Pastor Brown's Message for February:

 

“LIVING SIMPLY, THAT OTHERS MIGHT SIMPLY LIVE”

 

I don’t know where that slogan came from, but I think it makes a pretty good Lenten theme. Traditionally, the two most popular Lenten themes are Prayer and Fasting. St. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing,” good advice, having an attitude of prayer at all times. But every day, it is good to have a “one-on-one” talk with God, opening our heart in thanksgiving, and pouring out our needs and our neighbor’s needs to him. Through the year we gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ for Sunday worship and Holy Communion. Then Lent comes, and we go a little deeper in prayer, and gather midweek for Holden Evening Prayer. I encourage you to recognize Lent by coming to midweek Lenten prayer, starting on Ash Wednesday, February 22.

 

The other Lenten tradition, fasting, is also good. I’m so glad that Martin Luther freed us from fasting as “mortification of the flesh” (intentional physical suffering, to try to gain favor with God). Luther found that it just didn’t work. He gave it his best shot. He starved himself. It just didn’t work.

 

But there is a kind of fasting that I believe really works. It is to give up something, for the sake of saving some money that you can then give away to somebody who is really hungry. Fasting for the sake of a growling stomach didn’t do much for Luther, and it never did much for me. But here are some possibilities of fasting with a purpose: have water in the restaurant instead of a soda. (Have you noticed how expensive sodas have become, even in fast food places?) Buy your soda and wine at the grocery store, by the 12-pack and the bottle, instead of in the restaurant, by the glass, and give the savings to ECHO.

 

Instead of ordering desserts (I know this is a tough one for Norwegians like me) translate the savings into a loaf of bread for Loaves and Fishes. Other ways to simplify living, be kind to the environment, and save money to give to the poor are: head for the hills on a bike or on foot, instead of in a jeep, quad, or dirt bike, and you’ll be healthier and richer, and have more money to give away. Give the ski-boat a rest and paddle a canoe or kayak, and you’ll be healthier and richer, and have more money to give away. Have a good Lent and enjoy your praying and fasting.

 

 

Love in Christ,
Pastor Brown

 

 

 

 

 

Pastor Brown's Recent Sermons

 

February 19, 2012
Mark 9:2-9

“Jesus Only”  Transfiguration

     Light is a big deal with God.  The very first words of God, recorded in the Bible, in Genesis 1:3, are, “Let there be light.”  When Jesus was born, God used a special star to shine over the little town of Bethlehem, and guide the wise men to the newborn Savior.  Jesus said of Himself, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  In the gospel story I just read, God shines a heavenly spotlight on Jesus.  It’s a great event in the lives of the chosen disciples, Peter, James, and John. Jesus led them on a hike up a mountain, where they truly had a mountaintop experience.

     Any of you who have ever climbed a mountain, know that it is exhilarating, just to reach the summit of a mountain.  But reaching the summit was merely the beginning of the exhilaration, for Peter, James, and John. God had a great light show for them.  We call it the transfiguration.  It is so significant, that we devote a Sunday on the church calendar to it.  Today is that day, and we call this Sunday,  “The Transfiguration of our Lord.”  God shined His heavenly spotlight on Jesus, and turned his clothes dazzling white, and made Jesus shine like the sun.  And besides the fabulous spotlight, God spoke out of the clouds, with the same words He had spoken at Jesus Baptism, “This is my beloved Son.”  And then God added the words, “Listen to Him.”

     And God added to this Epiphany an appearance from the dead of two great heroes of faith, Moses and Elijah.  Moses, the one who had led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, that great deliverance we call the Exodus.  Moses, who had met God on Mt. Sinai, and had come down from that mountain with the Ten Commandments, God’s guide for living the good life.  Moses was truly one of God’s greatest heroes, and a great hero to Peter, James, and John.  Elijah was there too.  Elijah was one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament.  Alden/Kelley read about him in the Old Testament lesson.  Elijah passed on a double share of his spirit to his successor, Elisha, and then he was taken by God into heaven in a whirlwind and a chariot of fire.  Peter, James, and John gazed at their old heroes, Moses and Elijah, and at their new hero, Jesus, . . .the three of them, having a conversation.  Then as quickly as they had appeared, Moses and Elijah disappeared, and standing there alone was Jesus only.

     This summer, many of us will be watching the Summer Olympics, which will be held in London.  We’ll see the champions, in the spotlight, standing on the podium, receiving their medals. The gold medal winner stands on the highest podium, flanked by the silver and bronze medal winners.  They all receive their moment of glory, the gold medal winner receiving the most glory.  Jesus, stood with Moses and Elijah, on the podium of the transfiguration.  Jesus stood in the middle, with Moses and Elijah on his right and on his left.  But then Moses and Elijah were gone, and it was Jesus only.  Moses and Elijah were great, but nothing compared to Jesus.  Kind of like silver and bronze medals are great, but nothing compares to the gold.  The only medal worth going for is gold. 

     And the only hero worth worshipping is Jesus.  Jesus stands alone on the Mountain of Transfiguration. Jesus is greater than Moses or Elijah.  Jesus is greater than any prophet.  Jesus did what no prophet can claim to do.  Jesus did what only God can do, because Jesus was God.  Jesus forgave sins.  When a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, the first thing Jesus said to him was, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Then he said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”  Jesus didn’t claim to be, just a prophet, speaking words from God.  Jesus went further and claimed to be the Way to the Father, when He said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the father except through me.  And Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

     It took the disciples a while to realize who Jesus really was.  They didn’t really realize who he was until He had risen from the dead, and appeared to them alive, after he had been in the tomb for three days.  Then they realized that He was the crucified and risen Savior, and they fell down on their knees before Him and worshipped him, with the words, “My Lord and My God.”   But as they stood on the mountain of transfiguration that day, gazing at Jesus on the podium, with God’s gold medal around his neck, they had only a moment to gaze at him in all his glory, and then the light faded.  Peter wanted to hang on to the experience.  He said, let’s build some tents and stay here.  But Jesus said, “No, let’s go down from this mountain, down into the valleys below.”  And we know that Jesus had some hard work to do, down in the valley.  And He knew that opposition was gathering against Him.  Already the Pharisees had gotten together to begin hatching a plot to get rid of Him.

