By the grace of God

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

I have been a pastor for just over 6 1/2 years now (hard to believe sometimes).  During that span I have never woken up on a Sunday morning feeling sick (knock on wood).  I have woken up tired after getting to bed late the night before or just not sleeping well, but I have never been sick on a Sunday morning…until yesterday.

When I went to bed on Saturday night my stomach wasn’t feeling that great but I figured I would sleep it off.  As the night wore on I wasn’t getting better.  I wasn’t feeling nauseated but I was still in the bathroom a few times (I won’t elaborate on that).  After a very long night my alarm went off at 5:30am.  I was shot.  I had absolutely no energy.  I laid in bed and prayed, “God…I have no energy.  There is no way that I will get through this morning on my own power.  I feel like crap.  Please grant me the energy I need to lead these two worship services this morning.  I need you.”

After some arguing with myself I finally rolled out of bed.  My programmable coffee maker was doing its job so I made a bee line for the kitchen for a cup of coffee.  I couldn’t drink it…believe it or not the coffee just didn’t taste good.  You know something is wrong with me when I can’t drink coffee.  I got ready and headed over to the church.  I got into the pulpit and ran through my sermon.  I could feel the lack of energy in the sermon and I prayed again that God would give me the energy that I needed so that God’s Word would be preached despite Satan’s best efforts to keep me from doing so.

At about 7:30am I went back to the house and laid down on the couch (I need to leave for Belmont Lutheran Church by 8am).  I tried not to fall asleep because I knew I might not wake up until it was too late.  I laid there in a fog and prayed some more.  I finally got up at 7:50am.  My stomach was feeling a little better and I had a little more energy (but still not 100%).  My wife was concerned about me driving the 8 miles out to Belmont but I assured her I would be fine.

Worship at Belmont began at 8:30am and I was feeling good.  Not once during the worship service did I think about not feeling well.  My energy seemed to return and I preached the sermon with my normal energy and passion (at least that is what it felt like to me).  Worship at Salem was at 10:15 and I was still going strong.  Salem’s annual meeting followed worship and then our famous potluck.  I got home after 12noon and was out like a light by 12:30pm for a 2 hour nap.

So my streak continues…by the grace of God.  There is no way I could have survived Sunday without God by my side.  I know that if I were sick enough that I couldn’t go, someone would have stepped up and worship would have still happened.  But on Sunday God wanted me there and so it happened ~ by the grace of God.

-edh-

Unbelievable forgiveness

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

This week I am continuing our Old Testament sermon series by talking about the story of Joseph and “unbelievable” forgiveness.

In Genesis, chapter 50, Jacob dies and Joseph’s brothers get nervous.  They are nervous that Joseph will unleash his fury since Jacob, the family patriarch, is now gone.  So they tell Joseph that their dear ole dad has said that he is supposed to forgive them the wrongs they had done to him.  The brothers then throw themselves down on the ground before Joseph and vow to be his slaves.

Joseph weeps.

I have never really thought about why Joseph is weeping.  But now I am wondering if Joseph is sad because after all these years of providing for them in Egypt his brothers still believe Joseph doesn’t really forgive them.  When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers in chapter 45 he gave no indication he was going to lash out at them even though Joseph had the power to do so.  But Joseph told his brothers not to be distressed or angry with themselves; this was part of God’s plan.  Joseph showed nothing but love towards them by taking care of them through the terrible famine.  Now…after all these years…the brothers still don’t believe Joseph really forgives them.  If I were Joseph I think I would be sad as well.

I wonder if God weeps when we doubt his amazing forgiveness.  I mean…there are times when I wonder if God actually forgives ALL my sins.  Surely there is something that God holds on to.  Surely there must be a limit to God’s patience.  Forgiving ALL my sins?  That almost sounds to good to be true…almost unbelievable.

But God says, “What more do I need to do to prove it to you?  My beloved son, Jesus, died on a cross and rose from the grave to forgive your sins.  I would think that would be proof enough.”  And yet we have our doubts from time to time.  God’s forgiveness of our sins, at times, almost seems unbelievable…there must be a catch.

But there is no catch.

When we go to God in confession, through Jesus Christ we have forgiveness…period.  No strings attached. That, my friends, is pretty amazing.  Unbelievable?  Nope…it’s true.  Through Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of ALL our sins.

So don’t be afraid and don’t be distressed.  Go to God and know his amazing love for you…forever and ever.  Amen.

-edh-

Where 20 or 30 are gathered

/ The Pastor

I just received a copy of this book.  Last summer I attended a summer collegium at Virginia Theological Seminary on leadership in small congregations.  I saw this book on the website and thought it looked interesting.

