Do you like science fiction movies? I do. I wish I had the time to watch more of them! A number of years ago (like 21 years) I really enjoyed the movie trilogy that began with “The Matrix.” Now, I am not telling you to go watch the movie(s) or even recommend that you watch them, I just wanted you to know that I enjoyed them. If you decide to watch this movie at some point be aware that there is quite a bit of violence in it. I will admit that I used to have a “Matrix” screensaver on my computer at CLC back when I was the associate pastor.

The movies revolve around a “Christ-like” messiah character who doesn’t know he is the “chosen one” to save humanity from their enslavement to robots. Weird huh? Humanity isn’t aware of their bondage to this unseen overseer. As the first movie progresses the hero doubts his status as the savior of humanity until the very end. His name is Neo which means “new.” He is new and different than the rest of humanity (in this movie).  

However, there is one loyal disciple through it all. His name is Morpheus. That is also the name of the Greek god of dreams. In this movie, Morpheus is trying to wake the world from its illusory sleep! Morpheus believed in the main character (Neo) even when this hero didn’t. At one point in the second movie this loyal disciple talks to a group of people about a big plan that involves the hero of these three movies. 

Needless to say, they didn’t believe in Neo’s power either. 

“Not everyone believes what you believe Morpheus.” 

Very calmly and boldly Morpheus replies “My faith doesn’t require that they do.”

I find that line compelling because I agree with it. However, it has nothing to do with the Matrix movies and everything to do with my faith in Jesus who is the savior of the world. My faith doesn’t require anyone else to believe what I believe. 

My trust in Christ is not predicated upon anyone else believing in Him. I would believe in Jesus even if I was the last person of faith in the world.  Humanity does not define my relationship with Jesus! Opinions don’t form my faith either. It is Christ who shapes me, and it is scripture that guides me. 

That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t share the love I have discovered in Christ! Our current sermon series reminds us that the story continues! I can’t help but talk about my faith because God has been so good to me! Some of you are probably tired of seeing me online! (Use the mute button when necessary.)

Like the movie, Christ is calling us to see the unseen bondage to sin that many deny. Jesus wishes us to see that there is more in this world than meets the eye. There is a new reality that is just beyond our vision and it is called “The Kingdom of God.” A place where sin does not cloud our judgment and doesn’t hold us back. When we step into the Kingdom of God (through faith) we see the world differently than everyone else. 

I don’t have to go look for this mystical place called the Kingdom of God and neither do you. Jesus who is the Way tells us exactly how to find it.  

Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21

I encourage you to own that statement. Believe it with your whole heart. The Kingdom of God is not found at 3720 E. Tropicana Ave. It is within you right now as you read this. Jesus is with you in this moment. 

Awaken and see the truth! Feel the love of God!

God bless you,
Pr. Ben

King Solomon wrote, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

The above verse from King Solomon is the ancient variation of: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Keep these quotes in mind as I tell you a story from the Bible…

Have you ever heard of King Rehoboam? He was King Solomon’s son. King Solomon’s wisdom was legendary. Unfortunately, King Solomon didn’t seem to pass on any of his wisdom to his son. 

Aside from Jesus, we know that King Solomon was the wisest human to live (1Kings 3:10-12).  After King Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king of Israel.  Despite having a most excellent role model in his father as it related to wise leadership, Rehoboam’s reign had immediate and dire consequences for the Kingdom of Israel.

Shortly after ascending the throne, a labor leader went to the king and asked for easier working conditions. If they were granted, King Rehoboam would have a happy and loyal workforce. 

King Rehoboam told this labor leader he needed to think it over and he consulted two completely different groups of people who gave him two completely different answers. 

First the king consulted his father’s oldest and wisest advisors. These were people with experience and proven track record. They advised King Rehoboam to ease the working conditions and all would go well for him and the nation because these laborers would be loyal.

Then the freshly minted king went to his friends. These were people with no experience and no expertise. They told King Rehoboam to exert his power and to make things harder for those who served as laborers—and this is exactly what the king wanted to hear!

The young and inexperienced king had two sets of advisors who presented him with two wildly different solutions. If only Rehoboam had listened to his father (King Solomon) when he sat on the throne. Solomon wrote, “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” Proverbs 12:15

King Rehoboam did not take the counsel of his father’s wise and more experienced advisors. Instead he acted upon the advice of his young friends who only told him what he wanted to hear. 

