Faith

I make mistakes…God works through our mistakes

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11885785_830146970434472_3138855651551647161_oI make mistakes.  I know this is a news flash for most of you.  I say the wrong things. I do the wrong things. Often they lead to big messes, but mostly God uses my mess ups for His purposes.

I messed up last Sunday.  It wasn’t big but it was a mess up. During worship I was leading the end of the service and I was supposed to say the prayers,then go into the creed, followed by a song.  I finished the prayers of the people and then sat down for the song.  I missed the creed all together.  The pastor told me lead them in the creed after the prayers, and I missed it.  It was a total mess up  hopefully no one but the person running slides and the music team noticed. It didn’t end the world but I was frustrated with myself.

Right after the service I went up to the music team leader and apologized.  While we were talking someone came a lady came up and told us saying the creed after that song was one of the most moving moments she has had in worship in a long time. She finally said it and really meant it. It was a great Jesus moment.

I feel like we all need this reminder from time to time. We need to be reminded that God can use our mistakes,  our mess-ups for his Work.  He can use our broken best laid plans for his Work.  So today if you messed up remember God is working it for his good. God is working it so others can know Jesus.  May you be reminded of Jesus working in your good times and your bad.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV

Youth and family ministry to 80 year olds…Listening to the stories, being the family of God

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This week I had the joy of sitting with an old friend.  Someone I have known for a little over 5 years who I think of as an amazing grandma in the faith.  I have seen here many times at Church and today I had the privilege and joy of spending just a few moments talking with her at her house as I move away.  I wasn’t planning to see her but I had to make a visit because she had something in needed.  Jesus was at work in all this.  We laughed, we cried, we shared a moment together and she got to unload some of her story I have never heard before.  It was a moving moment and I have to say thank you to Jesus for letting me have a reason to see her one last time. I don’t know if I helped her but I do know I got to be Jesus for her today. It was one of my greatest moments in youth and family ministry.

You heard me right.  Youth ministry isn’t just about talking with teens, or children.  Youth and family ministry is about being in the lives of people.  Being in the lives of the family of faith.  Family and Youth ministry isn’t just about young people, young families, and little children it is about the whole family.  You see our more seasoned members need people to listen to them.  To care for them.  To pray for them.  Our family is bigger than just the young.  Our family is whole of the body of Christ.

For those of you who work in Youth ministry I want to remind you of something so important.  Seek out the seasoned members of your congregation.  Pray with them. Ask them to pray with you. Listen to them, and be there for them. They are a part of the Church as well. They are important to your ministry.  Jesus has allowed me to have some pretty amazing people walk with in my life.  People who wouldn’t be considered kids, but people who have allowed me to share Jesus with them.  I love that they let me and I love that Jesus puts us in those places.  May God put you in a place to day to be Jesus to someone.  To listen and to offer hope in their lives.

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for letting me walk with youth both young and old.

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[a] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing 2 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV

Jumping in the pool…why scars arent so bad in ministry!

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11539202_677325718132_5953708130056976268_oWe all have scars.  I have a few from ministry.  Some of those scars are seen and others are right in the middle of my face. But scars can be a good thing if they are done for the sake of the Gospel.

This past week we had an amazing VBS.  We had more kids attend VBS this year than any of the past 5.  We capped it off by collecting 545 items for food pantries in our area.  This led to my most recent scar.  I told the kids if they collected 500 canned goods I would jump into a pool of ice.  It was going to be awesome.  The kids were cheering, and excited when we brought them out to watch it. They were cheering me on.  I thought the worst that could happen was get some bumps or bruises jumping into the kiddy pool. I leaped and was in the water.  The pain wasn’t that bad but when I came out of the water I saw blood. My wife gave me the look that said “you did something very wrong to your face.” She grabbed my hat off my head and shoved it into my face so the children wouldn’t be further traumatized.  It was not my best moment in ministry.  Something that seemed so promising had gone so bad in a matter of seconds.

