Welcome Victoria Garcia!
January 30, 2008 | 1 Comment
Victoria Garcia was born on January 27th at 9:20 a.m. and weighed 8 lbs and 7 oz. She is very beautiful and most of all healthy. Congratulations to Cynthia and Lorenzo on their little angel. If you would like to help by providing meals to the Garcia’s, please contact Brandi.
Spaghetti Dinner 2008
January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
We had a great time at the annual Spaghetti Dinner and Cake Auction supporting the youth group in their quest for Winterfest. Good food, good cakes, but most of great fellowship. Thanks to Trinity Lutheran for allowing us to use their facility. Check out the videos below.
Reality Bites
January 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
There once was a golfer who was experiencing a terrible slump. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to get his game back. He put in extra time at the driving range; he tried golf lessons. Nothing worked. Finally he heard about a psychiatrist in town who specialized in treating golfers and, thinking he had nothing else to lose, he made an appointment.
At his first visit, the psychiatrist made a radical suggestion. “I want you to go play a round of golf this weekend,” he said. “But this time I want you to use an imaginary ball. And I want you to see yourself returning to form. I want you to play one of the best games you’ve ever played, only do so in your mind.”
The golfer was desperate enough, so he determined to give it a try the next time he hit the links. It went splendidly. By the time he reached the 18th hole, he was 2 under par and headed for his best round ever. As luck would have it, the player in front of him was also playing without a ball. Turns out he had also gone to see the same psychiatrist. Since both of them were “playing” well, they agreed to play their final hole together and place a friendly wager on it.
The first golfer swung at his imaginary ball and announced that it had gone 280 yards right down the middle of the fairway. The second golfer matched his drive. The first fellow then took out his 5-iron and after swinging at his imaginary ball, he exclaimed, "Look at that shot! It went right over the pin and the reverse spin on it brought it right back into the hole! I win." "No you don’t," said the second golfer. "You hit my ball."
What’s the moral of the story? It’s much easier to live by your own rules if you don’t have to face reality.
This morning we’re going hear the story of a man who’s convinced he has all the answers until he is confronted by reality. More precisely, he’s confronted by the real Jesus. And in a strange twist, this is the only instance we know of when a man is struck blind by Jesus. But then again, this all happens so that he can regain his sight later on. It all happens so that he can say the same thing as the man in our theme verse: “…One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
My prayer for you today is not that you be struck blind, but that you encounter a living and very real Jesus Christ.
Stay Close
January 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
- Let all the study of our heart be from now on to have our meditation fixed wholly on the life of Christ…
- How great a vanity it also is to desire a long life and to care little for a good life…
- Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.
–Thomas à Kempis,
The Imitation of Christ
Some time, in the late 1300’s a young German named Thomas Haemerken, the son of a blacksmith, joined a religious group devoted to a simple proposition. They were “simply determined as nearly as possible to live their lives in imitation of the lives of the early Christians.” This group called themselves the “Brothers of the Common Life.” They did not ask for alms. Instead, they sought occupations in order to feed themselves. They were critical of the lavish lifestyle of the clergy of their day. They were dedicated to learning and teaching others about the way of Christ.
All of this happened during a time of great turbulence. Europe was steeped in various conflicts between church and state. Rulers of different countries across the continent vied with the popes of the 12th and 13th centuries for power. In the midst of this, the Brothers of the Common Life called for a return to a simple life of learning and devotion. They sought to abandon quests for power and riches in exchange for a simple Christian life.
On of the byproducts of that quest is The Imitation of Christ one of the most widely read pieces of devotional literature ever written. It has been published numerous times and in countless languages. It features the statements quoted above.
My question for this morning is this: What would happen if we were to follow in à Kempis’ footsteps? What would happen if we were to renew our devotion to following and imitating Christ, even if just for 2008? What would we discover about ourselves? What would we change about ourselves in an effort to be more like Him? How would our priorities change? What would we be passionate about? What things would this congregation start doing? What things might we decide to stop?
