Picture it!

As i am reading and "picturing" myself in the stories from the Gospel of Mark, i keep asking which character do i most relate too, which person do i identify with. Unfortunately, i find myself most frequently resonating with the character in the story that exhibits a wavering faith.

In Mark 3, i saw myself as the man with the withered hand, and wonder why Jesus is picking on me. He didn't come seeking a miracle in my mind, but he was that was an unwilling participant in the struggle between Jesus and the Pharisees. A man claiming faith, but not %100 committed to trusting God.

In the story of Jesus calming the storm, i picture myself in the other boat. Jealous that i didn't get to be in Jesus' boat, i doubt what is going on and question the "disciples" account of the events.

Today's story of the raising of a dead girl and the healing of a woman, i relate best to one of the disciples who were so focused on getting Jesus to his next appointment, that these interruptions were annoying.  The miracles that were happening were almost becoming ordinary, to such an extent that i could not celebrate them with the others.

In comparing my self-imposed place in these stories, i see a common thread. i do believe, but my sinful nature makes me skeptical and even apathetic to what God is doing daily in my life. i can rationalize the wonders of God's actions. i become jealous of others who are closer to God. i can isolate myself from what is really going on, and close off God's working in my life.

i am painfully aware of my unbelief, my old self, that sinful man that lives in my flesh. i believe; help my unbelief.  That is why i am so thankful for the Catechism, that allows me daily to confess and know that i am forgiven. i awake and say the Lord's Prayer and recite the Creed. i make the sign of the cross and i am reminded that i have been baptized and the Old man is put to death. i do believe, not because of anything in me, but because of what God had done for me.

I am simil ustus et peccatr "At the same time Saint and Sinner."

Please add your own observations and comments. Lets talk about it!

Really?

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

As I finished todays reading in the 40 Days workbook, I had to ask myself, "Really?" Really can i do all things? Can i accomplishe the biggest challenges and overcome the highest mountains? Really? At first glance the reading seems a like nothing more than a pleasant reminder that God is on our side, but is that really all that God was saying?

Can you face the demon of addiction? Can you get a handle on your temper? Can you resist the temptation of the flesh? Can you really do ALL things?  YES!

This amazing promise from God is not based upon your ability, but rather it is a statement of the nature of God.  God can do all things. He spoke and everything came into existance, He rescued slaves from mighty Pharoh, He parted the Sea and fed millions with manna. God became flesh and took one human form; He was without sin, He allowed himself to be captured, tourtured and killed. God came back from the dead on Easter, He Rose from the grave, He ascended to Heaven. YES! Really, He did all these things.

This same God is working in you. He is waiting for you and me to trust Him. God can do all things and has promised you and me that He will.

As a congregation we are faced with the opportunity to place our trust in God to build the church. Can He do it? Really? YES!  Can he work in our lives to meet and accede our pledges? YES!

Do you believe God when he says he can do all things? Really?  I do!

Daily Reading for 40 Days in the Word

Thank You to Barb for putting this together:

 

