Preaching

Sunday morning prayer — Thank God for for being chosen

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Once again I have had a busy September week but my upcoming schedule is starting to look a little better as it usually does towards the end of the month.  I have much to share with you (in addition to my scripture reading highlights).

I do have one little piece of personal news to share with you now, though (actually this is more of an update).  The Twin Cities marathon is 2 weeks from today.  Please remember me in your prayers.  I am growing more and more excited and more and more nervous.  I wonder sometimes if I am ready for this; if there is more I could’ve done or more that I can still do.  I know I can’t back out now after 13+ months of training (even though my mom and my wife wouldn’t mind if I backed out now).  I need to keep chugging along…I know I can do this and I am excited to be able to call myself a marathon runner.

With that…let’s prepare ourselves for worship today by remembering the Gospel text of the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.  My preaching focus today is about the fact that before we do any work in the vineyard we are chosen.  And the problem I see in the Church today is that too many people get caught up with the economics of this world and try to apply them to the Kingdom.  A sense of entitlement creeps into many people’s theology.  But what we need to recapture is our sense of excitement of being chosen in the first place.  It’s like recapturing the new car smell again.  Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).  Let’s rejoice over being chosen!  Let us pray…

Almighty, loving and gracious God, we desire to be with you but we fall short of your glory through sin. Our feeble efforts do not merit us salvation. It is only through your son that we find life everlasting. Thank you, God, for choosing us. Thank you God for sending us into your vineyard. Thank you God for not treating us as we deserve to be treated. Through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

Take care and have a very blessed day!

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Hey there…long time no see.  No…it’s not that you haven’t been here for a while it’s that I haven’t stopped by my own blog for a couple days.  So please allow me to make excuses here:
(1) The busyness of September seemed to sneak up on me.
(2) The busyness of September seemed to sneak up on me.
…and (3) The busyness of September seemed to sneak up on me.

That is enough said on that.  I think I am beginning to get a hold of things now so you will see me a little more in the coming weeks.

Anyway…the Gospel text I am preaching on today comes from Matthew 18:21-35.  This is the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  Peter asks Jesus the question, “How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me?  Seven times?“.  Jesus goes on to basically say, “You forgive continuously.   There is no number.”  Then we get this parable.  What hits me square in the face is the contrast in debts.  The debt God forgave me and the debt I often refuse to forgive others.  This is indeed a convicting parable.  The debt we owed God was a debt we could not hope to repay but yet God says, “I love you so much and I want so much to be in a relationship with you that I am going to forgive this debt of yours.”  Wow…that is an amazing God.  Let’s go and do likewise…forgiving others the sins they have committed against us; showing them Christ’s love.

Let’s pray…
Gracious and forgiving God, we can’t even begin to express how thankful we are for the forgiveness you show us in Jesus Christ.  We are so unworthy.  But yet you love us anyway.  Grant us strength to forgive others as you have forgiven us. So we may mend and nurture relationships with them as you do with us.  In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

-edh-

Monday morning check in — The law at work in us

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:15-25)

Yesterday (July 6) I preached on the above text.  Actually…I am spending the summer in Romans with the congregation.  I haven’t done a preaching series for a while, but after preaching in Romans the last couple weeks, I decided to look ahead and mapped out a plan that takes us through August.  I taught an adult class on Romans a few years ago, but never spent this much time preaching in Romans.  This is going to be fun.

In the above text I italicized a couple phrases that really hit home for me.  The first one is Paul’s frustration that when he wants to do good, evil is always right there with us.  Paul goes on to lament about what a wretched man he is…who will rescue us?  “Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord”.  Paul’s frustration is also my frustration.  But what really bothers me is when we take this “law” (as Paul states) and take it to heart a little too much.  I mean…how many times have you said (or heard it said) “The devil made me do it“?  We resign ourselves to the fact that we are wretched and sinful people and give up.  We simply throw up our hands and go on sinning saying (or thinking) “I can’t help help it…I’m a sinner“.  Does this “law” at work in us give us an excuse to keep on sinning?  As Paul would say, “By no means!  We have died to sin, why do you live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:2) 

We have a powerful law working against us, but it doesn’t mean we just give in and give up.  We have an awesome God that through Jesus Christ gives us eternal life.  That right there should be motivation enough to fight this law at work in ourselves for the glory of God.  God fought the hard fight for us so we may have life.  I mean…the cross was not easy.

