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Messages from Pastor Mark Borseth
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Pastor's Message, June and July 2024
Pastor Mark is on sabbatical so there is no message. Please pray for a refreshing sabbatical.
Pastor's Message, May 2024
“Living According to Design”
‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’
Matthew 7:24-27
God’s commandments are not given to steal life away from us, but to give us life in all its y.fulness. The ways of the world might promise to make life fuller, but they actually end up making our lives smaller.
As Jesus comes to the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) he makes a comparison between life lived according to his teachings and life lived contrary to his teachings. Those who do what he has taught will have the capacity to weather the storms of life in ways those who don’t do what he has taught never will.
The older I get, the more I have come to believe that the best way to live life is according to God’s commands and ways, even when they seem to contrary to the prevailing wisdom of the world. I am convinced what God does in me when I tithe is much more valuable than keeping that money could ever be. I am convinced that taking time for rest and sabbath is more valuable than what I could get done if I didn’t take that time. I am convinced that forgiving those who sin against me and honoring my parents and not coveting what other people have will all make me a healthier person who will live a better life, but failing to do those things will make me smaller and weaker.
This summer, I need to be reminded that working harder and not resting is not necessarily the best recipe for a more productive life. There is a reason God tells us to take Sabbath and to let fields rest. That time of rest is not to make us or the fields produce less, but to have the capacity to produce more and longer.
I pray that taking time to rest will not just help me be more productive in the long run, but also be a reminder that living according to God’s design is always the way to experience the best and fullest life.
My Summer Sabbatical
Sometimes the best strategy to get things done is to press forward and keep working. Sometimes the best strategy is to take a rest and come back later. I am at the point where I feel like the more I press forward the less productive I am getting. Synod guidelines suggest that churches offer Sabbaticals after 4-6 years of service, and my last Sabbatical was 6 years ago, so the time has come. Thank you to the Church Council for their support!
Part of my Sabbatical will be time for rest, refreshing and family, and part of my sabbatical will be staying in the Yukon area working on two areas the church (the whole church, not just RLC) has not been very good at. Those areas are unity between churches and Christians of different denominations and church streams, and Christians more intentionally living out the faith in daily life and not just keeping their faith in the church building.
As with my last Sabbatical, you will be invited to participate in what I am focusing on learning. Two of the tools I will be using to accomplish my Sabbatical theme will be a t-shirt and a devotional book. More details about how to use these items will be given as they become available.
Jesus has promised that we will experience his presence as we practice unity with other Christians and as we live out our faith by loving and serving our neighbor. If you want to more fully experience Jesus’ presence and activity in your life this summer, you are invited to take the challenge Pastor Mark will be setting not only for members of RLC, but for members of Christian congregations throughout Yukon.
Stay tuned for more information throughout the month of May.
‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’
Matthew 7:24-27
God’s commandments are not given to steal life away from us, but to give us life in all its y.fulness. The ways of the world might promise to make life fuller, but they actually end up making our lives smaller.
As Jesus comes to the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) he makes a comparison between life lived according to his teachings and life lived contrary to his teachings. Those who do what he has taught will have the capacity to weather the storms of life in ways those who don’t do what he has taught never will.
The older I get, the more I have come to believe that the best way to live life is according to God’s commands and ways, even when they seem to contrary to the prevailing wisdom of the world. I am convinced what God does in me when I tithe is much more valuable than keeping that money could ever be. I am convinced that taking time for rest and sabbath is more valuable than what I could get done if I didn’t take that time. I am convinced that forgiving those who sin against me and honoring my parents and not coveting what other people have will all make me a healthier person who will live a better life, but failing to do those things will make me smaller and weaker.
This summer, I need to be reminded that working harder and not resting is not necessarily the best recipe for a more productive life. There is a reason God tells us to take Sabbath and to let fields rest. That time of rest is not to make us or the fields produce less, but to have the capacity to produce more and longer.
I pray that taking time to rest will not just help me be more productive in the long run, but also be a reminder that living according to God’s design is always the way to experience the best and fullest life.
My Summer Sabbatical
Sometimes the best strategy to get things done is to press forward and keep working. Sometimes the best strategy is to take a rest and come back later. I am at the point where I feel like the more I press forward the less productive I am getting. Synod guidelines suggest that churches offer Sabbaticals after 4-6 years of service, and my last Sabbatical was 6 years ago, so the time has come. Thank you to the Church Council for their support!
Part of my Sabbatical will be time for rest, refreshing and family, and part of my sabbatical will be staying in the Yukon area working on two areas the church (the whole church, not just RLC) has not been very good at. Those areas are unity between churches and Christians of different denominations and church streams, and Christians more intentionally living out the faith in daily life and not just keeping their faith in the church building.
As with my last Sabbatical, you will be invited to participate in what I am focusing on learning. Two of the tools I will be using to accomplish my Sabbatical theme will be a t-shirt and a devotional book. More details about how to use these items will be given as they become available.
Jesus has promised that we will experience his presence as we practice unity with other Christians and as we live out our faith by loving and serving our neighbor. If you want to more fully experience Jesus’ presence and activity in your life this summer, you are invited to take the challenge Pastor Mark will be setting not only for members of RLC, but for members of Christian congregations throughout Yukon.
Stay tuned for more information throughout the month of May.
Pastor's Message, April 2024
“Unity in the Community – A culture where Jesus will regularly show up! For where two or three are gathered in my name I am there among them.” Matthew 18:20
18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 [As you] go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
As Lutherans, we believe that when we experience the waters of baptism, Jesus is present, and God’s grace is being received. When we come to the communion table for bread and wine, we believe Jesus is present and grace is being received.
If Jesus says that when we do something he will be with us, it seems that it would be a good idea to do more of that thing. Jesus promises to be with us in more situations than just Baptism and Holy Communion. Two of the other places he promises to be with us are going to be my focus for the next several months.
Could it be that much of the weakness and ineffectiveness of the church today is that followers of Jesus are not very unified, and we are too focused on escaping from the world into the church building rather than intentionally going out of the church building into the world?
My personal focus for the next several months will be on how we as Christians can be more unified and less divided and how we can live out our faith more consistently and intentionally in our day to day lives in the world rather than keeping it to ourselves or and limiting its practice to Sunday morning, inside of the church building.
My expectation is that the more we have unity with other Christians and the more we live our faith out in the community every day, the more we will experience the presence of Jesus individually and in our society. And when Jesus is present, good things happen. Lives are changed, people are healed and set free, relationships are restored, people are loved, and God’s kingdom expands, transforming society for the better.
18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 [As you] go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
As Lutherans, we believe that when we experience the waters of baptism, Jesus is present, and God’s grace is being received. When we come to the communion table for bread and wine, we believe Jesus is present and grace is being received.
If Jesus says that when we do something he will be with us, it seems that it would be a good idea to do more of that thing. Jesus promises to be with us in more situations than just Baptism and Holy Communion. Two of the other places he promises to be with us are going to be my focus for the next several months.
- He promises to be with us when we come together in unity – All of Matthew 18 is about the dangers created by disunity – don’t exclude the children, don’t be a stumbling block to someone coming to know Jesus, intentionally address division in the church, and be someone who is in the habit of forgiving. In the middle of this chapter, Jesus says that unity (gathering together in his name) will increase the power of our prayers and will create an atmosphere where we will more fully experience his presence in our midst.
- He promises to be with as we go to tell others about him – In Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew 28, Jesus sends his followers out to make disciples of others, and his promise is that as we go, he will be with us as we go.
Could it be that much of the weakness and ineffectiveness of the church today is that followers of Jesus are not very unified, and we are too focused on escaping from the world into the church building rather than intentionally going out of the church building into the world?
My personal focus for the next several months will be on how we as Christians can be more unified and less divided and how we can live out our faith more consistently and intentionally in our day to day lives in the world rather than keeping it to ourselves or and limiting its practice to Sunday morning, inside of the church building.
My expectation is that the more we have unity with other Christians and the more we live our faith out in the community every day, the more we will experience the presence of Jesus individually and in our society. And when Jesus is present, good things happen. Lives are changed, people are healed and set free, relationships are restored, people are loved, and God’s kingdom expands, transforming society for the better.
Pastor's Message, Mar 2024
“What is your faith investment portfolio?”