I don’t know the answer to any of those questions. But if we are going to Change Lives Through Jesus, I can’t think of a better way to start the year than by renewing our commitments as followers of Jesus. This morning begins that renewal. For the next few months we are going to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We will watch and learn. Who knows how we will be changed. It is our job only to be his followers.
Challenge Sunday
January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
How about a little word trivia to get your day started? (Cause I’m sure you woke up this morning worrying that you might not be getting your Recommended Daily Allowance.)
Have you ever heard someone say that they are going to “throw down the gauntlet?â€Â It’s an expression meaning “to issue a challenge.â€Â Do you know where it comes from? According to my friends at Wikipedia, gauntlets are gloves that extend past the wrist and cover some or all of the forearm. These days they are decorational rather functional. But they were created to protect a person’s hand and arms during hand to hand combat. They were constructed of various materials—leather, chain mail, or even armor.
A knight who wished to challenge someone to a duel would take one of his gauntlets and throw it to the ground before his opponent. If his rival wished to accept the challenge, he would pick it up.
This is not to be confused with “running the gantlet/gauntlet.â€Â (The spellings are so prominently interchangeable, either is now acceptable.) Running the gantlet refers to a form of execution practiced by various cultures throughout history, including the Roman legions and Iroquois Indians. People armed with sticks and clubs form two lines facing each other. The convicted person is then forced to walk the “alley†between the lines, receiving blows from those on either side.
Finally, there’s the expression “kid gloves.†Here it is in a sentence: “Due to his fragile state, we’re treating him with kid gloves.â€Â Kid gloves are ultra soft gloves made from lamb skin or the skin of a baby goat, or kid. To treat someone with kid gloves is to go out of your way to be gentle with them.
So what does all of this have to do with today’s activities? Today is Challenge Sunday, the day where we introduce our theme for the year in some detail. One of our elders, Mike Roman, and I will be sharing our hopes for this year as it pertains to our theme: “Changing Lives Through Jesus.â€
So here’s my promise to you: Today, Mike and I are going to throw down the gauntlet. We are going to be challenging you in 2008 to allow your lives to be changed for the better by Jesus Christ. This challenge is not to be taking lightly. We will not be treating you with kid gloves. At the same time, we have confidence in you. What we’re asking is not impossible. We are not asking you to run the gauntlet. I hope you are as excited as I am about being transformed more into the type of person God is calling you to be.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a nap. All of those verbal gymnastics wore me out.
One Thing I Do Know
January 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Welcome to 2008!
I’ve pointed this out before, and I’ll surely point it out again. The vast majority of scripture is what you and I would call narrative, or “story.†There’s Genesis, with its story about the lives of the patriarchs and there’s Exodus’ story of the escape from Egypt and journey to the promised land. Then there are the stories of the Judges. (As a child, I discovered that they were good to have around whenever the sermon was boring.) There are also the stories of the Kingdom of Israel. There are the stories of the exile and return in books like Nehemiah. There are the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels. They are the story of Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection. Finally, there are the Acts of the early church.
So what should we make of this fact? How shall we interpret the fact that God has chosen “story†to communicate so much to us? My guess is that he knows how compelling a good story can be. Stories keep our attention in a way that essays rarely do. We find ourselves being concerned by what’s happening to the people. We are made nervous by the conflict. We experience fear or sadness. We are relieved when there is some sort of resolution. I get emotionally involved in a story. All this year, you will be hearing about our theme, “Changing Lives Through Jesus.†I plan on having a lot to say about that. After all, it’s not just our theme for the year, it’s also the professed mission of this church. There is a great deal of scripture describing how one’s life may be changed by Jesus.
