I trust when dark my road

In God, my faithful God, I trust when dark my road
Great woes may over take me, Yet He will not forsake me
My troubles He can alter; His hand lets nothing falter

My sins fill me with care, Yet I will not despair
I build on Christ who loves me; From this rock nothing moves me
To Him I will surrender, To Him, my soul's defender

If death my portion be, It brings great gain to me
It speeds my life's endeavor, To live with Christ forever
He gives me joy in sorrow, Come death now or tomorrow

O Jesus Christ, my Lord, So meek in word and deed
You suffered death to save us, Because Your love would have us
Be heirs of heavenly gladness, When ends this life of sadness

"So be it," then I say, With all my heart each day
Dear Lord, we all adore You, We sing for joy before You

Guide us while here we wander, Until we praise You yonder 

If you don't have a home church, why not join us at Christ the Redeemer this Sunday.  Location is 43rd Avenue and Olive.  Worship at 9 am and Bible Class and Sunday School at 10:15 am.  Blessings!

Why a dog is man's best friend

Humorist Dave Berry provides the answer:

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, "You're right! I never would have thought of that!" 

Faith does not go on vacation

For faith does not rest and declare a holiday; it bursts into action, speaks and preaches of this promise and grace of God, so that other people may also come up and partake of it.

Martin Luther, "Luther's Works," Vol. 15, page 273 

Better late than never - the Friday Funny!

 From Mitch Albom, "Have a Little Faith."

The pastor of the little country church began his sermon with a stirring reminder: "Everyone in this church is going to die!" The minister looked around and he noticed a man in the front row with a huge smile on his face.  The minister asked, "Why are you so amused?"  The man answered, "I'm not from this parish.  I'm just visiting my sister for the weekend."

Page 231

When Christ is present in our lives

From my journal...

To the extend we are Christians, we stand above the law and sin.  Christ is the Lord of the law.  He is present and lock in our hearts, just as a precious stone is firmly mounted in a ring.  When the law accuses us and sin terrifies us, all we need do is look at Christ.  When we have taken hold of Him in faith, we have the victory over the law, sin and death...because Christ rules over all of these, we won't be harmed.

Martin Luther, "Faith Alone," July 14 devotional 

What Jesus might say to you today

To me (Jesus) said: "Stay close to Me,
 I am your rock and castle
Your ransom I Myself will be;
 For you I strive and wrestle.
For I am yours and you are Mine
 And where I am you may remain
The foe shall not divide us

From "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice"

Lutheran Service Book, #556, verse seven 

Top Ten Signs Your Church Is All About Money

Critics often say that "all the church is concerned about is money!"  Watch for these signs:

10) Trustees install pay toilets

9) Worshippers must purchase bulletins.  $1 for Advent and Lenten bulletins; $5 for Sunday bulletins "because they're larger."

8) God's grace is free - donuts are a dollar!

7) Pastor tells Stewardship Committee, "I want you to try every idea - good or bad - to raise money for the church.  Bad idea - committee member is arrested trying to hold up a convenience market.

6) In church narthex hang two portraits - Martin Luther and Dave Ramsey

5) Must purchase a personal seat license to have place to sit in sanctuary

4) Church potlucks have $20 cover charge

3) Pastor tells congregation, "If you're not giving generously, you need a check up from the neck up!"

2) Church council installs parking meters in parking lot

And the number one sign that your church IS all about money:

1) EVERY Sunday is Stewardship Sunday 

Our debt - paid in full!

This comes from a devotional book we found in my Mom's home while we were cleaning up after she fell asleep in Jesus.  The book is in my office and I believe was published in the early 20th century (although I don't remember the exact date).

Is there anything more precious and joyous than to know that debts which would have rendered us forever unhappy have been paid? In the payment of these awful debts consist the great glory of God's kingdom.

