Author: The Pastor

Sunday morning prayer – 9/2/07

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Prayer request update:  D and J’s daughter who was arrested for possession and selling of meth is still in need of prayer.  The family is still dealing with this and now with the news becoming more and more widespread and known, they are now dealing with the perception that more and more eyes are looking at them and judging them and their daughter.

Also, I have a parishioner, Ray (the family has given me permission to talk about this), who will be dying in the next couple weeks.  He is in his 80s and had a stroke last week.  He can’t eat without a feeding tube and he did not want to be hooked up to anything (Living Will).  We expect the end to come soon.  Please remember this family.

And…thank you to all who are regular readers and have offered your prayer support.  It is so nice to be part of a community that is larger than the small, little worlds we occupy.  What a wonderful reminder that through our baptism we are made part of a much larger family…the family of God.

Would you join me in a word of prayer…let us pray…
Loving, gracious and accepting God, your Son, Jesus Christ, showed ultimate humility by dying on the cross and rising from the grave all for us.  He didn’t have to to but your love is so great for creation that you can not bear life without us.  Thank you for showing hospitality through opening the doors of heaven to those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord of all.  Grant us humble hearts and an attitude of hospitality so others may see a love like no other and give you praise and glory forever and ever.  Please strengthen D and J and their family as they struggle through a difficult time.  We also remember Ray and his family has he approaches the time when you will embrace Ray in your loving arms in your Kingdom.  Please grant him peace of mind as he passes from this world and strengthen the family in the knowledge that this will not be "good bye" but rather, "see you later".  We pray this through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen. [Scripture reference:  Luke 14:1-14]

God bless you with the knowledge that you are loved beyond imagination.  Take care.
-edh-

Five things I want children to know

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Blog update notice:  Some of you may have noticed that my "blogs that I enjoy" list is a little different — the order has changed.  The reason for the change is that I have now placed them in alphabetical order to make them easier to find faster.  Or maybe I changed it for something to do as I wait for my wife.  I don’t know…but there it is 🙂  Enjoy!

************

David at Here I Stand has just tagged me to write about the five things I want my kids to know when they grow up.  Since my wife and I don’t have children…yet…I still want to participate; because even though we are not raising children in our home we are still involved in the lives of many children: our niece and nephew, and the many (O.K….few) kids we have here at Salem and Belmont.  I have a great desire to see the kids here raised with good values and to know God.  So here are five things I want children to know when (and as) they grow up.

(1) You are loved — you are lovable — you are never alone.  I know, I know, this sounds like three things and that I am cheating but hang on.  In my youth ministry training we learned that everyone has a deep seeded desire to know that they are loved, lovable and not alone.  We need to know that someone loves us.  We need to know that no matter what happens, how we look or what we do we are still lovable.  We need to know that even though the rest of the world may abandon us, we are never alone.  God loves us unconditionally.  Three basic necessities of live.  All children (no matter the age) need to know this.

(2) Don’t let anyone look down upon you because you are young (and don’t look down upon someone else because they are young). I believe there is much we can learn from children and they need to know this.  Too often they are put down and told to remain quiet in the church.  They aren’t given leadership opportunities because they aren’t "old enough".  But God uses each person no matter their age.  Just look at: David, Jeremiah, Mary, Timothy, to name a few.  They made a little difference…don’t you think?

(3) Remember who you are and whose you are.  The world likes to label us.  We are too often defined by what we do (i.e. career, job), by what our last name is, or what we have done in the past.  The most important definition, though, that we need to cling to is the one given to us by God through our baptism.  We are God’s children.  But also along those lines, remember your roots and don’t forget your family.  Even though your last name should not define what your life should be about it is a reminder of who you are and where you came from.  You are your parent’s child and God’s child (two things that will never change).

(4) What you do and how you live means more than what you say.  One of my biggest pet peeves is hypocrisy.  We too often hear politicians say one thing and then do another.  And the same happens with everyone.  If I stand in the pulpit and say "do not gossip" and then go down to the coffee shop and gossip; people will remember my actions.  Actions speak louder than words and people ARE "listening".

(5) Golf is a great game.  How can I not teach my kid the game of golf…seriously.  Some of my favorite memories are with my dad on the golf course.  Last week, when our niece turned 3, my wife and I gave her a little set of toy golf clubs.  I couldn’t resist.

So there you have it.  As people have been saying through their blogs, this list is definitely bigger than the five listed here.  How our children are raised has a direct impact on all our futures so thank you, David, for the tag.  This was fun.

