Your Kingdom Come

Which is the better way to pray, from a pre-written prayer or a prayer you make up on the spot from your heart (sometimes called an ex corde prayer)? This is one of those trick questions; both kind of prayers are good. We know we can pray to God because Jesus’ death and resurrection has given us peace with our heavenly Father and access to his throne in prayer. (Eph. 2:14-18)

Sometimes, though, I’ve noticed that pre-written prayers are thought to be inferior by some. The argument goes that you’re just reading words on the page or reciting them from memory; you’re not really praying. The same people say that ex corde prayers are truly God-pleasing prayers, flowing out of your heart of faith.

This kind of argument completely misses the point. There are strengths and weaknesses of both kinds of prayers. While ex corde prayers can express our own faith very well from our heart, they can also be selfish and repetitive, focusing on our felt-needs at the moment rather than God’s eternal will for us.

Written prayers can certainly be read or recited mindlessly, where they just become sounds and syllables instead of an actual prayer. But, pre-written prayers also have a great benefit. Jesus demonstrated this by giving his disciples and us an example of how to pray with the Lord’s prayer. (Matt. 6:9-13) This prayer is a masterfully succinct way of seeking God’s will in our lives and asking for the blessings he has promised to give us.

I’ve been using some pre-written prayers in my own prayer life lately that I’ve found very helpful. Specifically, I’ve been using prayers based on Martin Luther’s prayers and meditations on the Lord’s prayer. These prayers are found in the book, Christian Worship: Pastor’s Companion. (NPH. Milwaukee, WI. 2004) There is a separate short prayer for each petition of the Lord’s prayer. Hopefully this excerpt will help to show how helpful pre-written prayers can be.

Your Kingdom Come

Rule, dear Lord, in the midst of your enemies! Topple every idol throne and every power that raises itself up as a rival to you, both inside our own souls and outside us in the world. Create your kingdom of peace out of the chaos of our hearts. Give us a true and lasting faith in Christ and a fearless hope in your mercy. Help us by your Holy Spirit that we may judge and understand all things not by our own fallen vision, or human sense, but by your Word, which alone is truth. Enable us with all power that you supply to spread your kingdom of grace throughout the world. Produce the Spirit’s fruit in us while we wait here in hope for your appearing.

Blessings to you in your life of prayer.

Love Takes Time…with Your Neighbors

This sermon was preached on 10/25/09 at Our Savior. It is the second in a series called “Love Takes Time,” which is a stewardship emphasis on our use of time. The sermon text and series title were produced by the WELS for congregations to use as a stewardship emphasis. The sermon itself, though, is my own work. Some congregations celebrate Reformation Sunday on this date. My congregation will be doing that next week.

Love Takes Time…with Your Neighbors

It's not very often that we proclaim anything to our neighbors. At least I know it hasn't been often with me. But I remember a couple of times when I consciously tried to get a message out to all of my neighbors. It was several years ago when my family lived in the middle of a lot of houses, and there was just something we had to let people know. So I remember I went to the store, looked for a sign and a stake to pound it in to the ground. Then I went home and put the sign up for all to see. Can you guess what the sign said? "It's a Girl!"

We let our neighbors know when we're really happy about something, like having a child. Some people might let their neighbors know when they feel very strongly about something, like political issues. "Vote for So-and-So!" "Vote yes for this!" "Vote no for that!" All said with signs in the yard.

But what else do we do with our neighbors? Maybe when someone moves into town we'll give them some food. Maybe if there's someone really organized in your neighborhood you'll even have cookouts and parties.  Most of the time, though, many of us probably don't have much meaningful contact with our neighbors. Maybe we smile when we pass each other. Maybe we nod. Maybe we even exchange a few words about the weather. But meaningful contact? It almost never happens.

As Christians, we have a different view of our lives than other people probably would. We recognize some things that others would never think about. We know that we are sinful, and that those sins earn God's wrath. But we also know that we're blessed with a Savior who loved us so much that he paid the punishment for our sins, and he lived the life necessary to earn a place in heaven -- and he gave it all to us. That's good news! That's the good news, and when we think about it, we realize how blessed we are to know it!

Having the love of Christ in our lives is bound to change our lives, to change how we live.  That's why this sermon series has been talking about how Christ's love affects our calling in our lives. We're not just called by God to do whatever we want for ourselves. We're called to live for him who died for us!

And as a part of that, we want to view the people around us, people like our neighbors, in a different way. The Bible tells us this, first in the book of Leviticus (Lev. 19:18), and then repeated by Jesus as the most important commandment besides loving God. What is that commandment? "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mk. 12:31) Love your neighbor. And don't just love them; love them like you love yourself. If there's something you'd want for yourself, if there's something that makes you happy, then loving your neighbor as yourself means you want that something for them, too.

But that's not easy. Love takes time with your neighbors. We just talked about how little interaction we really have with our neighbors. So how can we change that? Why do we want to change that? That's where God's Word comes in, where the Holy Spirit not only helps us understand, but gives us the motivation of Christ's love to want to share his love with others, even our neighbors.

Our text from Colossians deals with this topic. There the Apostle Paul writes, "Pray for us...that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." (Col. 4:3) Remember, as Paul mentions here, that he's in prison. He's in chains. And he's not in chains for stealing or murder, he's in chains because he's been proclaiming the "mystery of Christ." And what is that mystery? The mystery is that God sent his only Son to live and die for the sins of the whole world, to bring eternal life to all who believe. That's the mystery of Christ: the gospel. Paul had been thrown into prison because he proclaimed that gospel.

And now, instead of wanting to forget the message that got him thrown into prison, Paul wants more opportunities to tell it! He wants God to open a door to let him tell that message of Christ's love. Why would he want that, when it included such risk to him personally? Because Paul loved his neighbor.