Jesus - Before and After

 (Jesus) appeared common and ordinary.  But ordinary He was not.  He lived before His incarnation, before heaven and earth, before plants, animals and mankind.  He is curator of all things, the Second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God.  Jesus is after Adam but Adam's maker, after David but David's Lord, after Mary but Mary's Savior, after John but John's predecessor.  He is before all things and will remain after all things pass away.

Gere Pool, "Portals of Prayer," Jan-March 2014, 2/11/14

Our Ark? The Lord's Church

 How like Noah and his family are we, kept safe by God within the confines of the ark, kept safe from the destruction without.  Our ark is His church, where we are sheltered from the wrath of God by the covering of the righteousness of Christ.

Frank Starr, "Light for the Way," Book 1, page 9

Home, Sweet, Home

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.  Don't know who said it but it's true.  We three (including Jake!) arrived home yesterday afternoon.  Today we've began the difficult part of unpacking, trying to remember where everything goes and remembering to pace ourselves so that our backs don't give out!

While on the road I had a chance to finish Will Weedon's great book, "Thank, Praise, Serve and Obey."  I made note of some insightful writing on the Lord's Supper:

(Re: Words of Institution): They ingeniously allow Jesus Himself to tell us what he gives in the Sacrament and why He gives it.  Page 52

He tells us it is His Body and it is the Body He gives us.  That would be the same body which was born of the Virgin Mary and was nailed to the cross!  He tells us it is His Blood, the Blood that stained the cross and spilled from wounds and wiped out the sins of the world.  Page 53.

I highly recommend this book for your edification.  You can order it from CPH.

Arizona's calling us home

Time for us to hit the road again.  We've enjoyed our summer in Michigan.  What's not to like? Relaxing on the beach...fun boating on the water...cheering grandkids on while watching football, soccer and golf...family dinners...relaxing on the deck...trying to beat my dear, sweet wife at ping-pong (rarely).

I also had the opportunity to preach on 11 occasions.  Proclaiming the Word of God and administering the sacraments (besides giving the Lord's supper I also had the chance to baptize a new born--got through it without weeping).  I connected so well with one church that they asked if I'd like to be their full-time pastor.  I assured them that the Lord had in mind who their next pastor would be and that He simply wanted them to trust that this vacancy would ultimately work out for their good.  I hope to join them next year as a worshipper.

I look forward to leading worship and preaching at Christ the Redeemer on October 18 and teaching on Thursday morning at Church of the Master, beginning November 5.  I'm going to do a series called "The 3:16's."  We'll start by exploring John 3:16 and then look at other 3:16's in Scripture and see how they relate to what might be the most popular verse in the Bible.

I'll check in about this time next week.  Until then the Lord bless and keep you in His tender loving care.

The woman received living water!

From Will Weedon's wonderful book, "Thank, Praise, Serve and Obey"

Re: John, chapter four:

The woman leaves her water jar when she runs away to tell the people in town about Jesus.  Get it?  She now has living water! She shouts in the middle of town for anyone to hear: "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.  Can this be the Christ?"

page 118

Lord, save us from false teachers and heresy

From the "Lutheran Book of Prayer"

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name.  Yes, Lord God, dear Father, hallowed be Your name, both in us and throughout the world.  Destroy and root out the abominations, idolatry and heresy of those who war against the Church: all false teachers and the divisive spirits who wrongly use Your name and in shameful ways take it in vain.  They horribly blaspheme and insistently boast that in Your name they teach Your Word, when in reality it is the devil's deceit and trickery in the guise of Your name by which they seduce many poor souls throughout the world, even killing and shedding much innocent blood, and in such persecution they believe that they render a divine service.

Dear Lord God, convert and restrain them, that together we may hallow and praise Your Name both with true and pure doctrine and with a good and holy life.  Restrain those who are unwilling to be converted so that they are forced to cease from misusing, defiling and dishonoring Your holy name and from misleading the poor people.  Amen.

(page 56)

Funny Tees!

