The Storms of Life

June 21, 2015                            

Mark 4:35-41

Prayer

Our story in Mark is much more than a weather event Jesus’ friends are experiencing. To be sure… their boat is being so swamped with water they are fearful for their very lives. In fact… I think they’re positively P.O.’d at Jesus and are screaming at him to do something. They’ve seen him do miraculous things after-all. But… Jesus is just laying in the back of the boat resting his eyes.

But They’re screaming… “Teacher don’t you care?”…. Jesus Don’t You Care?

I remember being out on Saginaw Bay one summer day on a buddies sailboat. The weather was fine when we left the dock, but quickly turned cloudy and very windy turning the 1-2 ft waves into 4-6 ft waves. The boat was being battered by the waves and the wind and I was more than a bit anxious… truth be told… I was very afraid we wouldn’t make it back. We did, but next time I checked the weather reports more intentionally after that.

For Jesus’ friends… they wake him… Jesus see’s their fear and quiets the storm. And now… I think they’re more fearful seeing Jesus do this than they are of the storm. I mean… how did he do that? They just witnessed Jesus doing something quite unbelievable… calming nature. No doubt… a miracle and at the very least a sign of something quite remarkable for sure. Not only were Jesus’ friends fearful of the elements of nature. Now… they’re fearful of being in the presence of the living God. And in their minds, no one else could have done what they’ve just witnessed.

Jesus’ friends just experienced something extraordinary, a miracle that left them speechless. For Mark… Jesus’ friends have seen Jesus do some remarkable things. Jesus has healed people, but they’ve seen people do this. There were faith healers in many towns… and it was not uncommon in Jesus’ day to see faith healers healing people.

However… this was much different… Jesus calmed a storm! Jesus did something that only God could do. And this is an all new experience for Jesus’ friends and they all experienced it and now it’s changed them… and that’s unsettling for them.

I share a story of when I did my clinical work at OSU. Essentially I was a chaplain for 10 weeks one summer. After a long day of being with, praying with, and offering hope to sick people. And being on call this night I received a page from the hospital that the family of a dying woman wanted a chaplain. I went to the ICU room and as the family gathered around the bed I stood at the foot of the bed as they shared their mother’s story. Nurses began disconnecting monitors and as we briefly left the room so the respirator could be removed. When we returned we gathered and I prayed.

It was the first time I had witnessed someone actually dying and as the heart monitor began its slow descent of the heart beat the family bowing their hears, some crying, some holding their mothers hands I looked up as I finished my prayer and saw what appeared to be a person standing at the head of the bead with their hands opened as to receive this woman. I looked around and said to myself… does anyone see what I am seeing? Does anybody see this?I began shaking in fear… is this Jesus or an angel, or …. I was experiencing something I had never experienced. It was a holy moment that changed my life.

The next day after we finished our rounds we (my colleagues) gathered to share what we experienced during the day with our supervisor. I dared not share what had happened the previous evening. No one would believe what I saw. They would certainly think I was crazy or nuts. I thought to myself… Lutherans don’t believe in such things. There’s no way I’m going to share this and I didn’t.

     

As I reflect on this I think I am just as fearful of what I experienced as were Jesus’ friends with their experience. This experienced changed me big time and it made a huge impact on my life. So… I have to believe it had to change Jesus’ friends too.

Leif Engler in his book “Peace Like a River” says, “Miracles bother people, like a sudden unknown pain.” He goes on to say, “People fear miracles because they fear being changed.”

Jesus asked his friends, “Why Are You Afraid?”

I don’t share my story very often. I know that may be silly but I think people will think I’m nuts. I believe that’s why Jesus’ friends are fearful as well… who’s going to believe this? And then there’s the notion that Christians aren’t suppose to be afraid of the disturbances of life because after-all we have God… right! That being Christian somehow makes us immune to such fears. If anything… there’s an extra heaping of struggle placed upon us.

Look at the incident in South Carolina this past week.

I can tell you It’s got me a bit worried…

This is why I think our story in Mark is so relevant for us today. Despite the storms in life Jesus seeks to change us. And this past week we as a nation have experienced a tragedy and something needs to change because these kinds of incidences are becoming much to frequent and devastating. The issues of racism, hate, killing, and the polarization of society need more than just be addressed. We need to do something about it. We’ve been talking about it for generations and yet we can’t talk about the issues. It seems we can’t talk to one another about anything these days. This must change. We must be changed.

The change we experience shouldn’t be in a fearful way, but in a way where we can encounter the living God. Our God is a God who cares about us and a Jesus who experiences our fearfulness and promises to calm the storms of life. Let’s not be afraid any longer.

I believe the storms of life change us for a life God is calling to.

It’s a life where we experience an amazing encounter of God.

It’s kind of like… between a reverential awe and holy terror.

I sort of felt this way during the 3 years it took to discern God’s call of my life into pastoral ministry… way cool ministry experiences and holy terror of making a mid-life change.

In Closing…

It seems to me… if our focus is on the storms surrounding us we will miss the miracle before us.

We will miss where God is at work in the world….