Loving your neighbor is something that flows directly out of knowing the gospel! You remember that John 3:16 tells us that God sent his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. But do you remember why he did that? The first part of the passage tells us! "For God so loved the world..." (Jn. 3:16)

The whole reason Jesus died for sinners like us is because he loved us! And it's that love that motivates our love. "We love because he first loved us." (1 Jn 4:19) Jesus' love for us is what makes us want to show love. "He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again." (2 Cor. 5:15) To live for Christ means to live for those for whom Christ died. People like our neighbors.

Yet, many times we just don't want to. Some people might be offended hearing about Jesus. We don't want to talk to our neighbors because it takes too much time, and we're awfully busy. We don't want to deal with our neighbors' problems when we have so many problems of our own. It's so much easier just to live our own lives and do our own thing. Our neighbors? Well, they're good for a nod of the head. Maybe good enough to talk about the weather with. But to actually share the message of Jesus with them? Maybe later... or maybe not.

Do you see how selfish we can be? Do you see how we can be so focused on ourselves that we don't even care, don't even give it a second thought, when someone doesn't know their Savior? If we think about it at all, we think, "That's their problem." Or, "Someone, should really talk to him." But then we just forget about it and go back to our own lives.

Thank God that he didn't treat us that way. Thank God he sent Jesus to us when we were lost in our sins. Thank God that even though our sins weren't Jesus' problem, he took them onto himself, he took them on his back, right onto the cross, for our forgiveness, for our life, all because he loved us!

So today, give thanks that God so loved the world, that he loved you so much. Today, rededicate yourself to showing that love to others. Show that love to your neighbors. And I don't just mean the people who live on your street. I mean the people in your life, people you see at the store, at a restaurant, even your friends and family. Particularly the ones who don't know about Christ's love. How can you show them his love?

It can be a daunting task. We think we're not up for the challenge. We think, "What if I say something wrong? What if I mess it all up?" We want to just leave that work to people like me, the pastor. And to a certain extent, that's a good point. You're not pastors. I am. Not everyone has the ability to take someone through all their questions about the Bible. Not everyone has the ability to explain everything that someone might need to know about the gospel.

Now, you don't have to be a pastor to be able to do those things, and I think some of you do have those abilities. I'd encourage you to use those abilities when the opportunities come up in your lives or here in church. But if you don't have those abilities, does that mean you can't share Jesus' love with your neighbors? Not at all!
Look at what Paul mentions in Colossians! "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Col. 4:5-6)

Very few of you will ever be given a pulpit and told to preach a sermon. But every one of you has conversations with people. You deal with people at the store, on the street, at school, at work. And everything you do with those people, the way you act at all times, gives a witness to your faith. Do people who know you know that you are a believer? Can they tell from the way you act? It can be a powerful witness!

And sometimes in your conversations the opportunity will come up to give witness to your Savior's love with your words. Does it mean you have to explain everything in the Bible to them? No! Does it mean you have to answer every argument or question that gets thrown at you? No! Your words can be as simple as, "Come and see! Come to church with me. Come take a Bible information class with me. Come talk to my pastor." Out of love, you can point to your Savior in your everyday conversations, in your everyday lives.

And you can even help if you never leave your house. Remember what Paul said in our text! "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col. 4:2) God gives you an amazing opportunity in prayer. Because Jesus is your Savior, because he died to make you live, he has given you the privilege of approaching our heavenly Father's throne in prayer any time you want to. And God listens to those prayers! You can pray for your neighbors, your friends and relatives who don't know about Jesus. You can pray about the work that we do here in our congregation. You can pray for me, even as I'm praying for you. Don't miss the opportunity to go to God himself and ask for him to work in the people around you who don't know him, and to strengthen those through whom he is working. What an opportunity we all have, every day, with our prayers!

And yes, I know. This all takes time. It takes time to go back to God's Word and continually remember his love for us. It takes time to appreciate what he's given us as a church and work together for his glory. It takes time to get to know our neighbors, to show them love and look for those opportunities to point them to Jesus. It takes time to devote yourself to prayer. But the time is worth it! When should you start? How about today? God has given you this day. He's given you the love of his Son. So there's no better time than now.

Love Takes Time…with the Body of Christ

This sermon was preached on 10/18/09 at Our Savior. It is the second in a series called “Love Takes Time,” which is a stewardship emphasis on our use of time. The sermon text and series title were produced by the WELS for congregations to use as a stewardship emphasis. The sermon itself, though, is my own work.

Love Takes Time…with the Body of Christ

What would the perfect church be like? What would it be like to be in the perfect congregation? Think specifically! What would this church look like if it were the perfect congregation? I can see it now. A packed house every Sunday for worship. There are multiple Bible classes every Sunday to keep up with the need. Every day of the week there's a Bible information class or some other class. Kids are everywhere, going to Sunday school, confirmation classes, teen classes, and youth group events. People are reaching out, visiting the sick, helping the poor, improving the community. Members are constantly telling their friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors about their Savior and their church. Oh yeah, and everyone gets along, always. There's never any complaining. Everyone is working together, and they're doing it joyfully, not because they have to, but because they love their Savior and they want to do all they can for their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Well, how close are we? Maybe we're not quite ready to call ourselves the perfect congregation yet. In fact, every one of us, from me the pastor to the youngest or oldest or newest member -- we all have to admit that our own actions have made this congregation less than perfect. We've complained. We've divided instead of united. We've grumbled about the work to be done. We've let someone else do it all. We've taken our brothers and sisters in Christ for granted. We've failed to talk about our Savior to those we know. We've ignored the needy and the community. Perfect? We're not close to perfect.

So how do we get there? Obviously when we think of things that aren't perfect, we want to fix them. But how? Do we start all sorts of new programs and classes and then "strongly urge" people to come to them? Maybe we start requiring a certain level of church attendance, and if they don't live up to it; they're gone. Maybe we could invest in a laser-light show style worship to keep things exciting around here and keep people fired up. The problem is, those solutions might cause more harm than good.

