During the month of May, we are revisiting our congregation’s mission statement in our preaching. A mission statement is nothing more than a summary of what we believe and our stated goals. Most churches have a mission statement. Fewer churches know what their mission statement says. That is not the case at Community Lutheran Church….
On Palm Sunday (the day Jesus came to Jerusalem for the week of Passover) I preached on the word Christ. If you were with us, I said that we might have lost the plotline because this word remained untranslated in our English language Bibles. Why would translators translate every other word and not “Christ”? The…
Last week, I attended my last church council meeting for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. My term is coming to an end in July. Community Lutheran Church is a part of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and I am honored to serve on the church council for the national church body. In…
For me, the journey towards the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus involves humility. Why? Because he acts on our behalf. Jesus does something for us that we can’t do for ourselves. I can’t absolve myself of sin without the death and resurrection of Jesus. I need what he so graciously did for me….
Yesterday, we began the season of Lent. Lent is Latin for the word “spring.” As you may have guessed, the name has nothing to do with the actual church season. Lent is a time to prepare our hearts for the greatest miracle in human history: The Resurrection of Jesus. Lent can also be a time…
Let’s reflect on the Kingdom of God for a moment. Not the kingdom of humanity or governments or corporations or even small organizations. When Jesus the Son of God began his earthly ministry, he proclaimed, “The Kingdom of God is near.” Mark 1:15 Of course this makes sense, wherever the Son of God is, the…
Early this week, someone aligned with the current administration but not an employee of the federal government posted this on social media… “Now it’s the ‘Lutheran’ faith (this use of ‘religion’ as a money laundering operation must end): Lutheran Family Services and affiliated organizations receive massive amounts of taxpayer dollars…” This was amplified by another…
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 Before the creation of the universe, there was God. Before the creation of the world, there was a spiritual realm. Everything we see and experience was first imagined in the heavenly realms. The permanent dwelling…
Last week we entered 2025. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations are a part of our secular culture. Some (not me) stay up to welcome the new year and all the possibilities it may bring. Although we can’t predict what may come, I pray it is a good year for you and our…
As Christmas approaches, let me encourage you to be like Jesus by taking the first step towards another person. What do I mean by this? Let me explain… We understand that God took a step towards us when he came down to us (from heaven) in the person of Jesus. We call that the “incarnation.”…