We will miss that God is calling us to the other side of the lake…

And we will miss what it means to imagine differently what it means to be people of faith.

The Growing Season

June 14, 2015                                        
Mark 4:26-29

Story: There’s a story of a crew of 12 park employees who got out of the truck and went up and down the parkway -- every 20 steps or so, six of them dug holes, and then the other six would immediately follow and fill the holes up with dirt again.

After about a half-hour of this, someone who was watching it all couldn't stand it any longer. He went up to one of the workers and asked: Would you mind telling me what you're doing? One of them replied: We're planting trees. The guys with the trees have the day off.

Prayer

Much of Chapter 4 of Mark’s gospel is a parable.

You ask… what is a parable?

It’s a story, often using objects or things designed to illustrate or teach some truth or lesson.

Example: A young boy was walking along the beach and was picking up baby turtles and putting them in the ocean. A older man saw what the boy was doing and said to the boy, “Why are you doing this? You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy responded, “It makes a difference to this one!” Jesus often uses parables as a mirror to life in order for us to gain greater spiritual awareness.

In chapter 4 Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seeds.

Some of the seed was eaten by birds.

Some fell on rocky ground.

And some fell on good soil and took root.

Then Jesus explains the story to his friends and now we hear another seed story about the kingdom of God. You see… Jesus often starts his stories… “The kingdom of God is like…” And we often misunderstand what this is or what it means. In our parable today… Jesus is telling us God’s kingdom is like the soil the seed is planted in.

Over the past couple of months farmers have been preparing their fields and planting the seed. Preparing the ground is an important first step before planting. The ground must be tiled to be loosened… then fertilizer can be applied. Once the soil is loosened and fertilized then the seed can be planted. Then the farmer rests… or so it seems. Everything is done… nothing more to do but watch the plants grow. The rest is up to the seed… the weather… and time. Or we might say… “The rest is up to God.”

While the farmer makes the decisions about when and where and how much to plant in the kingdom it’s really up to God to grow the seed. This is where we find ourselves in the story today. We… the farmer… find ourselves in “The Growing Season.” This is the period of time in which the seed takes root… sprouts… and grows… but there is much more to the growing season than we think.

Now that the planting is done we often think the farmer work is done until harvest time. We’ve spent the Fall… Winter… and Spring  engaged in all kinds of activity. And often we think it’s time to take a break. Its summer after all… it’s time for vacations… picnics…and lazy summer days with a beer in our hand.

   

Well… a smart experienced farmer knows that summer is not a time to relax, but a time for cultivating and caring for the emerging plants, or the weeds take over. Sometimes we think… well it’s in God’s hands… so we’ll let God take care of things. In many ways… we in the church fall into this kind of thinking with our faith and church activities. And yes… God will take care of things… However… we also play a role in growing and caring for the kingdom. That being… we are to cultivate the field! We are to make sure the seed… then the plants… are nourished… pulling the weeds… making sure the plants are adequately watered and cared for as to assure the best possible harvest. You see… we play as an important role in growing the seed as does God.

Yes… not every seed sprouts… but the ones that do need nurturing and that’s our part of the growing season.

 The couple of things this story speaks to me is that we/ the church are not planting many seeds these days nor nurturing the one’s we’ve planted very well. I also think we in the church have grown complacent and comfortable with ourselves to the extent we’ve forgotten how to farm. We have relied too heavily on the professional pastor or hired church worker rather than getting our hands dirty. I believe our story today is inviting us to get our hands back into the soil of the kingdom of God.

So our purpose here is not to debate whether the church is or isn’t doing what it should be… Rather… it’s to hear and take confidence from Jesus’ parable which tells us to continue planting seeds of God’s love and to nurture the plants even if we’re not sure how it will all work out… so that one day the grain will appear.

The parable that follows our story is worth hearing in conclusion because it indicates that the yield from the scattered seed will be significant.

Jesus said… “With what can we compare the kingdom of God…? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown, is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it’s sown it grows to be the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make their nests in its shade.”

If we do our job by planting the seed and nurturing the plant, with confidence and anticipation that growth will happen, and the harvest will come. We need not worry about whether God will do God’s job!

"Spiritual Understanding"

May 31, 2015                                         
John 3:1-17

Story: One of the pillars of the congregation stopped by my office just before worship to tell me he'd been born again.

You've been what? I asked.

Yes… last week I visited my brother-in-law's church, the Running River of Life Tabernacle, and I don't know what it was, but something happened and I'm born again.

You can't be born again, you're a Lutheran. You are the chairman of the board of trustees. He was brimming with joy, but I was sulking. Why?

Because spiritual renewal is wonderful as long as it occurs within acceptable, usually mainline, channels and does not threaten my understanding of God.
-Richard Lischer, Acknowledgment, Christian Century, March 3, 1999, 245.

Prayer

Many of us are looking to deepen our spiritual understanding. We read books…. There are isles in books stores devoted to all things spiritual. We go on retreats…. We seclude ourselves… Just the other day I saw a FB post from Pam Laity of a picture of the lake at their cottage… I suggested a pastoral visit was needed.