And then we look at the early Christian church from our text in Acts and we really start wondering how we could live up to their standards. The early Christians didn't just go to church when they felt like it; we hear that "they devoted themselves" (Acts 2:42) to public worship. And in addition to that, "Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles." (Acts 2:43) Hmm. I'm not sure how we'll pull that off.

Outside of worship, the Christians were constantly together. "All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:44-45) Think of the generosity we're talking about here. They share everything with each other, and if anyone needs anything, they give it. Wow! It makes me realize how much of my own stuff I want to keep for myself. How about you?

Those early Christians also had some pretty amazing fellowship with each other. "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46-47) This wasn't a "see you next Sunday" kind of fellowship. Their lives were completely devoted to each other because they were all devoted to their Savior. And we think, how could we keep up with that! Guess we'll need a lot more sign-up sheets...

But the idea of trying to be the perfect church or somehow trying to keep up with the early Christian church in Acts 2 is an idea that takes us in the wrong direction. It focuses on us, instead of where our focus should be. You might remember that one of the names that the Bible gives for the Christian Church is the body of Christ. Jesus has ascended into heaven, but he still rules all things for the church, which is his body. (Eph. 1:22-23) To be a better church, a better congregation, we can't focus on programs or results. We can only focus on our head, on the only one who can bring us together -- we look, appropriately, to our Savior.

See, with all the amazing things that the early Christian church did there in Acts, it's easy to forget how they got there. That's the beginning of our text. It takes us to the day of Pentecost, and to Peter preaching a sermon to a huge crowd of people. As our text starts, the crowd is stunned. It says, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart." (Acts 2:37) But you have to go back a verse to see what they heard.

It was Peter uttering the most devastating words -- and the most comforting words -- ever spoken: "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)

No wonder the crowd was cut to the heart. They had killed the Savior. They thought he was an impostor. They'd been convinced that he was a troublemaker, and when the opportunity came to get rid of him; they took it.

Oh sure, not every one of the thousands of people Peter was talking to was directly involved in Jesus' death. Maybe they didn't all arrest him or flog him or spit on him or drive the nails into his hands and feet. But they did all kill him. They killed him with their sins, with their lies, with their hatred, with their unbelief.

And the worst part of it is, so did you. Yes, everyone at Our Savior Lutheran Church, I have news for you: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Yes, you crucified him. No, you didn't hammer in the nails or crack the whip or thrust the spear. But you have sinned. You have put up roadblocks to the unity of your fellow Christians. You have taken your Christian family for granted. You've treated the Good News like old news. And each sin put Jesus on that cross. For each sin Jesus suffered hell.

So like the crowd on Pentecost, we ask, "What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) Where can we go with this guilt we feel? The answer we need is the same one Peter gave: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)

Just about everyone here has already been baptized, but the power is just as real for us now! Repent. Look at your sins and turn from them. Then turn to Jesus. Turn to the Holy Spirit's power given you in your baptism. There you will find forgiveness. There you will find that your sins have been washed away. Your baptism connects you to Jesus' death (Rom. 6:3). The very death your sins brought Jesus is the same death that Jesus used to take away your sins! You are right with God again! You want to be renewed spiritually? You want new life breathed into our church, into our congregation? Look to your baptism! The Holy Spirit is still at work in you, renewing you and building you up.

And in the same way our worship here together as a body of Christ builds us up, too. It's so easy to think of these services as just words, just a little ritual that we go through. It can be so automatic and thoughtless and we can make it mean nothing by our carelessness. But it isn't nothing. Every word and action in our services point to Jesus. Every word of Good News from the Bible is a gift from God that builds up our faith, that the Holy Spirit uses for our good. You want to renew the Church, come here to worship with hearts ready to repent of your sins, with ears ready to hear with joy the Good News of Christ, and with mouths ready to confess and sing your Maker's praise!

That's what the early church did in Acts. They weren't so different than we are! "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." The Apostles' teaching -- that's like how we hear and learn God's Word here at church. Fellowship --that's the time we spend together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The breaking of bread -- that can be eating together, like we often do, or -- more likely -- it refers to receiving Jesus' body and blood with the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper, another incredible gift we receive! Prayer -- we do that too, as we pray to God in thanks and in requests with boldness and confidence that he hears us because of his Son!

So, no, we're not the perfect church. Sure, we have sins and problems and struggles. But we also have a Savior! We have a Savior who loved us so much that he took all of our sins, all of our problems and our struggles, and he bore their burden on the cross. He's forgiven us, and he wants us to cast our cares on him.

And you know what? He will bless us. He will bless us as we take the time to go back to the very means that he has promised to bless us in. Return to your baptism and the real power of the Holy Spirit working in you. Return to the Word and Sacraments proclaiming your forgiveness in so many different ways in these worship services.

When we do that, our love will grow. Whether we look just like that early Christian church or not is beside the point. Our love will grow as Christ's love grows in our hearts. Yes, love takes time. But we as the body of Christ will continue to grow in Christ's love, and his love will shine out for us more and more as Christians, as a congregation, and as his church.

Why So Harsh?

In my Bible reading a couple days ago, I came across something that made my stomach turn. I had read these verses before in the past, but for whatever reason they hit me especially hard now.

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.” (Ezekiel 5:8-10)

The situation described here is the siege of Jerusalem before the city finally fell to the Babylonians in 587 BC. The idea of someone so  desperate that they would become a cannibal and eat their own child or parent makes us sick. But even more amazing in these verses is that this was God’s punishment. He drove them to this.

And we think, “Why?” How could God be so harsh and so severe with his punishment? In some ways it just doesn’t seem fair.

God explains exactly why he was so harsh in the next verse: “Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity.” (Ezekiel 5:11) The people had put up idols in God’s temple, repeatedly breaking his first commandment. That’s why he punished them.