Week 1:  Pronounce It--Philippians

Day 1  Read Phil. 1:1-9             Meditate on 1:6

Day 2  Read Phil 1: 10- 30         Meditate on 1:27

Day 3  Read Phil. 2: 1-30          Meditate on 2: 13

Day 4  Read Phil. 3:  1-21         Meditate on 3:12

Day 5  Read Phil. 4: 1-9            Meditate on 4:6

Day 6  Read Phil. 4: 10-23        Meditate on 4:13

Day 7  Reread Phil. 1-4             Meditate on 4:19 

Week 2:  Picture I—Mark 1-7

Day 8     Read Mark 1 & 2               Meditate on Mark 1:  40-45

Day 9     Read Mark 3                       Meditate on Mark 3: 1-6

Day 10   Read Mark 4                       Meditate on Mark 4: 35-41

Day 11   Read Mark 5                       Meditate on Mark 5: 21-43

Day 12   Read Mark 6: 1-44            Meditate on Mark 6: 35-44

Day 13   Read Mark 6: 45-56         Meditate on Mark 6: 45-51

Day 14   Read Mark 7                       Meditate on Mark 7: 31-37 

Week 3:  Probe It—Mark 8-18

Day 15   Read Mark 8                       Meditate on Mark 8: 34-38

Day 16   Read Mark 9                       Meditate on Mark 9: 33-35

Day 17   Read Mark 10                    Meditate on Mark 10: 17-31

Day 18   Read Mark 11-12              Meditate on Mark 11:25

Day 19   Read Mark 13-14              Meditate on Mark 14: 3-9

Day 20   Read Mark 15                    Meditate on Mark 15: 33-39

Day 21   Read Mark 16                    Meditate on Mark 16: 1-20 

Week 4:  Paraphrase It--James

Day 22   Read James 1: 1-8            Meditate on James 1: 2-4

Day 23   Read James 1: 9-21          Meditate on James 1: 19-20

Day 24   Read James 1: 21-27       Meditate on James 1: 22-25

Day 25   Read James 2                     Meditate on James 2: 17-18

Day 26   Read James 3                     Meditate on James 3:13

Day 27   Read James 4                     Meditate on James 4:10

Day 28   Read James 5                     Meditate on James 5: 19-20 

Week 5:  Personalize It/Pray It--Philippians

Day 29   Reread Phil. 1: 1-11         Meditate on Phil. 1:6

Day 30   Reread Phil. 1: 12-30       Meditate on Phil. 1:27

Day 31   Reread Phil. 2                    Meditate on Phil. 2: 13

Day 32   Reread Phil. 3                    Mediate on Phil. 3: 12b

Day 33   Reread Phil. 4: 1-9            Meditate on Phil. 4: 6-7

Day 34   Reread Phil. 4: 10-13       Meditate on Phil. 4: 13

Day 35   Reread Phil. 4: 14-23       Meditate on Phil. 4: 19 

Week 6:  Review—Psalm 1

Day 36   Read Psalm 1: 1-6             Pronounce It

Day 37   Read Psalm 1: 1-6             Picture It

Day 38   Read Psalm 1: 1-6             Probe It

Day 39   Read Psalm 1: 1-6             Paraphrase It

Day 40   Read Psalm 1: 1-6             Personalize It

What a Great way to start!

This morning i had the privilege of  signing many of the Small Group Covenant forms. With each form i signed, i prayed that God would use the 40 Days in the Word time to open the heart and mind of each participant. I know that God is working through His word, and He will accomplish what He intends. It is with anxious anticipation that I await to see what God is going to do in the lives of His people here at Immanuel.

The first 5 days of study and prayer has truly been a Spirit filled time of letting the Word of Christ dwell in me richly. Please don't let the things of this world, the sinful flesh or even Satan convince you that you don't have time to do your daily reading and prayer. The gold mine of His riches are just  beneath the surface and waiting to be discovered.

A couple of practical thoughts. Put your workbook in a conspicuous place before you go to bed at night; on the bathroom sink, on the coffee maker, or on your  TV remote. Doing this before hand is reminding yourself that you have determined ahead of time to do your daily reading and prayer. Another idea is to find a "scared" space for your devotional time. Someplace away from distractions and comfortable.

Lastly, I was told that the workbook is available for the Kindle and iPad, as an ebook. The cost is $9. I downloaded mine and found it extremely handy to have with me all the time on my iPad. There are also built in hyperlinks that allow the user to jump to the daily video devotion without leaving your work book.

God grant you His blessings as you continue the 40 Days In the Word. (i can wait for tomorrow's lesson)

Kick-Off Sunday!

           I am very excited for this weekend. On Sunday we will be kicking off our "40 Days in the Word" campaign. Nearly 100 people will be meeting in small groups to study God's word. Along with small groups the weekend sermons will be lifting up the Bible as a sacred treasure waiting to be discovered.

            The first thing we’re going to look at is the Inspiration of the Bible.  How can I trust the Bible?  How do I know the Bible is true and that I can trust it for my life? 

             Then week two we’re going to look at the Foundation of the Bible.  What is the purpose of the Bible?  We’re going to get you to see the big picture of the Scriptures.  What is the overarching theme and what are the purposes of the Bible?  It’s sixty-six books in one book so it’s really a library but they all point to the same basic theme.

