Faith

Speak that we may Speak ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor

Creator God,
in the beginning You spoke life into existence.
To remain silent, then,
would have meant our non-existence
and
it would have meant no one to glorify Your holy name.
And so we exist;
to worship You, to praise You, to glorify You.
And to do this we must speak and abhor silence.

Holy God,
stir in Your people a burning desire
to speak the Truth of Your love and grace through Jesus Christ.
May the fear the world proclaims
be silenced through our faith in the one who overcame the world,
Jesus.
May the flaming arrows of the evil one
lose all its potency through Your holy Word.
May the shield of faith
embolden us to speak the name of Jesus no matter the situation.

Send now Your Holy Spirit
to bring power to the words of Truth
that we will hear this morning,
for through them You create faith and thus life.
Send us forth, then, in Your power
to the glory of Your awesome name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Be BOLD

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Here’s a morning rant for you so please excuse my language…

There is a lot of crap going on in the world. I surf social media and read news stories and I am blown away by the depravity that is out there. I can hardly believe it when I hear and read about people reveling in calling good evil and evil good.

What is going on?!?

I know, I know, we live in a sinful world, but where are all the voices? Where are all the people who follow Jesus Christ? Why isn’t there more of an outcry?

Yesterday, the people responsible for bringing to light the evil practices of Planned Parenthood were indicted instead of Planned Parenthood. How is this possible. Granted, I am not a legal expert and maybe there are facts that I am not aware of, but come on, this makes no sense. Never mind that fact that people are being killed before they even get to see the light of day. And then there are the politicians that are lauding this decision; calling evil good. That I get because they don’t care about those babies since they are not voters.

In any case, we need boldness…

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, (Acts 4:29)

Following Pentecost, Peter and John heal a crippled man in the temple and then go on to proclaim the risen Jesus Christ. The Pharisees are not the least bit happy and demand that they no longer speak of Jesus. Upon returning to their church, Peter and John report what happened and what was said. Instead of cowering in fear of the authorities, the church worships God and prays for more boldness to speak of the Gospel.

My friends, we need to pray for more boldness and speak of Jesus. We need more boldness and speak the truth. We need not fear the this world. As this Acts Church prayed from Psalm 2,  “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— The nations can rage all they want against God’s anointed, but guess what?

They can not win.

Through faith in Jesus Christ we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit and therefore you are on the side of power and victory. Pray for boldness. Stand up for the truth. Do not be silent. The nations may rage against you, but you have Jesus.

Be BOLD! Be STRONG! For the Lord your God is with you.

The Pastor -|—

Holy Trust ~ A Morning Prayer

/ The Pastor

Good morning all. I was out of town last week but I am now back; preparing to lead worship and preach God’s holy Word. May God be praised as we worship. Let’s pray…

Holy God,
You make the impossible possible.
You forgive sins.
You raise the dead.
You defeat Satan and death.
You give eternal life.

But yet,
when presented with this news,
too often we follow after Zechariah more than we do Mary.
Too often we want proof rather than to worship.
We want sensory satisfaction rather than rely on holy trust.

We see the impossible and blow it off.

But as Your children;
as Your servants,
may Your Word be to us as You have decreed.
May we not doubt but rather receive this life-changing Word.
May Jesus be our proof and life.

Send now You Holy Spirit,
oh God,
that this word here spoken may build and lift us up onto Your glory.
May we not seek to see with our eyes.
May we not seek to hear with our ears.
May we seek to believe in our hearts.
May we seek You.

All praise and worship be unto You,
oh God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Oh God, You are…

/ The Pastor

Oh God,
You are the God of the past.
You are the God of the present.
You are the God of the future.
You are the God of my everything and for all time.

Oh God,
You hold me securely.
You hold me lovingly.
You hold me faithfully.
Therefore I shall never fear and tremble before this world.

Oh God,
You are present with me in the bad times.
You are present with me in the good times.
You are present with me in all times,
and therefore You are to be praised always and forever.