[Jesus said to his anxious disciples] “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Risky investments often have the best returns. Conservative investments often struggle to just keep pace with inflation.
If we really trust an investment, we will increase how much of it we include in our portfolio. If we don’t trust an investment, we will choose other safer investments which are unlikely to gain much, but at least we won’t lose anything.
It seems we as Christians already realize our only reasonable investment options for forgiveness and life in heaven after we die is to trust Jesus completely to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves, but we somehow have trouble investing the rest of our lives between salvation and going to heaven into the hands of Jesus. But Jesus didn’t come just for our past and future. He came to invite us to follow him each day and give ourselves to him in the present, between forgiveness and heaven.
As I get older, I am realizing that I have been way too conservative in the way I have invested my life. 100% invested in Jesus to forgive my past sins and 100% invested in Jesus to get me to heaven when I die are both excellent investments, but why not invest the rest of my life in him as well? Why compromise by investing the rest of my life in riskless investments that don’t even keep up with inflation and make me worse off in the end than I was at the beginning?
What if I had the same confidence that the same Jesus who I could trust 100% for forgiveness and heaven could also be trusted with the rest of my?
*What if I am to invest my relationships in him?
*What if I am to invest my brokenness, trauma, shame and addictions in him?
*What if I am to invest my use of time in him?
*What if I am to invest more of my finances and talents in him?
*What if I am to invest my career and hobby choices in him?
This Lent and Easter, may we affirm our choice to invest in Jesus for forgiveness of our sins and assurance of heaven when we die. But may we also start investing more of ourselves and our lives in him to discover he is the best investment not only for our forgiveness and eternal destination, but also for our marriages, families, values, finances, careers, and relationships. May our life-investment portfolios become much less diverse, with him as our only investment.
[Jesus said to his anxious disciples] “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Risky investments often have the best returns. Conservative investments often struggle to just keep pace with inflation.
If we really trust an investment, we will increase how much of it we include in our portfolio. If we don’t trust an investment, we will choose other safer investments which are unlikely to gain much, but at least we won’t lose anything.
It seems we as Christians already realize our only reasonable investment options for forgiveness and life in heaven after we die is to trust Jesus completely to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves, but we somehow have trouble investing the rest of our lives between salvation and going to heaven into the hands of Jesus. But Jesus didn’t come just for our past and future. He came to invite us to follow him each day and give ourselves to him in the present, between forgiveness and heaven.
As I get older, I am realizing that I have been way too conservative in the way I have invested my life. 100% invested in Jesus to forgive my past sins and 100% invested in Jesus to get me to heaven when I die are both excellent investments, but why not invest the rest of my life in him as well? Why compromise by investing the rest of my life in riskless investments that don’t even keep up with inflation and make me worse off in the end than I was at the beginning?
What if I had the same confidence that the same Jesus who I could trust 100% for forgiveness and heaven could also be trusted with the rest of my?
*What if I am to invest my relationships in him?
*What if I am to invest my brokenness, trauma, shame and addictions in him?
*What if I am to invest my use of time in him?
*What if I am to invest more of my finances and talents in him?
*What if I am to invest my career and hobby choices in him?
This Lent and Easter, may we affirm our choice to invest in Jesus for forgiveness of our sins and assurance of heaven when we die. But may we also start investing more of ourselves and our lives in him to discover he is the best investment not only for our forgiveness and eternal destination, but also for our marriages, families, values, finances, careers, and relationships. May our life-investment portfolios become much less diverse, with him as our only investment.
Pastor's Message, Feb 2024
“Valentines Gift to Yourself for 2024 – Forgiving Others”
32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?” 34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart. Matthew 18:32-35
When we fail to forgive someone who has hurt us, it may or may not hurt them, but it will always hurt us. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 18 that everyone who does not forgive their brother or sister from their heart will be handed over to the torturers.
How is it that we get tortured until we forgive others? For some the torture is manifested in addictions. For some it is manifested in physical or emotional illness. For all the torture is manifested in a diminished ability to connect with God.
Doesn’t that sound wonderful? In addition to the pain of being hurt by someone, we get the added pain of physical, emotional, and spiritual torment by not forgiving them! Why does God allow us to experience the torment? Not because he hates us, but because it is so important to him that we learn to forgive.
Where are you still holding onto anger or resentment? Wherever you are holding on, the person you are really hurting through your unforgiveness is yourself. Why not give a gift of love to yourself this Valentine’s Day? Give yourself the gift of being released from the torment brought on by unforgiveness and make this a year of being set free by forgiving others (and yourself).
32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?” 34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart. Matthew 18:32-35
When we fail to forgive someone who has hurt us, it may or may not hurt them, but it will always hurt us. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 18 that everyone who does not forgive their brother or sister from their heart will be handed over to the torturers.
How is it that we get tortured until we forgive others? For some the torture is manifested in addictions. For some it is manifested in physical or emotional illness. For all the torture is manifested in a diminished ability to connect with God.
Doesn’t that sound wonderful? In addition to the pain of being hurt by someone, we get the added pain of physical, emotional, and spiritual torment by not forgiving them! Why does God allow us to experience the torment? Not because he hates us, but because it is so important to him that we learn to forgive.
Where are you still holding onto anger or resentment? Wherever you are holding on, the person you are really hurting through your unforgiveness is yourself. Why not give a gift of love to yourself this Valentine’s Day? Give yourself the gift of being released from the torment brought on by unforgiveness and make this a year of being set free by forgiving others (and yourself).
Pastor's Message, Jan 2024
“God working in me works much better than me working for God”
“We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves” (pages 83-84, Alcoholics Anonymous)
Becoming more religious by our own effort will never be able to accomplish in our lives what God can do when we give him access to meet us in our weakness.
I will begin 2024 by going to a memorial service on January 6 for my friend Steve. Steve was a good man, a minister, a missionary, a man who blessed lots of others. Steve also struggled with more than one addiction. The consequences of his addictions led to his taking his own life. Steve is my motivation to do ministry differently this year. There are too many people who are disconnected from God and from meaningful relationships with others while actively living the Christian life, some even serving as ministers.
Where is the disconnect? A minister who is trying so hard to serve God yet personally struggles to connect with God and others? How has all our teaching about Christian maturity and discipleship left us with so many who try harder and harder to connect with God, but never seem to connect? Could it be that we have been we have had an inadequate ate best, and faulty at worst system of discipleship?
How many people who feel disconnected from God and others hear:
Just read the Bible more…
Just spend more time praying each day…
Just get more active at church…
Just become a pastor or professional church worker…
Then you will have a stronger experience of God and better friendships with others.
Only to feel even more discouraged that the more they do for God, the more disconnected they are feel. Could it be that many people need a whole different kind of discipleship? One where they stop performing for God and start giving God access to meet them in their weakness and brokenness?
I had never realized that the 12 steps of addiction recovery were about anything more than accountability to stop destructive behaviors, yet they were designed to achieve much than behavior modification to stop the negative. The steps are ultimately about having a spiritual awakening as the ones following the steps experience God doing for them what they had previously been unable to accomplish by their own efforts.
What if we as a church took a few months away from traditional performance-based discipleship and focused on a discipleship plan based on inviting God to meet us in our weakness, to do for us those things we can’t do for ourselves? What if doing so will bring spiritual awakenings to scores of people who have been Christians for years or even decades but have never been able to meaningfully connect with God?
What if there are lots of people like Steve who would for the first time be able to encounter God in ways which would lead them to spiritual awakening and full fruitful lives rather than suicide?
“We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves” (pages 83-84, Alcoholics Anonymous)
Becoming more religious by our own effort will never be able to accomplish in our lives what God can do when we give him access to meet us in our weakness.
I will begin 2024 by going to a memorial service on January 6 for my friend Steve. Steve was a good man, a minister, a missionary, a man who blessed lots of others. Steve also struggled with more than one addiction. The consequences of his addictions led to his taking his own life. Steve is my motivation to do ministry differently this year. There are too many people who are disconnected from God and from meaningful relationships with others while actively living the Christian life, some even serving as ministers.
Where is the disconnect? A minister who is trying so hard to serve God yet personally struggles to connect with God and others? How has all our teaching about Christian maturity and discipleship left us with so many who try harder and harder to connect with God, but never seem to connect? Could it be that we have been we have had an inadequate ate best, and faulty at worst system of discipleship?