People of all strips are so interested in spiritual matters Oprah made millions highlighting a segment on her show… “Caring for Your  Spirit.” I often hear from people that they’re “Spiritual But Not Religious.” Though you might think these are one in the same… they’re really 2 different things in the minds of many people. And… we sort of see this with our bible story from John today.

We see Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, searching for some answers to his spiritual questions. Perhaps he thought he had the religious part of his life down-pat, then this Jesus comes onto the scene and now he has questions. He knew the scriptures….He knew and kept the Law. By all accounts he considered himself a spiritual man. Yet Jesus, brings all he knows about God and spiritual concerns into question. This Jesus intrigues him and Nicodemus is drawn to Jesus. He saw with his own eyes some of Jesus’ miracles. He even acknowledges Jesus must be from God, because he couldn’t do the things he is doing if he were not from God. Then Jesus throws him for a big loop… “You must be born from above” some translations say, “You must be born again”. Not only being baptized with water… but from the Spirit as well. Nicodemus doesn’t get it… yet he senses something more than all the religious understanding and religious gymnastics he is familiar with.

Searching for spirituality is nothing new. Since the beginning of creation humanity has been trying to understand and to be and become like god.

Eugene Peterson states “that current spirituality like that of the ancients has fostered 2 qualities Transcendence and Intimacy. 

          Transcendence: There must be more that extends beyond me.

          Intimacy: A sense that deep within me there is a core being that is inaccessible.

He continues, “This is why we long for Transcendence and Intimacy, but these elements suggest spirituality must be conceived as something we think up and must do. So… humans continue to exhaust themselves all the while missing the point.”

What Peterson is saying, is that people seeking to find spirituality often have the tendency to try and make God into something of their own design they find fashionable.

I would like to share 3 ways we can deepen true spirituality with God.

1. Consider Creation

Jesus describes things of the spirit as “Wind that Blows.” And… Jesus uses creation to describe the presence of God. For Example…“Look at the flowers of the field & the birds of the air.” Look around you… see the beauty… There’s something mysteriously spiritual about creation… not in a pantheistic way… but a transcendence way that’s beyond our grasp. People who’ve been to the Grand Canyon tell me that it’s one of the most spiritual experiences they’ve ever had.

In 2004 I was living in Florida when the state was crisscrossed with 4 Hurricanes. On the last one we decided to stay even though it was forecasted to come right at us. We lived in a condo on the shore of the Indian River across from the space center and at the peak of the storm just before it hit land, at mid-night, and just before we lost power, it was reported at the space center 100 mph winds. At that moment I decided to go out to the river and experience what 100 mph wind was like. It was pitch black and you couldn’t see a thing as I trying to stand amongst the wind. And for a moment the wind became a spiritual event for me. The Hebrew word for wind is “Ruach” meaning “breath of God.” In that moment I was experiencing the breath of God… the wind of the spirit. It was also a pretty dumb thing to do as well.

Think about it for a moment… when we’re out in creation we seem less anxious… more content… less in a hurry… the heart is more open to the awesomeness of God.

 

2. Grow in Relationship with Jesus

Vs 16… “God loved you & me so much he sent his son to make that love known.”

Theologian Mark Powell says, “When we understand our spirituality as a relationship with Jesus our spiritual lives are grounded in a reality external to ourselves.”

In this way…Jesus is a real person… not someone or thing we make up. Jesus actually walked the earth, ate, drank, slept, died… not someone or thing we dream. Jesus was raised from the dead.

When Apostle Paul says,

“As all die in Adam, all will be made alive “in Christ” 1Cor. 15:22

“If anyone is “in Christ” they are a new creation” 2Cor. 5:17

Jesus says this throughout the gospels… “Believe in me” “Stay connected to me” “Have faith in me” “Everyone who has faith in me.” When you are “in Christ” you are connecting to the core of the spiritual experience. When you are “in Christ” you “Love Jesus.”

Which takes us to the 3^rd way… 3. Love Jesus, Follow Jesus

There’s no coincidence that Jesus asks Peter 3 times…“Do You Love Me?”

Paul tells the Gal. 5:22… “to put on good habits to be Loving, Peaceful, Patient, Good to Others, Faithful, and Self-Controlled. Don’t be jealous or conceited or claim to be better than you are.” 

In the end… Paul says, “If you want to change… embrace the Spirit of God and place him in your heart.” When we love Jesus we naturally follow Jesus. We do this by consistently practicing being in Community Prayer… Worshiping…Learning… Serving… Being in Relationships… and Being Generous. When we consistently practice these we begin to follow Jesus and we deepen our spiritual understanding. Essentially… Jesus is telling Nic and his friends if you want spiritual understanding… Love Me… Follow Me!

Closing:

Many of us get God and Jesus… The Spirit however… well… the Spirit is a great mystery to most of us and it often leaves us wondering and skeptical. Much like it did for Nicodemus and Jesus’ friends. Jesus says Vs 15, “Everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life.” Faith my friends… is the key to opening the door to spiritual understanding.