Oh God,
You reign over uncertainty.
You are faithful despite my anxiety.
You are calming in my anxiousness.
You are healing.

Oh God, You are many things,
and therefore,
all praise to You.

The Pastor -|—

Water Walker

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I sit in the boat,
safe,
secure and
content.

I sit in the boat,
looking out,
waiting and
hoping.

I sit in the boat,
seeing Jesus
beckoning me,
and I shudder.

But…

we were not created to be boat sitters,
sight seers or
vacationers
in this dangerous cruise of life.
We we were created to be water walkers,
Faith seekers;
trusting Jesus.

Peter cried out to Jesus to walk on the water
and I sit by watching.
Beckon me to come,
Lord Jesus,
beckon me.
And may I keep my eyes on you, lest I sink.

Make me a water walker and not a boat sitter.
Make me a Jesus follower and not a Jesus spectator.

Oh Lord, Jesus,
I want to walk on the water with you.

The Pastor -|—

To Trust You

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

To trust You, oh God,
is to follow even though it looks like we’re heading for a cliff.

To trust You, oh God,
is to patiently wait for your timing and for me to let go of mine.

To trust You, oh God,
is to acknowledge that Your ways and thoughts are way above mine.

To trust You, oh God,
is to stop praying for what I want so I can seek Your will.

To trust You, oh God,
is to be fearless of this world.

May I always follow You.
May I always wait on You.
May I always trust You.
May I always listen to You.
May I always be courageous.

Come, Holy Spirit, Come

Amen

Sometimes ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Holy God,

Sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball and
sometimes I wish I had an email that laid everything out.

Sometimes I wish you would mail out a memo and
sometimes I wish you would shout from a mountain top.

Sometimes I wish you would hire a plane to fly a banner across the sky and
sometimes I wish you would even send me Morris code for me to decipher.

But You don’t do those things,
for You do things in a better way;
for You are far more
intimate and
close and
personal.

You, oh God, do things in a way that I need to trust You.
But,
sometimes I get impatient.
Sometimes I become irritable.
Sometimes I do not trust you.

Send Your Holy Spirit and speak to me.
Send Your Holy Spirit and convict me.
Send Your Holy Spirit and draw me closer.

And may my sometimes be taken away that I may always,
love you,
trust you,
and
follow you.

So…

speak to me, Lord,
I’m listening…

Amen.

Your “Confirmation” Journey

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

The following is my article for our October newsletter:

As I write this newsletter article, I am also in the midst of preparing for another year of confirmation. First up is 6th grade orientation. And so I am working on putting together the confirmation packets for these new students and their parents. These packets have everything they need to know about the 3 year confirmation experience at Salem.

Part of the confirmation experience is completing requirements. There are 10 Bible verses the kids need to memorize. They need to know their Catechism (Lord’s Prayer, Apostles’ Creed, 10 Commandments, Baptism and Holy Communion). They need to do Bible reading. They need to serve as acolytes and prepare worship notes. They also need to perform service projects. And, of course, they need to attend weekly classes. A lot of things and I am sure many of you have your own confirmations stories (and in some cases, horror stories). The students have three years to complete these requirements.

After I present the requirements to the students and parents, I ask if these are reasonable. Every time, people say “yes”. And why wouldn’t they be reasonable? The requirements that are laid out for the students are the same things I encourage any Christian (adult/youth) to do. I mean, think about it; all these requirements are things that any and every Christian should find joy in doing because of what God has done for them in Jesus. It should be a joy for the Christian to worship, participate in worship and listen intently to the Word. It should be a joy for the Christian to memorize scripture and read their Bible. It should be a joy for the Christian to perform service projects. It should be a joy for a Christian to attend classes and Bible studies. So really, part of confirmation is about teaching kids how to live as Christians; not to impose a set a requirements in order for them to achieve the title, “Confirmed”.

As a Christian, each and every one of you should be considered a “confirmation student”; for the journey of faith is something that should never end. It’s the reason I don’t have confirmands wear white robes when they get confirmed. To me it looks too much like graduation and I don’t want them to think they are done with church; done with their relationship with God. Confirmation is simply a public affirmation of faith and a public commitment to continue to draw closer to God. So therefore, no robes. No graduation.

