FROM YOUR FATHER. 30 AND EVEN THE HAIRS OF YOUR HEAD ARE ALL COUNTED.
31 SO DO NOT BE AFRAID;
YOU ARE OF MORE
VALUE THAN MANY SPARROWS.
32 "EVERYONE THEREFORE WHO
ACKNOWLEDGES ME BEFORE OTHERS, I ALSO WILL ACKNOWLEDGE BEFORE MY FATHER IN HEAVEN;
Warning:
33 BUT WHOEVER DENIES ME BEFORE OTHERS,
I ALSO WILL DENY BEFORE MY FATHER IN HEAVEN. 34 "DO NOT THINK THAT I HAVE COME TO BRING PEACE TO THE EARTH;
I HAVE NOT COME
TO BRING PEACE,
BUT A SWORD. 35 FOR I HAVE COME TO SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER,
AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER,
AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 AND ONE'S
FOES WILL BE MEMBERS OF ONE'S OWN HOUSEHOLD.
Warning
37 WHOEVER LOVES FATHER OR MOTHER
MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME; AND WHOEVER LOVES SON OR DAUGHTER MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF
ME; 38 AND
WHOEVER DOES NOT
TAKE UP THE CROSS AND FOLLOW ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME.
Encouragement
39 THOSE WHO FIND THEIR LIFE WILL
LOSE IT, AND
THOSE WHO LOSE THEIR LIFE FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT.
It’s not easy. It’s not tougher than it looks.
There
are times when in our walk as a doors open to show us that we are going in the
right direction.
But
I warn you there are times when It’s not easy. Times when it is harder than it
looks. Times when from the outside
it looks simple and easy. But we do have encouragement.
I recently saw this
movie Juno. It’s about a 16 year old girl who makes some dumb mistakes and gets
pregnant. Her father who loves her makes it clear that he is disappointed in
her.
But he says something to her that I think God has to say to us more than
we would like.
He
says, I’m
here for you. I’m here for you no matter what stupid things you get yourself
into. It’s not easy, The
road Jesus gives us to travel no matter what resources he
ives us for our
journey can be hard, harder than it looks. Sometimes we fail, we make mistakes make bad choices.
But
if Junies father who is not perfect can say to her I’m here for
you no matter what stupid things you get into. What do
you think God says to us?
As
the Apostle Paul says let us not sin so that sin may abound. Let’s try to avoid
the stupid stuff. There
are
decisions we shouldn’t make and pitches we shouldn’t swing at but it’s not easy.
Remember
the message he disciples we to bring? The kingdom of heaven is near which means
Forgiveness
is near. Healing is near. Cleansing is near. God is here for you. Amen.
Back to top
Matthew
10:40-42 / June 30, 2008
Whenever
our family travels on vacation, the obligatory questions arise. “Are we there yet?” “When will we get there?” I always remind my family to their delight, that we will
never,
get “there” we will always be, “here”. No one can really say I am there
because you are always here, at this moment we can never be there. We might go
there, might have been there,
but we are not there right now we are here. My
family just loves when I remind them of that.
Earl
Mac Rauch puts it another way he says: “And remember,
no matter where you go, there you are”. Even
though he says there you are and
I say we are here,
I think we are saying
the same thing.
Speaking
of here and there it is the same way with God. Jesus is the assurance that God
is with us. God is here. Jesus is here. Try to run away. Try to hide. Pretend
you are
alone, pretend he can’t see you. And I say pretend because you are making
believe, God is not here or there and you are trying to convince yourself and
you may convince yourself that you
have gotten away from God, but you are
wrong. God is here with us.
The
psalmist writes:
7Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where
can I flee from your presence?
8If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make
my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9If I take the wings of the morning
and
settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10even there your hand shall lead me,
and your
right hand shall hold me fast.
11If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the
light around me become night’,
12even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night
is as bright as the day,
for
darkness is as light to you.
Let
me be clear, when I say that God is here with us, I don’t not mean to insinuate
that God is in favor of whatever we are up to or that Jesus is endorsing all of
our activities or that God will
be our force field always protecting us from
all evil or danger.
Since
God is here with us as Earl Mac Rauch says, “no matter
where you go, there you are.” No
matter where you go Jesus is there. This is something we really have to think
about or maybe
we don’t always want to think about, God being where ever you
go. Ok true confessions. And Rob don’t tell Mom about this as if she didn’t
know. What happens at Urland stays at Urland.
When we were kids, Mom went shopping on Thursday, by
Friday or definitely by the weekend all of the treats were gone. After all
there were 3 boys, Rob and I probably the worst offenders.
Mom used to buy a
box of Ring Ding Jrs
–
Devil’s food cake, covered with chocolate, filled with cream. They look like
Ding Dongs but don’t be fooled there is no comparison in taste.
It is probably
one of the greatest chocolate treats of all time– until chocodiles but that
another story. I would sneak one or two of these individually wrapped cakes
into the bathroom and eat them in secret.
I
know that none of you do anything so devious. None of you do anything in a
hidden or in private places you aren’t supposed to do it or because you don’t
want anyone else to find out. But if you were to
hide or do something when no one
else is looking would you want to think about the fact that God is always with
you?
This
week we have the last part of Jesus sending the 12 disciples out to tell people
“the kingdom of heaven has come near, heal the sick, cast our
demons, cure the lepers…
As we talked about last week by the way, if you weren’t here
last week you missed something really special. Actually every Sunday at Urland
is special. You probably don’t want to miss
a Sunday if you don’t have to. But last week we talked about Jesus sending these
disciples out with a big job. He warning and encouraging them because it is not
going to be easy. It would be harder
than it looked.
Today
in these three verses he gives them the greatest encouragement. Matthew
10:40-42 "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me
welcomes the one who
sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a
prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous
person in the name of a righteous person
will receive the reward of the
righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little
ones
in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will
lose
their reward."
Jesus
encourages them by honoring them. They have the honor of representing him. As
you go out on my mission you
are my representative.
It is as if I myself are
going in and through you.
The
Olympics are coming up and there were a couple of things in the news that
reminded me of this honor of being a representative. Famous Russian tennis
player Maria Sharapova has lived in
the U.S. for many years but when the
Olympics
comes up she asked to carry the Russian flag. She wants to represent her
country. There has been a big thing about our basketball players why
do they
want to play in the Olympics. Some suggested that they were doing it for the money.
I guess, they do need to supplement their million dollar income some way.
In
response to these charges a couple of players talked about the pride and the
honor of representing the U.S.. They talked about their drive to bring the gold
home for our country.
These
athletes want to achieve their individual goals in their perspective sports but
I have to believe they also want the honor of representing their country, the
country we believe is the greatest
in the world. I think that opportunity to
wear the red, white and blue and represent the USA is huge.
We
have a similar honor. Actually a greater honor if you think about it. We
represent not just perhaps the greatest country in the world but the creator,
savior and sustainer of the world. We
represent the Christian church. We
represent Jesus whether we want to or not. We are God’s children. As representitives,
what we do or don’t do reflects back on the rest of the family, the
family of
God.
What
does that mean for us? If we think about it we realize that there is no where
we can go to run away or hide from God. But God is not the only one who watches
us. Everyone
watches and relates what we do to the rest of the family, our
Christian family.
As
people representing Jesus, we strive to represent him well. People are watching
us and they will see when we succeed and they will see us when we fail. When we
make mistakes they will
say we are a Bunch of Hypocrites. Which means we say one thing and do another. In a way we
are. Everyone who desires to live the life Christ wants us to live, loving God
and loving our
neighbor can be called a hypocrite because we are not perfect as
Christ is perfect. The only way not to be a hypocrite is to give up trying to
walk with Christ.
On
the other hand we are not hypocrites because being a Christian doesn’t mean
being perfect. Being a Christian means trusting Jesus, who is perfect. I don’t
want to go to Urland they might say,
You are all a bunch of
hypocrites We can respond in one of two
ways. There’s a third but that’s not very Christian.
1.
Yes
there are a lot of hypocrites and there is always room for one more.
2.
You are
right we are not perfect, but Christians aren’t perfect, we live by grace.
Christians are people, ordinary people who live trusting Jesus. If you’re
looking to us for perfection you’re
confusing us with Jesus. Jesus is the perfect
one.
Jesus
sent out the 12 to be his representatives. He sends us out too. How do we
represent? How do we represent the one we trust with everything?
What does
trusting Jesus look like?
Maybe
we can think about that this week. Since we are Jesus’ representatives, how do
we represent him? What does a life encouraging people to trust in God who is
perfect look like? Is it the same
as a life encouraging people to be perfect? God
be with you this week and lead you in his way. Amen.
Back to top
July 6th 2008 / Matthew 11:28-30
Joke
A man sees Sylvester with bandages on both ears. He asks, Sylvester what
happened to your ears. Sylvester replies, I was in the bathroom when the
phone rang. I picked up my wife’s curling iron thinking it was the phone and
burned my ears, and it was a wrong number.
What happened to the other ear the man asked. Oh, the darn fool called back.
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political
bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the
earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness.
Thomas Jefferson is saying, quite simply is that the British Government with
it’s laws, rules regulations and taxes is getting in the way of the people is
these 13 states to life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Believe it or not there are some connections to the Declaration of Independ}
ence and Matthew 11:28-30 28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are
carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon
you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
First of all in both situations the people were being oppressed by their lead}
ers. As Thomas Jefferson points out people have the right to “life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness”. And “whenever any form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and
to institute a new Government.”
Our forefathers and foremothers believed that the British were getting in the
way of our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, getting in the way of the kind
of life God had planned for us. The British were placing undue rules and regu}
lations on us. We thought we could do a better job in forming a new govern}
ment.
Jesus believed that the religious leaders of his time were placing undue rules
and regulations on his people. God’s law was meant to help people live a in a
healthy relationship with him and with the people around them. You could
say, God’s law was meant to allow us to have life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. Jesus proposed a new plan – the “Jesus plan”. 28 "Come to me, all
you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you
rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light."
Traditionally these verses have been used to inform or remind people of God’s
love, God’s power and God’s nature. People who come upon hard times, when
they find that life is hard, hope is difficult to find. In those difficult times of
life, during pain and suffering and frustration Jesus calls to us and offers to
take the burdens off our shoulders. It doesn’t matter what the problem is or
who you are or what you’ve done, Jesus is offering to help. Jesus is offering
help for any burden and you can count on it.
However even though the statement and the promise of Jesus is true that he
wants us to cast our burdens onto him, when Jesus originally made this
statement at that time in that place to those people that’s not what Jesus
meant. Jesus’ promise transcends this particular situation and can be applied
to any situation but Jesus didn’t mean during the situation we read in Matthew
11:28-30 just any burden. When he said Come to me all you who are weary and
are carrying heavy burdens it was to those people at that time. Jesus was talk}
ing about the burden of religion.
Religion can be very oppressive as can government. Don’t get me wrong I’m
not trashing religion. I’m part of the system. Religion simply put is a way of
living your life inspired by your belief system. It can be as simple as asking
yourself “What would Jesus do” then living that way. Of course people can
have different opinions as to what the right answer to that question is. Chris}
tians inspired by Christ look at how Jesus lived and died. They study his teach}
ing and set up rules to live by. Again not all Christian groups agree and so as
a result we have all these different groups within the Christian church and
Introduction to Conversational French they all set up their own system with their own rules and regulations. And we
are all convinced that we are right and the others are wrong.
In fact when we get to heaven we will find there is a
separate room apart from all the rest. Inside the room
will be the Lutherans because we believe no one else will
be up there.
The point is We Americans thought we could set up a better system of gov}
ernment so we declared our independence.
In a way Jesus did the same thing for us except Jesus know he had a better
way of living in relationship with God. So in a ways he declared our independ}
ence from the oppressive rules of the religious leaders. It was not so much
that they made up their own rules but it was the way they implemented them.
You can follow the letter of the laws of God and by doing so destroy the spirit
of it, destroy the very purpose of the law.
So we have these declarations of independence for freedom. But these words
can be deceiving. We Thomas Jefferson and the rest of our fore fathers pre}
sented this declaration they were proposing independence from British rule
they were not proposing anarchy, a life without rules, without laws. He was
proposing a new government he wasn’t proposing no government.
We Americans believe we have the best form of government of any country
but we are not free to do anything we might want. We are free within the regu}
lations of our government.
The independence and freedom Jesus is proposing can also be confusing.
When Jesus says ”. 28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying
heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and
learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
He is not talking about lying on the couch watching the soaps and eating
bonbons. Or watching sports and drinking beer. There may be some of that
but Jesus is not talking about sitting on the side of life watching life go by
while others participate. Jesus is talking about living life, loving God and lov}
ing the neighbor. We still have work to do but Jesus works with us.
Introduction to Conversational French
He says He will give us rest from our burdens but at the same time he is offer}
ing us his yoke. A yoke is something put on an animal by its master when it is
time to work. As we know there are all kinds of masters.