We know this because King Rehoboam went to his friends AFTER he heard the recommendation of his wisest counselors. Listen to this, “But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him…” 1Kings12:8 The young king surrounded himself with “yes people.” He listened only to the people who affirmed his point of view. 

A similar scenario is playing out throughout our communities and our nation in the midst of this pandemic. Many are not listening to mainstream experts or physicians or even the Centers for Disease Control. Instead some are listening only to points of view that reinforce their personal point of view. 

As Solomon said, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9  If we do not heed the advice of our wisest and most knowledgeable medical and scientific experts, we  risk repeating “Rehoboam’s Folly” and what happened in the 1918 pandemic.  

We are all prone to want to listen to our own point of view.  Myself included!  However, scripture tells us differently. We should heed the advice of those who are experts in their field.  Shouldn’t that be true especially when facing a global medical crisis? 

If we don’t learn from King Rehoboam’s mistake, we will repeat history. 

Unfortunately, for King Rehoboam, he followed the advice of his friends and it caused the country of Israel to be divided in two. Yes, King Rehoboam’s poor judgement and arrogance caused the nation of Israel to be fractured! 

I know that some of you who read this will think that I am making commentary on our president or other government officials. I AM NOT. 

Instead, I am asking members of our community—the CLC family—to prayerfully and objectively consider to whom we are listening?  Who is guiding our decisions and actions?  Are we listening to the mainstream experts and wise counselors in this moment?  Or, are we listening to those opinions that reflect our own point of view? 

As the pandemic began in the United States, Kristen Theile asked a friend of Community Lutheran Church who is a medical doctor to come and talk to a few of us about what we should be doing at the church to respond to this crisis. We listened intently as they educated us on the dangers of COVID-19. We encouraged people to stay home and a few days later we closed the buildings. I talked to this doctor again this week and they still see this situation as dangerous.

Believe me!  No one is more anxious to return to our “normal” way of life at CLC than me!  But we will continue to be closed until we know it is medically safe to be together. I will listen to the experts and not just what I want to hear. 

Saint Paul instructed his protégé Timothy on such things too. Although Paul was referring to theology and not a global medical crisis, his words have application in this situation too:

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine (facts). Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 1Timothy 4:3-4

I trust our medical community. I give thanks for our nurses and doctors who serve this city and our nation. I value their expertise in this moment. Please say a prayer for them this day. I just did.

God bless you,

Pr. Ben

I ran across this picture (see above) today and wanted to share it with you? Who are you choosing to be in this moment of time? Are you ready to move from the “Fear Zone” to the “Learning Zone”? Are you emotionally equipped to move from the “Learning Zone to the “Growth Zone”?

You have a choice. Who do you want to be in the coming days and weeks? Take some time to completely read this chart. Print it, save it on your phone/computer. Refer to it. I think this is extremely helpful.

On to other things…

So here we are…. The holiest three days of the year. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Do they feel holy to you this year? With our lives disrupted with loss, do these days seem special to you? 

They are for me.

These days represent a series of promises that I will carry with me all the way to heaven.

1. Maundy Thursday: God makes a promise to be with me (and love me) every step of my journey. It doesn’t end there. When I get spiritually hungry, Jesus comes and feeds me. I need to be reminded that I am never that far from the love of Jesus on this road called life.
   
2. Good Friday: I am forgiven. Every cross I see tells me that God holds nothing against me and that I am a child of God. There is nothing I can do that can change God’s mind. The cross also reminds me the extent of God’s love. Jesus gave everything in the most excruciating way. There is nothing cheap about God’s grace. It is free to us but cost Jesus everything.
   
3. Easter Sunday: Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!  Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of Jesus! Not the coronavirus, not death, nothing. We may fear the future, but Jesus is with us and will lead the way! After all, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life! 

I need Easter today and every day. I believe in Easter and the bodily resurrection of Jesus! As the old hymn goes, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone, Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, just because He lives.”

Do I wish we would be all together these next three days? Absolutely. But Christ is still risen and nothing can change that fact! Let us celebrate Easter like our future depends upon that truth (because it does and I believe)!

God bless you all my brothers and sisters. I am glad you are in my life. 