Series: Facing the Road Ahead... Looking for Hope

May 24, 2015                                         
Heb 12:18-29, Matt. 12:9-21

It was Pentecost Sunday. As the congregation filed into church, the ushers handed each person a bright red carnation to symbolize the festive spirit of the day.

The people listened attentively to the reading of the Pentecost story from the book of Acts: about how the disciples had heard “what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven,” about how the Holy Spirit had appeared: “like tongues of fire.” Then came the sermon.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon us,” the preacher began. 

“Like a powerful wind from heaven!” shouted a woman sitting in the first pew. Then she threw one of the red carnations toward the altar.

The preacher began again. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us.” The same woman’s voice rang out: “Like the tongues of fire, like the tongues of fire!” And she threw a red carnation toward the altar. 

The preacher looked straight at her and said, “Now throw your pocketbook.”

To which the woman replied with conviction: “Preacher, you just done calmed the wind and put out the fire.”
-Submitted by Wesley Taylor, Tualatin United Methodist Church, Tualatin, Oregon.

Prayer

Pentecost is is often thought of as a time when the church broke free from its Jewish roots and was gathered up by the Holy Spirit and thrown into the world. We know the story well… Peter gives a powerful sermon… People turn back to God and 3,000 are baptized… and the birth of what we know as the church is born.

Yah… Hoo… let’s celebrate!!!

The Pentecost story tells us how and why the church came about and that somehow we are to replicate this today. As I look around our church today… I do not see this kind of excitement. In fact… the many places I’ve been I don’t see much hope. So… this Pentecost… our bible story today is much more appropriate… because Pentecost should be about… Looking For Hope!

 

As we conclude our series, “Facing the Road Ahead” today. And after our 1^st Transition Event last Sunday… we need to hear about some hope. We know transitions can be difficult, challenging, and uncertain, but God is with us… in fact… God has always been with us. Over the past few weeks we’ve learned the Road Ahead will be challenging, but we should Never Give Up, nor should we be Fearful. Last week… we learned that we Need a Purpose to open us to God’s Vision & Mission. And today… our focus is Looking for Hope.

We’ve all faced difficulties & uncertainties. All of us are looking for some hope in the midst of the challenges of life. We’re all looking for something to grab hold amongst the difficulties. Theologian Peter Gomes says of hope…. “Hope does not deny the circumstances of the present and hope doesn’t help us get out of our difficulties. Hope does help us get through.”

At our event last Sunday I noticed some long faces. I sensed you were feeling lost & dismayed at what you perceive as a loss.

The loss of a beloved pastor…

The Loss of families…

A loss of what once was…

The church is in decline… we all know it… I don’t like it any more than you do. However…it does no one any good to focus on what was… My friends… I have hope… Because the church of Jesus will never go completely away.

What you’re experiencing is a normal reaction of every congregation I’ve been in after the first event. You often can’t see what tomorrow looks like. Yet… in all of this I see a renewing spirit here at Good Shepherd. And yet… there is some apprehension…

Similar to the 2 encounters Jesus has in our story today.

Jesus encounters a man with a deformed hand and Jesus encounters Pharisees… Religious Leaders. The man with the deformed hand is seeking some solace in the Jewish Meeting… i.e. the church. The man is sitting in the back minding his own business and he’s just looking for some hope and peace. Because of his deformity… he likely is ridiculed, shunned, and shamed. Likely… the religious leaders are appalled that he’s in the church in the first place.  So… the church people see a way to trap Jesus and confront him with a question… “Is it right to heal someone on the Sabbath?” There are rules about not doing anything on the Sabbath… Jesus, sensing what their really up to… responds by saying…

“If you had a sheep that fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you lift it out? People are worth much more than sheep, and so it is right to do good on the Sabbath.”

Jesus says, not only is it right to heal… it’s good to heal on Sunday… and he heals the man right in front of the religious leaders. Jesus implies…. What better time to heal someone than on Sunday!! Can you imagine!!! Of course we in the church would never object to something as disruptive as this… would we? All this guy was looking for was a little bit of Hope. All he was looking for was someone to love him despite his deformity.

Reminds me of little Eric… who at the time was 4 years old and wanted to receive communion with his family. So we set up a time to have a 1^st communion class. Eric was one of 14 kids who went through the class. Half the kids received their 1^st communion on one week and the others on the following week. Eric was to receive his on the 2^nd week. After the first week it became known that there was a rule about who could receive communion. It seems a person had to be in 8^th grade as it was stated in the churches constitution. We postponed the 2^nd class… that following week after the 1^st group… Eric came up for communion with his family, with an ear to ear grin. His parents knew of the decision to wait, but as we looked at each other Eric put out his cupped hands saying with sad eyes, “I want Jesus to love me too.” Eric received his 1^st communion.

In that moment Eric experienced hope. In the moment of Jesus healing the man hope was given.

When we bow to church rules we lose sight of the spirit of hope.

When we lose sight of that spirit… we’ve held back hope.

God’s promise of hope is found in Jesus… as Jesus says when he quotes Isa… “He is my chosen servant! I love him… All people will place their hope in him.” When we love… we bring hope to some one’s life.