The movie GROWING UP WITH THE STIENES is a good movie about a young jewish
boy who preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. A Bar Mitzvah is a life passage for the
Jewish people where a boy becomes a man. In one scene the Rabbi tells the
young boy that when he becomes a man it is his job to help restore the world.
That’s a good way of looking at what God is proposing here. Come to me with
your burdens, take my yoke upon you. Time to help restore the world, Time to
work for the kingdom of God.
In his famous speech President John F. Kennedy said. Ask not what your gov}
ernment can do for you, ask what you can do form your country.
Jesus doesn’t want us to be bogged down by unnecessary burdens partly be}
cause there is much to do in the kingdom. We need to help restore the world
and Jesus will be working right along side us.
Introduction to Conversational French
Back to top
7/13/09 /Matthew
13:1-9
“Just don’t get in the
way of the Holy Spirit”
That’s
what one of my seminary professors said about
preaching.
“Just don’t
get in the way of the Holy Spirit” He also said,
“If you can at the least help people enter into the text
you’ve done your job.”
The job of the
preacher is to bring the gospel to
the people. Part of that is to help people
understand the law because we don’t understand the gospel, we can’t realize the
good
news of Jesus Christ out of context. You can’t have the gospel without the
law. You don’t understand the good news without at least
being exposed to the
bad news.
If I told you that
Truman took a walk around his living room. You might say – so
what. You would say
“so what” unless you knew he
had knee problems and had just had surgery on his knee.
Another part of
bringing the gospel to people, a big part
is helping people better understand God; help people understand who God
is,
what God is, where God is, what God does, and what God doesn’t do. How does
God feel about his creation, the birds, the trees, the
mountains and rivers? How
does God feel about you and me.
With this in mind,
let’s look at our gospel reading. Let’s see what we can learn about God. Today
we have the parable of the Sower.
Parables are earthly stories with heavenly
meanings. They are ordinary everyday things that Jesus uses to give us a
glimpse of heaven and God.
A sower went out to
sow seed and some fell – Along the path, some in rocky soil, some among the
thorns, some in good soil.
Quite
often we hear this parable and we try to relate the soil to us. What kind of
soil am I? Am I good soil? Am I bad soil? Should I feel guilty because
I’m not
better soil? What must I do to become good soil?
Those
are good questions. The good and the bad of a parable is that it doesn’t have
to have just one point at least as far as we can understand. It’s not
like the
bebe I shoot at the squirrel whose eating out of the bird feeder. My bebe gun
shoots one little bebe; which by the way does nothing to deter the
squirrel. A
parable is more like a shell fired by a shot gun where the pellets just
scatter. Unfortunately my neighbors wouldn't appreciate me using a
shot gun in
my backyard, unless its for a mole but that's something else. Parables have
many possible meanings and messages, that’s what make
Jesus’ parables so rich.
That’s also what make them hard to understand sometimes.
To
do the parable justice we don’t just look for a moral of the story. Instead we,
kind of, enter into the story. We put the story in the back of our minds
for
future reference. This is why we need to learn these bible stories. Instead of
trying to memorize biblical truths how about having the bible live within you?
A Sower went out to
sow. Instead of thinking about soil today, how about if we concentrate on the
Sower. Could the Sower be God?
Could the sower be Jesus? Can this Sower teach
us about Jesus by studying? What does this Sower do?
He throws seed out
along the Path, in rocky soil, among the thorns, and in good soil. Would you
hire this guy to plant corn on your land?
What is he doing? Isn't seed corn
going for something like $500 a bag for 2 acres?
How about that
Manager of the vineyard? This guy goes out to hire people to work in the
vineyard. He goes out in the beginning of the
day and hires people to works.
Then he goes out throughout the day hiring people to work even with just one
hour left to work. Then
when it’s time to pay the workers he gives the ones who
only worked 1 hour a whole days pay. Would you hire this guy to manage your
vineyard or any other type of business?
Effective
and efficient.
No matter what type of organization people are involved in the idea is to be
effective and efficient. It doesn’t
matter if you had a business, a government
organization, a non-profit or a church you want to be effective and efficient.
So what is God telling us?
How about the
father of the Prodical son? The younger son takes half the the family’s worth,
half the inheritance. We won’t even talk
about the fact that the father wasn’t
dead yet. I won’t even mention that he was basically saying “I wish you were
dead Dad so I could get my money”.
The son takes that money and wastes it all. He
comes home and what does the father do? Punish him? Put him to work? Make him
pay off what he lost? What would you do?Well we know that father throws him a
party, sparing no cost.
Is that effective
and efficient?
Are we a path,
rocky, thorns, good soil? Are we going to produce? Are we worth God’s love?
The love of God is
like the fragrance of a Flower. It doesn’t say I’ll give my fragrance to this
person and not to that person.
Someone at our
pastor’s text study said, Well that’s God that’s not us.
Do you think that’s
true? Is the parable talking about spreading God’s love here and there and
everywhere even in places where it will probably
won’t make any difference,
just about Jesus. It this parable just about what
Jesus is like and what Jesus
does?
Does it have
anything to do with us?
What does this
parable mean for us?
That's a good thought for the week. It's a
good question to have in the back of our mind this week. Amen.
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Matthew
13: 24-30 July 20, 2008
This parable addresses two of the great “why” questions of
life. Why is there evil in the world? Why isn’t God doing anything about it?
In the comedy movie the “Time Bandits” there were these
“little people” who worked for God but felt unappreciated so they stole these
maps that
allowed them to go from one period of time to the next. The devil
found out about this and tried to get the maps; thinking that the maps would
allow
him to take over the world. In the end God wins of course. After the
Devil has been destroyed, actually blown up, God comes on the scene portrayed
as an old British Gentleman. Yes it was a British film. God says to his
assistants. “Evil turned out quite well don’t you think?”. The movie was saying
that God created evil and
used evil for his own purposes but God was still and is still, in control of
the world even over evil.
Our parable for today has a field with good crops planted
but in the night “the Enemy” comes and plants bad crops. So you could say that
the parable
is suggesting that the evil in the world was put there by the
“Enemy”. But where did the Enemy come from?
Our parable doesn’t seem to give that answer. But why isn’t
God doing anything about the “evil”? Our parable today talks about weeds and
wheat,
Weeds living among the Wheat. It seems to be referring to the existence
of the “bad” among the “good”. The existence of evil among God’s good.
What’s to be done about it?
Who would you say, are the Top Ten People or Types of People who should
be weeded out of this world?
Or we could say, the top ten weeds or sinners that should be
weeded out or as they say in the spy movies “taken out”. There appears to be “good”
people and “bad” people. There appears to be people who are bad who are evil
that the world would be better without, people who cause terrible
problems for
everyone. People who should go to the eternal furnace, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth?
I tried to find a list of these kinds of people. I went to the internet and I goggled it but I
couldn’t find anything. The only thing I found was a list of the
top ten evil
people of history.
Top Ten Evil People in the
20th Century
- Mao Tse
Tung (China) killed 35 million people 1949-1976
- Joseph
Stalin (USSR) killed 20 million people 1929-1953
- Adolph
Hitler(Nazi Germany)-killed 11 million people 1939-1945
- Kim Il
Sung (North Korea) killed 3 million people 1948-1994
- Mohamed
Suharto (Indonesia) killed 2 million people 1967-1998
- Pol Pot
(Cambodia)- killed 1.4 million people 1975-1979
- Theoniste
Bagosara (Rwanda) killed 1 million people April-July 1994
- Saddam
Hussein (Iraq) killed 2 million people 1979-2003
- Ante
Pavelic (Croatia) killed 300,000 people 1941-1944
- Idi Amin
(Uganda)-300,000 1971-1979
What would your Top Ten Evil type of person be?
1.
Pediphils
2.
Terriorists
3.
Mass Murderers
4.
Drug dealers
This exercise might not be too comfortable. We might feel
uncomfortable judging other people, especially if other people know we are
judging other people.
We might do it all the time, but not out loud. Maybe only with
people who think like we do.
Let’s go back to the
parable. We have weeds among the wheat. The Owner’s servants want to go out and
pull out the weeds. The weeds are taking
the wheats, soil, nourishment, water.
It’s hurting the crop, hurting the yield. The owner says no. By taking out the
weeds you might take out or hurt the wheat.
We can understand that. I heard of a man who wanted to take
out the horribly ugly bush but as he tried to take it out he found out that if
he did he would
destroy these Peonies he wanted to keep.
Many of us amateur gardeners fear pulling out the wrong
plants. Pulling out a flower thinking it’s a weed.
This week if you followed the all star game you heard of a
weed that turned into wheat. Josh Hamilton #1 draft pick for baseball a number
of years back
got involved in drugs and it ruined his life. He got so bad he was
living on the streets until like the prodigal son he showed up on his grandmother’s
door step.
His life is turned around now – he gives all the credit to God and
his grandmother. And he is reaching out to others who have drug and alcohol
problems.
But when Jesus says let them grow together the good and the
bad, the evil and the good it’s hard to take. It’s hard not to judge. It’s hard
not to want to remove
the bad and live up to the life God wants us to live.
Let them grow together.
One thing that might help us “let them grow together” is
think about who “them” might be. I used to get real frustrated with really slow
drivers. Then it hit me,
this person might be my grandma or grandpa. This
person might be one of you. This person might not know where they are going,
might be sick or scared.
I might be a person at some time. This person might be
someone I love and care about.
Maybe that’s why Jesus says let them grow together, they are
someone he loves and cares about. Someone just like you and me. To top it off
what makes us
think we are the wheat? Maybe we are the weeds.
God bless you, amen.
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July 27 2008 / Romans 8:38-39
Where’s Waldo?
There is a whole series of picture books called “Where’s Waldo”. There are different scenes like at the
beach or on the ski hill, in the city and among all the things you would find at these locations there are
all these different people. Amongst it all you have to find Waldo, a thin man with blue pants, a red and
white striped shirt and stocking hat wearing glasses. He is not always easy to find. You have to study the
pictures like finding a piece to a puzzle. But one thing that helps is that Waldo always looks the same.
Where is Jesus? Where is Jesus is not a game but it can seem even more challenging than “Where’s
Waldo?” at times. Like in the Where’s Waldo books, we can be searching for Jesus in all different
situations and locations. We look for Jesus in good situations and bad. Sometimes it seems easy to see
God in the good things of life sometimes it seems easier to find him during the hard times. Luther said
maybe because it was his experience that “Jesus is never closer than in our darkest hour of need”. That
can be good and not so good. It’s good because when things are really dark for us it’s great to be able to
find Jesus. But it is not so great that we sometimes have to go through the bad to find him.
One of the things Pastor Dean and I asked the kids this week was “Where is Waldo?” no I mean “Where
is Jesus?” Sometimes not an easy question to answer.
When Solomon became King of Israel after his father David’s death his was young not knowing what to
do as ruler over God’s people. In his hour of need God appeared to him in a dream giving him wisdom
and riches.
My father hasn’t died and left me a Kingdom, at least there wasn’t anything on the news last night but
this trip to the boundary waters had different opportunities for me to get glimpses of God.
First of course there were the devotions we had almost every night one night we didn’t but I’ll get to
that. Pastor Dean was reading an interesting book to us I think it was called God’s blog. On the internet
there are these website type things where you can post your daily thoughts on the web for others to
read. The idea of the book was to imagine what kind of blog God would write to tell others about his
doings and experiences. It was interesting, thought provoking and it helps you to see God in life.
On a trip like this you would also expect to see God’s hand in nature. Go up North to the end of the
world – well ok it was Canada. There weren’t many people around. On two of the lakes we stayed on
there weren’t any other people. There was just the water, the sky, the trees and hills and fish and of
course the mosquitoes. I’m sorry they don’t help me to find God. But in all of the beautiful parts of
nature it helps you to ponder the wonder of God’s creation, at least initially.
That was part of it for me but the biggest thing that helped me get a glimpse of God was the other
people on the trip. Not everything went peachy on the trip. But of course it’s not a cruse trip it’s a canoe
trip. We went against the waves and the wind both ways.
It rained hard for a few hours the first day so we could get a fire going but we did have a stove. We ate
ok but I think the mosquitoes ate better, all 500,000,000,000 of them.
The first big glimpse of God which I didn’t realize until latter came during one of our portages. For those
not very familiar you paddle your canoe from lake to lake but sometimes there is some land between
the lakes you want to go to. So you have to pick up all of your stuff including canoes and carry them to
the next lake or water way. While I was carrying a canoe I went through this sometimes weedy,
sometimes rocky, sometimes muddy path. I went through the weeds, hit the rocky path and then it got a
little mud. After you step into a couple of mud puddles and get spattered who cares right? You just go
right through them; besides I had water shoes on anyway. Then I stepped into this quick sand. Alright
not quick sand but muck up to my thighs. The canoe and I fell over and the muck swallowed my right
water shoe.