Pr. Ben

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 16:18

When Peter (Jesus’ right hand man) confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus replied with what you read above.

It kind of feels like the gates of Hades are wide open right now and we are under attack. 

But the promise remains… the church will survive. We may suffer but we will endure. 

Jesus reminds us that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1Corinthians 12:27). Christ conquered death (and Hades) already. Because we are the body of Christ, we have too. We are the church and we will withstand this season of uncertainty. 

When Jesus said this, he wanted us to know that we stand on the rock of truth! Jesus IS the Son of God. Not a “junior” god but God himself! Our rock is Jesus and not Peter as some suggest. A human can’t do what God can!

I understand that this isolation might cause some churches to close and that saddens me, but I know the Church will continue on until Jesus returns. 

If you attend Community Lutheran Church, I want you to know that I and our entire staff are working hard to keep our church connected and moving forward. We will not stop until we are all together again… even if that means we need to our work from home! We already have a plan in place to continue worship if we are all ordered to stay at home!

We, as a staff, love our church and we love you. We are all-in! We are committed to the mission of this church, devoted to Jesus and dedicated to you. 

In this season of isolation, please share our worship and daily check-ins with your friends. Invite them to join us online! We can still share the love, joy and hope of knowing Christ from our homes!

Even in this scary moment, there are still opportunities to share the love of Jesus. God didn’t cause this pandemic and Christ doesn’t want anyone to suffer or die but I also know that God can breakthrough any situation and change lives. 

I am here for you and so is Jesus. 

As the world is changing around us, don’t think for a moment Jesus is going to let the Gates of Hades and all that stands behind those gates to prevail. I already know how this story ends, Jesus wins. 

God bless you.

Clean Hands. Clear Minds. Caring Hearts.
Pr. Ben

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

There is a lot to be worried about these days: The stock market, corona virus and the possible impact these things might have on our lives in the next few months or even years ahead.

I get it. Some people are terrified and some think it is all overblown. As a pastor (and most likely your pastor) I don’t have the liberty to dismiss anything that might affect our congregation in potentially devastating ways. 

I will not overreact, nor will I panic. I will use the best information I can get and in consultation with our staff make decisions that will hopefully keep everyone safe. If I am wrong, I’ve barely inconvenienced anyone and annoyed a few. That is acceptable to me. 

I will also follow Jesus’ instruction. I don’t have the time or the energy to worry about tomorrow or speculate about what might happen next week/month. I’ve got enough on my plate for today. 

In case you were wondering, I do not believe this is a punishment from God. Jesus loves us and wants the best for us. 

We are called to be people who trust that Jesus will guide us forward and when we can’t move ahead anymore we are invited to rest in the presence of God forever. 

Even though we are asked to trust in Jesus’ love, remember we aren’t asked to check our brains at the door. We need to do things like wash our hands more and remove ourselves from large crowds of people (especially if we are in a high risk category). 

When Jesus sent his disciples out into the world, he said this to them…

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16 

Shrewd means showing sharp powers of judgment or being astute. Jesus was saying… Be smart! Understand the risks! Do what is prudent! And at the same time living in such a way that you aren’t causing harm to others (innocent as doves). In this moment, it may mean staying away from others because you have a cough or are running a fever. You may feel well enough to be out in the world but you may expose others to something that might be catastrophic to them. 

Our presiding bishop, Elizabeth Eaton reminds us of the challenges in Martin Luther’s Day when she wrote…

“In 1527 the plague returned to Wittenberg, Germany. Two hundred years earlier the plague had swept across Europe killing up to 40% of the population. Understandably, people were anxious and wondered what a safe and faithful response might be. In answer to this, Martin Luther wrote Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague. In it, he emphasized the duty to care for the neighbor, the responsibility of government to protect and provide services to its citizens, a caution about recklessness, and the importance of science, medicine and common sense.”

“To provide care for the neighbor, Luther recommended that pastors, those in public office, doctors and public servants should remain in the city. Luther himself remained in Wittenberg to care for his people. He recommended that public hospitals be built to accommodate those with the plague. He condemned those who took unnecessary risks that put themselves and others in danger of contagion. Luther also encouraged the use of reason and medicine.”

Luther wrote, “God has created medicines and has provided us with intelligence to guard and take care of the body. … Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence.” (Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague, 1527).