     Already his home town of Nazareth had rejected him.  That must have really hurt.  Jesus knew why He had come into the world, and he had already announced to His disciples that he must be rejected, and be killed, and after three days rise again. His Father had put him on the podium of glory, but His father had also sent him into the world to give his life on the cross to atone for sin, and to demonstrate God’s love for all people.

     This Wednesday we begin the season of Lent, forty days when we focus on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  A fact that many are not aware of, is that the Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days of lent.  We break from our focus on the cross on Sundays, and celebrate the resurrection.  We celebrate the resurrection every Sunday of the year.  And even when we focus on the cross, resurrection is not far from our minds.  For we are Easter people.  Christ is risen, never to die again.  And we are joined to Him in His resurrection. This Wednesday, I hope you will all be here to receive ashes on your foreheads, in the shape of a cross, and to receive Holy Communion.  The official words to be used during the imposition of ashes, are:  “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  Those words are true.  These bodies of ours are composed of the elements of the earth, and when we die, our bodies will eventually return to those elements.  Death is real.  Instead of denying that death will come to us, we should face it, and prepare for it.

     Jesus died and rose again, in order that we can face death in the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life.  I find it impossible to talk about death, without also proclaiming the good news of the Gospel, the good news that whoever believes in Jesus will not die but have everlasting life.  That is why I will add some words, when I put ashes on your foreheads this Wednesday.  I will say, “Remember that you are dust, but that in Christ you have eternal life.”  It’s good to remember that this mortal life is short, . . .and to remember that we have eternal life in Jesus.  Another good thing to remember is that we are sinners, and because of our sins we deserve punishment, but that in Christ we have the forgiveness of our sins.  We are dust and we are sinners, but in Christ we have forgiveness and eternal life.  And it’s all because we have Christ as our Savior.

     Garrison Keilor tells a story of a family get-together at Thanksgiving, and how every year it was the same uncle who gave the blessing at the family dinner.  It was always a long prayer, and inevitably it got stalled at the point where he began giving thanks for Jesus’ death on the Cross.  While the rest of the family began to worry about the turkey growing cold, the uncle would begin to weep!   Says Keillor:  “I don’t know, I guess he just never got over Jesus’ death, the way other Christians have.”
     Have you and I gotten over the death of Jesus?  Maybe we need to take the time to do what the church has done for centuries during lent,  . . .go with Jesus to the cross, listen to the whip cutting into his flesh, hear Him cry in agony, “My God My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Perhaps we should view again the movie, “The Passion of the Christ”.  Maybe we should be here in church for each Lenten Service, and go with Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed in such agony, that his sweat turned to blood, . .  and go with Jesus to the Hall of Pilate and the court of Herod, where false witnesses told lies about Him,  and follow Him, as He carried his cross, out to the Hill of Calvary, and hear the sound of the hammer against the nails that were driven into his flesh.  Maybe we need to renew our awareness of the suffering love of Jesus, as we sing such hymns as, “What Wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul, what wondrous love is this, O my soul.  What wondrous love is this, that caused the Lord of bliss, to bear the dreadful curse, for my soul, for my soul.”

     On the Mountain of the Transfiguration, the Disciples looked up and saw Jesus Only.  That’s what we need to do, look up from the busyness of our lives and see Jesus only.  Look up from the unimportant things that pre-occupy us, and see Jesus only.  Look up from our Sunday Paper and Coffee, and see Jesus only, and follow Jesus leading us to church.  The Father’s voice from the cloud at Jesus’ Transfiguration was, “This is my beloved Son, Listen to Him.”  The best place in the world to listen to Him is in His Holy Word, the Bible. So look up from your novel, and your newspaper, and your magazine, and read the words of Jesus. Listen to Him.

     We have some great words that we sing before the Gospel most Sundays.  We sing:  “Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go.  You have the words of eternal life.”  Only Jesus has the words of eternal life.  We get so excited about all kinds of words.  I get excited every time I find my “American Hunter Magazine” in the mailbox.  I like to read words about the Giants and the Forty Niners.  We all have our fun reading.  And that's O.K.  But none of those words are words of eternal life.  Only Jesus has the words of eternal life. We need his words more than any other words..There were three heroes standing on the mount of Transfiguration, but then only the greatest hero remained, Jesus only.  There are many fun places to go on a Sunday morning, but only in church will you find Jesus only.  There are many books in the world, but only one book, the Holy Bible, has the words of Jesus. There are many teachers, but only Jesus has the words of eternal life.

     Let us pray:  “Lord to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life.” 
    
         Amen
Pastor Brown

 

 

February 12, 2012
Mark 1:40-4

“Our Compassionate Savior”

     Every Sunday, here in church, we have an appointment with Jesus, our Savior, Lord, and Friend.  We see Jesus in the stories from the three years, that he walked this earth.  We get a picture of him in our minds.  I hope that your picture of Jesus is a picture of a compassionate Jesus.  Last Sunday we saw Jesus walk into the house of Peter and Andrew, in the town of Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee.  Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever.  Jesus walked up to her bed, took her by the hand, and gently lifted her up.  And the fever left her, and she started to serve them. That is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ compassion for the dear mother-in-law of his good friend.  Compassion toward family and friends is good, but relatively easy. It doesn’t take extra-ordinary compassion, to care for family and friends.

     But in today’s story, Jesus has compassion toward a leper.  That’s another story.  Lepers were outcasts.  Everyone feared leprosy.  It was a dread disease.  It caused skin and flesh to die, and resulted in horrible disfigurement.  Everyone knew it was contagious.  It was socially acceptable to shun lepers.  It was even the law to shun lepers.  If you respected the law, as written in the divinely inspired book of Leviticus, you never touched a leper.  You never even came close to a leper. Leviticus 13:45, 46 reads, “The leper is unclean;  he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp”.  As the leper came anywhere near people, he had to cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” We read in our lesson from Mark 1, that a leper came to Jesus, begging him, and kneeling before him, he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” That leper had faith. . . . He was saying, “Jesus, I believe you have the power to heal me, of this awful leprosy, and make me clean.”  No lack of faith on the part of this leper.

