Author: The Pastor

Encountering a miracle

/ The Pastor

In John chapter 6 a miracle takes place…

…Jesus feeds 5000 men with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.

After everyone ate, people realized that something amazing happened, but didn’t truly know what happened (they wanted to forcibly make Jesus their king).

During Holy Communion do we truly pay attention to what is taking place or do we see Holy Communion only as some ritual that happens once/twice a month (or however often)?

Do we comprehend that a miracle take place?

Do we truly understand that we are getting a tangible, physical reminder that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins (The Body of Christ broken FOR YOU…The Blood of Christ shed FOR YOU)?

Or do we simple walk up front during worship to receive some bread/stale wafer and some wine/grape juice and feel that we have done what we are supposed to do on this particular Sunday of the month.

In Holy Communion a miracle happens.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

Sermon prep on a busy Thursday

/ The Pastor

Today is Thursday…

…and that means sermon prep.  But being that it is July 23 it also means day #4 of VBS…AND…wedding prep day (I have a wedding on Saturday for a couple of friends).  All in all…it will be a busy day (with any luck I will also get my lawn mowed).

In any case…back to sermon prep.  The text I am preaching on is from John 6:1-21.  This is John’s account of the Feeding of the 5000 with Jesus walking on the water to boot.  It’s almost a 2 fer today.

My plan right now is to start things out with a prayer (like I usually do) but this time I am going to use the second lesson text (which is a prayer for the Ephesians — Eph. 3:14-21).  I am going to change some “yous” to “we” and use it for us…here and now.  I thought that sounded like good way to start.  It talks about being strengthened by the Holy Spirit; being rooted and established in love; that we may know Christ; but in the end all glory and honor to God forever and ever, Amen.

Now on to the Gospel text…

…here I don’t really know where I am going yet, but that’s what the Holy Spirit is for.  With everything going on today I am trying not to get too nervous.  Normally I would leave my office at 11am and head to Coffee Choices to eat and write, but with VBS today I can’t leave here until after 12noon (that will throw off the routine).  To the naked, untrained eye this may not seem like a big deal, but routines (for some) are important.  And when I get thrown from mine I often need to focus a little harder to stay on track.

<There I go again…off track…I am supposed to be talking about John 6>

Anyway…here are some initial thoughts about John 6:1-21:
(1) A foretaste of the Feast to come.
(2) When we are “hungry” Jesus WILL feed us.
(3) Jesus can do much with what we consider little.
(4) With Jesus in our life, we will have more than enough.
(5) A defense of youth ministry — a small boy was encouraged to contribute and 5000+ people were fed.

These sound like small tag lines but sermons often start with thoughts such as these.

What do you hear in this text?

In your particular place in your life, how does this text “feed” you?

God bless you today and always.  Praise be to God!

-edh-

Crocs on the loose

/ The Pastor
Crocodile Dock is this year's VBS program

Crocodile Dock is this year's VBS program

Coming on in...

Coming on in...

If you're not a preschooler, watch your head.

If you're not a preschooler, watch your head.

The education crews of Salem Lutheran Church and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church explored a number of different options for VBS this year and finally settled on Group’s Crocodile Dock.  So far I am very happy with how everything is going.  Our volunteers/leaders are doing a great job.  We have 35 pre-school kids from various churches in town and they seem to be having a great time.

I get to lead the Bible story station which has been fun for me.  I normally don’t get a whole lot of time with this age group.  The kids are divided up into five groups so I get about 15 minutes with each group of 6 or so.

Well…I hear voices downstairs so I am off for day #3.  More about VBS later on.

Take care and God bless!

-edh-

“New” blogs and websites

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

O.K…they’re not really new sites but they are fairly new to me…in any case…

…I thought I would highlight a couple recent additions to my blogroll and my favorite website section on the right side panel of this blog.

First my blog roll:
(1) Angry Lutherans is an interesting site I came across through a new website I will mention in a bit.  It is worth your time to check out.

(2) Augsburg Fortress: One Mission Blog obviously is the blog for Augsburg Fortress.  This is a great way to read about new publications coming out or things going on in connection with Augsburg Fortress.

Favorite websites:
(1) Lutheran Central is a website I stumbled upon through someone else.  It is a site that has a bunch of Lutheran information, resources and links.  They are currently updating some links but what they do have is neat.  My blog is also featured on Lutheran Central (hence part of my motivation to return the favor here).

(2) Working Preacher is a great sermon prep resource.  Each week there is an in depth write up about each of the lectionary texts.  There are also various other preaching resources and even a discussion board to chat about the upcoming texts.  I have found this sight to be very helpful in my sermon prep during the week.  Even if you are not writing a sermon you can still find some helpful insights into scripture.