In our Hebrew reading the people of God are disappointed with themselves for not following God and they have lost hope. They believe they have failed God on Mt Siani and that God is going to punish them. But God doesn’t do that… instead God tells them that they’ve come to Mt Zion… it might not be Mt Siani where they first encountered God with Moses, yet God says, Vs 23… “Here you will find all of God’s children, whose names are written in heaven. And you will find God himself. Who judges everyone. Also here are the Spirits of those good people, who have been made perfect. Even Jesus is here!!!”

I was part of a small group and a person in the group knew I was struggling gave me a newspaper article titled

“Feel Incapable? Looking for Hope.” Roger Campbell says,

-        Einstein couldn’t speak until he was 4 yrs old and didn’t read until 7.

-        Beethoven’s music teacher said of him, “As a composer he’s hopeless.”

-       Thomas Edison’s teacher said he was unable to learn.

-       Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper editor because he was thought to be without ideas.

-       Caruso was told by a music teacher: “You can’t sing. You have no voice.”

-       Dwight Moody, now considered one of the most effective evangelists, had a 5^th  grade education and once wept before an audience, saying “God forgive a man who cannot speak properly.”

-       Jesus’ disciples were without impressive credentials, being called ignorant and unlearned, but their contemporaries found it impossible to ignore them because their lives demonstrated they had found something others needed. Their dedication, courage and faith made them world changers.

God seems to enjoy using weak but willing people to do great things to the amazement of those who are thought to be better qualified. The following title of a book I noticed in a pastor’s library caught my attention and lingers in my mind… “Why God Uses Nobodies.” Though I’ve never read the book, its challenging title keeps encouraging me to attempt things I might have thought too difficult to do.

My friends… we have HOPE here… because we will Never Give Up… We will Not Fear the Future… We will discover our Purpose… because We Have Hope.

This Pentecost season God is providing HOPE through our connection with Jesus so that we will be able to Face the Road Ahead together.

Series: Facing the Road Ahead... "Finding Purpose"

May 17, 2015                                               Heb.11:29 – 12:2, Matt. 28:16-20

There is a Charlie Brown comic strip where Lucy asks, “Why do you think we’re put on earth, Charlie Brown?” Charlie replies, “To make others happy.” Lucy says, “I don’t think I’m making anyone very happy… Of course, nobody’s making me very happy either.” Then Lucy screams at the top of her lungs…  

“SOMEBODY’S NOT DOING HIS JOB!”

Prayer

We’re in the 3^rd week of our 4 week series titled; “Facing the Road Ahead” of which we are reflecting biblically on Good Shepherd Lutheran’s transition process. We’re doing this to help the congregation be engaged in understanding who and what Good Shepherd is and how she carries out her ministry… not only for today but also into the future. While the road ahead might be uncertain, it is a road we must take if we are to engage our past so that it can inform our future. We are also doing this to learn something about ourselves and about what God has called us to be.

If you recall… I asked you to keep these three things in mind as we go through this transition process…

Good Shepherd’s Past… where have you been? What have you done?

Good Shepherd’s Present… is this a reflection of the past or the future?

Good Shepherd’s Future… What are your God Size dreams for the future.

Over the past couple of weeks we've learned to never give up. If we stay connected to Jesus, then there is hope &no reason to give up. Last week we learned not to fear because the Holy Spirit empowers us to focus on the abundance of God.

And today our reflection will focus on Finding Purpose.

“Finding Purpose”

The way to over-come the road of uncertainty is to discover or perhaps to re-discover your purpose. The bishop’s message yesterday to the assembly was about this very thing as well. He used the Luke and Acts stories which tells of the ascension to make his point that we in the church need to be about sharing the story. The ascension story has the disciples looking up to heaven and two guys who magically appear asking the disciples why they’re staring. Why are you here??? Jesus of course wants his friends to go and share his story. Jesus wants us to do the same… but we’re dumb founded just like Jesus’ friends are as they stare upwards.

Please keep in mind… Jesus’ purpose is not about hopes and dreams… Hopes and dreams are the excitement of our purpose. Hopes and dreams bring enthusiasm to the purpose. Purpose is the over-arching reason we exist as a community of faith. Hopes and dreams change… purpose not so much. Do you know that you do have a Purpose? It’s in your constitution!

Statement of Purpose: “the Church is a people created by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and called and sent to witness God’s creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world.”

It’s too long… but there it is…  Is this your purpose? It goes on to spell out how you will carry out this purpose. Is this your purpose? I want to caution you… think about this before you answer. Virtually every ELCA congregation has this purpose statement because it’s the model constitution of the “church”. You also have one on your web site… it’s titled Vision & Mission …

Good Shepherd is a congregation that is Alive in Christ… Faithful to Christ… Welcoming to All.   Is this your purpose?

Are you living this out in any significant way? Often purpose statements tend to be elongated with good intention, but carry little meaning for us. Vision and Mission get all kinds of attention today. For the most part we come up with nice sounding statements, but often have little connection to.

