aWelcomingChurch

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Day 8)

2012-01-24T20:56:00.001-06:00

Day Eight: United in the Reign of Christ (Wed., Jan. 25)
1 Chronicles 29:10-13; Psalm 21:1-7; Revelation 3:19b-22; John 12:23-26

On this last day of our week of prayer for Christian Unity we celebrate the Reign of Christ. Christ’s victory enables us to look into the future with hope. This victory overcomes all that keeps us from sharing fullness of life with him and with each other. Christians know that unity among us is above all a gift of God. It is a share in Christ’s glorious victory over all that divides.

Almighty God, Ruler of All, teach us to contemplate the mystery of Your glory. Grant that we may accept Your gifts with humility and respect each person´s dignity. May Your Holy Spirit strengthen us for the spiritual battles which lie ahead, so that united in Christ we may reign with Him in glory. Grant this through Him who humbled Himself and was exalted, who lives with You and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
Eight Days reflecting on our change in Christ

Adapted for First Presbyterian Church Lake Crystal by Pastor Randy from materials published by The Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches:
< http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main /documents/p2/2011/WOP2012eng.pdf >

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Day 7)

2012-01-23T23:06:00.003-06:00

Day Seven: Changed by the Good Shepherd (Tues., Jan. 24)
1 Samuel 2:1-10; Psalm 23; Eph 6:10-20; John 21:15-19

On this day the Bible texts show us the Lord strengthening His flock. Following the Good Shepherd, we are called to strengthen each other in the Lord, and to support and fortify the weak and the lost. There is one Shepherd, and we are his people.

For Reflection:

1. How does the Good Shepherd inspire us to comfort, revive, and restore the confidence of those who are lost?

2. In what ways can Christians of various traditions strengthen each other in confessing and bearing witness to Jesus Christ?

3. For us today, what can be the meaning of St Paul’s exhortation: “Be strong in the Lord....put on the whole armour of God”?

Father of all, you call us to be one flock in your Son, Jesus Christ. He is our Good Shepherd who invites us to lie down in green pastures, leads us beside still waters, and restores our souls. In following him, may we so care for others that all see in us the love of the one true Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Days 5 & 6)

2012-01-23T11:54:00.001-06:00

Day Five: Changed by the peace of the Risen Lord (Sunday, Jan. 22)
Malachi 4:5-6; Psalm 133; Eph 2:14-20; John 20:19-23

Today we celebrate the peace of the Risen Lord. The Risen One is the great Victor over death and the world of darkness. He unites His disciples, who were paralysed with fear. He opens up before us new prospects of life and of acting for His coming kingdom. The Risen Lord unites and strengthens all believers. Peace and unity are the hallmarks of our transformation in the resurrection.

Loving and merciful God, teach us the joy of sharing in Your peace. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so that we may tear down the walls of hostility separating us. May the risen Christ, who is our peace, help us to overcome all division and unite us as members of His household. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, to whom with You and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen

Day Six: Changed by God’s Steadfast Love (Mon., Jan. 23)
Habakkuk 3:17-19; Psalm 136:1-4, 23-26; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17

On this day we concentrate our attention on God’s steadfast love. The Paschal Mystery reveals this steadfast love, and calls us to a new way of faith. This faith overcomes fear and opens our hearts to the power of the Spirit. Such faith calls us to friendship with Christ, and so to one another.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, by Your Resurrection You have triumphed over death, and have become the Lord of life. Out of love for us You have chosen us to be Your friends. May the Holy Spirit unite us to You and to one other in the bonds of friendship, that we may faithfully serve You in this world as witnesses to Your steadfast love; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Adapted for First Presbyterian Church Lake Crystal by Pastor Randy from materials published by The Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches:
< http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main /documents/p2/2011/WOP2012eng.pdf >

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Day 4)

2012-01-21T08:06:00.001-06:00

Day Four: Changed by the Lord’s Victory over Evil (Sat., Jan. 21)
Ex 23:1-9; Psalm 1; Romans 12:17-21; Matthew 4:1-11

This day takes us deeper into the struggles against evil. Victory in Christ is an overcoming of all that damages God’s creation, and keeps us apart from one another. In Jesus we are called to share in this new life, struggling with him against what is wrong in our world, with renewed confidence and with a delight in what is good. In our divisions we cannot be strong enough to overcome evil in our times. For reflection: 1. Where do we see evil in our own lives? 2. In what way can our faith in Christ help us to overcome evil and the Evil One? 3. What can we learn from situations in our community where division has given way to reconciliation?

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for Your victory over evil and division. We praise You for Your sacrifice and Your resurrection that conquer death. Help us in our everyday struggle against all adversity. May the Holy Spirit give us strength and wisdom so that, following You, we may overcome evil with good, and division with reconciliation. Amen.

Prayer for Christian Unity

2012-01-20T08:42:00.001-06:00

Day Three: Changed by the Suffering Servant (Fri., Jan. 20)
Isa 53:3-11; Ps 22:12-24; 1 Peter 2:21-25; Luke 24:25-27

This day calls us to reflect on the suffering of Christ. Following Christ the Suffering Servant, Christians are called to solidarity with all who suffer. The closer we come to the cross of Christ the closer we come to one another. For reflection: What areas of human suffering go unnoticed or are belittled in our society?