How many people who feel disconnected from God and others hear:
Just read the Bible more…
Just spend more time praying each day…
Just get more active at church…
Just become a pastor or professional church worker…
Then you will have a stronger experience of God and better friendships with others.
Only to feel even more discouraged that the more they do for God, the more disconnected they are feel. Could it be that many people need a whole different kind of discipleship? One where they stop performing for God and start giving God access to meet them in their weakness and brokenness?
I had never realized that the 12 steps of addiction recovery were about anything more than accountability to stop destructive behaviors, yet they were designed to achieve much than behavior modification to stop the negative. The steps are ultimately about having a spiritual awakening as the ones following the steps experience God doing for them what they had previously been unable to accomplish by their own efforts.
What if we as a church took a few months away from traditional performance-based discipleship and focused on a discipleship plan based on inviting God to meet us in our weakness, to do for us those things we can’t do for ourselves? What if doing so will bring spiritual awakenings to scores of people who have been Christians for years or even decades but have never been able to meaningfully connect with God?
What if there are lots of people like Steve who would for the first time be able to encounter God in ways which would lead them to spiritual awakening and full fruitful lives rather than suicide?
Pastor's Message, Dec 2023
“The Three Most Important Presents this Christmas”
God says, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30
We have been talking for several months about how Jesus came not just to get us to heaven when we die but to increase our experience of heaven working in and through us between now and then. We are not meant to wait until we die to start meeting and encountering God, we were meant to start the relationship now.
This December we will be focusing on how we can more fully and regularly encounter God in our lives, and one major key to experiencing God’s presence is how present and available we are to be encountered by him.
Often when there is a drawing or raffle there is the stipulation, “Must be present to win.” There may be a prize chosen for you, but you miss out on it by not being present when it is given away. The same is the case in the Kingdom of God. God is ready to hand out gifts, divine appointments, and experiences of his presence, but we must be present to receive them.
Ezekiel 22:20 shows a time that God was ready to give deliverance and protection to the land but found no one present and available to work through. How often is that same thing happening today? How many times is God offering to bring healing, reconciliation, deliverance, protection, or restoration into the world, but he finds no one present and available to work through?
This month we will be focusing on decreasing the incidence in our congregation, our families and our community of God wanting to do something but having no one to work through. We will focus on how to be present so that when God does have a calling or mission for our life we will receive it rather than miss it because we were not present.
The first week of Advent we will focus on being present to ourselves. God only has access to encounter us when we are present to ourselves and not stuck in the past or future, or unavailable due to busyness or addictions.
The second week of Advent we will focus on being present to God. Are we taking time to read the Bible, pray, meditate, and seek to increase our conscious contact with God?
The third week of Advent, we will focus on being present to each other. Much of experiencing the presence and activity of God happens as we are turn away from our focus on self and become present to others around us.
Then, on Christmas Eve, we will focus on how God has come to make himself present to us through Immanuel, God with us.
God says, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30
We have been talking for several months about how Jesus came not just to get us to heaven when we die but to increase our experience of heaven working in and through us between now and then. We are not meant to wait until we die to start meeting and encountering God, we were meant to start the relationship now.
This December we will be focusing on how we can more fully and regularly encounter God in our lives, and one major key to experiencing God’s presence is how present and available we are to be encountered by him.
Often when there is a drawing or raffle there is the stipulation, “Must be present to win.” There may be a prize chosen for you, but you miss out on it by not being present when it is given away. The same is the case in the Kingdom of God. God is ready to hand out gifts, divine appointments, and experiences of his presence, but we must be present to receive them.
Ezekiel 22:20 shows a time that God was ready to give deliverance and protection to the land but found no one present and available to work through. How often is that same thing happening today? How many times is God offering to bring healing, reconciliation, deliverance, protection, or restoration into the world, but he finds no one present and available to work through?
This month we will be focusing on decreasing the incidence in our congregation, our families and our community of God wanting to do something but having no one to work through. We will focus on how to be present so that when God does have a calling or mission for our life we will receive it rather than miss it because we were not present.
The first week of Advent we will focus on being present to ourselves. God only has access to encounter us when we are present to ourselves and not stuck in the past or future, or unavailable due to busyness or addictions.
The second week of Advent we will focus on being present to God. Are we taking time to read the Bible, pray, meditate, and seek to increase our conscious contact with God?
The third week of Advent, we will focus on being present to each other. Much of experiencing the presence and activity of God happens as we are turn away from our focus on self and become present to others around us.
Then, on Christmas Eve, we will focus on how God has come to make himself present to us through Immanuel, God with us.
Pastor's Message, Nov 2023
We pray not to get God’s attention, but so he can get ours.
We pray not to get the attention of others, but so they can get ours.
As we go through the Sermon on the Mount, it is obvious that our experience of the kingdom activity of God is not just dependent on what we do, but it is also dependent on why we do what we do.
The church leaders of Jesus’ day were doing all the right things, but he said that what they were doing was not bringing them into the Kingdom. How could that be? When we do the right things for the wrong purposes, it keeps us from experiencing the kingdom activity of God we would experience if our motives were different.
If my prayer or other acts of righteousness are to get God to notice me so I can get what want from God rather than to give God access to get my attention so he can work through me to do what he wants for the sake of others, I have missed the Kingdom.
If my prayer or other acts of righteousness are to get other people to pay attention to me and praise me so I can feel better about myself rather than to draw my attention to them so I can better love and serve them, I have missed the Kingdom.
Father may my prayer and acts of righteousness make me more aware of and available to you and more aware of and available to those you want me to serve.
AMEN
We pray not to get the attention of others, but so they can get ours.
As we go through the Sermon on the Mount, it is obvious that our experience of the kingdom activity of God is not just dependent on what we do, but it is also dependent on why we do what we do.
The church leaders of Jesus’ day were doing all the right things, but he said that what they were doing was not bringing them into the Kingdom. How could that be? When we do the right things for the wrong purposes, it keeps us from experiencing the kingdom activity of God we would experience if our motives were different.
If my prayer or other acts of righteousness are to get God to notice me so I can get what want from God rather than to give God access to get my attention so he can work through me to do what he wants for the sake of others, I have missed the Kingdom.
If my prayer or other acts of righteousness are to get other people to pay attention to me and praise me so I can feel better about myself rather than to draw my attention to them so I can better love and serve them, I have missed the Kingdom.
Father may my prayer and acts of righteousness make me more aware of and available to you and more aware of and available to those you want me to serve.
AMEN
Pastor's Message, Oct 2023
“Wanting More of God is the Most Selfless Thing We Can Do”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
When the reason we are seeking to become righteous is to earn our way to heaven, we only need the minimum requirements to achieve our goal. When the reason we seek righteousness is so we can become all God created us to be and to be the greatest blessing we can be to our neighbors, we will want all the righteousness we can get.
Jesus will give examples in the Sermon on the Mount. To people who just want to qualify for heaven because they haven’t killed anyone, Jesus will say that the damage to them being who God created them to be is just as great if they hold onto anger against someone as if they had killed them. To people who just want to qualify for heaven because they have never had an extramarital affair, Jesus will say the damage to them being who God created them to be is just as great if they look lustfully at another as if they had had an affair with them.
If our goal is to not break the commandments so we are righteous enough to get to heaven, we will only seek a little of God’s righteousness. If our goal is to become the person God created us to be so we can better glorify God and serve others, then we will want much more.
Wanting to glorify God and bless others doesn’t allow us to be satisfied just having enough self-discipline to not kill someone or have an affair. Rather, it motivates us to press into God to deliver us from our anger, resentment, lust, and every other character defect that keeps us from being all God created us to be.
In my life, my goal used to be to become righteous enough to get myself to heaven. Now, my goal is much bigger. Now, I want God’s righteousness to transform every area of my life and character so I can be an ever-increasing conduit for heaven to break into the world through me as I love and serve my neighbor.
God, help me to see that wanting more of your righteousness in my life is not a selfish thing, but is actually the most selfless thing I can do. Help me to understand that when I don’t have your righteousness, I am never going to become all you created me to be, and I will never be the blessing to my neighbor you desire me to be. Today I hunger and thirst for all of your righteousness, and I look forward to being filled. To your glory and to the good of the people my life impacts.