Since I had the canoe over my head I hadn’t seen the train wreck of people in the muck in front of me.
As I wondered if I could just leave the canoe there and realized I couldn’t here comes Pastor Dean falling
down behind me.
I dug and hunted through that muck and couldn’t find that shoe. I was wondering how I was going to lift
the canoe back up and what it would be like to walk through the rest of the portage, muck, sticks,
stones and the rest with a water shoe on my left foot and the other foot bare. It was then that we
noticed that an angel had placed a orange crock right on the side of the muck where I fell. Or it was from
another hiker who had fallen and had their shoe eaten by the muck and cast the other one aside
abandoning it. Which is another way that God gets things done.
It was for the left foot but I put it on my right foot Pastor Dean helped me get the canoe up and I
continuing on my way, making a radical new fashion statement.
But the biggest glimpse of God was when Dillon Bodette and I got fish hooks in our fingers within five
minutes of each other. Obviously the two fish we caught thought turn-about was fair play. As we tried
to get our fish off the hook they hooked us. We saw God at work in the people of our group who prayed
for us, tried to help yank the hook out of our fingers. They stayed with us, comforted us, held lights tried
to use different tools to get it out. They cut their trip short so that we could go to the hospital. That’s the
hand of God.
There are many, many way places and situations to get a glimpse of God, most of them are in the simple
things of life. It’s not like Waldo. Waldo always looks the same. God can be found in many different
shapes and sized and colors.
Where is Jesus? Where is God? We will probably succeeed and struggle to find him at different times in
our lives. No matter what whether the Lord is easy or hard to find let us remember what the Apostle
Paul said in Romans 8 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, including much and mosquitoes will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us pray. Lord help us to continue to search for you through out life. Let us be assured that even
when we cannot find you- you are there.
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Matthew 14:22-33 / Keeping your eyes on Jesus – The difficulty
Have you ever sat in a boat in the middle of a storm?
Have you ever sat in a boat in the middle of a storm and watched Jesus walking across the water to you?
Have you ever sat in a boat in the middle of a storm and watched Jesus walking across the water to you
and asked him if you should step out of the boat, in the middle of a storm and walk on the water?
And when you asked Jesus if you should walk on the water – did he ever tell you to come? Has that ever
happened to you?
How about, have you ever wondered which way God wanted you to go in your life? What kind of a job,
what kind of a spouse, which decision should you make? Has that ever happened? Have you wondered
and have you asked Jesus if this is the way I should go in my life call me out of the boat, let me see a
neon sign, or open a door of me, give me an opportunity?
This happened to me. I wasn’t in a boat in a storm wanting to walk on water. I remember being in my
back yard shooting baskets, thinking Karem Abdul Jabbar, Hall of Fame Basketball player from Brooklyn
NY was over 6 foot tall in 7th grade, I was in 7th grade living in Ny. Would I grow up to be a NBA basketball
star? I wasn’t exactly 6 foot tall in 7th grade or in 8th grade or ever. But I remember kind of praying and
thinking that if I make this next shot it will be a sign that I’ll grow up to be a basketball star. Then Ok if I
make this shot, or maybe this shot.
Peter heard Jesus call him to come toward him and walk on the water. What makes people today think
they are being called by God for a certain job, a certain decision, to do good in a certain situation? What
makes people think God wants them to do anything? It is usually a hard thing to figure out.
People feel or hear God’s call in many different ways. One person might feel called to something
because of their past experiences, some because of the things they are good at or enjoy doing or they
might just have a gut feeling.
Have you ever felt a calling like that? Peter felt a calling. He heard Jesus say come, to me. He stepped
out of the boat, out of his dry seat, out of his comfort zone. Ever stepped out of your comfort zone?
Then after you’ve made your move and gotten out of the boat ever wonder if you were doing the right
thing or not? Maybe things start going wrong, maybe you start sinking.
Peter stepped out of the boat. He was doing fine but then he noticed the wind, he lost his confidence
and started to sink. Why did he sink? It seems that he started to sink because he took his eyes off of
Jesus? Or was he sinking because he was doubting if Jesus really wanted him to step out of the boat.
Why did Jesus say “You of little faith, why did you doubt”? Was it because he questioned Jesus’ calling.
Was it because he saw the wind and began to sink? Or was it because he called out to Jesus, “save me”.
The other day I was in the car when one of my sons was driving. I don’t want to say which one and
embarrass him. But I said something about a stop sign or a traffic light. He was a little annoyed at me –
imagine that? He was annoyed because he had already seen the sign. Is that what Jesus is talking about.
Peter called for help and Jesus already knew he needed help?
I think there are a number of things we can take away from this story. Stay in the boat during a storm.
Actually I don’t think that is one of Jesus’ points.
First of all, when you are trying to find your way in life, when you have important decisions to make the
best thing to do is ask Jesus for guidance, ask him in prayer and listen for an answer. Sometimes you
might feel him leading you in a direction. Check it out according to scripture, the opinion of Christian
friends and good reason. Trust that direction.
Secondly, even when Jesus calls us to do something, things can go wrong. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Even when you wonder if Jesus really did call you out of the boat – Keep your eyes on Jesus, he is still
there to help you.
We are called to trust and not doubt but even when we do doubt and sink into trouble we can still call
out to him. He is there and he cares. Jesus is the helping hand we can trust in good times and bad. And
all God’s people said, amen.
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Romans 11:32 / July 27 2008
Have you ever found a verse in scripture that you just had a difficult time believing? How about Romans
11: 32? For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all? Or you could
read it. For God has imprisoned all in unbelief so that he may be merciful to all? This might not sound
like a very comforting verse.
They didn’t know each other during their lifetime but when they met in the waiting room at the pearly
gates it was as if they knew each other all their lives. They had so much in common with each other.
Well, they didn’t look the same, they were all different colors, they were from different countries,
different economic classes, they were from different ethnic groups, they didn’t even speak the same
language but in some miraculous way they understood each other in their own language. It must have
been what it was like on the day of Pentecost when each person understood the word of God in their
own mother tongue.
If they had all of these differences what could they have had in common? They all loved the Lord, all
wanted to live eternally in his kingdom. They lived their lives trying to be the best people they could.
They didn’t all have a lot in terms of time talents or treasurers during their lives, some had more some
had less but they gave what they could to their congregations and to the needs of the world in Christ’s
name.
They had such fun meeting these different kinds of people they had so much in common with. It was
great to have this fellowship of other, like - minded Christians. But as the time passed and they had to
assume time passed because there were not clocks. As time passed they started to wonder what was
taking so long. They really didn’t think it would take so long not for them. This was what they had truly
worked their whole life for.
While they were starting to lose patients complaining to one another how long it was taking, in walks a
women they just knew was a lady of the night. She went and hid in the corner not making eye contact.
And it was a good thing she didn’t. She would be waiting a long time they thought and really what was
she doing in the waiting room, their waiting room. They were thinking, it really should be something like
the airport where they have long and short term parking. There probably should be long and short term
waiting here at the pearly gates.
Another person walked in also hid in the corner, a good thing he did. Imagine a murder like him in their
room. How did they know he was a murderer? – somehow they just did. What’s he doing here? One of
their group said, yeah they all agreed, and one of them said and the prostitute too.
In walked a drug dealer who no doubt was selling to feed his own habit. The group was totally disgusted.
Suddenly Jesus stood among them. They knew him instantly. They were relieved. Jesus we have been
waiting for you. “You are wondering why you are waiting in this room and what has taken so long”. Yes
that’s right. How did you know? O of course Jesus, you know everything.
Yes I do. This isn’t a waiting room. What? They ask. This is a testing room / a judgment room.
Judgement? The way we’ve lived our lives we are not worried about that – then they looked at Jesus’
face. He didn’t look happy. You have been pretty hard on my children. Children? You don’t have any –
My children right over here, Jesus said – motioning to the woman and two men in the corner. As you
judge so shall you be judged.
How should this story end? Should it end, Matthew 13.42: and they will throw them into the
furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ? Or Romans 11:32 For God
has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all? We need to be careful how
we answer this question. We may end up in the waiting, I mean judgment room.
There is often a debate between Christians. Is God just or is God gracious? Remember the movie “A few
Good men, Tom Cruise an army attorney asks the commanding officer played by Jack Nicholson for the
truth. Jack Nicholson say you can’t handle the truth.
When we ask God for justice I wonder if he says to us “you can’t handle justice”.
One of my seminary professors was Gerhardt Forde. He was a great theologian but he was a bit of an
introvert. I think students sensed this and liked to play stump the professor with him. They would ask
him the unanswerable questions. Why is there evil, where did it come from? How can God be good and
gracious? If God died on the cross who raised him from the dead? One day they asked him the question:
why does God allow people to sin? He said, “So that he may be gracious” I thought he was just shutting
the student up. When I read this lesson this week, I remembered. So that he may be gracious.
May God be merciful and gracious to us in Jesus’ name.
And all God’s people said, Amen.
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Matthew 16:13-20 / August 24th
I love the story of the plane that was delayed and then rescheduled. This one business man who was
very upset for not getting what he wanted approached the representative at the gate and asked, Do you
know who I am? Without hesitation the representative got on the public address system and said We
have a gentleman here who doesn’t know who he is can anyone help him?
Who do people say the son of man is?
Who do people say Jesus is? Wouldn’t that be an interesting survey? What do you think people would
say?
I remember watching one of the Alpha videos. Alpha is a basic Christianity course put together by the
Anglican Church. They did this promotional video with a man on the street in Britain, asking people,
Who is Jesus? One person did say he was their Lord and savior but most of them wouldn’t or couldn’t
comment. Most of us who have grown up Christian find that difficult to believe that there would be
people who didn’t have a comment or opinion about who Jesus is. Do you think it would be different in
the states.
Jesus asked his disciples who do people say that the son of man is? They said, John the Baptist, Elijah,
one of the prophets, Jeremiah. If we went outside the church. Downtown Cannon Falls, downtown
Kenyon, or inner city Dennison. Let’s say in the cities, if you asked people who is the son of man, they
would probably walk away from you really fast. If we asked who is Jesus? What would they say? If
someone said, the Savior of the world, my Lord, the messiah and we asked and what does that mean, I
wonder what they would say.
I don’t think this is something people even talk about, even in Christians circles. Maybe because we
assume we’ve already done this. Jesus told the disciples don’t tell anyone that I am the messiah.
Historically Christians especially Lutheran Christians have been very faithfully following Jesus’ request
here. We’re not telling anybody.
One thought is that the reason Jesus said Don’t tell anybody was that the time wasn’t right. The time
had to be right before the truth got out, before he headed to Jerusalem, before he was betrayed,
crucified and after 3 days raised from the dead.
But you know, the cats out of the bag. Jesus has already been crucified, died, and has been raised from
the dead. It’s alright to tell people now. Really!
What if you were you were milling around on the west side of Hater and someone asked you Who do
you say Jesus is? I’ve gotten a number phone calls recently, asking me to do surveys. They have asked
me a couple of questions I haven’t thought about in a while, causing me to think. They asked me who do
you say the son of man is? Alright they didn’t ask me that, but what if someone called you and asked
you: Who is Jesus? And please explain your answer so that I can understand because I am not a
Christian. If someone asked you that what would you say? What would you say?
I challenge you to think about that question and how you would respond. I challenge you to put
something down on paper. Keep it private if you want to or talk about it with someone you trust. Who is
Jesus? Who is Jesus in terms people today, non church people could understand.
If you are getting stuck you can look at the Apostles’ creed and the rest of the small catechism. If you
need one I can get you one.
I am going to be having a “new” Lutheran, “seasoned” Lutheran class for new members and other
interested parties. We will be looking at how Lutherans traditionally look at the faith.
What would you say if someone asked you who is Jesus? Think about it. Study the bible. Prayer would be
helpful. Remember Peter was only able to answer the question with the help of our heavenly Father.
Jesus said flesh and blood didn’t reveal this to you it was our Heavenly Father.
I would love to read what you write or talk about it with you if that is what you would like to do or have
an email conversation. But I think this is an important thing for us to do. We really do need to think
about who Jesus is and what we would say if someone asked us. It would be good just in case someone
asked. It would be good for your own spiritual growth.
But this is not a once and for all type of thing. If you could dig out something you wrote when you were
confirmed that would be great. It would be very interesting. But if you read it I believe you would see
things a little differently or express yourself a little differently.
Jesus is your Lord and savior, the savior of the world. In your own words who would you say he is?
Something to think about.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen?
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Matthew 16:21-28 / August 31, 2008
Sven and Ole apply for the same job. They both have the same qualifications. In order to decide which
person to hire the boss gives them a test.
After looking over the results of the test the boss says, Well you both scored a 95% on the test so I am
going to hire Sven. Ole is puzzled. Why are you going to hire Sven when we both scored the same on the
test? Well Ole on question #5 Sven answered I don’t know. You answered I don’t know either.