     But notice, he came humbly, begging, on his knees.  He didn’t come, presuming that Jesus would heal him.  He didn’t come demanding that Jesus heal him.  He came humbling, asking, “If it is your will, Jesus, please heal me.  For I know you can.”  And Jesus took the risk of getting leprosy himself.  Jesus bore the stigma of becoming unclean himself.  Jesus reached out and touched him, and said, “It is my will, I do choose to make you clean.” And immediately, the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Keep this picture in your mind, a picture of your compassionate Savior, Jesus, reaching out and touching and healing a leper. And as you come for Holy Communion this morning, Jesus will reach out and touch you with his holy body and blood, and will make you clean.  He will heal you from the guilt and power of you sin. You come to him with the prayer, “Lord Jesus, if you choose, you can create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.”  And he reaches out and touches you, and says, ‘You are clean.  Go in peace.”

     I have a question for you.  Are there still lepers today?  Are there still people whose hearts are broken because they are excluded?  Are there still lepers today?  Today is Toni Anderson’s birthday. Today is also Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.  In Lincoln’s day, before the civil war, to be African-American was to be a leper.  You were less than a second-class citizen.  You weren’t a citizen at all.  In a court of law, you weren’t even a person. You were only a fraction of a person, in a court of law. Yet Lincoln, when he dedicated a military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, said, “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers set forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”  The ideal was there in the words of Lincoln, that all persons are created equal.  But in reality, even after the emancipation proclamation, to be black was to be a leper, excluded from society, forced to live outside the camp, outside the nice neighborhoods, forced to go to separate, inferior schools.

     Just fifty years ago, a black couldn’t drink at the white’s water fountain, or take a stool at the white’s only lunch counter.  No lepers allowed.  But we have lived to see the election of a Black president. And for millions of blacks, when Barak Obama was elected President, it was as if Jesus had reached out and touched them and cleansed them of leprosy. Today, sufferers of aids are a 21st century lepers.  Gays and Lesbians have always been treated as lepers,. . . made fun of, . . .   the brunt of jokes.  Don’t you know that every gay and lesbian person has prayed that God would make them straight.  Who would ever want to be different in their sexual orientation?  Gays and Lesbian Christians have a hard journey.  They need a super strong faith. Whether they live a celibate life, or hide in the closet, or come out of the closet, they face difficulties that most of us will never have to face.   

     But let’s move on. In a very real sense, we’ve all been lepers.  At one time or another, we’ve all been the outsider.  We’ve sat alone in the lunchroom, with nobody coming to sit with us, or invite us to their table.  Or we’ve been the last to be chosen, when teams were chosen to play ball.  Nobody wanted us. We stood alone, after everybody else had been chosen. One team had to take us.  It breaks the heart of a teacher to see the misfit shunned, the child who doesn’t have the social skills to fit in.  Every adolescent has looked into the mirror, and seen pimples, or a nose that is too big, or crooked teeth, . .   and felt like a leper.  Lepers are everyone who has ever been last to be hired or first to be fired. 

     I asked you to keep in your mind the picture of Jesus reaching out and touching and healing the leper.  Now I want you to picture a young man named Marlin, at Westhaven Children’s home in Jamaica, January 2008, lying on his bed, on his stomach, with a huge tumor distending from his side.  Marlin was touched by Jesus, but never healed of his cancer.  Marlin loved to sing hymns and spiritual songs.  Joyce and I had the privilege of singing with him.  Our entire mission team was blessed by his spirit.  Jesus reached out and touched Marlin, every day,  .  and his spirit was alive and well, even though the leprosy of cancer was destroying his body.  We don’t know why Jesus doesn’t heal everybody.  But we do know that Jesus has compassion for everybody.  And we know there can be an inner healing, even when one’s body is wasting away.  We’ve seen the smiles of the suffering.  And we’ve seen Jesus’ hand of mercy reaching out into the worst of situations.  

     About three years ago, a continental commuter jet crashed near Buffalo, New York, and 49 people died in an instant.  But just a few weeks before that, a US Air jet lost power over New York City, but instead of crashing, landed safely on the Hudson River, and all passengers survived.  We don’t know why one jet was spared and another was not.  But we believe that Jesus reaches out with a hand of compassion and touches everyone.  And we claim Jesus love for those who died as much as for those who survived.  And with the eyes of faith, we can see Jesus’ hand of mercy, even in that awful tragedy of that airplane coming down near Buffalo, New York.  We don’t know why the plane went down.  But we see Jesus, hand of mercy, reaching out into the icy cold and snow, and tipping the nose of that plane, straight down, so that it crashed into only one house, and killed only one person on the ground.  We see God’s hand of mercy, when we think of how many more would have been killed if that plane had not come straight down, nose first.

     We, who know that our Savior loved us enough to die on a cross for us, are always expecting to find good in the midst of every tragedy.  We know that our God is a God of compassion.  We know that our God works for good in the midst of evil.  And we find our deepest personal satisfaction, when we find ourselves to be compassionate, as our Savior is compassionate.  And we celebrate compassion wherever we see it.  We celebrate the compassion of Judy Anderson, who gave $5,000.00 in her mother and father’s memory to the church she grew up in, this church, even though she has lived in Nebraska for most of her adult life.  She could have saved that money for herself, in these dangerous economic times.  She could have bought something for herself, or taken her family on a cruise.  But no, she gave the money to the church that had nurtured her faith as a child.  Judy had a story to tell, and a gift to share.  We celebrate the compassion of those who are volunteering to visit the forgotten folks in the local nursing homes.  Those folks, who have no family to visit them, are some more of the forgotten lepers of our day.  But Jesus reaches out and touches them, and so do our volunteers.

     In these hard economic times, more and more people are hurting from losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing their retirement funds.  More and more people need financial help.  Compassion is a beautiful word.  It means to means to be kind and caring.  It comes from the Latin, meaning, “to suffer with.”  It means that when we look at one who is suffering, we feel their pain. Their pain becomes our pain, and we do what we can to help them.  Jesus had compassion for the leper.  He reached out and touched him and healed him. WE all are lepers whom He has touched and healed.  And so we reach out with compassion, and touch and heal as many as we can.

     Let’s pray it:  Lord Jesus, you have reached out and touched and healed us.  Fill us with your compassion, so that we reach out and touch and heal as many as we can.

     Amen
Pastor Brown

 

 

February 5, 2012
Mark 1: 29-39 

“Jesus, Everyone is Searching for You!”

