Worship

Feed your sheep

/ The Pastor

Loving God – because your sheep NEED to be fed, grant me strength.

Grant me the words to say this morning as we mourn the death of Gene.

Open the hearts of those who have not heard of you that they may hear the Good News.

Comfort the hearts of those who have heard with the hope of the resurrection.

Strengthen us as we go through these days, weeks and months that lay ahead with the promise that in Christ there are no “good byes”.

May our time together this morning bring you praise, honor and glory as we are FED with the awesome story of Jesus Christ crucified and risen FOR US.

Thank you, God, for your faithfulness.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Amen.

edh -|—

Right between the eyes

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

I was talking with a person a while back about a funeral they attended…and I was saddened by what I heard.  I was saddened because  it didn’t sound like the Gospel was preached.  When I asked how the funeral went they said things like:

“It was a great celebration of their life.”
“It was very upbeat.”
“Fun stories were shared about him.”
“He lived a very good life.”

There was nothing about the Gospel.  Maybe it was preached but those comments sure don’t sound like that is what they heard.  What this person remembers are stories and remembrances of the past.  I wish I would have challenged them more but being in a public place I shied away from confronting them…but maybe I should have.

[A missed opportunity]

I also remember another conversation (by the way…I am preparing for a funeral this week, that is why these memories are bubbling up).  This conversation was with a family.  I was meeting with them but was unable to do the funeral because of a prior commitment.  Luckily they had a family member who was a pastor so they were going to lead worship.  Through the course of the meeting the daughter was talking about the service and wanted lots of stories about her mother.  I chimed in and said a funeral has nothing to do with the deceased but everything to do with Jesus and what he has done for you and for me.  This was the response I got:

“Well…at my funeral you are going to talk about me!”

I really wanted to argue but I decided that wasn’t the place.  Besides…at her funeral she won’t have any say what I talk about 🙂

Why am I bring this up?

As I prepare for a funeral one of the things I am keenly aware of is that there could very easily be people there who normally do not attend worship.  These people only enter a worship space on Easter, Christmas, funerals and weddings.  They go through life without hearing the Good News.  So when they do finally show up in a worship space you just can not miss that opportunity.  You have to smack them right between the eyes with the Gospel, not fun stories about the deceased.  The dead person’s past life is not going to help them.  The only thing that will help is Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection; the victory he won FOR YOU and FOR ME.

Too many people in the world today water down the Gospel with the prosperity gospel (which is NO gospel at all; not good news).  The prosperity gospel says that if you believe hard enough, are a good person and keep your nose to the grindstone, you can be successful (to have your best life now).  If bad things happen then you somehow fell short. Please do not buy into this false gospel.

Once again…that is NOT good news.

And it bugs me to no end that this message is being preached by many so called ministers out there; leading people astray.  What they are doing is simply preaching a message that people WANT to hear, not what they NEED to hear.

What people need to hear is:
–We are sinners and can not survive this life on our own.
–There is hope.
–We have a savior in Jesus.
–That through faith in Christ there is forgiveness of our sins.
–That there is NOTHING we can do to earn, merit or deserve this grace.
–God loves you!

So when I prepare a funeral sermon (or any sermon for that matter) I try to keep in mind what people need to hear…and let them have it.

So as I prepare for this funeral on Thursday I am winding up and preparing myself to smack people right between the eyes with the TRUE Gospel.  And I pray that God will use the words I say to change someone’s life.  All to God’s glory.

So if you are reading this and coming on Thursday, get ready because I will be bringing it 🙂

Praise be to God!

edh -|—

God vs technology…and God won

/ The Pastor

Merry Christmas everyone!

I have to tell you about a God moment that I had yesterday right before I started preaching.

The text I was preaching on was John 1:19-28 (but I “warmed up” the congregation with John 1:1-18).  On Thursday I found what I thought to be a good opening illustration and copied it into the manuscript.  It wasn’t the best but it still worked.  I then wrote the opening part of the sermon before getting into the “meat”.  The main part was a biblical exposition of John which I did not write out word for word (that was the part I knew very well).  I saved the sermon on my computer and then transferred it to my Kindle (as I sometimes do).

