Prayer

God’s vineyard

/ The Pastor

A Sunday morning prayer based on today’s Gospel text from Matthew 21:33-46 (The Parable of the Tenants):

Most gracious and loving God,

You have placed us in YOUR vineyard:
Not an actual vineyard (that would be silly).
Not a metaphor for our church building.
Not a description of our family.
Not a description of an actual place.

But rather…

You, O God, have placed us in YOUR vineyard by virtue of your saving grace through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We have been given knowledge of your love.
We have been offered forgiveness.
We have seen you active in our lives
We have heard your Word of truth.
We have been given life through Jesus.
We have been blessed with faith.

…and that is the fruit of YOUR vineyard.

But too often we claim that fruit as our own.
Too often we hoard it as a limited resource.
Too often we protect it as a fragile vase.
Too often we lock it up as a priceless treasure.

But the fruit of YOUR vineyard is not ours.  We have been blessed with it so we may know you AND so others may know you.  As you blessed Abraham to be a blessings to others, you have blessed us.   May we be faithful caretakers of YOUR vineyard; ready to share with ALL people.  May we keep the gates of YOUR vineyard open that ALL may know your love.  And when your Son, Jesus Christ, returns may we be found faithful.

O gracious God, we praise you for your love endures forever.  Amen.

edh -|—

Let’s go to Nineveh

/ The Pastor

Jonah 1:1-3
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”  But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

Almighty God ~ You are a loving and compassionate God; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Jonah knew this but didn’t really KNOW this.
We know this but in the same way we really don’t KNOW this.

or

Maybe it is that we really don’t want to believe this.  We want you to be compassionate and loving toward us but let’s not get too wild here.  Let’s not get too crazy or go overboard.  After all…there are people out there we would rather not see in community with us.

But your ways are not our ways.
Your plans are not our plans.
Your vision is not our vision.

Grant us faith to go where you call us to go; even if that means going to Nineveh (to those we would rather not see saved).
Grant us faith to trust your will.
Grant us faith to TRULY see your love and compassion for people.

Because if we truly think about it, we are Ninevites.  We incurred your wrath but you sent Jesus (whom we crucified).  But through faith in Jesus ~ responding to his message ~ receiving your forgiveness, you relented from the punishment due to us.  May we serve and praise you for that amazing love and compassion.

We don’t deserve it ~ no one does. But according to your will, lead us as we follow you to Nineveh.

Praising you always and forever!  Amen!

edh -|—

Community

/ The Pastor

Matthew 18:15-20
15 “If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Loving God…you created us to be in community ~ not just with you but with each other here on this earth.  You have created us to be an expression of the community you created between you and creation.  You created us to maintain and pursue community.  You created us to give you glory through community.

But we messed up community.

We sinned ~ and continue to sin.
We hurt our neighbors.
We create and maintain division between people.
We seek to win rather than to heal.
We take the “easy” way out rather than dealing with problems.
We REALLY treat people as “pagans and tax collectors“.

Oh how we have messed up community.

Oh gracious God; loving creator ~ we have acted contrary to your design.
Grant us your vision and heart for one another.
Grant us compassion and love for our neighbors.
Grant us patience and passion.
Grant us desire for what is better ~ community as you design.

Oh gracious and loving God…even though we messed up your creation; your community, you pursued healing and reconciliation through the cross; through Jesus Christ.  Thank you for your compassion.  May we pursue that same reconciliation in all our relationships ~ giving you all the praise and glory.  Through Jesus Christ I pray…AMEN!

edh -|—

Your will O God

/ The Pastor

Almighty and loving God, I do not know what exactly to pray for.  I want to pray for your will to be done but I also want my will to be done.  It’s silly to say this ~ silly even to think this, but I need to be honest with myself for you already know my heart.

That is why I need to ask you to:
Strengthen my faith
Grant me wisdom
Give me patience

For you have a grand plan in place for me.
You have something special planned for me.
You are preparing me for something great.

I just know it O God ~ I just know it.

So don’t let Satan get a foothold in my life. 
Don’t let him distract me from what is important.
Don’t let him keep me from focusing my gaze on you.  For you are my life.