But one of the things I plan frequently to do is tell stories. Mainly because there are so many great stories in which someone meets Jesus and comes away changed. In scripture, people who meet Jesus are not the same when they walk away. Here’s another thing I want. I want to be hearing your stories. How has Jesus changed your life? As we’ll see from the story we’re going to hear this morning, the proof for Jesus is in the proverbial pudding. We can sit around and debate Christian evidences all day long—trying to prove God through philosophy. But, for proof of God’s power, the best place to look is not in a philosophy book but in the stories of those whom he has changed. This will be important for us. Before we can expect to change any one else’s life, we have to recognize how our own life has been changed by Jesus. That’s a crucial step. I hope that you’ll begin to work through your own story—a story that is unfolding even as you sit there.
Today you will here from one man who was changed by Jesus. A man who, when asked about Jesus’ identity replied this way: “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.â€
Childhood of Jesus
January 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’ve got another entry brewing–one about loss of faith. But it’s not there yet. In the meantime, let me take up Daisy’s questions about the childhood of Jesus from her comments on the 12/14 entry. Here’s a sampling of her comment: …for some reason in my mind it seems like Jesus’ birth makes a few waves maybe only ripples, and then the news of the birth of a King just fades away until he begins his ministry as an adult. I know about the story of Jesus as a boy wandering off to preach while his mother was looking for him, but not much else…Did people forget about his birth (even if they didn’t believe), or did they not know about it? Did Mary and Joseph tell everyone that their baby was a miracle?…It just seems so strange to me because we people have big gossipy mouths. Wouldn’t the story of Jesus (a baby King) grow and spread faster than he was actually able to literally grow up and prove it? So what Daisy seems to be asking is a question which has no-doubt been on the minds of so many Christians throughout the centuries. What happened to Jesus’ childhood? Why the gap? You’d think someone would be keeping up with things. After all, he’s the Messiah! Don’t they know how to keep up with their celebrity children like we do? Suri Cruise should be so lucky. (Wait. Did I just compare Katie Holmes to Mary? I think I’m going to have to come forward on Sunday.) Well. The truth is that we just don’t know. All we have from the canonical gospels is the story from Luke 2 to which Daisy alludes. Other than that there is nothing reputable. There are some pretty fanciful stories in later works (100 yrs. or more), but no one takes them very seriously. So, why the silence? I can think of a few possibilities.
- The stories were written but lost before the formation of the New Testament.
- No one wrote anything down. If they did exist, these stories didn’t “make the cut.” The only people who could have told such stories by the time Jesus was an adult would have been Jesus’ family: Mary, James, John the Baptist, etc. The only other people who had even a glimpse of his identity are the shepherds (If they talked who was going to listen?), the magi (They disappear to the foreign lands from whence they came), and a couple of old hermits living in the temple precincts. If those stories ever existed in written or oral form, the Gospel writers either never received them or chose not to use them.
- Jesus and his family preferred to maintain anonymity. Messianic claims were a dangerous thing to make. In her fictional account of Jesus’ childhood, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, Anne Rice does an admirable job of developing this idea. In fact, she surmises that Jesus himself doesn’t even get it yet. There are these vague hints at something terrible happening in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16ff), but no one ever wants to talk about it. Only at the end of the book does he begin to get a glimpse of his true identity. This theory could also have some scriptural underpinnings. It’s clear in the Gospels that Jesus is not in a hurry to reveal his identity as the Messiah. He initially balks at his mother’s request to do something about the depleted wine supplies at the wedding in Cana. Over and over again, especially in Mark, he tells demons and disciples not to reveal who he is. You’ll see this referred to from time to time as “the Messianic secret.”
So which one is it? This is PURELY speculation, but I think I like some combination of all three leaning heavily upon the third option. Until his crucifixion, Jesus was never a “storm the gates” kind of Messiah. And even then, it wasn’t the gates of Jerusalem, it was the gates of Hell. It seems to fit that Jesus preferred to maintain a low profile. (That would be a great title for a sermon.) He hung out with the “least of these”, he served, he prayed in solitude…You get the point. So that’s my 2 cents. What do you think? Got any other ideas? Coming up Next: “Faith vs. Doubt?”