Jesus asked to his disciples who do you say that I am? Peter said, ‘You are the Messiah,* the Son of the
living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
Jesus: Who do you say that I am?
Peter: The Messiah
This week we see the Problem with words. And we see that Peter really was told by heaven the right
name to use. I’m not saying that Peter was cheating like Ole. But it seems pretty clear that someone –
someone from heaven, whispered the answer to the question who is Jesus in Peter’s ear. Peter says you
are the Messiah.
What does it mean that Jesus is the Messiah? Jesus spells it out. Suffering, death and rise again.
Whoever whispered the answer of who Jesus is into Peter’s ear, apparently didn’t whisper what it
meant. He was on his own for that one. And Peter was at a disadvantage it is a congenital problem, one
he was born with.
When you have to understand tough things it’s best to turn to a good logical source for your answer, like
the comics.
Calvin & Hobbes
intro: I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of the newspaper especially the Sunday paper is the
comics. My favorite comic strip tends to change. One of my favorite comic strips is Calvin and Hobbes.
Calvin is a little boy and Hobbes is his stuffed tiger. Calvin spends a lot of time with Hobbes and pretends
that Hobbes is real. I would like to read one of these strips to you.
This strip was originally published in the newspapers on November 5, 1989.
Calvin believes history is a force. Its tide sweeps all people and institutions along its path. Everything and
everyone serve history's single purpose. Hobbes Calvin’s stuffed tiger asks what that purpose is. Calvin
says to produce him, of course. He's the end result of history. Calvin says thousands of generations lived
and died to produce his exact, specific parents, whose reason for being was to produce him. Calvin goes
on to say all history has been spent preparing the world for his presence. Hobbes thinks four and a half
billion years probably wasn't long enough. Calvin says he's here, and history is vindicated. Hobbes asks
what he's going to do, now that history's brought him. In the next scene we get our answer. Calvin and
Hobbes are sitting at home watching cartoons on the television.
Calvin believes that the whole world revolves around him. He believes that everything in the world and
in history was for one purpose to make him what he is and to prepare the world for him. Pause Most of
us don't view life our life this way. Do we? Do we view life as if it revolves around us? It is difficult not to.
When Jesus begins to tell Peter what it means that he Jesus is the Messiah, suffering, dying, rising – I
don’t think Peter heard the rising part. When Peter heard what Jesus was saying how he was describing
the Messiah Job description it didn’t fit into Peter’s mind set.
Whether Peter said God forbid to Jesus out of his love for Jesus, or his hope for Israel or something else,
Jesus’ problem with Peter was Peter was looking at it from a human point of view. Which is what Peter
was, a human. But Jesus wanted him to look at it the way God looks at it.
Peter is a rock. A rock is good if it is useful like if you can build on it. A rock is not good if it gets in the
way of what you are trying to do.
Jesus wanted Peter, Jesus wants us to set our minds on Divine things not Human things.
When I was at Mike Bannitt's funeral at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church here in Cannon Falls I saw this great
banner in their fellowship hall: “Christianity a whole new way of looking at life.”
When Matthew tells this story, Jesus is talking with his disciples. Jesus is not trying to turn them into
believers. They already believe in Jesus. They are already Christians – they are following Jesus who is the
Christ. They are Christ followers – Christians.
Jesus apparently is making a turn that they or at least Peter didn’t expect. He visualized what the road
was going to look like, which way he would go but it turned out to be different from what he thought.
Jesus wants us to set our minds on Divine things not Human things. Hopefully when we come to worship
we strive to set our mind on divine things instead of human things. But what about when we walk out
the door?
Here is a good exercise. It’s an election year maybe you are trying to decide who to vote for. Many of us
you might have grown up Republican or Democrat or independent. And you can certainly be a Christian
and a Democrat, Republican, independent, Liberal, conservative and many other. If you have your mind
on divine things rather than human things, What are some of the divine ways of thinking that are
different from the democrats way of thinking, what’s different from the Republicans way of thinking.
This gets tricky because What is the difference between what you want or what’s beneficial to you and
what God wants?
Last week I challenged you to put on paper in your own words the answer to the question – Who is
Jesus. Thinking about what is the difference between divine things and human things can help you put
together you paper on who Jesus is. What are human things, what are divine things? We have to
remember it is not always as simple as it seems. Just ask Peter.
We want to be a rock that God uses to build his church not a stumbling block getting in the church’s
way.
I’d like to close with a song/prayer I used to sing when I was on Lutheran Youth Encounter. We used to
call it the catholic song which it isn’t but you’ll figure out why we’d call it that. It goes like this.
Father Grant.
That what we say with our lips we may believe in our hearts
And what we believe in our hearts, we will show forth in our lives, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen,
Amen. Amen.
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Matthew 18:15-20 / September 7, 2008
Long long ago in a land far, far away lived John Lefsa. John Lefsa a life long member of Last Lutheran
Church. After Sunday worship he was walking out of the Sanctuary. As he passes the conference room
he hears people say “John doesn’t just smell bad, we are talking about an odor that could seriously
effect people’s health”.
As he came up to them they stopped talking. He looked at them, Mrs. Stanley who he never really cared
for and Peter Horacio who he knew all his life and considered a close friend. Peter said, Oh Hi John. Then
John just left. He could see what was going on.
As he was leaving he heard Peter say, I’m sure it’s just a matter of getting the right type of detergent.
Oh, come on nothing is that strong said Mrs. Stanley.
Peter knew that pig farmers didn’t always smell the greatest but he had showered. And he was mad
after all he had done for the church. These people are suppose to be christians.
John left the church. When asked why he joined Second Lutheran and left Last Lutheran he just said that
people didn't appreciate him there, that he caught them talking about him behind his back, insulting
him.
J
ohn never talked to Peter Horacio or Mrs. Stanley about it so he never found out that they had been
talking about "The John" that is the "Port-a-potty" the church had always rented for their big Corn boil
fundraising event every summer.
In a true story, which true stories are always harder to believe than the made up ones. I heard about this
manager who didn't realize that one of his workers was a lazy, good for nothing employee who always
got other people to do his work. The reason he didn't realize it was because they were both committed
Christians. And the manager thought he could trust this employee just because he was a Christian.
Apparently Jesus didn't have the same view of human nature even for Christians.
Mt 18 15 "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of
you are alone.- wait a minute. What does that say? "If another member of the church sins against you. -
You better read it from your pew bibles. What does it say?
But wait if Jesus says "If another member of the church sins against you. Do you know what that means?
It means church people are not perfect. That's 1 church people are not perfect.
If church people sin even against other church members what are we suppose to do? It sounds like
those nay Sayers are right. There are hypocrites in the church. What should we do? Should we kick them
out?
At some point we might have to do that but I wouldn't do that just yet. Soon we wouldn't have many
members left. Besides kicking them out isn't really what Jesus is interested in.
In Mt 18 just before this reading Jesus tells the parable about the lost sheep. If you have 100 sheep and
1 is lost - you cut your loses and - no - Jesus says that the shepherd leaves the 99 and hunts and finds the
lost one and celebrates when it is found.
Jesus says "If another member of the church sins against you - Sins are actions - sins are fruits of sin.
Not too long ago we read about how Jesus said it is not what goes into a person that makes them
unclean it is what comes out. What comes out shows what is in their heart.
In the same way Sins, sinful actions come from Sin and sin is a broken relationship. When we commit
sins it reveals that our relationship with Jesus is not right. For example we steal or take what is not
rightfully ours because we do not trust God to give us what we need.
Jesus says "If another member of the church sins against you, Jesus is interested in bringing the lost
sheep back to the fold, Jesus wants a restored relationship. The main issue is not I'm right and you're
wrong. They hurt me lets stay away from them. The goal is restoring the relationship.
John Lefsa was hurt. He believed people were saying things about him. But he never talked to them
about it. Imagine if he would have come up to them and told them what he thought they said. John
would still be a member of Last Lutheran and they all might have had a good laugh about it.
Even if they had said what he thought he heard, if he would have talked with them about it they might
have worked it out. But he never had a chance because he never talked to them about it. I joke with
little leaguers. It seems that little league baseball players will either swing the bat at anything or
nothing. When they don't swing at anything I often joke, that very few people get a hit without
swinging. It's possible, the ball could accidently hit the bat without you swinging but the odds are real
small but it is possible. But if you swing your chances for a hit dramatically increase.
It is possible that John could have resolved his problem with out talking with them but the chances are
very small. If he would have spoken with them, his chance would have increased dramatically.
Jesus goal is reconciliation, restored relationships. Jesus gives the church a method for reconciliation
when someone sins against you. This is a great a method. This a method is so good it would work in any
situation.
First when someone sins against you - go and talk to them about it. Not everybody and their brother - go
and talk with them first.
Second if that doesn't work bring someone with you and talk to them about it. Not to gang up on them
but to restore the relationship.
Third it says bring it to the church. If the person doesn't listen even to the church treat them like
Gentiles and Tax collectors.
We know that Jesus cared for Gentiles and Tax collectors but we do treat them differently than
someone in our own family.
Jesus knows that if you live with other people there are going to be problems but he wants us to resolve
these problems and reconcile our relationships. Just like he comes to us as we sin against him and works
to reconcile us back into a loving relationship with him.
Of course this isn't easy. We usually want to run away from problems or get revenge. We would much
rather tell everyone else in the world when we have been hurt that the person we have a problem with.
Or write a letter to the editor. It does take courage.
Some times people aren't aware of things they are doing or how it affects others. Sometimes people
need to be asked to stop. Sometimes we misinterpreted the situation. But we will never know unless we
talk with them.
If someone comes to you who believes they have been wrong - and you want to help them out -
encourage them to go to the person and work it out. This is one of the ways we grow as Christians.
Next week I believe we have the next section in Chapter 18 where Peter asks Jesus how many times you
have to forgive.
Jesus wouldn't have taught about reconciling with others if it wasn't important. This wouldn't be in the
bible if it were easy. Jesus is not asking us to do anything he isn't will to do.
Thank God Jesus is continually working to restore our relationship with him. amen
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Matthew 18:21-35 / September 14, 2008
Peter asks Jesus: “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?
As many as seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
Some ancient texts say 77 times some say 70 x 7 So if it’s 70x7 for those of you good at math what’s
the answer? 490.
I heard of a play called: "Seventy times Seven Equals Four-Hundred-Ninety, But Then...POW!" In
the play the husband has a chalkboard in their apartment where he is keeping count of the
number of times he has forgiven his wife. Every time she would do something that would upset
him, such as having scrambled eggs on Sunday, when she knows that Sunday is the day for
eggs sunny-side-up, the husband would yell a little bit, then take off his glasses, walk over the
board, but with a white glove on, pick up the piece of chalk, place another mark on the board,
and say, "I forgive you." Then he puts down the chalk, takes off the white glove, puts on his
glasses and exuberantly walks back to where he was.
http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/matt18x21.htm
Is this what Jesus was talking about? “70 x 7 but then Pow” I don’t think so and I hope it isn’t true
because Sandy is a lot better in math than I am.
22Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
So for those of you good at understanding a figurative language rather than a literal translation,
what does 77 or 70 x 7 mean?
Doesn’t it mean there is no limit?
What is interesting is that Matthew writes that after Peter asks how many times do I need to forgive
and Jesus says 77 or 70 x 7, Matthew has Jesus telling his disciples a forgiveness parable. This
parable is not one about the number of times you have to forgive but forgiveness and the
responsibility that comes from being forgiven.
Ole and The Voice
Narrator: This reminds me of what happened Long, long ago in a land far, far away at Last Lutheran
Church. Old Ole Urlandson was at worship. It seemed like a regular worship. It was right in the
beginning of the service during the Confession & Forgiveness Ole had a “God” experience and it
really confused him.
Sometimes during the confession Pastor Urlandstad would give the congregation an opportunity to
think if there was anything they wanted to be forgiven from. For some odd reason, Ole actually
thought of something he wanted forgiveness from. Usually he is thinking about the farm or how
much money Lena was spending on shoes or just daydreaming. This Sunday believe it or not, Ole
was actually thinking about what he needed to confess.
After a while Pastor Urlandstad asked if everyone was done and if they really wanted to be forgiven.
Maybe it was the first time Ole ever paid attention to what Urlandstad said, because it sounded
strange to him.
Ole: Does anyone what to be forgiven? Of course, who wouldn’t want to be forgiven?
Narrator: he said this in his head. Then the strange thing happened. The “God” thing happened. He
heard a voice ask –
The Voice: do you really want to be forgiven Ole?
Narrator: The voice sounded like James Earl Jones a very loud James Earl Jones but for some reason
he knew no one else heard it.
The voice: “That’s right I’m talking to you Ole”. “Do you really want to be forgiven?”
Ole: Ahh….., I think so.
The voice: What do you mean, do you or don’t you?
Ole: Why wouldn’t I?
