Gospel of Mark

Giving

/ The Pastor

Today I am preaching on Mark 12:41-44 ~ “The Widow’s Offering”.

It is a story that always hits close to home as it challenges me how I give back to God.  It is so easy to focus on budgets and worry about income and bills; so  much so, that we often times cut back on our giving in order to get by.  But what if we actually believed that everything we have belongs to God (which it does).  How would that direct our giving?

Hmmm…

You see…giving is a matter of faith.  Do you actually believe that God will provide for you?  If you don’t then you don’t have much motivation to give.  If you DO believe God provides for your needs then faith tells us that in order for God to provide for others God needs us to provide for them.  God blesses us so we may bless others.

What a novel idea 🙂

When you place your gift in the offering plate you are:
~ Praising God for is abundance
~ Thanking God for His blessings in your life
~ Blessing others
~ Showing trust
~ Worshiping God

The offering is not just part of the worship service, it IS an act of worship.  May you know God’s blessings so you may bless others with the love of God.

We give thee but thine own, whatever the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from thee.

May we thy bounties thus as stewards true receive,
and gladly, as thou blessest us, to thee our first-fruits give.

The captive to release, to God the lost to bring,
to teach the way of life and peace — it is a Christ-like thing.

And we believe thy word, though dim our faith may be:
whatever we do for thine, O Lord, we do it unto thee.
[Evangelical Lutheran Worship book #686]

Praise be to God!

edh -|—

The things of God

/ The Pastor

The “assigned” Gospel text for Sunday is from Mark 8 where Jesus foretells his death; Peter rebukes Jesus; and then Jesus in turn rebukes Peter: “Get behind me Satan, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man.”

This “things of God” verses the “things of man” has got me thinking this week.

I started the week reflecting on Psalm 119:1-16 where it says:

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.
3 They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me. 

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, O Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

I have been soaking these verses in every chance I get this week.  When some down time presents itself to me I open my Bible to read and reflect.  I listen and then read again.  I ponder and wonder if I am indeed setting my mind on the “things of God” rather than on the “things of man”.  Do I mediate on God’s precepts? Do I take joy in learning God’s righteousness decrees?

You see ~ The “things of man” doesn’t encourage you to open your Bible during some down time.  The “things of man” doesn’t encourage you to just sit and listen, as a friend of mine so aptly wrote on his blog recently.  The “things of man” doesn’t tell you that God’s way is best.  And so I am encouraged:

I feel good about myself.
I feel justified that I am doing what I should be doing.
I feel like I am on the right path.

But then I also realize that I have my moments (actually…many moments) when I am setting my mind on the “things of man”.  In a lot of ways Peter and I are kindred spirits.

I want what I think is best without consulting God.
I want to find peace and contentment in the things of this world.
I want to rush in with MY agenda.

So then I feel discouraged that maybe I truly don’t have in mind the “things of God” 😦

But then in Romans Paul reminds us that this battle is never ending.  We are always going to be frustrated by the battle between the desire to set our mind on the “things of God” verses the “things of man”.  We are always go to be tempted to take the easy/pleasurable way over the productive/God-honoring way.  The battle is going to rage on and never calm down until that day when Jesus returns to take us home and redeem the pitiful state we find ourselves in.

So in the mean time, take every moment you can to immerse yourself in the Word.  Find quiet moments to listen to God. Remember to shut up and listen once in a while.  And don’t lose hope.  When you falter; when you revert to your “default” setting of the “things of man” remember the Good News ~ forgiveness through faith in Christ ~ and then update your settings to the “things of God”.

Praise be to you, O Lord; 
teach me your decrees. 
13 With my lips I recount 
all the laws that come from your mouth. 
14 I rejoice in following your statutes 
as one rejoices in great riches. 
15 I meditate on your precepts 
and consider your ways. 
16 I delight in your decrees; 
I will not neglect your word.

“Things of God”…CHECK 🙂
[At least for now]

Praise be to you O God!  Even though I falter and take you for granted, you don’t leave me orphaned.  Even though I often revert to the “things on man” you don’t cast me aside to fend for myself.  O God – I want to strive after your righteousness decrees.  Help me to keep my internal settings on the “things of God” that I may grow closer and closer to you.  Through Jesus Christ I pray…Amen.

edh -|—

GREAT news!

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

WOW!

“The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the Good News!”

That is awesome.  Good News?  Heck…that’s GREAT news.  The kingdom of God  is near ~ not just in timing, but proximity.

Have you ever just stopped to ponder that reality?
Have you ever taken any time whatsoever to think about that promise?
Have you ever pondered what this means for you?

This is GREAT news.  Through Jesus Christ the kingdom of God is near; it’s HERE.  It is closer to you than you are to yourself ~ and through faith in Jesus Christ it is your hope for the future as well; victory over death and life everlasting.

GREAT news!

