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Messages from Pastor Mark Borseth
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Pastor's Message, May 2019
“Saved for Relationship, not Destination”
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3
During the season of Easter, we are invited to see what the normal Christian life looks like.
When we allow Christianity to be about relationship, we focus on God’s voice, love, God’s power, being beloved children of the Father, and taking risks to use our gifts and talents to love and serve people in the world.
In religion, we first get to experience the presence of God after following the rules, motivated by fear and guilt, using our own power to please our master, so we can finally meet God when we die and go to heaven.
When we are in relationship with God through Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we get to know God each day of our lives as we seek to be led by his voice, live lives motivated by love, depending on the power of the Holy Spirit, learning the heart and mind of the Father and being contact points for God’s love and power to touch others through us.
So, do we focus on saving ourselves so we can get to know God “then” and call it eternal life? Or, do we focus on getting to know the Father, being led by the Spirit and having the love and power of God work in and through us so we can start to taste eternal life now?
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3
During the season of Easter, we are invited to see what the normal Christian life looks like.
- People who hear and are led by Jesus’ voice, not by Jesus’ rules
- People who are motivated by love, not by fear
- People who depend on God’s power, not just their own energy and resources
- People who experience intimacy with a Father, not just faithfulness to a Master
- People through whom heaven works in the world, not just people trying to get out of the world to heaven
When we allow Christianity to be about relationship, we focus on God’s voice, love, God’s power, being beloved children of the Father, and taking risks to use our gifts and talents to love and serve people in the world.
In religion, we first get to experience the presence of God after following the rules, motivated by fear and guilt, using our own power to please our master, so we can finally meet God when we die and go to heaven.
When we are in relationship with God through Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we get to know God each day of our lives as we seek to be led by his voice, live lives motivated by love, depending on the power of the Holy Spirit, learning the heart and mind of the Father and being contact points for God’s love and power to touch others through us.
So, do we focus on saving ourselves so we can get to know God “then” and call it eternal life? Or, do we focus on getting to know the Father, being led by the Spirit and having the love and power of God work in and through us so we can start to taste eternal life now?
Pastor's Message, April 2019
Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18
We were designed to thrive when we have a vision for the future, or start dying when we have lost any sense of vision for the future.
As a church, we have decided that we have a vision of building a new church on our 10thStreet property. It won’t happen tomorrow and likely won’t happen this year or next year, but we know what direction we are going. I have a sense we will see God at work in the process providing people, resources and ideas as we head toward our vision. I am convinced we will come to know God in a deeper way as he guides us toward our vision than we would by having no vision for the future other than staying where we are and trying to survive day by day and year by year.
When I have a vision guiding me into the future, I have much more energy and optimism than when I have no bigger goal than making it through today. As Proverbs says, “Where there is a no vision, the people perish.” Without any goal greater than making it through today, I start to die inwardly, spiritually.
When the Holy Spirit gets access to our lives, one of the things that happens is we start to dream dreams and see visions. We are lifted out of survival mode and placed into adventure mode. In survival mode we tend to focus mostly on ourselves. When the Spirit gets hold of us, we start focusing on depending on God and blessing those around us.
Do you have a vision for your life bigger than making it through today? If not, invite the Holy Spirit to start giving you dreams and visions. Ask the Spirit to turn you from focusing on surviving for your sake to taking the risk of trusting God for the sake of being a blessing to others.
Whether you are 19 or 91, you were designed to have a vision for the future. A 91 year old with a vision may very well be more alive than a 19 year old just trying to make it through the day.
We were designed to thrive when we have a vision for the future, or start dying when we have lost any sense of vision for the future.
As a church, we have decided that we have a vision of building a new church on our 10thStreet property. It won’t happen tomorrow and likely won’t happen this year or next year, but we know what direction we are going. I have a sense we will see God at work in the process providing people, resources and ideas as we head toward our vision. I am convinced we will come to know God in a deeper way as he guides us toward our vision than we would by having no vision for the future other than staying where we are and trying to survive day by day and year by year.