The country congregation I serve (Belmont Lutheran Church) has a membership of 58 with about 15 to 20 in worship per Sunday.  There are certain things we can not do out there because of our size but there are certain things we can do because of our size.   For starters…worship is more intimate.  When I am preaching it feels like I am leading a small group. If someone is not able to be at worship to perform an assigned task, someone else quickly fills in.  It’s like a family that compensates for any void that happens to exist.  Coffee fellowship after worship feels like a family meal.  When there is a funeral everyone shows up to help minister to the grieving family.

The continuing challenge is to encourage Belmont that they have an important mission in the Body of Christ.  The other challenge is keeping worship fresh and engaging.  These past couple years I have seen plenty of evidence that Belmont also wants to keep things fresh; not wanting to get stuck in a rut.  As a pastor that is very encouraging.

I am looking forward to reading what these authors have to say about worship in small congregations.

-edh-

Going home

/ The Pastor

I have a Celebration of New Life service (a.k.a funeral) on Tuesday.  One the the scripture texts that the family choose is 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:8.  But the part that has caught my attention are verses 6 – 8 from chapter 5 which read as follows:  “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  We live by faith, and not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

Notice the two phrases that I have highlighted above.   Paul is not saying that while we are living in this body we are away from the Lord.  On the contrary…our Lord is with us 24/7.  But if we consider these bodies our “home” then we not living by faith but rather by sight.  And if that be the case, then one is indeed “away from the Lord“.

You see…our true home is not here but with the Lord.  This life is just a stopping off point not our true destination.  On the interstate of life, this is nothing more than an attraction off the interstate or a rest stop.  We are not meant to stay here but rather reach our final destination…home with the Lord.  And that destination is made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Funerals are never easy as we are caught between mourning our loved ones death and celebrating the New Life we have through Jesus Christ.  I will miss Cindy but I am also happy for her.

We live by faith, not by sight.

See you later, Cindy.

-edh-

Up and down

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I have an up and down week coming up.

Tomorrow is Sunday (so that is naturally an up).  At the country congregation I serve (Belmont Lutheran Church) we are celebrating the sacrament of Holy Baptism.  It is one of the favorite things I get to do as a pastor.  I get stand up there with the family and sponsors sharing what baptism means; encouraging them to follow through with their baptismal promises and then pour water on the baby’s head in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  It is a wonderful time and one I truly cherish and look forward to.

Also tomorrow I am continuing my sermon series in the Old Testament with the story of Abraham (but I am only preaching that sermon at Belmont…more on that in a bit).  The story I am focusing on is chapter 22; when God commands Abraham to sacrifice is son, his only son, the one whom he loves.  I know, I know…it seems strange to preach such a text on a baptism Sunday but the sermon focus was planned long before the baptism and the baptism was planned without any thought to the sermon focus.  But I think God brought both of these events together for his glory.  I am excited to see how all of this plays out together.

At Salem (instead of the sermon on Abraham) we are hearing a faith story from a saint of the congregation.  David had a stroke back in June of 2010 and has traveled a difficult road.  I have always known him to be a man of faith but the stories I have heard him tell me have given me goose bumps.  Finally…back in December…I asked David to share these stories with others and he agreed.  So tomorrow I am going to “interview” David as he shares his incredible journey.  The only down side is that we won’t have time to hear all his stories.  I guess people will just have to go and visit David to hear more…which he won’t mind.

Now the down part.

On Tuesday I am burying a saint of this congregation who died on Thursday night.  When Cindy went in for surgery back in November we expected her back in town in 5 to 7 days…that never happened.  She never got off the ventilator.  After a long battle her body finally began to shut down before she went home to meet her (and our) Lord.  This is going to be a hard funeral for many  but I know Cindy and she is going to want to truth of the Gospel proclaimed…so that is what I am going to do.  Funerals are bitter sweet for me; I mourn the loss of the deceased and mourn with the family, but I also get to proclaim the Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus in the midst of mourning (and to some who probably haven’t heard).  I don’t look forward to people dying but I look forward to God using me during these times.

So its going to be an up and down week for me but I know that God will be glorified in all of this.  I know that God will use me to proclaim the Good News of Jesus.  I know that God will not leave us.  And I know that God will continue to sustain us.

Up or down…God is faithful.  How can we not praise him for that?

-edh-

Being challenged and stretched

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

These past few weeks have been a lot of fun.