Now who to tag…most of the blogs that I read have been tagged already so I am going to cheat and not tag anyone…well…kind of.  If you are reading this and have not been tagged, consider yourself tagged (I know, I know, that is cheating…but it works).  Enjoy 🙂

-edh-

Text study: Luke 14:1-14

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

Personal side note:  My pastoral care issues just got a little more intense today.  Obviously I can’t go into details but I can tell (since it is out in the news around here) that D and J’s daughter was arrested for 1st degree possession and selling of Meth.  This daughter,K, faces some serious jail time.  The family is really struggling right now trying to understand K’s actions.  Please remember them in your prayers.  Thank you.

*******

The Gospel text for this Sunday (14th Sunday after Pentecost) comes from Luke 14:1, 7-14.  It is the story of Jesus attending a dinner party at the home of the leader of the Pharisees — obviously a ploy to gather more evidence against Jesus.  During this dinner party Jesus is tested and subsequently offers a couple nuggets of wisdom about humility and hospitality.  But first…

…The lectionary here surprisingly leaves out some important verses.  Sometimes I don’t understand what these lectionary authors were thinking — verses 2 – 6 are left out.  This section tells the account of Jesus healing a man with dropsy.  On the surface it seems kind of strange that this man would be invited to such a prestigious dinner party.  But William Barclay in the The New Daily Study Bible commentary series suggests that this man was invited by the Pharisees in order to see how Jesus would deal with him.  Seems to make sense.  So in the discussion of humility and hospitality it seems somewhat incomplete to leave these 5 verses out.  Unlikely conversation: A lectionary blog also agrees that these verses are important to include. 

Jesus sees this man with dropsy and questions the dinner guests if they would help their ox or donkey that has fallen in a well (the Law says that would be alright).  Nobody answers Jesus, so he heals the man then tells a parable.  The parable is about seating assignments at a dinner party.  Jesus suggests that you take the lowest seat so if the host asks you to move up, you will be exalted in front of everyone instead of being made to look like a fool if you are asked to move down.  It is a lesson in humility.

The second teaching deals with WHO you should invite to a dinner party.  Jesus says you should invite those who are not able to pay you back, for if you invite only your friends and/or family and they return the favor, where is your reward.  It is a lesson in hospitality.  This lesson in hospitality is then expanded on in verses 15 – 24 when Jesus teaches the parable of the Great Banquet.  Maybe we should include those verses as well on Sunday.

So as I ponder and reflect on this text, a couple thoughts linger within me:
(1) Jesus says "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind" Just like last week I am drawn back to Luke chapter 4 where Jesus says he was anointed to bring Good News to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind and release to the oppressed.  In this text he is living and teaching this proclamation.

(2) There is some irony here.  The Pharisees invited the man with dropsy to the dinner party not because he was welcome, but to trap Jesus.  And this man is the very person Jesus is saying you need to invite to something like this (and more).  I wonder what the Pharisees were thinking when Jesus said what he said in #1.

(3) Taking the "lowest seat at a banquet" in the hope that you will be exalted in front of others is NOT humility.

(4) Welcoming only those that you like is NOT hospitality.

When have you experienced "true" hospitality?  Who is the humblest person you know? Who are the "poor" in spirit; those who are "crippled" in their faith; the ones who are "lame" and unable to move foreward in life and the ones who are spiritually "blind" that we need to reach out to and welcome?  How can we live this proclamation better?  These are but a few things I am pondering.  What comes to your mind when you read this text? 

May God bless your day with a love and peace that surpasses all understanding.  Take care.
-edh-

One of those weeks…

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

It’s been one of those weeks…

…A number of pastoral care issues have come up for me this week and therefore my blogging presence has been minimal.  Besides the individual I mentioned in my "Sunday morning prayer" post from this past Sunday I have a parishioner(who lives in Waseca, MN — 1 1/2 hours away) who just had a stroke.  I left this morning and just got back this afternoon.  Tomorrow is going to be packed with nursing home visits plus I have a couple home communions to celebrate this week.  I guess when it rains it pours (literally and figuratively).

But through all these pastoral care visits I have seen and heard many stories of God’s faithfulness.  One parishioner told me about a dream she had when Jesus came and spoke to her.  It gave her so much comfort and gave me goosebumps.  F (the individual from my "Sunday morning prayer" post) is still going strong and taking everything in stride and is as feisty as ever (our Lion’s meeting last night was interesting — in a good way).