The voice: I’ll ask the questions. (pause) But that is a good question, people don’t usually ask that
question, in fact I’ll have to check my records but I don’t think anyone has ever asked that question
before.
Ole: So why wouldn’t I want to be forgiven?
The voice: Well forgiveness is not without responsibility.
Ole: Responsibility? That’s what I’m usually being forgiven for.
The voice: You’re usually being forgiven for Responsibility?
Ole: No for irresponsibility.
The voice: That’s true, however when you are forgiven, you are expected to act accordingly.
Ole: Oh, I know, try not to do it again.
The voice: No, well, yes, there is that, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
Ole: And be thankful, I am thankful.
The voice: Thankful is a part of it.
Ole: So, what does act accordingly mean?
The voice: You are to suppose to act according to the way you’ve been treated. You have been given
the example of forgiveness.
Ole: This is tough. I’m not used to being in long stories like this. I’m usually in jokes that are only
one or two lines long. I don’t understand the jokes either but it’s easier than this!
The voice: Just hear me out. You have been given the example of forgiveness so that you can now
forgive as you have been forgiven.
Ole: But wait a minute. Didn’t Jesus die on the cross for all my sins?
The voice: Yes.
Ole: Didn’t he die on the cross for the sins of the whole world?
The voice: Yes.
Ole: If that’s true, when you are asking me if I want to be forgiven my sins, is it a trick question?
The voice: Maybe.
Ole: Maybe? If Jesus died for all of my sins and God already forgives me all my sins – Aren’t I already
supposed to forgive others?
The voice: What do you think?
Ole: I don’t think I like this. How often do I have to forgive?
The voice: I think we’ve been through that.
Ole: I thought forgiveness was supposed to be a freeing experience.
The voice: What makes you think it isn’t? I’m sure Sven will think it is. Ole: I’m sure he will.
Pastor: May God forgive you all your sins and give you the power to do the same to others. And all
God’s people said, Amen.
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Matthew 20:1-16/ September 21,
2008
Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ his Son our Lord. Amen
Grace
and peace to us right? That is what we want. We want God’s grace right? I do.
Don’t you?
I
know that some of you here today didn’t grow up Lutheran, but I think we are
pretty similar in that we believe in
and trust in God’s grace. How many
people believe in and trust in God’s grace for eternal life?
For
those of you who didn’t grow up Lutheran, the Lutheran montra is: “Salvation by grace
through faith”. God saves us by grace through faith. As the Apostle
Paul said to the Ephesians: (Ephesians 2:8-9)
For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is
the gift of God not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
So
since we are saved by grace we are receiving something that doesn’t really
belong to us, by that I mean, it is something we don’t deserve. It is something
we haven’t earned. As a matter of fact it is something we can’t earn.
Is
that a fair statement? It’s really not a fair statement is it? It’s more of a
faith statement. Faith and trust in
God’s grace.
A
few years ago at our synod assembly there were two pastors who consented to have
their heads shaved for a funding event. They were also very musical and sang a
song for us. They called themselves “Bald by choice”.
Another
Pastor came up to greet them declaring “Anyone can be bald by choice”, He said I am bald by God.
Being
a Christian is more like being “bald by God” than “Bald by choice” because it is a
gift. Since this is the possible future of my head, I think it’s best to
embrace it.
Well
what does this have to do with a big fish and disgruntled workers in the field?
I haven’t gotten enough fishing in this year so let’s start there.
Jonah
is one of the great stories in the bible so even if you’ve heard it over and
over again you want to hear it again, and you’re in luck.
God
called Jonah and said, Jonah go to Nineveh and tell those people that I am
going to destroy them.
Jonah
said, You talkin to me? You’re not talkin to me. I don’t like the people of Nineveh.
They are evil people. Do you know what they have done to our people?
God
said, You hate them.
Jonah:
Ok I hate them. I hate them because they have tortured and mutilated our people
and they hate you.
God:
so why don’t you want to tell them I’m going to destroy them?
Jonah:
Because you’re not. You are gracious and merciful slow to anger and abounding
in steadfast love and faithfulness.
God:
So.
Johan:
So I’m not going to tell them you are going to destroy them because they’ll get
scared, repent and then you’ll repent and forgive them.
God:
That’s me.
Jonah:
Well it’s not me. I’m outta here.
Jonah
gets on a boat going in the other direction. God brings a storm upon the boat
so that the sailors throw Jonathan out. Jonah get swallowed by a big fish
having a whale of a time. The fish spits him out having a delicate system.
Jonah finds himself on the shores of Nineveh. Begrudgingly, Jonah walks across
the land declaring their destruction.
Jonah
was right, they repent. Here is one of the best lines in the bible. Even the
cattle repent. Not being a country person I don’t quite understand how this is
possible but the cattle repent, the people repent, God repents. God forgives
them and Jonah is mad.
These
people don’t deserve God’s grace. But you know, God never said they did. He
says to Noah.
11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that
great city, God says in which there are
more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right
hand from their left, and also many animals?"
When
we read Jonah we so often get so caught up in whether or not Jonah was
swallowed by a whale or a big fish or a gigantic guppy, that we miss the really
important stuff. What is really offensive is not whether there was a whale or
no whale what’s offensive is the deal God offers Nineveh. If you are not
offended you don’t realize how evil Nineveh was. But this offense, gives us a
glimpse, of the kingdom of God.
We
continue our lesson of the kingdom of God, in the gospel, Jesus takes us to a
vineyard. You heard the story. The owner needs workers, goes out and gets
workers to work for the usual daily
wage,
which was their daily bread, just enough until tomorrow. The owner goes out at
different times during the day hiring workers promising to give them what is right.
The
clincher is that he goes out with just an hour left in the day finds workers
and promises them a fair wage.
The
last ones hired are to be paid first, all are paid ending with the ones hired
first, which is important. If the ones hired first were paid first, they would
have just gone home and never would have known what happened with the last
ones. As
you know the ones that only worked an hour received the usual daily wage for a whole day,
their daily bread. The ones hired first, see this, and assume since they worked
more, they would now get more, than what they were promised. They were
mistaken.
All
of the commentaries want to make one thing very clear. This story is about the
kingdom of God. It is not a guide as to how to run an earthly business or
motivate people. It’s about the kingdom of God.
First
some things about the ones first hired. They are working for the usual daily wage, their daily bread. This is the amount
they had agreed upon.
They
didn’t want the ones who came last to be seen as their equals. They didn’t care about anyone but
themselves. Jesus says to them “Are you envious because I am generous or it could read, Are you envious because I am good. They are not only envious because he is generous;
their envy is keeping them from
seeing God’s goodness and grace.
The
Nrsv translates it envious; literally it’s the evil eye. The evil eye sees what God does as evil because they want more – the evil is not happy that the
families of these last hired workers will eat tonite.
Jesus says: Mt 20:15 Am I not
allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because
I am generous?'
The key here and with both
lessons is not the graciousness of God. That’s great; don’t get me wrong,
that’s what I’m counting on. But the key is in the first part of that verse.
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs
to me?
There we have it. There is
the real offensive statement. It’s bad enough that God is gracious, giving
people what they don’t deserve, giving bad people what they don’t deserve.
That’s bad enough.
Jesus says: Am I not allowed to do what I choose with
what belongs to me? You know what that means?
Whose the king of the Jungle, whose the king of the sea,
whose the king of the universe and whose the king of me? And you?
God is the creator, the
owner, the king, the ruler. Jesus is the definition of good, the standard of
good.
I
want to leave you with a two things to think about one verse of scripture and a
quote for from a book.
Those of you familiar with
“The Loin the witch and the wardrobe” know that in the series of stories, Jesus
is portrayed by the Lion whose name is Aslan. In one scene one of the characters
says to the other oh good Aslan is here. The other character who is not
familiar with Aslan and only sees a Lion asks is he safe? The other responses
almost laughingly, no he’s not safe
but he’s good. Is God
safe, no but he’s good.
Here are two things to think
about .
Jesus: Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what
belongs to me?
Is God safe, no but he’s good.
And all God’s people said
Amen.
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OCTOBER 5, 2008 / MATTHEW 21:33-42
The first lesson from Isaiah and the gospel reading from Matthew have their similarities. The most
obvious is grapes. In Isaiah God is singing him a love song about his vineyard. And in Matthew Jesus
tells a parable about a vineyard. In Isaiah he plants the vineyard expecting it to yield grapes but
instead it yields wild grapes. From what I understand wild grapes are usually smaller than other
grapes and the big difference is that they are sour. Imagine putting what you think is going to be a
delicious sweet grape into your mouth but it turns out to be sour. What kind of face would you make
if you put one of those in your mouth?
In the gospel we have to assume that the problem is not the grapes. The problem is the tenants. The
problem is those people who have been put in charge by the owner of caring for the grapes. The
grapes belong to the landowner and the tenants want to keep it for themselves.
So we have what was planted from choice vines turning out wild on the one hand and on the other
hand we have a perfectly good vineyard but those in charge won’t let it go to what belongs to the
owners.
Just for kicks, and don’t tell anyone I am using these bible verses like this. Just for kicks what if the
vineyard is the church, the people of God, people like you and me. So the people of God are planted
so that they would be good grapes, a productive vineyard. So the people of God are God’s produce.
So that would make me and the leadership of this church the tenants. The vineyard doesn’t belong
to me or the leadership or to Urland for it’s own purposes. It belongs to the owner, to God, to Jesus.
The Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Galatians: Galatians 5:22 – 23 22By contrast, the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There
is no law against such things. We should really memorize those.
So then, Just for kicks we could say that God planted his vineyard the church, us, and expected love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. God was not
expecting wildness like – well let’s not go there.
The idea is that these fruits were planted for God’s purposes. I don’t want to get in God’s way, with
what belongs to God. I don’t want to be kicked out and have another pastor take over. I’m good with
encouraging Urland in the gifts of the spirit and encouraging us to share these gifts not only here
among the people of Urland but everywhere God leads us.
One growth area I believe we have here in Urland is realizing that we are not the whole vineyard. We
are part of the vineyard, part of the body of Christ. Our ELCA explains it well when it says, there are 3
expressions of the Church at least in the ELCA. Urland is one expression of the church. Spring
Garden is another expression of the church like us but they’re just a different flavor of Scandinavian.
Secondly we have our SEMN synod. That’s Urland together with Spring Garden, Wangen Prairie, and
many others in our area.
Thirdly is what we call Church-wide which is all the ELCA churches in the United States.
Each one of these expressions have their strengths and weaknesses. Some things you can do here
at Urland that wouldn’t work well on a national level. Some things we don’t have the resources to do
with just Urland needs the pooled efforts of the SE MN Synod.
All three of these expressions are part of the vineyard we call the church.
Today we are asked to work together with our sister churches of the SEMN. We are asked to help do
some work for the kingdom. We have these forms you have in your bulletin. We are going to take
some time to fill them out right now. The information you share will be used to form a strategic plan
for our SEMN all the churches in our area Urland included. This is the same way we did it a few years
ago putting together a 3 or 4 year plan. I think this is a good way to do it because it gives every
congregation in our SEMN synod big and small, an opportunity to have a voice in what is important to
the mininstry of our collective congregations. Some things we can only do together pooling our
resources. Since the questions are addressing our community it will help give us direction in our
work here at Urland.
God is looking for good grapes good fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control but it is helpful to get some ideas on how and where we
should use them for the Kingdom of God.
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October 12, 2008 / Philippians 4:1-9
Do not worry about anything, But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I have this interlinear Scripture Analyzer program. It breaks down every word, Greek in the New
Testament and Hebrew in the Old.
The New Revised Standard Version says in verse 4:6 Do not worry about anything.
This lexicon breaks down the sentence to say: be anxious about nothing
Nrsv says: Do not worry about anything, which is the same as saying be worried about nothing.
We go from Be worried about nothing. From nothing to everything.
Do not worry about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
We go from nothing to everything then we go from worry to thanksgiving.
How do we go from nothing to everything and from worry to thanksgiving?
There is a lot to be worried or anxious about these days isn’t there? We have people getting sick, people
dying, the old and the young. We have natural disasters. We have a shrinking job market and the worst
economy since the depression; this along with the regular day to day challenges of living and loving our
friends, family and neighbors.
We have things to worry about, real things to be anxious about. Some people are downright scared.
So how can Paul say Don’t worry, be happy. Actually Paul doesn’t say don’t worry be happy. That was
Bobby Mcfirren. Remember that song “Don’t worry, Be Happy”.
Paul says Don’t worry, But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known to God.
The key is in prayer and supplication. The key is letting our request be made known to God.
I don’t want to be too criticial of McFirren’s song because
it is just a fun little song, but the song “Don’t
worry be Happy” is a denial tactic. Just pretending there is no problem. The key to the song is to just
pretend there is no reason to worry.
Another song I enjoyed, has a similar denial tactic is from the Disney Movie Lion King, “Akuna matta”.
It means no worries. As the song says: “It’s a problem free philosophy”.