Wednesday, January 5 we started a small group study/sermon series on Old Testament stories.  The format is that a group would gather on Wednesdays at 5pm to read and discuss an Old Testament story and then I would preach on that story the following Sunday.  Up to this point we have talked about: The creation story, Noah and Abraham.  The Old Testament stories that are coming up in our study are: Joseph, Moses, The book of Judges, David, Daniel and The book of Job.  This small group is scheduled to end right before Ash Wednesday.  I wasn’t exactly sure how this study would be received but so far there is a group of 5 people getting together every week and we are having a great time exploring these stories.

I don’t come each week prepared to lecture on the story but rather I have a couple questions in mind.  The group then takes those questions and a fun discussion ensues.  I have learned a lot from hearing different perspectives.  I have learned a lot about the faith of the group participants.  I have heard questions that I have never thought of before.  And…maybe…gained a couple pounds (one of the participants is an excellent cook and baker and has been bringing treats for us).

There is nothing quite like gathering with a group of people to read, study and discuss scripture.  I have read these stories many times but hearing from others has challenged me in ways that I would not be able to do on my own.  I can hardly wait to see what is coming next.

-edh-

Returning…

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Wow…June 21 was my last post on this site.  In that particular post I mentioned that I was not going to commit to regular posting.  But now…the motivation for me to post something is changing.

I recently created a new website for the congregation that I serve, Salem Lutheran Church (www.salemjackson.wordpress.com).  For that new site I am using WordPress.  Maybe my return to WordPress has stirred something in me, I am not sure.  But the other reason is that on Salem’s site there is a page for my ponderings and thoughts.  I was thinking that I would update that page but then thought, “Wait a second…you already have a blog with a bunch of ponderings.  Why not just link to that one and post there.”  So here I am.

If you have been a regular reader who just happened to check in…”Hi”.  If you are a new reader stumbling across my site…”Hi”.  If you are…well, you get the picture.  I am glad you are here.

It feels good to be writing again and I look forward to continued conversations with you.

Take care and God bless!

-edh-

All good things…

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

The above title was the title of the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  The day that episode ran was a sad day for me being a huge fan of the series, but as the title suggests all good things come to an end.

This past month of so (of inactivity on this blog) I have once again been doing some soul searching about the future of this blog.  I went through a period of soul searching not so long ago and decided to keep blogging.  I felt then that was what I was meant to do, but things are changing.  I am not exactly sure what it is.  It might be that this blog has just run it’s course.  But I think a larger part of my decision involves trying to focus more energy on my ministry here at Salem and Belmont.  I am a firm believer that to have a “successful” blog (and I am being careful to claim any success here), one needs to put a lot of time and energy into it.  And my energy for blogging is waning.  So I guess as the writers of Star Trek have said, all good things must come to an end 😦

My plan is to keep this blog active for those who stumble across the many ramblings I have posted here.  When comments are left I will respond (I get email notifications).  And who knows…maybe something will strike me and I will post something, but I am not going to commit to regular posting anymore.

There are so many of you out there that have been so encouraging to me.
When I went through dry periods, you hung with me.
When I had questions you put in your two cents.
When I needed to vent, you listened.
When I needed to flush something out, you where there.

I have learned a lot about faith from many of you.  Your comments to things I have written have challenged me and I will never forget that.

Thank you for this awesome experience and for sharing yourself with me and with the world on this blog.  I pray for God to bless your ministries as you serve this awesome God that we have.  And….I look forward to crossing paths with you someday…if not in this life then in the next, because as Christians…redeemed through the cross…we know that we WILL see each other again…so this is not “good bye”…this is only “see you later”.

So with that…until we meet again.  God bless!

-edh-

Life through the cross

/ The Pastor / 13 Comments

Life through the cross

This is the wind break wall on the ramp leading to the sanctuary at Salem Lutheran Church.  You will notice that a robin has built a nest on right cross arm.  When my wife noticed this she said to me, “There’s got to be a sermon illustration in there somewhere.”  I think she may be right.  My first thought was “Life through the cross“. Corny…maybe…but leave it to a pastor to do theology with a picture like this.  I guess one could say that I am a theologian of the cross 🙂

So…

What would you call this picture?

What scripture comes to mind when you see this?

-edh-

Integrity

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

I just have to share this ESPN story with you.  I saw this last night and I was blown away.  Through this story I was given a dose of hope that there are still honest people with integrity out there…and in the professional sports world.

Basically…a golfer in a playoff calls a 2 stroke penalty on himself that cost him his first PGA tour win (and cost him nearly a half a million dollars).  Had he not said anything, no one would have noticed what he did.  I know I wouldn’t have because I was not aware of this rule.  But for Brain Davis, integrity is something that is ingrained and should not be compromised (even when no one would know the difference).

If I were ever in that situation I hope I would do the same thing.

What do you think of this?

-edh-