Author: The Pastor

Sunday morning prayer – 03/02/08

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

I don’t know about you, but March has snuck up on me.  It still feels like it should be February still.  Don’t get me wrong…I am looking forward to spring (I am getting sick of the cold weather), but somehow my internal clock is a little slow this year.  Maybe I need a battery change.

"Spring" is here
I know it is not technically spring for another 18 days, but it sure felt like it here today.  I got a chance to run outside for my first time in a couple months.  Wow…that felt great.  I went an exhilarating 5 mile run and felt great afterward.  So far training is going well.  No shin splints like I suffered earlier this year.  This time I am taking things slow and slowly building up my mileage.  When I felt great after runs like yesterday I just want to keep going, but I need to be patient and stop.  Not an easy thing to do.

Thanking God
A couple friends of mine and Connie’s returned home safely on yesterday from the National Pastor’s Convention in San Diego.  I not only thank God they returned home safely, but that they have a good sense of humor (not that I had any doubt).  You see…Connie and I along with a couple other friends, played a couple practical jokes to welcome our friends home.  We had fun sneaking around their home late at night – hoping the neighbors wouldn’t call the police.  In the end…our friends got a good laugh, now it is time for the rest of us to look over our shoulders…because we know revenge is coming…and deservedly so 🙂

Prayer
The Gospel text for today (Lent 4) is from John 9 (the story of Jesus healing the man born blind).  My focus is on verses 4 and 5 where Jesus talks about being the light of the world.  But Jesus is not the only light…we are called to be lights in the world.  So with that, I am taking this text and the song "This Little Light of Mine" and talking about being lights in this dark world.  Of course, following the sermon, we are singing "This Little Light of Mine".  Should be fun.

Anyway…let’s pray…
God of all creation, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the light of the world.  Now that Jesus has died and risen from the grave for us, we are now called to be lights in this cold, dark world.  Ignite our hearts with compassion.  Kindle the flame of our faith.  And shine your love in our lives so our light may shine forth, so much so, that people may see our good works and give you, and you alone, glory.  We need to be lights in this world…following the call and example of Jesus Christ…so hope can be proclaimed now.  Light the way for us so we may serve you and others with passion and compassion.  In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

I hope and pray that you have a very blessed today.  Take care!
-edh-

WorkingPreacher.org

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

WorkingPreacher.org is a new preaching resource put out by Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN.  It contains a number of excellent articles and text studies on the upcoming lectionary texts.  The web address is…well…just what the title suggests:  www.workingpreacher.org

And…its FREE!

I highly recommend this site.  I have already gain some important insights to sermon preparation.

Enjoy!
-edh-

Six non-important things/habits/quirks meme

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I have been tagged by Joe over at Freedom for this meme…so here it goes…

The rules for the meme are:
–Link to the person who tagged you.
–Post the rules on your blog.
–Share six non important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
–Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
–Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

So here are the six non important things/habits/quirks about me:

(1) My wife would say its an addiction, but I say, "I really like technology" (my wife may be more right than me, but who’s keeping score?)  Anyway, I just bought myself a Palm Treo Smart phone and I have no clue how I survived this long without one.  The Internet in the palm of my hand…it doesn’t get much better than that (O.K…maybe I do have a problem).

(2) I cannot stand clutter in my home and I am especially picky about the kitchen.  But for someone reason my office is a disaster area…go figure.

(3) I am allergic to anything and everything that floats around in the air (except for oxygen, that doesn’t seem to bother me) and anything else that could possibly cause one’s nose to run, eyes to water and one to sneeze.  If it weren’t for my allergy meds I think I just might curl up and die.

(4) I can’t stand being late for anything.  My wife constantly teases me for being a millions years early for everything (she might be exaggerating slightly).  If I/we are running late for something my heart starts pounding and I get irritable (I might need to lighten up a little bit).

(5) I am a morning person and my wife is a night person (this drives my wife absolutely crazy…especially the morning part).

(6) I love cats…have I mentioned that I am allergic to them?

