Happy Church New Year!

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent and a new church year.  Advent is a word that means "coming."  During this time of the church year we prepare to celebrate Jesus' first coming as the babe of Bethlehem.  But we also use this time for repentance and reflection as we look for Jesus' second advent as the coming King of Glory who will judge the living and the dead.

Worship takes place on Saturday at 5 pm and on Sunday at 8 and 10:45 am.  Bible classes for all ages are held on Sunday at 9:20 am.  Our sermon theme is "An Advent Letter of Encouragement."  Some would not call Paul's first letter to the Corinthians a letter of encouragement.  Paul deals with a number of important issues and uses the power of the Law to convict the Corinthians and call them to repentance.  But there is encouragement in the letter too and we'll discover how Paul's words can encourage us as we wait for the coming Jesus.

Also, our mid-week Advent worship begins this Wednesday evening at 7 pm.  Prior to the service our Fellowship Team will organize a "Quick Supper" that begins at 5:30 pm.  Be come to come and worship with us this weekend and on Wednesday.

Thank you, P.D. James

Back in 2004, my dear, sweet wife and I had the joy of spending 10 days in London, England.  This happened because a member of my church in Hilton Head Island, SC had been a high ranking executive for Kodak and maintained a flat near Harrods.  He said, "If you want to use the flat, it's yours!"  So we went and had a wonderful time.  We loved traveling on the Underground every day to a different part of the city.  We did the stuff all the tourists do and we traveled off the beaten path as well.  It was a wonderful getaway for us.

Sometime later I was lamenting to a friend about how much I missed being in London.  His advice? "Read P.D. James.  It will be like taking a trip to London."  I took my friend's advice and I'm glad I did so.

James wrote detective fiction, as she called it.  But her books read like novels.  Most of her books featured detective Adam Dalgliesh, a formal, reserved, and clever solver of crimes.  James wrote 14 Dalgliesh stories and I eagerly devoured every one of them.  And my friend was right - reading James' book was like taking a trip to London, or England for that matter.

Early Thanksgiving morning, P.D. James died peacefully at her home in Oxford, England.  She was 94 years old.  I never met her but I found a signed copy of one of her books as I searched the shelves at our local Savers store. I, along with scores of readers, will miss her very much. Thanks, P.D. James - you were a wonderful traveling companion!

A blessed thanksgiving to you!

Open for me the gates of righteousness;
  I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
  through which the righteous may enter.
I will give You thanks, for You answered me;
  You have become my salvation.
You are my God, and I will give You thanks;
  You are my God, and I will exalt You.

From Psalm 118

Thankful for ...Hostess Cup Cakes

I first learned to barter in the 6th grade.  Myself and four or five other guys would all gather around Larry Jones' desk.

Every day Larry's mother would include a pack of Hostess Cup Cakes in his lunch.  We thought that Larry had the greatest mom in the world.

Interestingly, Larry didn't much care for chocolate.  We knew this.  So when Larry pulled the Cup Cakes from his lunch bag, the frenzy would begin.  After a while I think Larry would just say, "OK, what have you got?"

Unlike Larry, I loved chocolate.  Loved, loved, loved chocolate.  I could eat those Cup Cakes every day.

I quickly realized that my chances for success were dependent on what my mom packed in my lunch.  So I had a challenge - I needed to get my mom to pack really good stuff every day without her knowing that I was trading away part of my lunch to get one more heavenly bite of those Cup Cakes.

Over time I learned that Larry had some weak spots.  He liked Red Delicious Apples.  He really liked Fritos.  And, for some reason, he liked Oreos.  That one puzzled me - Oreos were chocolate which Larry said he didn't like.  Then I figured it out.  Larry would open all four corners of his milk container and then he would dunk the cookies.  Isn't that how most of us eat Oreos?

My mom was good about getting the Oreos and the Fritos because my dad liked them too.  Of course, that posed another problem.  Going to the pantry and finding the the chips and cookies gone because dad had devoured them.  When something terrible like that happened, I knew that someone else was going to be enjoying my Cup Cakes.

I'm waxing nostalgic today because last night I did a bit of shopping before I went home.  As I stood at the check out counter, I saw them.  I was less that a foot a way from them - Hostess Cup Cakes! It was just a couple of years ago that Hostess shut down.  About a year later Cup Cakes were back on the shelves.  And this morning, while having coffee I enjoyed bite after bite of my Cup Cakes.  I tried to eat them slowly so that I could savor every single bite.

Just like the good old days.

Giving Tuesday

Our Synodical President, Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison has designated today as "Giving Tuesday," an "online effort to encourage people around the world to make a difference through charitable giving on a single day."

You can learn more about this effort at lcms.org/give/GivingTuesday.

On Sunday at Life in Christ we learned that the Lord is filled with great joy when His people do the "little things," like giving food and water to a hungry, thirsty person, reaching out to a stranger, providing clothing for those without, and visiting and caring for the sick and those in prison.

I asked our worshippers if they would consider doing one little thing this week that would bless another person and demonstrate love for Jesus.  I noticed that we've starting receiving a nice food offering and that there are several coats in one of our offices.  Hopefully, that pile grows so we can donate them to Phoenix Rescue Mission who will pass them along to those who don't have coats.

The events that took place in Ferguson, Missouri last night remind us that we indeed live in a broken and sinful world.  The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  What good, simple thing can you do today for someone? Jesus says, "Whatever you have done to the least of these, my brothers, you have done unto Me."

God be with you on giving Tuesday.  May the Lord inspire you to do one little thing for another person today.

Consternation in Cardinals Nation

Prior to yesterday's game with Seattle, we in Cardinals Nation were feeling pretty good.

Yes, we'd lost our starting quarterback again to an injury.  Carson Palmer is out for the season with a knee injury.  But our backup, Drew Stanton, has played like a quarterback ready for prime time.  He filled in admirably the first time around and even came in to throw the winning touchdown pass to beat Detroit two weeks ago.

But yesterday Stanton played very much like a backup, someone who'd seen action in something like 8 games in 8 years.  It's not his fault that the Cardinals lost.  Seattle is tough to beat on their home field.

The reality in the NFL is that you've got to have a really good to great quarterback to be a winner.  Carson Palmer is one of those guys.  Now, we'll find out if Stanton is one of those guys too.

In the meantime the Cardinals have a two game lead in their division.  If they only won their two remaining home games that would give them an 11-5 season - good enough for the playoff.

But it might not be good enough to gain home field advantage throughout the playoffs and the Cardinals football team plays best when in front of Cardinals Nation.

So what do we do now?

First, calm down.  It was just one loss.  Our defense played very well yesterday.  We can certainly expect our guys to make some plays in our last five games.

Second, trust in BA.  Bruce Arians has pushed all the right buttons, so to speak, this season.  And his guys like to play for him.  I think it's safe to say that the Cardinals still have plenty of good football left in them this season.

Finally, go have breakfast, drink some coffee, get ready for work.  In other words, do your usual stuff.  The sun will come up this morning.  One loss is not the end of the world for Cardinals Nation.  There's still lots of football to get all worked up about!

Looking for the little things

A pastor once asked me, "What great thing are you going to do for God?" And that really got me thinking, "What great thing can I do as a pastor?"  But now I'm convinced that God isn't looking for any of us to do great, big, impressive things for Him.  Why am I so sure? Come and find out this Sunday at LICL.  Worship takes place at 8 and 10:45 am with classes for all ages held at 9:20 am.

Or if Saturday evening is a better option, worship with us at 5 pm.  Pastor John Pope will preach and Holy Communion will be celebrated.  Hope to see you this weekend at Life in Christ!