AMEN
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6
When the reason we are seeking to become righteous is to earn our way to heaven, we only need the minimum requirements to achieve our goal. When the reason we seek righteousness is so we can become all God created us to be and to be the greatest blessing we can be to our neighbors, we will want all the righteousness we can get.
Jesus will give examples in the Sermon on the Mount. To people who just want to qualify for heaven because they haven’t killed anyone, Jesus will say that the damage to them being who God created them to be is just as great if they hold onto anger against someone as if they had killed them. To people who just want to qualify for heaven because they have never had an extramarital affair, Jesus will say the damage to them being who God created them to be is just as great if they look lustfully at another as if they had had an affair with them.
If our goal is to not break the commandments so we are righteous enough to get to heaven, we will only seek a little of God’s righteousness. If our goal is to become the person God created us to be so we can better glorify God and serve others, then we will want much more.
Wanting to glorify God and bless others doesn’t allow us to be satisfied just having enough self-discipline to not kill someone or have an affair. Rather, it motivates us to press into God to deliver us from our anger, resentment, lust, and every other character defect that keeps us from being all God created us to be.
In my life, my goal used to be to become righteous enough to get myself to heaven. Now, my goal is much bigger. Now, I want God’s righteousness to transform every area of my life and character so I can be an ever-increasing conduit for heaven to break into the world through me as I love and serve my neighbor.
God, help me to see that wanting more of your righteousness in my life is not a selfish thing, but is actually the most selfless thing I can do. Help me to understand that when I don’t have your righteousness, I am never going to become all you created me to be, and I will never be the blessing to my neighbor you desire me to be. Today I hunger and thirst for all of your righteousness, and I look forward to being filled. To your glory and to the good of the people my life impacts.
AMEN
Pastor's Message, Sept 2023
“That’s not Blessed? Is It?”
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
The people who are effective at defining and redefining the meaning of words, change society. Will we allow Jesus to define what it means to blessed and more fully enter that blessing, or will we allow the world to define it and miss out?
Jesus begins teaching what his kingdom looks like, and his definition can only be a shock to many who are hearing what he has to say. For some the shock is that his definition negates what they see as the blessings they already have, and for others the shock is that his definition allows them to see blessings they never imagined they had or could have.
At the time of Jesus, the Greek word Makarios, translated blessed, had the connotation of being lifted above the problems of the world. It meant being wealthy enough, healthy enough, and privileged enough to be above the suffering of the world. Many equated that kind of blessing with being favored by God. But Jesus had a new way of understanding the word. For him it wasn’t having life situations that raised you above needing God, but life situations that caused you to depend more on God.
What if the greatest blessings of life are not the things that make life easy and cause us to think we don’t need God or other people? What if the greatest blessings of life are the things that help us see we need God and other people?
I don’t want to get to the end of life having had things easy but never having gotten to know God or having experienced a community of genuine friendship where I am loved just as I am (and enough so that I don’t need to stay just as I am).
Father, bless me with brokenness and dependence which drive me to need you and people. I don’t want to finish this life without knowing you or without having people who love me as I am, warts and all. Having ease and the best life has to offer without you and others to share life with is not a blessing. That is a curse!
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
The people who are effective at defining and redefining the meaning of words, change society. Will we allow Jesus to define what it means to blessed and more fully enter that blessing, or will we allow the world to define it and miss out?
Jesus begins teaching what his kingdom looks like, and his definition can only be a shock to many who are hearing what he has to say. For some the shock is that his definition negates what they see as the blessings they already have, and for others the shock is that his definition allows them to see blessings they never imagined they had or could have.
At the time of Jesus, the Greek word Makarios, translated blessed, had the connotation of being lifted above the problems of the world. It meant being wealthy enough, healthy enough, and privileged enough to be above the suffering of the world. Many equated that kind of blessing with being favored by God. But Jesus had a new way of understanding the word. For him it wasn’t having life situations that raised you above needing God, but life situations that caused you to depend more on God.
What if the greatest blessings of life are not the things that make life easy and cause us to think we don’t need God or other people? What if the greatest blessings of life are the things that help us see we need God and other people?
I don’t want to get to the end of life having had things easy but never having gotten to know God or having experienced a community of genuine friendship where I am loved just as I am (and enough so that I don’t need to stay just as I am).
Father, bless me with brokenness and dependence which drive me to need you and people. I don’t want to finish this life without knowing you or without having people who love me as I am, warts and all. Having ease and the best life has to offer without you and others to share life with is not a blessing. That is a curse!
Pastor's Message, Aug 2023
“Ignoring the Manual at Our Own Risk (and at the Risk of those Around Us)”
25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
What if the one who designed us really is the one who knows best how to make our lives full, meaningful, and fruitful? What if God’s commands are not to limit us or take all the fun out of our lives, but to set us free to live life fully? What if Jesus didn’t come to live among us and teach God’s kingdom to us to call us away from our fleshliness and humanity, but to show us how we are designed to live most fully in them?
What if humanity’s journey away from the “primitive superstitions” of God and religion into human advancement, self-discovery and self-fulfillment is not helping us to progress toward perfection, but rather to regress into dysfunction?
It seems to me that the “progress” of the past decades has carried with it a lot of baggage. Loneliness, mental illness, suicide, addictions, broken families, and disease don’t seem to be going away. They seem to be metastasizing. What if the problem is not that we haven’t been good enough at progressing as humanity, but that we have forgotten what humanity was meant to be in the first place by walking away from the one who designed?
The more I study the kingdom of God, the more convinced I am that Jesus didn’t come to introduce something new and novel to humanity, but to invite us to become who we were created to be in the first place. What if the Bible really is the owner’s manual for our bodies, minds, spirits, emotions, relationships, and experiences of life? What if thinking we can do a better job of maximizing our potential through human progress is not a recipe for advancement, but rather self-imposed destruction?
What if we function best individually and as a society by following God’s instructions?
*Focusing life on serving God and others rather than on living for self
*Taking time to rest and truly connect with self, others, and God, rather than never slowing down
*Realizing what we think is just as important as what we do – lusting damages us even if we don’t commit adultery, anger, and hatred damage us even if we don’t murder
*Discovering we only receive well when we give well
*Discovering we only really experience forgiveness when we forgive others
*Discovering any form of sex outside of marriage steals more than it gives
*Discovering we need community and were not designed to go through life alone
*Learning that honesty and being present in the moment is much healthier than dishonesty and living in the mistakes of the past or the fear of the future
I am more and more convinced that it is as we seek God’s kingdom first that all the rest of the things in life will function the way they were designed by their creator in the first place. The solution is not for humanity to progress beyond God and religion, but to discover who we were created to be by returning to the God who created us in the first place.
25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
What if the one who designed us really is the one who knows best how to make our lives full, meaningful, and fruitful? What if God’s commands are not to limit us or take all the fun out of our lives, but to set us free to live life fully? What if Jesus didn’t come to live among us and teach God’s kingdom to us to call us away from our fleshliness and humanity, but to show us how we are designed to live most fully in them?
What if humanity’s journey away from the “primitive superstitions” of God and religion into human advancement, self-discovery and self-fulfillment is not helping us to progress toward perfection, but rather to regress into dysfunction?
It seems to me that the “progress” of the past decades has carried with it a lot of baggage. Loneliness, mental illness, suicide, addictions, broken families, and disease don’t seem to be going away. They seem to be metastasizing. What if the problem is not that we haven’t been good enough at progressing as humanity, but that we have forgotten what humanity was meant to be in the first place by walking away from the one who designed?
The more I study the kingdom of God, the more convinced I am that Jesus didn’t come to introduce something new and novel to humanity, but to invite us to become who we were created to be in the first place. What if the Bible really is the owner’s manual for our bodies, minds, spirits, emotions, relationships, and experiences of life? What if thinking we can do a better job of maximizing our potential through human progress is not a recipe for advancement, but rather self-imposed destruction?
What if we function best individually and as a society by following God’s instructions?
*Focusing life on serving God and others rather than on living for self
*Taking time to rest and truly connect with self, others, and God, rather than never slowing down
*Realizing what we think is just as important as what we do – lusting damages us even if we don’t commit adultery, anger, and hatred damage us even if we don’t murder
*Discovering we only receive well when we give well
*Discovering we only really experience forgiveness when we forgive others
*Discovering any form of sex outside of marriage steals more than it gives
*Discovering we need community and were not designed to go through life alone
*Learning that honesty and being present in the moment is much healthier than dishonesty and living in the mistakes of the past or the fear of the future
I am more and more convinced that it is as we seek God’s kingdom first that all the rest of the things in life will function the way they were designed by their creator in the first place. The solution is not for humanity to progress beyond God and religion, but to discover who we were created to be by returning to the God who created us in the first place.
