Everyday Lutherans

Check out this great article posted by a friend, Pastor Frank Johnson. http://pawntoking4.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-we-rarely-go-to-church-pascals.html?spref=fb

Lutheranism 202 Reading the Augsburg Confession, we delve into the meaning of faith Martin Luther (1483-1546) didn’t intend to start a new church. A priest and a university professor, Luther believed there was only one Christian church. His study of the Bible and his personal faith experience led him to propose changes in the church’s teaching and practice, to re-form the church so it more clearly reflected the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone. This “reformation” was rejected by the leaders of the church in Rome, and Luther and his followers were excommunicated. A major part of this reformation movement was an emphasis on the living, life-giving word of God. Luther’s academic training was as a biblical scholar. He translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into German, the language of the people. He published sermons and commentaries to help communicate God’s word in ways that people could understand. Most of all, Luther encouraged people to rea

With the bombings that took place in Boston, I began to remember all the other tragedies that have taken place in the world as of late.  From shootings, bombings, wars, world wars, and even threats of nuclear war. With all the suffering  pain and death still around us, it is kind of a challenge to hear that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and through that resurrection, defeats the Devil, Sin, and victory over death. We hear this word but then bear witness to this reality.  Are the words simply a hope?  Are they meant for some future time in which Jesus will come again and place within the Earth: peace, justice, and love? If the words are an account of what actually happened, why is there still sin?  Why is there still death? I am not going to lie, I do not have the answers.  I will join with the people who are lamenting and cry to the one who will ultimately answer these questions and so many others that people raise.  I will use the words of those who have gone before me in suff

David is often known as the boy who slayed the giant Goliath with a slingshot.  David is known for the wonderful heart devoted to God and so God greatly blessed the entire people of God within the Promised Land of Israel. However, while David enjoyed a life of prosperity, blessings and joy; David was human and strayed from the way that God wanted him to live.  God blessed David in so many ways.  Yet, even on top of all God had blessed him with.  It was still not enough.  So today, we are going to look at his more personal life.  Yes, for every person who seems squeaky clean on the outside; there is generally a flaw, a flaw they do not want people to know about.  The greater they try to hide it, the greater the flaw truly is.   The story of David and Bathsheba is very familiar to us. So I am going to assume that you know the story and explain things a little further.  David looks out over the land from his balcony.  The King’s castle is placed upon a hill so that he could look out upon

What will it take for you to realize that this is what you have done and this is what has been done for you?  For Thomas, he would not believe the other disciples until he witnessed and could touch.  Then he would believe. Thomas wanted the evidence.  He wanted the facts and until then he was more concerned about his own life than the life that God wanted for him.  It is a natural reaction.  We want to survive.  However, whether or not you believe in it, it is still the truth.  Even though it is not right now in front of you, it is still true.  No matter how far you want to run away, how many doors you want to lock yourself behind, and how many other people you surround yourself with who agree with you. Still Christ will enter into your life, break down those barriers, and you will be confronted with the truth. Christ reminds us of our beliefs, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Yet as Thomas learned, when Christ st

It is very important for a church to have a website, something simple and basic for guests and visitors who are new to the area and are not familiar with how the church functions. In order to do this, you don't need to spend a lot of money, in fact, you really don't need to spend any but you do need to spend some time on it.  Before you do anything, you will need to decide what you want on the webiste.  Do you want times of service? Contact information?  Directions to the building?  Perhaps some of the things that are going on that the person could get involved in.  Now that you have an idea of what you want to have on your website, you will need to figure out what is going to be the best means of being able to update the information.  There is nothing worse than a website that has out of date information.  With these two factors in mind, you can then figure out what is going to be your best way of creating the website. Weebly - This is a great option for those who are searchi

Three days after Jesus' disciples witnessed him dying on the cross, the women went to go and care for his body and prepare it for final burial.  However when the women went to the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and the body of Jesus gone.  A messenger, an angel of God, told them that Jesus was not among the dead but is now among the living.  Jesus had been Resurrected. How did they react?  Like many of us do, they were shocked, amazed and basically confused.  Even among the disciples there were those who did not believe.  Not until Jesus appeared to them and they were able to see the wounds upon Jesus with Jesus living right before them once again. Then Jesus tells these men and women to go and share this news with everyone.  They do even when they were confronted with death, they would not go against the message that they knew to be true. So what was accomplished here within the resurrection?  Well that depends greatly on the faith tradition you are in and what atonement t

home | June 2006 | Lutheranism 101 Cover story: Story by Kathryn Kleinhans Image by Loren Edwards Did You Know? The vocabulary of the church is in the process of some change, with new words being used to
describe the different approaches and styles of doing mission in the 21st century. Definitions of three of these terms follow.       While they aren’t exact, and would be challenged by some, they are used today by many leaders in the church, including myself.       • Postmodern: The perspectives, values and culture of people born since 1964—GenX and Millennials. They are significantly different from those of previous generations in North America.       • Transformational: The process of leading existing congregations with set and increasingly ineffective styles and patterns of worship and community life into new models for Great Commission ministry in their changing local settings. See the Transfor