Everyday Lutherans

“Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  What is Jesus asking us to be?  No one is perfect.  Doesn’t he know that we have fallen from God’s presence and it is the work of the Messiah to restore our relationship with God?  How can we be perfect?  I make mistakes all the time. I am by no means perfect.  So how then can Jesus be asking us to be perfect like God is perfect?? When we think of perfection, we may think of getting all the answers right on the test, being able to always win the race or other sports. You would be the one who fulfilled all the requirements and setting a new standard by which others would seek to strive after. Excelling at anything that would be placed in front of you.   Yet, what if Jesus isn’t calling us to be perfect as in the way that we think of perfection?  Remember the way in which we think about things is vastly different than the way God thinks about things.  Throughout the past few Sundays, Jesus has been talking through the Sermon on the Mount

Have you seen the new movie entitled "The Son of God".  It is a movie that shows the entire story of Jesus life from birth to his death.  It is coming out on February 28, 2014. Will you be taking your youth group? Will you be having a Bible Study on it?

I was talking to someone following the Christmas Eve worship service.  The person was so frustrated after going to church.  They were telling me about all the changes that they witnessed.  As they entered into the church, everything seemed the same.  There was a Christmas tree, the nativity scene was sitting there with a plaque telling who donated it.  He was a handed a candle,a bulletin, but that is where he noticed the changes.  There were giant screens that had been installed so that pictures, announcements, and other things were being shown.  The music he heard was from a CD and not the organist.  He thought maybe he had entered into a different church or something weird.  He looked down at the bulletin, there was the name of the church, First Lutheran Church.  (Not the actual name of the church)  He looked around with wide eyes, hoping not to see anymore changes.  He came there to experience the same worship service that he had grown up enjoying. The one he loved and enjoyed.  The

Today’s text seems rather harsh. In fact, they seem very hard to achieve.  We know of people who have had a divorce. Someone who was even angry with a brother, sister, or even someone in the community.  Yet, Jesus warns that even if something is on your heart and mind. You will face judgement that most people fear.   Now in order to truly understand this piece of scripture, we should really look at the whole Sermon on the Mount that Jesus delivers to the people.  So, let’s begin with what we talked about last week. It comes right before the words that are shared today.  Remember, you are the Salt of the Earth and the light unto the world.  You are God’s People and Christians. When people look at you and the way you live your life, are they seeing the way  Christians live their life?  So they begin to wonder, would I want to be a part of that community?  Would I want to live my life that way?  Jesus is reminding the people that the way you live your life does matter.   However, within t

You are the salt of the earth.  This may seem a little odd, a little weird to us within our modern time.  However, we should understand the importance of salt.  For salt does two very important things.  Salt gives some food flavor.  It enhances the genuine flavor of a food. Salt will also preserve by ensuring that things do not spoil, but are kept good for a later time.  Salt would often be placed upon meat to ensure that moisture does not get into it so that it can be enjoyed later.   Jesus draws in other understandings beside salt. A lamp on a lamp stand to light an entire house.  Even a city on a hill.  No one can look past it because it stands out on horizon and shines in the dark night.  Each of these things are like you.  Why does Jesus use these items to explain who you are and what you should be doing?  Jesus is reminding us of our original purpose on this Earth.  That God created us to be stewards of this world.  To care for the plants, animals, the sea, the air, and everythin

Simeon and Anna, daughter of Phanuel, waited all their life to see and bear witness to the Messiah. Simeon is a devout man, who has served in the temple for years.  He was a man who studied the Scriptures, who knew God’s Law and the many ways in which God had journeyed with the Chosen People of God throughout all generations.  Simeon knew these accounts and wanted to help others understand them to live them out.  He wanted others to bear witness to the way in which he was living so that others may also live out their life towards God.  Simeon, in reading the prophets of old, also knew that God was going to send to the Chosen People of God, a Messiah.  This Messiah would care for the people and return to them the glory and honor that the people had once known. Anna is also just as devout.  However, being a woman, she would not be able to serve within the temple.  Yet, she gathered at the temple night and day to worship God.  Now this was a woman who knew heartache and the struggles of t

Simeon and Anna, daughter of Phanuel, waited all their life to see and bear witness to the Messiah. Simeon is a devout man, who has served in the temple for years.  He was a man who studied the Scriptures, who knew God’s Law and the many ways in which God had journeyed with the Chosen People of God throughout all generations.  Simeon knew these accounts and wanted to help others understand them to live them out.  He wanted others to bear witness to the way in which he was living so that others may also live out their life towards God.  Simeon, in reading the prophets of old, also knew that God was going to send to the Chosen People of God, a Messiah.  This Messiah would care for the people and return to them the glory and honor that the people had once known. Anna is also just as devout.  However, being a woman, she would not be able to serve within the temple.  Yet, she gathered at the temple night and day to worship God.  Now this was a woman who knew heartache and the struggles of t