Pastor's Message, July 2023
“Freedom from, Freedom to become, Freedom for”
As Americans we are convinced that the best way to live is as free people. Is the same true when it comes to how we live as Christians? What does the Bible have to say about God’s design for his followers? Where does freedom fit in? As we explore the message of the Bible, we discover freedom fits in all over the place!
In God’s kingdom we are free in (at least) three ways:
Romans 8:1-2 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
The culture of the Kingdom of God is about freedom from our past. Our sins have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west.
Freedom TO BECOME who God created us to be
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
The culture of the Kingdom of God is about more than just freeing us from our past and opening the door for us to go to heaven when we die. Because we have been forgiven by Jesus, the Holy Spirit seeks to live in us to bring us to ever-increasing freedom and truth as we are transformed into the image of God.
Freedom FOR serving our neighbors
Galatians 5:13 - For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
The culture of the Kingdom of God is not like that of the Kingdom of the World where we use our freedom to serve ourselves. In the Kingdom of God, the most life-giving use of freedom happens when we use our freedom to love serve each other.
As Americans we are convinced that the best way to live is as free people. Is the same true when it comes to how we live as Christians? What does the Bible have to say about God’s design for his followers? Where does freedom fit in? As we explore the message of the Bible, we discover freedom fits in all over the place!
In God’s kingdom we are free in (at least) three ways:
- Freedom from our past
- Freedom to become who God created us to be
- Freedom for the purpose of serving our neighbors
Romans 8:1-2 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
The culture of the Kingdom of God is about freedom from our past. Our sins have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west.
Freedom TO BECOME who God created us to be
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 - 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
The culture of the Kingdom of God is about more than just freeing us from our past and opening the door for us to go to heaven when we die. Because we have been forgiven by Jesus, the Holy Spirit seeks to live in us to bring us to ever-increasing freedom and truth as we are transformed into the image of God.
Freedom FOR serving our neighbors
Galatians 5:13 - For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
The culture of the Kingdom of God is not like that of the Kingdom of the World where we use our freedom to serve ourselves. In the Kingdom of God, the most life-giving use of freedom happens when we use our freedom to love serve each other.
Pastor's Message, June 2023
“The Operating System for the Kingdom of God – The Holy Spirit”
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit." John 3:5
In the age of computers, having the right operating system is vital if we want to tap into the full range of available programs. If I still had the computer I had 25 years ago with a Windows 99 operating system, I would basically have no ability to use any of the programs available today. The same is the case with my spiritual life. If the only operating system I have spiritually is an old Religion BC (before Christ) operating system, I would be able to know some things about God but would miss out on most of what God is up to in the world today. Thankfully, a new AD33 Spiritual operating system was released on Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago, and it never needs to be updated and allows us to access everything God wants us to have access to whenever we need it.
This summer, we will be focusing on the Kingdom of God (what God is up to in the world today) and how we can see (John 3:3) and enter (John 3:5) that Kingdom. But before we can see and enter the Kingdom, we need to make sure we have a fresh filling of the operating system of the Kingdom of God - the Holy Spirit.
In June, we will focus on three big questions:
The needs of the world will never be met by a church where most of its members are functioning with old religious operating systems which are lacking the capacity for hearing, interacting with, being led by, and being empowered by God through the Holy Spirit.
Once we have the right operating system, we will spend the next couple of months focusing on how we can fully see, access, and participate in all God has prepared for us as we do a deep dive into the Kingdom of God.
Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit." John 3:5
In the age of computers, having the right operating system is vital if we want to tap into the full range of available programs. If I still had the computer I had 25 years ago with a Windows 99 operating system, I would basically have no ability to use any of the programs available today. The same is the case with my spiritual life. If the only operating system I have spiritually is an old Religion BC (before Christ) operating system, I would be able to know some things about God but would miss out on most of what God is up to in the world today. Thankfully, a new AD33 Spiritual operating system was released on Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago, and it never needs to be updated and allows us to access everything God wants us to have access to whenever we need it.
This summer, we will be focusing on the Kingdom of God (what God is up to in the world today) and how we can see (John 3:3) and enter (John 3:5) that Kingdom. But before we can see and enter the Kingdom, we need to make sure we have a fresh filling of the operating system of the Kingdom of God - the Holy Spirit.
In June, we will focus on three big questions:
- Who is the Holy Spirit?
- What does the Holy Spirit do?
- How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?
The needs of the world will never be met by a church where most of its members are functioning with old religious operating systems which are lacking the capacity for hearing, interacting with, being led by, and being empowered by God through the Holy Spirit.
Once we have the right operating system, we will spend the next couple of months focusing on how we can fully see, access, and participate in all God has prepared for us as we do a deep dive into the Kingdom of God.
Pastor's Message, May 2023
“Gifts Meant to Make Us Better Givers”
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
When God gives gifts, he wants to do more than just bless us. He wants to bless others through us. When he chose Abraham and Sarah, his plans were much bigger than the two of them. His plans included a great nation through which he would bless all the peoples on earth.
We have been looking at the blessings of the cross during the season of Easter. The cross cleansed us from the pollution of sin so we could focus less on our own hurts and be more available to minister to others in theirs. The cross paid the penalty of sin so we wouldn’t need to spend all our energy to save ourselves but could focus on serving others. The cross broke the power of sin so we would not be stuck in our compulsions and addictions but could instead be fully present and available to bless others. Finally, the cross removed the partition of sin so that we could have healthy relationships with God and each other. The more we receive the blessings of the cross, the greater blessings we become to others.
On May 28 we will celebrate Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The point of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was not just to lift the 120 praying in the upper room and bless them, but to fill them with love and courage to go to the ends of the earth to be witnesses to Jesus.
May the month of May be a time of great blessing to us as we receive God’s many gifts, but may it be about more than us. May it also be a time of equipping and motivating us to be blessings to the rest of the world until the day God’s words to Abraham and Sarah are fulfilled.
“I will bless you…and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
We have been looking at the blessings of the cross during the season of Easter. The cross cleansed us from the pollution of sin so we could focus less on our own hurts and be more available to minister to others in theirs. The cross paid the penalty of sin so we wouldn’t need to spend all our energy to save ourselves but could focus on serving others. The cross broke the power of sin so we would not be stuck in our compulsions and addictions but could instead be fully present and available to bless others. Finally, the cross removed the partition of sin so that we could have healthy relationships with God and each other. The more we receive the blessings of the cross, the greater blessings we become to others.
On May 28 we will celebrate Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The point of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was not just to lift the 120 praying in the upper room and bless them, but to fill them with love and courage to go to the ends of the earth to be witnesses to Jesus.
May the month of May be a time of great blessing to us as we receive God’s many gifts, but may it be about more than us. May it also be a time of equipping and motivating us to be blessings to the rest of the world until the day God’s words to Abraham and Sarah are fulfilled.
“I will bless you…and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Pastor's Message, April 2023
“What all Did Jesus Pay for on the Cross?”
There are many different descriptions of the reality and consequences of sin in the Bible.
The main ones are:
Pollution of Sin
The Pollution of sin was atoned for by blood sacrifice in the Old Testament. That sacrifice had to be repeated over and over because people continued to sin. Jesus was the lamb of God who died once for all so that there would be no more need for repeated sacrifice. His blood cleanses us from our pollution.
Penalty of Sin
The Legal penalty of sin which demanded death was removed as Jesus took that penalty upon himself and died so we could be declared NOT GUILTY. His death pays our penalty.
Power of Sin
Through choosing to trust ourselves rather than God, we often make decisions which allow sin to have power over us. We become slaves to our past, slaves to pleasing people, slaves to addiction. Jesus’ death on the cross redeemed us, gave us back our freedom and restored what we had given away because of our sins. His death broke the power of sin to steal our freedom.
Partition of Sin
Our sins created a barrier between us and God and destroyed our ability to have healthy, whole relationships with others. On the cross, the barrier between us and God was removed. His death removed the partition of sin and reconciled us with God.