When I have a vision guiding me into the future, I have much more energy and optimism than when I have no bigger goal than making it through today. As Proverbs says, “Where there is a no vision, the people perish.” Without any goal greater than making it through today, I start to die inwardly, spiritually.
When the Holy Spirit gets access to our lives, one of the things that happens is we start to dream dreams and see visions. We are lifted out of survival mode and placed into adventure mode. In survival mode we tend to focus mostly on ourselves. When the Spirit gets hold of us, we start focusing on depending on God and blessing those around us.
Do you have a vision for your life bigger than making it through today? If not, invite the Holy Spirit to start giving you dreams and visions. Ask the Spirit to turn you from focusing on surviving for your sake to taking the risk of trusting God for the sake of being a blessing to others.
Whether you are 19 or 91, you were designed to have a vision for the future. A 91 year old with a vision may very well be more alive than a 19 year old just trying to make it through the day.
Pastor's Message, March 2019
“A Season of Repentance”
"The time has come," Jesus said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15
The season of Lent is traditionally seen as a season of repentance in preparation for the new life of Easter. On Wednesdays during Lent, we will be focusing on different aspects of repentance which can help us be more open to the new life made possible by the cross of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We often define the word repentance way too narrowly. We focus on the tearful admission of and turning from our sin. That is one aspect of repentance, but there is so much more. The Greek word translated repentance is metanoia. It literally means to change the way we see things and thing about things. Then, because of this new way of seeing things, the natural response will be to choose to live differently.
What do we need to change our minds about? Some of the things for which we need to repent are the sinful, broken areas of life which have been hurting us and those around us. Some of the things for which we need to repent are the inaccurate ways we see ourselves, God and others which prevent us from fully living the life God has for us. Jesus comes to help us do more than just see more clearly the things we do wrong, he comes to help us see more clearly what God is really like, who we are in God’s eyes and what this life is really all about.
We need to repent more than just enough to get out of our sin. We need to keep repenting (changing the way we see and understand) until we enter into the fullness of who God is and who he has created us to be.
The Wednesdays in Lent, we will be focusing five aspects of repentance:
1. Admitting and asking for forgiveness for the mistakes we made unintentionally which have hurt us and others.
2. Admitting and asking for forgiveness for the times we crossed boundaries we shouldn’t have crossed and ended up hurting ourselves and others.
3. Admitting and asking for forgiveness for the times we intentionally did what we knew was wrong.
4. Asking Jesus to replace our inaccurate views of what God is like with the truth of the who the Father is.
5. Asking Jesus to replace the inaccurate views we have of ourselves with the truth of who God sees us to be.
As we walk out of the mistakes of the past into freedom, and as we walk out of the lies we have believed about God and ourselves into the truth revealed by Jesus, we will be open to more fully experience the new life of Easter.
"The time has come," Jesus said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15
The season of Lent is traditionally seen as a season of repentance in preparation for the new life of Easter. On Wednesdays during Lent, we will be focusing on different aspects of repentance which can help us be more open to the new life made possible by the cross of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We often define the word repentance way too narrowly. We focus on the tearful admission of and turning from our sin. That is one aspect of repentance, but there is so much more. The Greek word translated repentance is metanoia. It literally means to change the way we see things and thing about things. Then, because of this new way of seeing things, the natural response will be to choose to live differently.
What do we need to change our minds about? Some of the things for which we need to repent are the sinful, broken areas of life which have been hurting us and those around us. Some of the things for which we need to repent are the inaccurate ways we see ourselves, God and others which prevent us from fully living the life God has for us. Jesus comes to help us do more than just see more clearly the things we do wrong, he comes to help us see more clearly what God is really like, who we are in God’s eyes and what this life is really all about.
We need to repent more than just enough to get out of our sin. We need to keep repenting (changing the way we see and understand) until we enter into the fullness of who God is and who he has created us to be.
The Wednesdays in Lent, we will be focusing five aspects of repentance:
1. Admitting and asking for forgiveness for the mistakes we made unintentionally which have hurt us and others.
2. Admitting and asking for forgiveness for the times we crossed boundaries we shouldn’t have crossed and ended up hurting ourselves and others.