Don’t get me wrong I really like both these songs but if you follow them as a philosophy for life you
would be delusional. You would be living in a fantasy world. Being a Christian is not a fantasy world. It
is not as Lennon, the socialist not the Beatle, It’s not as Lennon said Religion is an opiate for the masses.
Like a drug to dull our senses and avoid facing the problems of life.
No, being a Christian is facing our problems. We don’t call bad, good.
So you might say, well then how do we get from nothing to everything and from worry to thanksgiving?
You get a plumber. If you don’t know how to do plumbing and you try to fix your cesspool by yourself,
where are you going to find yourself.
Tom Mann just had a pace maker and defibulator put in, how smart would it have been for him to do it
himself.
Being a Christian means not only facing our problems but also facing the fact that we can’t handle all of
our problems by ourselves. A Christian learns her limitations and turns it over to Jesus. A Christian
knows his salvation is not something he can handle so he turns it over to Jesus and trusts him to handle it.
You will probably not believe this but there have been times in my life, when my attempts to be witty
have gotten me into trouble. I know it’s shocking.
When I was on internship, when I just started, I met with my Internship committee. This congregation had
an intern every year, for many years. The previous year they had the best intern they had ever had, Peter
Nycolmo. Peter is the son of former Bishop, bishop Nycolmo. They loved Peter, the congregation loved
Peter, the committee loved Peter, the Pastor loved Peter. Shoot I know Peter he is a great pastor. They
were actually grieving him. His internship was over, he went back to school and they missed him.
Here is a tip. Whenever you take a job or take a position do not replace someone that everyone loves.
I’m thankful Pastor Chuck came between Pastor Scott and I and you knew you couldn’t keep Pastor
Jacobson.
Well at the first meeting of the internship committee someone on the committee mentioned that they were
really missing Peter and how hard it was to get attached to an intern and then have them leave. Jokingly I
said, Well I’ll make sure you don’t get attached to me or make sure you don’t like me or something like
that. Well one woman took that to heart and made it her mission to destroy my internship.
Internship is nerve racking enough but to find out that someone was out to get me, caused me not a little
angst. I was really upset fearing the end of my ministry before it even started. I learned some of my
limitations. I could not handle the stress of this on my own. I had to turn it over to Jesus. And it wasn’t a
once and for all kind of thing where I handed over to Jesus and never thought about it again. I had to keep
handing it over to him.
Again and again whenever this woman came into my mind I had to turn it over to Jesus. Every time it
came to my mind I visualized it as a phone call that I picked up, realized who it was, and handed to Jesus
saying it’s for you.
It is by prayer and supplication bringing our concerns to Jesus with faith that our worries and anxieties
and concerns can turn into thanksgiving. Paul like the psalmist gave thanksgiving not only for the many
blessing they have received from God, but also for the blessing they will receive.
These prayers and supplications bringing our concerns to Jesus in faith miraculously gives us the peace of
God that is beyond our comprehension in the face of our troubles; not denying our problems but facing
them, in Jesus’ name.
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way,
my beloved. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to
everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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October 19, 2008 / Matthew 22:15-22
You know, what a coincidence. When Kathy was cleaning out the parsonage she
found some of the
things that belonged to some of the former pastors. I found in this file
something Pastor Thompson or
“Th”ompson had. Inside the file was an actual transcript of this incident we
are reading about in the
gospel of Matthew today.
Apparently there were some Norwegians there at the time, Ole Olenstien. Ole
wrote this letter to his
friend about Jesus’ teaching about paying taxes to Caesar, actually literally
in the Greek, it’s paying
tribute to Caesar.
Ole writes: Boy I tell you they are really putting Jesus to the test. Trying to
see what he’s made of. Jesus
has been up to it though, up to the challenge. Teaching, about doing (or not
doing) what God wants with
parables. Using regular stories about sons working or not working in their
father’s vineyard, tenants
giving the owner the fruit that belongs to him or not giving it to him, and
invitees accepting or not
accepting a king's invitation to his son's wedding feast. It all teaches us
about the Kingdom of God. At
least that’s what they say. I don’t really understand much of it. But Jesus is
pretty cool. He doesn’t worry
about what anybody says about him.
Well finally they asked Jesus a question I could understand. Is it lawful to
pay taxed to Caesar, to pay
tribute to Caesar or not? You know what those Romans did. They say that Caesar
is a god. We know,
there is really only one god, Yahweh, but they say he is a god and they put his
name and image on the
money we have to use. They do it on purpose because they know it is insulting
to us plus according to
the law of Moses, we are not suppose to have any graven images.
So I was glad when they asked Jesus if it was lawful or not to pay taxes. I
wanted to hear what he had to
say. If he said it wasn’t lawful, if it was a sin, I wouldn’t pay tribute
anymore even though I would get
thrown into jail. I probably wouldn’t pay taxes, I would certainly think about
not paying taxes.
I’m not the brightest guy in the world but even I knew it was a trick. If Jesus
says pay tribute, pay the tax,
people will say he’s breaking God’s law and backing down from the religions
leaders. If Jesus says don’t
pay the taxes, don’t pay the tribute he’ll get thrown into Jail. They don’t
want to know the answer to the
question they just want to get Jesus into trouble.
Jesus asks for the coin used for the tax, he asks them whose name is on it,
whose likeness is on it? Well
it’s Caesar of course. Jesus says, “Give unto Caesar the things that are
Caesar’s”. When I heard that, I
thought, he caved, Jesus caved. Is there no way out of the taxes? Will anyone
stand up to Rome? But
Jesus hadn’t finish. Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and, And
give unto God the things that
are God’s.
Well what’s that mean? Don’t we still have to pay the taxes, pay tribute to
Caesar, because Caesar’s
name is on the coins? That’s what I thought it meant.
But my friend said, wait a minute. What belongs to God?
What do you mean, I said?
Remember how the scriptures say, God created them in his own image, male and
female he created
them.
So, I say?
So? Whose image were you created in?
I don’t know some people think I look like my mother, but a lot of people
say,..
My friend interrupts me, Didn’t you hear what I said?
Yes, I’m trying to answer you, I say.
No, Before that, he says.
Give unto Caesar, I say.
No after that. My friends says, I mean in Genesis.
Oh, I say, God created them in his own image.
Right, says my friend.
You say you should give the tribute, give the coins to Caesar because it has
his image.
Right, I say.
Well you were created in God’s image, says my friend.
Oh, so everything I have and everything I am belongs to God. So I don’t have to
pay taxes?
My friend says, I didn’t say that.
What about Jesus, Are you saying Jesus doesn’t think I should pay taxes because
everything belongs to
God, I ask?
Jesus didn’t say that either.
So we ask ourselves today: What is Jesus saying here? Traditionally this verse
has been used to say that
we are to be good citizens. It has also been used to justify conscientious
objectors, like the Quakers.
When I was growing up I remember one particular word of wisdom from my
Grandmother. God first,
country second. She probably wasn’t the first to say it but it stuck with me.
Jesus is being very tricky here. You can’t say we only pay tribute to God and
even if you did we have to
remember that God places people in authority over us. And we know that we have
this commandment
Honor your Father and Mother that isn’t just about honoring parents but also
honoring people in
authority.
What makes it even more confusing is that there are times when God puts bad
people in authority over
us and works through them without them even knowing it as we see with Cyrus.
Cyrus the Persian king
is an enemy of Israel but God tells him, through the prophet Isaiah that even
though he doesn’t know
God, God will use him to help the people of Israel. God even calls Cyrus his
anointed, his messiah, when
you translate that word into Greek it means Christ.
Yet there are other leaders who need to be removed from office.
The best way to work this out in our own lives is to give unto God the things
that are God’s and the rest
will work it’s self out. The world belongs to God and God wants the best for
the whole world. God will
lead us to love and respect those we are to love and respect. God will lead us
to work for peace and
justice for the good of God’s kingdom.
Let us pray.
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October 26, 2008 / John 8:31-36
What would you do if you were free?
Long, long ago in a land far, far away was a teacher, who taught a class in history. He taught it in a very different
way. The grade for the whole class was based on a paper or project. The teacher was very open, they could use
art, music, poetry, do a video production, pretty much anything they wanted to present the material. The students
could decide on their own what they were going to do a paper or a project on. The strange thing about this class
was that they were given their grade up front. Before they did any work, before it they decided on a paper or
project or what kind of a project they would do, they received their grade. It was a pass or fail class and the
teacher told them they all passed.
You would think that this would relax the students but it didn’t. They were all very worried about the class. This
was all strange to them. They had never had a class like this before. They had had some very demanding classes
but this one, this one was something different. There were only 3 students in the class. One of the students
decided to do a photo report on the French revolution. One decided to write a paper on the U.S. Constitution.
The third one decided not to do anything but watch tv. This couch potato was just as worried as the others he just
didn’t do anything about it.
The photographer and the writer approached the teacher. How in-depth does it have to be? How long does the
paper have to be? How many pictures? To all these questions the teacher just shrugged. This made the students
even more frustrated. Finally the girl burst out, “what do you expect us to do?” This finally got to him. His face
turned red. He answered slowly and carefully, in a very low voice. You just knew was filled with his own
frustration. He said, “I expect you to learn”.
What would you do if you were free?
That’s what Pastor Urlandstad said to Sven. Old Sven said, “If I were free, I would go fishin and golfin every
day. I would eat ice cream for breakfast and lutefish for dinner, every day. I would do whatever I wanted.”
“I asked, what would you do if you were free”, the pastor said. Sounds to me Sven you are just givin in to your
passions, becoming completely self-centered. Don’t you know, self-centeredness is how Old Martin Luther
would described sin? And don’t you know, Jesus himself said,
“’Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin” and
that’s not being free.’
Old Sven said, Is that what his dream was about? His dream?, asked Pastor Urlandstad. He said he had a dream,
anyway, said Sven, “I guess I’m just better off doin whatever Lena tells me to do.”
What would you do if you were free?
Jesus said, “the slave has no permanent place in the household, the son has a place forever.”
Remember that parable Jesus told about the son who told his father he wished he was dead so he could have his
inheritance. Remember how he wasted it all and came back home with his tail between his legs? His father hugs
him kisses him throws a big party welcoming him back. Remember that?
Do you also remember the older Son? The one who stayed home and worked? Worked hard, worked more
because of his irresponsible brother? Remember how mad he was at his father because his father took the looser
of a son back in? He was so mad that he yelled at his father, something he had never even thought of doing
before. “I have worked as a Slave for you but you have never done anything for me.” The son said.
How sad is that story? Which is sadder a son who tells his father he wishes he was dead or a son who thinks of
himself as a slave, and lives like a slave in his father’s household?
There is another story of a young pastor in her first call, she was approached by a man in her congregation.
Pastor he said, “You are doing a real nice job here at Last Lutheran. You are a real fine preacher.” The pastor was
thinking to herself, “here it comes.”
But pastor, he continues, “All you have ever done since you’ve been here is preach that Jesus loves us. Pastor,
we know that. We’ve known that since SS, we've sung the song. Pastor we need to hear what God expects of us.”
Now there are two versions to the end of this story.
#1. “All you have ever done since you’ve been here is preach that Jesus loves us. Pastor, we know that. We’ve
known that since SS, we've sung the song. Pastor we need to hear what God expects of us.”
The pastor replied, “what is it you think, God expects of you? The man said, “Oh, when I say we I don’t mean
me.”
#2. Pastor, “All you have ever done since you’ve been here is preach that Jesus loves us. Pastor, we know that.
We’ve known that since SS, we've sung the song. Pastor we need to hear what God expects of us.”
The pastor replied, what is it you think God expects of you? The woman said, That’s why I’m asking, I know we
can’t earn our way to heaven or make Jesus love us because he already has and already does, but what does God
want us to do? The pastor said, God wants us to look around. Take notice of what needs to be done.
What would you do if you were free? Because you are, Jesus said, “if the son makes you free you are free
indeed,” continue walking with him.
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WHY DO WE REMEMBER SAINTS? / November 2, 2008
Have you ever watched The Home Improvement television show? Comedian Tim Allan was the star. In
the show, he had a home improvement cable TV show. The program is about his cable show and his
family life. In this episode his wife Jill’s sister was going to have a baby and they found out it was going to
be a girl. Jill started getting jealous; she had three boys, 4 if you count her husband. She was pretty tired
of a household filled with cars, sports and all the sounds and smells of a male dominated household. She
told Tim she wanted to have a girl. He said he didn’t want any more kids and they had a fight. As he
always does when he has a problem he goes and talks with Wilson his next door neighbor. Wilson talks
to him about legacies, how he has his boys to carry on the wisdom and skills he has to the next
generation. In this case the ability to burp the alphabet. Tim as he usually does goes to Jill and explains
how he understands her, while he totally confuses what Wilson had talked to him about. He says he
realizes that she wants to be immortal like he is.
All Saints day is about immortality. It is about one generation passing on a legacy to the next generation.
