Baptized Into Christ

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"  (Luke 2:8-14) As a child and in my years as a pastor, I have always heard this account through the lens of the shepherds.  Probably because I can readily relate to the shepherds as one in need of a savior and who rejoices as the announcement of th...

Below is what I wrote for the church newsletter some 6 years ago after we lost a child, Joel, to miscarriage. Maybe it can be of some comfort to others who are enduring or have endured such a tragedy. “ Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21) What a blessing the people of God are!  We have been surrounded with love and support, lifted up in prayer, and embraced with loving arms during this difficult time.  You are likely aware by now that while on vacation, Christine and I lost our unborn baby.  While the tragedy of a miscarriage is terribly difficult, we give thanks to God for the loving, supportive, and prayerful people of God during this time.  We truly appreciate the cards, phone calls, hugs, tears, meals, and everything else that you have given to us during this time. We have lost a member of our family.  Though unborn, our baby...

In my previous post I shared what the Bible says Jesus saves us from.  But Jesus doesn't just save us  from those things, He also saves  for  a purpose. For what does Jesus save us? Jesus saves you for self-sacrificial love and humble service to others. (Philippians 2:3-13) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of wife. (Colossians 3:18) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of husband. (Colossians 3:19) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of child. (Colossians 3:20) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of parent. (Colossians 3:21) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of worker. (Colossians 3:22) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of employer. (Colossians 3:23) Jesus saves you for praying and praising God together with other Christians. (Colossians 3:16) Jesus saves you for doing the good works He has prepared for you. (Ephesians 2:10) Jesus saves you for the resurrection from death to life eve...

Often Christians speak of being "saved."  This is good, proper, and Biblical language, however it begs the question: saved from what? Well the Bible tells us the answer to that and it is helpful for us to know the answer because when we do, we will love Jesus more and have a deeper appreciation for what He has done for us. Jesus saves us from the eternal fire of hell. (Matthew 18:8-9). Jesus saves us from eternal separation from God. (Matthew 25:41) Jesus saves us from eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:46) Jesus saves us from suffering while knowing that others are enjoying the joys of heaven. (Luke 13:28) Jesus saves us from eternal destruction. (2 Thessalonians 1:9) Note that "destruction" here doesn't mean that those in hell are destroyed and cease to exist.  Think of it as more in terms of the opposite of construction.  They will be in eternal ruin.  Jesus saves us from a hell that is relentless in its agony.  (Mark 9:48) These are some of the et...

There was once a little branch.  The little branch had been a branch for as long as it could remember.  Day after day the little branch produced fruit that fed people.  Day after day the little branch, being fed by the vine to which it was connected, remained strong and healthy and was able to produce an abundance of fruit.  Day after day the fruit produced fed hungry people. “Isn’t it great that we are able to help people by the fruit that we produce?” an old, big branch said to the little branch.  “It is so wonderful,” the big branch continued “that the vine feeds us and because the vine feeds us we can feed others.” But the little branch wasn’t so sure.  “What do you mean, it’s great?  We’re wasting our time here connected to this vine.  We are the ones producing fruit after all!  That vine is just holding us back!  I don’t need the vine to produce fruit!  Besides, I don’t see your fruit!” The little branch, being...

"Where are you God?" It's a question that has been asked and prayed countless times in the history of humanity.  It's a question we ask when things are bad.  It's a question we ask when we are struggling. "Where are you?" It's a question that has been the starting point for so many people in their "search for God."  Countless attempts have been made to "find" God through meditation, fasting, prayer, pilgrimages, and hard work. But humans were not the first to speak this question; God was.  The very first words spoken by God (actually one word איכה in Hebrew) spoken by God after the fall into sin was not a word of judgment, but a calling to Adam and Eve to return to Him. "Where are you?" God asked Adam and Eve.  Of course God knew where they were.  They question wasn't asked for His benefit, but for theirs.  He was calling them back to Him, even in their guilt.  They had sinned against Him and because of the...

Below is what I wrote for our March 2015 newsletter. “Love Must Be Tough” is the title of a book by Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family.  In his book, Dobson writes concerning marriage and the difficulties of marriage. Isn’t it interesting that it is tough to love the person you chose to be with and to whom you chose to commit yourself?  It isn’t as if you were randomly assigned a spouse.  You chose your spouse!   Yet, love must be tough, because even in this relationship in which we voluntarily choose to commit to loving another person, we struggle to love them. That “love must be tough” is shown in our families as well.  As parents age and their children have to make decisions regarding their care, it is tough for both parents and children.  Yet, children care for parents in spite of how tough it is. If love is tough in a marriage and if love is tough if a family, how much tougher will it be for us in the church? ...