3. Admitting and asking for forgiveness for the times we intentionally did what we knew was wrong.
4. Asking Jesus to replace our inaccurate views of what God is like with the truth of the who the Father is.
5. Asking Jesus to replace the inaccurate views we have of ourselves with the truth of who God sees us to be.
As we walk out of the mistakes of the past into freedom, and as we walk out of the lies we have believed about God and ourselves into the truth revealed by Jesus, we will be open to more fully experience the new life of Easter.
Pastor's Message, February 2019
“Love Comes with the Package”
5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:5
February is the month many people associate with love because of Valentine’s Day falling right in the middle of the month. Because people are focused on love already, I am going to focus on love in my ministry during this month as well.
2019 is a year I will be focusing on leading us as individuals and as a congregation into not just knowing about the Holy Spirit, but having a fresh encounter, a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. So, what will it look like in our lives if we do have this fresh encounter, this baptism of the Spirit?
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we get all of the things that come along with the Holy Spirit. We get salvation, we get eternal life, we get a relationship with Jesus, we get spiritual gifts, we get unity, we get freedom, and we get love.
For many of us, we would be satisfied if the only gifts we received were forgiveness and salvation. Those are pretty wonderful gifts. Yet, the fact of the matter is that we get the whole package of the Spirit’s gifts when we receive the Spirit, and one important part of that package is love.
In 2006, I was a pastor in a small urban congregation in Minneapolis. I had been there six years and was starting to get tired, burned out, ready to quit. I was taking a sabbatical that summer, and the first event of my sabbatical was a conference at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville, MN (a suburb of the Minneapolis). At that conference, a Norwegian Pastor spoke about how he had been transformed by experiencing the Father’s love. At the end of his talk, I responded to the invitation to come up for prayer, wondering if I could ever experience the Father’s love the way the speaker explained it. I was disappointed that the speaker didn’t pray for me himself, “just” one of his associates. Yet, before I could get too discouraged, I ended up flat on my back on the floor. Nobody pushed me, I just fell. I remained on the floor for at least 15 minutes with a tangible sensation of my chest being expanded and God’s love being poured into my heart. I went from being dry and burned out to being restored in my desire to serve God. That baptism of love changed my life and my ministry.
It came with the package – I had new love for and ability to understand the Bible, I had new spiritual gifts and a new boldness as I started knocking on doors around the church meeting people and praying for and inviting them to church. I remember a time I knocked on a door and it was as if I could see the world “alcoholism” written over the door of the house. Could that “word of knowledge” be part of the package that came with the Holy Spirit. I am convinced it was.
All of it started with an encounter of God’s love. If you are reading this and have never had such an encounter, I invite you to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit each day this month. If you ask, you will receive. What you will receive will be a whole package of stuff from God, but one thing you will notice right away is love.
5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:5
February is the month many people associate with love because of Valentine’s Day falling right in the middle of the month. Because people are focused on love already, I am going to focus on love in my ministry during this month as well.
2019 is a year I will be focusing on leading us as individuals and as a congregation into not just knowing about the Holy Spirit, but having a fresh encounter, a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit. So, what will it look like in our lives if we do have this fresh encounter, this baptism of the Spirit?
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we get all of the things that come along with the Holy Spirit. We get salvation, we get eternal life, we get a relationship with Jesus, we get spiritual gifts, we get unity, we get freedom, and we get love.
For many of us, we would be satisfied if the only gifts we received were forgiveness and salvation. Those are pretty wonderful gifts. Yet, the fact of the matter is that we get the whole package of the Spirit’s gifts when we receive the Spirit, and one important part of that package is love.
In 2006, I was a pastor in a small urban congregation in Minneapolis. I had been there six years and was starting to get tired, burned out, ready to quit. I was taking a sabbatical that summer, and the first event of my sabbatical was a conference at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville, MN (a suburb of the Minneapolis). At that conference, a Norwegian Pastor spoke about how he had been transformed by experiencing the Father’s love. At the end of his talk, I responded to the invitation to come up for prayer, wondering if I could ever experience the Father’s love the way the speaker explained it. I was disappointed that the speaker didn’t pray for me himself, “just” one of his associates. Yet, before I could get too discouraged, I ended up flat on my back on the floor. Nobody pushed me, I just fell. I remained on the floor for at least 15 minutes with a tangible sensation of my chest being expanded and God’s love being poured into my heart. I went from being dry and burned out to being restored in my desire to serve God. That baptism of love changed my life and my ministry.