 

     Things move fast in Mark’s Gospel.  Mark leaves out many of the details that the other Gospel writers include.  Mark gets right to the point, and packs a lot of action into a few verses. Our lesson today begins in the 29th verse of chapter one.  And already Jesus has been baptized by John, tempted for forty days in the wilderness, chosen His first four disciples, the fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James and John, has astounded the folks in the synagogue in Capernaum with how he taught with authority, and has healed a man with an unclean spirit.  Then Mark writes, “At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

     Now we follow Jesus into the house of Peter. Peter’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever.  Jesus steps up to her bedside, takes her by the hand, and lifts her up.  Let’s stop there a minute.  We read, “Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.”  That wasn’t such a big miracle.  Just a little one.  We’ve all had the wonderful experience of a fever breaking.  Sometimes it’s sudden.  One minute you are sweating or shivering, and your head is aching.  Then suddenly your fever breaks, and in a few minutes you feel so much better.  But sometimes, you are tempted to stay in bed for the rest of the day, enjoying having chicken soup brought to you in bed.  You
turn on the TV and catch up on the daytime programs you never watch because you are at work, or at school. But Peter’s mother-in-law didn’t lounge in bed for the rest of the day.  No.  The fever left her, and she began to serve them.

     She experienced the grace of Jesus’ healing, and she responded immediately, by getting up, and going to work, serving her guests. There’s a lesson here.  How do you thank God for healing? . . .   Get to work.  How do you thank God for good health?  By working.  And I believe this lesson applies, from childhood to the grave.  God gives us health and strength to work. We might retire from a career, or a job.  But we should never retire from work.  We have quite a few retirees here at Hope.  They will never retire from working.  When we had our flood, here in the church, from a broken water pipe, here they were, moving furniture, mopping, digging.  They had worked hard when they had to work for a paycheck.  They’ll keep on working, wherever they are needed, as long as God gives them strength.
   
     I had quite a few shut-ins to visit in Salinas.  We had two women, for a long time, in the memory –care wing of a retirement home. I often saw the same older man, leading the singing with his guitar.  Sometimes there weren’t many singing along.  But still his voice and his guitar provided a joyful atmosphere of song.  He’s worked hard as a volunteer.

     Back to Jesus in Capernaum.  At sundown, that is, as soon as the Sabbath was over, and people were free to travel, the crowds of sick people came.  The whole city was gathered around the door.  Everyone wanted to see Jesus.  And Jesus didn’t turn anyone away.  He cured many who were sick, and cast out many demons.

     Then Mark takes us to the next day.  We read, “In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” Jesus had been up late, healing people.  Surely he needed sleep.  But even more than sleep, He needed time alone, with His Father, praying, recharging his spiritual batteries.  Now, of course, you can pray anytime.  Jesus prayed late one night, in the garden of gethsemane.  He needed to pray, because he knew that soon Judus would be arriving with the security forces, to take him to the judgment hall, and that within twenty-four hours, he would be hanging on a cross.
     It’s time to pray, not matter what time it is, when you are facing a crisis, . . . like a final exam, an appearance court, surgery, a job interview, a performance review.  But many of my heroes prayed first thing in the morning, every morning, as Jesus did.  Martin Luther prayed early in the morning.  He said that the busier his day was going to be, the more he needed to pray, before his work day began. Pastor Dick Borrud ran the youth leadership training camps, that I took our youth from Salinas to, in the Black Hills of South Dakota.       Dick Borrud was up, while it was still dark, every morning, to pray, before he would help prepare breakfast for the whole camp.  He was a giant of a man in Youth Ministry. 

     In my life I have found that if I really have a priority to get something done, I better do it first thing in the morning.  When I decided I wanted to run a marathon, I could never get enough training in, until I started getting up earlier in the morning, and running, while it was still dark.  Then I was able to reach my training goal and run a marathon.  And for many years, my main prayer time has been in the morning, before I come to the church.

     So Jesus was out in a deserted place, praying, when his disciples got up and discovered he was gone.  They went searching for him, and finally found him, and said, “Jesus!  Everyone is searching for you.”  Let’s hang with that for awhile.  Jesus!  Everyone is searching for you. I believe that all people everywhere are searching for Jesus.  They may not know His name.  They may not realize what it is that they are searching for.  But down deep, everyone needs Jesus.  Everyone needs what Jesus can bring into their life.

     Pascal, the French philosopher, said that every person has a “God-shaped vacuum in his or her soul, that only God can fill.”  We try to fill that space in our soul with other things.  But nothing can really satisfy.  A country song says, “Looking for love in all the wrong places.”  There’s a close correlation between looking for love, and looking for God.  Love is really the main thing that Jesus brings into our life, when we find Him.  Or let me put it this way. Love is the main thing Jesus brings into our life, when we quit running, and let Him find us. We try to fill the God-shaped vacuum with ineffective substitutes, like  power, wealth, sex, drugs.  On this Super-bowl Sunday, some are probably trying to fill the God-shaped vacuum in their heart with football. But, of course, football can’t fill that vacuum, even if your team wins.

     Last Sunday, Josh McCoid shared how he had to guard against being addicted to the fantasy world of electronic games. Thank God that Josh knows that Jesus is the only one who can really satisfy that place in his soul that is God-shaped.  Thank God that Josh knows that nothing on a DVD or on the internet, can satisfy the deepest longings of his soul.  ST. Augustine put it beautifully, when he said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”  All people, everywhere, need what only Christ can offer them. For one thing.  Christ shows us how to look at God.  Christ shows us what God is really like.  The God Jesus shows us is a God who loves first, and then asks for love in return.  Jesus healed a lot of sick folk.  He didn’t do it to gain popularity or to gain disciples.  He healed them because He and His father loved them, and wanted the best for them.

     Jesus loved first, and asked questions later.  Remember the woman caught in adultery, who was about to receive capital punishment for it, by stoning? Jesus stopped the stones by inviting the person without sin to throw the first stone.  But before he stopped the stoning, he loved her.  And because he loved her, he stopped the stoning.  And then he asked her the question, “Where are your accusers?”  It was a question that held her accountable.  She had accusers.  And they were right in their accusations.  She was a sinner. She needed to take responsibility for her sin. And Jesus told her, “Go and sin no more.”  He loved her first.  Then he invited her to repent.  And then he sent her on her way to begin a new life.  Jesus shows us a new way to look at God, as God who loves us first.  And then confronts us with our sin, and then sends us on our way rejoicing, to live a new life, with God filling the God shaped vacuum.  Jesus also shows us that God is with us both in the good times and in the suffering.

