Happy Advent

Has anyone else been taken off guard by the arrival of Advent?  I certainly have been.  Part of it is the lack of snow and cold weather and part of it is…well…I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.  It just doesn’t quite feel like Advent yet.

This morning I walked into the sanctuary and saw the Christmas trees up and some of the decorations up (the rest get hung during our “Hanging of the Greens” service this morning).  It felt awkward, but I got a feeling that once I jump in with both feet, into the deep end (singing Christmas/Advent hymns, puting Christmas music in my CD player, decorating my office and house, etc) things will get better.  So maybe I should just get into the theme of Advent and wait, prepare and anticipate.  I know things will change.  I know the season will get better.  I know “Merry Christmas” will roll off the tongue.   I know all this will happen…much the same and even more…as I know that the days are coming when God will fulfill his gracious promises he made to us through Jesus Christ.

So I will continue to prepare, wait and anticipate…for many things…so bring it on.

Happy Advent and Merry Christmas!

-edh-

Christ the King

I am doing some sermon prep for this Sunday (Christ the King Sunday).  My question for you is this:

How do we speak to people about Jesus being “King” and “Lord” in a world where those two words/titles mean very little?

Our culture and context is radically different from that of Jesus’ day.  “King” and “Lord” meant something to people then.  Those titles conjured up images and definitions for them.  They understood their roles and meaning for their lives.  So how should we understand these today?

I am curious on your thoughts about this.

-edh-

Inquisitive Release Timers

My Release Time class (grades 3 – 5) can be a little wild, but today was really neat.  We were in the sanctuary talking about worship.  I then asked the kids to sit quietly (which is a tall order I know) and look around.  Notice the stuff in the sanctuary and make mental notes I said.  After about a minute I asked the kids to share their observations.  All 9 hands went in the air as they wanted to ask why certain things were in the sanctuary: “What is that?  What does that mean?  What’s that thing hanging on the wall?” Etc, etc…  As I addressed their questions more hands went up.  I challenged them and forced them to think a little bit.  I think we could still be sitting there if they didn’t have to get back to catch the bus or their ride home.

It was also fun for me to see my 2 third graders come to Release Time clutching their new Bibles they received on Sunday.  They were so proud of them.  One of them asked me if we were going to be using our Bibles today and I said “not today”.  She was bummed.  I guess I know what I am doing next week.

Got to love the curiosity and the inquisitiveness of a child.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

2012 – The end of the world?

If you spend any amount of time watching TV you have probably seen an advertisement or two about a new movie coming out called 2012.  It ’s a movie about the end of the world that the Mayan calendar predicts.  These 2012; end of the world beliefs are starting to become very widespread in our culture and as Christians we need to be informed about what this is all about and how, as Christians, we are to respond to this.  Recently I listened to a podcast about this topic at a website called Breaking Unbelief at:  www.breakingunbelief.org.  The podcast is called What is the hype about 2012 and the end of the world.  I found it very informative and interesting.  It is about 30 minutes long.  One of the guys asking the questions in this podcast is Tim Chaffey (a college friend of my wife’s).  He spoke at Salem this past Sunday about God and suffering.  It was a great talk.  He is also a writer/contributor for the website Midwest Apologetics.  I haven’t thoroughly gone through this site yet, but I know Tim to be a very passionate and intelligent person.  I think he is worth a look.

The reason I am mentioning all of this is that the Gospel text for this Sunday from Mark 13:1-8 got me thinking.  I am not exactly sure how or if I will incorporate any of this on Sunday…but it still has me thinking.  Whether I include this 2012 stuff in the sermon or not I plan to do some more research so I can be better informed about this; so I can address this issue when it comes up with people.

Personally, as a Christian, the end of the world is not a scary thing.  Whether it happens on Dec. 21, 2012 or not should not be an issue.  But the more important thing to consider is that the Bible does not support such a belief (meaning an exact date…see Mark 13:32-37).  Maybe the Mayans were good with calendars and time, but predicting the future?  The Bible has about 500 some prophesies that have come true, but the most important future predictions that the Bible makes is that: (1) Jesus will come again, (2) there will be a resurrection, and (3) a final judgment.  The Bible talks about this and Jesus says “Stay Awake!”  As Christians we have an amazing opportunity here, but we need to be prepared and informed.

So with that…what resources, websites, etc have you found helpful in speaking about this 2012; end of the world belief that is out there?

I am going to continue my reading and will share insights as they come.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

Giving

“Give all you can because no one ever saw a hearse pulling a U-Haul.“  [701 Sentence Sermons]

On Sunday I told the congregation that each and everyone of them lives in poverty; for they own nothing.  All we have belongs to God.  So giving just makes sense…we are blessed to be a blessing.

-edh-

New Bibles

Yesterday in worship we gave Bibles to our 3rd graders (one at Belmont and one at Salem).  In the past I have ordered children’s Bibles from somewhere (I can’t seem to remember now), but this year we gave away a NRSV Spark Bible (Augsburg Fortress).

During the worship service I had the student and their parents come up front and I spoke to the student about the promises their parents made when they were baptized.  I told the 3rd graders that one of the promises their parents made was that they would place in your hands the holy scriptures (among a number of other things that I mentioned as I walked through the baptismal liturgy).  I then handed the Bible to the parents and they in turn handed it to their child.  We then all prayed together over the 3rd grader and their new Bible.