Love your neighbor as yourself while caring for yourself. Sounds like good advice in the moment. 

Remember: CLEAN HANDS. CLEAR MIND. CARING HEARTS.

God bless you all…
(Live Long and Prosper)

Pr. Ben

Here is something no Christian wants to talk about: Sacrifice. Oh sure, we don’t mind talking about what Jesus did for us on the cross but personal sacrifice not so much. We prefer our faith walk to be tame if not easy. We live in a consumer driven society where the customer is king…and we are royalty.

I understand that the first rebuttal to what I just wrote is this, “What about grace? Jesus gave it all so that I don’t have to do anything but believe in Him.”

I do not deny the grace and forgiveness of Christ at all! God always takes the first step towards us. Jesus did exactly that when he took on all of our shortcomings, jealousy, anger, self-deprecation and uncontrolled behavior. There is nothing that can prove our worth to God other than Jesus loving us and claiming us as God’s children. Our value is found in what Christ did for us.

What I am getting at is our voluntary and willing response to the love of Jesus. We can’t earn anything as it relates to our connection with God, but healthy relationships are a two-way street. Beneficial bonds are reciprocal. Vital connections always involve give and take. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you need to sell your house and give all your possessions away. No, I am asking if following Jesus is the most important thing in your life or is it something else? Does the love of Jesus inform how you treat others, what you spend money on and even vote? (After all it is an election year.) Or do your opinions and comfort take precedent in important decisions? 

I absolutely believe that I will spend eternity with Jesus. I will only gain admittance because of what Jesus did for me on Good Friday. Not even being a pastor gets you in the door up in heaven. I am getting ready for what comes next. Let me tell you, I want to fit in when I get there. The best way to do that is to respond to the grace Jesus already extended to me. That sometimes means saying no to things that gratify me…yes, that’s right sacrifice and self-denial.

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 1Peter 2:11

We are bombarded with messages from culture that can be summed up in the popular advertising campaign of Nike athletic shoes: “Just Do It.” Do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt others, yet some of these things diminish our faith in the One who loves us the most especially when we indulge ourselves rather than building the Kingdom of God right here and right now.

I want to let you in on a little secret… there is joy in sacrifice. 

God bless,
Pr. Ben

When Saint Paul wrote a letter to the church of Galatia, he reminds the Church of the essence of the message he preached: Grace. This reminder was necessary because Paul was receiving reports that the church in Galatia had added something to the free gift of love that Jesus gives to all who believe, but it wasn’t a helpful addition. 

How did this happen? After Paul left to go plant other churches, traveling preachers came to Galatia and convinced these Christians that the grace of God was not enough. They needed to do something too—this is when the erroneous notion of “works” or “acts” began to muddy the promise of the grace of Christ. 

Paul, wanting to correct the misguided and heretical teaching of these itinerant preachers, wrote the letter we know as “Galatians.”

In chapter 3, Paul asks a pointed question, “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” Galatians 3:2

Folks–we can’t earn God’s favor! The nicest, purest, most gracious thing you or I have ever done pales in comparison to God’s holiness and compassion. Paul totally gets this and so does the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. 

Isaiah writes, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6

We have a deep need for God to come to us (thank you, Jesus!) and there is nothing we can do to climb our way to God. 

Our relationship with God is all about the love God has for us and it is free—this is grace! 

Yet, we are reminded that our actions in this life have consequences. We may be forgiven and loved but our decisions still carry weight. Here is how Paul puts it, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A person reaps what they sow.” Galatians 6:7

This spiritual truth is lived out in two ways. One cannot say they follow Jesus and then live contrary to the command to love without God taking notice. Also, a person who expect others to love and respect them while treating people poorly will be sorely disappointed; a person reaps what they sow. 

However, if you sow love and kindness wherever you go, you will receive a harvest of the same. My life shows abundant proof of this. I am humbled by the love and support shown to Rachel and me in the past few months. If you are one of those people, thank you. 

God bless,
Pr. Ben

There is one thing we do every week as the church… we worship. It may be the most important activity we engage in. For some of us, it may be the only church related activity we participate in all week. Why is worship so important?

Theologians of every age have defined the act of worship in different ways. Here are a few…

Bruce Leafblad: Worship is that process in which we make God first in our lives.