Vision & Mission and Purpose & Objective are often used interchangeably… You will find P & O used in the business world and Vision & Mission in the religious world… both have the same meanings.

o    Purpose or Vision = The Why You do what You Do.

o    Objective or Mission = The How You do what You Do.

So… what is Good Shepherd's purpose?.... Before we get to far… Let’s look at what Jesus says our purpose or vision needs to be.

Essentially, I believe Jesus tells us our purpose is to “Go to all nations, Make Disciples, Baptize, and Teach.” We know this passage well, yet we tremble when we hear it or we conveniently forget it. Essentially… in shorter form says what your constitution says. But even more simply… there are really only two imperatives our church purpose needs… they are GO!!!   And    MAKE!!! Let’s look at these.

First… GO! What does this mean? The Greek word used here literally means “To Pursue”. Jesus by His authority tells us to Pursue ALL people. Go… is the purpose Jesus is calling us to… by which we… “Actively Demonstrate Love, Mercy, and Grace”. Jesus taught his friends to actively demonstrate Love, Mercy, and Grace…. These are action words…

Jesus didn’t say Go to a place, or to only Christians, or to people like us.

Jesus said to go to ALL people…. In Acts it’s Jerusalem, Samaria, Judea, and everywhere in the world. So… the first part of the churches purpose is to GO!!!

Second… MAKE!

Some of you just got really nervous…

We are Jesus followers… Right!

We are the hands & feet of Jesus… Right!

We all proclaim Jesus is Lord… Right!

What does Jesus say??? …. “To Make Disciples.” To Baptize them, and teach them to do everything I told you”.

I was sharing this with a congregation and a person came up to me and said, “I can’t do this.” I asked why? They told me, “That word disciple scares me to death because it means I must go knock on doors.” I asked who told them that… they told me former pastors over the years told them that knocking on doors evangelizing made them disciples.

Is that something you’ve heard or been taught?

I believe the bible tells me that being a disciple of Jesus means to practice these 6 elements or practices… Simply discipleship or as I like to refer to it “Followership” is about these 6 elements or practices Prayer, Worship, Learning, Serving, Relationships, Generosity. Simply… these practices demonstrate how purpose gets lived out…

Simply I believe Good Sheps purpose… the churches purpose… that is never changing are these simple two words…

GO>>>> MAKE….  This is God’s church purpose for all churches… all faith communities.

The BIG question for us is….

Is this God’s church or a social gathering of like-minded people?

A story is told of a community of people who lived on a stretch of dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occurred. Eventually, some of the townspeople decided to put some time and effort and money into a rescue operation. A small life-saving station was built and the devoted members of the rescue team kept an ongoing watch over the sea, ready to use their little boat to search for survivors in case of a shipwreck. As the result of this volunteer operation, the town became famous because of the many lives that were saved.

More and more people joined and became part of the team. Soon a new building was erected. It was much larger than the first little building and it was beautifully furnished and decorated. And as more and more amenities were added for the members' pleasure and comfort, the new building was slowly transformed into a kind of clubhouse. As a result, some of the members began to lose interest in the rescue operation.

But then a shipwreck occurred and many survivors were rescued and brought into the clubhouse for first aid. During the period of the operation which lasted for several days, the frenzied activity caused the attractive "clubhouse" to be considerably marred by such things as bloodstains on the lush carpeting. At the next meeting there was a split in the membership. Most members felt that the life-saving operation was a hindrance to the social life of the organization. Those who disagreed were told that they could build another little station further down the coast. And, as the years went by, history continued to repeat itself. Today, so the story goes, that seacoast has a number of exclusive clubhouses dotting the shore – but no one in the area seems to be concerned with rescue operations.

Series: Facing the Road Ahead... "NO FEAR"

Aug 11, 2013                                                         Gen 15:1-6, Luke 12:22-34

Prayer

For those of you that weren't here last week we have begun a 4 week series titled, “Facing the Road Ahead” as the kick-off to the transition process that Good Shep will journey through for the next year. And… the road head does seem daunting and uncertain for sure. But… it’s a road we must travel nonetheless.

Last week we reflected on some of those difficulties and some difficult decisions Good Shep will have to make, and it will take great faith & trust in God to preserver through… to never give up…  Also… you may remember that I encouraged you to reflect during this series on…

Good Shep’s Past… where have you been? What have you done?

Good Shep’s Present… is this a reflection of the past or the future?

Good Shep’s Future… What are your God Size dreams for the future.

So… despite the difficulties we must preserver towards the blessings God has for us today and into the future. With this in mind our reflection today will focus on “FEAR”… more precisely… having “NO FEAR”

What do you fear today?

Many people worry about a lot of things they cannot control.

We worry about our kids… even after they've grown up.

We worry about our jobs & whether or not we will keep one.

We worry about our finances… our health… our relationships.

We even worry about our church and how God will deal with us.

We even ask ourselves why we worry in the first place… because at the end of the day… our worry was all for naught. Jesus tells us in Vs 25… “Can worry make you live any longer?” Well….NO…. Yet… we still have fears and anxieties about the unknown.