But still, we think, “Why so harsh?”

The thing is, though, that God’s law is always harsh. Even when God doesn’t drive people to cannibalism because of their sinful situation, his law is unrelentingly harsh: “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Every sin deserves death, and not just physical death, eternal death in hell. Nothing could be “harsher” than that.

But the Bible also gives us another teaching: the Gospel. The Gospel is the Good News that God did something about our sins by sending his Son (John 3:16). He sent Jesus to pay the punishment of hell our  sins deserved (2 Cor. 5:21). The faith that God gives us to trust in Jesus is how we get the eternal life that Jesus’ perfect life won. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)

This distinction of the teachings of “law” and “Gospel” is something the Lutheran church is especially known for. It also just happens to be the two main teachings of the Bible. Every time we squirm at how harsh God seems toward sin, we need to remember that as harsh as he is in his law, his love shines forth in his Gospel. In fact, it’s the law’s very harshness that helps us appreciate the Gospel’s sweet comfort.

The edition of Luther’s Catechism that I use to teach young people the basic truths of the Bible has a helpful diagram on these two main teachings:

(Luther’s Catechism,p. 38 Northwestern Publishing House, 1998)

The harshness of God’s law leads to the beauty of his Gospel in Christ. As you read the Bible, never forget this!

Love Takes Time…to Know God

This sermon was preached on 10/11/09 at Our Savior. The sermon is the first in a series called “Love Takes Time,” which is a stewardship emphasis on our use of time. The sermon text as well as the sermon title (or something close to it) were produced by the WELS for congregations to use as a stewardship emphasis. The sermon itself, though, is my own work.

Love Takes Time…to Know God

How long does it take to know another person? In some ways, it doesn't take much time at all. If you look around church this morning and see someone that you don't know, there's an easy fix for that. Just walk up to the person after church and introduce yourself. Easy. Done. Now you know each other. It really just takes a couple of moments and a few words.

In other ways, though, knowing someone else takes a lot longer. Think about the people in your lives that you know the best. They're probably not people you just met. Instead, they tend to be people we've known for years, even since we were born. When you are growing up, you get to know your family pretty well. But even then, sometimes years later, you get to know them better, you get to know things you never did before. Most married couples thought they knew each other on their wedding day. It doesn't take long for them to realize, though, that they only get to know each other better as time goes on.

To really know someone takes time. It can take all our lives, and it can take all our love. After all, when we really know someone, it means we know their problems, their faults, their little eccentricities that make them who they are. It's a process that requires our love. We have to work at it, we need to seek to know people to really know them better.

It's the same for our relationship with God. Do you really know God? Most of you would say, "Yes, of course I know him! He's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He's the Triune God who loved me so much that he sent God the Son Jesus Christ to be my Savior. Because of that, after I die I will live forever with God in heaven." At least I hope that's what you'd say. But even knowing that about God, you don't know him perfectly.

He's a God who hides himself. (Is. 45:15) He doesn't tell us everything he has planned for each one of us in our lives. He hasn't told us why everything happens to us that happens. He hasn't revealed how long our lives will be or how long it will be until Jesus returns to take us to heaven.

But even the things God has told us about himself, none of us knows perfectly. After all, God reveals himself through his Word, the Bible. And how many people have the entire Bible memorized and know all of it perfectly? None of us do! But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to learn more. In fact, the more we study God's Word, the more we get to know our God, the more we will love him. We'll love him more because we will see his love for us more clearly. Learning more about God, seeking him in his Word, is a life-long process. We will never stop growing in our love for our God and Savior, as long as we never stop growing in his Word. Love takes time, and our love for God grows as we seek God in his Word.

It's my prayer for you that you would know God better. It's my prayer that you seek him in the Bible and grow in your knowledge of his love for you everyday. That's also exactly what the Apostle Paul was praying for in our text from Ephesians. "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name." (Eph. 3:14-15) Right here at the beginning of our prayer, we're getting to know God better, because we're reminded that he's our Father.

We all come from different families and have different earthly fathers, but we all have one heavenly Father. He made every one of us. He keeps us breathing. He provides for us by sending rain to make things grow and giving us wisdom and strength to earn money and be able to buy food and shelter and clothing. To put it another way, God is our Father, and he acts like it.

The fact that he uses that word, "Father" tells us something else about God. We might expect that the God who created all things would be pretty scary. If he's powerful enough to form the mountains and fill the oceans, then what could he do to me if I don't listen to him? And, how could I ever expect him to listen to little old me? He's much too powerful and important to pay attention to me...

But no! He's our Father. A Father listens to his children. So we can approach our heavenly Father with boldness and confidence and ask him for things like dear children ask their dear father. (Luther's Catechism) That shows you something about God's love: he listens to us. He hears our prayers. No matter where we are, God hears us. He hears us because of his Son, as we had heard earlier in Ephesians: "Through [Christ] we...have access to the Father." (Eph. 2:18) What love God has that hears us when we pray to him!

That means he hears the prayer in our text, too. We read, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." (Eph. 3:16-17)

Usually, if you're going to ask someone for something, you want to make sure that the person is capable of giving it. I don't care how many of you ask me for a million dollars; it's not going to happen. I don't have a million dollars. But with God, we can ask for anything. He is powerful enough to answer. That's why Paul appeals to God's "glorious riches." God is rich, he's got everything, so we can ask for anything. Paul, though asks for power.