So here I am ~ praying to you. O God grant me what I need. And may your will be done in my life.

Amen

-edh-

Deny, carry and follow

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
(Matthew 16:24-26)

Loving, holy and gracious God…Your Son and our Lord Jesus Christ has called us to follow.

We are called to deny ourselves ~ (that’s hard).
To dethrone ourselves.
To move ourselves down the priority list.

We are called to pick up and carry our cross ~ (that’s scary).
To make sacrifices.
To suffer.

We are called to follow you (that’s not always fun).
To obey you.
To trust you.

But this call to deny, carry and follow is done out of love.
Help me to see this.

This call to deny, carry and follow is done so others may know you.
Help me to see this.

This call to deny, carry and follow is done for your glory.
Help me to see this.

Jesus Christ is my TRUE Lord and Savior.
Help me to PROCLAIM this.

Amen!

-edh-

From the heart

/ The Pastor

Matthew 15:10-20
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”

Let us pray…

Gracious and loving God, you call us to good works.
   You call us to proclaim your glory,
   you call us to serve others,
   you call us to worship you.

But much of what we do, we do in order to receive praise from people.
   We deliver meals to the hungry ~ and people thank us.
   We teach Sunday school ~ and parents are appreciative.
   We serve on the church council ~ and people are thrilled.
   We serve in the community ~ and stories are written about our kind hearts.
   We live “biblical” lives ~ and people think we are people of faith.

But you alone know our hearts.  You know our intentions.  You know our motives.  You see what others do not see.  You know what others do not know.  And what matters more than praise from people is the fact that Jesus went to the cross:
Was beaten
Falsely accused
Spat upon
Beaten some more
Had nails pounded into his body
Hung in agony
And slowly died…and then won the final victory through his resurrection.

Why?

Because of his great love for us.

May all that we do go to show this love.  May our good works point to the cross and what Jesus did there.  May our hearts reflect the praise of this world and proclaim your goodness and grace.  Heal and change our hearts so that you and you alone are praised, worshiped and glorified.  For you are indeed worthy.  Through Jesus Christ, your dear Son and our Lord, I pray, Amen!

-edh-

Communion WITH God

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

An interesting question was posed to us at the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference last week.

The speaker was talking about a relationship WITH God and asked us: “How would your life be different if you were always aware of God’s presence?”.  He went on to talk about prayer as not just communication but communion WITH God…thus enabling us to “pray without ceasing”.

I was struck by that question. How would my life be different?

How would it affect my daily decisions?
How would I treat those who are difficult to love?
How would I deal with temptation?
How would it affect my T.V. viewing choices?
How would I speak about others?

Does this awareness affect your decisions because of fear of punishment?
Does this affect your decisions because you hope God will do something for you?

Or

Does this awareness affect your choices because of your love for the one who died and rose that you may have life?

I guess it all depends on how you look at the Gospel.  Who is God for you?

For me? 

God is Holy.  God is love.  God is life.  And my hope and prayer is that I respond out of love and worship for God.

What is your communion with God like?

-edh-

Awesome and simple prayer

/ The Pastor

Psalm 25:4-7
“Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.  Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.  Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from old.  Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good.”

That Psalm was from my Bible reading a couple days ago but it is still clinging to me so I thought I would jot down a few thoughts for you.

Shortly after I posted these verses to my Facebook page, a friend of mine commented and thanked me for posting this.  She said she printed those words off saying “what an awesome yet simple prayer“.  I was struck by her words for she is right ~ it is an awesome yet simple prayer.

Show me your ways
Teach me your paths
Guide me in your truth
I strive to learn more about God yet I seem to get easily distracted by this world.  There are worries, concerns, to-do lists, full calendars, demands, expectations, etc.  I get distracted and find myself following the ways of this world ~ and when that happens I get overwhelmed.  And that is exactly what happened to me.

But then…

…the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference started.

Now I find myself slowing down as I am taking this week off for continuing education and renewal.  I am enjoying the faithfulness of God as God is showing me his ways and teaching me his path.  God is guiding me in his truth and through it all ~ refreshing my soul.  I am feeling God’s great mercy and love and being reminded of God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  I don’t feel overwhelmed anymore.

