Author: The Pastor

New Year’s resolutions…I suppose

/ The Pastor / 8 Comments

For some reason I have been resisting this urge…the urge to make (and publish) New Year’s resolutions.  The problem with resolutions is that they get front page attention in our lives for only a short period of time and then soon get forgotten (can anyone name their resolutions from last year…without looking at a list?)  I did hear a resolution on a New Year’s Eve show that caught my attention, though.  The reporter was going down a crowd of people on the street asking for their resolutions.  The first guy she talked to said his resolution was to read the Bible every day.  I hope he follows through with that.

Something else that has caught my attention:  It seems that every other TV commercial is talking about fitness centers or fitness equipment.  I guess it doesn’t take a genius to see what the number one resolution for people is.  Wouldn’t it be nice if TV commercials were being dominated by Christian book stores and Bible ads?

But even though I am growing skeptical of the usefulness of resolutions, I have made a few of my own (reluctantly).  This list is one I am going to print out and place by my computer in my office.  I want to be reminded each and every day so my resolutions won’t be forgotten.  Maybe I should write a post in June giving a mid-year update…Hmmm….  Anyway…here it goes:

(1) Get into running shape for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.  I started this resolution back in August and so far so good.

(2) Lose weight.  I also started this in August.  As of January 1 I have lost 24 pounds.  Another 20 pounds or so would be nice.

(3) Manage my time better.  After a careful inventory (wasting time?) I discovered I have a number of distractions built into my daily routine (i.e. Facebook applications, Internet games, TV)  My resolution is to limit (and in some case eliminate) these distractions and get more done.  For example, my wife and I are going to be moving our TV upstairs into our new "TV room".  Now our living room can be used for visiting and other "constructive" activities.

(4) Eat some fruits and vegetables every single day.  I know a healthy diet is suppose to include this, but I don’t always do it.  I too often take the easy way out.

(5) Read my Bible everyday.  I know as a pastor one would think I already do this, but there are days that I do not.  I guess I am human after all.

Okay…that’s it.  There are my resolutions…I suppose.  I think five is enough.  Too many more I risk overwhelming myself and thus throwing these resolutions into the New Year’s breeze.

Maybe this exercise was a waste of time.  Maybe I will forget these, but setting goals is never a waste of time.  After all, if you don’t know where you are going, how will you know if you ever get there.  And…if along the way plans change…and new goals are set…that is okay.  So…in June…(if I remember)…I will give a resolutions update and (maybe) we’ll see where I am at.

Resolutions are just resolutions between you…and…well…you.  So in the mean time set your goals high knowing that no matter the out come you will never separate yourself from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  So there you have it…resolutions with a dose of Gospel…you can’t go wrong with that.

Happy New Year, take care and God bless!

-edh-
P.S.  And resolution or not…READ YOUR BIBLE EVERYDAY!

A brand new year

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Greetings and Happy New Year to all!

First of all — Thank you to all who send Christmas and New Year’s greetings.  My absence from the blogosphere has been a long one…but a refreshing one.  I feel ready to start a new year in so many ways.  So allow me to offer my blessing to you all:

I pray that your new year may be filled with happiness, joy and peace.  May you have the courage and drive to: venture to new "places" – to try new things – to strain ahead – to live a life of wild abandon – to bask in the glow of God’s love EVERYDAY – to forgive much – to love EVEN MORE – to slow down and listen to the bare voice of God – to pray more – to share your faith more.  As you begin this new year may you feel, see and experience the presence of our Lord and Savior wherever you go or whatever you do.  GOD LOVES YOU…always remember that!  Make this year the best year even for someone.  God bless!

Lastly — Carolyn over at Law and Gospel has just submitted the 500th comment to this blog.  Sorry, Carolyn, I don’t have an award or anything.  But allow me to thank everyone who has commented here.  It has been fun engaging in conversation and getting to know you over the last couple years.  I look forward to many more encounters with you.

So…on that note…I close this entry as I ponder a more reflective post to come.  Take care.

-edh-

Happy New Year

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I hope and pray you had a very merry Christmas…AND NOW…I hope and pray you have a fun and safe New Year.

I am still on vacation but I will be back on Wednesday (Jan. 2)…and…ready to resume my blogging activities.  I look forward to getting caught up with the many blogs I read and to writing again, but has been nice, though, to take a break.

Take care and God bless…I will "see" you next year 🙂

-edh-

Christmas prayer and blessing

/ The Pastor / 5 Comments

I still don’t know where the month has gone.  Today is Dec. 22 and Christmas is upon the doorstep.  Thankfully I have my shopping done so all that is left to do is to put the finishing touches on worship and sermons.

Today, also, will more than likely be my last post until after Christmas.  Tomorrow (Sunday) Connie and I travel to my parents, returning on Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day we travel to Connie’s family.  So as I take my leave of you I would like to leave you with a prayer that I will be using on Christmas Eve.  It is one I found on the Internet that really spoke to me, so here it is…let us pray…

Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the magi.  Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world.  Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.  Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.  May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake.  Amen!