It came with the package – I had new love for and ability to understand the Bible, I had new spiritual gifts and a new boldness as I started knocking on doors around the church meeting people and praying for and inviting them to church. I remember a time I knocked on a door and it was as if I could see the world “alcoholism” written over the door of the house. Could that “word of knowledge” be part of the package that came with the Holy Spirit. I am convinced it was.
All of it started with an encounter of God’s love. If you are reading this and have never had such an encounter, I invite you to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit each day this month. If you ask, you will receive. What you will receive will be a whole package of stuff from God, but one thing you will notice right away is love.
Pastor's Message, January 2019
“Journeying Together into New Territory in 2019”
14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God…19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. Romans 8:14-16&19
I have a confession to make. I have been doing ministry mostly using my resources to lead you into a Christian journey dependent mostly on your resources. The focus on my ministry is going to change in 2019. I will be much more intentional in making sure that I am ministering more consistently by allowing the Spirit to guide me and God’s resources to work in and through me, and I will be leading you into a Christianity based not on your resources and agendas, but based on the Holy Spirit leading you and God’s resources working in and through you.
For 2000 years, the creation has been waiting for the church to be who we were created to be. All creation waits for us to figure out who we are, children of God motivated by love and not servants of God motivated by fear. All of creation waits for us to be led by the Spirit of God and not by our own agendas or what others want us to do. All of creation waits for the life, love and power of God to be manifest in and through us and not just have us do nice human ministry based on human effort and resources.
The roadmaps we have used in the past will not take us to the places God seeks to lead us in this new year. The roadmaps for the Christian life we have used have led us to have a professional Christian doing ministry to us and for us rather than having all of us become ministers to each other and the world. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to think that the place of ministry and encountering God is in the church building rather than in the world in day-to-day life. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to use most of our time, energy and resources maintaining a building, committee structure, a selection of ministries and an institution we call the church rather than being mobilized in the world as the body of Christ. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to see the Christian life being motivated by fear, shame and guilt to work hard trying to earn our way to heaven when we die rather than being moved by love, grace and God’s presence to be access points for the kingdom of Heaven to break into the world through us. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to see a God who acted in the past and will act again in the future rather than a God who speaks today and lives and works in and through his people today. We need a new map.
Actually, what we need is not a map for us to follow, but a Spirit to lead us. As He leads us from fear, guilt, shame, thinking we are servants rather than children of God and thinking we need to find our way out of this world to get to God, we can finally enter into brand new territory. We can enter a territory defined by peace, grace, love, value, seeing ourselves as children of God, seeing the Christian journey to be from God’s love and with God’s presence into the world where people need God’s presence and power so desperately. To be what all of creation has been waiting for, the revealing of the Children of God.
14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God…19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. Romans 8:14-16&19
I have a confession to make. I have been doing ministry mostly using my resources to lead you into a Christian journey dependent mostly on your resources. The focus on my ministry is going to change in 2019. I will be much more intentional in making sure that I am ministering more consistently by allowing the Spirit to guide me and God’s resources to work in and through me, and I will be leading you into a Christianity based not on your resources and agendas, but based on the Holy Spirit leading you and God’s resources working in and through you.
For 2000 years, the creation has been waiting for the church to be who we were created to be. All creation waits for us to figure out who we are, children of God motivated by love and not servants of God motivated by fear. All of creation waits for us to be led by the Spirit of God and not by our own agendas or what others want us to do. All of creation waits for the life, love and power of God to be manifest in and through us and not just have us do nice human ministry based on human effort and resources.
