Everyday Lutherans

Have you ever prayed for something for so long and you wondered if God would hear your prayers? Day in and day out, you lifted up the same pray and hoped that today would be the day that God would answer that prayer? I think for many of us, there is something that we can relate to when we hear those questions. For many of us, when we pray to God, it is because we are in need. Something is outside of our control or strength and we pray that God would be with us. Others of us, we pray every day for others, This story in the gospel today can speak volumes to us. For when we hear this message today, many of us may think that these men were praying for days, weeks, and years for the healing that they were longing for and to be among family and friends once again. Yet when we hear that only one of the ten men return back to Jesus and give thanks to God for healing them of their disease, we may look at that and hear the failure. One in ten were healed and returned to Jesus, we do not k

If we had faith the size of a mustard seed. Now most sermons will talk about the size of a mustard seed and how small it is and that from that small seed, a large bush will grow. Or many of us as we hear this, will be fascinated as the amazing work that by simply commanding, we could make a tree come up out of the ground and plant itself into the sea. For all of us, this may sound as if it were fantasy or something that we would watch upon the big screen. However Jesus is telling everyone who listens to him that if we had this kind of faith, we would be able to do some amazing things as well. Yet when we do amazing things in our lives, we often discredit them or they look different. I want you to consider what it is you are able to do with your hands. With your very hands, you are able to create: molding with clay, swing a hammer to build, shake a hand to create a relationship, wipe away a tear with comfort, and offer something to someone who is in need. Our simply ordinary hand

Today’s Gospel lesson is one that many of us should take to heart. In our lives, we have many people who share with us their faith journey. They share with us the good and obstacles that faith in God still helps them understand and realize God’s calling for them. Take a moment right now and think about that person. Was it a family member? A mother who dragged you out of bed so that you would hear this sermon? Was it a grandmother who loving shared with you life lessons that changed your heart and mind for years to come? Was it a Sunday School teacher who shared with you a message of Scripture that made you think and realize that YOU are a beloved Child of God? Is that person still in your life or are they in the presence of God? For many of us, if we are truly honest, it is many people who at different times and in different ways, shared with us the Gospel of God’s love, grace and mercy that truly opened our heart and ind to understand what we are being called to do, think or realize G

We can not serve two masters. I once heard this described message as a sermon that would never end because it is a message that people need to hear over and over again. Have no fear, I do not plan on doing that to you today. Yet this is a lesson we know but it is so hard to do. A lesson that is told to us many ways and at different times. Perhaps the most well known time is in the Ten Commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me.” This is the first commandment but also the hardest commandment for us as people who wrestle with an understanding that WE are not god. We struggle with the concept for Free Will and what that means for our relationship with God and one another. We struggle with the events and outcomes of this world when they seem to be working against us. Today within the Gospel Jesus informs us that we are often trying to make money into a god that we serve. We say it to ourselves, “If only we have more money, then we would be happy. Then we would have the lif

For many of us today, we have heard this lesson before, the parable of the lost sheep. We have seen it depicted in images through church and even still many of us have not seen a live sheep in our lives or we do not see them on a regular basis. However it is the idea that is conveyed to us in this parable that has echoed in our hearts and minds to give us a better understanding of God and God’s love for you. However it is the second part of this parable that is perhaps something that we can relate to on a regular basis. A person loses some money, now if you lost some money, would you not want to find it? For many of us, we drop a penny and don’t really think much of it. I mean it is only a penny right? Yet a penny is also the very foundation of all our financial understanding within the United States. Within the parable we hear of a person who lost a silver coin, well that’s a little different, it has greater value. Today with the price of silver, that coin would be worth $50 if

Today as we gather together for God’s Work, Our Hands. We go out into the community as disciples of Jesus Christ. We are doing the work that we can do not for our own benefit or glory but truly for the sake of our neighbors, those who are in need and we are able to share God’s Love with them. Today is the day that we take what we have learned from a book, the Bible and clearly state to the community that God’s Love looks like this. It looks like cleaning the dirt and grime of this world. It looks like getting our hands dirty for the sake of someone else. It is about caring, not because we are required to or we will benefit from it but solely that we may share God’s Love with that person. I do a lot of talking here in this place but I want to remind you that it is because of your time, effort, and willing hands and hearts that we are able to do and be so much in this place. Today our sermon is short but I want you to dwell upon the love of God that you are sharing with the people y