There you have it…6 non-important things/habits/quirks about little ole me.  Now it’s time to hear from:  The Lutheran Zephyr; Unlikely Banter; Law and Gospel and Proclaiming Softly

I know that is not six people…oh well…

Take care and God bless!
-edh-

Sunday morning prayer – 02/24/08

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Greetings and salutations…happy morning to you all!

…don’t ask…I just woke up this morning full of energy and ready to go…despite the trying week I have had.  Maybe it’s because I haven’t preached and lead worship for a couple weeks…I don’t know, but I am ready for the day.

Another death
My trying week involved not only mourning my grandma’s death but also mourning the very unexpected death of a 77 year old woman in my congregation on Wednesday morning.  Gladys went in on Tuesday for a "routine" surgery (whatever that means), developed a blood clot on Wednesday and died at around 2am Thursday morning.  I was at the hospital on Wednesday night with the family (I never got to see Gladys) but left at 10pm…fully expecting to see Gladys the next day.  I guess you just never know.  Please pray for her family.

The orchestra
My highlight of the week, though, was listening to the Minnesota Orchestra during their concert here in little ole Jackson, MN.  It was an absolutely amazing show.  One of my favorite pieces featured a bassoon duet.  WOW!  According to my wife, bassoons often get the nickname "belching bedposts" (no offense to any of you bassoon players) but these two bassoons were far from being "belching bedposts".  They were amazing.  My wife and I along with four of our friends went to the concert…dressed in "formal" wear.  After all…we were going to the orchestra.

So this week has been an up and down one.  I am praying for an "up" day today.  So to start things out let’s join together in a word of prayer…

Loving God, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ to seek and save the lost.  You sent your Son, Jesus Christ to seek and save us.  You know our sins.  You know our past. You know that we will let you down again and again…but that doesn’t matter to you…for your love is great.  Thank you for sending Jesus into the hostile territory of our hearts; quenching our spiritual thirst and desire.  Thank you God for not holding our sins again us but rather offering "Living Water" to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Thank you God for saving our lives.  In Christ’s name we pray…Amen. (reference made to John 4:5-42 – The woman at the well)

Take care and have a very blessed day.
-edh-

Evangelism blog

/ The Pastor

Over at my other blog, The Heart of Evangelism, I am beginning a series of posts dealing with the ELCA Evangelism Strategy.  I am always surprised to hear how many pastors have not read this or haven’t even heard about it. 

It is a four part strategy that I think is pretty important for our Church.  So I invite to stop over there and join (or begin) the conversation.  A link the the evangelism strategy is provided there.

-edh-

Text study – John 4:5-42

/ The Pastor / 5 Comments

I was reading and re-reading the Gospel text for this Sunday (3 Lent) when all of a sudden…like a throw from left field…I was hit smack dab in the face with something I hadn’t seen before.

The text is about Jesus encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well…at high noon.  Jesus is tired, hungry and thirsty.  So with Jesus hanging out at the well and the disciples going to town to buy food, a woman shows up to draw water.  To say this woman had shady past would be putting it lightly.  Blown away by the mere fact that Jesus would even talk to her; Jesus and this woman get into a question answer session about living water and worship.  Through this conversation Jesus tells her "everything she had ever done".  Being blown away by this coupled with Jesus revealing to her that HE is the Messiah, she runs back to town to share HER testimony: "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  The people come flocking to Jesus to see this "Messiah".

But here is what hit me in a face like a line drive baseball…

Verses 39 says, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’"  The woman’s testimony wasn’t "Come and see…I have found the Christ!".  But rather she explained her encounter with this person who could be the Christ…then she left the rest up to the people.  The woman shared her experience and allowed others to have their own experience of Jesus.  The woman was not concerned with whether they believed or not.  She just shared her testimony and left it at that.  The Samaritans (like the woman at the well) were thirsting for something…as Jesus said, "You Samaritans worship that which you do not know" (verse 22).  They were searching for "Living Water" but had no clue what they were searching for.  They were searching for relief…they were searching for meaning…but all in the wrong places.  Then comes Jesus…and he gave Living Water.

