Worship

Merry Christmas

/ The Pastor

Manger

This is such an exciting time of the year.  I love the worship services and the Christmas preaching.  I love the family gatherings and the yummy food.  I love the Christmas cheer and even the ugly Christmas sweaters. It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year.

This past week I have been feeling anything but 100%. A nasty head cold (with a 101.6 temp a week ago yesterday) made Christmas preparations difficult.  My wife got my yuck on Wednesday and is still recovering. But through it all sermons got written, worships got planned and God was glorified.  Satan did his best to try to derail me but as I wrote about earlier, it was a nice shot but not nearly good enough.  Christmas Eve worship was a blast and I can hardly wait to get out to Belmont to lead Christmas Day worship.

So from me and my wife to you and your family, we hope and pray you have a wonderful Christmas as we give thanks and praise to our great God for the gift of Jesus Christ.  May the Light of the world bring you peace not just today but throughout the whole year.  Let us set aside our differences and seek to forgive as we have been forgiven.  Let us re-prioritize our worship that God through Jesus Christ is the focus and not something/someone of this world.  Let us find strength and hope in the promise of Jesus’ return as we seek to take advantage of every opportunity to share the Good News with all.

God bless and have a very Merry Christmas!

The pastor -|—

What to give Jesus

/ The Pastor

Happy Advent 4 (almost Christmas)!

The Mayans were wrong; and we’re still here (is anyone actually shocked?) And now we get to prepare for a grand celebration as we continue to wait for Jesus.  But don’t worry; you don’t have to run around scrambling to find that perfect gift.  You don’t have to rack your brain trying to figure out what to give the King of the universe for his birthday.  After all…what do you give someone who has everything?  You give him the one thing that we can give and the one thing that he desires the most.

Our worship

That’s what Jesus wants…our worship.  And not just on Sunday mornings (or at Christmas and Easter or other times we find ourselves in a church building) but God wants our worship everyday, 24/7, 365 (or 366) days a year.  Our worship is all that is desired.

It may not seem like much but God is pleased when we give him everything that we are; when we come before him with our songs of praise and thanks; when we lifts our hearts up to him.  For you see…worship is a response of faith; it flows out of your love for God.  And if we are worshiping God with all our being…well…God is excited.

Too many people, though, think that worship is about being entertained…it’s not.  It’s about giving ourselves to God.  And if we are refreshed or encouraged then great…praise be to God.  For anything we get out of worship is a gift from God to be used for his glory; to lead us back to worship.  So in the end, worship is not about how we benefit but rather what we can give back to God.  If you have the mentality that worship is all about you then you’re being selfish.  It’s like going to a Christmas celebration with the sole expectation of bringing a great haul of gifts home.

This Christmas give back to Jesus the very thing he desires from you…your worship.  Praise HIM with all that you are.  Thank HIM for all that he has given you.  And worship HIM always and forever.

Merry Christmas and Amen!

The pastor -|—

Children of the Heavenly Father

/ The Pastor

On Sunday I said some words in response to the tragic shooting in Newtown, CT.   It was difficult to talk about this but I knew that something had to be said.  I shared the hope of Christmas, that God entered this world of suffering and overcame this world in Jesus Christ.  I shared words of peace and Good News.

Following the sermon I asked my small country congregation what hymn they would like to sing next.  And…without missing a beat, someone immediately said, “Hymn #781, Children of the Heavenly Father“.  I had to fight back tears when I heard that.  Here are the lyrics:

Children of the Heavenly Father safely in his bosom gather;
nestling bird nor star in heaven such a refuge e’er was given.

God his own doth tend and nourish, in his holy courts they flourish.
From all evil things he spares them, in his mighty arms he bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord his children sever;
unto them his grace he showth, and their sorrows all he knowth.

Though he giveth of he taketh, God his children ne’r forsaketh;
his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.

We are indeed his children who are wrapped in God’s loving arms.  Evil, sin and death may cause havoc now, but they have ultimately been defeated through the cross.

Praise be to God!

The pastor -|—

Nice shot…NOT

/ The Pastor

This is my crazy weird day:
~ Home desk top computer is shot.
~ Home lap top power cord is shot.
~ Church office laser printer shot.
[These first three items brought about 6 trips to my local computer store (spread throughout the day).  The children’s Christmas program is on the home computer so this was a high priority item]
~Worship prep in the midst of a number of phone calls
~ A fun visit with 2 local pastors over lunch
~ A piercing headache
~ Laser printer set-up
~ Met the locksmith about the broken lock on the narthex door

Therefore…

…very little sermon prep got done 😦

Now I am hungry; struggling to focus and other things are planned for tonight. That my friends is what I call Satan’s best shot at derailing this sermon.  But you know what…

…not going to happen.

This sermon will be preached because God’s Word can not be derailed by a plethora of mishaps and to-do items.  It may look like I am procrastinating but the very act of writing about this post is therapeutic.  It is getting the creative juices flowing and allowing me to let go of this crazy day.  I could easily get cranky about my routine being interrupted but I just need to take a step back…take a deep breath…and remember who’s I am.

bullseye

 

Satan took his best shot (I’ll give him credit for that), but it was not good enough.

 
Maybe the sermon won’t get written today (Thursday) as usual but God is bigger and God ALWAYS wins.

The empty tomb is proof of that 🙂

So here I go…diving into scripture again as I eat some supper.  Routine or not; computer failures or not, I will boldly proclaim the Word of God on Sunday morning.

