Everyday Lutherans

There are many conversations and understandings that relate to the Lord's Supper.  Even at the time in which Jesus was sharing the meal with the disciples, they did not fully understand what Jesus was doing and what it all meant.  Truly the meal that they were gathered was a Jewish Seder, a meal that helps the Jewish people remember and be within the history that God saved them from their time in Egypt from slavery and led them to the promised land.  The people wanted to remember the vast power and strength that God displayed to the Jewish people and the Egyptian people. It was this meal that Jesus was celebrating with his disciples.  Yet as Jesus was leading them in this meal of remembrance, when it came to certain parts, he changed the meanings.   When Jesus spoke of the unleavened bread, the bread that was prepared hurriedly to sustain the Jewish people on their journey from Egypt without yeast that would normally cause bread to rise.  Jesus said: "This ...

For some people, Baptism was something that happened when they were an infant.  They do not remember it.  They do not understand what was happening.  For others, they remember the day and event as it was something that they had a part in. Within Baptism, water is used upon the person's body.  Water is one of the most abundant resources upon the Earth and it is something that is vital to our very life.  With this resource that you use within your daily life, God combines God's own Word.  Then God commands us to share and give this gift. In Baptism, God calls us by name to be God's very own child.  As a beloved child of God, you are given forgiveness of sins, delivered from death and the devil, and everlasting salvation to all who believe in this promise of God.   It is not water that does this but God's promise and work on the cross that delivers all that is promised for you directly to you. You do not need to remember the day that the way was plac...

I had a conversation with someone the other day and something really stuck out. "People just need to commit to the church and choose to follow Jesus."  The conversation continued and the person was longing for a church that was only within their mind.  Longing for more people to follow the message of Jesus Christ and the life that he has given to them.  This person hoped and longed for more to gather with them. The person had watched movies about what the church should be, important practices, along with studies that were published online by Biblical teachers that had their own TV show.  These teachings, movies and voices, are loud within the society, the people who cling to it are willing to put money, energy and passion behind it.   As a church leader, I have heard a lot of this, it seems that this understanding of God and the church resonates well with the people.  It makes sense, it is clear, and it explains a lot about this world.  Yet I wonder, j...