The roadmaps we have used in the past will not take us to the places God seeks to lead us in this new year. The roadmaps for the Christian life we have used have led us to have a professional Christian doing ministry to us and for us rather than having all of us become ministers to each other and the world. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to think that the place of ministry and encountering God is in the church building rather than in the world in day-to-day life. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to use most of our time, energy and resources maintaining a building, committee structure, a selection of ministries and an institution we call the church rather than being mobilized in the world as the body of Christ. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to see the Christian life being motivated by fear, shame and guilt to work hard trying to earn our way to heaven when we die rather than being moved by love, grace and God’s presence to be access points for the kingdom of Heaven to break into the world through us. We need a new map.
The roadmaps we have used have led us to see a God who acted in the past and will act again in the future rather than a God who speaks today and lives and works in and through his people today. We need a new map.
Actually, what we need is not a map for us to follow, but a Spirit to lead us. As He leads us from fear, guilt, shame, thinking we are servants rather than children of God and thinking we need to find our way out of this world to get to God, we can finally enter into brand new territory. We can enter a territory defined by peace, grace, love, value, seeing ourselves as children of God, seeing the Christian journey to be from God’s love and with God’s presence into the world where people need God’s presence and power so desperately. To be what all of creation has been waiting for, the revealing of the Children of God.
Pastor's Message, December 2018
“Seeing 20/20 by 2020”
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
John 3:1-3
When you can only see human things through human eyes and do human works to impress a distant God, it’s hard to be more than a practitioner of religion. When you start seeing spiritual things through spiritual eyes, and begin to experience God working in and through you, you have started to understand and enter the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus was starting to see things in Jesus he knew he didn’t have in himself. He could tell by looking at Jesus and seeing what he was doing that Jesus was from God. Nicodemus was good at telling people about God, but Jesus was able to bring people into the presence of God.
So, how would Nicodemus start to move from being a teacher of religion to someone who could see and enter the kingdom of God? Would it be through more intellectual insight or human activity? No, it would be by a gift of God allowing him to see and enter the kingdom of God. It would be through the Holy Spirit.
I am concerned that many Western Christians are very much like Nicodemus. We have our intellectual information about God and our human efforts to serve God all figured out, but we don’t know how to live in, see and participate with the presence and activity of the kingdom of God.
Not seeing and experiencing the kingdom of God is like living in a country where you don’t know the language or the culture. When we are in that situation, what do we tend to do? We hang out with people and go to places where we can keep speaking our language and live based on our culture. We find the tourist traps and eat at the McDonalds, but never really engage the people or the culture of the land.
God is at work all around us every day, but so often we miss it because we don’t hear what he is saying or recognize what he is doing. Jesus comes to open our eyes and ears to the kingdom so he can invite us to more fully experience the culture and activity of the kingdom of God.
But pastors and churches are not often trained to teach the language of the kingdom of God or show you how to live in the culture. They just indoctrinate you with church culture and language and surround you with other people who speak the same language and share the same culture. All the while, God is at work doing amazing things all around you, but you are too busy “doing church” to hear, see or join what God is doing.
During the coming year (the 2020’th year) I want to invite you to learn a new language and a new culture called the kingdom of God so that you don’t need to keep hanging out in religious ghettos where people know the culture and language of religion but don’t see, hear, touch or experience God. Instead, you can start seeing the kingdom and entering into the fullness of it.
May we start seeing and hearing the kingdom 20/20 by 2020!
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
John 3:1-3
When you can only see human things through human eyes and do human works to impress a distant God, it’s hard to be more than a practitioner of religion. When you start seeing spiritual things through spiritual eyes, and begin to experience God working in and through you, you have started to understand and enter the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus was starting to see things in Jesus he knew he didn’t have in himself. He could tell by looking at Jesus and seeing what he was doing that Jesus was from God. Nicodemus was good at telling people about God, but Jesus was able to bring people into the presence of God.
So, how would Nicodemus start to move from being a teacher of religion to someone who could see and enter the kingdom of God? Would it be through more intellectual insight or human activity? No, it would be by a gift of God allowing him to see and enter the kingdom of God. It would be through the Holy Spirit.
