Blessed Reformation Day

There I am with the great man himself.  In the Wittenberg City Square there stands a statue of Martin Luther.  In 2011 I received a renewal grant from the Lilly Foundation.  It enabled us to spend six weeks in Europe including a stay of a few days in Wittenberg.

A couple of weeks ago I learned that I will be one of the pastors to serve the Wittenberg English Mission next year.  WEM offers three devotional services per week and a Divine service on Saturday.  Wittenberg is a tourist attractions and people from all over the world visit.  Since English is the universal language these services are held for those who want to hear the Gospel that freed Luther from the shackles of sin and death and to sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."  This is truly a dream come true for me.

It was two years ago today that I retired from full-time ministry.  For the first six months or so I did very little but rest.  I was really tired.  Ministry is hard work.  Then I was asked to preach a couple of times a months at Christ the Redeemer church in Phoenix.  In a short time I came to really appreciate the people and I think they felt the same way about me.  When I returned from Michigan we mutually agreed that I would serve them each Sunday through next April.  

Some told me that I failed at retirement.  That might be true.  But what could be better than be able to proclaim the love of Jesus to His people.  Plus I don't have to attend a single meeting!  Nothing could be better!  

His baptism...Our baptism

Over the years I have been greatly blessed by author and theologian, John Kleinig.  His book, "Grace Upon Grace" is a classic.  He very clearly writes about the blessing of baptism on page 169:

In His baptism Jesus takes on our sin and guilt, our death and damnation; in our baptism Jesus gives us His place with God the Father and His status as the only Son of the Father.  He gives us all that He is and has to us.  We get a new self and life from Him.

It's Reformation Sunday at Christ the Redeemer

This Sunday in the church year is Reformation Sunday.  We'll have a special media presentation plus the great hymns of the church and some more modern songs as well.  

My sermon is titled, "The Only Way to Salvation."  We live in a culture today that has cast aside the belief held for thousands of years that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone by Jesus Christ alone without any help of our own.  Still, today people ask, "How can I know how I'm right with God?" That was Martin Luther's question too.  We'll share the answer tomorrow (Sunday) at 9 am.  If you don't have a church home come and join us.

Have a blessed weekend! 

No place else to go

In reading Brett Baier's "Three Days in Moscow - Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Union," I read this about the 40th President:

"One of his favorite quotes about prayer and the presidency was purported to have been said by Abraham Lincoln: 'I'm driven to my knees today in the overwhelming conviction that I don't have any place else to go'."

How true, right? Sometimes are problems are so big, our challenges so great that they feel they will overwhelm us.  In stead of pacing the floor, why not go to your knees and pour out your heart to God.  The Bible assures us He is listening.

Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors

One day in a Bible class I was asked what Jesus had to say about forgiveness.  We did a quick search through the Gospels and discovered that without exception Jesus connected the forgiveness of our sins with God's command that we forgive those who sin against us.

This thought came back today as I did the Gospel reading in the Treasury of Daily Prayer.  Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matt. 18:21-35).  The king called in his servants to settle their accounts.  One servant had run up a massive debt.  The master was going to collect the debt by selling him and his family and all he had.  The servant begged and pleaded for his master's patience.  The master extended mercy to the servant and forgave the debt.

You probably know the rest of the story.  The servant then encountered a fellow servant.  This servant owed a smaller amount of money.  But no mercy was given and the servant was thrown in prison.

Word got back to the master and his anger was off the charts, so to speak.  He told the unforgiving servant, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?

The result? The master had the unforgiving servant jailed "until he should pay all his debt."  Get that? How will he pay off his debt if he is in prison? He can't! Punished forever because of an unforgiving heart.

Then Jesus concludes the parable with these words: "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from the heart."

So that's that.  Forgive as you have been forgiven.  But you say the hurt is so deep, the sin against you so great that you can't forgive.  What do you do?

Ask the Lord to help you do the thing you can't do.  Ask the Lord to help you overcome the hurt.  Ask the Lord to help you see your sins and how God has had mercy on you. Ask the Lord to enable you to do what seems impossible.

If you have to, ask for God's help again and again and again.  You want nothing to stand in the way of the Lord's forgiveness and mercy toward you.

Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, That they many trouble us no more;

We, too, will gladly those forgive, Who hurt us by the way they live.

Help us in our community. To serve each other willingly.

LSB - 766:6 

Faith is like...