This is one of those parables that we have heard over and over again. It is a reminder that we are to be humble and that we should not think of ourselves better than others. This is one that we may hear and our next thought is, perhaps even before the parable is over, “Next, heard it before, what else you got, Jesus.” However, like before when we know a story or parable that Jesus shares with us, the next question we should be asking ourselves is: Are we living the meaning of the parable? Well like the Pharisees listening to Jesus, this may make us squirm in our seat. Well….I...I...I….know I should. Yet knowing you should do something and doing it are two very different things. Please understand, I am also at fault of doing this at times in my life as well. I am a sinner just like you however, when Jesus calls us as people of God to understand what the Kingdom of God will truly look like. We should take note and even realize the calling that Jesus is wanting us to do and then l

Within today’s Gospel lesson, we hear of a woman who has been afflicted with suffering for eighteen years. The woman is described as crippled but able to move about. Someone who was hunched over because of the pain that she felt. So this is something where every this woman felt this pain, not only that but probably ever step she took she felt that pain. She could not go to the medicine cabinet and take a pill and the pain would be gone. No, for eighteen years, she bore this pain. For many of us, we have no idea what that is like. We are miserable just being sick for a week. Now after that week of rest, fluids and maybe having someone take care of us. We come out of that, ready to get back to life and hustle and bustle that is our daily routine. Some of us, have a pain in a joint from an old sports injury but the pain comes and goes. When that pain comes, it can bring us to our knees, where we have to sit down and rest until things subside. Yet when this happens and there is no cur

Today’s Gospel is one that can cause us to raise an eyebrow and wonder, what is Jesus talking about? We need to truly look at the whole chapter to understand this one within the context of what Jesus is sharing with the crowd. Before this text, we hear of the watchful slaves who care for their master and the master’s kingdom even when the master is gone on travel. The slave does not make it their own or take advantage of things for their own benefit but rather does what is right out of love for the master. Then the disciples still have questions and concerns about what does it look like to be a good or unfaithful slave to the master. I thought Jesus was coming to share grace and mercy in the world. I thought that all people were going to be gathered at the feet of Jesus and everything would be right in the world. With the arrival of Jesus, there would be no more problems and no more arguments. However Jesus makes it clear today that with his arrival on earth. It would actually

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Wow, I have so much stuff that I don’t know what to do with it?” Or perhaps a more likely scenario is, “I move things from one pile to another pile and I call that cleaning”. We are a people of stuff and this is nothing new. For hundreds of years, we have sought to have stuff that would surround us and it would be through these things that we would find security, safety, status, and even a reason for our existence. They could be your legacy. We even have major holidays that carry with them, “Make sure everyone has a gift.” From Christmas to Valentine's Day, from the 4th of July to Halloween, we have stuff that will define the season to surround ourselves with the meaning and purpose of that season. Even our most Christian holidays are not immune, Easter is one that is specifically focused on the cross and the resurrection of new life. However, as time has drawn on, the focus has been on the candy, the gifts, and the receiving of stuff. Now

Within the past few weeks, we have been diving deeper into familiar scripture. Today, is no different. We continue with a series of sermons that allows us to dive deeper and hopefully grow closer to God in these familiar words and messages. Today we hear Jesus teaching his own disciples how to pray, the most famous prayers in the world. Now this is a prayer that we say every single Sunday and hopefully you also speak it during the week as well. For it is a powerful prayer and one that we should examine more fully in Martin Luther’s explanation in the Small Catechism so that we appreciate the words more fully and know the depth of the meaning. For those of us who may not have looked at the Small Catechism since Confirmation, I am going to remind that in the hymnal on page 1163 in the ELW is the Small Catechism in regards to the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is something that draws us close to God and speaks volumes of how it is we may speak with our Heavenly Father. The very fi

Last week as we talked about the Good Samaritan, we dove even deeper into the understanding of what it is that God is calling us to do and pay attention within our daily life. However, today’s parable is no different. Mary and Martha are two people whom we have heard about before. Mary who is the one who we should be more like: attentive to Jesus, focused on what is truly important, or perhaps a better way to say that is WHO is important. Mary is the one who gets it right. Yet we more often than not probably align ourselves with Martha. A person who has a list of things to do to ensure that people know that they are cared for and loved. However, all we see in the list, the tasks to be done and when the people who we care about are not found on that list, when they do not experience the love that is truly meant by the gift of service then we do need to reevaluate what we are doing and who we are making important in our life. I have used this method of discovery for you. If you wan