I am concerned that many Western Christians are very much like Nicodemus. We have our intellectual information about God and our human efforts to serve God all figured out, but we don’t know how to live in, see and participate with the presence and activity of the kingdom of God.
Not seeing and experiencing the kingdom of God is like living in a country where you don’t know the language or the culture. When we are in that situation, what do we tend to do? We hang out with people and go to places where we can keep speaking our language and live based on our culture. We find the tourist traps and eat at the McDonalds, but never really engage the people or the culture of the land.
God is at work all around us every day, but so often we miss it because we don’t hear what he is saying or recognize what he is doing. Jesus comes to open our eyes and ears to the kingdom so he can invite us to more fully experience the culture and activity of the kingdom of God.
But pastors and churches are not often trained to teach the language of the kingdom of God or show you how to live in the culture. They just indoctrinate you with church culture and language and surround you with other people who speak the same language and share the same culture. All the while, God is at work doing amazing things all around you, but you are too busy “doing church” to hear, see or join what God is doing.
During the coming year (the 2020’th year) I want to invite you to learn a new language and a new culture called the kingdom of God so that you don’t need to keep hanging out in religious ghettos where people know the culture and language of religion but don’t see, hear, touch or experience God. Instead, you can start seeing the kingdom and entering into the fullness of it.
May we start seeing and hearing the kingdom 20/20 by 2020!
Pastor's Message, November 2018
“Curing Spiritual Amblyopia”
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” John 3:1-5
Personal disclosure time. My name is Mark, and I have amblyopia. Now that you know such an intimate (random) detail of my life, what difference does it make, and why am I writing about it in my church newsletter?
Some of you are asking, ‘What is amblyopia?” Well, I am glad you asked. Here is one definition:
Amblyopia, commonly referred to as 'lazy eye,' is a common eye condition in young children, characterized by one eye not developing eyesight as it should. When a child has amblyopia, their brain will focus on one eye and ignore the lazy eye, due to an issue in the nerve connecting the affected eye to the brain, resulting in a lack of stimulation and thus, impaired development.
I didn’t have my amblyopia diagnosed until I was in my 40s. By then, it had taken its toll. In my case, the sight in my left eye is significantly worse than the sight in my right eye. What my brain decided to do is turn off the signal from my left eye and only use the signal from my right eye. Luckily, when I got glasses at age 45, my left eye was still correctable, and now my brain processes information from both eyes, allowing me to see better in 3-D!
That’s all well and good, but why write about this in a church newsletter? I’m glad you asked. This is why. I am convinced, after 21 years of ordained ministry, that most churches and most Christians in 21stCentury America have spiritual amblyopia. We see the visible, fleshly, human realm just fine, but our ability to see in the spiritual realm is so weak our brains don’t even process that information any more.
Nicodemus visits Jesus because he is starting to notice a difference between his religious, intellectual, moral way of seeing life and the spiritual, experiential, love-based view of life he sees in Jesus and his followers. Jesus tells him his problem is that he cannot see the kingdom of God, only his human teaching and religion. He needs to have his spiritual eyes opened to live life fully.
I waited way too long to start seeing physically out of both eyes. I have tried to be more intentional about learning to see life through both eyes – earthly and spiritual. I don’t want to look back as I finish my time in ministry and realize I was satisfied having my congregation see out of only one eye.
As Lutherans, we have great theology (intellectual understanding of God – like Nicodemus), great social ministry (human activity to serve God), and ritual (human activity to worship God). This means we have excellent eyesight out of one eye – the human, earthly eye. What we don’t have is excellent vision out of the other eye – the spiritual, supernatural eye. And, because we see so poorly out of that eye, our brains have stopped even looking to see anything spiritual or supernatural.
My goal between now and 2020 is to help us to see 20/20 out of both eyes and not just one. I don’t want us to see the world 2-dimensionally through human intellect and activity. I want us to see three-dimensionally by also seeing spiritually. That will take some strengthening of eye number two. Are you willing to do some treatment for your spiritual Amblyopia in the year ahead? I hope you answer is “Yes.”