Faith is merely a passive instrument, like a hand into which someone places a dollar.  The person receives the dollar provided he does not withdraw his hand, beyond that he does not have to do anything.  The donor is doing the essential part by putting the gift into the hand, not the other party, by holding out the hand.

CFW Walther

A prayer answered for Anita

My friend, Anita, has to be the biggest Arizona Diamondbacks fan ever.  She has been following the team from the beginning.  Has season tickets.  Has every bobble head the team has ever offered.  Her joy in the summer, either at the ballpark or in front of the television, is watching her beloved D-Backs.

Unfortunately, Anita is suffering from cancer.  Chemotherapy and radiation treatments are taking their toll.  She has not been able to get out to the ballpark this year.  Sometimes she doesn't feel like watching the games on television.  

If you ask her how's she's doing, she'll say the same thing every time: blessed and grateful.  In spite of her suffering, her faith in her Lord and Savior remains steadfast.  

Last night as we watched the D-Backs beat the Phillies my dear, sweet wife revealed that she had been praying that God would help the ballclub win...for Anita's sake.  I'm not sure that God answers prayers like those.  Choosing a side to root for doesn't sound like something God would do.

But, in any event, the D-Backs are headed to the World Series.  And in spite of her pain and suffering, Anita will have something worth waiting for.  How sweet it would be if Arizona could pull off a World Series Championship.  What joy that would bring to Anita.

Are you listening God?

Hopping on the bandwagon...to stay?

Prior to the playoffs I hadn't watched one baseball game all year.  Frankly, I had soured on baseball.  The games regularly took three hours or more.  In comparison to soccer, hockey and basketball, baseball seemed to move at a snails pace.  I was bored with watching a batter adjust his gloves, his hat and whatever, step into the batter's box, take a pitch and then step out and go through his routine all over again.  So I just stopped watching.

But friends had been telling me that baseball had made some adjustments which had really helped the speed of the game without harming the game.  The new pitch clock really helped.  The batter had better be ready to hit.  I liked what I saw.

And I liked what I saw from the Diamondbacks.  They were scrappy and played hard.  They're loaded with some exciting young players.  Corbin Carroll is likely to be the NL Rookie of the Year.  And you've got to respect manager Torry Lovello.  The guy has gone through some pretty tough, losing seasons and never quit managing his players.  It seems like a good mix of experience and young talent.

So, with the playoff series against the dreaded LA Dodgers I hopped on the bandwagon, so to speak.  Surely they couldn't handle the Dodgers, with their huge payroll and fearsome lineup.  No problem!  

Now, the D-Backs are one win away from landing a spot in the World Series.  How exciting would that be? Philadelphia seems to have superior hitting and pitching.  But that might not be enough.  The D-Backs play a style of baseball I like.  Win or lose the people of the Valley of the Sun can be might proud of their baseball team.  They've captured the imagine of baseball fans, not just here but around the country.  I've climbed on the bandwagon.  There's plenty of room for you.

Go D-Backs! 

This Sunday at Christ the Redeemer...

Last Sunday I began my seven month stint as interim pastor at Christ the Redeemer in Phoenix.  I really appreciate the people who worship there.  Even though their church has faced many challenges and difficulty, they are working hard to continue to be a place where people can receive hope and love through faith in Jesus Christ.

This Sunday's sermon title is "Do Not Pass Go Until You Give Thanks."  During Paul's second missionary journey, he brought the gospel of Jesus to many cities.  He was also harassed by his opponents and sometimes Paul wasn't able to see the fruit of faith in the people to which he proclaimed Jesus.

One such congregation was planted in Thessalonica.  Paul longed to know what had happened to the new believers there.  When he received news of what had happened, Paul responded with thanksgiving to God.

If you don't have a church to attend, join us this Sunday.  The service starts at 9 am.  I'd enjoy seeing you.

Thanks for reading the blog this week.  Have a great weekend!

Nate Bargatze to host Saturday Night Live!

My family and I have become huge fans of Nate Bargatze.  He's a rarity in show business - a comedian who is clean.  No filth, no bad language, just great humor about stuff that you and I have probably dealt with - sibling rivalry, crazy encounters with home repair people, (mis) communication between spouses.

I first read about Nate in World Magazine.  It told about his Amazon Prime special, "Hello World."  We laughed, we roared at some of this stories.  Now, when we have visitors we ask, "Have you guys heard of Nate Bargatze," and if they say, "No," we fire up the tv and watch "Hello World" again.  Have not grown tired of it yet.