I hope you find these useful/interesting.

God bless.

-edh-

P.S.  It is VBS week here so hence my relative lack of posting anything recently.  I am checking back to see if any comments need to be responded to though.  Hopefully I will have a “meatier” post coming up soon about the Sunday texts and maybe even some thoughts/highlights from VBS.  So I will catch ya later.

VBS

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

VBS (Vacation Bible School) is almost upon us here at Salem Lutheran Church.  Our coordinator has been hard at work for a few weeks now.   It is fun to see her excitement and energy as July 20 fast approaches.  And if you want evidence of Emily’s excitement just walk through the lower level of Salem and see the decorations…it looks like a swamp…very fun.  Right now we have 30 pre-school kids registered with more expected to just show up on Monday morning.  I am in charge of the Bible story each day which I am looking forward to with much excitement.

In the afternoons we have a VBS style program (or daycamp) going on for our K – 6 graders with Shetek Lutheran Ministries.  Salem is hosting the pre-school VBS and our ELCA neighbors down the street is hosting the daycamp program.  Daycamp has about 55 kids registered. All in all it is going to be a fun week.

My dream and goal for next year is to get most if not all the churches together in Jackson to put on a VBS program together.  There is so much we can do if we combine our resources, gifts and talents together without having to re-create the wheel (which we seem to be doing this year).  Salem, Our Savior’s and Belmont Lutheran Churches are together this year but I envision a much greater ecumenical partnership in 2010.

So here’s to VBS:  lots of energetic pre-schoolers…cool aid…games outside…crafts…singing…Bible stories…and hopefully some seeds planted.  Thank you to our volunteers, parents, and congregations for your support, time and committment.

So here’s to VBS and the Holy Spirit working in the lives of our kids.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

Sheep and THE Shepherd

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

The Gospel text for Sunday seems like a piece meal deal that cuts out a major story (The Feeding of the 5000).  But before we get too excited, the Feeding of the 5000 account is picked up next week when we begin a 6 week stretch in the Gospel of John.  This stretch in John starts with the feeding story and then a series or texts that talk about Jesus as the Bread of Life.  We will deal with that more in the coming weeks…but back to sheep and the Shepherd.

This Sunday, Jeremiah mentions the shepherds who have scattered God’s sheep and God’s response to their irresponsibility.  The Psalm is Psalm 23…”The Lord is my shepherd…“.  The second lesson is from Ephesians 2.  It doesn’t talk about sheep and shepherds specifically, but some correlations can be drawn.  The key verse that jumps out to me here is 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone.”  And then the Mark text from chapter 6 has people flocking to Jesus.  And even though he and the disciples are trying to get some R & R, Jesus has compassion on the people “because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things.”  Lots to deal with here.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I still haven’t totally figured out what I am preaching on yet (actually I should say that the Holy Spirit hasn’t revealed it to me yet).  But here are some thoughts I am pondering (at least until further notice):

(1) “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” (Jer. 23:1)
–As people who know the truth of God through Jesus Christ, we have an amazing responsibility.
–God WILL bring all his sheep back under one righteous King (referring to Jesus).
–God has a heart for “sheep”.

(2) Psalm 23…”and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  Picking up where Jeremiah left off.

(3) Ephesians…God’s gift of salvation is for ALL people through Jesus Christ.

(4) As “sheep” we all need a shepherd.  But as we see from Jeremiah, we need to be aware of what shepherd we are following.  There is only one GOOD Shepherd.

Those are just a few things I am pondering and I am sure others will pop up today.  So with that I ask you:
What preachable moments are you seeing in the texts?
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23
Ephesians 2:11-22
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

As a lay person sitting in the pew (and I know there are a number of you out there reading this…and many who are here in Jackson) what do you need to hear…right now…in this place?

What does it mean for you to be considered “sheep” and that Jesus is our “Shepherd”?

Until next time, happy scripture reading and have a blessed “sheepish” day following our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

“Sheepish” scripture and Holy Spirit inspiration

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

This Sunday (Pentecost 7) we have some sheep and shepherd talk…and I like it.  It is a far cry from last week where we had Amos talking about God’s plumb line and Mark talking about John the Baptist being beheaded.  Not that we are to shy away from the difficult texts, but it is always fun to deal with ones that are…and I don’t want to say “easy”…but rather fun, descriptive, memorable (like Psalm 23), and other adjectives that just are not coming off my tongue right now.  I don’t know what I am preaching on yet but I am sure something will inspire me.

<on that note…about being inspired>

I want to share with you what happened to me last Thursday.