Sunday morning ~ Everything went well at Belmont (8:30am worship), but when I got to the pulpit at Salem (10:15am worship) God decided to show me that he has a sense of humor ~ and more importantly that God is in control.

As the lector was reading the lessons I turned on my Kindle and pulled up the sermon.  I then placed my Kindle in “sleep mode” until I would “wake it up” in the pulpit.  So far so good.  Nothing unusual.

Then…well…God happened 🙂

I got into the pulpit and read the Gospel text and then proceeded to open the cover of my Kindle.

It was locked up.

Nothing worked.  It just stared at me as if to say “Hey buddy…you’re on your own.”  A moment of panic set in as I tried to determine what I was going to do without letting the congregation know there was a problem.  I knew I couldn’t go on with my opening part of the sermon since I didn’t know it well enough but I did know the main part of the sermon (“the meat”) like the back of my hand.

And then I got it…God didn’t like my sermon opening.

So…on the fly (and by the power of the Holy Spirit)…I began preaching…and the words just came out.  As I got going more, I got into the sermon and before long my Kindle problems were a distance memory.  After worship I got more good comments about that sermon than I have received in a long time…and from people who normally don’t comment.  Praise be to God!!!

I told this story to someone and they suggested I have a backup copy of the sermon on hand next time.  Sounds like a logical suggestion but part of me is not too sure I want to do that…

You see…on Sunday, God was in control…and I like that.  Isn’t that the way it should be?

edh -|—

P.S. Following worship my Kindle started working perfectly 🙂

Sealed and marked

/ The Pastor

This past Sunday (yesterday) the Gospel text was from Matthew 22:15-22.  It is the text where the religious leaders are trying to trap Jesus by asking him whether it is lawful to pay the tax to Caesar.  After Jesus asks for the coin used for the tax and after quizzing the quizzers on who’s image and inscription is on the coin, Jesus says:

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s“.

Jesus never directly answers the question.  He never says whether it is lawful or not.  Jesus simply states what is truly important; leaving the quizzers speechless.

So on Sunday I talked about being marked.  The coin was marked and so are we.

How?

We are “sealed with the Holy Spirit and MARKED with the cross of Christ forever.” (from the order of Baptism in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book)

So what does this really mean for you and for me?  What does it mean to be marked?

(1)  It is about placing a claim on something (or someone).  You claim a brand new car by putting a license plate on it.  You claim a household pet by putting a collar/tag on it.  God places a claim on us in baptism through the mark of Christ ~ the cross.  God says to you through baptism, “You are mine“.

(2) The mark says something about the claimer.  A car license plate says a lot about the person who claimed (bought) the car.  An animal tag says something about who owns that pet.  The mark of Christ, the cross, shows us how serious God is about us.  Jesus went to the cross, an instrument of torture and death.  The cross shows us how much God loves us.    Indeed…the mark says a lot about God’s love for you.

(3) Lastly…marking something says something about the claimed. You don’t mark something if you don’t intend to claim or redeem it.  You only mark something that has value.  The very fact that Jesus went so far as the cross and that through baptism we are sealed and marked with the sign of the cross, says that we are valuable (to put it mildly).  God has claimed us and through faith in Christ, God intends to redeem us.

So at the end of the sermon I invited people to come forward to the baptismal font to receive the sign of the cross on their foreheads.  I told the people that this is  NOT because their mark from their own baptism has worn off, but rather this is a simple reminder that they are claimed by God.

One by one people came forward.  I dipped my finger in the water; making the sign of the cross on their foreheads, I said these words: “Child of God, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and MARKED with the cross of Christ forever.” It was a very powerful moment for me; to see most everyone come forward to acknowledge their gift of baptism.

As Martin Luther told people, I encouraged people whenever they splash water on their face, let the water remind them of their baptism.  Make the sign of the cross on your own forehead and say, “I am baptized“.  What a great way to start your day.

Reflect on your own baptism today (and everyday for that matter).  Consider the MARK God has placed on you.  Contemplate the fact that God considers you valuable.  Ponder the lengths Jesus went to in order to show how serious he is about you.  And rejoice in God’s love for you.