            Week three we’re going to look at the Illumination of the Bible.  That is how does God illuminate my mind so that I can see what he wants me to see in the Bible?  Sometimes you read a Scripture and you can read it over and over and it doesn’t seem to hit you.  Then one day you read it and go Boom!  I’ve never seen that before.  What happened?   The Holy Spirit just illuminated your mind.  We’re going to talk to you about how he does that and helps you see what he wants you to see out of the Word.

            Then week number four we’re going to look at Interpretation.  A very important week.  That is how do I know what this verse means?  Because a lot of times you hear people say, “That’s just your interpretation!”  As if everybody can have their own particular interpretation of a verse.  Actually there are correct ways to interpret the Bible and there are incorrect ways.  When you interpret it correctly you get what God says; when you interpret it incorrectly you become a cult.  And you get all kinds of weird and whacky ideas.  The Bible means what it means and you have to understand these principles of interpretation.

            Then week number five we’re going to look at Integration of the Bible.  That is how do I put the Bible into every area of my life?  How do I use the Bible at work?  And how do I use it in my home?  And how do I integrate it into my family life?  How do I integrate it into my finances.  Every different area – my past, my present and my future.

            Then finally week six we’re going to look at the Application of the Bible.  That is specifically how to use the Bible in specific ways.  Like how to use the Bible to make good decisions.  We’re going to look at that.  How do you use the Bible to overcome temptation?  How do you use the Bible to counsel or offer advice to a friend?  How do you use the Bible to find comfort for yourself?

           It is not to late to join a small group. This is the way to get the most out our the "40 Days in the Word" series. I hope and pray that everyone will be in attendance for all six sermons, be a part of a small group and commit to daily spending time in God's Word. I can't imagine a better way for our congregation to Kick-off the Fall.

I love Confirmation

One of the great joys of being a pastor is teaching confirmation. Early in my ministry, i heard a number of pastors bemoan the fact that they had to teach confirmation. They complained about kids not being attentive and about parents that didn't care.

It amazed me that any person who puts on a collar and calls themselves a pastor could so freely detest any opportunity to teach the faith, let alone one that involved sharing the Good News with young people.  I can readily admit that there are three areas of ministry that i enjoy the most: 3. teaching adult confirmation, 2. Preaching the Gospel and 1. Share God's word with adolescence.

Let me assure you teaching confirmation is work; hard work. It can't be taught the same way as you teach adults. When teaching kids it is imperative to understand where they are in the intellectual development. They are programed to think in 12 minute intervals (the average time between commercials). They are very visual and they are used to sensory input. And for the most part they are thirsting to be acknowledged, appreciated and loved.

Preparing a lesson for confirmation means building "commercials" into the lesson. That can be a small story, or a skit, or sometimes i just have the kids stand up and do some exercises. It can be anything to let their mind take a quick break. Then return to the subject. The use of media can be a blessing to a confirmation class, as long as it doesn't become a crutch. Power point, music, videos clips all stimulate that part of that is programed for sensory input. But perhaps the most important lesson i have learned over the years of teaching confirmation, is to be intentional about affirming and acknowledging each and every student. It is amazing how kids will respond to a high five and a smile, or an arm around their shoulder, a question about their day or even some good natured ribbing, depending upon the kid. 

Loving confirmation begins with being loved by God, and seeing every student through the eyes of our Lord, who said, "Do not hinder these little ones from coming to me."

Better than talking to myself!

Any one who knows me knows that i always have something to say. I often lament that I would be a better husband, father, pastor and friend if i were just to keep my mouth shut more often.  But alas, I can't seem to follow my own desires. So rather than talking to myself, I have decided to share my amazing, insightful and usually profund thoughts with the cyber world. :)

It is my desire to use this blog to dialog with my family, friends, members of Immanuel and even perhaps to even to hear from random strangers now and again. The topics will range from the silly to the serious and everything in between. I encourage responses and debate, but i will insist on civility at all times. Personal insults and attacks of any kind will not be tolerated.

So lets get started:  I want to thank all the helpers that made the VLS golf outing a blessed event. I especially want to thank Pete and Ryan for carring me most of the way. This outing is a great way to support our school and celebrate our fellowship. By the way I love mulligans.