Remember last week I quoted Pr. Peter Marty of St Paul Luth. Davenport Iowa, wrote in the Lutheran Magazine, “Fear keeps telling us there is not enough to go around. Not enough time, not enough resources, not enough strength, not enough grace, not enough patients, not enough God.” He continues, “Trusting Faith believes in God’s sufficiency no matter what… trusting faith simply lends us the courage to walk through those fears.”

Look at our OT lesson today in Gen 15…“The Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, Abram don’t be afraid. I will protect you & reward you greatly.” The context of this story is that Abraham & Sarah are going to have a son even at their old age. Can you imagine that folks…. I know I wouldn't be all that happy if it were happening to me. In the end… Abraham believed in the Lord, and the Lord was pleased. Like-wise… Jesus says, “My little disciples don’t be afraid! Your father in heaven wants to give you the kingdom.” Jesus really is saying, why do you worry? There is a sense of… “Do you believe”… again Jesus is saying, don’t you “Trust Me.” You’re familiar with Psalm 23… “Though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will not FEAR.”

What do you fear today?

Do you fear dying? Or just as easily, do you fear living?

Do you fear not having enough money, food, gas, and housing?

Do you fear a health test like a mammogram or CT scan?

Maybe you fear being ridiculed, humiliation, or maybe being a failure?

Maybe your fearing what might happen here at Good Shep… about what kind of pastor you might call…. What will the church look like…

Or maybe what might come of the transition process.

Heck… you might even fear spiders, snakes, or other critters.

Peter Marty writes, “I've met people who strangely fear they might compromise some core Christian principle by getting to know another person who has a different faith understanding than they. Their gut tells them to love, but their boundary-oriented faith warns them to keep a distance.”

How many of you feel this way?

We say we need to love others… but often times keep our distance.

We say we need to change what the church should be about.

We say we need to do things differently to connect with other groups of people.

The truth of the matter is… fear of the unknown… the fear of how to do these things often drives our fears and anxieties, and we end up responding by doing nothing. The truth is… that FEAR is the by-product of human freedom.

It looks like this…

Those who have little fear… fear about having enough.

Those who have some fear… fear there will be enough to get ahead.

Those who have more fear… fear they will lose what they have.

Because of our freedom not only in this country, but our freedom in Christ we become afraid we will lose what we have thus finding ways to protect and hold onto those things we have.

Helmut Thielicke says, Jesus did not say… Look at the ostrich, how it buries its head in the desert sand and so tries to escape the fear of danger. No, he said: Look at the birds of the air, keep your eyes open, stand up straight and look to the heights where God makes known his grace and care.
--Helmut Thielicke, Life Can Begin Again (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1963), 143.

Jesus says look at the birds, the flowers, and all of creation… doesn’t God take care of them?

Jesus says… don’t be afraid… God wants to give you the kingdom…where is your heart?

Somehow we have allowed the fear of scarcity and limitation to infiltrate and compromise the abundance we have in God.

So my friends… there is no reason to fear… in fact we should have the attitude of “NO FEAR”!!

Jesus says in John 14:27… “I give you peace, the kind of peace that I can only give. It isn’t like the peace that this world can give. Don’t be worried or afraid.”

To not worry… to have faith… to believe… better yet… trust.

Today is the opportunity in the midst of uncertainty to grow in your discipleship and an opportunity to grow in your faith.

Close with story of an 85 year old Kentucky woman named Nadine Stair on what she would do If I Had My Life to Live Over. She says, “I'd like to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I've been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who lives sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. You see… I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.”
--As quoted in Allan E. Mallinger and Jeannette DeWyze, Too Perfect (New York: Fawcett, 1992), 10.

Please say this with me… Lord, I won’t be afraid… you are with me!

Facing the Road Ahead... "Never Give Up"

Aug 4, 2013                                                     Rm. 8:28-35, 37-39, Jn. 10:27-30

Quotes:

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. --Winston Churchill

It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up. –V. Lombardi

Following Jesus is like riding a bicycle - if you don't peddle forward, U fall off.

Saints, it is said, are the sinners who go on trying.

PRAYER

We begin the Transition Process  with a 4 week sermon series titled “Facing the Road Ahead.” And throughout the next year many of my Sunday messages will be series based. There are several reasons for this…

First, over the years I’ve developed these series intentionally to help congregations to focus biblically on what God is calling them to be about. All too often… congregations lose focus and need reminding that all of this is really about God, and what God desires us to be about... that being focused on Him.

Secondly, the transition process is an opportunity to look within and to come to a deeper understanding of who Good Shepherd Lutheran is. It’s an opportunity to rediscover meaning and purpose and to empower you into the future.

Thirdly, Good Shep has some challenging decisions to make about what the future looks like. What will be Good Shep ministry focus be? For example: Will your focus be to keeping Good Shep traditions to the membership?    Or will the focus be to being inviting to other people that are not here yet? Will it be about growing disciples or Jesus Followers? Or about keeping ministry the same as it is now? These & others will be challenging & difficult decisions.