During the season of Easter (April 16-May 21) we will talk about how we can fully access everything Jesus paid for on the cross so we can forever leave behind us the pollution, the penalty, the power, and the partition of sin.
There are many different descriptions of the reality and consequences of sin in the Bible.
The main ones are:
- The Pollution of Sin from which we need to be washed clean.
- The (Legal) Penalty of Sin which says you have broken God’s law and deserve death.
- The Power of Sin which puts us in bondage.
- The Partition of Sin which disconnects us from God and each other.
Pollution of Sin
The Pollution of sin was atoned for by blood sacrifice in the Old Testament. That sacrifice had to be repeated over and over because people continued to sin. Jesus was the lamb of God who died once for all so that there would be no more need for repeated sacrifice. His blood cleanses us from our pollution.
Penalty of Sin
The Legal penalty of sin which demanded death was removed as Jesus took that penalty upon himself and died so we could be declared NOT GUILTY. His death pays our penalty.
Power of Sin
Through choosing to trust ourselves rather than God, we often make decisions which allow sin to have power over us. We become slaves to our past, slaves to pleasing people, slaves to addiction. Jesus’ death on the cross redeemed us, gave us back our freedom and restored what we had given away because of our sins. His death broke the power of sin to steal our freedom.
Partition of Sin
Our sins created a barrier between us and God and destroyed our ability to have healthy, whole relationships with others. On the cross, the barrier between us and God was removed. His death removed the partition of sin and reconciled us with God.
During the season of Easter (April 16-May 21) we will talk about how we can fully access everything Jesus paid for on the cross so we can forever leave behind us the pollution, the penalty, the power, and the partition of sin.
Pastor's Message, March 2023
Lent Theme – “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”
The theme for both Sundays and Wednesdays during Lent is “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” A resource to go deeper into the theme is the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. We have a few copies left of the book in the Fellowship Hall. Pick one up. Suggested donation to cover cost - $20.
Wednesday Nights from March 1 to March 29: Soup Supper at 6:15, Worship at 7:15
On Wednesday nights we will be focusing on practices we can do to remove hurry and make more space for God in our lives.
March 1 – Silence and Solitude
March 8 – Sabbath
March 15 – Simplicity
March 22 – Slowing
March 29 – Service of Prayer and Healing
Sundays in Lent
February 26 – Hurry – The Great Enemy of Spiritual Life
March 5 – A Brief History of Speed/Something is Deeply Wrong
March 12 – The Solution isn’t More Time
March 19 – The Secret of the Easy Yoke
March 26 – A Way of Life
April 2 – Palm/Passion Sunday
The theme for both Sundays and Wednesdays during Lent is “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” A resource to go deeper into the theme is the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. We have a few copies left of the book in the Fellowship Hall. Pick one up. Suggested donation to cover cost - $20.
Wednesday Nights from March 1 to March 29: Soup Supper at 6:15, Worship at 7:15
On Wednesday nights we will be focusing on practices we can do to remove hurry and make more space for God in our lives.
March 1 – Silence and Solitude
March 8 – Sabbath
March 15 – Simplicity
March 22 – Slowing
March 29 – Service of Prayer and Healing
Sundays in Lent
February 26 – Hurry – The Great Enemy of Spiritual Life
March 5 – A Brief History of Speed/Something is Deeply Wrong
March 12 – The Solution isn’t More Time
March 19 – The Secret of the Easy Yoke
March 26 – A Way of Life
April 2 – Palm/Passion Sunday
Pastor's Message, February 2023
“Enemy #1 of Living the Life God has for Us: HURRY!”
Lent is a time to reconnect with God for those of us who have lost the connection we used to have and to connect with God for the first time for those of us who never had the connection.
One of the spiritual greats of our time, Dallas Willard, was asked by Pastor John Ortberg the following question: “What do I need to do to become the me I want to be?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line… According to John, “With Willard there’s always a long silence on the other end of the line.” Then: “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
What if the solution is not adding more things to our lives to get more of what we want from God? What if the solution is eliminating hurry from our lives so that God finally has access to give us more of what he wants for us?
Sunday sermons and Wednesday nights during Lent will focus on how we can eliminate hurry from our lives and be more available to God and those around us. Pastor Mark will be using the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer as his resource for Sundays and Wednesdays. He will be ordering 20 copies for those who want to read the book for themselves. First come, first serve. There is a suggested donation of $20 to cover the cost of the book.
Sermon Themes for the Remainder of Epiphany
We continue our “All Hand’s on Deck” series by looking at three ways the Enemy keeps God’s people from being fully engaged in God’s plans for their lives.
February 5 - Fear
February 12 – Busyness
February 18 - Injury
Lent is a time to reconnect with God for those of us who have lost the connection we used to have and to connect with God for the first time for those of us who never had the connection.
One of the spiritual greats of our time, Dallas Willard, was asked by Pastor John Ortberg the following question: “What do I need to do to become the me I want to be?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line… According to John, “With Willard there’s always a long silence on the other end of the line.” Then: “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
What if the solution is not adding more things to our lives to get more of what we want from God? What if the solution is eliminating hurry from our lives so that God finally has access to give us more of what he wants for us?
Sunday sermons and Wednesday nights during Lent will focus on how we can eliminate hurry from our lives and be more available to God and those around us. Pastor Mark will be using the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer as his resource for Sundays and Wednesdays. He will be ordering 20 copies for those who want to read the book for themselves. First come, first serve. There is a suggested donation of $20 to cover the cost of the book.
Sermon Themes for the Remainder of Epiphany
We continue our “All Hand’s on Deck” series by looking at three ways the Enemy keeps God’s people from being fully engaged in God’s plans for their lives.
February 5 - Fear
February 12 – Busyness
February 18 - Injury
Pastor's Message, January 2023
“I’m Here”
The Enemy’s agenda is to normalize absence. God’s agenda is to normalize presence. The Enemy wants us to live our relationship with God as though he is absent and watching from a distance. He also wants us to live our relationships with each other without being fully present to one another. God wants us to be aware of his presence with us each moment of each day. He also wants us to be fully present to each other in full and meaningful relationships.
In Jesus, God made a clear statement, “I’m here.” In the Holy Spirit, God continues to make a clear statement, “I’m here.” The Christian life is about a God who is present, not absent.
Jesus’ invitation to us is to be able to say “I’m here” to ourselves, to the people we encounter each day, and to God.
Am I present to myself, or am I unable to live in the present moment because I am living in the mistakes of the past, avoiding the discomfort and pain of the present or fixated on my worries about what might happen in the future?
Am I present to the people God has put in my life, or am I distracted by busyness, addictions, fear, shame, or anger?
Am I present to God, or am I focused on myself and the things of the world to such an extent that I am unable to hear his voice or recognize his presence in my life?
My prayer for you is that 2023 will be a year in which you learn to:
Sermon Themes for Epiphany: “All Hands on Deck”
God has plans for all of us to be part of what he is up to in the world, but many of us are not engaged in what he has planned for us. To begin 2023, we will be focusing on how we can make sure all of us are fully engaged in living out the lives he has prepared for us. Are you fully engaged in God’s purposes for your life, or has the Enemy managed to keep you from engaging in God’s plans for you?
We will be looking each week at the ways the Enemy seeks to keep us disconnected from God’s purposes:
January 8 – God’s Plans for the World Require “All Hands on Deck”
January 15 – Disconnected from God’s plans because of broken relationships and disunity
January 22 – Disconnected from God’s plans because we feel disqualified
January 29 – Disconnected from God’s plans because we feel unqualified
February 5 – Disconnected from God’s plans for us because we feel afraid
February 12 – Disconnected from God’s plans for us because we are distracted
February 19 – Disconnected from God’s plans for us because we have been hurt
The Enemy’s agenda is to normalize absence. God’s agenda is to normalize presence. The Enemy wants us to live our relationship with God as though he is absent and watching from a distance. He also wants us to live our relationships with each other without being fully present to one another. God wants us to be aware of his presence with us each moment of each day. He also wants us to be fully present to each other in full and meaningful relationships.
In Jesus, God made a clear statement, “I’m here.” In the Holy Spirit, God continues to make a clear statement, “I’m here.” The Christian life is about a God who is present, not absent.