God was a good one to ask for this. He is all-powerful. He made the world and everything in it. So if he wanted to give us power to bench-press 300 pounds, he could do it! But Paul's not talking about physical power. He wants God to give us power in our "inner being." He wants us to have a power that you can't see on the outside, but on the inside. It's in our hearts. And what is that power? "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

Did you realize that as a believer you have Christ living in your heart? You do! And that really is a powerful thing. On our own, our hearts would probably be in despair. We'd think, "God could never love me, after the way I live. I sin every day, I take him and his Word for granted, I've done so many things that I don't think God could ever love me." But our faith, with Jesus in our hearts, tells us something different. Jesus tells us, "I've forgiven you. I've died for you, but look, I am alive! And you will live, too, because you are connected to me by faith.

And how did we get connected to Jesus by faith? How did he get into our hearts to live there? By God's Word. "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ." (Rom. 10:17) The Holy Spirit brought us to faith through his Word, or through his Word and the water in baptism. What love our God has for us, that he takes an unworthy sinner, washes our sins away, and God the Son himself comes to live in our hearts by faith. Could we ever fully understand that love?

Maybe not, but we want to try! In our text, Paul continues his prayer. "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:17-19) God has given us the roots of his love in our faith, and he continues to build on that foundation as we continue to hear his Word. The goal for us is to fully understand Christ's love for us, to understand "how wide and long and high and deep" his love really is.

Of course, we could never truly know God that well that we fully understand his love. Our text says it's a "love that surpasses knowledge." We can't understand it. We can't know it completely. But we can always grow in it. We can grow in it to the point that we are "filled to the measure with all the fullness of God."

So, do you feel like you are growing in your love of God, and in understanding his love for you? Are you seeking God, always thirsting to know more and to grow in his grace? Or are you content with what you have? Does the idea of growing in your knowledge not seem that important, do you think, so what, what's the point?

The truth is, if your faith isn't growing, it's dying. When we don't continue studying God's Word, when we stop hearing it or paying attention to it, our faith gets weaker. Eventually, it could die. And then we would never know God's love, but only his wrath.

But what a testament to God's love that he doesn't want that to happen. In fact, it's his power that keeps that from happening. Remember, Christ lives in your heart by faith, he wants you to keep that faith! He wants you to grow in it! And he promises to bless your faith. How does he do that? Through his Word.

God is here in his Word in our worship services. Going to church isn't meant to be some chore to keep you on God's good side. These services are God proclaiming that you're already on his good side. The services are about God pouring out his gifts on you through his Word, through his Sacraments. Don't stay away from church. Come running to the place where God promises to bless you. Talk to those you know who are no longer in church and encourage them to come and receive God's blessings, too.

God is in his Word wherever you are. Read it. Study it. Come to our Bible studies. Read the Bible on your own. God will bless that as you get to know him better. And yes, it takes time. Love takes time when you are seeking God. But what blessings he gives you as you do! And all the problems and troubles you have in your life, everything you pray for, everything you want or need, remember, God can help you with those things. Remember, he gives more than you could ever ask or imagine. So take the time to grow in his grace. He will never disappoint you.

So let's praise that God with the words Paul used to close our text: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Eph. 3:20-21)

Attend To and Abide With the Word

Sometimes people mistakenly think that Lutherans worship Martin Luther, or that Luther somehow spoke like an oracle whose words must be prized above all others. That’s not how it works, though. Luther pointed, not to his own words, but to God’s Word. In the same way, we use Luther’s writings today, not because they are Luther’s words, but because they expound on and point to God’s Word, which hold out Jesus Christ and his life and death as the only way of salvation.

So, I was excited recently to get the newest volume of the American Edition of Luther’s Works.  The entire book is sermons relating to John 17-20. I’ve just started reading it, but it has been excellent so far. The following quote shows Luther’s attitude from and about God’s Word.

I have given this admonition already and must repeat it often, for we see that Christ sets such importance on it that He constantly repeats the same thing, showing abundantly how supremely necessary it is that above all else we attend to and abide with the Word…Whatever shame may accordingly fall upon us, we will have the injury abundantly made good by this treasure. For this is what crushes Satan’s head [Gen. 3:15], that is, what destroys his kingdom and all his might…In short, no holy life, righteousness, or wisdom avails against his power and might, but only this Word. Therefore, it should be our greatest concern that we not let ourselves be torn away from it. For that is what [Satan] strives for and seeks with all his thoughts and powers. Whoever perseveres in [the Word], takes thought for it, and prays for it has the comfort here through Christ’s prayer [in John 17:8] that he will remain steadfast in it, and no power will accomplish anything against it.

(Luther’s Works, Volume 69, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis. 2009, p. 66)

This quote reminds me of Peter’s description of the devil: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9, ESV).

Thankfully, God gives us something to keep us firm in our faith in Christ. Lord, keep us steadfast in your Word!

What Have You Done?

This sermon was preached at Our Savior on 10/4/09. Text: Psalm 51:1-9. It was the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, but the sermon text is from a series of sermons on the Sunday school lesson for the week.

What Have You Done?

A little boy looks up at his dad. Shattered bits of glass from what used to be a vase lie on the floor next to him. His dad says, "What have you done?" A mom walks up to her daughter and points at a new dent on the back of the car. "What have you done?" she asks. A husband gets home from a few days away on a trip to find that all the rooms of the house have been painted hot pink. With a sigh he says to his wife, "What have you done?"

That phrase can be enough to make us uncomfortable just hearing it. "What have you done?" Every one of you are probably already thinking of times from your past when you were in trouble, and someone called you on it. Answering that question is usually hard for us, because it usually means admitting to something we might not want to admit to.  It can make us ashamed. It can make us feel guilty. It can make us angry that we got caught, depressed at what we have allowed ourselves to do, or sad at the hurt we've caused others. Because it can be so uncomfortable, because we don't like to admit our faults, because there might be negative consequences involved with our actions, we don't usually like to answer that question, "What have you done?"

But now imagine that the next time you did something wrong, God himself asked you that question. You do something wrong, you commit some sin -- whatever it is -- and the heavens are opened! A light shines down directly on you and the voice of God himself thunders down at you: "What have you done?!" Not a comfortable situation. Nowhere to run or hide. Your choices are either to think of some excuses (which God would see right through anyway), or to 'fess up and lay it all out on the table, then hope for the best.