     Pastor Ed Markquart of Seattle tells of attending a banquet and hearing a talk by a former NFL coach, Sam Ratigliano.   Markquart expected to hear one of those “Jocks for Jesus” speeches in which he would tell how Jesus helped him to win so many victories.  Instead Sam Ratigliano told how he and his wife were driving one evening, with their two-year-old daughter in the back seat.  Suddenly there was an accident.  The car rolled over.  The child was thrown out and was pinned beneath the car.  Markquart, with his cynical attitude expected the NFL coach to say something like, “I found enormous strength in myself, picked up the back bumper of the car, just enough for my wife to get her safely out.  Then an ambulance appeared miraculously.  She was taken to a hospital, we prayed for months, and she finally was healed.” That’s what Markquart expected him to say. But instead Ratigliana simply said:  “She was dead.”  Then he went on to tell how he and his wife grieved so deeply, for so long, over the death of their little girl.  It was an awful time for them, the most difficult time in their marriage.  Time went on, and they got pregnant again, finally, an answer to prayer, and that baby was about to be delivered. . .and it was stillborn.  And once again he and his wife were plunged into deep grief.  As time went on, Ratigliano started to negotiate with God, “God, if you bless us with another child, we will live our lives to you and dedicate the child to you.”  And a quiet voice spoke back to Sam’s inner spirit:  “No deals, Sam.  No deals.  No manipulations.  I rule over you in all times of your life.”  And Sam Ratigliano went on to say, and I quote,  “God has called me to be his servant in my turf, the National Football League.  He rules over all aspects of my life, when winning or losing, in triumphs and tragedies.  How about you?  Where is your turf?  Does God rule you there in your turf, in your situation? Not just when you’re winning, but when you are losing.  Not just during triumphs but during the tragedies of your  life?  Does God rule you then?”  Unquote

     Christ shows us that God is still with us in the times we lose and in the times of tragedy.  If Jesus had to endure the suffering of the cross, how can we expect that our life should be immune from suffering?   We can love and serve God in good times and in bad.  And we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt, that God’s first and last word to us, is that God loves us.  And finally, Christ calls us to a life of radical, sacrificial, love toward our neighbor.

     9-year old Mark, and his third-grade classmates were given a writing assignment.  The teacher told the story of the ant and the grasshopper.  The ant toiled all summer and stored up plenty of food for the winter.  The grasshopper played all summer and did no work.  Then winter came.  The grasshopper began to starve.  So he begins to beg, “Please Mr. Ant, you have much food.  Please let me eat too.” Then the teacher told the students to write an ending to the story.  Most students said that the ant share his food, and both the ant and the grasshopper lived.  A few students wrote, “No, Mr. Grasshopper.  You should have worked in the summer. I have just enough food for myself.  So the ant lived and the grasshopper died.  But Mark ended the story in a different way than any other child.  He wrote:  “So the ant gave all of his food to the grasshopper.  The grasshopper lived through the winter.  But the ant died.  And below his story, he had drawn a picture of three crosses.

     Mark had the Christian experience in a nutshell.  Christ died for us.  We live for him and for one another.  That’s the life that everybody is looking for, but not everybody finds.  That’s the life Jesus offers.  No wonder, when the disciples found Jesus, they said, “Everybody is searching for you.”

     Let us pray:  Lord Jesus.  Thank you for pouring out your love for us on the cross.  Help us to love our neighbor with that same sacrificial love. 
 
     

     Amen
Pastor Brown

 

 

 

    

Jan 29, 2012...sermon given by Josh McCoid (age 17)

 

Jan 22, 2012
Mark 1:14-20

 

“Something to Live For”

 

The story of Jesus calling his first four disciples,is a powerful story.  Jesus came walking along the seashore.  He called to Simon Peter and Andrew, and he called to James and John, . . .  “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” . .   And did they say “We’ll think about it?”  Did they say, “Check back with us tomorrow?”. . .   No!  Immediately, they left their nets and their boats, and followed Jesus.

 

     They were fishermen.  They cast their nets in the Sea of Galilee and caught fish. It was a good occupation, an honest living. . . .   But Jesus came and gave them a better offer.  Jesus called them to something better than just being fishermen.  Jesus offered them something really worth living for.  Jesus offered them new life.  . . . And they left their nets and followed Him.

 

     Do you catch the excitement of it?  Four fishermen, whose lives were O K, found in Jesus, something so much better, that they dropped their nets and followed him, to have it. Now a couple important points here:  First, this wasn’t necessarily the first time these fishermen met Jesus.  They probably had already heard him speak, and maybe even had witnessed him do some miraculous healings.  They probably were already primed and ready to believe in Him.  I doubt that they would have followed a total stranger who came and called them to follow him.  But nonetheless, there was a suddenness to their leaving their nets, and the other fishermen in the boat, and following Jesus.  And secondly, they didn’t necessarily give up fishing completely.  They probably came back to their fishing once in a while.  Three years later, after Jesus was crucified, Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

 
     Jesus calls some to go into full-time ministry.  But most of you, Jesus calls to follow Him, while you still work in another trade or profession.  Peter, Andrew, James, and John, could follow Jesus, fishing for people, and at the same time, make a living.  And so can you.  But fishing for people is the most exciting fishing there is.  And Jesus is calling every single one of us to fish for people.

 

      There are three steps in finding a life that is really worth living.  The first step is to find Christ as your Savior, Lord, and Friend.  The second step is to find the fellowship of others who have found Jesus as their Savior, Lord, and Friend, and live among them and worship with them and find friendship and fellowship with them.  And the third step is to go out and share Jesus with others, and invite them to meet Jesus and become a part of the family of God. The third step is fishing for people who don’t know Jesus yet.

 

     If there are any of you in the congregation this morning, who are thinking “I believe in Jesus, but I’m not terribly excited about it,” maybe you aren’t excited, because you stopped after the first step. The excitement comes when you move on, after the first step, when you move on after joining a church, when you move on after being confirmed, when you become an active member of the church, and an active member of at least one small group in the church.  You get involved in a circle, or a Bible study, or a choir, or a ministry team, and you grow in faith because you are intentionally focusing on being a part of the family of God.  When you find some Christian fellowship, the excitement grows.  And then you move on to the most exciting part of the Christian life.  You move on to reaching out in love to those who don’t know Jesus. Reaching out in love to others is the most exciting thing you can do in life.  Reaching out to others is what makes life worth living.  And that’s what fishing for people is.  It’s reaching out to others in love, and telling them about the love of Jesus.