Today, we hear a rather familiar story that Jesus uses to make a point. It is typically known as the Good Samaritan. With each of the characters, we learn a lot of what it is we should not and should do. For the priest, passes by on the other side, now so we understand, if the priest would have stopped and helped man, the Jewish laws would have stated that the priest would be unclean to enter the temple and thus not help or care for the hundreds or thousands of people that would come to the Temple that day. So for the priest, he would be thinking of the majority and not the individual. The levite, would be passing by but what reason would he not stop and help the man. Would it be because he was robbed and thus have no wealth and would be of no benefit for the rich man. Would he think of the wealth that he would lose by helping this man and what others in the town would think of him for helping this man. Now it is the third man, the Samaritan that Jesus lifts up to the People of God

With seventy people, Jesus sends them out into the world. They would go out to be among the people, to be with them in their daily life, and these seventy would go be with them to teach, comfort, and simply grow stronger in their own faith by teaching others. In the world, they would be challenged and they would feel like they are overwhelmed. Jesus told them how to travel into the world. Do not take any money, no change of clothes, and simply go be in the world. What do you think they would receive if we did that today? Would we get the door slammed in our faces? Would anyone welcome us into their homes to stay the night and be fed? For many of us, we know the answers to these questions or at least we think we do. For many of us, we engage in these questions but we answer them as we think others would do but then I wonder, how would you answer them? Please understand, I do want you to still be safe but at the same time, how do we show hospitality and compassion to those among us

Today within our Gospel, we hear of a man. A man who was running around naked and living among the tombs. We hear only briefly of his past in that the people who did not know how to handle him. The way that they put him in chains in order to control. However, we do not know what has really happened to him, why is it he is this way. We hear of a man who seems different, who is outside of society norms and even lives outside of society. Now the people were doing what they thought was best but it was not really what was needed to help and cure the man. This man, this outcast, becomes the center of our focus today. However, for many they would prefer to look at someone who would make them better and look at the success, not the one who in their eyes has been the failure. Then perhaps we should get to know the greater story. Perhaps it is when we actually experience this within our life, that we should really be thinking about how this applies. When I was young and at church, there wa

The Holy Trinity has been a topic that people have tried to understand ever since Christ was around. People in the past have wrestled with how is it that God can be three, but one for years. Around the year 300 AD, many of the debates of the church were settled by the means of Creeds. Statements of faith that the Christian church could agree upon. The Apostle's Creed, The Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, were all formed to make it clear to all people exactly how it is that God is three in one and to clarify each of the roles that God took. If you turn in your ELW to page p.104 & p.105 you will find two of the creeds. You will find the Apostle's Creed which is said practically every Sunday. The Nicene Creed, we typically say on special occasions within the church. These two creeds sound very similar, and yet there are some slight changes. Today, I am going to focus on the similarities so that we can understand God's relation to the world and the three name

Today, we celebrate the Day of Pentecost. The day in which God bestows His Holy Spirit upon all the people to be led and guided in all that they do and all that they are. The Holy Spirit comes and influences all the people who have encountered it. The Holy Spirit uses the people as instruments to show the glory of God among the world. Others bear witness to this glory. There are those who see and believe. Those who will bear witness to the work of the Holy Spirit will often wonder how? How is this possible, how can we understand, and know that this is part of God’s Will? They will soon realize that it is only because of the work that God is doing within the world, that these things could have happened. For the work of God allows people to be united, gathered together in God’s name. They will see and believe that these things are taking place. They are in awe. There are those who see and do not understand. Those who will bear witness to the work of the Holy Spirit will also won

You have probably heard that the gospel is all around you. When people are outdoors, they are surrounded by God’s creations. Standing on mountain and seeing for miles, you can see the effects of God’s work in the world. Sitting on the beach, you can experience the effects of God’s work in the world. However here, we see the effects. We do not understand the purpose, the reason for the creation. We do not understand the love and care that is poured out through this creation until we understand the purpose of the message from God. So how do we do that? We spend time with God in His Word and in the world. So stop and think about this for a moment: who was it that shared the love of God with you? Was it a family member? A mother or father that would drag you to church even though you would rather sleep. A grandmother who reminded you of the words of Jesus that are part of your life and that you should be thinking of to form your actions. Perhaps you had a friend? Someone who would