This woman’s testimony really struck me (as you have already seen).  She shared from her experience and let others have THEIR OWN experience and left the rest up to Jesus.  I wonder if we can learn something from this woman.

But first…

We need to go to Jesus.  We need to ask questions.  We need to talk to him and listen to him.  I think too many people sitting in the pews "worship that which they do not know".  They go through the motions.  And if THAT is the case, then how can they possibly give testimony. 

Telling people what Jesus has done has far more staying power than telling people straight out that he is our Lord and Savior.  For some, "Lord" and "Savior" may have little meaning.  But tell them how your sins have been forgiven unconditionally, then you may grab their attention.

Jesus knows everything we have done and still he died on the cross for me and for you; forgiving our sins.  "Come and see this man who has forgiven my sins.  Could this be the Christ?…You betcha!"

-edh-

GoodSearch.com

/ The Pastor

I usually don’t like to advertise on my blog, but this is a little different…Here’s their plug and then my comments.

GOOD SEARCH…
www.goodsearch.com
Here’s a new easy way to raise money for your favorite cause. Just start using GoodSearch.com as your search engine and online shopping mall. Every time you search the Internet or make an online purchase at one of their partner merchants, GoodSearch makes a donation to your favorite nonprofit or school and it’s powered by Yahoo! so you get great search results!

NOW ME…
This is a Yahoo! powered search engine that gives money to your favorite charity with every search.  The search results are good because GoodSearch is powered by Yahoo!…but I already said that…anyway.  Before you run a search, you simply search for your favorite charity (including churches) that have registered with GoodSearch.  Then…when you search…one penny goes into an account for that charity.  I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but if enough people use this as their search engine (and indicate your ministry as their favorite charity), it could add up over the course of a year.  Also, when you make purchases online through GoodSearch with retailers such as Best Buy and Target, a portion of those proceeds goes to your favorite charity as well.

Signing up your church is also easy…and FREE!  I signed up Salem a week ago and we have already made a whopping 9 cents (I am still working on getting the word out).  The money received from GoodSearch has not been designated yet, but I am thinking it will go to the youth or some ministry we support.

But don’t just take my word for it…check it out.  There is really no risk that I can see and is seems like a easy, no-brain way to make a "little" extra money for something.

Sorry for the advertising, but this seems like a good thing so I thought I would pass it on to you.  You can also talk to Eric over at Lemonholm…his church is also signed up with Good Search.

Thanks for indulging me.  Take care.
-edh-

Monday morning check in (on Tuesday)

/ The Pastor / 7 Comments

Well…I am back after a long weekend.  And…like my awkward Thursday last week, I got a feeling this will be an awkward Tuesday since I was off yesterday.  My whole week is going to be thrown off.  Oh well…

Grandma:  The funeral mass for my grandma went very well.  The mass was held in the nursing home chapel with about 80 people present.  Nine of the 14 grandchildren were able to be there.  Needless to say it was a bitter sweet reunion.  After spending some fun, quality time together we realized that we need to get together more often.  So my wife and one of my other cousins are going to be planning something this year (at the very least a New Year’s Eve gathering).  Funerals and weddings should not be the only time family gets together.

Eulogy:  This was one of the toughest things I have done.  I spent some time sharing some memories of grandma…and was doing fine.  When I got to my closing (talking about grandma’s faith) then I started to have trouble…especially when I made eye contact with some of my cousins.  When I made eye contact the waterworks started.  I finished by sharing the Gospel.  Normally during a funeral that I preside at, I schedule the eulogy before the sermon so I can have the last word…sharing the Gospel.  On Saturday (at grandma’s funeral mass) the priest had me near the very end…so I had the last word.  Imagine that…a "Lutheran" proclamation of the Gospel at a Catholic mass.  Oh well…we are all brothers and sisters in Christ so what’s the difference?