You could say that the saints who have gone to be with Jesus live forever in our memories. We often say
that a person never dies as long as a memory of them survives. This is part of what All Saints day is
about. In a way, All Saints day is a Christian memorial day. Today we remember the saints, those blessed
by God with faith, who fought the good fight of faith. We remember and honor those who have been
bearers of the gospel, vehicles, and vessels of the gospel. The messenger is important but the message is
most important. The message is immortal because the messengers have been faithful.
If the messenger doesn’t carry the message it is lost. There once was this Twilight Zone show, which was
a science fiction. I episode talked about what really happens when we lose things. Have you ever have
something say right on the table and then for no reason it is gone. You look all around the house, can’t
find it. Then all of a sudden it’s right there, right there on the table where you have looked 3 or 4 times.
When this happens you think you are losing your mind. Well this tv show said that the real reason for
this is the little blue men. They explain it like this. Each moment in time is like a physical place. The little
blue men’s job is to move everything from one moment to the next moment. Let’s say from 10:31 to
10:32.
It’s a tough job. There are a lot of things to move. Sometimes the little blue men forget to move
something to the next moment. That’s why you lose it. It reappears when they realize there mistake they
move it to the next moment and you find it. If they never realize they forgot to move something it is lost
forever.
In the same way if the saint don’t carry the faith and pass it on to the next generation it will be lost
forever. Of course if that ever happened we would rely on Jesus to start it up again but you see the
importance of the saints.
As we see in Jesus’ teaching today in the beatitudes a Saints life is not always easy. It is quite often very
difficult. Yet Jesus promises never to leave us, not even in hard times. In fact he stays closest to us in
those hard times and blesses us in our efforts. We see this in the promises of the beatitude we read
today. We also heard about it as Wally witnessed to his faith and what God has done in his life.
May God send his Holy Spirit upon us and bless us as his Saints. May we be faith bearers of the gospel
faith. Amen.
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November 9th 2008
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
•
• Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
• The time is drawing neigh
• Sing with me
• Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
• The time is drawing neigh
••
Children don’t get weary til your work is done
• Sing with me
• Children don’t get weary til your work is done
••
Christian journey soon be over time is drawing neigh
• Sing with me
• Christian journey soon be over time is drawing neigh
• Keep your lamps
• Sing with me
• Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning
••
People usually get anxious for Christmas and want to sing Christmas songs during Advent. Well
Keep Your Lamps trimmed and burning is an Advent song and we sang it in Pentecost.
••
Matthew gives us this parable of Jesus today. We wonder why Matthew chose to give this
parable to his people. The gospel of John tells us that Jesus did much more than what we find in
the bible, so why was it that Matthew chose to tell this one.
•
The gospel song we sang is talking about keeping up your work, stay with the Christian journey,
encouraging people not to give up, because the time is drawing neigh, the time is almost done. The time
is coming when Christ will come again. It’s gonna be over soon, Christ is comin, it won’t be long so keep
going.
The letter we have from Paul today to the Thessalonians is concerned about Christ coming again too. But
Paul is addressing a slightly different issue. Some scholars put this letter at 48-49 some later. If Jesus died
@ 33ad then people have been waiting 15 years or more. Paul thought Jesus would be right back, so did
many other followers. Between the time Jesus died and then some of the followers died. People who
had loved ones who died were concerned. When Christ came back for them what about the people who
already died? If you are not alive when Christ comes back are you out of luck?
Paul comforts them telling them that those who have fallen asleep in Christ will be the first one on line.
They will be raised first. What a switch. Last week we remembered the saints we have lost, those who
died in Christ. While we miss them and grieve our lose we are comforted that they are in God’s hands.
We don’t worry about them missing out when Christ comes again. Maybe that’s in part because of this
teaching of Paul’s. Don’t worry about your loved ones who have died, who have gone to sleep in Christ. I
like saying it that way. Don’t worry about those who have gone to sleep in Christ. Don’t worry about
them Christ will take care of them. So Paul tells them encourage one another with that. Tell each other,
encourage one another that we don’t have to worry about our loved ones who have gone to sleep in
Christ.
We might not worry about our lost loved ones, we miss them but we don’t worry about them but in a
way we are like them. We ask what should we do between now and when Christ comes again.
One thing we know for sure about Christ’s second coming is that we don’t know when that will be. Many
people in the past and even some today say they can figure it out. You take a bible verse from here a
bible verse from there, a couple of half verses and wala. No one knows when the time will come, only
God the Father and he aint sayin.
The gospel song we sang says he’s coming soon. Paul and the people of his time thought he was coming
soon. Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t.
Maybe he is and it’s like that story of God telling someone that to him a second is like a million years.
The man says when are you going to give me what I want? God says, in a minute.
Whenever Jesus comes I think the song is right we need to
• Keep our lamps trimmed and burning, Keep our lamps trimmed and burning, Keep our lamps
trimmed and burning like the time is drawing neigh
••
All of the Bridesmaids were waiting for the Bridge groom, the wise and the foolish. All fell asleep
waiting. The wise bridesmaids were prepared. They kept their lamps trimmed and burning. The
wise ones were able to go to the party and enjoy it with the Bride groom.
• Could it be that God is at work in the world, working his will in the world? Could it be that keepin
our lamps trimmed and burning we keep our hearts and minds and eyes open? Could it be that
with our hearts and minds and eyes open we won’t miss the work of the spirit, in fact we might
be able to join in the party, join in the fun of working for the good of the kingdom?
••
I think the reason we are so amazed at the miracles of this world and the reason we think that
there aren’t that many, not as many as there used to be is because we are not keeping our
hearts and minds and eyes and ears open.
••
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
• The time is drawing neigh
• Sing with me
• Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
• The time is drawing neigh
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Commitment Day/November 23rd 2008
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ his son our Lord, amen.
I was trying to decide if having a healing service on Commitment Sunday was a good thing or not. Do
they fit together? I think it is a good thing. I think it fits together well. They fit together through faith.
Today is Commitment Sunday. We have spent the last 3 weeks trying to get us all to think about our
relationship with Jesus. To be a Christian literally means to be a follower of Christ. That’s what I like
about this stewardship program. If we are Christians, followers of Christ, we are walking with Jesus.
That’s why we have had 3 people share with us part of their walk with Jesus. The name of our
stewardship program this year and last is “Walking with Jesus”. It is not a fundraising campaign. It’s not
a way to get at your money and get you to increase your dues. Its purpose is not to get you to feel
nervous or guilty.
You might end up increasing your offerings, you might get nervous or feel guilty but that’s not the
purpose. It’s really about faith. It’s about trust.
Why are we Christians? Why are we followers of Christ, why are we Walking with Jesus? Isn’t it because
we believe in Jesus? We don’t just believe Jesus exists, we trust him, we have faith in him. We have a
relationship with him.
Our goal of the “Walking with Jesus” program has been to get all of us to think about our relationship
with Jesus. In our relationship with Jesus, as we “Walk with Jesus”, where is He leading us?
If we are going to discover where Jesus is leading us and if we trust him and have faith in him, everything
is on the table. One very important step in our walk of faith is money.
Our Bishop, the Bishop of the ELCA Mark Hanson says “we don’t like talking about money”. He says, “the
reason our church has talked about sex so much is so that we don’t have to talk about money”. But
whether we like it or not money is a life issue, money is a faith issue.
The healing service is about faith. I like the way it was explained in our new hymnal. The introduction of
the healing service says: “In its ministry of healing, the church does not replace the gifts of God that
come through the scientific community nor does it promise a cure. Rather, the church offers and
celebrates gifts such as these: God’s presence with strength and comfort in time of suffering, God’s
promise of wholeness and peace, and God’s love embodied in the community of faith.”
Now that does not mean to say that God can’t and won’t possibility act supernaturally for a cure.
However more important than a cure, the service is an act of faith. It is placing our selves and everything
in life good and bad in God’s hands. It is about faith.
Our readings for today aren’t specifically about healing. They are about faith and trust in God. In our first
reading we have a widow who was endanger of having her children taken away into slavery by someone
she owed money to. I wonder if that’s in our future these days.
God sends the prophet Elisha who acts miraculously providing an unending supply of oil to the women.
She was able to sell the oil to provide for her family.
This is the God we place our trust in.
In our second reading we have two more miracles God worked through Elisha. First Elisha enables a
woman who was unable to have children to conceive and have a child. Those of us who have had
difficulty having children or know someone who has, we know this is a great blessing.
Then after he had grown the child dies. God enables Elisha to raise the child from the dead.
This is the God we place our trust in.
Our gospel reading tells about a father who brings his son to Jesus. The father tells Jesus “my son has a
spirit that threw the boy into convulsions; he falls on the ground and rolls around, foaming at the
mouth”, something like an epileptic seizure.
Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, “It’s happened since he
was little”. The father says, the spirit22 has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy
him;
Then the man says something that sounds funny. Well it sounds funny to us. He says to Jesus, ‘but if you
are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you are able!—All things can
be done for the one who believes.’ Jesus casts out the spirit.
This is the God we place our trust in. This is the God we have faith in.
Commitment Sunday, the Healing Service, money, illness, hardship and everything else in this life we
face by faith we walk with Jesus. We have faith that Jesus is able. We have Faith that we can trust Jesus
with everything. We have faith that he will show us the way to walk with him.
Jesus said to the he father of the child with the spirit ‘All things can be done for the one who believes.’
Jesus casts out the spirit. The father cried out, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’
We walk with Jesus believing. In the times of your unbelief may God send his spirit that you might have
faith. We believe, help our unbelief.
And all God’s people say, Amen.
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Thanksgiving
Happy
thanksgiving. Tomorrow as you know is actually thanksgiving day the
day set
aside as the day before the official start of the Christmas
shopping season.
Thanksgiving
day is the day we in the United States set aside to give thanks. It
is not an
overtly christian holiday. Everyone pretty much celebrates
this day christian and non christian.
Everyone except maybe turkey’s.
The
problem with this holiday outside a religious context is who do you
thank? Something good
happens to you. You are filled with gratitude.
You are thankful. You want to thank whoever is
responsible. But I
guess outside of a religious and spiritual context it is just good
luck or you are
responsible for your own good fortune. So you don’t
have to thank anyone. You are maybe just
appreciative. So now in the
spirit of political correctness maybe we should just call it
Appreciation Day.
Appreciation Day the day we remember our good
forture and appreciate it. Or it’s the day before the
official
start of the Christmas shopping season.
Since
changing the name would be a long political process maybe that is not
such a good idea. And for
those of us who do believe in God our heart
would not be into that since we do have someone to thank.
As
a parent and a pastor, I know the daunting challenge it is to teach
people how to be thankful. I was
trying to figure out exactly what I
am trying to accomplish as a parent let’s say. Day after day I hear
my
voice say, Say thank you. What do you say? What am I trying to do.
I think I am trying to do two things.
The first is to point out that
something just happened. They have just recieved something like a
present or
some treat for example that they did not deserve. They
have by grace received something they didn’t do
anything to
deserve. They have just received something through the graciousness
of the other person.
That’s the first thing I am trying to do. Help
them to see that they received grace so that in the future they
might
be able to recognize it in the future.
The
second thing I am trying to accomplish is to teach an appropriate
response to such grace.
This
is the same thing I am trying to do as a pastor. First of all I am
trying to point out the graciousness of
God. For example how Christ
has given us all that we have and has made us all that we are.
Secondly I try
to do is teach an appropriate response to the grace we
have received. For example how we manage the resources
we have been
graced with.
The
non religious person has no one to thank because they have only
themselves to thank. The christian or
religious person sees the gift
and gives thanks.
As
every parent knows you can not make people see the graciousness of
their life. And you can not make anyone
be thankful. As we recall the
story of the 10 lepers. Jesus healed all 10 but only 1 came to return
thanks.
What
we are trying to do tonight is in the spirit of our dueteronomy
lesson. God commanded that the Israelites
recall the mighty deeds of
God. They were commanded to remember how God made them into a great
nation.
How when they were oppressed in Eygpt God led them out and
freed them. They were commanded to remember
how God helped and guided
them along the way and into the promised land. Then God commanded
them to give
their first fruits in offering, in response to all that
God had done for them.
They
were commanded to do this for two reasons at least. First of all that
in recalling the mighty deeds God had done
in history that they would
better be able to see God’s hand in their life presently.
Secondly
their were commanded to give offerings to teach them an appropriate
response to God’s gracious gifts.
We
do the same tonight. We recall the Mighty deeds of God in history
both in the past and more recent. We do this
to help us to see God’s
hand in our life today and to give us opportunity to give thanks. We
do know who to thank
for all things. The one who created us and all
things. The one who redeemed us and promised to raise us and the one
who keeps us going day after day.
May
the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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November 30, 2008 / Isaiah 64:1-92008
Today is the
first Sunday of Advent. Advent of course is one of those seasons that people do
not like. But my goal today is to get you to get into the Advent season.