Use the Sabbath Day today to rest and to reflect on this promise.  Open your Bible and dive into Scripture.  Read and soak in what God has for you.  Love and enjoy this GREAT news of Jesus Christ died and risen FOR YOU.

Mediate
Pray
Worship
Give thanks

“The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the Good News!”

edh -|—

Show us

/ The Pastor

Scripture reference (Transfiguration Sunday) ~ Mark 9:2-9

Loving God, on that mountain top you showed Peter, James and John a glimpse of your glory.  They saw a tiny piece of the puzzle; a preview of THE coming attraction.  And…as they were drawn to stay in that moment so are we.

But…

…there is a valley.  A valley of darkness, demons, disease, death, fear, hopelessness.  It’s a scary valley…but…we must remain in that valley…at least for the time being.  People need to hear a word of:

HOPE

PROMISE

LIFE

All through Jesus Christ.

Loving God…
Show us your glory.
Show us your love.
Reveal to us hope.  

EACH AND EVERY DAY. EACH AND EVERY MOMENT.

Show us and reveal to us who you really are so we may be your instruments here in this valley to bring this word of hope. And then, through faith in Christ, we look forward to returning to the mountain top…

FOR EVER AND EVER!

Praise to you, O God, for you are great.

Amen!

edh -|—

 

 

Amazing compassion

/ The Pastor

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am will,” Jesus said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. (Mark 1:40-42)

Wow…is anyone else blown any by this?  It can’t be just me.  I mean…this is awesome.  This is amazing.  This is incredible.  Wow!

I never tire of reading these stories of Jesus “crossing the line” to show a love like no other.  I mean ~ this man had leprosy; he was an outcast; he was unclean; he wasn’t even supposed to approach Jesus.

 

The law dictated that this man announce his presence “Unclean! Unclean!”
…but nothing.

The law dictated that Jesus not associate with him or touch him
…but he did.

The law was clear
…but…well…it’s Jesus.

“Filled with compassion” ~ that right there says it all.  Jesus was filled with compassion at how this man was separated from society.  Jesus could feel his pain.  And Jesus was willing to “cross the line” in order to restore him.

This story is more than just Jesus giving this man new flesh.  This is a story of restoration, renewal and new life.  It actually is a precursor to what Jesus is going to do for all of humanity.

Because of Jesus’ amazing love, grace and compassion for us, he went to the cross.

Suffered
Humiliated
Died

…and then three days later rose from the gave…

FOR YOU!

For you see, we too were outcasts; unclean; alienated from God because of sin.  But through Jesus’ compassion; his death and resurrection, we are restored to community through faith.  We are restored to life. But more importantly we are reconciled to God.  That is pretty awesome 🙂

So I guess that’s why I never tire of these leprosy stories for in them I am reminded of Jesus restoring this sinful man (me) to new life.

Wow…now that’s amazing! Praise be to God!

edh -|—

Authority of Jesus

/ The Pastor

Do you want to know what never, ever gets old with me?

What never gets old with me is the fact that when Jesus says something…IT HAPPENS.  No if, and or buts about it.  When Jesus speaks, people (and demons) listen.  I guess that is also why I enjoy preaching on texts, like what we have for Sunday ~ Mark 1:21-28 ~ the authority of Jesus/casting out evil spirits.

Jesus teaches with authority (not like that of the scribes).  The scribes, when they taught, would rely on the authority of the great teachers that came before them.  Their teaching would be full of phrases such as:

[So and so] said [this] about [this] Commandment and therefore according to [so and so] you should live in [this way].

This got old for the people.  The scribes never taught with their own authority.  They didn’t make their own judgments.

But Jesus did…and the people loved it.

You see…Jesus’ authority wasn’t just in the manner he spoke.  It wasn’t just in his voice inflection. It wasn’t just in his facial expressions and body language.  Jesus’ authority was much different…and powerful.  Jesus’ authority was his own’s and he didn’t need teachers who came before him.  Actually…no one came before him because he was God for crying out loud.  You don’t get any more authoritative than that.

And Jesus displayed that authority through his powerful words when he commanded those evil spirits to leave that man…and the evil spirits listened (kicking and screaming on the way out).  But that shouldn’t surprise you because…
…when Jesus speaks people listen.

…when Jesus speaks his words do something
[“Lazarus, come out”, “Take your mat and walk”]

…when Jesus speaks he means exactly what he says.
[“Your sins are forgiven”]

Wow…that is authority.  That is awesome.  That is powerful.

We are God’s children because He says so.
We are forgiven because God says so.
We are saved through faith in Jesus Christ because God says so.

Next time you are in worship and hear the pastor announce forgiveness, know that the pastor does that with the authority of God and therefore the words being spoken are from God himself…AND therefore…you can trust that the words will do what they actually mean:  YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.