My dear sweet wife and I figure we haven't watched Saturday Night Live in 10 years.  We hated the turn to political humor and some of the skits were pretty gross.  But Nate will be hosting SNL on October 28 - "must see" tv as far as we're concerned.  Before then, check out the Amazon Prime special or some of the stuff he's done for Netflix.  And then, be ready to laugh because Nate Bargatze is really funny! 

Thank you for being my friend

Few things can better enrich a person's life than a good friend.  Linda Grayson wrote, "There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate."

But I like best this definition of friendship from Elbert Hubbard: "A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you."

Gary Dennis is one person whose friendship I cherish.

Gary was the church custodian at Life in Christ.  I'd walk through the door on Monday morning and hear Gary's greeting: "Morning, Reverend.  The coffee's on and I've got a couple of chocolate long johns in the donut box for you.  While you're getting them let me sneak in and clean your office."

There was nothing that Gary wouldn't do for the church.  He was willing to do things that weren't part of his job description just because there was a need and he liked to help people.  He did his work thoroughly.  He wanted the church, fellowship hall, classrooms and offices looking perfect.  Never did I worry about the appearance of our facilities.  Gary made sure they looked their best.

As we got to know one another better, Gary began asking questions about the Christian faith.  He had been raised in the church as a child but had fallen away a little bit.  He had lots of questions about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the devil and prayer.  We spent lots of time discussing all of these things and one day he came and said he wanted to join our church.  And one Sunday morning Gary stood before our congregation and confessed Jesus as His only Savior. It was a happy day for our church. 

I learned earlier this week that a woman that Gary was very close to had passed away.  I've tried to reach him by phone but haven't had any success yet.  I want to see how he is dealing with this loss and try to bring some hope and encouragement from God's Word.  And I want to say to him what singer Andrew Gold wrote in one of his popular songs: Thank you for being my friend.

T-Shirt slogans

 For retirement my friend, Michele, gave me a t-shirt.  It said, "Jesus Took Naps - Be Like Jesus."  The thought is based on Mark 4:38.  It got me to thinking about some other slogans that might work.  Like these:

"Jesus Walked on Water - You'll need a boat" (Mark 6:39)

"Jesus Fed Thousands - Don't even try" (Mark 6:41)

"Jesus Healed the Deaf - What did you say?" (Mark 7:34)

"Jesus Loves Little Children - Even the brat who broke your putter" (Mark 10:16)

"Jesus Predicted His Death and Resurrection - What about your prediction about the Cardinals?" (Mark 8:31)  Note: the above will need to be on a XXXL t-shirt

"Jesus Served Supper - Eat & Drink it every time you can" (Matthew 26:26-30)

"Jesus Prayed to the Father - He'll listen to you too" (Mark 14:36)

"Jesus Died For Your Sins - He died for yours as well" (Luke 23:44-49)

"Jesus Rose From the Dead - Trust Him and you will too" (Matthew 28:1-10)

What do you think? Do I have a future as a t-shirt entrepreneur? 

Well, all this creative thinking has worn me out.  I think I'll take a nap.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Hello kind readers!

I arrived back in the Valley last Thursday.  I missed our home, family, friends and favorite shops and restaurants.  I also missed ALL THE HEAT THAT TOOK PLACE DURING THE SUMMER! (Hate to rub it in).

So what did we do? Spent lots of time with our Michigan kids and grandkids.  Attended soccer, football and basketball games.  Had the opportunity to preach nine times in three different churches.  Discovered a great Bible class at the church where my kids attend.  Marveled at the corn fields, grape vineyards, and apple orchards near our home.  Brisk morning walks with our dog, Jake.  Sunsets on Lake Michigan.  Hearing one of our favorite singers, Lexi Adams.  Opening our house as a BnB for friends passing through.  I'm sure I'm forgetting some things but you get the drift, as they say.

I'll be busy while we're here.  I am serving as interim Pastor at Christ the Redeemer in Phoenix.  I hope to bring some continuity while provide pastoral care.  People have joked with me that I couldn't stay retired for long.  But I see it differently.  I'll preach once a week.  I may help out with the Sunday Bible class.  I'll make home and hospital visits as needed. No meetings! Truth is, if the above is all I had to do, I wouldn't have retired.

I'll be back to blogging regularly.  Hopefully, I'll have a word or two of encouragement to pass your way.  God always keep you in His grip!