God of consolation, you have transformed the shame of the cross into a sign of victory. Grant that we may be united around the Cross of your Son to worship Him for the mercy offered through his suffering. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes and our hearts, so that we may help those who suffer to experience your closeness. ; You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

Joy, Joy, Joy

2012-01-19T11:18:00.002-06:00

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Day 2)

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

Day Two: Changed through patient waiting for the Lord (Thurs., Jan. 19)
1 Sam 1:1-20; Psalm 40; Heb 11:32-34; Matthew 3:13-17

On this day we concentrate on patient waiting for the Lord. To achieve any change, perseverance and patience are needed. Prayer to God for any kind of transformation is also an act of faith and trust in his promises. Such waiting for the Lord is essential for all who pray for the visible unity of the church this week. All ecumenical activities require time, mutual attention and joint action. We are all called to co-operate with the work of the Spirit in uniting Christians. For reflection: In what situations in our life should we have a greater trust in God’s promises? In what situations should Christians wait, and when should they act together decisively?

Faithful God, you are true to your word in every age. May we, like Jesus, have patience and trust in your steadfast love. Enlighten us by your Holy Spirit that we may not obstruct the fullness of your justice by our own hasty judgements, but rather discern your wisdom and love in all things. ; You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

2012-01-18T12:45:00.001-06:00

Over the coming week we are invited to enter more deeply into our faith that we will all be changed through the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The biblical readings, questions for reflection, and prayers all explore different aspects of what this means for the lives of Christians and their unity with one another, in and for today’s world.

Day One: Changed by the Servant Christ (Wed., Jan. 18)
Zech 9:9-10; Psalm 131; Rom 12:3-8; Mark 10:42-45

On this day we encounter Jesus, on the road to victory through service. We see him as the ”one who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life, a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Consequently, the Church of Jesus Christ is a serving community. The use of our diverse gifts in common service to humanity makes visible our unity in Christ.

Almighty and eternal God, by travelling the royal road of service your Son leads us from the arrogance of our disobedience to humility of heart. Unite us to one another by your Holy Spirit, so that through service to our sisters and brothers, Your true countenance may be revealed; You, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

January 2012 Newsletter Excerpts

2011-12-27T09:44:00.002-06:00

Beginnings
Happy New Year! Whether you’re one who regularly makes a Resolution (or four?) to start the New Year, or one who just glides blissfully into the New Year, or somewhere in-between, my hope and prayer is for Christ to be your all-in-all in 2012. I wish you happiness and health and prosperity, too. But way, way higher up on the ladder of priority, I pray for Christ to invade every nook and cranny of your life in 2012. May Christ be Beginning and End in your life and in our church.
Beginning on our knees
Is there a better way to start the New Year than on our knees in prayer? I don’t think so. A wise man once said, “Every day is a new life.” As followers of Jesus the Anointed One of God we live in the reality of the resurrection. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Everything is brand new! Brennan Manning, reflecting on Christ’s words about “entering the kingdom of God as a little child,” says this means forgetting the past—living only in the present reality of being loved to the uttermost by God. Yet, the psalmist often reminds us of the importance of remembering:
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
(Psalm 90:1-2)
On New Year’s Day, let’s do both. Let’s recall once again that our God has been our help in ages past, let’s give thanks for the reality of the resurrection—remember, every Lord’s Day is a celebration of Easter—and let’s praise God who is our only comfort and hope for the year to come. See you at worship at 9:30 on Sunday morning, January 1.

Conflict and Collaboration

A conflict-free congregation is incongruent not only with reality but even more with biblical theology. Jesus upset many people emotionally. The life of Jesus takes place against a backdrop of suspicion, opposition, and crucifixion. The Christian story is underlined with conflict.
~ Peter L. Steinke

Conflict is normal and natural and to be expected in any organization, even in—yes, especially in the church. Because we are generally peace-loving people, there is a great temptation to “avoid conflict at all costs.” This temptation is actually more dangerous to the health of the church than the conflict/disagreement itself. Peter Steinke, an expert in family systems and congregational health, points out that pastors (and sessions, I’m guessing) are usually much better at “avoidance,” “accommodation,” and “compromise” than at the more proactive behaviors, specifically, “assertiveness” and “collaboration.”

Disagreements, especially in the church, make people anxious. Quite naturally, we want the anxiety to go away. So, too often, we avoid the conflict, we pretend it doesn’t exist, or we do “whatever it takes” to make the conflict and the anxiety “Just-Go-Away-Now!”

When I worked with the chaplains at Iowa Lutheran Hospital during the summer prior to my last year in seminary, the hospital had signs in almost every hallway expressing their “CORE values” with a picture of an apple core and “CORE” as an acronym for Compassion, Openness, Respect, and Excellence. To this day I often recall those four “CORE values.” These values of compassion, openness, respect, and excellence make sense for my own life—I try to apply them. I am sure they make a lot of sense for a church family, too.

Conflict in a church family is not unhealthy when we share varying viewpoints with openness, listen to each others' ideas with respect, and make every effort to understand where the “other side” is coming from with compassion and love. Some degree of anxiety in the midst of conflict is normal, and anxiety is not inherently bad or unhealthy, as long as leaders continue to respond to the anxiety rather than to react to the anxiety. There is a big difference.

Collaboration is a proactive response to disagreement/conflict/anxiety.

Collaboration empowers those folks offering new ideas, persons willing to listen, and members with unique perspectives. Collaboration calls forth the gifts and graces of the Spirit. In contrast, avoidance often results in greater anxiety and a lack of understanding of the other perspective; and accommodation often empowers only a few people. Collaboration is, of course, impossible without openness.

Case Study: Mr. A tells Mr. B (a session member) that he’s dislikes donuts at coffee-time and thinks we should serve nothing but fresh fruit; and further, that if it doesn’t change soon, he’ll… do something drastic (you can fill in the specifics); and further, he says, lots of people agree with him; and further, Mr. A tells Mr. B that he expects him to share his views (and perhaps even his threats) with the session, but, of course, not his name.