This is pretty much what happened to David. No, the heavens didn't open, and God's voice didn't thunder down, but David had the next best thing. The prophet Nathan showed up on God's command and confronted David with his sins of coveting, adultery, deception, and murder.  David had nowhere to run or hide. He had to answer for his actions.

Psalm 51, our text for this morning, was written by David after this incident. It not only tells about his experiences from his sins, it speaks to all of us who still sin today. What is your attitude toward the sins you commit? What is your status or relationship with God because of those sins?

The first words of this psalm can give you chills. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." (Ps. 51:1-2) You picture David on his knees with his hands stretched out, pleading. "Have mercy on me, Lord! You got me! I'm guilty! Transgressions, iniquities, sins, whatever you want to call them, I've done plenty. I can make no other plea than guilty. I have no excuse to bring before you. All I can do is plead for your mercy. Please don't punish me like I deserve!"

These words of David just sound right, don't they? They should sound pretty familiar, too. After all, we say them constantly here in our services. In our confession today we said, "I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior, I pray: Lord have mercy on me, a sinner." We sang those familiar words, "Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us." A little later we sang something similar, "O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us."

This must be something important if we've said it or sung it so many times already today. But sometimes I have to wonder. Do we mean it anymore? Are we really being like David and getting on our knees, pleading to God? Are we really admitting that there's nothing good in us, that we've failed in every way before God, that we have no excuse, nothing to help our case on our own, that all we can do is plead God for his mercy? Or are we so used to hearing about forgiveness that we don't even think about needing mercy anymore? "Sins? Well, yeah, I guess I do them, but I'm forgiven so it's not really a big deal."

How easy for those words, "Lord, have mercy on me!" to be just that, words.  Just sounds our mouths make. Just our way of participating in the service. But are our hearts far away from our mouths? Has the fact that Jesus forgives our sins lead us to use Jesus' forgiveness as an excuse for those sins? "You can't really be mad at me, God! We both know these sins aren't all that serious! Oh, yes, have mercy! Wink, wink! We all know sins are no big deal." That attitude, even if we never express it in words, can easily clunk around in our hearts.

So maybe it's time to really look what's in those hearts. Our psalm says, "I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me." (Ps. 51:3) Do you really know your transgressions? Is your sin right there on your mind at all times? Think about his past week. Think about the actions you have done that go against God. Think about those sins. Can't think of any? Then you're not trying. Thinking of one or two? You're still not trying.

Or, think about your words. You very likely said something during the past week that was hurtful, or misused God's name, or made something God says into a joke.  Are you thinking of any?  Do you wish you couldn't remember?

Then there's your thoughts. In the time it takes you to say the words "sinful thoughts" you can have dozens of them. They can keep going off like a fire-hose in our mind, and so often it seems like we're powerless to make them stop. We couldn't keep track of these sins if we wanted to, but can you imagine what such a record would look like? It wouldn't be pretty. Like another psalm says, "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?" (Ps. 103:3)
Friends, your sins are real! They are real rebellions against God. They are ways that you have twisted God's intentions for your life into an ugly mess. You have crossed the line, again and again. Not only have you missed the bull's-eye of what God wants, you haven't even hit the target.

So, when the voice of God thunders at you, he's right! (Ps. 51:4) Oh, he doesn't thunder his voice out of the clouds; he thunders from his Word. "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (Jas. 2:10) "Your iniquities have separated you from  your God; your sins have hidden his face from you." (Is. 59:2)

Yes, you are Christians. Yes, you're here in church today, but your sins are no less offensive, no less damnable in God's sight. And it's been this way since you were born! As David confesses in our text, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Ps. 51:5) These sins aren't a slight problem, a minor blemish. You have been completely corrupted by them. God wants you to know this. (Ps. 51:6) He wants you to recognize this in yourself. He wants you to see how every second of your life since conception, you have deserved nothing but hell.

Lord, have mercy on me. My sins drive me to my knees; God wants these sins to drive you to your knees spiritually. He wants you to be thinking, "Look what I've done! Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. I plead guilty. Don't treat me as my sins deserve, Lord!"

And you know what? He doesn't. Your heavenly Father has had mercy on you. According to his unfailing love, God the Father sent God the Son. Jesus Christ lived perfectly. He didn't need mercy, because he had done nothing wrong.  But according to God's great compassion, Jesus' death blotted out all our sins. Like scrubbing a stubborn stain out of the carpet, Jesus washed us clean in his blood, shed on the cross. He washed us clean in our baptism. He has forgiven you, cleansed you of your sin!

Listen again to David's words in this psalm. "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean." (Ps. 51:7) Hyssop was the plant that the Israelites used to paint blood on their door frames on the first passover. It was the same plant used to sprinkle blood on Old Testament worshipers to make them "clean" in God's sight. Jesus' blood has made us clean! It has taken your sins away. When Jesus comes to you with his true body and true blood in the Lord's supper, that's what he's doing! He's making you clean! He's saying, "Not only do I forgive the sins of the world; I've forgiven you. Take and eat this body given for you. Drink this blood shed for you! What grace!

And our psalm continues, "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." (Ps. 51:7) It won't be long until the snow is falling here in Springville. Well, you know what happens when the snow stays around for a long time without melting? It gets dirty. All the cars driving around leave the snow looking disgusting and black. But then, a fresh batch of lake-effect snow blows in. And suddenly, everything is white. Everything is clean. Christ has done that for you. He's taken the dirt, the grime of your sin, and he has made you clean.