Mark Tittley: Worship is becoming aware of God’s presence and responding to His presence with verbal or active expressions of love and devotion.”

Krister Stendahl: Worship is being confronted with a sense of wonder, a sense of our sin, a seeking of purging and purification and a summons to service.

Clement of Alexandria: Worship is celebration. All of life is a festival: being persuaded that God is everywhere present on all sides, we praise him as we till the ground, we sing hymns as we sow the seed, we feel his inspiration in all we do.

Anonymous: Worship is response to God resulting in service to people.

See? Everyone has an opinion! Even I have a definition for worship.

I define worship as an act of surrender.

When I come to worship, I come with the mindset to surrender my will to God. I often think about the words John the Baptist spoke when Jesus began his ministry, “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

Although we are created in the image of God, I still see the need to have more of Jesus in my life and less of me. You know what I am saying…”thy will be done” and not my will be done. 

Worship is the place where I surrender myself to God’s love through music, prayer, scripture and even the message. 

However, the attitude I bring to worship affects how I worship. If I am not open to God’s love in that moment, I won’t let my guard down. If I come in looking for things to complain about, I will find them. If I come seeking entertainment, I will be entertained (but I won’t be worshipping).  If I come in looking for Jesus to connect with me, I will find connection. The attitude we bring to worship matters.

The act of surrendering myself to Jesus at worship will then spur me into faithful living and serving the rest of the week. 

Do you surrender yourselves to God when you come to worship?

Oh and more thing…

Christian worship is communal. We also come to connect with others. So many people have said, I can worship God on the golf course, lake, mountain, park, etc. I believe that is partially true. 

I am also skeptical of those who say they actually worship by themselves in those places. In all my travels, I have never encountered a person in nature actually worshipping God. OK, rant over!

We worship as a community to be strengthened by others. We are fortified by the voices of others as we sing and pray. We are reminded that we are never alone in the voice of the person sitting next to us. 

Come and surrender yourself this weekend whether online or in person. We need more of Jesus in our lives and we need each other. 

God bless,
Pr. Ben

Here we are in 2020. My does time fly! In 1998, Community Lutheran Church was engaged in a strategic planning process called “Vision 2020” and here we are. Now I don’t remember the conclusions of that report but that doesn’t matter now. What does matter are the plans we make for the coming year.

Maybe not our plans per se…

May I suggest we turn our hearts toward asking, “What are God’s plans for us in 2020?” I am reminded of a verse in the book of Proverbs that the wisest king who ever lived once wrote, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 We all have things we want to do or even need to do but do we ever take the time to ask God what He has planned for us?

All you need to do is look at the Bible and see that God has plans. Plans for the world, plans for nations and plans for individuals. Where is God leading you in 2020?

I know that some view God as silent or even disinterested but I disagree. Jesus established the church knowing we need each other. That was a great plan! At the end of our lives we won’t be talking about: the degrees hanging on the wall, the cars we drove or even the homes we have lived. We will reflect upon the deep and lasting relationships in our lives. The church is the place where we can grow in our relationship with Jesus and with others. God has a plan for us to be connected but there is so much more Jesus wants to accomplish in your life. 

Let me ask: What about you? What is God leading you to in 2020? Have you prayed about this very question?

I can certainly see how God led me in 2019. I didn’t seek to come to Las Vegas. I was open to the possibility but I didn’t “orchestrate” the process. I decided early on if this was God’s will, it will unfold the way God intends. I didn’t need to do anything other than be myself through the interview process.  

In 2020, I believe God has set me on the path to help our congregation discern who we are and how we will do life together in the coming years. This won’t happen overnight because it is a process of discovery. I often see God working in my life as steps and not giant leaps. I am content to take one step at a time. 

I try to live by Psalm 37:23-24 as it relates to the most important things. “If the Lord delights in a person’s way, God makes their steps firm; though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord upholds them with His hand.”

I try not to make reactive decisions. I aim to be deliberate so that my path forward is sure. Even the Psalm reminds me that even with good intentions, I will occasionally stumble.  Yet, I am reminded that God will be there to help me catch myself (if I am open to His leadership in my life).

Where is God leading you in 2020? If you haven’t asked yet, maybe you should.

God bless,
Pr. Ben