Indeed ~ what an awesome yet simple prayer.

Sometimes it is easy to forget that the Book of Psalms was the first worship/prayer book.  There are timeless truths contained in this “little Bible” (as Martin Luther called it).  The psalter spills out in words the emotions that we all go through (even though written in a different place, time and context).  Psalms of praise, confession, lament and many more are waiting for you.  Many times, when I don’t have the words to say to God, I find myself searching the Psalms.  God may know my thoughts but it is comforting to know someone else was feeling something similar to me.

Make it a habit to engage the Psalms often.  Chances are you will find one to help you give words to what you are feeling and experiencing.  And no doubt…you will find an awesome and yet simple prayer.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

Great things

/ The Pastor

Inspired by Matthew 14:13-21 (The Feeding of the 5000)

Gracious and loving God, you have called us to do great things but too often we fail to trust you.  We see the “great things” you want us to do and we get overwhelmed ~ as if we are expected to do these “great things” on our own.  So we offer excuses and reasons why we can’t do these “great things”:
I’m not smart enough
I’m not strong enough
I’m not big enough
I’m too old, too young, too short, too tall
I can’t speak so well
I’m afraid
I’m sick
I’m dying

We offer excuse after excuse, but God ~ you know them all.  You know all of our excuses, short-comings, limitations and weaknesses ~ for you are our creator.  You know all the so-called reasons why WE can’t accomplish “great things” but you call us to do these “great things” ~ not alone ~ but with YOU.
Give us the faith to see your strength and faithfulness. 
Give us eyes to see you working in and through us.
Give us hearts to respond to those in need.

Gracious and loving God ~ thank you for calling us to do “great things” ~ to the glory of your name.  In Jesus Christ we pray, AMEN!

-edh-

Priorities

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

This morning as I was watching the news I became very irritated…both with the news agency and with myself for not noticing earlier.

For the past few days the thoughts and prayers of many people in the world have been with the people of Japan.  The stories and images are heart wrenching.  I sit in my comfy home as I watch the homes of other people get swept away like toothpicks.   I see the faces of people who have had their lives washed away and I feel helpless.  I see the utter devastation and I am in awe.  The power of the earthquake and tsunami is absolutely incredible.

This is not what irritated me this morning, though.  Even though I don’t like what is going on over in Japan I am growing more and more irritated with how some media outlets are reporting this (i.e. Fox News).  As I was watching Fox News this morning it dawned on me that I hadn’t heard Fox News say much about what was going on over in Japan.  Rather…the focus was on the United States:  Are our nuclear reactors safe?  How would we fare in an earthquake and tsunami?  Will this bring gas prices down for a while since Japan won’t be demanding much gas for a while? Etc, etc, etc…

Really?  Are we really that self absorbed?

Maybe those questions are important but let’s keep some perspective.  I don’t like seeing those images from Japan but I need to see them. I need to see them so I won’t forget.  When was the last time you thought about Haiti?  We don’t see or hear much about Haiti anymore and therefore it is easy to think that everything is going well.  Then a news story appears talking about Haiti and I am quickly reminded that life is not back to normal (as if I thought it would be).  But you know the old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”.

But as for the current crisis, I really don’t care right now what the status is of our nuclear program.  I really don’t care how we would hold up in an earthquake.  (and believe it or not) I really don’t care what this crisis will do to gas prices.  What I care about is the people in Japan and what we can do to help.

I may be only one person but I can still do something.  I can pray, I can text some money to a relief organization, I can give to a special offering in worship and…I can remember.

Let’s not focus solely on “what-if” scenarios and self-centered interests but rather let’s keep our attention on our brothers and sisters in Japan.  Let’s not forget and grow complacent.  Remember…after hurricane Katrina Japan was one of the first nations to come to our aid.

God, may your glory be revealed through all those who are helping in various ways in Japan.  Bless their efforts, O God.  We know that you are not distance but right there in the midst of this crisis.  Knowing that you are with us gives strength and encouragement as we face an incredible worldly force. May your name forever be praised.  In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

-edh-