Almighty God is still in control

 Almighty God is still in control.

Almighty God is wiser and more powerful than death, war, suffering, inflation (fill in the blank)

We are still children of God.

We are still loved by the Father.

We are redeemed by the blood of the resurrected Son.

We are being made holy by the Spirit.

We will love one another.

We will stand on the truth of Holy Word alone.

We will confidently trust that the Lord will hold us up and lead us through any persecution the church might face in the future (just as He always has).

We will continue to pray, "Come, Lord Jesus."

"Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."  Proverbs 3:5

God's peace and blessings be yours in abundance this week!

He is Risen Indeed!

The grave could not hold Jesus.  And it will not hold the ones who have faith in Jesus either.  He promises, "Because I live, you also will live."  (John 14:19)  The grave is where we were supposed to get what our sins deserve.  But instead, the grave is where the believer gets what our sins deserve - heaven, forever.  Instead of closing our eyes in death and opening them again to see even greater death, we close our eyes in death and open them to see Jesus.  Leave it to our Greatest Friend to take the devil's greatest weapon and use it as the believer's greatest blessing.

From "WELS.Net" devotional, April 5.

A Tradition Like No Other

If I have my facts straight, the legendary golfer, Bobby Jones, once said years ago of the new phenom, Jack Nicholas, "He plays a game of which I am not acquainted."

Bobby Jones might have said the same thing about my golf game.

However, unlike Nicholas, it wouldn't have been a compliment.

Anyway, the next two weeks of professional golf are the most enjoyable ones for me.  Later this week The Masters gets underway in Augusta, Georgia.  Next week, The Heritage tourney will be played at the Harbor Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, SC.

My wife and I lived in Hilton Head for almost four years.  I quickly learned that The Heritage was a very big deal.

I lost track of the number of folks from the church I served who came up to me and proudly said, "Pastor, I won't be in church this Sunday.  I'm (fill in the blank) at The Heritage."

It took lots of volunteers to make a golf tournament successful.  People from our church carried scoring signs, picked up pro golfers at the airport, worked concession stands, and helped run the parking lots.

My wife and I lived on a golf course so I had plenty of opportunities to get out and hit the ball around.  I remember a short time where I actually had improved my game to the point where I felt like I knew what I was doing every time I stood over the ball.

Then I went on vacation and didn't take my clubs.  When I finally got back to the course, the magic was gone.  It has never returned.

I've been pretty frustrated with my game I haven't gone out very much to play.  But I know how hard the game of golf really is.  So I like watching it (even if my wife says that watching a bag of popcorn cook in the microwave is more exciting).

Whatever...at my house on Sunday, it will be as quiet as it is when a golfer is lining up a putt.  Hey, it's The Masters!

To Whom Can You Offer Some Fruit Today?

In the late 1980's when our family moved from the Valley of the Sun to the Midwest, we didn't realize just how much we would miss fresh citrus.  However, my wife's Aunt Jean remedied the problem, at least a little bit, each Christmas.

Arriving at our doorstep would be a full box of fresh Arizona oranges.  For days afterward the only sound you would hear around our house was "Mmmmmm goooooood!"  The oranges were a delicious treasure.  Aunt Jean's gift was a blessing beyond compare.

When you arrive at the doorstep of a sick friend to provide a meal and a prayer...when you stand at the doorstep of a troubled friend to offer compassion and help...when you wait on the doorstep of a mourning friend to give comfort and love, you are demonstrating the fruit of Christian faith that the Holy Spirit produces in us and through us.  God uses you to be a blessing beyond compare to others.  And your faith in the Lord is nurtured as you trust more and more in your Savior God for forgiveness of sins, peace of heart and the gift of salvation.

Remember Galatians 5:22-23? But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  To whom can you offer some fruit today?

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown.

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen.

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice.

Christ is risen, and life reigns.

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave.

For Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages.  Amen.

John Chrysostom

From "Treasure of Daily Prayer," page 185

By Love

 By love He took our place and died;

by faith we take His place and live.

Our sins were imputed to Him;

  His righteousness is imputed to us through faith.

From the devotional book, "Daily Bread," page 81

Good Friday worship at 6 pm

Sunday Easter Celebration at 9 am

Join us at Christ the Redeemer in Phoenix and have a blessed weekend!.

So You Want To Be A Sports Talk Show Host?

 I've had the opportunity to listen to the big sports talk station in town this week and I've discovered a few simple steps for hosting a sports talk program.  It's really pretty simple so if you've ever listened to such programs and thought to yourself, "Hey! I could do this!" I urge you to put these three steps into practice and soon you'll be rubbing elbows with Dan Patrick and Bob Costas and, well, probably not.

First, learn to repeat every sentence you say at least three times.

Say something like, "The Suns did not show up to play tonight." Then say it again.  Say it one more time.  Apparently, those who listen to sports talk program aren't very swift so you've got to repeat your points over and over again until the listener gets what you're saying.

(Or maybe the host is not very swift and simply repeats stuff over and over again because they've got no real insight or anaylsis to offer.  Nah - that's couldn't be true, right?) 

Ah, but repetition in and of itself is not enough!

Second, as you repeat every sentence three times, crank up the volume!!

Let me try and demonstrate (you can't hear me so use your imagination, OK?)

"The Suns did not show up to play tonight.  The Suns Did Not Show Up To Play Tonight!  THE SUNS DID NOT SHOW UP TO PLAY TONIGHT!!!!!"

Cranking up the volume proves that you are a passionate sports talk show host and we sports fans are nothing if not passionate about our teams and their performance.

Third, remind your audience over and over again that you were at the game.

I guess this lets your listeners know that you weren't watching the game from the comfort of your living room where with all the good camera angles and instant replay, you can see the game much better than at a seat in the stadium.  You were there at the game! That must lend more creditability to what you say.

So, say something like, "You're right, I was at that game and the Suns did not show up to play.  No way did they play hard.  I was there and the Suns didn't show up.  I was there at that game and the Suns did not show up, no way! I WAS THERE AT THE GAME AND THE SUNS DID NOT SHOW UP!" (a good use of rules 2 and 3).

Now I know that there are only a few sports talk show hosting opportunities out there so maybe you can use these rules where you work.  If you're a pastor, use them in the pulpit: (The devil fooled Adam and Eve.  The Devil Fooled Adam And Eve! THE DEVIL FOOLED ADAM AND EVE!!!)
Or maybe you can apply the rules with your fellow employees: (I was there at the meeting and our benefits have been frozen.  They're frozen! I was there.  I heard it with my own two ears.  I WAS THERE AT THE MEETING!!!)

Of course, should you apply these three rules to your place of work, you might run the risk of having happen to you what I did to the sports talk station.

Tune it out.