Do you see how, if the session were to react to the anonymous Mr. A, then the church would really be giving power (“empowering”) the unhealthy (violent, really) behavior of the anonymous donut-hater? This is not to say that Mr. A might not have a good point about the healthiness of fruit vs. donuts. But a healthy church family system cannot reward unhealthy behaviors and expect to remain healthy.

Too often avoidance, compromise, and—for sure—accommodation rewards unhealthy behaviors.

Collaboration rewards healthy behaviors and values: compassion, openness, respect, excellence. Collaboration allows each participant to “take the risk” of speaking the truth in love and allows each participant the privilege and opportunity to listen and learn from others.

Too often in today’s world and way too often in today’s churches the ultimate goal of conflict is to win. This is not the way it ought to be. I have personally seen—not here, hardly ever, for which I rejoice!—but I have seen it elsewhere, and it is sad and heartbreaking and damaging to the body of Christ.

In the church—the body of Christ comprised of sinners saved by grace, sick souls healed by Christ, imperfect people striving to grow into the transformation of Christ’s resurrection— In the church the goal of conflict is not winning; the goal of conflict is to transform disagreements into opportunities for greater and deeper understanding, opportunities to enter into sincere prayer and discernment together, opportunities to hear the Spirit!

I Love October

2011-09-28T10:44:00.000-05:00

Lots and lots of reasons to love October, don’t you think? I love the leaves changing color, the crispness of the air, the sight of combines harvesting corn and beans. I love hiking in October. I love the smell of October. I’m fond of high school football games and the World Series—and of soups and chili, and bonfires and hot apple cider.

I’ve always loved the first Sunday in October—World Communion Sunday. I love knowing that we are celebrating communion with Christians around the world in a special way. Henri Nouwen wrote, “By eating the Body and drinking the Blood of Christ, we become one with him.” I would immediately add, “…and one with all who celebrate the Feast.”

Back in Pella, Iowa, long before I was seriously considering seminary, I would always spend the afternoon of World Communion Sunday participating in the “CROP Walk”—a 10 kilometer “stroll” on a marked route through town. CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service and organized by religious groups, businesses, schools and others to raise funds to end hunger at home and around the world.

In Pella it was organized by churches—almost all participating—and was preceded by a big potluck-in-the-park for walkers and their families. What a day it always was! Eating together, walking together, being given water and snacks at various rest-stops along the route, the goal of ending hunger, the ecumenism (all the churches doing it together), and—significantly—doing all this on World Communion Sunday—the whole experience was quite meaningful to me.

I guess I tell the story for two reasons:
1. To help us envision the possibility of doing a CROP Hunger Walk in Lake Crystal next year—with all the churches participating. Perhaps someone reading this—perhaps you—would be like to be the one to make this happen in 2012. Imagine hundreds of children, young adults, parents, and grandparents walking together. Imagine Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians walking together to help end hunger. Imagine a route that winds past every church and both school buildings. Wouldn’t that be fabulous?
2. To simply encourage you to make World Communion Sunday a special day of worship and service… not next year… but today! Make it a day devoted to peacemaking in your own life and in your own ways.

When's the last time you were surprised?

2011-08-01T14:43:00.003-05:00

When’s the last time you were
SURPRISED AT CHURCH?

We’ve all heard the phrase somewhere along the way: “Church is boring!” Boring church means yawning kids, sleeping Dads, “rolling eyes,” cynicism, the same-old-same-old. No one likes boring. So instead, let’s expect surprises! Indeed, God is a surprising God, right?

At First Presbyterian Church, you can expect a few surprises now and then. Maybe not Sponge Bob. But rather, a surprising openness to questions and doubts, a respect for you and your imagination, the good news communicated in creative and concrete ways, and a willingness to experiment. Join us Sunday mornings (and, beginning this month, every second Saturday night) at First Presbyterian, 302 E. Prince Street.

By the way, if you really like surprises, you might like our new “Saturday Night Experiment”—a casual, laid-back, welcoming, loving atmosphere; a place more concerned about where you’re going than where you’ve been.

Experience the Light of Saturday Night
Pre-Grand Opening Service with Pastor Randy leading
a conversation on the theme, “Stepping Out into the Unknown.”
And with musical guests Wade & Mary Lou Fradenbergh
(a country gospel duo from New Prague)

5:30 pm ● Saturday, August 13
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
LAKE CRYSTAL, MINNESOTA

Ordination Standards

2011-05-24T15:25:00.002-05:00

In July 2010, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved a proposed amendment to the Book of Order, part of the PC(USA) Constitution, regarding ordination standards. As with all constitutional changes, Amendment 10-A required ratification by a majority (87) of the PC(USA)’s 173 presbyteries (regional bodies) for it to become part of the Book of Order. On May 10, 2011, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities became the 87th presbytery to ratify the amendment.

The following provision that is currently in the Book of Order (G-6.0106b) will be changed:

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4. 9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

The new language (Amendment 10-A) will read:

Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

As I shared with the congregation on Sunday, May 22, the vote to ratify Amendment 10-A by a majority of the presbyteries -- at last count, by 94 presbyteries (54% of the total presbyteries) -- is an event that has, for many, created feelings of grief, anxiety, or dismay. But for many others it is an event “long overdue” and deserving of celebration. Many of you, I am guessing, are neither grieved nor overjoyed; rather, you are not really sure what to think or believe or feel about the vote and how it might affect our denomination and our church.

Although the amendment doesn’t officially take effect until July 10, 2011 (one year after the adjournment of the last assembly), already, the change has energized conversations across the PC(USA) about how we can best enable the gifts of those called to service in Christ’s church and have mutual respect for each others' integrity. The amendment reminds presbyteries (and, just as importantly, our own session) of their right and responsibility to examine candidates for suitability of office.