I hope and pray you have a joyous Christmas as we bask in the glow of God’s awesome love.  May the peace of the Christ child fill your hearts and the grace of God overwhelm you with joy.  May your travels be safe and your homecomings be happy.  God bless and take care.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good life.

See you soon.

-edh-

And he gave me a chicken

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Chicks_2

Last night Connie and I received one of the most unique and memorable gifts we have received in a long time.  And by the above picture you can guess what we got.  One of our 6 year old Sunday school students, W, gave us a flock of chicks.  We don’t actually have them but he bought them through Heifer International on our behalf.  Some hungry family is going to benefit from this wonderful gift.  Something that will provide them with food and income for years to come.  Often we receive and give gifts that end up collecting dust, end up in the garbage or wear out over time.  This gift will possibly save lives and last a long time.

I know that many of you have probably finished your shopping by now (LOL…yeah right). Well…here’s an idea for you.  Buy a flock of chicks or some other animal for someone and give them a gift that could save someone(s) life.  I am willing to bet that all those involved will be very thankful.

Thank you, W…Connie and I will remember this gift for a long time.

Merry Christmas and God bless!

-edh-

Text study – Matthew 11:2-11

/ The Pastor / 5 Comments

What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the king, whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary!

Why lies he in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross be bourne for me, for you;
Hail, hail the Word made flesh, the babe, the son of Mary!

So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh; come peasant king to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise the song on high, the virgin sings her lullaby;
Joy, joy, for Christ is born, the babe, the son of Mary!

The Gospel text for this Sunday (Advent 3) comes from Matthew 11:2-11.  As I was doing some research I came across a sermon that another pastor posted that was titled, "What Child is this?"  Of course he was referring to the good ole favorite Christmas carol of the same name (which also happens to be my sister’s favorite hymn…anyway…).  That title alone got me thinking…what Child IS this?  Who is this baby that we (hopefully) give all our attention to during this time of the year?  Who is Jesus for you?

John the Baptist was born to be a fore runner of the Messiah.  John knew his mission — in that there is no doubt.  Last week we heard John preach a message of "baptism for repentance" and to "produce fruit worthy of repentance".  Now…after all of this…I am left wondering and pondering two different interpretations of this text.  I will throw them out here and let you decide:  INTERPRETATION #1 — John is growing weary of sitting in prison when he thought Jesus was the one who was to come and "open up a case of whip _ ss (I will refrain from misusing the word that is also used to talk about a donkey).  So John sends his disciples to find out if this prison thing is all worth it.  Was John wondering who Jesus really was?  INTERPRETATION #2 — John knew exactly who Jesus was.  His sending of his disciples was to instruct them:  "One is coming after me who is greater than I; one whose sandals I am not worthy to carry."  Follow Jesus…not me.  Was John’s question meant, not for him, but for his disciples, for the original readers of Matthew and for us?  Or…(after all this) maybe it doesn’t matter what John was thinking or feeling.  Maybe the point is the question itself.  After all, Matthew is writing for a Jewish community where the Messiah is indeed a big deal.  Maybe the message is:  There is no need to wait for anyone else.

Whatever the interpretation, the question is still thrown out there — who is this Messiah?  What Child is this?  Is Jesus some nonthreatening Messiah who will leave you alone; to live life how you want or is Jesus a kick butt type of Messiah meant to change your life?  Is Jesus a non-personal type of King who does not know you even exist or care about you current sufferings or is Jesus an intimate King, Lord and Messiah who is closer to you than you are to yourself? 

Who is Jesus?  What Child is this?  I guess Advent is a time to discover this.  Advent is a time to ask questions and see, once again, this awesome thing that God did in that manger stall.  What Child is this…this sweet, non-threatening, little baby?  This Child is our intimate, Savior, Lord and King who has and continues to "open up case upon case of whip _ss upon the sin of the world.  And because of that, there is no need to "wait for another".

Praise be to God, MERRY CHRISTMAS and Amen!

-edh-

Monday morning check in

/ The Pastor

Another senseless tragedy
I am sure many of you are aware of the fatal shooting at the Youth With a Mission facility in suburban Denver.  A young woman from Minnesota was killed and a couple others wounded (Click here for the story).  Tiffany Johnson, along with many people across the county, have made incredible sacrifices to serve the Lord through missionary work…an often thankless and difficult job.  Please remember Tiffany’s family and friends in your prayers as they sort though such a senseless tragedy – knowing that God can work through such events to advance His kingdom.

Another Sunday closer
It’s hard to believe Christmas is edging ever closer.  Yesterday was the second Sunday of Advent which means that Christmas eve is two weeks away.  With our open house yesterday and our home remodeling done, a lot of stress has left our lives.  Now I can put more energy in preparing for these next few worship services.  Dec. 16 is our children’s Christmas program that my wife leads.  Dec. 23 we are going to have a lessons and carols worship service and of course Christmas eve worship the next day.  These next couple weeks will be busy…of course, but ones I am very much looking forward to.

Another white Christmas
It is nice to be able to say that considering that our last couple years we have had brown Christmases.  For some reason, a dose of the "white stuff" adds to the Christmas cheer.  But the down side is that before we got a lot of our snow we got a good layer of ice (and the sidewalk between the parsonage and the church is still not shoveled. Ugh!  I got some work to do).  Oh well, at least we have snow.