 

     We have an excerpt from the story of Jonah as our first lesson this morning.  Jonah’s story is in sharp contrast to the story of the calling of the disciples.  The disciples dropped everything and followed Jesus, and then brought other people to Jesus.  We saw Phillip, in last Sunday’s Gospel, go and get his friend, Nathaniel, and bring him to Jesus.  But when God called Jonah, to go and tell the people of Nineveh to turn to God, Jonah went the opposite direction. Jonah didn’t want to fish for Ninevites, because he considered the Ninevites to be his enemies.  Jonah didn’t want God to love the Ninevites.  Jonah wanted God to destroy them.  Jonah was angry at God for loving the Ninevites. But my friends, this is why knowing Jesus, and sharing Him with others, is what makes life worth living.  We have the greatest news in the world to share with people.  We have the Gospel, the good news that God loves everybody and wants everybody to be saved. 

 

     There is a lot of hype right now for the NFL football playoffs.  Some of us are Forty-niner fans.  Right now Forty-niner fans are a parable of what a Christian should be.  First of all, we are excited about our team, really excited about their team.  I wish that every Christian could be as excited about Jesus, as Forty-niner fans are about their team.  And secondly, forty-niner fans want to get together with other Forty-niner fans, and watch the games together, and celebrate victories together. Wouldn’t it be great, if all Christians would leave their homes every Sunday morning, and get together with other Jesus fans and celebrate the Easter victory of Christ, with the enthusiasm of a Forty-niner fan.  We Christians are so casual about our church attendance. Sometimes we’ll miss church just because we feel like sleeping in.  But true Forty-niner fans will never miss a game.  No matter how much the tickets cost, they’ll pay it.  And if they can’t get tickets for the game, they’ll watch it on T.V. come hell or high water.

  
     And we can learn from Forty-niner fans also, how to reach out and draw others in. They want the world to know that their team is the greatest.  They wave their banners and their red towels.  They wear their Forty-niner jerseys and jackets.  The have Forty-niner stickers on the back windows of their cars and trucks.  We Christians are often too shy about our faith, to have a Jesus sticker on our back window, or to wear a cross on our lapel or around our neck.  We can learn something about evangelism from Forty-niner fans.  But the Forty-niners, sooner or later, will let their fans down.  They won in dramatic fashion last Saturday. They may win today.  But they won’t always win.  They will eventually let their fans down.

 

     But the Good Shepherd, who holds the little lamb in his arms, will never drop that little lamb.  Jesus has already won the Ultimate Super Bowl, when He defeated death, and stood before the Disciples on that first Easter, and raised his arms in love and victory.  Knowing Jesus and bringing others to Him is greater than winning any football game. Knowing Jesus and making Him known is what makes life worth living.  Money, and the things money can buy, surely don’t make life worth living.  Look at all the things we have that we didn’t have forty, or fifty years ago.  We have cable and satellite T.V.  We have cell phones, computers, video games, and entertainment centers with flat-screen, Hi Definition T.Vs. and Surround Sound.  We have all these things. We have the money to buy them and money to pay all the monthly charges to keep them working.  But instead of being happier, our divorce rate is up, depression rates are soaring, our violent crime rate is much higher than it was forty years ago.  Drug use was almost nonexistent in the fifties, when all youth had for entertainment was radio, record players, sandlot baseball and pickup football games.  But now with a myriad of entertainment possibilities, youth are bored and looking to drugs for satisfaction.

 

     Could there be a correlation between the decline in church attendance, and the rise in unhappiness, in the last fifty years?  I’m convinced there is.  And that’s why I am so passionate about doing what Peter and Andrew James and John did, following Christ to fish for people.  People need the Lord.  And there is nothing more exciting, nothing more satisfying, than sharing the Lord with people and seeing them find new life in Him.

 

     At fifty-two, Bruce Kennedy was the chief executive officer of Alaska Airlines.  In twelve years, he had led the company from nearly bankrupt, to ten-fold growth in revenues.  Then at the peak of his success, he made the shocking decision to step down from his lofty position and take a job as CEO of the Redlands, California based, Mission Aviation Fellowship, an organization that flies missionaries to remote locations.  Kennedy’s new position has no salary.  He is a volunteer. He admits it was a scary decision, but it was a decision he believed God called him to make.  To quote him, “If I say that I trust God and put my life in his hands . . . .then I shouldn’t have any reservations about proving it with my life.”  We might think that if we could be the CEO of a major corporation—be respected by our peers, admired by our stockholders—then that would be enough.  But it’s not enough.  There is something better.  To lay our life at the foot of the cross, and say to God, “Use my life, Lord, to reach out to others with your Love.  Use my life Lord, to bring people to you.  Living for anything else is just a humdrum existence.  Reaching out to others to bring them to Jesus, is the most exciting thing you can do.

 

Fishing for people is something worth living for.     

 

     Amen
Pastor Brown

 

 

 

	Should we be quiet before our worship services?
	Why do we “pass the peace” in our congregation?
	What is Stephen Ministry?
	What do we make of all of these new/lost Biblical texts?
	Why do we celebrate Transfiguration after Epiphany instead of after Easter?  That would seem to be more chronological!
	What does separation of church and state really mean?
	How do transferred members join the Church?
	How many Bishops are in the ELCA?
	What is the story behind the clerical collar?
	Why do we have so many translations of the Bible instead of one version of Scripture?
	What ministries does our church support, both as a congregation and as individual members?
	Is it OK to ask questions about the service, liturgy, religion/church in general?  Who do we ask?
	Why don’t Lutheran’s practice private confession? From a psychological point of view, it would help a person to ‘let it out.’

 

Should we be quiet before our worship services?

 

We need to remember several things when we are involved in public worship. The first and most important is that we are in the presence of the Divine Trinity. Jesus was right, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” The quote from Matthew points to another thing that we need to remember—we are worshiping with fellow disciples. Finally we need to be aware that there will be strangers who gather with us and we need to be good hosts. We need times to connect with the Lord on a personal basis but we also need times to connect with those around us in the Lord’s presence. We need times of silence and times of music. We need times of listening and of conversations.