Change is always stressful. Yes, this amendment means that a person in a same-gender relationship can be considered for ordination as deacon, elder, or Minister of the Word and Sacrament. For some of you, that is a decision you cannot affirm. Although you do believe the Holy Spirit works through the decision-making processes of the church, you do not agree with this particular decision of our church. I understand your concerns—many of my closest friends and mentors do not agree with this decision—I respect them and I respect you and care deeply for you! I strongly encourage you to articulate and live by your convictions. I will walk with you and pray with you and for you.

For those of you who celebrate this change, I believe I can understand your joy, too—many of my closest friends and mentors are celebrating this decision. I encourage you to rejoice with compassion and in humility—some of your sisters and brothers in Christ are grieving the decision.

□

For me, it has been important to understand the context, the long history of our denomination’s conversations and battles regarding sexuality and ordination. It is important to understand that Amendment 10-A does not replace a long-standing paragraph, but rather a paragraph with recent origins. G-6.0106b became part of the Book of Order just 15 years ago on a very close vote—our own presbytery voted against it at the time.

It has been helpful and illuminating for me to read about the spiritual journeys of others on this issue, particularly of those theologians who I either know personally or am quite familiar with. Particularly these three:
• Dr. Mark Achtemeier, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Dubuque Theological Seminary;
• Dr. Arlo Duba, Professor of Worship Emeritus, retired Dean of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, and PC(USA) Minister of Word and Sacrament;
• Lewis Smedes (1921-2002), a theologian in the Reformed tradition, author, and professor of theology and ethics for twenty-five years at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

I have read interviews and essays and talked personally with many friends and colleagues. This has helped and guided me. Yes, I have studied and prayed on my own, too, but listening to spiritual guides and friends on both sides of this issue has challenged me to think deeply, to listen compassionately, and to be humble.

Back in Pella -- even before I was in seminary -- we would gather for Sunday dinner at Carolyn’s parents’ home with the extended family. Upon occasion, Carolyn’s youngest sister Lisa and I would be having a conversation on the “issues of the day” and, oftentimes, one or the other would be playing “Devil’s advocate.” Then, sometimes, the “discussion” would turn into a “war of words.”

For Lisa and I -- especially for me -- this was great fun. But for Carolyn -- well, you can imagine, can’t you?! Carolyn was a peacemaker.

One Sunday, when the discussion was particularly “hot,” Carolyn shouted -- a rare event! Carolyn shouted, “STOP IT!”

Carolyn longed for peace. “Stop it,” in this context, might be translated, “Please, please, will you please demonstrate love for each other and let us all enjoy our meal in peace?”

The beauty of our polity -- our Presbyterian form of government -- is that is enables Christians to disagree on particular issues and still gather in peace around the same Table.

Regardless of our position on this one issue, we are one in our Lord Jesus Christ. We share a common identity in Christ and in our calling. We are “God’s special possession” and we have been called to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

□

God who so loved the world that you gave your only Son, and who loves us dearly and has claimed us as his own; help us to love one another, help us submit to your Lordship in all aspects of our lives, and help our church always be yours—“A House of Prayer for All Peoples.” Amen.

Glad to be on the journey with you,
Pastor Randy

Amendment 10-A
REFLECTIONS FROM OTHERS IN OUR DENOMINATION

(Our) identity rests three bedrock convictions that have long sustained peace, unity, and purity in Christ’s body and will in the future. We believe that the triune God: loves us, saves us, and empowers us with a calling and commission.

From the final report of the Theological Task force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, 2005

We have responsible, godly, biblically serious Presbyterians on both sides of the aisle.

Rev. Dr. Mark Achtemeier, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Dubuque Theological Seminary

Though we differ widely on the outcome of this vote, I pray we remember Scripture's call to “speak the truth in love,” and Christ's command to “love one another as I have loved you.” Our ability to respectfully disagree and to continue to embrace one another as brothers and sisters in Christ serves as an important witness to a world polarized by disagreement.

Tom Evans, executive presbyter for the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta

We believe that the Presbyterian Church (USA) needs the voices and gifts of all of us, whether we agree with Amendment 10-A or not. Our unity is strengthened by our diversity, and vigorous debate as well as mutual forbearance is essential to the body. After 30 years of struggle related to the call and ordination of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, it is now time to move forward. We pray that God will bless all of us with a fresh commitment to share the good news of Jesus Christ with a world hungry for the grace, justice and truth of the Gospel.

Letter to the denomination signed by 24 former PCUSA General Assembly moderators

Presbyterians will differ widely in their responses to the imminent change in the Book of Order. Those who have seen the ordination of gay and lesbian people as an issue of justice will celebrate a victory in a more than 30 year-long battle. Those who have sought to uphold Biblical standards for ordination will be grieved. Some of these folks will no doubt leave the PCUSA. Others will stay in the denomination as they continue to serve the Lord and to seek the peace, unity, and purity of the church. I am in that latter category. Although the official position of my denomination has shifted in a direction I don’t affirm, I am still free to articulate and live by my convictions with respect to sexuality and ordination. As long as this does not change, I will not be compelled to leave the PCUSA for reasons of conscience. I know that many people will disagree with my decision and I understand their consternation. I also respect those who believe that faithfulness to God means that they must withdraw from the PCUSA. But I am trying to be faithful to Scripture as I understand it, and such faithfulness includes “making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). I want to continue to work with my Presbyterian brothers and sisters to learn what it really means “to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Christ in all aspects of life.”

Dr. Mark D. Roberts, senior director and scholar in residence for Laity Lodge in Texas

To read more, including essays by persons with a variety of perspectives, including essays by Mark Achtemeier, Arlo Dubu, Lewis Smedes, and Mark D. Roberts, please feel free to contact Pastor Randy.