Jesus’ invitation to us is to be able to say “I’m here” to ourselves, to the people we encounter each day, and to God.
Am I present to myself, or am I unable to live in the present moment because I am living in the mistakes of the past, avoiding the discomfort and pain of the present or fixated on my worries about what might happen in the future?
Am I present to the people God has put in my life, or am I distracted by busyness, addictions, fear, shame, or anger?
Am I present to God, or am I focused on myself and the things of the world to such an extent that I am unable to hear his voice or recognize his presence in my life?
My prayer for you is that 2023 will be a year in which you learn to:
- Be aware of God’s presence with you every day
- Live in the moment so that you are present to yourself and to the people you encounter each day
- Hear God’s voice, see what God is doing and join him in what he is doing each day
Sermon Themes for Epiphany: “All Hands on Deck”
God has plans for all of us to be part of what he is up to in the world, but many of us are not engaged in what he has planned for us. To begin 2023, we will be focusing on how we can make sure all of us are fully engaged in living out the lives he has prepared for us. Are you fully engaged in God’s purposes for your life, or has the Enemy managed to keep you from engaging in God’s plans for you?
We will be looking each week at the ways the Enemy seeks to keep us disconnected from God’s purposes:
January 8 – God’s Plans for the World Require “All Hands on Deck”
January 15 – Disconnected from God’s plans because of broken relationships and disunity
January 22 – Disconnected from God’s plans because we feel disqualified
January 29 – Disconnected from God’s plans because we feel unqualified
February 5 – Disconnected from God’s plans for us because we feel afraid
February 12 – Disconnected from God’s plans for us because we are distracted
February 19 – Disconnected from God’s plans for us because we have been hurt
Pastor's Message, December 2022
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew 3:1-3,11
Experiencing God and God’s purposes has less to do with our ability to achieve and more to do with our ability to receive. It’s not about finding our way to God. It’s about getting rid of the barriers in our lives preventing him from getting access to us.
We are not preparing the way for us to travel to God. We are preparing the way for him to travel to us. The way we prepare the way is not by merit but by repentance.
This Advent we will be focusing on the barriers which have been keeping us from more fully experiencing God and how to remove them. We will be talking about opening the way for the coming of Jesus on Sundays and removing the barriers to his coming on Wednesdays.
You may be a new Christian or a lifelong Christian and still have very little experience of God’s presence in your life. You will never work or earn your way into intimacy with God. Your experience of God, rather, is based on removing the barriers which prevent his access. My prayer for all of us is that more barriers will be removed this year, and everyone will have a greater awareness and experience of God from this point forward.
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew 3:1-3,11
Experiencing God and God’s purposes has less to do with our ability to achieve and more to do with our ability to receive. It’s not about finding our way to God. It’s about getting rid of the barriers in our lives preventing him from getting access to us.
We are not preparing the way for us to travel to God. We are preparing the way for him to travel to us. The way we prepare the way is not by merit but by repentance.
This Advent we will be focusing on the barriers which have been keeping us from more fully experiencing God and how to remove them. We will be talking about opening the way for the coming of Jesus on Sundays and removing the barriers to his coming on Wednesdays.
You may be a new Christian or a lifelong Christian and still have very little experience of God’s presence in your life. You will never work or earn your way into intimacy with God. Your experience of God, rather, is based on removing the barriers which prevent his access. My prayer for all of us is that more barriers will be removed this year, and everyone will have a greater awareness and experience of God from this point forward.
Pastor's Message, November 2022
“Finding God”
18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
The answer to the needs of the world = Finding God
Many of you are nodding your heads up and down agreement, “Yes, finding God is the source of meaning and fullness of life.” The clarification I need to make is in my definition of “finding God”. For many of those reading, the expected answer is that we need to make it a priority in our lives to seek out and find God. From this perspective, the one needing to be found is God and the ones doing the finding are us. That’s not what I mean.
I am not talking about us finding God, I am talking about the reality that we have a Finding God who is constantly pursuing us. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, God has been seeking to bring people back into relationship. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. He was not waiting for us to find him, he was finding and reconciling us to himself and his plans for our lives.
As we move toward Advent, may we not focus so much on what we need to do to find God. Instead, may we invite the Finding God who is seeking access to us. He is not the one who is lost. We are. He is not the one who needs to be found. We are.
May you experience your Finding God finding you as we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus this Christmas.
18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
The answer to the needs of the world = Finding God
Many of you are nodding your heads up and down agreement, “Yes, finding God is the source of meaning and fullness of life.” The clarification I need to make is in my definition of “finding God”. For many of those reading, the expected answer is that we need to make it a priority in our lives to seek out and find God. From this perspective, the one needing to be found is God and the ones doing the finding are us. That’s not what I mean.
I am not talking about us finding God, I am talking about the reality that we have a Finding God who is constantly pursuing us. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, God has been seeking to bring people back into relationship. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. He was not waiting for us to find him, he was finding and reconciling us to himself and his plans for our lives.
As we move toward Advent, may we not focus so much on what we need to do to find God. Instead, may we invite the Finding God who is seeking access to us. He is not the one who is lost. We are. He is not the one who needs to be found. We are.
May you experience your Finding God finding you as we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus this Christmas.
Pastor's Message, October 2022
“Fullness of Life: In Christ and in the Neighbor”
“We conclude, therefore, that a Christian lives not in himself, but in Christ and the neighbor. He lives in Christ through faith, and in his neighbor through love” Martin Luther from Freedom of Christian
When we live for ourselves, we will have small and empty lives. When we live for Christ and our neighbor, our lives will be bigger and fuller.
The Enemy is always trying to disconnect us from God and from each other. Whether it is through pride, shame, fear, hurt, distrust or simply being too busy, he wants to keep our lives no bigger than ourselves.
God is always leading us into connection with himself and with other people. His commandments turn us out from ourselves to live in healthy relationships with God and others. And, when we break his commandments, his grace and forgiveness are there to restore us again to healthy relationships with him and with others.
One subtle way the Enemy seeks to make our lives smaller is to confuse us regarding the Christian life. Many Christians see their connection with God as only occurring when they die, so they spend their lives focused on themselves just trying to make sure they get to heaven. Many Christians do their acts of kindness for others not because of love for or connection with others, but to score points to earn their way to God. This kind of Christian life allows us to call ourselves Christians because we are living our lives for God and doing good things for our neighbors, but leaves us with nothing more than ourselves. I have spent too much of my life feeling disconnected from God in this life hoping to find connection when I die. I have too often done the right thing to serve my neighbor, but my motivation has been less out of love for them and more out of trying to feel better about myself.
The trajectory of a full Christian life is not me doing good things for people to feel better about myself and to score points to get to God when I die. That kind of life is way too small and empty. The trajectory Jesus came to make possible is to know I am loved by God now so that I can stop focusing on saving myself and start loving and serving my neighbor. Not to score points to get to heaven, but so heaven can work through me to bless them.
That kind of life, living in Christ through faith and in my neighbor through love, will always be bigger and more fulfilling than a life lived in myself full of fear, emptiness and striving.
“We conclude, therefore, that a Christian lives not in himself, but in Christ and the neighbor. He lives in Christ through faith, and in his neighbor through love” Martin Luther from Freedom of Christian
When we live for ourselves, we will have small and empty lives. When we live for Christ and our neighbor, our lives will be bigger and fuller.
The Enemy is always trying to disconnect us from God and from each other. Whether it is through pride, shame, fear, hurt, distrust or simply being too busy, he wants to keep our lives no bigger than ourselves.
God is always leading us into connection with himself and with other people. His commandments turn us out from ourselves to live in healthy relationships with God and others. And, when we break his commandments, his grace and forgiveness are there to restore us again to healthy relationships with him and with others.
One subtle way the Enemy seeks to make our lives smaller is to confuse us regarding the Christian life. Many Christians see their connection with God as only occurring when they die, so they spend their lives focused on themselves just trying to make sure they get to heaven. Many Christians do their acts of kindness for others not because of love for or connection with others, but to score points to earn their way to God. This kind of Christian life allows us to call ourselves Christians because we are living our lives for God and doing good things for our neighbors, but leaves us with nothing more than ourselves. I have spent too much of my life feeling disconnected from God in this life hoping to find connection when I die. I have too often done the right thing to serve my neighbor, but my motivation has been less out of love for them and more out of trying to feel better about myself.