Another Christmas reminder
God blessings to you as you traverse this busy Christmas season.  Always remember the reason for all the hustle and bustle.  And remember to bask in the joy of this awesome love that God shows us through the manger.  God bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer – 12/09/07

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

It’s hard to believe it’s the 2nd Sunday in Advent already.  Christmas is two weeks away (with Lent just over 8 weeks away…sorry…I just could resist mentioning that little tid bit).  Anyway, there is much to do these next couple weeks.  Today, Connie and I are hosting our annual Christmas open house at the parsonage.  We have been scrambling the past few weeks doing some work in the house trying to get things ready.  Now the day is here and all that is left is to finish cleaning the kitchen.  Whew…

But there are other preparation to be made.  "Prepare the way of the Lord…produce fruit worthy of repentance…"  Those are the words of John the Baptist from our Gospel text for today from Matthew 3:1-12.  John was not a guy to sit around and wait for something to happen, but he got out there and did something.  We too, as recipients of God’s amazing love need to get out there.  Living in God’s amazing grace, go out there and "produce fruit worthy of repentance" and fruit worthy of the gift of life you have been given through Jesus Christ (you can read more about this next week when I post my sermon at my sermons blog).  In the mean time let’s prepare by joining together in prayer.

Loving, gracious and forgiving God…you showed us an awesome love at Christmas time in Jesus Christ.  But as the day of this great miracle approaches, we find ourselves, too often, losing sight of the Gift in the manger stall.  Our work to prepare for Christ is often misdirected and multi-focused.  Because of this amazing news of free grace, we grow complacent thinking everything is done: "eat, drink and be merry" we say.  But everything is NOT done.  Grant us strength and wisdom to produce fruit worthy of repentance; worthy of the gift of salvation you have given us.  Through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord we pray, Amen.

God bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

-edh-

A Christmas 3X3 Meme

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

David, over at Here I Stand has tagged me for a Christmas 3X3 meme.  Christmas is my favorite time of the year so this will be a fun one for me.  So…here I go…

What are your three favorite Christmas songs and who sings them?
This is a tough one.  My wife and I have dozens of Christmas CDs that get played constantly in our home and car.  Picking three is not easy but here are three that just happen to stand out right now:
(1) Silent Night when sung during the candle lighting portion of the Christmas Eve worship service.  Watching the candle light slowing spread throughout the sanctuary while the lights slowly dim while singing this great Christmas carol always gives me goosebumps.  Others that follow close behind are "Joy to the World" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain".

(2)  "Hallelujah" by Soulful Celebration.  Imagine a Southern Baptist choir going all out singing the Hallelujah Chorus.  I still like the traditional Hallelujah Chorus but listening to Soulful Celebration also gives me goosebumps and makes me want to jump up and start clapping.  There is a part toward the end where one might think things are winding down but just then they hit you with some more "soulful" Hallelujahs.

(3) Once again let me remind you…this is far from an exhaustive list, but number three has two "non-traditional" Christmas songs:  "Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)" sung by Amy Grant and "A Strange way to Save the World" (told from Joseph’s perspective) sung by 4Him.  Two great comentaries on the miracle of Christmas.

What are your three favorite Christmas foods?
(1) I am with Diane here with number one — LEFSE.  My wife is a butter and WHITE sugar person and I am a butter and BROWN sugar one.  But I will use WHITE sugar if need be.

(2) My mom’s famous candy kiss cookies.  I look forward to these every year.  With me trying to lose weight, I throw that weight lose thing out the window for candy kiss cookies since this is that only time of the year I get these.

(3) Lastly…this is not a Christmas food but it is my family’s Christmas Eve tradition — homemade pizza.  One year my mom suggested we not do this but my sister and I threw a fit and my mom learned quickly not to mess with homemade pizza on Christmas Eve.  We each make our own little pizza and this is the only time of the year I have pepperoni and sauerkraut pizza (Hmmm…I am getting hungry just thinking about it).

What are your three Christmas secrets?
This is a tough one because people who know me well know I love the Christmas season and that I do not keep that a secret.  But many of you out there do not know me well so here it goes…
(1) My wife does most of my Christmas shopping for me.  Maybe that is not a surprise that a wife shops for her husband, but I think it is pretty funny.  I think I learned that habit from my dad.

(2) Of the 36 years I have been on this earth I can only remember one Christmas that we were not in Minnesota (Mom…correct me if I am wrong here).  That one year was at grandpa and grandma’s house in Yuma, AZ.  At the time Julie and I thought it was strange going swimming at an outdoor pool on Christmas Day.

(3) I love poinsettia plants.  We got one early December last year and I kept it alive until this past September.  And…as I am writing this, the church custodian and his wife have just given me and Connie a nice big poinsettia.  Wow…they must have been reading my mind.

Well…there you have it.  What a fun Christmas 3×3.  Now…let me see…I think I will now tag:  Pastor David at Posting from Prairie Hill and Chris at The Lutheran Zephyr.  Have fun and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

-edh-