What an awesome God we have!

edh -|—

A different creed

/ The Pastor

At our morning worship service on Tuesday, during my synod’s Fall Theological Conference, we used the following creed in worship.  It is called The Maasai Creed.  It was composed by the Maasai people of East Africa along with missionaries from the Congregation of the Holy Ghost, in 1960.

It is very different from what we are used to, but in some ways similar.  It doesn’t confess everything the Apostles’ Creed confesses (e.g. no virgin birth) , but it gets the gist of it.   Theologically it may be a little rough, but rough is not necessarily bad.  I might have used some different words in spots, but hey…let’s consider the source and context.

So whatever it is worth I share this with you and curious to read what you think of it.

We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created Man and wanted Man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the Earth. We have known this High God in darkness, and now we know Him in the light. God promised in the book of His word, the Bible, that He would save the world and all the nations and tribes.

We believe that God made good His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, He rose from the grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord.

We believe that all our sins are forgiven through Him. All who have faith in Him must be sorry for their sins, be baptised in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love and share the bread together in love, to announce the Good News to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for Him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.

edh -|—

Make music to the Lord

/ The Pastor

Psalm 92:1-5
It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2     to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3     to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
4     For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
5     How great are your works, O Lord,
how profound your thoughts!

Today I am heading to LifeLight; a Christian music festival in Worthing, SD (south of Sioux Falls).  It is the largest FREE, outdoor, Christian music festival in the country.  There is 100+ bands and 6 stages.  And did I mention that it is FREE?

Lot’s of great music.
Lot’s of great food.
Lot’s of great worship.

I look forward to this event every year (always Labor Day weekend).  We set up camp in front of the main stage and sit there all day.  Today (Saturday) and Sunday will be spent there (with a trip back to Jackson for Sunday morning worship).   And considering that the fall season is upon us; Wednesday Night Live, Release time and confirmation starting soon, this festival is always a great way to kick off a new program year. It seems to jump start things for me.

So as I was reading my Bible today I came across Psalm  92 which spoke about my excitement of this weekend.   But these verses are not just about the upcoming weekend, but about our lives.

Our God is an awesome God and worthy of praise and worship.

Worship is not a duty.
Worship is not something to cross off your list.
Worship is not something you HAVE to do.

Worship should be your JOY; something you GET to do ~ not something that just happens on Sunday, but part of the other 6 days of your week.

So remember to take some time and make some music unto the Lord.  Or in my case…I will make a joyful noise 🙂

Either way ~ PRAISE BE TO GOD!

-edh -|—

Church “visitor”

/ The Pastor

I was running a little behind yesterday morning.

During the summer I only have a 1/2 hour from when Belmont finishes worship and when Salem begins.  With the two congregations are 8 miles apart I have about a 10 minute drive back to town.

Yesterday, worship at Belmont concluded at 9:05am and managed to get out by 9:10am (I guess I got a little long winded) which didn’t give me much time to get to Salem and transition to another worship service.  I arrived at Salem at 9:20am and made a quick transition in my office.  Upon leaving my office to head to the sanctuary I noticed my wife in the hallway.

Suddenly she screamed…”THERE’S A BIRD IN HERE!”

I looked and sure enough…something was flying in the hallway, but it wasn’t a bird.  That’s right…it was a bat.

“I don’t have time for this” I thought.

I eventually chased the flying creature into a Sunday school room where I shut the door and stuffed towel under the door.  “We’ll deal with it later“.  I just didn’t know it would be so soon.

Right before my scripture reader came up front to read during worship he noticed a shadow move quickly across his papers.  He turned around fearing what he would find and sure enough that bat found it’s way out of it’s so-called prison and tried to join us for worship.  Immediately, the fast-thinking Dan flung the glass sanctuary doors shut and kept the bat out in the narthex.  Some guys, then, proceeded to chase the bat outside.

And I didn’t notice a thing.  Worship never missed a beat. A bat in the sanctuary during worship probably wouldn’t have put an end to worship very quickly.