The Inner Voice of Love: Review

2011-05-05T21:36:00.004-05:00

The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom (Doubleday, 1996) is an intensely personal book by Henri J.M. Nouwen. Reading it, even just one short chapter a day, is an intense experience. Reading it can be scary. Publishing it, says Nouwen, was scary. It is delightful and dangerous, frightening and freeing.

The Inner Voice of Love is a collection of "spiritual imperatives" which Nouwen wrote to himself while going through the most difficult period of his life. This is his "secret journal," written during Nouwen's own dark night of the soul -- a time when he had lost his self-esteem, his energy, his sense of being loved, his hope in God.

To ingest and digest these imperatives (at least for me), I first need to read while imagining Nouwen writing to himself, to imagine what he was feeling, what he might be saying to himself. Only then can I read it again and ask myself, "Might this apply to me? Might I write this to myself? Might Henri say this to me? Might the Spirit of Christ (the Spirit of Love, the Inner Voice of Love) being saying it to me?"

Here's an example:

Understanding the Limitations of Others

You keep listening to those who seem to reject you. But they never speak about you. They speak about their own limitations. They confess their poverty in the face of your needs and desires. They simply ask for your compassion. They do not say that you are bad, ugly, or despicable. They say only that you are asking for something they cannot give and that they need to get some distance from you to survive emotionally. The sadness is that you perceive their necessary withdrawal as a rejection of you instead of as a call to return home and discover there your true belovedness. (Nouwen, p. 13)

Don Postema (in Space for God) suggests beginning one's morning prayer discipline with about five minutes of meditation -- simply and quietly repeating the phrase, "I belong to God." This may be the spiritual practice which, over the years, has been most significant in helping me to return home to God. Sometimes people talk about "going home" with respect to the death of a loved one. But I think we need to return home to God, to return home to the place of our belovedness in God each and every day. That's what Nouwen means when he talks about the call to "return home."

Maundy Thursday: A Communion Service of Readings and Remembrance

2011-04-21T22:42:00.004-05:00

Maundy Thursday has been a special observance of the Lord’s Supper since the earliest centuries of the Christian church. It is an observance of the “Last Supper” celebrated by Jesus and his disciples during the Jewish Passover, of Jesus’ example of self-offering and humility in washing the feet of his disciples, and of Jesus’ new commandment to “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin, Dias Mandatum; literally, “Day of the New Commandment.” In some Reformed and Presbyterian congregatons, Maundy Thursday is the most significant observance of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) (Eucharist) of the entire church year.

This year's service focused on the meaning and development of the Lord's Supper, showing its background in the Jewish Passover, the practice of giving thanks to God, the feeding of the people in the wilderness, the teaching of Jesus, the Last Supper and the common meals that Jesus had with his disciples, and the early experience of his presence at such meals after he rose from the dead. The concluding and departing emphasis is on Christ's new commandment of love.

This order of worship is an adaptation of a service written by Rev. David Beswick, Uniting Church in Australia. The prayer of confession was written by Thom M. Shuman, a Presbyterian pastor and poet from Cincinnati, Ohio. The "Great Thanksgiving" prayer was adapted from two sources: a Good Friday prayer by Henri Nouwen in Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings (Crossroad Publishing, 1992) and an Anglican prayer in A New Zealand Prayer Book. We make a special point to welcome guests of all Christian traditions to celebrate the Lord's Supper with us. We often include this note in our bulletin: If it is your desire to "see Christ more clearly, love Christ more dearly, and follow Christ more nearly, day by day,” then you are welcome to come to the Table of our Lord. At First Presbyterian Church we welcome all persons regardless of denominational or church affiliation.

ORDER OF WORSHIP

CENTERING OURSELVES IN GOD: Prelude
GATHERING IN REVERENCE: “Oh, how he loves you and me” (Words and Music by Kurt Kaiser)

Oh, how he loves you and me. Oh, how he loves you and me.
He gave his life—what more could he give?
Oh, how he loves you; oh, how he loves me; oh, how he loves you and me!
Jesus to Calvary did go, love for all people to show;
what he did there brought hope from despair.
Oh, how he loves you; oh, how he loves me; oh, how he loves you and me!

GOD WELCOMES US HOME... AND WE RESPOND (Psalm 116:12-13, 17-19):
Leader: What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me?
People: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
Leader: I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD.
People: I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Leader: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
People: Amen!
HYMN: “O Thou, My Soul, Return in Peace” (Psalm 116) (Rejoice in the Lord #125)

THE ORIGINS OF THE LAST SUPPER
FIRST READING: The Jewish Passover Feast: Exodus 12:1-4. 11-14
PASCHAL AFFIRMATIONS:
The Last Supper was made into the Lord's Supper after the disciples met the risen Lord. We celebrate the Feast with an Easter-Faith, that is to say, with “Resurrection-Eyes” through which we see the significance of what Jesus did at the Last Supper and which we will recall tonight. Let us now, then, confess that faith, in the words of scripture which are called the Easter anthems, or Paschal affirmations:

For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:9-11)
Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

PRAYER OF ADORATION
CALL TO CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Leader: Creator and Loving God, you kneel to wash our feet, yet we are reluctant for you to see all the places we have gone in our attempts to escape you. You would bathe us in the warm, living waters of your love, though we splash and play in the puddles of temptation. We have received all the gifts you have to offer, yet we are tempted to think they are only for us, rather than sharing them.
People: Forgive us, Holy One, and have mercy on us. What can we give you for all your wonderful graciousness towards us? As you have broken your heart for us, may we open ours in service to others. As you have given your life for us, may we offer ours to bring healing to the world. As you have called us together around your Table, may we go forth to feed a world hungry, not only for food, but for that Spirit which brings peace and reconciliation. This we pray as servants of Jesus Christ, who came to serve us in life, in death, in resurrection hope.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy upon us.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON:

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
The same Jesus who prayed—even while hanging on a cross—who prayed for God to forgive those who killed him—
This same Jesus prays for us.
Dear sisters and brothers, I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Believe the good news and go forth to live in peace.