My dear, sweet wife received something called "Catalog Favorites" in the mail a few years ago. It included a variety of different items but what caught our eye was the t-shirts.  Some of the sayings were laugh-out-loud funny. Here's a sample:

Nurses - We Can't Fix Stupid But We Can Sedate It!

Wait! I do not snore! I dream I'm a motorcycle!

Exercise? I Thought You Said EXTRA FRIES!

Sometimes When I Open My Mouth My Mother Comes Out...

Every Time I Think Things Can't Get Worse THERE'S AN ELECTION

NOVINOPHOBIA: The fear of running out of wine

Sometimes I laugh so hard tears run down my leg

Never Laugh At Your Wife's Choices - You Are One Of Them

I Just Did A Week's Worth Of Cardio After Walking Into A Spider Web

And my favorite...

You're Never Too Old For NAP TIME!

A good definition of mission

Mission is nothing more than the church in motion to dispense the gift of life and salvation that are in Christ Jesus.

Harold Senkbeil, "The Care of Souls," page 228

Have alb, will travel

Have alb, will travel.  Each summer we spend in Michigan I make myself available to do pulpit supply.  Last year I preached a couple of times for a pastor friend in Grand Rapids.  But this summer I was invited to preach 13 times with 10 of them at Trinity Lutheran in Paw Paw Michigan.

I don't know what the membership of the church is but they worship anywhere from 120 to 140 per Sunday.  That puts them in the top 25 percent of churches worshipping 100 or more people in the LCMS.  Also, while it is a congregation of mostly older believers there are a number of working parents with children to attend each Sunday.  The congregation also offers a school - preschool through 8th grade.

The church offers two services - 9 am is their contemporary worship and at 11 am is the traditional service.  Bible class and Sunday school are held in between the two services.  Also two deaf members attend the early service.  Since my former congregation had an active ministry to the deaf I was able to relate to this husband and wife,  They were a delight.  I brushed up on a few phrases like "peace be with you," Jesus loves you," and "This is the day the Lord has made."

The congregation is currently without a pastor.  Last year an intentional interim pastor came and helped the congregation sort through some challenges.  Since then they have issued and had returned two calls.  They hope to send a call to a third pastor next month and if it is returned they were work through the process of having a graduate assigned to them.

The people there were so warm and friendly to Sherri and I.  They were grateful for the ministry I was able to offer them and many urged us to join them again next summer, whether it be to provide pulpit supply (hopefully not) or to worship with them and a new pastor (yes!).

It's hard for a congregation to carry out ministry without a pastor leading the way.  Join me in praying that the Lord, at just the right time, will send just the right pastor to serve this congregation by proclaiming the Gospel, administrating the sacraments and offering pastoral care and comfort.

How did God show His love to me?

How did God show His love to me just this past week? In the form of family members who laughed with me when I was happy and cried with me when I was sad.  In the from of strength against temptation, healing for a hurting body, success in some venture, and guidance for some decision.  God's love flows down on me constantly.  Every day His love sends me valentines.

From "Together with Jesus," February 14

Even with another birthday, life goes on

We added another candle to my birthday cake yesterday - 74 of them!  My cake looked like it broke out into a prairie fire!   I have been greatly blessed by so many who remembered my birthday yesterday with a card or gift or phone call or even a Facebook post!  The church that I've been serving off and on this summer wished me a happy birthday with singing and cards. What a nice surprise! This outpouring of respect and affection reminded me of something I'd written down in my journal:  Have a blessed day!

I walk through life together with others, and those others are people whom Christ has placed in my life.  They are His gifts.

Bruce Hartung, "Holding Up the Prophet's Hand," page 154

Who Builds the Church?

Just so we are clear about this...

It is not we who build.  (Christ) builds the church.  No man builds the church but Christ alone.

We must confess - He builds.  We must proclaim - He builds.  We must pray to Him - He builds.

Church - stay a church! But church, confess, confess, confess! Christ alone is your Lord; from His grace alone can you live as you are.  Christ builds.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from "Treasury of Daily Prayer," page 841