So you can rejoice! Even though the weight of your sins were enough  to crush your very bones, you can rejoice (Ps. 51:8), because Jesus has taken that burden on himself. He bore our infirmities and carried our sorrows (Is. 53:4), he took them away, nailing them to the cross. (Col. 2:14) So now, when God looks at us, he doesn't see our sins. He doesn't see our mistakes, rebellions, and failures. He sees the perfection of Jesus Christ. By faith, God has hidden his face from our sins; he has blotted them out by Christ alone. (Ps. 51:9) Never doubt that. Believe it! Rejoice in it!

And when you hear the question, "What have you done?" Whether the question comes from a parent, a spouse, a friend, or from God himself, answer that question. Come clean before God, because Christ has made you clean in his sight. Confess to your God, "nothing in my hand I bring, only to your cross I cling." Then rejoice in his forgiveness. Through no power of your own, your sins have been taken away. Make every day of your life a day of the bottomless sorrow of confession and the limitless joy of forgiveness.

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

I thought I’d include my sermons on this blog, because they are one of the main ways I feed the sheep of my congregation. This sermon from last Sunday on Nehemiah 8:1-12 also seemed to fit the main subject of this blog well. The text for this sermon came from the Sunday school lesson that the children of our church learned last Sunday.

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

What do you think heaven will be like?  You might picture clouds and angels.  You might think of the joyful reunion of friends and loved ones who died with faith in Jesus.  You might remember how the Bible tells us we'll be perfect in heaven and have glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15), and the effects of sin will be gone forever.  You might think of the streets of gold that Revelation mentions (Rev. 21:21) or how we will get to see God.  You might think of how God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain ever again. (Rev. 21:4)

But every once in a while, someone asks me a question about heaven.  Maybe it's a question that you have had, too.  "Pastor, heaven won't be like one big church service, will it?"  We know we will worship our God and Savior forever in heaven.  But then we think, "How can I make it through eternity if I can't make it through an hour church service without checking my watch every two minutes?"  It's no surprise that some churches turn their services into big variety shows designed to entertain people.

This morning, though, we're going to remember that there is something special that we do here in church, and it has everything to do with our eternal life in heaven.  To help us see that, we're going to have to look at something that happened to the people of Israel in the time of Ezra.  Ezra was a scribe, someone who copied manuscripts of the Old Testament, and he was also a priest.  When the Israelites first came back to the promised land from their exile in Babylon, Ezra got everything for the religious life up and running again.  He made sure there were priests and that people could worship in Jerusalem again.

Well, our text takes us to a time when Ezra was called out to help the people understand something critical to their spiritual lives: God's Word.  "All the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel." (Neh. 8:1) God had commanded the people to hear the Law of Moses, which is another name for the first five books of the Bible.  So, it made sense for their religious leader Ezra to read it. 

Here's how the reading worked.  "So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.  He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law." (Neh. 8:2-3)

A couple of things stand out about this.  First of all, there were some parts of the worship of the Israelites that only the men would do.  This wasn't one of them.  Out there on this day to hear the Bible read are men, women, and children -- everyone who would be able to understand it.  But I wonder if this is the line that caught your attention: He read it aloud from daybreak till noon. We're talking six or seven hours of a worship service here.  So what were they doing with all that time?

They were doing pretty much what we do.  Hearing God's Word.  Just about every part of our worship service revolve around the Bible in some way.  We have Scripture readings, we have hymns that give the Bible's message, the order of service all points to God's Word.
But look how the people reacted to it.  We had heard that "All the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law." (Neh. 8:3). 

There's definitely something for all of us to learn there. Then later we hear that "Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.  Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. " (Neh. 8:5-6)

You can see again that they really didn't do things so differently than we do.  They stood up when the Word was read, like how we stood during the gospel earlier.  This kind of thing is meant to show a respect for what's being spoken.  Remember, this is God's own Word!  When the Gospel is read, those are the words and actions of our only Savior.  We stand to symbolically show him the honor he deserves.

But later on in our text, things start happening that don't usually happen in our church services.  Nehemiah, who was the governor of the people at this time, had to speak up.  " “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.”  Then it explains why he had to say that. "For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law." (Neh. 8:9)

Unless it was a funeral, I've never heard people break into sobs at a worship service.  People in that culture might have been more free with their emotions than we tend to be, but still, you've got to wonder why.  Why would they feel the need to cry and grieve at just hearing the Bible read?

But then you think of some of the things in those first five books of the Bible.  Words of God like "be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." (Lev. 19:2)  The words don't sound like much until you really think about them.  Holy means perfect -- in thought, word, and deed.  When we really think about it, we realize how not holy we really are.  It's a scary thought.

Also in those first five books are the 10 commandments.  And there it is again.  We've heard the commandments before, but when you really think about them, we might as well call them the "10 ways you've failed."  We've coveted things that aren't ours.  We've lied.  We've taken things from others.  We'd had impure thoughts. We've hurt others or hated them.  We haven't listened to our parents.  We have treated worship and God's Word like they're no big deal.  We have treated God's name like it's nothing, we've used it to curse and swear thoughtlessly.  And in all of this, we haven't put God first, we haven't served him only, we haven't feared, loved, and trusted him above all things.

Maybe we should cry!  Because when you're God is holy, and you've done absolutely everything against what he commands, that's a problem.  That's a problem that God punishes with death.  Not just physical death, either.  Eternal death is what comes with sin.  It's what comes with your sin.

But then how could we hear in our text that "The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve.”? (Neh. 8:11)  How could Nehemiah go and say to the people, "This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”? (Neh. 8:10) How could they be comforted when they knew that they had sinned against God?  How can we be comforted in our sins?

The answer is the same.  Remember what Jesus said in our gospel reading for today.  In talking about the Bible, he said, "These are the Scriptures that testify about me." (Jn. 5:39) All of the Bible, even our reading from Nehemiah, is really pointing to Jesus.  And we can see that!  They comforted people by telling them that it was a "sacred day."  The word "sacred" means holy.  The people could stop their crying because God had made them holy in their worship that day. 

