Everyday Lutherans

When Jesus called the disciples to follow him.  They were looking for someone to be the Messiah to lead them, but they were not ready for what happened to them.  They were not even considering the possibility that God would be calling them or using them in the world. Jesus calls them away from their family and the way of life that their ancestors had lived for probably a long time. Jesus is calling them to do something new, something radical.  They were going to study and learn from a teacher.  However, there was no mention of the debates or struggles in understanding that they would face, if they should go.  Still, the disciples were willing to leave all that they knew to follow this teacher.   They were called by name to begin this journey.  As they began this journey with Jesus who seemed to be an ordinary man.  They followed him around and asked him to teach them.  When he taught in the synagogues, or when large crowds gathered he would b...

The story of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman is one that is very popular.  I am sure that many of you have heard this story once, twice, or even twenty times before.  It is a very important story within the Christian faith.  It has as much meaning as it did then when it happened as it does to us today.  For Jesus comes and speaks to a Samaritan woman in the noon day heat.  In order to truly understand this story, a person should truly understand why Jews and Samaritans did not spend time together.   The story goes back hundreds of years.  When the people were taken out of the Promised Land of their Ancestors.  Here, there were the twelve tribes of Israel, the Chosen People of God. It was this nation, who would bear witness to the whole world.   It was this nation, who God was with and blessing.  However, the people of Israel were taken out of the land and placed into foreign lands.  This was known as the great Exile.  Other...

I give this book THREE stars.  Theology and technology advancements are two of my passions.  With this book, Schnekloth is helping the reader understand the great place in time to which we are living.  The time through which our own church teachings have been formed through the use of print, is now coming into contact with a new form of technology that is more fluid, engaging, and used in our daily life.  It is now all brought together for the enrichment of a Christian’s life.  Schnekloth places, in the hands of the reader, a wealth of information and insights from other experts which help us realize this great advantage which is before us.  Along with that, Schnekloth’s style of writing encourages the reader to investigate and learn more on this topic.  He introduces, from other authors, a wealth of information for the reader.   Overall, this is a good book.  The book is directed at a very targeted audience. It is for the person who has been...

A great article that has some great insights for many pastors to help others understand the struggles of ministries to the leaders.  However, it is not completely negative.  There are many joys to ministries as well. these-5-prayers-will-transform-your-pastor-his-family-and-the-church

For the first few centuries of gathering, people who we would call Christians did not call themselves that.  Instead, they would call themselves: People of the Way.  They would often gather together in people’s home or at the local synagogue, to sing, share stories that were important to their faith and be reminded of their faith in God, particularly in Jesus Christ.  They followed the same model of worship, the same ritual of living and understanding derived from the Jewish faith in which many of the people came from.  These people who followed The Way, were often rejected and the subject of blame within the community.  They were new, radical and seen as a means of destroying the traditional way of doing things.  This way of worship and living was done for several hundred years.   Then around the year 300, the Ceasar called all Christians to send their leaders to gather together along with all of their written resources and ways of worship.  As t...

As we continue our Lenten journey, we stop and remember some of the things in the past. How they have shaped us into the people that we are today.  We stop and remember the people who have helped form us.  We stop and give thanks that we have come to be part of God’s People within our journey.  As we do this, we begin to also think of the ideas, concepts, and guiding principles that still lead us and guide us within our life today.   Today, we hear about a man named Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was a leader within the Jewish Temple, he was a man who knew the Scriptures and knew that God was still having a relationship with the people in the world.  As a leader in the Temple, he was a person who others would come to ask questions.  Nicodemus was a person who people expected to have answers to their difficult questions.  Nicodemus hears about the works that Jesus is performing for the people.  How he is able to share lessons of wise counsel to people,...

When I was growing up, we always prayed at meal times.  It was a tradition that we always did.  Someone would take a turn to pray.  It helped each one of us pray, be reminded of how God gave us this meal, and for us to give thanks.  I remember growing up and praying the Lord’s Prayer at church. I remember having to memorize it and recite it for Confirmation.  However, prayers outside of these two times were difficult.  I mean, what do you pray for? How long do I pray?  How do I end? How do I start? Are people actually listening for what I am praying? Should I have my eyes closed?  Hands folded? Should I lift up my arms?   When I would go to pray, I would be consumed with so many questions.  I wondered so that I would often forget the real purpose of prayer. I would forget that I was in communication with God.  I would get so lost in the presentation and performance of prayer.   I would forget the very simple purpose and gi...

The temptation of Jesus is something that reminds us that Jesus was indeed human.  During those forty days, the devil offered to Jesus all the things that we strive for within the world.  Serving our self, power, and safety and yet each time, Jesus reminds the devil that those are not the things that God wants for us.  Certainly God wants us to be happy.  However, God also knows that these things will not give us the happiness that we are seeking. Serving ourself is never a good thing because it places us at the center of the world and only puts us against one another. This seperates us from what God wants for us and we truly long for.  Power is something that lures us into trusting your own self rather than God. Safety is a false god that we create, but is something that we continue to go back to constantly.  The safety that we create can not stand the test of time, people’s sinful nature and our own desire for more.  However, Jesus does not succomb t...

Prayer - to live among God’s faithful people When we pray, we enter into conversation with God.  It is a time in which we can share what is in our hearts, minds, and things outside of our control.  Prayer is a conversation that can be done as an individual, or in a community.  When in community,  one person is leading a community in prayer, or where all are speaking the same prayer.  There is never a right or wrong time to pray. There is never a right or wrong place to pray.   When a person prays, they may wonder what to pray or how to pray.  In this wondering, we find, we are not alone.  It is one of those things we need to be taught and understand.  We need to realize why we are praying in the a way we pray.  Jesus’ own disciples needed help with prayer.  So, Jesus helped them by giving them a prayer to pray.  The Lord’s Prayer.  It is one of those all inclusive prayers, that says so much for us in faith, and it covers s...

Invitation to Lent   Friends in Christ, today with the whole church we enter the time of remembering Jesus' passover from death to life, and our life in Christ is renewed.   We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God's mercy.  We are created to experience joy in communion with God, to love one another, and to live in harmony with creation.  But our sinful rebellion separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, so that we do not enjoy the life our creator intended.   As disciples of Jesus, we are called to a discipline that contends against evil and resists whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor.  I invite you, therefore, to the discipline of Lent—self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love—strengthened by the gifts of word and sacrament.  Let us continue our journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus' death and resurrection. ____...

Ash Wednesday - Introduction - Journey to the Cross: Being a disciple of the Cross - Baptism: Begins our ministry. In the church, there are many things that we talk about: Baptism, Grace, Mercy, Resurrection, Prayer, Worship, Communion and so many others.  Sometimes we need a reminder of what they are all about and how we use and act upon them in our daily life.  This year for Lent, I invite you on a journey, one that you are already on. A journey you, as a Christian,  have heard about, or possibly a journey you would like to be on.  On this journey, we shall explore how God is in relationship with you every single day.   Throughout this journey, I encourage you to gather together as a family or with friends to dwell and discuss the Scripture. Please use  the questions of the day found at the bottom of this sheet.  By doing this, you shall grow closer to those people, with whom you will gather, and God, who is a part of this relationship as well. ...