HYMN: “In the Cross of Christ I Glory”

THE BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN
SECOND READING: Manna from Heaven: Exodus 16:11-15, 31
THIRD READING: Feeding of the Five Thousand: John 6:1-15
FOURTH READING: Jesus Presents Himself as the New Manna: John 6:25-38, 48-51
SOLO: “Come, Bread of Life” (Words by Daniel and Melody Meeter, 1981; Tune: GENEVA 32)

THE FEAST AND THE REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST
FIFTH READING: The Last Supper: Matthew 26:17-30
CHOIR ANTHEM: “Winds through the Olives”
SIXTH READING: The Presence of Christ Jesus in the Feast: Luke 24:28-35
HYMN: “I Come with Joy to Meet My Lord” (Brian Wren) (Tune: LAND OF REST)
SEVENTH READING: We Are Fed by Christ in the Feast: John 21:9-17

EUCHARIST (THANKSGIVING)
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
THE PEACE:
Leader: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
People: And also with you.
Please stand and share signs of Christ's peace with your sisters and brothers.

EIGHTH READING: The Words of Institution: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
THE GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Leader: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

O dear Lord Jesus Christ,
Infinite, intimate God;
this night you kneel before your friends
and wash our feet.
Bound together in your love,
trembling, we drink your cup
and watch.

O dear Lord, what can we say to you?
Is there any word that we could utter?
Any thought? Any sentence?
You died for us, you gave all for our sins, you not only became flesh for us but also suffered the most cruel death for us.
Is there any response?

We wish that we could find a fitting response, but in contemplating your holy passion and death we can only humbly confess to you that the immensity of your divine love makes any response seem totally inadequate.

And so we merely stand afar off and gaze—

Your body is broken,
your head wounded,
your hands and feet split open by nails,
your side pierced.

And now your dead body rests in the arms of your Mother.
It is all over now.
It is finished.
It is fulfilled.
It is accomplished.

Sweet Lord, gracious Lord,
generous Lord, forgiving Lord:
We adore you, we praise you, we thank you.
You have made all things new
through your suffering and death.
Your cross has been planted in this world
as the new sign of hope.

Let us always live under your cross, O Lord,
And proclaim the hope of your cross unceasingly.
In the hope and power of the cross...
In the name of Jesus, who loves us to the uttermost...
we pray together…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

BREAKING OF THE BREAD

The cup of blessing for which we give thanks—
Is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
The bread which we break—
Is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Indeed, we who are many
are one body, for we all share the same loaf.
The gifts of God for the people of God.

PRAYER: Agnus Dei:
Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the world, grant us peace.
COMMUNION OF THE PEOPLE
[When all have been served the bread]
Take, eat, remember, and believe
that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ
was given for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.
[When all have been served the cup]
Take, drink, remember, and believe
that the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
was shed for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.

POST-COMMUNION HYMN: “Beneath the Cross of Jesus”

THE SENDING FORTH OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD
NINTH READING: Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet / New Commandment: John 13:1-17, 34-35
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION: Philippians 4:4-7
POSTLUDE

Palm Sunday Sermon: Our Fickle Hearts

2011-04-17T13:00:00.003-05:00

From “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!” The flow of our Palm & Passion Sunday worship is a lot like the storyline in the Broadway musical “Into the Woods.” At the end of Act I, everyone’s expecting to live “happily ever.” But in Act II, everything goes you-know-where in a hand basket.

Same thing today. Palm Sunday is joyful and playful and triumphant. “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Act I is “happily ever after.” But Act II is despair and grief and pain; Act II is the story of Jesus’ passion and death; and it is the story of the fickle crowds.

It is our story, too.
For our hearts really are fickle, aren’t they?
Do I need any other examples to prove my point?

Children beg for the toy they really, really want at Christmas, but by February they wish they’d asked for something else. A man orders the prime rib, but later secretly envies the guy with the rib-eye at the table across the way. Teenagers (adults, too) fall in love and then change their minds, or have what we call a “change of heart” six weeks later. Budding gardeners, filled with great hopes and expectations, plant half-an-acre but lose interest by the Fourth of July. Enthusiasm wanes. We have good intentions, but... Well, you know.

“I wish” oftentimes turns into “I wish for something else,” or, “What was I thinking?” Not just with the little things, but with careers, with business plans, with major purchases. And sadly, with marriages, with commitments… And maybe even with our faith, sometimes?

We want God, but we want our own way. We desire salvation, but we want it on our own terms. We long for a vibrant church, but if vibrancy and alive-ness means taking a risk or making a change… Well, then… we might long for a stable and secure and comfortable church… instead.

We want to feel God’s presence but we hesitate…
What might that mean?

Our hearts are fickle; of this I am quite… pretty sure.

My heart is fickle; of that I am totally certain.

I want to imitate Christ, but I don’t always want to take up the cross and follow. I want to hunger and thirst for righteousness, but I want to satisfy a thousand other hungers as well. I want to work-out every day, but I want to sleep in. I want to spend more time praying and reading the Bible—not to prepare sermons but just to listen to God’s voice—but I want to watch the Twins game.

I pray for patience; I reaffirm and remember my baptism; I renew my personal commitment to prayer; I meditate on the phrase “I belong to God.” And then I lose my temper; and discover resentments and fears, doubts and shortcomings; and forget to pray; and forget who I am and how much I am loved by God.

