Prayer

Christmas snow storm 2009

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

Many of you reading this blog are not here in the upper Midwest part of the United States.  Even if you are not living here you no doubt have heard something about the major snow storm that is here.  Right now we are in a lull but conditions will be deteriorating fast throughout the day (Christmas Eve); creating near blizzard conditions through Saturday (Wow…I almost sound like a meteorologist…I guess it is too much Weather Channel the past few days).  When all is said and done, we should have (here in Jackson) around 15 to 20 inches of snow (maybe more).  Four inches fell last night.  Needless to say Christmas plans have been altered around here.  Many churches have already canceled/postponed Christmas worship services and many family plans have changed.  For me personally…I feel conflicted and a little annoyed.  I love snow storms but this one is bad timing; so therefore I want to enjoy this storm but it is hard too when I know there are people trying to get places and many who can not get to family destinations.

With all that being said I ask you to pray.  I mentioned yesterday that “It WILL happen”…meaning the birth of Jesus WILL be celebrated.  My prayer is that people can still worship and celebrate even though things have changed for them.  I am also praying that people are safe.  Right now the roads are open but no travel is advised.  Those venturing out; please be careful (I am kind of hoping roads close so people are forced to stay off them).

Part of me also wonders why God would allow such a major snow storm to strike…at Christmas.  I know other people may be wondering the same thing.  Even though I can not explain this I know that God will be glorified no matter what.  So pray that people (including me) do not lose focus.  This storm is annoying…it is canceling some worship services…it is throwing a wretch in the works…but God will be glorified.  I believe (even through my concerns and questions) that God will do something amazing through and despite this storm.  Mother Nature can not stop God.

And…I will be praying that all of you have a very blessed Christmas.  I pray you bask in the hope and joy of the Christ child with wonder and love.  Worship doesn’t have to happen in a certain room, in a certain building at a certain time.  Worship is how we live our lives.  Worship and celebrate the birth of Jesus…no matter where you are or who you are with.  Give praise, honor and glory to God, always and forever, Amen.

Merry Christmas!

-edh-

Holy Week stress and an answer to prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Holy Week has been a good one for me this year, but there was still some stress for me.  This is an account of one particular stress point and the faithfulness of our awesome God who came through for us.

We have a number of traditions here at Salem Lutheran Church as it pertains to Holy Week; traditions I look forward to.  Here are just a few of them (that relate to my particular stress point this week):

–We have a large rugged cross that stands in the narthex during lent that has a purple cloth draped on it topped with a crown of thorns.

–On Maundy Thursday we strip the altar and bring that rugged cross outside, to the base of the narthex ramp and drape a black cloth over the cross beams.
[A cool story about this from Good Friday.  Our custodian saw a van flying down the street next to the church on Friday.  When the van got to the church and saw the cross at the base of the ramp he slammed on his breaks and came to a screeching halt.  He looked at the cross for a couple moments and then proceeded on his way.  This cross, each year, attracts a lot of attention.]

–On Saturday we bring that rugged cross back inside to prepare it for Easter.  There are rings attached to the cross that hold Easter lilies.  We then staple the palms from Palm Sunday to the cross.  And let me tell you it is quite a sight…as pictured below…

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…well…here’s where the stress comes in…

…on Wednesday this week my wife and I noticed that the Palm branches from Sunday were dead.  They were dried up and crunchy even though they were still in water.  The problem was that we forgot to cut the ends to allow the branches to soak up the water.  Now what were we to do?  Wednesday was already a stressful day for me and this was the last thing I needed.  One of my deacons came in and cut the ends and put them in water.  We prayed that somehow God would resurrect those palms for Sunday.

On Thursday when I went out to Belmont for Maundy Thursday worship I noticed that Belmont had a bunch of palms that they were no longer needing.

[cue the ligh bulb that popped up over my head]

I asked the ladies of Belmont if Salem could have the palms and they said that would be no problem.  Now we have palms for the cross and our Easter tradition can continue.  An answer to prayer.  Praise be to God!