I have more visits tomorrow and am looking forward to more reminders of God’s faithfulness.  Whether we are active and running around, sick and in bed, or immobilized because of a stroke, God uses each of us to proclaim and show His love.  Each of us has a purpose…even to our dying day.  And…to our dying day…GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!

God bless and take care!
-edh-

Sunday morning prayer – Aug. 26, 2007

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I apologize for my absence this weekend.  I have been reading and checking my blog and others but have not had a lot of time to write and respond.  Yesterday (Saturday) my niece turned 3 years old, so of course there was a party.  Connie and I went to Dawson on Friday morning to spend time with family and play with our niece.  We had a great time.  It is amazing at how fast Meara is growing up.

Below I have my Sunday morning prayer that I would like to offer once again.  As I was working on my sermon this week we had something happen in Jackson to a very respected member of the community – the volunteer of all volunteers.  A great man and one you could always count on found out that he has advanced renal cell cancer and his time is very short.  I know he would not mind me writing about this because of the kind of person he is. This gentleman is affectionately known around town as "Fat".  I could write a long post about Fat but now is not the time. Please pray for Fat and his family.  They are going to need all the support they can get.  But here is the cool thing — Fat is not slowing down.  As we are reminded in the Gospel text, Fat has been freed from his ailment.  Cancer may take his life, but that is not who he is.  Fat is a child of God created and anointed to be a servant of Christ (as we all are).  Most people would get down over a devastating diagnosis, but not Fat.  He is living in freedom and praise God for that.  I just wish I had Fat’s strength.  He is indeed an inspiration.

Let us pray…
Gracious, loving and healing God, through Jesus Christ you have come to set us free.  But we find ourselves in situation where we feel bound by physical and mental infirmities, societal and personal expectations and/or feelings of inadequacy.  We feel we have nothing really significant to offer so we give in and embrace our bounded-ness.  But through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are set free.  Sin, death and the power of Satan no longer rules but you do.  Thank you for this awesome love and for freeing us (and Fat) to love others to the glory of your holy name.  Please continue to show your love through Fat; guide him, comfort him and strengthen him and his family.  And grant Fat (and us) healing in anyway you see that we need.  Through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen!

Healing on the sabbath

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I am still trying to get my hands around the Gospel text for this Sunday (13th Sunday after Pentecost) which is Luke 13:10-17.  The story is about Jesus healing a woman in the synagogue, in full view of the synagogue leader, on the sabbath day.  The woman was bent of over; afflicted by Satan, for 18 years.  Instead of delaying love and mercy Jesus "violated" the Law and healed her.  When the synagogue leader saw this he began speaking to the crowd about the appropriate use of the sabbath day.  NOTICE:  The synagogue leader did not even have the courage to direct his comments toward Jesus himself.

Following the leader’s rebuke of Jesus, Jesus fires back and puts the powers that be to shame through the very Law they hold so dear (they would show mercy to an animal over a daughter of Abraham).  At this, the people joined the woman formerly know as the woman who had been afflicted by God for 18 years (it was believed that this woman was being punished by God for her sins) in "rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he (Jesus) was doing.  While this rejoicing was going on the powers that be were wallowing in their shame.

So what do we take from this?  How does one preach this text?  A couple thoughts come to mind:
(1) Priorities:  Maybe a question to ask is, "What are your priorities?"  For the leaders of the synagogue their priority was the Law and following the rules over people.  They choose the letter of the law over the spirit of the law.  How many time have WE done that?  Maybe, as we preach this or study this text, we go so far as to ponder what is important in our lives today.  What does your priority list look like:  God – Family – Friends – Job/career (for example).  Maybe the priority list looks like many people where I serve: Sports/Family (these can be interchanged) — Job/career — God — <Something, something>…  Is serving God really number one in our lives?

(2) Freedom:  When I look at the language about the woman being "set free" and the "untying" of the donkey I see a similar action going on.  The woman has been bound and now set free and so with the donkey as it is lead to water.  In both cases someone needed to intervene.  Who around or among us is "bound" and needs to be "set free" through the Gospel?  What binds you and/or others?  Are we placing rules and societal expectations before the needs of people?  The Gospel sets us free yet we can be very stingy in the proclamation of it.

(3) Anointed:  In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus quotes these verses from Isaiah 61, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach Good News to the poor.  He sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."  Jesus did the very thing that he said he was anointed to do; he gave freedom to the woman.  Aren’t we all "anointed" through our baptism to do the very same thing — to proclaim freedom? But do we?  Maybe this connection can be made with people as a call to live out who we are created to be through the wonderful gift of baptism.