Thank you, God, for calling me your child, forgiving me when I stray and embracing me when I return.  May you be praised always and forever. Amen!

edh -|—

Just shut up and follow

/ The Pastor

I have been doing some pondering this week about what it means to be called.  The Gospel text for this Sunday (Jan 22) is Mark 1:14-20.  Here Jesus is walking along; encounters some guys and simply says “Come, follow me”.  And these rabbi school rejects drop everything to follow Jesus.

They leave behind a somewhat stable income.
They leave behind a place to live.
They leave behind family and friends.
They leave behind their careers.
They leave behind their comfort zones.

Just like that they go and follow Jesus.  No argument. No negotiating.  They go and follow Jesus.  At least some of those characters in Old Testament tried to object:

I’m too young. (Jeremiah)
I’m a man of unclean lips. (Isaiah)
I don’t speak so well. (Moses)
We’re too old. (Abraham and Sarah)

That sounds more like me.

But God has a response for those excuses and so they follow…and God is faithful…and God accomplishes what God set out to do through them.  As if there should have been any doubt.  God is awesome and God knows what he is doing.

If that be the case (and it is) why do I think I can offer up an excuse for why I can’t or shouldn’t follow?  Do I really believe I can convince God that He made the wrong choice?  Do I really think I can talk God out of what God has in mind for me?  Do I really think that God doesn’t know me better than I know myself?

Silly man!

So whatever excuse you have used to not follow God…throw them out the window.  They’re no good.  When God says “Follow” simply recall to mind Psalm 23 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me” .

Think also of Jesus’ promise from Matthew 28 “…and lo, I am with you even to the very end of the age.”

When God commands you to follow, God is not going to leave you stranded.
When God commands you to follow, God will not leave you orphaned.
When God commands you to follow, God WILL do amazing things through you.

So just follow.
Stop the arguing.
Repent and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ died and risen FOR YOU.
And then…watch the fireworks…praising God always and forever.

Amen!

edh -|—

Serving at The Banquet

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

This afternoon we make our annual “pilgrimage” to The Banquet in Sioux Falls, SD to serve supper (see The Banquet for more information on this ministry). Salem, Belmont and Bethany Lutheran Churches bring about 35 to 40 people to serve supper for people who are homeless or just need a hot meal.  When I called last week to plan the meal I was told that The Banquet is expecting to serve about 500 people that day (numbers have been up from previous years).  In the past we have served 465, 421, 363, 396 people.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about the increase of people needing a hot meal considering the economy.

But as I think about making the necessary preparations to bring this group to Sioux Falls I find myself looking at our Gospel text for Sunday from Mark 12:38-44 (“The widow’s offering”).  Scripture commands us to care for the alien, the widow and the orphans.  Now I am not calling The Banquet guest “aliens” or anything of the sort, but they are people we are called (and commanded) to care for.  I mean…for the most part we live lives of abundance.  You have food in your refrigerator and you probably have a good idea where lunch and supper is coming from.  You probably even know what you are going to eat at those meals.  For the guests that utilize The Banquet for the livelihood, they don’t know…they don’t even know for sure if they can even get in to have a hot meal.  It depends if they get in line soon enough and the number of people there.  There are so many questions for those guests, but not so much for us.

A friend of mine has told me that they get frustrated with themselves because they feel they don’t do enough for others.  But maybe, just maybe, the poor widow from Mark 12 can teach us something:  It’s not the amount but the sacrifice.

I am looking forward to tonight; looking forward to what God is going to do through each of us…for His glory.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

“Stewardship” Sunday

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

“Stewardship is not about the church’s need to receive but rather about YOUR need to give.”

I heard the above quote at a stewardship seminar I attended a couple years ago (I may have even blogged about it but I can’t remember).  I bring this up because this coming Sunday, Nov. 8 is “Stewardship Sunday” at Salem.

“Stewardship”…Sunday…isn’t every Sunday about stewardship?

Isn’t every day about stewardship?

I mean seriously…shouldn’t we talk about stewardship as something we do everyday as a response to what God has done for us in Christ?
–Aren’t we stewards of the Gospel?
–Aren’t we stewards of our time, gifts and talents?
–Aren’t we stewards of “our” possessions?
And if we answered “yes” to all those questions (and we should) then “Stewardship Sunday” is something that needs to be done away with because “Stewardship Sunday” should happen every single day.

I also bring all this up in light of the Gospel text for this Sunday which is from Mark 12:38-44.  This is the story of the woman giving her two small copper coins (all she had) and Jesus commending her for giving out of her need (as opposed to the rich who gave out of their surplus).
–Is this text about us being better stewards?
–Is Jesus calling our attention to the fact that she felt driven to give despite her poverty; knowing God will care for
her?
–Do we use this text to highlight the church’s need to receive, our need to give, all of the above or none of the above?

I wonder if I need to do something different this year and totally throw people off.  Maybe I need to just rename this Sunday to “Turkey Dinner Sunday” because after all that is what we are also doing on Sunday.

Do you have a “Stewardship” Sunday?

-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-