Now…as I write this, people are up in the sanctuary getting ready for Easter worship.  There are families in the Fellowship Hall preparing for the Easter breakfast.  And I am here finishing this post and soon will be finishing my Easter sermon.  I sit here feeling refreshed from great Maundy Thursday and Good Friday worships.  I sit here feeling hopeful that our amazing God is ever so faithful.  I sit here looking forward to our Easter worship services (as tiring as they will be for me, but I never seem to notice at the time).

God is faithful…not because He “resurrected” some palm branches for us, because…well…just look at the cross.

Have a very blessed Easter Sunday and God bless!

-edh-

Here we go again

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

The communities of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks and others in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota, are once again preparing for a major flood.  Experts are saying that this year could be as bad or worse than 1997.

That scares me.

Even though I am not in harms way down here in SW MN, I still feel for my brothers and sisters in Christ in the Red River Valley.  They need our prayers (and if possible our physical help).  It is all too easy to distant ourselves from those who are suffering, but we are called to carry each others burdens.  So I ask you to include the Red River Valley and all those dealing with floods in your prayers and to place them on your church’s’ prayer list.  Take a special offering and send it to Lutheran Disaster Relief, The Red Cross or some other relief organization of your choice that is helping flood victims.  Keep all flood victims close to your heart.  I personally don’t know what it is like to lose everything to a flood…I can only imagine how painful it is.

But whatever happens…whatever the outcome…I know everything is in God’s hands.  For God, through Jesus Christ, has over come the powers of this world.  Through the waters rage and foam nothing can over come and drown out the power of God’s love for His children.

Please remember our brothers and sisters and pray for them.

Gracious and loving God, please remember your children in the Red River Valley and all those dealing with flood waters this spring.  Please bless their efforts to fight the rising rivers.  Grant them strength when they feel tired.  Grant them persistence when they want to give up.  Grant them hope in hopelessness.  But over all, please strengthen their faith that they may see and know your love in the face of adversity.  Please make your presence felt so they know they don’t fight this alone and that they won’t experience this flood on their own.  God…you are good and faithful.  We praise you through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen!

-edh-

Remembering Martin Luther

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

luthers-seal463 years ago day, in 1546, Martin Luther (the great reformer of the Church and the namesake of the Lutheran Church) died.

So in honor of Martin Luther I would like to share with you Luther’s morning prayer:

We give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have protected us through the night from all danger and harm.  We ask you to preserve and keep us, this day also, from all sin and evil, that in all our thoughts, words and deeds we may serve and please you.  Into your hands we commend our bodies and souls and all that is ours.  Let your holy angels have charge of us, that the wicked one have no power over us, Amen.
(From Lutheran Book of Worship)

If  you visit Rev. Joelle’s blog you will find Luther’s sacristy prayer.  This is another prayer I use often…usually before I begin the task of writing the sermon I am to preach.  It is a reminder to me that God is in control and since that is the case, we can not fail.

Luther’s task to reform the church was not something that came from his own personal agenda, but it was something blessed by God.  Of all people, Luther understood that he could not do anything he was doing without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Let this day be a reminder to us all that the ministry we do (whether we are ordained or not) is not something we do on our own.  Seek God’s guidance and direction knowing that if we were to do this ministry relying on our own strength, we would surely bring it all to ruin.

May God bless your day and ministry.

-edh-

Youth ministry vision

/ The Pastor / 10 Comments

For a couple months now, myself and a couple other people here in Jackson have been talking about the future of youth ministry in Jackson County.  At present, there is only one church in Jackson County that has a youth director (1st Baptist in Jackson) and that person is only part time.  We see a huge mission field that needs to be tapped.

Right now the vision we have been playing with and praying about is to have a ministry set up with a full time person running the ministry.  This ministry would be run and supported by a board of directors (representative of all the churches).  We believe this ministry needs to be located outside of our church buildings and in a neutral location (possibly an old store front downtown).  We have toured other community youth ministry programs to get an idea of what we might be able to do.  We visited The Connection in Canby, MN and the Youth For Christ center in Fairmont, MN.  In the Dawson, MN area there is a rural youth ministry network that just started this past fall called Route 212.  They don’t have a building, but that is something they are praying about.  And I know there is a community youth ministry program/building in Olivia, MN.

