Faith

What a mess!

/ youthguysteve / 1 Comment

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This morning in chapel at St. John I thought it would be fun to take all the palm branches left over from Palm Sunday and strewn them all down the aisles.  It was a huge mess.  I would say it might have been the biggest mess you can make in Church.  In fact I was pretty sure after chapel the janitor would no longer be speaking to me with kind words.  Kids walked in and were shocked by the mess on the floors. It was a glories mess. (By the way as a youth leader making a mess is what I do)

I had them read with me Mark 11:1-11. It is my favorite version of the story of Jesus being called king.  In this text, Jesus rides his donkey into Jerusalem and the people were excited that this might be the next king to rule. They are excited because they thought he would come and kick out the romans and rule the world again.  Jesus walks into the temple and does nothing.  He just walks back out.  I would say all the people who are holding those palm branches just dropped them on the floor.  He wasn’t the king they expected, but He is a king and he would show them how he would clean up their mess they had in their lives.

I proceeded to share with the kids and staff about the mess we all live with. My family can make some big messes.  Please don’t ever plan on just dropping in because if you do you will see a mess.  If you give me some time I can clean up some and make it look like my house is clean.  In fact I say to my wife and kids.  The trick is make it look good but not too good so they don’t know we worked for a couple hours making it look clean. You see I think many of us have a mess in our lives we pretend isn’t really there, or we spend a lot of time making clean ups look like we have it all together.  But here is the thing we are a mess.

This week is Holy week.  It is the week Jesus shares with us that he isn’t here as some great king to conquer the world but here to clean up our mess.  He shows us his love Thursday through being a servant, then he continues that service on Friday to make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross to clean up our mess.  He rose again Sunday to keep His promise of new life in Him.

If you haven’t been in worship in awhile I would encourage you to join the Church any Church these next four days.  Come and see all He did for us. It wasn’t necessarily what we expected and certainly is more than just a quick cleaning.  Jesus has come and rose again to bring new life and clean up the mess that is our life.

Thank you Jesus for your love and grace.

(By the way we did clean up the sanctuary today, and the janitor is still speaking to me…)

 

 

I am not giving up something for Lent…I am adding something to my journey to the cross

/ youthguysteve / Leave a comment

img_20170301_162211Most of the time during lent people spend the day thinking about what they are going to be giving up for Lent. For me I have never really found that helpful for my spiritual formation. Giving up sweets makes me angry.  Giving up chocolate would make me down right angry.  Mostly I would be thinking all day about how I missed that food or thing I gave up.  For me it doesn’t point me to Jesus. I want you all to know I don’t find anything wrong with giving something up for lent as it is certainly a spiritual discipline of fasting.  Fasting is a time honored way of strengthening ones faith. For me however it has never been appealing or truly beneficial.

So today I decided to do something different.  I decided instead of taking something away I am going to add something to my family’s life.  We are going to spend the next 40 days reading through the Gospels.  We are going to spend this time on the journey to the cross following Jesus’ journey to the cross.  I know for me reading the scripture brings it alive.  I am excited for this journey and would challenge you to think about it as well.

In the reading schedule I gave myself a day off because lets be honest having a day off is needed sometimes.  Life can be crazy busy. I don’t need something else to give me more guilt for messing up.  So below is the plan.

My goal this Lenten season is to journey to the cross with my Lord and Savior. My prayer is that many of you will join in this journey. Let us be in the Word together as we make this journey to the cross and see these great things he has done for us.

in Christ,

Steve

Lent Reading Plan: 2017

2-Mar Matthew 1-3
3-Mar Matthew 4-6
4-Mar Matthew 7-9
5-Mar Break
6-Mar Matthew 10-Matthew 12
7-Mar Matthew 13-Matthew 14
8-Mar Matthew 15-Matthew 16
9-Mar Matthew 17-Matthew 18
10-Mar Matthew 19-Matthew 20
11-Mar Matthew 21-Matthew 22
12-Mar Take a Break
13-Mar Matthew 23-Matthew 24
14-Mar Matthew 25-Matthew 26
15-Mar Matthew 27-Matthew 28
16-Mar Mark 1-Mark 3
17-Mar Mark 4-Mark 6
18-Mar Mark 7-Mark 9
19-Mar Take a Break
20-Mar Mark 10-Mark 12
21-Mar Mark 13-Mark 14
22-Mar Mark 15-Mark 16
23-Mar Luke 1-Luke 3
24-Mar Luke 4-Luke 6
25-Mar Luke 7-Luke 9
26-Mar Take a Break
27-Mar Luke 10-Luke 12
28-Mar Luke 13-Luke 14
29-Mar Luke 15-Luke 16
30-Mar Luke 17-Luke 18
31-Mar Luke 19-Luke 20
1-Apr Luke 21-Luke 22
2-Apr Take a Break
3-Apr Luke 23-Luke 24
4-Apr John 1-John 2
5-Apr John 3-John 4
6-Apr John 5-John 6
7-Apr John 7-John 8
8-Apr John 9-John 10
9-Apr Take a Break
10-Apr John 11-John 12
11-Apr John 13-John 14
12-Apr John 15-John 16
13-Apr John 17-John 18
14-Apr John 19-John 20
15-Apr John 21

 

Stop freaking out you are scaring the children.