Advent is a combination of getting ready for the
celebration of Jesus’ birth. Advent is also at the same time the season to get
ready for Jesus to come again.
Many people don’t like advent because most of us
don’t like to wait. I’m no different. I find it hard to buy something really
delicious at the store and get home without
tasting it. When I buy something
really fun I want to open it before I get home? I think I’m a typical American.
We Americans want instant gratification.
Advent is not
about instant gratification, it is countercultural. How does this sound? Does this
sound like the world we live in? Advent, the four weeks before Christmas,
is a
time for preparation, contemplation and denial. Does that sound like how we
spend the four weeks before Christmas?
The decorations and advertizing for Christmas used
to start with the Macy’s day parade on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, the origins
of the celebrating Thanksgiving Day
on the date we do now has its
roots in providing a longer time for the Christmas shopping season in order to
stimulate the economy during the depression.
These days
Christmas decorations go up when the Halloween decorations go down.
Just as an aside, do you realize that many people
are decorating more for Halloween than for Christmas?
Back to Christmas, before you start complaining
about rushing the Christmas season, when is it that you want to start singing
Christmas songs? You know the songs of the
season that begins December 24 –
January 5. But when do you want to put up the tree, the decorations. It’s funny
that the day after the Christmas season begins many people are done with it.
As Christians
were know that the world even our country doesn’t think about Christmas the way
we do.
Listen to this I hope it will help you get into
the Advent season.
David Lose of
Luther seminary, said something very helpful. He said, “When we think of Advent as the
preparation for Christ coming again. When we think of the final judgment,
we
have to look at that judgment, through the work on the cross.”Many people get scared
thinking about the final judgment. The Look Behind series writers have made a
fortune on that fear.
We are to look
forward to the judgment, not by our work but by Jesus’ work, Jesus’ work on the
cross. If we look to the judgment by our work we are in deep trouble. If we
look at the
final judgment through the work of the cross it’s a different story.
This really
fits in well as we look at our first Lesson from Isaiah. And shows us why we
have this reading from Isaiah on our first Sunday of Advent.
This reading
is from what they call third Isaiah. Isaiah is believed to be written by at
least 3 people maybe 4, Isaiah and his disciples. It covers a long time. It
goes from before Israel’s exile,
during the exile and after the exile. It is
believed, that our reading for today, is when the Israelites are returning to
the Promised Land. Cyrus lets them go home but when they get there it is
does
not look like the Promised Land their parents told them about. It was a mess it
all needed to be rebuilt.
So, the people
cry out to God. They cry out for God to help. But it is a combination of
confession and trying to blame God for their sin. It is also a call for God to
remember them as his people,
the people he created in spite of their sin and
failings.
Let’s take a look at verse 5.
5 You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned; because you
hid yourself we transgressed.
See what they are trying to do? Just like
little kids. You were angry so we sinned. Because you hid yourself – we
transgressed. It’s your fault God. It’s just like back in the Garden of Eden,
with Adam and Eve when they ate the forbidden fruit. God asks “what have you
done”. Adam says “The woman you gave me gave it to me”.
Now let us
look at verse 6 & 7. 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and
all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and
our iniquities, like the wind,
take us away. 7 There is no one who
calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your
face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
Isn’t this how
we fear Christ will find us when he comes again? Aren’t we scared he will find
us unclean, our righteous deeds like a filthy cloth; that God’s face will be
turned away from us and
we will be delivered into the hand of our own iniquity.
In other words God will come and find us screwing up and we will get what we
really deserve. Isn’t that what we fear. Maybe that is why
we want to jump to
Christmas and Easter and don’t wan to go through Advent and Lent.
But then in vs
8 & 9 Isaiah so many years ago, reveals our hope. The hope we can hold on
to during this advent season.
8 Yet,
O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all
the work of your hand. 9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do
not remember iniquity
forever. Now consider, we are all your people.
Advent reminds
us that we are the work of God’s hands. We are God’s peole. We are able to do God’s work and God created us to
do his work in the world. His work is what he wants to
find us doing when he
comes again.
Yet because we
are the work of God’s hands we are his people. As the work of God’s hands as
God’s people, in the light of the work of God’s son Jesus Christ we have a lot
to look forward
to this Advent season. Advent is a cool season. You should
check it out.
May God bless your Advent season, Amen.
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December 7, 2008/Isaiah 40:1-11
The grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of our God
will stand forever
o
Painting
the Kitchen and Living room
§
They
were up in their room; Michael and Clark were their names I believe. They were
up in their room sent by their parents, their upset parents, their very upset
parents. And they deserved to be there.
§
I
don’t remember how old Michael and Clark were at the time. They were pretty
young but old enough to come up with some ideas and old enough to carry through
with those ideas. Yet they were still too young to realize that they were doing
anything wrong, that Saturday morning when their parents found them.
§
One
of those boys got the idea to do something special for their parents, which is
admirable. However, the idea was not. Maybe their parents had been working
around the house, painting some rooms because that is what the boys decided to
do. The boys decided to paint the kitchen and living room; you know, the walls,
the floors, the appliances. They painted the refrigerator, the counter top, the
shag carpeting. This a true story. It has been about 30 years since I heard
about it but I’m picturing bright colors like orange and green.
§
The
parents came down one Saturday morning greeted by two young boys with paint and
smiles and all the work they had done.
§
I
felt sorry for the mom. I worked with the Dad and I thought he deserved it.
§
Some
how in the excitement, in the banishment to their room the boys got the idea
that what they had done even with the best of intentions, was not good.
§
Thanks
to some quick phone calls, the damage was kept to a minimum.
§
I
hope the parents had the forethought to take some picutures.
§
The
boys did the time, paid the price – All was forgiven – forgotten was a little
more difficult.
§
They
were forgiven even though the parents knew that boy will be boys. They were
forgiven not because the boys deserved it but because the parents love for their
boys was true love.
·
Stealing
and selling the Kitchen and Living room
o
Two
other boys were in their rooms, they too had been sent to their room but not by
their parents. A judge sent the boys to their rooms, to their rooms in the
juvenile correction facility.
o
I
don’t know the names of these boys but these boys were older, teenagers. These
boys went to work on their parents’ kitchen and living room as well. But they
weren’t working on a plan like painting to please their parents.
o
They
were packing everything up from the kitchen and living room, tv, sound system,
computer, video games, the refrigerator and the stove. They packed it all up
and put it in a van. Two of their “friends” took the items to where they could
be sold to raise money for the boys’ business deals.
o
Then
they went back to bed.
o
The
parents could not believe they did it. Not the stealing, they had stolen from
them before but this packing up the two rooms, stealing the two rooms was
unbelievable.
o
The
boys did the time. Paid the price – Would all be forgiven? – could all be
forgotten?
o
They
would probably get in trouble again, hopefully not, hopefully they learned
their lesson. But who knows? Should they be forgiven?
·
The
unfaithfulness of Jerusalem
o
With
today’s reading from Isaiah we find the prophet bringing God’s word to God’s
people in Exile, forced to live in a foreign land.
§
A
lot of the Israelites’ history goes like this.
§
God
blesses them
§
They
rejoice and give him thanks
§
Then
they forget about God
§
They
turn to other god’s and or abuse people weaker than they are.
§
Then
they pay the price for their unfaithfulness
§
They
cry out to God
§
God
hears their cry, forgives them and saving them
§
Today’s
reading is just like that. Because they turned away from God and trusted other
gods and other nations instead of God, they were paying the price. They were in
the exile from their homeland living in bondage in Babylon.
§
God
sends the prophet Isaiah to his children who are sitting in their room, in
exile in Babylon.
§
The
message Isaiah brings God, Comfort, O comfort my people. God
tells them you are my people, you’ve paid the price.
·
God
says there is forgiveness.
o
It
seems as though while Isaiah was communicating with God about this, when he was
receiving his mission – probably listening to a tape player that would
self-destruct in 10 seconds.
§
While
communicating with God, Isaiah says to God and I am paraphrasing. God why are
you bothering with them? These people are like grass and flowers here today
gone tomorrow. Their faithfulness to you is here today gone tomorrow. Why
bother?
§
Remind
me not to hire Isaiah as my advocate.
§
The
answer Isaiah gets is: people may be like grass and flowers here today gone
tomorrow but my Word, my promise will stand forever.
·
Our
Advent today
o
After
last week’s sermon about The season of Advent and Christmas and decorations, a
wise woman, who shall remain nameless, said: “You
can say whatever you want about theology, forgiveness, grace, eternal life but
don’t mess with people’s decorations.” Therefore,
I am not going there again – not today.
o
Realizing
our sin
§
Since
Advent is about reflection, it is a time to think about our relationship with
God and God’s children. That can lead us to realize that we are not always the
people God wants us to be. We do not act like we are God’s people all the time.
o
Realizing
God’s forgiveness
§
This
exercise also helps us to realize God’s love and forgiveness for us.
o
Dealing
with our failures
§
In
realizing our shortfalls and God’s forgiveness, we also see that our
faithfulness is not always bright and beautiful.
The grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of our God
will stand forever
o
When
we think of the painter boys, the boys who painted their parents kitchen and
living room and everything else in sight, forgiveness seem easy to forgive or
easier. They made a mess probably cost their parents a bit of money but they
meant well, and they must have looked really cute. They might get into trouble
again. Locking their doors at night might not be a bad idea. But most of us can
justify forgiving them.
o
The
teenage boys who robbed from their parents and the Israelites who turned to
other gods don’t seem as easy to forgive.
o
When
we realize our sinfulness, we do not always look so cute either. Neither can we
guarantee that we will not mess up again. Maybe we will not mess up again in
the same way but we can be like the grass and the flowers here today, bright
and beautiful, withering and fading tomorrow.
·
But
as we are in this Advent season, we need to remember that we look forward to
the birth of the child in the manger. The Child reminds us “the word of our
God, the promise of our God, stands forever”
Let us
be comforted by the fact that while we might wither and die in thought word and
deed, our God, our God, the word of our God, his promise to love us stands
forever. Amen.
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December 14 2008
December 14, 2008 /John 1:6-8, 19-28
I remember back when
Al Franken was a comedian. Maybe he still is but I don’t want to get into
politics. In the beginning of 1990s
he did this comedy routine. He called it
the “Al Franken Decade
Al Franken Decade
People are going to
stop thinking about themselves and start thinking about me, Al Franken. That's right. I believe we're entering the
Al
Franken decade.
Oh, for me, Al Franken, the nineties will be pretty much the same as the eighties. But
for you, when you see a news report you'll be
thinking "I wonder what Al Franken thinks about this?" "I wonder how
this inflation thing is hurting Al Franken?" And you women
will be thinking
"What can I wear that will please Al Franken?" or "What can I not wear?" A lot of you are probably thinking "Why
Al Franken?"
Well, because I thought of it, and I'm on
TV. Source: Saturday Night Live:
The First Twenty Years
You are probably
familiar with the television show Raymond. The show is about …. Raymond.
Everything on the show pretty much revolves
around Raymond. I remember one
scene with his brother Robert. Robert thinks that Raymond is full of himself.
That Raymond thinks the whole
world revolves around him. (Which on the T.V.
show it does).
In this one scene,
Robert asks Raymond, What do you think we all just hang on hooks until you come
in the room? Which was funny because
that was pretty much what was happening.
This is not the life
of John. The gospel writers of Matthew, Mark and Luke call him John the
Baptist. The writer of John doesn’t even give him
that distinction. John refers
to him as John. I think that is on purpose. John does not want to make a big
deal about the John who is the voice of
one crying in the wilderness.
Maybe that is because
there is something about John that we love, something that attracts us. There
is something about John that we want to hold on to,
that makes us almost forget
about the one, he points to.
There is a story about
a wise man and a fool. The wise man says look the moon as he points at it. All
the fool sees is the finger and thinks it’s the moon.
John according to Mark
and Luke comes proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins According to Matthew,
‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is very good advice in order to prepare the way of the
Lord. But that is not
the gospel. That is not the good news of Jesus Christ.
Repenting is important, and good for us but it is not the gospel. Jesus didn’t
have to come to
bring that message. That is not a new message. The Moses and
the prophets have been calling people to repentance for centuries. Jesus is the
goodnews.
John has a very
important calling. He is to point and disappear. He says I am not the Messiah.
John is to point. If he is to make that path straight, the best
thing he can do
is point.
John is a witness, a
witness to the messiah. He was called to witness to the messiah, point to the
messiah.
Can we point to Jesus?
Can we look around in this world and see Jesus at work? It’s seems easy to see
the work of the other side. Can you see Jesus at work?
Can you point to it?
Can you be Jesus at
work? At love? Can you live so that it doesn’t point to you but to Jesus?
Is that part of what
Rejoicing is? I heard some one say that when you rejoice in Christ you are
twice blessed.
Do you think that’s
true? We should find out.
Have a joyous week.
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