As a pastor, I can’t help but wonder…
How would I have handled a bat in the sanctuary during worship?
How much commotion would that “rat with wings” have caused?
Would worship been salvageable at all?

I am glad I didn’t have to find out yesterday.  But something tells me that I need to be ready 🙂

-edh-

A poor sinner

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

I had issues this morning.

I have been a pastor now for just over 7 years.  I have presided over communion for just over 7 years.  I have known the Words of Institution for just over 7 years (even longer than that because I knew well before seminary).  But today it was like I have never said those words before.

I was standing up front at Belmont this morning leading worship.  I had just received the offering and the congregation was standing.  I turned around holding the chalice and began the Words of Institution.  The problem is that we start with the bread and then go to the wine (at least that is what I normally do).  I found myself lost as I realized that I had the wrong element…so I had to wing it…trying to make it look as if I meant to start with the wine.

I failed.

I stuttered and stumbled through the Words of Institution like I didn’t know what I was doing.  I was totally frazzled and my rhythm was totally gone.  I even saw someone out there smile at his wife as he knew I was struggling.  I think part of the problem was that I have become so accustomed to the Words of Institution that I found myself relying of the words themselves and not on the proclamation.

That is going to have to change.

My hope and prayer is that people still heard words of promise regardless of my failure.  My guess is that they did hear words of promise ~ thanks to the Holy Spirit.  I trust that God still used me in some way ~ for you see ~ when I preach and lead worship it is not about what I do but it is about the Holy Spirit working through me.  One reason why I am certain of this is because if it were about me; if it were about my speaking ability; if it were about my so-call talents;  I would have been fired long ago.  But as it is God can use a poor sinner like me to proclaim the Good News.

Praise be to God!

The other explanation of what happened this morning could be that I need a vacation ~ something that will be happening very soon 🙂

-edh-

Where’s the cross?

/ The Pastor

A few weeks ago my wife and I were chatting with some friends about Holy Week.  We were sharing what our respective congregations were planning.  Here…we share Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worships with Belmont Lutheran Church (the small county congregation I serve).  We each take one of those services and then flip the following year.  This year we worship at Belmont on Maundy Thursday and at Salem for Good Friday.

As I was sharing this I was talking about this old rugged cross that a couple Salem guys made a few years back.  It stands about 6 feet tall and made from two nice-sized tree branches.  They did a very nice job and it’s perfect for Good Friday worship.  As soon as I mentioned this I froze.  You see…on Ash Wednesday we put a larger cross in Salem’s narthex (we decorate this cross with palm branches and lilies for Easter Sunday).  There is a crown of thorns on top and it is draped with a purple cloth.  It greets people as they enter the narthex to remind then of Lent and of Jesus’ suffering and death.

Well…the cross was not there in the narthex.  I forgot to put it out 😦

How could I possibly forget the cross?  My wife was quick to remind me that our custodian always put it out…but here’s the thing…that person is no longer our custodian due to a stroke he suffered last June.  I always took for granted that Dave would have the cross out and ready to go for Ash Wednesday and Lent.  But that doesn’t absolve me for forgetting that cross.

I mean…think about it.  Lent is a time for us to remember why Jesus suffered and died on the cross.  We are to remember our mortality and sin.  We are to remember that from dust we came and to dust we shall return.  We are to remember that without the cross we are condemned to hell.  The cross is the focus…and I forgot that narthex cross.  But here’s another thing…no one else noticed either (or at least they didn’t say anything to me).  I am not sure what bothers me more:  Me forgetting or no one saying anything about it.

So the solution was  to put it up for Palm Sunday (which we did); marking the beginning of Holy Week.  The purple cloth on that cross will be replaced on Maundy Thursday with a black one.  The cross will then be put outside for Good Friday to REMIND people of what Jesus did for us.  And…the cross will be “decorated” with palm branches and lilies to remind us of the joy that comes through the cross.

Now…when I walk through the narthex I feel a little more complete…with the reality of the cross staring at me.  I hope that when Easter is done that I won’t need a large cross in the narthex to remind me of what Jesus did FOR YOU and FOR ME.

May you have a blessed Holy Week and a very happy Easter!

Praise be to God!

-edh-