 

Both of our services look to find a good balance between these important parts of worship. They do however put the emphasis in different places. Our traditional, liturgical service is more formal. There are more and also longer times of silence within the service.  The beginning of the service is a time for quiet reflection and to enjoy the prelude music. In the service itself there is time to greet one another during the “passing of the peace.”

 

The contemporary service is more informal.  There are fewer and shorter times of silence within the service. The time before the service is a chance to greet your neighbor and to rejoice in the presence of the Lord. The time before the service is not a gabfest but rather a time of fellowship, a time to connect to other believers and to remind one another of our partnership in Christ. In the service itself there are times for silence during the prayer and confession of sin.

 

Finally, in both services, it is a time to serve our Lord and savior by being a good host to the strangers in our midst. Reach out to them let them know through smiles, body language and words that you are happy to see them.

 

Why do we “pass the peace” in our congregation?

 

Passing the peace is an important part of our worship. It reminds us that worship is not a private event but a communal event. It also reminds us that our faith has two important parts—our relationship with the triune God who we worship, and our relationship with fellow disciples with whom we worship. Both of these relationships are important parts of our faith. As it says in the first letter of John, “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20). The passing of the peace is one way we live out that truth.

Hope is great at passing of peace. It is not just a formal handshake with the few people that sit around you; rather, when Hope passes the peace it is a great free-for-all that truly expresses the joy and enthusiasm of this congregation. This is true at both services. As your pastor it’s great to watch and experience.

At the same time I want to encourage us as a community to be sensitive to those people who might be overwhelmed by a large crowd. If you see someone sitting or standing off to the side please greet them, but neither try to get them more involved nor become so caught up in the moment that they are completely ignored. In other words, we as a community should strive to be welcoming but not overwhelming.


What is Stephen Ministry?

 I took this answer off the Stephen Ministry website:   “The Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing lay people to provide one-to-one Christian care to hurting people in and around your congregation.”

In Stephen Ministry congregations, lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers) provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, and others facing a crisis or life challenge. Stephen Ministry helps pastors and congregations provide quality caring ministry for as long as people need. Our Stephen Ministry will be starting another class this fall. If you are interested in becoming a Stephen Minister, or would like to talk to one, contact Diane Lund or me.

 

What do we make of all of these new/lost Biblical texts?
 

In the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve had a great deal of publicity given to many extra-biblical texts. Probably the three most well-known texts are The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary and The Gospel of Judas. These texts often claim to give new insights into the life of Jesus. In addition, modern authors have used some of these ancient ‘gospels’ to write amazingly creative – but not necessarily historically accurate – biographies of Jesus.
 

How are we to respond to these ancient texts? In order to respond, we must realize what these texts are. First, all of these ancient texts were written long after Paul’s letters, between 48 and 95 A.D., and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, written between 65 and 95 A.D. In contrast, every one of these ‘lost gospels’ was written in the second century, between 120 A.D. and 180 A.D. That’s 90 to 150 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. Some scholars make the claim that some of the material in The Gospel of Thomas comes from the first century; however, the portion that they are talking about echoes portions of Luke and Matthew. The simplest, and perhaps the most likely, explanation is that Thomas copied Luke or Matthew or the same source that Luke and Matthew copied.
 

Secondly, the pictures that these stories paint of Jesus not only contradict the traditional gospel, but they also contradict each other. In other words, these gospels do not paint a cohesive alternative view of Jesus of the Bible. 
 

Finally, in the organic process that went into the formation of the canon, none of the texts that have recently been in the news for the past several years were included in any of the lists that were composed in the second and third centuries of what books should be considered part of the New Testament canon. For example, Revelation, 2nd Peter, and Jude were not included on many of the lists.  If you want to read a book that was on several of the lists but ultimately did not make it into the canon, you can read either the Shepherd of Hermes, or The Didache. You can find both on the Internet.
 

So what are we to make of these texts? They are interesting ancient documents that help us to understand more about the diversity of the church in the second century than about Jesus and the early spread of Christianity.

 

Why do we celebrate Transfiguration after Epiphany instead of after Easter? That would seem to be more chronological!

 

You are right in the sense that the story of Jesus' transfiguration prefigures the resurrection.  Yet all three Gospel writers place this story right in the middle of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  While on the mountain Jesus appears to Peter, James and John as the Cosmic Christ; after the experience he again becomes Jesus of Galilee.  You might be tempted to see this story as the original mountain top experience.  There are, however, two other such experiences in the Hebrew Scriptures: The making of the Covenant with Moses and the renewal of the Covenant with Elijah.

 

The reason this story is read at the end of the season of Epiphany is that Epiphany is all about Jesus revealing who he truly is to humanity.  This text certainly fits that Criteria.  Other text associated with Epiphany include:  The worship of the Wise men, Jesus’ baptism, and the calling of the first disciples.  The season after Epiphany is, in many ways, a bridge between two Holy Days.  Notice we start with a story associated with Christmas, the coming of the Wiseman, and end with a story that prefigures Easter, the transfiguration.   Good question!

 

 

 What does separation of church and state really mean?

 

You’re a close observer of the political process.  Some of the major political candidates have interesting religious backgrounds.  Mitt Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. He is not, however, the first Mormon to run for the presidency.  His dad ran for president in the 60’s.  Barak Obama is a Christian but was raised by a Muslim stepfather.  He went both to an Islamic school and Catholic school when he was a child. It stands to reason that there has been and will be a great deal of discussion about religion and politics.  That discussion is a good thing. Religion and faith are not merely private matters but belong in the public square.

 

What about the separation of Church and State?  First that phrase appears nowhere in the United States Constitution.  The phrase comes from a Supreme Court decision in which the writer for the majority used a phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson in his correspondence.   What does the first amendment of the constitution actually say?

 

Here it is, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”  

 

The trick is to find the balance between ‘establishment of religion’ and ‘the free exercise thereof.’  While an established religion is prohibited, religion, and the morals that often spring from faith, are an important part of our public debate and can not be silenced politically simply because they grow out of a religious sensibility whether, Christian, Jewish or Islamic.  Some say that Freedom of Religion means freedom from religion.  If they simply mean force conversions or mandatory attendance at Church they are right.  Yet many people have interpreted freedom of religion to mean freedom from any public display, discussion or debate of religion.  A cursory reading of the First Amendment reveals that idea as simply silly!