Today, we hear of a new commandment. Now hopefully, you are able to remember one commandment because people throughout the Bible had shown over and over again, that Ten commandments were too many for them to remember. Over and over again, people showed that they struggled with this even though the Ten Commandments were given to help them grow and be a better people. When Jesus gives this new commandment, he tells his disciples to love one another as you would love yourself. However in thinking about this, I wondered two different thoughts. What is Love? Do we really love ourself? Now, the first question. “What is love?” and before you start thinking of Night of Roxbury or that song from the 90s by Haddaway. I want you to really think about this. When we talk about love, we use it in a variety of ways. When we look at a child, especially a baby, the love that we share has no conditions, nothing stops us, nothing is there except for love. As that child grows, they might get on our

Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. The church calls it this because of the Scripture that is used within the service. Today we heard Psalm 23, a scripture that many of us hear at funerals and so it is through this scripture, that we are reminded not only of our loved ones but of the peace and comfort that God brings to us. That God is a source of comfort and peace. Now it is this image that many of us cling to and long for within our lives. However, this is not the only image of God that we have within our life. For God is so powerful that He has created us and all that exists. So we have an image of someone who is incredibly powerful. Or perhaps someone who looks like a scientist who is able to understand the complexity and simplicity of this world. However, this also draws into question: How do you view God at work in your life? What do you expect from God? A few days ago, I was thinking through something that was frustrating me. Something that was complex and simple and

Have you ever had a moment of dejavu? You know that feeling when you feel like you have been somewhere before, experienced the same events, or heard the same sermon over and over and over? Well sometimes we have those experiences and they cause us to have an odd feeling. One that we don’t know what to do or how we should react. We begin to question some things but also realize some rather important aspects that we need to be aware of. Within our Gospel lesson today, I hope you had some experience of deja vu or feeling like you have heard this message before. Because you have and you have heard this happen in the lives of the disciples before as well. In the beginning of the Gospel, Jesus is on the beach, the disciples who were fishermen went out and did what they were all too familiar with, fishing. Now when the disciples come in from their night of fishing, Jesus (only they don’t know it is him) asks them if they caught any fish? When they said, “No.” Jesus tells them to go back

How many of you have ever had an experience like this? Everyone else seems to have knowledge or an experience that you were left out of. A time or moment in which everyone else around seems to have it all together and yet you are the one person in the room, the one person who does not have the experience and know that you seem to be left out. Have you ever had that experience in your life? For many of us, we have a moment that leaps to our minds. Today within the Gospel lesson, we hear of Thomas declaring to himself and to others (his own friends who he had known for years of travel). So these are not strangers, these are men who he had known for years, they had meals together, and they had shared experiences that through conversations and challenges. I remind you of this because throughout the ages, Thomas is now known as Doubting Thomas. Thomas becomes defined by this one experience of being left out. When his own friends tell him something, he does not believe. However, lookin

As many of you entered here today, you may have noticed that things are a little different here. We have changed the direction in which we are seated. For throughout this season of Lent, we have been focused on how it is that God calls us to change and be different for those who are in need in the world around us. So we changed so much of our church function and yet, what has truly changed? The layout has not truly changed but hopefully your perspective has. Now we come to the fulfillment of that change, that new life that God has been leading us through for the past forty days. As we have journeyed, we have looked at what it means to be a disciple. How it is we can wrestle and know that God is with us every single day. I hope that you were challenged and renewed in your faith journey throughout these forty days. But today, we gather to celebrate and to feast. To know the gift that is truly given to us in Jesus Christ. So we sing, we eat, we decorate, and we are united as broth

Tonight is one of those moments that echoes throughout the centuries. The crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is something that we have honored for thousands of years. It is a message that we impart from one generation to another, from one culture to another and one that speaks directly to each and everyone of us. For the death of any loved one has a tremendous impact upon our life. Standing at the graveside, the place where they shall lie until a time that we do not know when. This is something that can overwhelm the person standing and wondering.  However, it is on Good Friday, that we bear witness to God Himself. The Creator and Sustainer of this world, who sent His Own Son into the world and now experiencing the same heartache, fear and wonder that many of us also feel. God understands our own experience. God is right there with us and has first hand experience. So it is in this service that we read the accounts of those who were there. We sing songs that convey to us the