But I wouldn’t change a thing. I did get bandaged up and was able to walk back inside and share with kids I was alright and lead them in a prayer.  One of the themes for the week was Jesus heals us and so I tied it all together. It turned into a good moment to share Jesus. I am someone who will jump in a pool of ice water if I think it will  let me talk about Jesus with a kid. Heck the scar was a great story in the ER when I got my 11 stitches.  I got to share Jesus with a doctor, nurse and three paper work people. I don’t mind the scars in ministry because another family, kid, student, adult or whoever got to hear the good news of Jesus.  They got to see some crazy grown kid stand up and share Jesus. Who knows if they will ever be a believer in Christ. The Holy Spirit does that work anyway.  I never even know if the scar is worth it.

I do know this however, I would take all the scars in the world if it meant one more kid or family might know Jesus. So for all of you in ministry, either volunteer or paid professional lets make more scars so others can know this Jesus who loves and cares for us.  Lets tell the world even if it means some pain and scars.

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Psalm 51:8 ESV

Walking, reading my Bible and a table…the pain on the journey.

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WP_20150318_10_03_14_ProRecently I have tried to be more healthy. I also bought a fitbit about a year ago and have really been trying to walk my 10,000 steps each day. I know it isn’t going to change my life, and all the sudden I will be super buff guy. I do sit a lot and I thought walking would be better for me.

I also decided this year I was going to read more. I am not good at sitting at my desk and staying off the computer so I thought why not kill two birds with one stone. So I started walking around the building and reading at the same time. I have gotten plenty of looks and even a laugh by the principal of the school who thought one day he might just put something in front of me to see if I noticed it. We both laughed because we both think that is funny and we are mean people.

So today it happened. I was walking and reading my daily Bible reading and ran straight into a table in the narthex. I hit it hard. I have a few bruises from the ordeal. The table won. I lost and well I was a little embarrassed that I didn’t see it coming. So why bring this semi embarrassing story to this blog. While I was thinking as I was sitting on the floor quite embarrassed and in some pain, that my walk with Jesus is very similar. You see God tells me he speaks through his word. He also tells me to walk this faith each day. In a sense we are all walking blindly or at least semi blind. Sometimes as we walk, and sometime we run right into the things that cause us pain. We should see it coming.  Often we do not. Jesus never promised we wouldn’t experience pain or trouble. When we walk with Jesus we probably will. In that walk we get stronger when we are in his word. We hear from Jesus his words of life. We are reminded of His walk to the cross for us. His work to make us new and better. The journey will have aches and pain yet in the walk we have Jesus we are able to get up again.  Tomorrow I may hit the same table, or I may miss it.  But I know I will have Jesus on the journey.  I will have Jesus with me even when I don’t always see the trouble coming.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him.  Though you don now see him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.1 Peter 1:6-9 ESV

I was hungry did you feed me? Jesus prepared our good works!

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DSC00787Today as I led chapel I was tasked with kicking off our Kids Against Hunger program here at St. Peters Lutheran Church.  I was excited for this as I have been planning for almost 6 months the work we are going to do for this project. I am excited to see God at work through this project with families and our youth.

Today, I also gave the message on Matthew 25:31-40 in chapel.  I was reminded, as I was reading the text about the importance of the Gospel in Matthew 25. It is so easy with these verses to go strait to the law and guilt them into feeding the poor because that is what the Christians do. However when you read text closely I am reminded that even my good deeds are prepared for me by Jesus.  You see I don’t do good because I am a good Christian.  I do good because Christ is working through me.  I do good because Jesus has prepared me to do good and is working through me to do good.

So as we raise funds, pack meals and pray for those in our community and world who are hungry and in need of food I am excited at how God will use me and others.  As we raise funds over the next month and April 23rd pack meals for the hungry children and families in our community and world we are reminded that our work here is about Jesus’ work through us.  It is not about law or our work, but about what Jesus has done for us and through us.

So I am asking those in my community to join us as we follow Jesus in the work he has prepared for us. For those of you in other communities what is Jesus leading you to do today and how can you be a part of it?