I want to shout “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

And find myself crying, “Crucify Him!”

And so I have much in common with the people who laid the coats on the road and cut the palm branches and raised them in the air while singing “Hosanna!” And then, less than a week later, had changed their minds.

We’re fickle about a lot of little things, but the root of our fickleness really comes down to being fickle in our love for God.

We are fickle people.
With restless, fickle hearts.

But the heart of the Lord is steadfast and pure. Our Lord Jesus Christ was and is totally un-fickle. He loved the Father, so he obeyed the Father. He loved his disciples, so he washed their feet. He loved the lepers and the sinners and the doubters and even a rich tax collector named Zaccheus. So he touched them and healed them; he ate with them and encouraged them; he spoke the truth in love to them.

Henri Nouwen, meditating on a fourteenth century sculpture of Jesus on the Donkey, envisions Jesus—not waving to the fickle crowd, not looking at the crowd at all—but rather seeing beyond the excitement, beyond the noise, the commotion, the recognition and accolades… And seeing what no one else can see. (1)

His high forehead reflects a knowledge of things to come far beyond anyone’s understanding. There is melancholy, but also peaceful acceptance. There is insight into the fickleness of the human heart, but also immense compassion. There is a deep awareness of the unspeakable pain to be suffered, but also a strong determination to do God’s will. Above all, there is love, an endless, deep, and far-reaching love… (Nouwen).

From the donkey, Jesus sees our fickle human hearts. Jesus sees me with all my sins, my guilt, my shame… Jesus sees into my fickle heart… And loves me with all his forgiveness, mercy, and compassion.

If you dare, close your eyes and imagine a scene with me:

I see Jesus on the donkey off in the distance… he’s coming right down Main Street from the Rec Center, coming around the corner, heading towards downtown, taking a right turn on Prince Street… coming right to our church… right now… I look and look and look, and I know that he sees me—he sees the depths of my fickle heart.

And I know...
Yes, I know without a doubt... I need not be afraid.

Amen.

Notes:
(1) From this point on, the sermon includes paraphrases and quotes from Henri Nouwen's Palm Sunday meditation in Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings. The Crossroad Publishing Company (1992).

Great God, your love has called us here

2011-04-03T17:01:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite hymns...
Read it slowly and thoughtfully...
Isn't the text amazing?

We sang this in worship today with the Northwestern College A cappella Choir. The choir, unaccompanied, sang stanzas 3 & 4. Simply beautiful.

Great God, your love has called us here
as we, by love, for love were made.
Your living likeness still we bear,
though marred, dishonored, disobeyed.
We come, with all our heart and mind,
your call to hear, your love to find.

We come with self-inflicted pains
of broken trust and chosen wrong;
half-free, half-bound by inner chains;
by social forces swept along,
by powers and systems close confined;
yet seeking hope for humankind.

Great God, in Christ you call our name
and then receive us as your own
not through some merit, right, or claim,
but by your gracious love alone.
We strain to glimpse your mercy seat
and find you kneeling at our feet.

Then take the towel, and break the bread,
and humble us, and call us friends.
Suffer and serve till all are fed,
and show how grandly love intends
to work till all creation sings,
to fill all worlds, to crown all things.

Great God, in Christ you set us free,
your life to live, your joy to share.
Give your Spirit's liberty
to turn from guilt and dull despair
and offer all that faith can do
while love is making all things new.

Words by Brian Wren, 1977, rev. 1995
Music: Das Neugeborne Kindelein, 88 88 88

On being a beginner

2011-02-02T01:59:00.003-06:00

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
LAKE CRYSTAL, MINNESOTA
ANNUAL REPORT 2010

REFLECTIONS FROM THE PASTOR: PRAYER AND LEARNING TO PRAY

According to my favorite pastor of pastors, Eugene Peterson, the local church pastor has three basic jobs: to Listen, to Preach, and to Pray (and teach people to pray). For a talker like me, I sometimes wonder if listening might not be the most challenging of the three. Yet I know I’m a better listener than I was six and a half years ago. And as for preaching, I hope I’m growing – maturing, speaking words which “ring true” more often, incorporating more of what I “hear” in the word and “hear” in the Word and helping us all figure out where the truths of our lives and the Truth of God’s Word intersect. But, praying… I wonder sometimes.

Thomas Merton said something along these lines: In prayer we are always only beginners.

That means many different things to me.

For one thing, it means that no matter how often I lead prayers in worship, no matter how many prayers I adapt from others or write “from scratch” or pray “off-the-cuff,” no matter how many confirmation classes or Bible classes I open with prayer, no matter how many prayers I say while on a walk, I will always only be a beginner in prayer. And I need you to know that. I am called to teach people to pray, but I am a beginner in prayer, and always will be.

Another thing about “being-a-beginner” relates to my personal prayer life and, when I think about it, it is very encouraging. To me, it means that I ought to forgive myself for falling short of lofty goals and self-imposed expectations in the discipline of morning and evening prayer. You see, there have been seasons in my life when, by God’s grace, I have been able to spend significant periods of time in prayer. But there have also been seasons where, no matter how hard I try to “just do it,” I just cannot seem to “find the time” or to “keep the discipline.” It seems to be something akin to the training schedule of a marathon runner. From what I have read, long-distance runners sometimes go through periods in their training when their legs feel heavy, when they battle injury, when they are not able to train as hard. Nevertheless, they keep running. At least a little. And the previous training carries them through. They listen to their body and, when they are able, when their body says “it’s OK now,” then (and only then) do they return to the rigorous training schedule. And if they find themselves out of shape, they return to the long distances little-by-little. For me, the practice of prayer is like that. A lot like that!