Our fight against sin is one we can not win on our own.  We will lose many battles.  We will grow frustrated.  But “thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Thanks be to God that the war has been won.  Thanks be to God that God does not abandon us.  Thanks be to God that we are loved beyond measure.  Thanks be to God!

Next week the Romans text is chapter 8 verses 1 – 11.  This talks about living according to the Spirit verses living according to the flesh.  This should prove to be a good follow up and hopefully a source of strength and encouragement for the fight against sin.

Other stuff
It is going to be an ugly day here in SW MN.  The humidity is at 100% with a 73 degree dew point.  That makes for a tropical day.  With the early morning rain and the threat of severe weather looming, no work is being done on our ramp project today.  Currently the forms are set for the deck to be poured; we just need some nice weather for that part to proceed.  So because of that I don’t have any updated pictures.  When they start pouring the cement I will post some more pictures.  If you want to see some more pictures of the project, visit our church’s website at www.salemjackson.org and click on the “ramp construction” link.  It has been fasination watching this project but people are starting to get a little anixous to get back into the sanctuary (and I am too).  Another month or so and we will be back in. 

So with that…God bless you and have a marvelous day 🙂

-edh-

Sunday morning prayer – 06/22/08

/ The Pastor

This was a fast-paced morning…reason…I forgot to turn my alarm on.  I had my alarm set, but for some strange (and be it stupid) reason I did not click over that switch that would have saved my heart from some minor panic this morning.  Maybe “panic” is too strong of a word, but when I just happened to roll over and open my eyes to see it was 1/2 hour later than I wanted to get up…my heart immediately jumped into non-hibernation status.  Talk about a rude awakening.  Anyway…I am here and ready to go.  I still made it to my office “on time” but I didn’t get my morning SportsCenter.  What a tragedy there 🙂

Today is our first day worshipping in the fellowship hall downstairs.  As some of you are aware we started our ramp project this past Monday (page down to see some pictures).  I will add some more pictures a little later to chronicle the progress.  Right now, the ramp is completely gone.  They will be pouring the walls this week.  The time table for completion is still sometime in August so we are getting settled in downstairs. 

Today is also congregational meeting day which also means…POTLUCK…WHOO HOO!  You just can’t go wrong with a good ole’ fashioned Lutheran potluck.  Of course…since we are having a potluck today…my parents are coming down.  My dad can’t miss a potluck here (of course they use the excuse that they haven’t heard me preach for a while).  But what ever works…I get to see my parents and go golfing with my dad.

Lastly…before I get ready to leave for Belmont…I want to thank Carmen who left me a comment this week about the ramp project.  She mentioned that I would now have a good sermon illustration about something being torn down only to be built up stronger.  Well…I am going to use something like that when I preach on Romans 6:1-11 today.  I am focusing on our so called “need” to hold on to the old when we are in fact made new through baptism.  It is almost like being so attached to the old ramp that we feel the need to go out to the garbage heap to walk on the rumble of the old ramp; ignoring the new one in front of us.  Through baptism we are buried with Christ and if that is the case (and it is) we will also rise with them.  We are made new so let go of the old.  Thank you, Carmen.

With that…let us join together in a word of prayer.
Let us pray…gracious Lord God, you sent your one and only Son, Jesus Christ to make us new again.  Through our baptism you give us an amazing gift…the gift of life.  But yet we still find it hard to let go of our “old” life.  We too often turn our backs on you to “walk” on something that has been destroyed.  Help us to see the awesomeness and newness of the great gift you have given us.  Help us turn from our old life to see the New Life we have in Christ.  We thank and praise you through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen!

God bless and have an awesome day!

-edh-