This text is more than a simple healing story.  I am excited to see where the Spirit will lead me this week.  Either way, though, what sticks with me is that we need to continue to "proclaim freedom" to people through the Gospel in whatever ever form that may take.

God bless and rejoice in all the wonderful things Jesus has done and continues to do for you every single day.  Amen!
-edh-

My list of books for ministry

/ The Pastor / 12 Comments

Pastor David over at postings from prairie hill compiled a list of his top 15 books (excluding the Bible and other worship resources) he currently uses in his ministry and asked that others do the same.  I think this is a great idea to share the various resources that people have found helpful.  There are some books on Pastor David’s list that I will be checking out.  So here is a list of my top 15 books (they are in no particular order and as Pastor D said, I am sure they will change over time).  After you are done reading this (and David’s list) please share your list through a post on your blog.  This should be a lot of fun and very educational.

(1) Book of Concord — As far as I am concerned this has to be here.  I go back to this quiet a bit when I am teaching confirmation and for my personal reading.
(2) Almost anything by Dietrich Bonhoeffer but especially Cost of Discipleship and A Testament to Freedom.
(3) The Evangelizing Church with Richard Bliese and Craig Van Gelder as editors.  This is an excellent book about evangelism.
(4) Continuing down the evangelism front — A Story Worth Sharing: Engaging Evangelism by Kelly Fryer.
(5) The New Daily Study Bible commentary series on the New Testament by William Barclay.  I use this a lot for my sermon prep and Bible study.
(6) Ask, Thank, Tell by Charles R. Lane.  A great book on Stewardship.
(7) Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings edited and compiled by Timothy Lull.
(8) A number of Martin Luther resources including Luther’s Works and Letters of Spiritual Counsel.  A great way to peak into the heart of Luther.
(9) By Faith Alone — a devotional book that I use for personal devotions and for other meetings.
(10) Lighten Up by Ken Davis — Sometimes I just need a good laugh while being slapped in the face with the Gospel.
(11) Never Call Them Jerks by Arthur Paul Boers — I received this book from the SW MN Synod office when I was going through a "hairy" conflict situation here at Salem.
(12) I have two books here by Mike Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder and Messy Spirituality.  I read these at least once a year.  Nothing to deep but a good read about God’s all encompassing love and grace.
(13) In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen — A great book about Christian leadership.
(14) Most anything by Douglas John Hall.  Bound and Free is the latest one I have read.
(15) Christian Dogmatics vol. 1 & 2 — Every once in a while I go back to certain sections to brush up.

I know my list has more than 15 books (so I cheated).  Anyway, Please share your books.  If you don’t have 15, thats fine.  I just think that through this exercise we can find some gems we did not know were out there.

God bless and as always, thanks for stopping by.

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer — 8/19/07

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

Gracious, loving and awesome God, your Word in Jesus Christ is like a fire…but we are afraid.  It’s hard to explain, but fire is a scary thing.  It destroys, it changes things and it kills — all things we are afraid of.  So we try to contain fires; we try to contain your Word.  But your Word brings life; it brings renewal and it brings new growth.  Please break through our fear and let the fire of your Word run wild in the Church and in our lives.  Let your fire be kindled in our lives that people may see our good works and give YOU glory.  Let your fire reveal in us our deep and desperate need for Jesus Christ to save us.  Thank God for your Word and for your promise in Jesus Christ and in whose name we pray, Amen.

God bless you and may you know, see and experience the love of God in your life.  Give thanks to the Lord for the Lord is indeed good.  Amen!
-edh-

Post number 200

/ The Pastor / 8 Comments

Wow…number 200 is here…hard to believe.

I began this blogging adventure on May 4, 2006.  At that time I was mostly excited about having a "web site" for people to read.  I really didn’t have a real focus or purpose and that would eventually bite me in the butt.

I had grand plans, though, that people from the congregation I serve would take breaks at work to read the beautiful devotions I would provide for them.  I had visions of people reading something I wrote and then responding — engaging in a faith conversation with me.  I was excited.  For the first three months I wrote an average of 21 posts per month.  But as the months went by it became clear that the only regular readers of my blog were my mom and sister.  I began to doubt MY ability and started to lose interest.  August’s total was 12 posts and then it dropped to 6 in September and down to 4 in December.  I began to comtemplate ending my blog and moving on.