That points us to Jesus, because it is he who makes us holy today!  He has come to us in his Word and proclaimed that we are holy!  We're holy and perfect in God's eyes because Jesus took God's punishment in our place.  We're holy and perfect because Jesus lived a perfect life in our place.  When we hear that message of the Word, proclaimed so  many different ways in our worship services, we're being told again and again how Jesus has made us holy.  How he has rescued us from our sins, paid the ransom of hell that we owed, and opened eternal life in heaven for us by faith!  That is the greatest message there is, and that is the main message of the Bible!

That's why we here that the people in our text "went away to eat and drink...and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them." (Neh. 8:12)  They rejoiced in the God who made them holy.  The joy of the Lord was their strength.

And the joy of the Lord is your strength, too!  That joy comes from his Word.  It comes as you taste and see that the Lord is good in Jesus' body and blood in the Lord's Supper.  It comes as you hear the proclamation that your sins are forgiven, your punishment is canceled, your place in heaven is reserved, all because of God's love.
When we know what the Bible is really about, when the Holy Spirit opens that meaning to us, then we can rejoice in the strength that we have in the Lord.  Then we can look for opportunities to worship him.  We can look for times to read and study his Word and grow in our faith. 

I'd like you all to consider reading more of the Bible than you do now.  God will bless it!  I've put a schedule of Bible readings in our latest newsletter for you to try if you'd like, and I've given you some other ideas, too. Use them!  Get in the Word!  God will strengthen you!  He is the source of your faith.  The joy of the Lord is your strength!

We may not know what heaven will be like exactly. But we know when we get there, we won't be bogged down by our sinful attitudes and thoughts.  We won't have our pains and troubles.  We'll only have the love of our God.  We will see our Savior, the Lamb, the Word, face to face.  And we will rejoice in his strength that brought us there! 

All Men Will Hate You

In my Bible reading for today (I’ll post about Bible reading plans sometime in the future), I came across a section I always forget about.


In John 12, Jesus had just finished raising Lazarus from the dead. Obviously, this boosted Jesus’ popularity for a time, and everyone was buzzing about him. The Pharisees and Jewish leaders, though, made plans to kill Jesus because of this. (Jn. 11:53)

The part I always forget is that when Jesus goes back to Mary and Martha’s house after this, Lazarus is there, too.  He’s also become somewhat of a celebrity. In our day, the paparazzi probably would’ve been all over their house.  But not everyone was happy Lazarus was still around:

When the large crowd of Jesus learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. (Jn. 12:9-11, ESV)

That never ceases to amaze me. They wanted Lazarus dead! He was guilty of receiving Jesus’ gift of life, and they wanted him dead because of it.

I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me. Jesus himself told us that this is how our lives as Christians would be. He said, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Mk. 13:13) We Christians can expect the hatred of the unbelieving world. Does it mean people will seek to kill us? We pray that won’t happen, but we should expect there to be difficulties and troubles in our lives because of our faith.
That’s what Jesus was talking about when he said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mk. 16:24) This is the biblical teaching of the Christian cross. Following Jesus means trouble, it means difficulties for us in this world. But take heart; Jesus has overcome the world! (Jn. 16:33) We stand firm to the end not by our own strength but by his. That’s why we continue in his Word, because that is where the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith for the troubles of our life.

I’m surprised thinking of Lazarus being a target because Jesus gave him life. Well, we’re a target, too.  But thankfully, Jesus has given us life, too! (Jn. 10:28)

What’s the point of Feeding His Sheep?

From our perspective, it didn’t look like the smartest move on Jesus’ part.  After

all, Jesus had just won a great victory.  He had risen from the dead! Death and the grave could not hold him! By his resurrection, he gave life to all who trust in him (1 Cor. 15:20; Jn. 11:25-26). He had given us the victory! (1 Cor. 15:57)

But now he was going to ascend into heaven. He would no longer be with his disciples and believers visibly. He promised to return to take us to be with him forever (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Acts 1:11), but until that time, he decided to leave sinful human beings with the responsibility to carry his Word to others (Acts 1:8).

That’s why he was talking with Peter after breakfast by the Sea of Galilee after he’d appeared to his disciples for the third time after his resurrection (Jn. 21:14). His question was simple, and he repeated it three times: “Do you love me?” (Jn. 21:15-17) Peter was more aware than most of what is true of all of us: he was a sinner.  He had denied even knowing Jesus during Jesus’ hour of need (Matt. 26:69-75).

Peter was hurt that Jesus questioned his love for him three times (Jn. 21:17). But he was also keenly aware that he didn’t deserve to do the job Jesus asked him to do three times: “Feed my sheep.”

Really, Jesus?  You want sinners, people like Peter, to feed your sheep, to teach your Word to your people?  It doesn’t seem smart. It seems impossible that God would even allow a sinful human being to have such an important role in his kingdom.

I know it doesn’t seem right that I should have that privilege.  Like Peter, I’m a sinner, a sinner worthy of eternal death.  Also like Peter, however, I’ve been forgiven by Christ.  His blood has washed my sins away.  He’s put his name on my in my baptism.  He’s called me into his service to feed his sheep and lambs as a pastor.  I don’t deserve any of it.  I don’t deserve to serve the church I do. These are all gifts of complete grace from my Savior.

So, in my job of feeding Christ’s sheep and lambs, I work in God’s holy Word, the Bible.  It is a joy and privilege to be able to spend so much time in his Word.  That’s why I’m writing this blog. I want an outlet to think through my study of God’s Word. I want feedback that will help me serve the flock entrusted to me. I want to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Pet. 3:18)

So, feel free to leave your thoughts.  I’m not sure the form this blog will take in the days ahead, but I pray God will use it to bless me, my congregation, and anyone who happens by.  What a blessing to be feeding his sheep!

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