Subpoenaed

/ The Pastor

Sunday, June 2 is Ascension Sunday and the text that I will be preaching on is Luke 24:44-53. The following is the opening paragraph of the sermon that God is laying on my heart. If you want the rest, you can now watch the sermon on our congregation’s website at: http://www.livingwordlutheranchurch.com.
The sermon should be posted next week sometime. In the mean time, here is a little sermon teaser for you…

Shortly before his ascension, Jesus issues a subpoena (You are witnesses to these things) to all who know the Father as revealed in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Subpoena is to testify to the Truth. It is not something that someone chooses. You don’t choose to be witness but rather you become one and thus are called and commanded to testify. Your testimony is not to be about your opinions or theories. You are not called to speculate or guess. You are called to testify to the Truth. The facts of the matter. And the facts are this, thus saith the Lord, Jesus has suffered and died and rose from the dead for the forgiveness of sins. He has ascended and is seated on the right hand of the Father. He WILL come again to judge the living and the dead. Amen? These are the facts. Now, what say you?

Open My Eyes

/ The Pastor

Open my eyes, oh Lord, that I may see the beauty of Your Word.
Open my eyes, oh Lord, that I may understand.
Open my eyes, oh Lord, that Your living word may feed me.
Open my eyes.

This is a prayer that every believer ought to pray before engaging the Word. One ought never to engage the Word in a basic, simple, intellectual matter; just seeking information. One ought to approach and engage the Word of God with
reverence
expectation
hope
excitement
wonder
awe and
wide open eyes ready to be blown away by the beauty and majesty of God’s Word. Ready to be fed and nourished. Ready to be transformed and recreated. Ready to be renewed.

God’s Word is living and active. It is sharper than a two-edged sword. It cuts deep. It kills and it gives Life.

Open my eyes, oh Lord, that I may behold wondrous things.
Open my eyes oh Lord, that I may see Jesus.
Ooen my eyes, oh Lord, I want to see wondrous things in Your Word.
Open my eyes.

From the Pencil of Babes…

/ The Pastor

My daughter (in kindergarten) wrote this note the other day.

Translation:
My favorite book is the Bible because my dad teaches people and I like to see him teach other people.

I am just going to leave this right here. No over-analyzing allowed 🙂

Ode to Coffee

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I am a pastor but you can’t be serious all the time, and thus what you will read next. On March 2, I wrote my Ode to Bacon, so it only seemed appropriate (for this coffee snob) to follow that up with my Ode to Coffee. Enjoy…and then go have some coffee 🙂

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Oh coffee, oh coffee,
You provide so much glee.
You are most glorious.
Anyone will agree.

The bean of great glory,
YES, you certainly are.
Never out of my mind,
Always on my radar.

Oh most perfect of drinks,
A precious gift from God.
If my wife reads this poem,
She will think I’m most odd.

Oh coffee, oh coffee,
I cannot go without.
“Would you like a refill?”
“Well duh, without a doubt.”

Witnesses

/ The Pastor

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [Acts 1:8 ESV]

Witnesses don’t share their opinions.
Witnesses don’t share their theories.
Witnesses don’t speculate.
Witnesses don’t guess.
But rather…
Witnesses tell the truth.
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth.
So helped by the Holy Spirit.
And YOU, Christian, are called to be a witness for Jesus.
You’ve been subpoenaed by Jesus.
But here’s the thing…
The Holy Spirit will give you power to witness.
Jesus doesn’t send you empty-handed.
Jesus sends you equipped.
Jesus sends you.
Jesus goes WITH you.
You are not alone.
Don’t be afraid of the Truth.
Proclaim the Truth boldly and if the world hates you, then so be it.
Jesus loves you.
You are witnesses.
So go and give them Jesus.

To Live

/ The Pastor

Inspired by Philippians 1:21 (ESV) ~ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live for me I will abstain,
For my life is so very frail,
So fraught with weakness it will fail.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live in fear I will refrain,
For this world does not win the day,
For this world only has today.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live for Him I can’t complain,
For God does love me this is sure,
And from Satan He did secure.

To live is Christ, to die is gain,
To live in Him I’ll be sustained,
For Jesus lives and I will too,
For in his life I am renewed.

You Are

/ The Pastor

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord ; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.”
[Psalms 77:11‭-‬12 ESV]

Yes!
Awesome and mighty You are.
Awesome and mighty are Your deeds.
Yes!
You are full of wonder.
You are full of strength.
Yes!
I will ponder and meditate on You.
I will recount Your amazing works.
You created all I can and can not see.
You set everything in motion.
You are the breath of life.
You are…
You remain faithful though I am faithless.
You sent Jesus to save.
You are on high.
You are…
You have defeated king after king.
You have made Your enemies Your footstool.
You are victorious.
You are…
You redeemed me.
You have established Your everlasting throne.
You are Lord and King
You are…
Mighty You are, oh God my Father.
Mighty You are, oh God my Lord.
You are merciful, just and right.
You are loving, compassionate, and healer.
You are
You are
You are…

Morning Thanks

/ The Pastor

As my eyes open I enjoy the gift of my next breath,
and then the next,
and the next,
and so on.
God, each breath I breathe is a gift from you.
Thank You!
As I begin my day I enjoy the gift of water:
To drink,
To cleanse my body,
To enjoy as the greatest drink of all – Coffee.
But most of all, the Living Water of Jesus.
Thank You!
As I see my children I enjoy the amazing gift of being their daddy.
As I see my wife I enjoy the amazing call and gift of being a husband.
As I eat,
As I feel the sun on my face,
As I count my blessings,
I praise You for being my God.
Thank You!

Pastor’s Prayer

/ The Pastor

Holy God,
You have called me to the awesome task
of preaching Your Word and
presiding at Your table.
You have called me to lead Your people in worship.
On my own I am incapable of discharging this call.
On my own I will surely mess it all up.
On my own I will surely attempt to rob You of all glory.
Oh God, mighty Father,
walk with me hand in hand that I may give You all the glory.
Hold me tight that I may not stray.
Grant me Your Spirit that I may be faithful with Your Word.
I praise You that You have chosen me to be Your instrument this morning.
To You be all praise and glory.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

Overcoming

/ The Pastor

The following is the preface to the Great Thanksgiving for Holy Communion that I wrote. It was inspired by the Gospel text (sermon text), John 16:25-33 — Jesus overcoming the world. To God be the glory!

It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, King of all creation. Through Jesus Christ You did battle with Satan and totally obliterated his reign in this world. You destroyed his grip on Your children; redeeming us from the pit. You gave us a victory that we could not hope to achieve on our own. Oh God, lover of our souls, You were pleased to reveal Your glory to us through Jesus Christ and what an awesome glory it is. It is for that reason that we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…