I wrote this for the newsletter a few years back and recently came across it while in search of another article. I thought I'd share it here too. It is from May 2009. This past week I decided that it was time to do something about the dandelions.  I wasn't very concerned about the ones in the yard, but the ones in the nicely designed area with beautiful flowers surrounded by wood chips were really starting to bother me.  So I got some weed killer and sprayed them. I think I made them mad, because after a few days they hadn't died, but instead had multiplied!  I have to wonder, was it really herbicide or was it fertilizer that I sprayed on the weeds? So it was time to remove them the old fashioned way.  I got out the dandelion removal tool and got to work.  Pretty soon Timmy came along and asked what I was doing. "Pulling weeds," I responded. Timmy looked puzzled.  "Those aren't weeds, those are mommy flowers."  And to Timmy, they are mommy ...

At that moment, the overcoat lying on the chair caught the eye of the elder Jondrette girl.  "You are forgetting your coat, sir," said she.  Jondrette darted an annihilating look at his daughter, accompanied by a formidable shrug of the shoulders.  M. Leblanc turned back and said, with a smile:— "I have not forgotten it, I am leaving it." In this scene from the famous book "Les  Misérables," Jondrette is trying to exploit M. Leblanc (a.k.a. Jean Valjean).  It's clear from earlier sections that Jondrette has no interest in working for a living and that he resents those who have wealth.  Jondrette had purposely broke a chair and had his daughter break a window in order for his family to appear even more impoverished than they really were (he rejoiced when his daughter cut her hand in the process of breaking the window because it made them seem all the worse off). Leblanc (Valjean) might know that he's being exploited or he might not.  ...

Victor Hugo's masterpiece,  "Les Misérables" contains many insights on the human condition.  In these two paragraphs, a daughter in an impoverished household complains about having to wear shoes when she enters the church (and in this case she had entered the church with the sole purpose of seeking to exploit a wealthy man who was regularly there to worship). "A clever girl, possibly; but I tell you I won't put these shoes on again, and that I won't, for the sake of my health, in the first place, and for the sake of cleanliness, in the next. I don't know anything more irritating than shoes that squelch, and go ghi, ghi, ghi, the whole time. I prefer to go barefoot." "You are right," said her father, in a sweet tone which contrasted with the young girl's rudeness, "but then, you will not be allowed to enter churches, for poor people must have shoes to do that. One cannot go barefoot to the good God," he added bitterly. ...

We all love the chance to relive our childhood.  That's why products that came out when I was a child have been brought back, movies have been made based on old TV shows, and stores called " Nostalgiaville " exist. Kenny Chesney has a cheesy song intended to play upon nostalgic notions, but he's not the first as the Statler Brothers have made a killing off of playing on the romantic notions of one's childhood. The church also likes to dwell on nostalgic notions of the past.  "Remember how great things were back then?" But the thing is...nostalgia can be dangerous for the church. Romantic longings for the past keep us from looking to the future.  Longing for things to be how they used to be keeps the church from evaluating its present situation and taking the appropriate actions based upon the present, rather than the past. Now, don't get me wrong, I love to listen to the stories of the past.  The past is very important.  We just can't liv...

Continuing with the Princess Bride theme... Inigo Montoya: "We need a miracle, it's very important." Miracle Max: "Look, I'm retired. And besides, why would you want someone the king's stinking son fired. I might kill whoever you wanted me to miracle." Inigo Montoya: "He's already dead." Miracle Max: "He is huh, I'll take a look, come on in." Yesterday I wrote about how Scripture tells us that we are not "mostly dead," but by nature we are entirely spiritually dead.  It's important to understand this, because until we understand our absolute helplessness, we will continue to try to make things right with God by our own efforts. But when we realize that we are truly dead, that we are helpless, God has us exactly where He wants us. It is for the helpless, the dead in sin, that Jesus came. But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and l...

Inigo Montoya: "He's dead. He can't talk." Miracle Max: "Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do." Mostly dead, but not all dead. Such is the way in which many churches and pastors view the fallen nature of humanity.  We're born "mostly dead," but not all the way dead.  Many believe that there is a "divine spark" that still exists within humanity.  The Hollywood version of this is Darth Vader having a spark of good still within him that allowed him to turn from "the dark side." Sorry Miracle Max, but when it comes to humanity, mostly dead is a lie. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Psalm 51:5) And you were dead in the trespa...