/ youthguysteve / Leave a comment

img_20161011_074743Today I am sitting in my office and thinking thank you Jesus it is Friday and Sunday is coming.  As I go through facebook, twitter and news sites I am disheartened. I am tired of it all. I am tired of the media stuff I see all around me. I am tires of the memes and misleading articles about this candidate and that candidate.  I am tired of all the anger and hate. I am tired of people looking back at past this person wronged me and now I need to hate them forever.   I am tired of all the damage in our world and I am tired of all the sin. I am tired from my own sin, I am tired of hearing about the brokenness all around me. As I was sitting in my office today all I could think is how can I lead my kids through this?  How can I lead my children from fear to hope?

As parents and adults we are scaring our children.  We are teaching them to live in fear.  I have been at a number of meetings lately with adults who are bemoaning the Church is dying, the country is going to fall apart, what are we going to do?  Her is my response stop it.  Stop it right now.  Stop spending every waking hour worrying about who is going to be elected, stop worrying that our church is missing kids, stop worrying about everything. No matter who is elected in a month the World is not going to end.  The government isn’t going to collapse and the Church isn’t going to blow up.  Above all remember who is in control.

Jesus is in control.  He in control of the Church, the government, and the world.  He is doing amazing things everyday if we just take the time to look around.  I have spent the last 2 weeks meeting with 10 baptismal families.  These are families with young children who are focusing on how they can help their children be a part of the Church so they can be connected to Jesus. It is amazing.

Lets just stop freaking out.  Let stop and be in prayer for our leaders. Lets stop and be in prayer for our friends and enemies.  Lets stop and be in prayer for our Church.  Jesus in control and leading the way.  Lets turn that fear into hope.

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Revelation 4:4-6

Dress Up…Sharing the Joy of Knowing Christ!

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2016-01-27 23.36.53 1I like to dress up for Lutheran schools week.  My goal each year for this week is to dress up as much as possible. I am all about “going big or going home”.  My favorite part is watching peoples reactions when I walk in the building. I know I look like a nut. I know I should probably never go out in public like this but I do.  I do it all because I love to draw attention to myself….(ok that sounds really narcissistic when you write it that way but keep reading so you don’t think too poorly of me.)

The reason I dress this way is so you notice me.  I want you to notice me SO THAT I can share with you this guy who has made me nuts.  This guy who made me dress up in costumes, dye my hair pink and go all out for Lutheran Schools weeks each year.  I want you to know this Jesus guy who ruined my life SO THAT I can no longer miss opportunities to share with you Jesus. The one who loved me so much He gave Himself for me.  He loved me.  This awkward kid who was not the coolest kid in the world.  A guy who was bald and 26 and has very little filter when talking with others.  A guy who is trying to follow Jesus.

So tomorrow or the next day when you see me walking around its ok to stare.  I don’t mind if you laugh.  I don’t mind much of anything.  I just hope you know I really am not doing these crazy things for me. I am doing them SO THAT you might know Jesus and the joy he gives me every day.  So lets all think about ways we can share Jesus and the joy we have in Him.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV

 

The day after Christmas…What was once new seems old

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I20151224_220436_001t is the day after Christmas.  All those things under the tree that seemed new just 24 hours ago are looking less so.  Soon all those decorations around the house will need to be taken down. All the stuff put away and life going back to normal. Maybe even a little dull. Soon the kids will be bored with their toys and other things they got for Christmas.  It will all lose the luster of being new.

The day after Christmas reminds me of my own faith walk. Often what seems new each day gets a little dull.  It is so easy for me to forget the newness of the gospel. The beauty of its work in my life.  It is so easy to look at our faith and miss the point.  When we focus on how we feel or look at something it can so easily dull in our minds.

So what can we do. How do we make it seem new every day?  Well the answers aren’t simple. They don’t have an easy answer.  We don’t have some simple way to make everything seem new.  The reality is our emotions have little to do with the faith we trust in. With the God we believe came near to us. Time can sometimes make us lose focus on this.  We can get caught up in the emotion of this moment.  Yet God has promised he is near.  In our baptism he came and claimed us as His own.  In the Lord supper we experience the Grace of God in the Body and blood.  In Worship we hear about the one who shed his blood for us. This is what helps us be new every day.

So today as you begin looking at the rest of the year.  The decorations and presents look a little dull remember the one who was the reason you celebrated.  Remember the God of the universe coming down for us.  Remember the work of Christ to be near so that he could die for you and me. It is so simple; it isn’t a new story to hear or a new gift. It is the gift we received long ago, the gift that changes everything for you and me.  The Gift of the Son of God coming to be with us, to die for us, and to rise again.