The fun part for me (besides getting to hand a 3rd grader a new Bible) was watching them (periodically) during worship.  Both these 3rd graders spent the worship service paging through their new Bibles…checking it out.  They didn’t seem to be paying attention to anything that was going on (if they ever do) but at least they were paying attention to their new Bible.  My prayer is that their curiosity doesn’t end.

At what point does this curiosity end for many people?

-edh-

Serving at The Banquet

This afternoon we make our annual “pilgrimage” to The Banquet in Sioux Falls, SD to serve supper (see The Banquet for more information on this ministry). Salem, Belmont and Bethany Lutheran Churches bring about 35 to 40 people to serve supper for people who are homeless or just need a hot meal.  When I called last week to plan the meal I was told that The Banquet is expecting to serve about 500 people that day (numbers have been up from previous years).  In the past we have served 465, 421, 363, 396 people.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about the increase of people needing a hot meal considering the economy.

But as I think about making the necessary preparations to bring this group to Sioux Falls I find myself looking at our Gospel text for Sunday from Mark 12:38-44 (“The widow’s offering”).  Scripture commands us to care for the alien, the widow and the orphans.  Now I am not calling The Banquet guest “aliens” or anything of the sort, but they are people we are called (and commanded) to care for.  I mean…for the most part we live lives of abundance.  You have food in your refrigerator and you probably have a good idea where lunch and supper is coming from.  You probably even know what you are going to eat at those meals.  For the guests that utilize The Banquet for the livelihood, they don’t know…they don’t even know for sure if they can even get in to have a hot meal.  It depends if they get in line soon enough and the number of people there.  There are so many questions for those guests, but not so much for us.

A friend of mine has told me that they get frustrated with themselves because they feel they don’t do enough for others.  But maybe, just maybe, the poor widow from Mark 12 can teach us something:  It’s not the amount but the sacrifice.

I am looking forward to tonight; looking forward to what God is going to do through each of us…for His glory.

Praise be to God!

-edh-

“Stewardship” Sunday

“Stewardship is not about the church’s need to receive but rather about YOUR need to give.”

I heard the above quote at a stewardship seminar I attended a couple years ago (I may have even blogged about it but I can’t remember).  I bring this up because this coming Sunday, Nov. 8 is “Stewardship Sunday” at Salem.

“Stewardship”…Sunday…isn’t every Sunday about stewardship?

Isn’t every day about stewardship?

I mean seriously…shouldn’t we talk about stewardship as something we do everyday as a response to what God has done for us in Christ?
–Aren’t we stewards of the Gospel?
–Aren’t we stewards of our time, gifts and talents?
–Aren’t we stewards of “our” possessions?
And if we answered “yes” to all those questions (and we should) then “Stewardship Sunday” is something that needs to be done away with because “Stewardship Sunday” should happen every single day.

I also bring all this up in light of the Gospel text for this Sunday which is from Mark 12:38-44.  This is the story of the woman giving her two small copper coins (all she had) and Jesus commending her for giving out of her need (as opposed to the rich who gave out of their surplus).
–Is this text about us being better stewards?
–Is Jesus calling our attention to the fact that she felt driven to give despite her poverty; knowing God will care for
her?
–Do we use this text to highlight the church’s need to receive, our need to give, all of the above or none of the above?

I wonder if I need to do something different this year and totally throw people off.  Maybe I need to just rename this Sunday to “Turkey Dinner Sunday” because after all that is what we are also doing on Sunday.

Do you have a “Stewardship” Sunday?

-edh-

(Blogging) Sabbatical thoughts

It has been a while since I have posted something, but I guess that goes with being on a blogging sabbatical.  Throughout this time I have been checking in from time to time and have been pleasantly surprised with the comments people have still left and the traffic still coming through here.  Thank you for hanging with me.

I am not sure if I am back in full force yet, but I am beginning to think that I am about ready to, at least, slowly ease my way back in (kind of like slowing slipping into a hot tub).  I have missed writing even though it has felt nice to step away for a while.

Now that I am working my way back some may be tempted to ask “what did you learn on your sabbatical?“  I am not sure how to answer that.  It wasn’t so much a learning time than it was a time to recoup; rediscover and re-energize.  Those things I have accomplished…and it feels good.

I do have much to tell you.  And…I have comments to respond to.  I will get to all of those.  So in the mean time, have a very blessed All Saints Sunday as you remember and celebrate the saints that have gone ahead of us; as we celebrate the saints militant (the newly baptized) that have joined the journey and as we celebrate our saintliness that we have been granted through Jesus Christ.  It is indeed a day to celebrate and give thanks.

So as a close friend/mentor used to greet his congregation with: “Good morning sinners…good morning saints“.

Praise be to God always and forever, Amen.

-edh-

Sabbatical

I little while back…post #499…I mentioned that I still feel called to write this blog but as I sit here and even write this post I am struggling to think of the words to type.  I have gone through lulls in the past, have taken breaks, etc, but this is different.  I am not sure how this is different (I can’t put it into words) I just know it is.

So with that I am taking a “sabbatical” from blogging for a little while.  I am still going to follow the blogs that I have been following; I just won’t being writing much for new content.  I am not “closing shop”, just taking a break.  I hope you will be patient with me and periodically check in.  I am hoping that not having a regular routine of blogging will either stir the desire in me to keep writing or confirm something else in me (i.e “Has this blog run it’s course?”).  I lot of questions will be addressed within me and I hope answers come soon.

I am going to continue my connection and communication with people through Facebook and Twitter so feel free to check in with me there as well.

So I am off…on blogging sabbatical.

Til we meet again.

God bless!

-edh-