The trajectory of a full Christian life is not me doing good things for people to feel better about myself and to score points to get to God when I die. That kind of life is way too small and empty. The trajectory Jesus came to make possible is to know I am loved by God now so that I can stop focusing on saving myself and start loving and serving my neighbor. Not to score points to get to heaven, but so heaven can work through me to bless them.
That kind of life, living in Christ through faith and in my neighbor through love, will always be bigger and more fulfilling than a life lived in myself full of fear, emptiness and striving.
Pastor's Message, September 2022
“Lutheran Fam Tour, Fall 2022”
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15
What if someone were to ask you why you go to Resurrection Lutheran Church?
Hopefully, you would say you come to RLC because you feel loved, valued and spiritually nurtured. Hopefully you would say you hear the message of Jesus’ love clearly proclaimed on Sundays and see that lived out in the lives of our church members. Hopefully everyone attending every church in town could say those things about their church, regardless of denomination.
But what does it mean to be LUTHERAN?
Would you be able to answer a friend who might ask you what means to be a Lutheran Christian? It’s not that you need to know what makes Lutherans distinct to receive God’s forgiveness or to go to heaven, but it does help you more fully understand and participate in what is happening at RLC and make sense of why we do what we do and say what we say. The focus of worship this fall will be to help you have a coherent answer to the question “What does it mean to be Lutheran?” As you learn to answer that question, you will also be able to more fully understand and enter into what is going on around here.
I used to be an Event Administrator for youth conventions back in my 20’s, and one of my favorite things was to go on “Fam” tours to explore places we were looking at to hold our conventions. Fam tours (or “familiarization” tours) were opportunities for the Chamber of Commerce of the city I was exploring to sell themselves by showing all their city had to offer. To sell their city, they would show us the most impressive sights, give us comp rooms in their nicest hotels, and feed us some of their best food. Their goal was to convince us that we wanted to do our convention in their city.
After going on the Fam tour to a city, I would go back to my organization and share why we should or shouldn’t go there for a convention. If they did a good job of selling me on the city, it made me motivated to convince others it would be a good place for us to do an event there.
This fall, I will be giving you a Fam tour of Lutheranism. I will be sharing about the history, the culture, the people and the beliefs of people who call themselves Lutheran. The goal is to help you understand the Lutheran culture enough that you can fully experience the ministry of a Lutheran church, tell others about the culture in a way that makes them interested, and inspire you to learn more about what it means to be Lutheran for yourself.
Come to church on Sundays this Fall to hear sermons about Lutheranism and then come to a 30-minute class in the small fellowship hall after worship to ask questions and learn more about the topic of the day.
As one who has lived my entire life in the Lutheran culture, I am excited to share with you what I already know about Lutheranism and have a reason to do some more exploration for myself each week so I can have more to share with you.
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15
What if someone were to ask you why you go to Resurrection Lutheran Church?
Hopefully, you would say you come to RLC because you feel loved, valued and spiritually nurtured. Hopefully you would say you hear the message of Jesus’ love clearly proclaimed on Sundays and see that lived out in the lives of our church members. Hopefully everyone attending every church in town could say those things about their church, regardless of denomination.
But what does it mean to be LUTHERAN?
Would you be able to answer a friend who might ask you what means to be a Lutheran Christian? It’s not that you need to know what makes Lutherans distinct to receive God’s forgiveness or to go to heaven, but it does help you more fully understand and participate in what is happening at RLC and make sense of why we do what we do and say what we say. The focus of worship this fall will be to help you have a coherent answer to the question “What does it mean to be Lutheran?” As you learn to answer that question, you will also be able to more fully understand and enter into what is going on around here.
I used to be an Event Administrator for youth conventions back in my 20’s, and one of my favorite things was to go on “Fam” tours to explore places we were looking at to hold our conventions. Fam tours (or “familiarization” tours) were opportunities for the Chamber of Commerce of the city I was exploring to sell themselves by showing all their city had to offer. To sell their city, they would show us the most impressive sights, give us comp rooms in their nicest hotels, and feed us some of their best food. Their goal was to convince us that we wanted to do our convention in their city.
After going on the Fam tour to a city, I would go back to my organization and share why we should or shouldn’t go there for a convention. If they did a good job of selling me on the city, it made me motivated to convince others it would be a good place for us to do an event there.
This fall, I will be giving you a Fam tour of Lutheranism. I will be sharing about the history, the culture, the people and the beliefs of people who call themselves Lutheran. The goal is to help you understand the Lutheran culture enough that you can fully experience the ministry of a Lutheran church, tell others about the culture in a way that makes them interested, and inspire you to learn more about what it means to be Lutheran for yourself.
Come to church on Sundays this Fall to hear sermons about Lutheranism and then come to a 30-minute class in the small fellowship hall after worship to ask questions and learn more about the topic of the day.
As one who has lived my entire life in the Lutheran culture, I am excited to share with you what I already know about Lutheranism and have a reason to do some more exploration for myself each week so I can have more to share with you.
Pastor's Message, August 2022
“A Community Where God is at Home – One that Forgives and One that Loves”
19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Matthew 18:19-20
Many of us are familiar with the promise in Matthew 18 that wherever two of us agree about anything we ask that it will be done for us by God, but most of us don’t know the context of that promise. This promise of answered prayer and experiencing the presence of Jesus in community is given in the context of forgiving each other.
It is when we forgive each other that we have the unity which will invite answered prayers. It is when we forgive each other that we will have the unity which will invite the presence of Jesus in our midst.
In the summer of 1727, the community of Herrnhut in southeastern Germany was in turmoil. This place of refuge from religious persecution had drawn a diverse crowd of people who were not getting along very well together. Count Zinzendorf, the owner of the property on which the town was built was distressed, so he started going door to door appealing to people to reconcile with each other. Then, on August 13, they held a service of reconciliation and Holy Communion where they declared forgiveness for each other, and a major outpouring of the Holy Spirit began. The presence of God in the midst of the community was so strong, people didn’t know if they were in heaven or on earth.
This outpouring happened in a Lutheran church! It led to a 100-year, 24/7 prayer meeting, the sending of more missionaries around the world than the rest of the Protestants in Europe combined, the birth of the Methodist church and the fire which ignited the First Great Awakening.
What happened? People forgave each other and God showed up. People chose to love each other and God answered prayers in amazing ways.
In worship on August 14, we will be taking a time of confessing our sins, receiving forgiveness and offering forgiveness to others (not just church members, but anyone we need to be forgiving) and then having Holy Communion together. May we experience the presence of Jesus powerfully in our midst as we worship. Then, after worship, we will have a potluck and a conversation about how we can better love each other.
19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. Matthew 18:19-20
Many of us are familiar with the promise in Matthew 18 that wherever two of us agree about anything we ask that it will be done for us by God, but most of us don’t know the context of that promise. This promise of answered prayer and experiencing the presence of Jesus in community is given in the context of forgiving each other.
It is when we forgive each other that we have the unity which will invite answered prayers. It is when we forgive each other that we will have the unity which will invite the presence of Jesus in our midst.
In the summer of 1727, the community of Herrnhut in southeastern Germany was in turmoil. This place of refuge from religious persecution had drawn a diverse crowd of people who were not getting along very well together. Count Zinzendorf, the owner of the property on which the town was built was distressed, so he started going door to door appealing to people to reconcile with each other. Then, on August 13, they held a service of reconciliation and Holy Communion where they declared forgiveness for each other, and a major outpouring of the Holy Spirit began. The presence of God in the midst of the community was so strong, people didn’t know if they were in heaven or on earth.
This outpouring happened in a Lutheran church! It led to a 100-year, 24/7 prayer meeting, the sending of more missionaries around the world than the rest of the Protestants in Europe combined, the birth of the Methodist church and the fire which ignited the First Great Awakening.
What happened? People forgave each other and God showed up. People chose to love each other and God answered prayers in amazing ways.
In worship on August 14, we will be taking a time of confessing our sins, receiving forgiveness and offering forgiveness to others (not just church members, but anyone we need to be forgiving) and then having Holy Communion together. May we experience the presence of Jesus powerfully in our midst as we worship. Then, after worship, we will have a potluck and a conversation about how we can better love each other.
We publish the last six months of Pastor Mark's messages here. For older messages, please refer to the newsletters.