The other day, in confirmation class, we were talking about Luke 18:9-14.  The book we were using referred to the Pharisee and the publican, but also noted that "publican" could also be translated as"tax collector."  One of my students didn't pay close enough attention and was referring to the Pharisee and the Republican. Insert your political punchline here if you'd like... We had an interesting conversation about this parable and the difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee believed that he deserved God's blessings because he had earned them while the tax collector knew that he was desperately sinful and only God's mercy could help him. The Pharisee was very happy with himself while the tax collector was in angst because of his sin. We talked about what word of God the Pharisee needed to hear and what the tax collector needed to hear. The Pharisee needed to hear God's law, to reveal his true unrighteousne...

Many people imagine the Christian life as similar to a child on a swing.  When you are young you need the help of dad, a push, in order to swing.  However as a child learns to pump his or her legs and swing without the push, so the mature Christian becomes stronger and stronger and less dependent upon God. The swing analogy is not Biblical. Rather, the Christian life is much more as if each Christian is a top that is dependent upon God to spin.  The top cannot spin itself, it is dependent upon someone to spin it.  To mature as a Christian is not to learn to become stronger and less dependent upon God, rather it is to recognize your weakness and utter dependance upon Christ for all things.  You never become strong enough to be self reliant, rather you become less and less self reliant and more and more Christ reliant.

Below is my newest newsletter article for April 2013. Jesus sinners doth receive. That’s been our hymn of the month and it’s the message of lent, the message of Holy Week, the message of the Cross, and the message of the church.   It’s been said before and it is worth repeating, if sinners weren’t allowed in Christ’s church, it would be empty.   The church is there for sinners. Consider those surrounding Jesus at the Last Supper; John, the beloved disciple, who wanted the place of power, authority, and glory in Jesus kingdom because he had desired personal glorification.   Thomas, who doubted the words of Jesus that He would rise from the dead, even after the other disciples told him that they had seen the resurrected Jesus.   Peter, who denied Jesus three times. And yet Jesus got down on His hands and knees to wash the feet of these sinners. Consider the thief on the cross, who knew that he deserved to die for his sins.   There was no do...

It's been an ongoing phenomenon for years, the exercise gadget that is aimed at addressing one area of your body; The Thighmaster , the Ab Roller , and the list could go on.  These products promise results on a particular area of your body.  Thinner thighs, tigher abs, etc. The problem with this targeted approach is...it doesn't really work.  If you want six pack abs, you're going to have to eat a lean protein, lower calorie diet and exercise the other areas of your body to burn calories too.  If you want thinner thighs, you're going to have to ditch the doughnuts and hit the treadmill. Overall changes, exercising your entire body, changing what you are fueling your body with, those are the only ways to have the desired results; a targeted area without the changes simply won't produce the results. Its much the same in the church.  Take evangelism for example; If we want to have a congregation that is active in evangelism, we can't just focus on evangelism, b...

It was brought to my attention by some of my members that on Sunday a local pastor whose sermons are broadcast on the radio made the claim that Lutherans must be cannibals because we believe that in the Lord's Supper a person actually receives the body and blood of Jesus. So, is it true? Nope. We do believe, teach, and confess that in the Lord's Supper we truly receive the body and blood of Jesus.  However our confessions (confessions are statements of what we confess to be true) absolutely reject what this pastor was accusing us of. The funny thing is, this is hardly the first time that someone has accused Christians of cannibalism, but it used to always be from outside of the church that the charge came.  In the early days of Christianity it was common for Christians to be accused of cannibalism and of sexual deviancy.. It was apparently common knowledge that Christians drank wine when they met together, and that men kissed men and women kissed women in their gatherin...

Boaz. Yep, we've gotten some looks of "Where in the world did you come up with than name?" and plenty of people saying, "Oh...that's an interesting name." Where did the name come from?  Well the Bible of course. From the book of Ruth to be specific.  If you aren't familiar with the story I'd suggest that you go and read the book of Ruth, it won't take long.  But I'll give you a short rundown of what occurs. The account begins with Elimelech and his wife Naomi, who had moved to Moab while Israel was in the midst of a drought.  While they are there, their sons Mahlon and Chilion take Moabite wives; Mahlon marries Ruth and Chilion marries Orpah. Then tragedy strikes; Naomi's husband Elimelech dies. Then both of her sons die.  So Naomi was left without her husband and sons, living in a foreign land, with only her daughters in law with her.  And remember that at this time women weren't able to work as they do now, they had few r...