Tonight as we gather for Maundy Thursday. We enter into the mystery and tradition that is found here. For we enter tonight perhaps with some understanding because of what it is we have experienced before. As we gather, we know the story of what happened with Jesus and his disciples and we hope to experience a glimpse of that ourselves. We hope that we would have a moving experience that draws us closer to God and have a greater understanding of what God is calling us to be a part of. However, like the disciples that were gathered with Jesus that night. They were expecting to experience the Seder meal of the Passover. Yet Jesus does something unexpected. Jesus takes the ancient stories and accounts of faith that the Jewish people had celebrated generation after generation, many of whom were so separated over the thousands of years that they wondered when would God do something among them again. For they longed for the Messiah to help them and remind them that they were part of

Today, we gather to celebrate Palm Sunday. Yes the day that we give you a Palm brand and like a good Lutheran, you have no idea what it is you are suppose to do with it. So you shake it modestly making sure not to hit anyone. When your children go and wave it around like crazy you apologize to those around you. However, why do we even use Palm branches in the first place? Why do we celebrate? Now yes, we can point back to the account of the Gospel that was read at the beginning of the service. “Pastor, didn’t you listen to yourself? The people used Palm branches and so do we.” Yes, I understand but why did they use Palm branches in the first place? When the people in the Gospel laid the branches down before Jesus, they did so for a very important reason. They laid those branches out so that Jesus would not have to journey upon the filth of the road. Now think about this for a moment, there were animals running around, no sewer system, no garbage collection, and things really onl

Tonight we arrive at our final night before the week of Holy Week. We have covered a lot of what it means to be a disciple: prayer, worship, learn, serve, and encourage. Each of these you may have known but I also hope that some of them surprised you as to how you are living them out or could be making them part of your daily life. Which brings us to tonight. Now tonight’s topic is one that many feel that they rush away from or they are pushed to it and because of that, they feel overwhelmed because the other parts are not solid foundations in their life. Tonight’s topics are: Lead and Endure. Let’s start with the first of leading. Now this is not what we normally see within the world. It is not about making grand speeches, having your name or title give you honor, or even that people will automatically love you. When we talk about leading in the church and from Jesus’ perspective, we talk about servant leadership. That means caring, supporting and encouraging others in their ab

Tonight as we continue our Lenten journey, we are focusing Marks of Discipleship. Tonight I want to talk about Encouragement. Now, this is one of the often overlooked because it is actually going outside of ourselves and we do not always see the fruits of our labors. Yet encouraging others on their journey of discipleship is so important for the continual and long journey. It helps us get over the struggles and hurdles that arise within our lives. So what exactly am I talking about when I say Encourage? The most prime example that I can think of is parenting. No, I am not talking about a nagging mother, I am talking about continual support from people who have our best interest in our future. As we are growing up, our parents teach us the lessons and values that have shaped us into the people that we are today. Parents pass on the faith that has influenced their life to their children as well. As we teach children the lessons, values, and faith that we have, we also learn from them

Tonight as we continue our Lenten journey, we are focusing Marks of Discipleship. Tonight I want to talk about Encouragement. Now this is one of the often overlooked because it is actually going outside of ourselves and we do not always see the fruits of our labors. Yet encouraging others on their journey of discipleship is so important for the continual and long journey. It helps us get over the struggles and hurdles that arise within our lives. So what exactly am I talking about when I say Encourage? The most prime example that I can think of is parenting. No I am not talking about a nagging mother, I am talking about a continual support from people who have our best interest in our future. As we are growing up, our parents teach us the lessons and values that have shaped us into the people that we are today. Parents pass on the faith that has influenced their life to their children as well. As we teach children the lessons, values, and faith that we have, we also learn from th

We have done a lot of talking and dreaming this past year in visioning for a future.  While exploring where we have come from, where we are and where we are going, a lot of people were able to share and bear witness to the way in which they became a part of Grace Lutheran Church and means by which we are church.  As your new pastor, this has proved to be incredibly helpful.  These conversations and visions have helped me have a greater understanding of what it is you all feel God is calling us and leading us to be as a community united in God's Name. After several meetings and discussions of what it is we as leadership can make happen in the next year.  We landed on three important areas that need our focus in the next year:  Communication, Community, and Worship.  Communication needs to improve as the current means of sharing information is not being effective.  Things are put in the bulletin and E Notes but people are not receiving the information.  The community can also grow