Developing Christian Community
The fullness of the Christian life cannot be attained by attending a worship service each week or by individual study of the Bible or Christian materials. It can only be attained by being part of Christian community. It is in smaller settings that people can get to know your life story, hear your dreams and struggles, pray for you, help you hear God’s voice for yourself and pray for healing or help you discover and practice Spiritual gifts.
Are you part of some sort of Christian community? An accountability partner, a prayer group, a ministry group or small group at church, friends or neighbors with whom you gather regularly? If not, why not use the year ahead to intentionally be part of such Christian community?
Let Pastor Mark know if you would like to be part of Christian community. Pray about whether God is calling you to gather a community around you – at church, at work, at school, in your neighborhood. It doesn’t have to be at church with members of RLC. Wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, he is in their midst. And, when he is in your midst, something good happens!
Men’s Ministry
Our Men’s ministry is in need of a fresh start. How do you see yourself (if you are a man) connecting with other men, inside or outside the church? Pastor Mark will be looking for suggestions. If you have ideas, let him know.
Looking Ahead to Advent & Christmas
Mark you calendar to keep Advent Wednesday nights open. We will gather at 6:00 for dinner followed by a time of worship at 7:00. Advent Wednesdays are December 5, 12 & 19.
Christmas Weekend schedule is as follows:
Saturday, December 22 – 4:30 Worship
Sunday, December 23 – 10:00 Worship
Monday, December 24 – 5:00 & 7:00 Christmas Eve Candle-light services
Pastor's Message, October 2018
“Reason to Study History: Asking God to do it again in Our Day”
Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known Habakkuk 3:2
Much of my Sabbatical was to spend time visiting and studying places in history where God showed up in powerful ways. God didn’t stop showing up in lives and communities once the Bible was written. God continues to show up throughout history bringing renewal. The purpose of my Sabbatical was not to just learn what God did in history, but to use what he did in history as motivation to ask that he would do the same kinds of things today, in me, in the ministry of RLC.
Revival has happened in every area of the world in nearly every stream of the church over the past 2000 years. It has even happened in Lutheran churches (gasp!). Two of the main areas I studied were instances of revival breaking out among the Lutherans. Revival would break out with a group of refugees living on the estate of a German count in the early 1700’s, and it would occur in a Lutheran church. Revival would break out in Norway after a poor Norwegian farmer had an encounter with the Holy Spirit while in the early 1800’s.
My plan is to share with you some of what I have learned over several Sundays from September to November. This emphasis is not meant to just teach what God did in the past, but to make us hunger for God to do the same thing again today in our midst.
Part of each sermon will be to look at some of the ingredients present in individuals and communities experiencing revival. Not that we can make God bring revival to us, but we can align ourselves so we are ready to fully enter into it if and when it comes.
May we remember what God has done in the past, and may that awareness create a culture among ourselves where God has easy access to do the same in and through us today.
Sermon Series for September & October
Pastor Mark will be using different aspects of his travels and learnings from Sabbatical for sermon topics the next several weeks. The intent is to learn some information from what God has done in church history, and then use it to inspire us to be open and available for God to do the same kinds of things through us.
October 6-7 - “The Fruit of the Moravian Revival - John Wesley and the Methodist Church”
A young missionary named John Wesley will be drawn to the faith, love and joy of the Moravians, and by spending time with them, will be led into his own personal revival which will lead him and a new movement called Methodism to become a powerful force for God’s work in the world.
October 13-14 - “Christianity Invades Norway - St. Olav”
In the early 11th Century, God will use a Viking king to open the way for Christianity in Norway. Even though he will become a Saint in the church, he will never be clergy. He will die as a Viking king in battle. But he will have encounters with God which will lead the way for God to use him in powerful ways.
October 20-21 - “A Norwegian Farmer Encounters the Holy Spirit while out Plowing - Hans Nielsen Hauge
In the late 18th Century and early 19th Century, about the time Norway was starting to move toward declaring independence by writing a new Constitution (1814), a young farmer will have a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit while out plowing and will be used by God to transform the religious, economic and social climate of Norway.
