Everyday Lutherans

Ash Wednesday Lent is my favorite season of the year.  No, it does not have the fanfare of Christmas, the costumes of Halloween, or the fireworks of the 4th of July.  But what it does have is something more meaningful and more applicable within our daily lives. In Lent, we have the true and whole understanding of our own salvation.  How it comes from Jesus Christ and is a full and complete gift given to us. In the season of Lent, we hear of the events in which Christ suffered for our sake.  We are reminded of our created self, our need for God, and our very mortality. How one day, a day in the future, a day when we will no longer walk this earth. Now is the time to think about what it is. we are truly doing with our lives. What are we teaching our children, grandchildren, and others around us in this community?  Who are we and what have we been given? Now, I am not telling you to do this through the whole season of Lent, but take some time to think about yourself, your life, and those ...

Tonight is the third most important night within the Christian faith.  Tonight we celebrate, we gather together, and we welcome family and friends to be a part of it all. We wouldn’t be the church, we wouldn’t be called Christians without this night.  For some of you, you were hauled here so that you can enjoy the festivities later.  Some of you have been gone to school for so long that you are so glad to have a home cooked meal and not have to stare at a computer screen to write another paper.  Perhaps even some of you have been coming here for years and it is just part of the traditions.  Good, that’s important; but what’s even more important is why this is part of your traditions. Yes, more important than the gifts, the tree, the food, and all of those things is this event that we hear about.  Why?  Because without this event, without this child, without God’s love, none of those things would have happened.  Now for some of you this may come as...