Is Jackson next?

The main thing for us (and the other ministries we have looked at) is that this ministry needs to be a Bible based, Christian ministry.  We recognize that our different denominations have various beliefs and practices, but when it comes right down to it, we believe that Jesus Christ is our salvation.  There are many things we can agree upon and we want to celebrate that.

This vision started with Salem and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches talking about sharing a youth director…now it has grown to this.  So today at 1pm a bunch of us are getting together to pray.  We know that if this is God directed and ordained then we can not fail…but we need to be faithful and listen to God’s voice.  So we are committed to praying about this and listening.  We don’t know how this ministry will look or if we are even called to do this, but one thing I do know…there is a lot of excitement about this among our small group.  Our hope is that, if this is ordained by God, this vision will catch on with others.

So my questions for you are these: Is there anyone out there that has a community youth ministry program in their area?  How is it set up?  What is your experience with it?

Like I said, I don’t know where this will go and there are a lot of questions to be asked and answered, but where ever it does go, it will be all for the glory of God.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

All the craze

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

I have been utterly amazed at this wild thing called “the Wii craze”.  My sister and I got one for our parents for Christmas.  A number of our friends got one for Christmas and a number of my students got them.  And since then, Connie and I have been looking for one.  Every store we go into there is no Wii to be found.  A sales person at Best Buy said that there are people that come in everyday asking about them.  And since we live no where near a place that would stock a Wii, we are at a disadvantage. Before Christmas I never gave too much thought in getting a Wii.  I knew they were out there, but I haven’t had a gaming system since the Atari 2600 (now that dates me) so I never got captured by this craze.  But after we got my parents one and started playing it…well…I got hooked.  And then we heard about the Wii Fit…that right there convinced my wife.

So we have been looking online and the story has been the same…”Out of stock”…until last night.  Connie’s brother put us onto Gamestop.com and sure enough…a Wii…so I ordered one.  I should have one by next week.  I guess I gave in to “the craze”.

Today is January 20 and our 44th president is being sworn into office.  Today…January 20…we (officially) begin a new era.  It’s an era that worries me because of what I have heard from people in the media and in my own little world here in SW MN.  I have heard comments that suggest people are putting their hope and faith in Obama.  People are putting this president up on a pedestal.  It is almost as if they view him as a savior.  I guess one could say we are in the midst of an “Obama craze”.  But this is one craze I am not going to get caught up in.

I am not here to express my political beliefs.  As a pastor and as a Christian I am going to pray for Preisdent Obama and for the congress and for all elected leaders.  They all have a tough road ahead of them.  But I am not going to put my hope and faith in any person of this world…no matter how popular they are.  Our hope and faith needs to be in one person and one person alone…JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

I hope and pray that God uses Obama to work for peace.  I hope and pray that God uses Obama to stabilize this country.  And I hope and pray that Obama is faithful and listens to God.  I hope and pray that Obama puts his agenda aside and asks for wisdom from God our Father.  I hope and pray that the people of this county recognize the fact that Obama is a sinful human being (like we all are) and not our savior.  I hope and pray that the people of this country (and the world) recognize Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Only one person can save us.  Only one person can restore peace in this world.  Only one person can lead us in ways of truth and justice.  And it is not our president or any world leader…it’s JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

When I was a kid, the Atari 2600 was all the craze…but that faded away.  In the 80’s Rubik’s Cube was all the craze…but that faded away as well.  Today, Wii is all the craze…but that too will fade away.  As with anything of this world…all things will eventually fade away (Yes…even the “Obama craze” will fade away), but one person has not and will not fade away…and that is…JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

Good morning all…long time no “see”.  I have been somewhat absent from regular blogging recently.  This past week it has been due to the fact that I have been recovering from a touch of food poisoning (don’t worry mom, I am alright) and the energy and drive to blog just hasn’t been there.  I am not sure what I ate, but for those who have never dealt with this before…well…it sucks (sorry for the language, but that’s how I feel about it).

Continuing education
Today I leave for St. Cloud, MN where I will be attending the SW MN Fall Theological conference.  This year our focus is on evangelism so I am really looking forward to what they have for us.  I should have Internet access up there so hopefully I can have some more blog entries for you this week.