Lastly, this series and the transitions we will engage in are meant to help engage the entire congregation into meaningful conversation about the direction and future of Good Shep Lutheran. This is about rediscovering your God Dream for this community and to discern how you are going to live out God’s dream.

So… as we begin this process I want to encourage you to be thinking & reflecting about…

  Good Shep’s Past… both the good & the bad…

             Good Shep’s Present… is this a reflection of the past or the future?...

             Good Shep’s Future… what are your God-size dreams?

So… Let’s Start Facing the Road Ahead Together…

And the Road Ahead seems daunting and uncertain. We are living in difficult and uncertain times for sure. Families continue to struggle financially, there continues to be unemployment and under employment, Our communities still see civil strife, beatings and murders, robberies, and abuse in most if not all sectors of our society. The TV talking heads seem to fan the flames of uncertainty and fear. This fear and anxiety even finds its way into the church as well.

o    For example: What will we do with no Pastor?

o    Why do we have to wait so long?

o    Why do we have to do this process & reflection?

o    It seems the road is so long and difficult.

o    These questions are based on fear and uncertainty and on our own methods to survive.

o    I believe the transition process is helpful because it’s based on hope and faith through God provision..

Pr. Peter Marty of St Paul Luth. Davenport Iowa, wrote in the Lutheran Magazine, “Fear keeps telling us there is not enough to go around. Not enough time, not enough resources, not enough strength, not enough grace, not enough patients, not enough God.” He continues, “Trusting Faith believes in God’s sufficiency no matter what… trusting faith simply lends us the courage to walk through those fears.”

Jesus tells us multiple times to NOT be afraid…. DO NOT FEAR. Jesus says in our story today, “My sheep know my voice. And I know them… they will never be lost.” Paul says, “If God is on our side, can anyone be against us.”…“Nothing can separate us from God’s love.” What this tells us is if Jesus is central to our faith the difficulties and uncertainties will be minimal and we will be able to preserver…and to do this we will… “NEVER GIVE UP”  We’ll Never Give Up despite the storm clouds… despite the seeming endless road… despite the situations and circumstances of our lives… NEVER GIVE UP!!!

I’d like to reflect on 3 reasons to Never Give Up...

#1 reason to Never Give Up… Remain Connected to Jesus…

Peter says in his sermon in Acts 3… “God sent his chosen Son to you because God wanted to bless you.” Prior to Pentecost, Peter was an emotional wreck… in fact all the disciples weren’t all that confident that God was blessing them. At Pentecost… Peter finds the new confidence in Jesus, he chastises the religious people in the temple and basically says, “All God desires is that people turn back to Him.” Do you want to reduce your propensity to give up…Turn back to God… Meta-noia… and stay connected to Jesus? Friends… all of us… need to consistently discover ways to stay connected to Jesus and it will lessen the reasons to Give Up.

#2 reason to Never Give Up is to Become an Intentional Follower of Jesus.

Jesus says in John 10:27… “My sheep know my voice, and I know them… and they follow me.”

Are you following Jesus?  Last week we asked the question… Do You Love Jesus? This question revolves around the issue of Discipleship or as I like to refer as… learning to follow Jesus. We will reflect on this more specifically at another time.

Essentially following Jesus has 6 principles or practices that we need to do consistently… they are…

o    Community Prayer… Worship… Learning… Serving

o    Relationship Building… and Generosity

When we are intentionally and consistently living these practices or principles we are following Jesus… we are staying connected to Jesus. And when we are doing this we will Never Give Up!

The 3^rd reason To Never Give Up is that God Loves You No Matter What.

Paul says in Romans 8:33-35… “If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?” Paul continues, “Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

One gets a little nervous when you begin to run out of money. When I was going to college and seminary I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to give up when things got tough. It is easy to give up when you don’t see God doing all that much on your behalf. There are glimpses of God’s work… there were times when money showed up that helped out at just the right time.

It really gets down to holding on to trusting God’s provision and perseverance… as Paul states, even through the difficulties God is present. Because as Paul sees it… “If God is with us, can anyone be against us.”

So my friends… giving up is not an option… because we remain connected to Jesus… because we intentionally follow Jesus… and because God loves us no matter what.

In Closing:

This is kind of a humorous story, but this story lends itself to what we’ve been talking about.

Chuck Evans was a parishioner in a former congregation. What’s unique about Chuck is that he has an eye disorder that is making him blind. He is currently 85% blind today. After sharing his story I could tell Chuck didn’t think all that highly about himself. He seemed lifeless and depressed and you could tell he wanted to give up. He had lost purpose because of the difficulties.

The humorous part is that Chuck works for the IRS… that’s right… the Internal Revenue Service. At some point he will no longer be able to work there, but until that time the IRS makes accommodations for him. Chuck was when he could see was an accountant, and when he was part of the congregation I was serving he was about 70% blind and I asked him to be our treasurer. After praying about he came to me with tears streaming down his face accepting the invitation and saying, “You are the first pastor who never saw my blindness as a limitation.”

Honestly, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and I just knew he could do the job and I don’t like seeing anyone give up…

The Road Ahead Continues…