But in March of 2007 something happened.  I had just finished a two weekend evangelism trainging school in the NW Iowa synod.  When I returned home I started processing the evangelism school in relation to my call and ministry and how I could be a better evangelist.  I then started to realize what I had been doing wrong with my blog.  I didn’t have a real focus, but more importantly…I was being selfish.  I was writting this blog for me and definitely not for the glory of God (even though I gave that outward impression).  So I started some re-tooling and re-focusing.  This blog needed to be an evangelism tool.  And things began to change.  I found a new energy in blogging because for the first time I realized that I am no gifted writer (I know, I know…hard to believe), but I am not.  Now…instead of trying to impress people with my so-called ability I began writing for God…to glorify him.  Now I post an average of 15 times per month with no signs of slowing down.  Now…instead of searching my brain for something to write, it comes from the heart.  Hence the title of this blog (ironic isn’t…that I start writing from my brain and not the heart).

Anyway, 200 posts down and hopefully many, many more to go.  I feel I have grown in my faith and in how I reflect upon the world around me.  I hope I have been faithful in sharing the Gospel in the best way I can.  I hope I have not been selfish.  I have met new people through this strange world we call the blogosphere.  And I feel I have developed relationships with people I haven’t even met face to face.  Two hundren posts ago I had no idea any of this would happen.  But our God is ever so amazing and faithful…and for that I am thankful.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.  Thank you for challenging me and encouraging me.  And if you are reading this blog for the first time…welcome and I so glad to "meet" you.

God bless!
-edh-

FIRE!!!

/ The Pastor / 7 Comments

"Jesus said, ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!’" (Luke 12:49)

"Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces." (Jeremiah 23:29)

I have been doing a lot of thinking about our texts for this Sunday (12th Sunday after Pentecost).  In Jeremiah there is talk of God’s word being like fire.  In the Gospel text Jesus says he came to bring fire to the earth.  What is in all of this fire talk?  A few things come to my mind.

Fire is an extremely destructive force.  Throughout this summer we have all heard about fires in various places around our country.  Here in Minnesota we were captivated by the fire in the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area).  Some people watched in horror as this so-called devastating fire ran wild through a beautiful piece of God’s creation.  Or how about the Yellowstone fire a few years back (I forget when).  We had fires in California and Florida to name just a few others.  And we could name many more.  When the fires broke out, firefighters responded in force in an effort to contain "the beast" (to borrow a term from the movie Backdraft — remember that movie?)  Anyway…the fire was not going to be allowed to be in control.  It must be snuffed out and extinguished.

But what happened waaaaaaaaay back when there were no firefighters to stop wildfires?  What happened to the forests and the prairies?  No doubt that lightening strikes started many fires, but back before people settled North America who "contained" the fires?  Who stopped them?  Who snuffed them out?  No one…and the forests and the prairies still thrived. 

Why? 

Because fire is needed to purify and needed for re-birth.  Some tree seeds need fire to pop them open so they can take root and grow.  Old under bush will prevent new growth unless it is removed (or burned away).  So before people, fires did their job.  They purified the forests and allowed for new growth (re-birth).  Once again, people get in the way.

And what about a "fire" in the church (I am being figurative here now)?  Imagine what that could do if left unchecked?  Imagine the repentance that would take place if people allowed the Holy Spirit to radically transform their lives by burning away the impurities.  Imagine the growth and re-birth that could happen.  Imagine the transformation. Imagine…

…But…

…we are afraid of "fire".  We are scared silly.  We don’t want to be burned.  We don’t want to be changed.  And I fear that what the Church really wants is a "fire" they can control and predict…not one that controls us.  We want to control whatever can hurt us, change us, or kill us.  We want to "contain" the "fire"… 

…But…

…God’s word cannot be contained.  It cannot be controlled.  It cannot be stopped.  Jesus came to bring fire.  Jesus came to transform the world.  Jesus came to bring life through a new source.  Not the Law, but the cross and the empty tomb.

The Word is here…oh how I wish it were already kindled.  But the firefighter in me — in all of us — keeps the water hose close by just in case the "fire" gets too wild.  Let it burn.  Let it purify.  Let it cause re-birth and growth.  Let it transform.  Basically…we need to get out of the way and let the "fire" do its job.

So…as I reflect on this text…one of my favorite Bible camp songs come to mind.  Maybe you know it.  Here it is:

Light the Fire
I stand to praise you, but I fall on my knees.  My Spirit is willing, but my flesh is so weak.

So light the fire — In my soul — Fan the flame — That makes me whole — Lord you know — Where I’ve been — So light the fire in my heart again

I feel your arms around me as the power of healing begins.  You breathe new life right through me; like a mighty rushing wind.

So light the fire in my heart again.

Amen!
-edh-