Worship
October is mental illness awareness month.  It is a time to remember those who suffer from mental illness and brain disorders (i.e depression, bipolar, brain injuries, etc).  There is such a sigma out there about mental illness and I am willing to bet that most if not all people have been or know of someone who has or who has dealt with mental illness.  I have a friend who has dealt with depression.  She took medication sought and counseling to help her cope.  Today she is fine, but I remember back when she was really struggling, a friend of hers started getting after her about taking medication for depression.  My friend was told that she needed to have more faith and pray more.  That was not helpful to my friend, but it shows and gross misunderstanding that many people have about mental illness.

Depression, along with other mental illnesses are illnesses that need to be treated.  They are physical inflictions and we as the body of Christ need to be mindful of those who are struggling.  We need to be supportive and prayerful.  We need to be open and welcoming.  We need to be more understanding.  So today remember to pray for those struggling with mental illness and seek more information if need be to help you gain a better understand.

Prayer
Please join me in a word of prayer…

Healing God, today we come before you seeking understanding, compassion and empathy.  We seek these so we may better understand our brothers and sisters in Christ who struggle with mental illness.  We are created in your image and you desire no one to suffer.  Grant us eyes to see those who need your loving care ane grant us understanding, compassion and empathy to love those we sometimes push to the fringes.  Through Christ you have claimed ;  through Christ you have forgiven us; through Christ you have a place prepared for us in your mansion.  Gracious God, we give you thanks and praise.  In Christ name we pray, Amen.

Take care and God bless!

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer – one more week

/ The Pastor

One more week…

…it’s hard to believe I am actually typing those words.  One more week until the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.  Thirteen months of training will be tested to see if I have done enough.  Even though I have been training and talking about this for quiet sometime, part of me thought this date would never get here (if that makes any sense whatsoever).  One more week to go…

Starting this Thursday I will be taking some vacation time through Monday, Oct. 6 (I am thinking that on Monday I will be getting a nice massage).  On Friday or Saturday, Connie and I will be heading to my sister’s place in Apple Valley where my parents will also be going to join “Team Eric”.  I am so very thankful that I will have a cheering section there for me.  This will indeed be a source of strength for me.  Later this week I will publish a post that will have some more information on marathons, the Twin Cities marathon and how you can track my progress on line (if you are interested).  But basically I ask for your prayers as I finish the preparation stage and run this grueling test of human endurance.  Thank you for the encourage and support people have given me these past 13 months.

Let us pray…merciful Lord and gracious God, we pray that in our hearing we may hear the Word of truth and life. We ask that this word of truth and life you may strengthen us to serve as faithful disciples in your creation; that as we are encouraged and comforted by your tenderness and compassion we may show the same to others; having the same attitude of that of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord in whose name we pray, Amen.

Take care and God bless!

-edh-

Release Time

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

Here in Jackson, MN we still have Release Time.  Kids in grades 3, 4 and 5 have the option of being “released” from school to head to the church of their choice for Bible classes.  Parents fill out a short form, at the beginning of the school year, telling the school if they want their child “released” and what church they are going to.  This year I have 3 fourth graders and 2 fifth graders.  They are an energetic bunch (one of my fourth graders never and I mean never stopped moving).

Anyway…this first half of the year we are talking about the 10 Commandments and today was Commandment #2…”Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain“.  We discussed names and what it means to honor God’s name.  We talked about swearing and how that effects others.  We closed by talking about forgiveness and that because God forgives us, we ought to honor God by honoring God’s name.

Before the kids were “released” back to school to catch the bus we closed with prayer.  I asked them what they wanted to pray for.  They wanted to thank God for the beautiful day, one asked to pray for her little brother to continue healing and one asked to pray for her kittens.  Then one of them said, “Pray that God forgives us of our sins.”  As a pastor…it’s hard to describe what that means to hear one of your 4th graders say that.

I’m not sure what they are taking away from class today, but it sounds like at least one of them understands that God forgives them through Jesus Christ.  What more can one hope for?

-edh-