How do transferred members join the Church?

By transferring their membership: but we also requested that they are a part of 'Hope 1' because it is the best introduction to Hope Lutheran Church.  We not only cover the basics of the faith and our partnerships with the ELCA and the larger church but also the vision and mission of our local congregation.

How many Bishops are in the ELCA?

We have 65 synods and a Bishop in every one of them.  Add our Presiding Bishop Hanson and that makes 66 Bishops total in the ELCA.

 

What is the story behind the clerical collar?

 

It is sometimes called the Roman collar which is surprising since the current clerical collar was popularized not by Roman Catholic Priests but Anglican clergy of the early 19th century.  Later in that century Roman Catholic clergy borrowed the idea from the Anglicans and required their priests to wear the clerical collar.  However, clergy for many centuries have worn special clothing. 

 

Wayne Weissenbuhler wrote an excellent article abut clerical clothing. Here is a portion of his article: “From antiquity, certain styles and forms of clothing have identified people according to rank and station in life as well as vocation.  It wasn't until around the sixth century that clergy wore special dress outside the church building, and it has developed and changed through the centuries in plentiful variety. Black has been the dress color of clerics since the 17th century.

 

The Council of Baltimore in 1884 required Roman Catholic clergy to wear the white Roman collar outside the house. These collars, commonly worn by Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran pastors, are a stylized version of the neck cloth worn by gentlemen into the 19th century.  Pastors wear the clerical collar for a variety of reasons. It makes it easier to gain access to places where ministry needs to be done without extraneous questions. It also helps both the wearer and those ministered to, to realize that what is being done and said is more than personal. The pastor is acting out of the office of the ministry conferred by the church and passed down through the ages.”

Why do we have so many translations of the Bible instead of one version of Scripture?

 

This is an excellent question.  It is a question that encompasses theology, biblical studies and even modern day economics.  So I am going to take at least two newsletters and maybe even three to answer this question totally and completely.

 

First, let's tackle the theology.  One of the basic truths of Christianity is the doctrine of the incarnation.  It asserts that when God chose to make his essence known he did it by becoming human.   The whole Bible announces the incarnation but the most succinct statement of this truth is probably John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  God’s living Word was made real to humanity by becoming one of us by revealing himself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  God was willing to bridge all the barriers that would keep humanity from discovering his love.  These barriers of course include language and culture. This basic tenet of God coming to humanity was embedded in the mission of the Church at Pentecost.  Do you remember what happened when the Holy Spirit lit the disciples up with power?  They began to share the story of Jesus in the languages of all the people present.  Again God was reaching across the culture barriers.

 

Consequently the Church, from its inception on that day of Pentecost, has always wanted to communicate the love of God in Christ Jesus through the language of the people that it is trying to reach.  So when the New Testament was first written it was not written in Hebrew or Aramaic, the language that Jesus and the first disciples spoke, but common Greek, the most used language within the Eastern half of the Roman Empire where much of the New Testament was first written.  As the Latin west grew father apart from the east the scriptures were translated into Latin.  Latin remained the primary language of the literate class in Europe for over a thousand years. 

 

In the sixteenth century Luther desired that, not only the nobility, but also the peasantry should be able to read the Bible and discover the Gospel within its pages. This motivated him to translate the Scriptures into German.  It was no easy task.  He literally had to invent words to capture certain biblical concepts.  No wonder he is thought of as not only the founder of the Reformation but also as the father of modern German.

 

This desire continues today.  One of the first things that are done once a missionary has made contact with a new ethnic group is to learn their language.  There are two primary reasons for this. The first is obvious, so they can communicate with them.  The second is considered equally important, so that the Bible can be translated into their native tongue.   The Bible has been translated into hundreds of different languages.

 

This same desire is the reason that the Bible is translated into a style of English that communicates more effectively to a contemporary audience.  So we have a plethora of present day translations: ‘Today’s English Version,’ using only very common English language words; ‘The New Revised Standard Version,’ an update of an update of the King James Version; ‘The New International Version,’ a scholarly effort to produce a readable text based on the best evangelical scholarship.  All of these efforts have at their heart the desire to reach across the barriers of culture and language to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, ‘The Word made flesh.’

What ministries does our church support, both as a congregation and as individual members?

 

There is a list of ministries that we financially support in our budget.  They are ELCA Hunger Appeal, Lutheran World Relief, Women's Resource Center, Loaves and Fishes, Iglesia Lutherana Santa Cruz, Crossways International, Habitat for Humanity and ECHO.

This is only a partial list, however, because it doesn't include any of the ministries that our Congregation does for the community.  For example:  our parking lot is used every weekday by San Gabriel School.  On a monthly basis we pick up a two-mile section of Highway 101.  Our prayer quilts have literally gone all over the World, not just to congregation members.

 

Added to this list are ministries that individual members support.  The one that comes immediately to mind is compassion International.  We had a fantastically successful Compassion Sunday wherein all the children that were sent to Hope found sponsors.  Other ministries are:  Youth Encounter, Covenant Players, Campus Center at Cal Poly, North County Christian Schools, and I'm sure many others.

 

Do you have a passion for a particular ministry?  Let us know, we want to support your passion to serve.

 

 

Is it OK to ask questions about the service, liturgy, religion/church in general?  Who do we ask?

 

Absolutely, questions are encouraged!  You can ask the Pastor directly, send an email to the Webservant, or put it in the Hope's Voice Box.  Questions/answers of a general nature will be posted on this page.

 

Why don’t Lutheran’s practice private confession? From a psychological point of view, it would help a person to ‘let it out.’

 

Lutheran's have never outlawed private confession only the idea of penance and the need to remember and confess every single sin (an impossibility in my view.) Private confession is fine in fact helpful as long as the pastor who is hearing the confession speaks the gospel, the unconditional grace of God in the Cross of Christ, to the person who is confessing.  Martin Luther encouraged using the confessional with this gospel center understanding. Down through the centuries Lutherans have met their pastors to confess their sins and receive absolution. Sometimes this has been done in a very formal way. For example, some Lutheran churches used to require that a member meet with their Pastor before receiving communion. At other times, private confession has been done in a very informal way, much like today, through pastoral counseling and private confession. Personally, sitting down with a brother or sister in Christ and discussing with them their personal struggles and hurts and having a chance to share the gospel in a very personal way is one of the greatest joys of my ministry.