And you, too, those taking the time to read this article to the end, your journey of faith is never a completed set of requirements but rather should be a joyful journey with your Savior. The difference now is that there is no one checking off when you complete a “requirement”. God definitely isn’t, but don’t let that lead you to become complacent. So as we begin another year of confirmation I encourage you to consider your “requirements” and evaluate how you are doing. Do you need some guidance? Do you need some accountability? Give me call, I’ll sign you up 🙂

The Pastor -|—

Your Holy Word ~ A Prayer before Preaching

/ The Pastor

It never ceases to amaze me that I get to preach God’s Word in this way each and every week. It also never ceases to amaze me that these fingers manage to pound out words through this keyboard, that when put together are something that proclaims Christ to people. And so my prayer each and every week (and day), as I approach God’s Word, is that I may be faithful with God’s Word and approach God’s Word with an open heart; one ready to receive.

May God be glorified in this sermon this morning and may the Holy Spirit do it’s thing in this place and wherever you are at. Let’s pray..

To approach Your holy Word faithfully
is to do so with fear and trembling;
not only because of how it convicts us of sin
but also because
of it’s awesome power through the Holy Spirit.
For Your Word kills and gives life.
It convicts and redeems.
It’s alive.
It’s does something.

And so may we approach Your Word here this morning with great expectation;
leaning on Your promises
and joyfully basking in Your faithfulness.
May we toss off all that would hinder our hearing of Your Word
and fix our eyes on
You.
May we receive this Word with all joy
but not just receive it,
but also put it into faithful action that proclaims Your glory.
May we embrace its transformative power
that gives courage in a fear-filled world.

All glory,
honor,
worship
and praise
be onto
You,
holy Father,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

The Unknown is not Unknown

/ The Pastor

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9]

A great nation (Israel) was encamped on the banks of the Jordan River. Their leader for over 40 years, Moses, is dead; the one who taught this nation God’s Law. Large and powerful armies are standing in the way of Israel. And now Joshua stands ready to succeed Moses. Large shoes to fill, to put it mildly. I think I would be nervous to take on such a calling, considering the unknowns that lie ahead. But God is encouraging and commanding Joshua to obey and to be courageous, for it is God that continues to go with them. None of what they have accomplished was due to their strength. None of their victories were due to their military might. None of the fear they put into other nations was due to their stature. Everything; all glory and honor, belongs to God. Therefore, God says, be strong and courageous. That alone was enough to encourage Joshua and make him a successful leader throughout his life. He feared and followed and obeyed God, and he encouraged and commanded the nation of Israel to do the same. God did his thing, Israel flourished and God was glorified.

Imagine what you can accomplish when you consider who is going before you. Imagine what you can do when you remember who has won victories on your behalf. Imagine what you can do when you remember who fights for you. When you are praying and living “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” then fear of the unknown is irrelevant.

But yet, when people are faced with the unknown, fear still creeps in and dictates their course of action. Human logic becomes their wisdom as they try to deal with the unknown and the fear that goes with it. But this is not the way of God. God alone deals with the unknowns for our unknown is not unknown to God. Think about that. Our unknown is not unknown to God. God sees the whole picture. By taking matters into your own hands or being paralyzed with fear is basically telling God that you don’t trust him. You are telling God that He does not know the unknown and therefore can’t handle things. This is an attack on God’s Sovereignty.

But God says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not fear, for I am with you and will always go with you.”

Think about that. Consider this promise and command. Imagine what you could accomplish if this verse were always in front of you, I mean, imagine what GOD can accomplish through you if you actually trusted that God knows your unknowns. So,

Do not fear
Be strong
Be courageous
Be bold
Trust
Take that leap of faith

and let God handle the rest.

Oh God, I am thankful that You know my unknowns and that You always go before me. Grant me the faith to trust You and place everything in Your hands. May my courage bring glory to You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—