Come Holy Spirit…inspire me 🙂

Praise be to God and Amen!

The pastor -|—

Holy buzz

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

We tried something new yesterday at Salem.  Shocking…Lutherans trying something new.  Wow 🙂

Anyway…what we did for the first time was have coffee fellowship time BEFORE worship.  I know that this is not a revolutionary thing as I have experienced this at other churches in the past, but it was new for us.  And from what I heard from a number of people this was a big hit.

[By the way…I take no credit for this idea.  I wish I could.]

When people arrived they seemed pleasantly surprised by the crowd in our small narthex.  When I told them about the coffee time a smile quickly formed on their face 🙂 Many people grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to visit.  Before long there was a holy buzz in the narthex.  People were talking and laughing.  One of the cool things I noticed was that there were people participating in this holy buzz that normally don’t stay after worship for coffee fellowship time.  That put a smile on my face 🙂

At about 10:10 a.m. (worship begins at 10:15) I began to wonder how I was going to break up this holy buzz.  I almost wanted to have worship out there in the narthex (but there were people in the sanctuary waiting to begin).  So I walked inside; waited for the organist to stop playing; and I starting talking.  People quickly filed in as I shared the morning announcements.  It was a smooth transition.

As worship continued I quickly noticed something else (something others shared with me later).  There was a different kind of “energy” in the sanctuary.  It’s hard to explain but that pre-worship holy buzz drifted into the sanctuary and something happened.  One person said, “It felt warm“, and I would agree. Following worship some people continued to hang around in the narthex for another cup of coffee and another quick treat.

More holy buzz.

All in all it was a great morning.

I think it is so easy to take Christian fellowship for granted.  Worship, scripture reading and prayer are important and essential but so is taking time to visit and listen to people.  I know we can not recreate last Sunday but I think it is safe to say that pre-worship fellowship time is going to continue…and definitely with my blessing.

edh -|—

Majestic!

/ The Pastor

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
[Psalm 8:1]

What a great refrain.

It is a phrase of submission to God.
It is a phrase of humility (on our part).
It is a phrase of worship.
It is a phrase of Truth.

Our God is majestic…and wonderful…and great…and loving…and forgiving…and merciful…and sovereign (and the list could go on).  So that phrase from Psalm 8 just seems appropriate.  God is our Creator so no one or no thing is above God for what created thing can be above that which created them.

Our Lord is majestic and worthy of all praise.

So the question is: How are you praising God today?
Or maybe the question is: Are you praising God today…and everyday?

For me ~ there is no one who can do what God has done or will do.  No one can save me like God through Jesus Christ.  No one is as patient with me as God is.  No one loves me as God does. No one is as mindful of me as God.

No one!

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

May God bless your day as you bask in the glow of His radiant love.  Praise be to God…Amen!

edh -|—

Worship God…not yourself

/ The Pastor

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
[Psalm 95:1-5]

If you ever needed a reason to go to worship, Psalm 95 lays it out for you. The problem is that many people would prefer to write a Psalm about themselves and talk about what their exploits and what they believe God should do for them.  For many…worship is all about them.

We have a messed up view of worship…hence the many “worship wars” that congregations experience.  The wars come from an attitude of “entertain me“.  If something doesn’t entertain them then it should not be done.  And in the midst of the worship wars, the true reason for worship gets lost.

For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

When was the last time you went to worship with no other reason than to sing praise to God, thank God for His awesome love in Jesus Christ and to lift up His holy name for His awesome deeds?

When was the last time to went to worship FOR GOD and not FOR YOU?

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
[Psalm 100]
God is holy.
God is worthy.
God is…well…God…so worship God and God alone for God has been and always will be faithful.
Praise be to GOD, always and forever.
Amen!
edh -|—

Unheard of

/ The Pastor

Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)

People don’t talk like that anymore; admitting their sinfulness and unrighteousness.  Falling on our faces before the throne of God in utter unworthiness because of the awesome holiness of God, is something that is rarely done…almost unheard of.

We are people of “unclean lips”.
We are unworthy.
We are sinful.

[Why can’t we figure that out?]

…and through the cross and the empty tomb we have seen the glory of God.

Yet I rarely hear the cry, “Woe to me”.

But Isaiah, through his confession, experienced a cleansing; a burning away of his sin, by the grace of God.  And it was only through his admission of his unholiness that he received this forgiveness and therefore was sent to a people of unclean lips. But…

People don’t talk this way today.
People don’t think this way today.

It’s almost unheard of.

When you “walk through” the confession liturgy in worship are you throwing yourself down before the throne of God in utter unworthiness or are you just going through the motions in order to hear some comforting words? Does repentance follow your confession or do you continue without the touch of a “live coal”?  Do you pursue a life of holiness or do you embrace a life of “unclean lips”? Is your cry “Woe to me” or is it “Woe to you”.

God is holy…we are not.
Confess your sins…hear forgiveness.

And…

Praise be to God!

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 -|—

 

 

Feed your sheep (a follow up)

/ The Pastor

Smack!  Right between the eyes…I think.

God was good today.

Following the service, a daughter of the deceased told me she appreciated the fact that I preached the Gospel and did not focus my attention on her mother.  Wow…it’s not every day I hear something like that.

Praise be to God!

It is always nice to hear comments from family like that, but I am mostly glad that they found comfort in the words that God placed on my heart.

Dear God…thank you for feeding your sheep today.  Amen.

edh -|—