October 27-28 - “From Acid Trips to Revival Among the Hippies - Ted & Liz Wise”
A young couple will have an experience of the Holy Spirit in San Francisco as the famous “Summer of Love” for the hippies is ready to happen. God will use this couple to spark a revival in the least expected place - 1967 among the Hippies in San Francisco.
November 3-4 - “Hippie Preacher Spreads Revival from the Bay Area to Southern Californian and Around the World - Lonnie Frisbee”
A young hippie will have an encounter with the Holy Spirit in a Canyon in Southern California which will cause him to share his faith in the streets of San Francisco. There, he will meet Ted and Liz Wise and become part of their team. He will go to Southern California where he will spark revival there and be part of the starting of two denominations - Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard.
The series will continue in November, but exact details have not been finalized yet. Stay tuned...
Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known Habakkuk 3:2
Much of my Sabbatical was to spend time visiting and studying places in history where God showed up in powerful ways. God didn’t stop showing up in lives and communities once the Bible was written. God continues to show up throughout history bringing renewal. The purpose of my Sabbatical was not to just learn what God did in history, but to use what he did in history as motivation to ask that he would do the same kinds of things today, in me, in the ministry of RLC.
Revival has happened in every area of the world in nearly every stream of the church over the past 2000 years. It has even happened in Lutheran churches (gasp!). Two of the main areas I studied were instances of revival breaking out among the Lutherans. Revival would break out with a group of refugees living on the estate of a German count in the early 1700’s, and it would occur in a Lutheran church. Revival would break out in Norway after a poor Norwegian farmer had an encounter with the Holy Spirit while in the early 1800’s.
My plan is to share with you some of what I have learned over several Sundays from September to November. This emphasis is not meant to just teach what God did in the past, but to make us hunger for God to do the same thing again today in our midst.
Part of each sermon will be to look at some of the ingredients present in individuals and communities experiencing revival. Not that we can make God bring revival to us, but we can align ourselves so we are ready to fully enter into it if and when it comes.
May we remember what God has done in the past, and may that awareness create a culture among ourselves where God has easy access to do the same in and through us today.
Sermon Series for September & October
Pastor Mark will be using different aspects of his travels and learnings from Sabbatical for sermon topics the next several weeks. The intent is to learn some information from what God has done in church history, and then use it to inspire us to be open and available for God to do the same kinds of things through us.
October 6-7 - “The Fruit of the Moravian Revival - John Wesley and the Methodist Church”
A young missionary named John Wesley will be drawn to the faith, love and joy of the Moravians, and by spending time with them, will be led into his own personal revival which will lead him and a new movement called Methodism to become a powerful force for God’s work in the world.
October 13-14 - “Christianity Invades Norway - St. Olav”
In the early 11th Century, God will use a Viking king to open the way for Christianity in Norway. Even though he will become a Saint in the church, he will never be clergy. He will die as a Viking king in battle. But he will have encounters with God which will lead the way for God to use him in powerful ways.
October 20-21 - “A Norwegian Farmer Encounters the Holy Spirit while out Plowing - Hans Nielsen Hauge
In the late 18th Century and early 19th Century, about the time Norway was starting to move toward declaring independence by writing a new Constitution (1814), a young farmer will have a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit while out plowing and will be used by God to transform the religious, economic and social climate of Norway.
October 27-28 - “From Acid Trips to Revival Among the Hippies - Ted & Liz Wise”
A young couple will have an experience of the Holy Spirit in San Francisco as the famous “Summer of Love” for the hippies is ready to happen. God will use this couple to spark a revival in the least expected place - 1967 among the Hippies in San Francisco.
November 3-4 - “Hippie Preacher Spreads Revival from the Bay Area to Southern Californian and Around the World - Lonnie Frisbee”
A young hippie will have an encounter with the Holy Spirit in a Canyon in Southern California which will cause him to share his faith in the streets of San Francisco. There, he will meet Ted and Liz Wise and become part of their team. He will go to Southern California where he will spark revival there and be part of the starting of two denominations - Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard.
The series will continue in November, but exact details have not been finalized yet. Stay tuned...
We publish the last six months of Pastor Mark's messages here. For older messages, please refer to the newsletters.