I usually come to my office on Thursday morning with some idea on what scripture I am using in the sermon and with some idea on the direction I will be heading.  Last Thursday I was clueless.  I had no idea what scripture to preach on and had no idea on even a focus statement.  Those are Thursdays that make me a little nervous (“O you of little faith”).  So I went up to the sanctuary (as is my custom on Thursday mornings) to read the scripture and talk through some ideas.  And before I knew it I had the scripture and focus statement.  I ran up to my office and started typing.  By the time I was ready to leave for Coffee Choices to have lunch and write the sermon (as is my custom on Thursdays) the sermon was done.  The Holy Spirit got a hold of my fingers and went to work.  It was quite a sight to behold…and a lot of fun.

“O you of little faith”

That was the phrase I kept hearing.  And I should know better because this is not the first time this has happened.  It just goes to further remind me that the sermon that is preached on Sunday does not belong to the preacher, but to God.  I try to refrain from saying “my sermon” and try to use the phrases like “the sermon” or “God’s message” etc.  To get into a “zone” like I did on Thursday is such a humbling thing.  It also further reminds me of part of the prayer I pray each Thursday morning (an excerpt and paraphrase of Luther’s sacristy prayer), “I am not a good writer, speaker or preacher and if this was left up to me I would surely bring it all to ruin”.  Amen to that.

So with all that in mind I am off to prepare for Sunday or rather…listen for God’s direction.  Maybe I should start with God being my shepherd and me following like a little sheep.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

More reading — Missional Congregations

/ The Pastor / 9 Comments

I started reading a new book today (I often have a couple I am working on at the same time).  This book is called, “A Field Guide for the Missional Congregation” by Rick Rouse and Craig Van Gelder.  It is an Augsburg Fortress selection that was recommended to me.

I am just getting into this book but I wanted to share something with you that has already struck me and got me thinking.  Here’s a short excerpt:

The premise of this book is that becoming an effective witness to the gospel in today’s world — becoming a missional congregation — requires us to revision the way we ARE the church in order to more faithful DO church.  Consider the following shifts in an understanding of what the church is and does.

FROM:                               TO:
Maintenance                  Mission
Membership                   Discipleship
Pastor-centered           Lay-empowered
Chaplaincy (Self)         Hospitality (Others)
Focus on ourselves     Focus on the world
Settled                              Sent

That above list got me thinking about my own setting and context.  Are we a missional congregation or are we satisfied with the status quo?  Are we inward focused or outward focused?  Or consider this question:  If this congregation ceased to exist, would the community miss us?

More from this book later.

-edh-

Missed opportunity?

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I can’t help but think that there was a missed opportunity yesterday.

Millions of people across this vast globe watched the Michael Jackson memorial service on TV and a few select people were able to be there in person.  I for one did not watch, but saw and heard a number of sound bites no matter the station I was watching (even ESPN had a couple sound bites).  Now…I don’t want to generalize this memorial service but I can’t help but think that it was probably no different than any other celebrity’s memorial service.

What was the missed opportunity?

Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his (Jesus) blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”

Imagine if that verse were read at the memorial service (or one like it).  Imagine if the Gospel were preached in all it’s purity.  Imagine if people across the globe got a chance to hear celebrities witness to their faith (if there is indeed faith there to be witnessed to).  Like I said…I wasn’t there, didn’t watch and I don’t know the people in attendance.  But the sound bites I heard never once mentioned Jesus, God, faith or anything of the sort.  Missed opportunity.

With memorial services like this the tendency is to focus on the person who has died.  There are stories told to highlight what a great person they were.  There are facts shared that illustrate what a difference the person made in the lives of others.  There are tears shed and emotions laid out for all to see.  No doubt that Michael Jackson had an influence on many people, loved many people and helped many people.  No doubt that he will be missed and mourned for a long time.  But as with any person on this vast planet…Michael Jackson was a sinner.

Don’t get me wrong…he was no worse than anyone else, but he was a sinner.  I am a sinner.  You are a sinner.  But despite those facts Ephesians 1:7 is true for you and me and Michael Jackson.  I wish this was shared with the millions of people that were watching…and mourning.  Missed opportunity.

Funerals are an excellent opportunity to preach the Gospel to people that normally would not put themselves in a situation to hear the Gospel preached (i.e. they don’t come to worship unless it is Easter, Christmas or a funeral).  We can’t miss these opportunities.  People are searching for answers and reassurance.  What a missed opportunity to share with people that because of what Jesus has done and through faith we will all be together again.

Death doesn’t have to be good bye, but rather see you later.

The memorial service yesterday was an opportunity that was missed and will never come again.  Take advantage of situations in your life to preach the Gospel, share the Good News of forgiveness and proclaim the gift of life we have from God through Jesus Christ.

Let’s not miss opportunities.

-edh-