Winter:  I love…I mean, like…wait a second…I use to enjoy…I mean…I am down right sick and tired of winter.  The bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills are getting old.  As you know I am training for the Twin Cities marathon.  Running on the treadmill is fine, but I need a change of scenery…I need to get outside, but I am not running outside if it is below zero.  Call me a wimp, but I want to enjoy my run without worrying if any limb is going to freeze and fall off.

Personal stewardship:  I haven’t given a report on this for a while.  My weight loss is going fairly well.  I have plateaued, but I am losing some weight.  Pants are feeling looser all the time which means I am putting on muscle mass while losing fat so therefore my weight is not going down as fast.  As for my training, I am on track and looking forward to registering for the Twin Cities marathon in April.

A message for the road:  "When Satan reminds you of your past remind him of his future"

Take care and God bless!
-edh-

Random Ramblings for an awkward Thursday

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Today is an awkward Thursday.  Every now and then I have these but not too often.  It is awkward because on a "normal" (whatever that means) Thursday I am engaging in sermon prep…but I am not preaching on Sunday so hence…no sermon prep.  But I am engaging in eulogy prep and in a lot of ways that is much tougher.

Tomorrow (Friday) Connie and I head home for the weekend with grandma’s Celebration of New Life service on Saturday.  I am looking forward to seeing cousins and aunts and uncles I haven’t seen for a while.  I am looking forward to spending a whole weekend at home without rushing back on Saturday for Sunday worship.  I am looking forward to relaxing and re-grouping after a difficult, bitter-sweet week (Grandma died Monday and my birthday was Tuesday).  It was hard to know what to feel at times and I think people around here did not exactly know how to respond.  I got so many birthday/sympathy wishes (something I have never received before in the same breath).  But there is one comment that I will always remember.  Yesterday (Wednesday) S came into my office to wish me a belated happy birthday and offer her condolences.  Then she said, "Grandma had her day on Monday and let you have your day yesterday.  What a gift and blessing for you."  And I thought that was such a neat comment.  One that I will remember and treasure always when Feb. 11 and 12 rolls around.  My grandma and I will always have this special connection – celebrating our "special days" back-to-back.  Thank you S.

Now I need to return to eulogy prep.  I am getting close to finishing, but I am not sure if I can actually and truly finish this.  It always seems that I am missing something.  But there is one thing that I am not going to miss.  I am going to share memories of grandma, but I am also going to make sure I finish my eulogy with the Gospel.  Our memories of grandma will always be with us, but there is one thing that will last forever…and that is the gift of eternal life we have through Jesus Christ.  What I am basically going to tell the family is to NOT say goodbye to grandma, but rather say, "see you later", because in Christ there are NO "good byes".

So with that I am off to "work".  I am not sure if I will have time to blog this weekend or not but we’ll see.  My family comes first.  Thank you again for your prayers.  Take care and God bless.

-edh-

Monday morning check in (Returning home)

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

My grandma finally returned home at 12:30am this morning with my mom by her side.  The nursing home called my mom yesterday (Sunday) at 5:30am and told her she had better come up (grandma had been sustaining a temperature of 104 for about a day).  Mom stayed with grandma all day and said that grandma simply just slept away peacefully…just as we hoped she would do.  It has been a long month but I feel this has brought the family closer together (even though there were a couple of rough patches).  A funeral date has not been set yet but we are looking at Saturday Feb. 16 (I should know more later today). 

Thanks again for all your prayers and words of support.  They have all meant a lot to me.  Please continue to remember us as we plan a funeral and begin the process of coping with life without grandma.

To any of my cousins and other family members reading this:  NEVER EVER forget…this is not "good bye" but rather this is "see you later, grandma".  For through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have this promise of New Life.  Grandma and grandpa are finally reunited after nearly 4 years and we too will be reunited with them some day.  Shedding tears is fine, but don’t lose hope…we will see grandma and grandpa again.

Now I have an important task ahead of me…writing and giving the eulogy.  I have given a number of funeral sermons but this will be by far one of the hardest things I have done.  "Please God…grant me strength."

Well…that’s all I have for this edition of "Monday morning check in".  My grandma (and my family) are the only ones on my mind right now.  "See you later, grandma."

-edh-