Finally, when I realize once again that I am always and only a beginner in Prayer, I realize too that maybe, just maybe, I am a beginner in Listening and Preaching too. And always will be.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…”

Ah, yes. The light bulb comes on. Thank you, Jesus.

When I acknowledge being just a beginner in Listening, in Preaching, in Prayer… and, just a beginner in following Jesus day by day… then I am empty… and can be filled by the Holy Spirit… a fallible, fragile, but fully-functional earthen vessel filled with the priceless treasure of Grace.

Glad to be on the journey with you,
Rev. Randal K. Lubbers, Pastor & Teacher

Gratitude and Gifts

2010-12-29T22:56:00.002-06:00

There are so many things to say “thank you” for...

Just the gifts from friends in my congregation takes a long paragraph... I'm smiling as I write this... giving thanks... for Christmas cards; for gifts on our behalf to the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign and to the Heifer Project; for Christmas cookies, trays of goodies, candy, and caramel corn; for Barnes & Noble gift cards; for cash; for steaks and venison and for all those things I’ve forgotten to mention specifically (please forgive me, I’m writing this with no notes while drinking coffee in Pella on the first Monday after Christmas). And – most of all – I am grateful for warm, sincere wishes of “Merry Christmas” accompanied by your bright eyes and smiles. Thank you, thank you all.

Thomas Merton wrote, "To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us--and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him."

For me, gratitude is at the heart of celebrating Christmas. Gratitude is the heart of contemplative, Christ-like, compassionate, joyful living. As I reflected on the wide variety of Christmas gifts we received this year (not to mention the many gifts we’ve been given throughout the year—so many acts of love and compassion I almost lose count of them all), I can’t help but think of the wide variety of spiritual gifts given to the Church through the Holy Spirit. We each have spiritual gifts that differ—yet all of our gifts have this in common: our gifts our given to us by the Holy Spirit for the building up of the body of Christ, for the equipping of the body for ministry, for the glory of God. I am grateful for the gifts God has given our congregation through the Spirit. May we all be “wide-awake” to these gifts in ourselves and in each other during this exciting New Year we have been given by God.

Adapted from the January newsletter

Jesus Inside

2010-12-23T02:35:00.003-06:00

Advent III Sermon preached at First Presbyterian Church on December 19, 2010 (Delayed one week due to the blizzard.)

When Heaven Came to Us: Jesus Inside
Colossians 2:6-12, 16—3:4

What if you weren't who you thought you were? What if you didn't know WHO you were?
In The Bourne Identity, a suspense novel by Robert Ludlum, the protagonist Jason Bourne wakes up after having washed ashore and he has no idea who he is. As the plot moves along there are hints along the way for him, but they're often confusing and even contradictory clues. Many of the clues are frightening. Bits and pieces of his life come back to him out of his subconscious: “Who am I?” he wonders. “Who am I, really? And how could I be someone as horrible as it seems I might be? And now what do I do about it?”

“Who am I... really,” is really the overarching question of the whole book. And it's our big question too.

λ

What if you're weren't who you think you are? What if you were once someone else before you settled into this life? Almost like Superman, like Clark Kent... what if you were from another planet? Or what if, long before your first year in school, you were from another country, another life?
Can you imagine something like that?

Now, can you imagine that today someone from that “old country” is going to meet you for Sunday dinner to tell you, once and for all, all about that other life. Maybe even about relatives you never knew you had. And now imagine the flippity-flops your stomach is doing as you anxiously await all the things this messenger will be telling you. (And now you can't concentrate on the sermon at all... because all you can think about is... “What will the messenger say? Who am I... really?”)

λ

In her book Take This Bread, Sara Miles describes her encounter with the mystery of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Struggling with basically the same question as Jason Bourne in a completely different but very real way, she gets up on a Sunday morning, throws on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and takes the short walk from her apartment to the Episcopal church she passes every day but has never been inside.

And during communion she is moved to come forward... and someone puts a piece of bread into her mouth and said, “The body of Christ.”

And, as Sara Miles tells the story... “Jesus happened to me.”

Jesus inside.

Communion is one of the ways that the living Lord Jesus Christ gets inside of us. Now, as Cornelius Plantinga Jr. explains it, according to much popular thinking, Jesus Christ is either “back there” in history or way “up there” in heaven. Whichever it is, he's not here. And that's a problem. Because (and I'm quoting John Calvin here) “As long as Christ remains outside of us... all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless.... All that he possesses is NOTHING to us until we grow into one body with him.”

Into one body with Christ.
Jesus inside.

Isn't this what Paul is talking about in his letter to the Colossians? Of course it is, and it's what we talk about when we baptize, and when we remember our baptism.
In your baptism you were buried with Christ. And in your baptism you were raised with Christ.

Sometimes baptism is referred to as a “naming ceremony” and there are multiple layers of meaning in that. A baby might receive a special (sometimes “extra”) name in baptism. But in baptism we all receive a new name... we become part of a big new family, the church... we discover WHO WE ARE..... citizens of heaven... we have a dual citizenship... because we are in Christ and Christ is in us.
The messenger meets me...
and tells me where I'm really from,
and who I really am....

It's like Queen Clarisse Rinaldi announcing to her unsuspecting teenage granddaughter Mia, “You are Princess of Genovia. And Mia says, “Me, a princess... (screaming)... Shut up!” To which the Queen responds, “I beg your pardon. 'Shut up'?” And her aide explains, “Oh, your majesty, in America, it doesn't always mean to be quiet. Here it could mean "Wow, gee whiz, golly wolly!"

λ

At Christmas, heaven came to us.

At Christmas our true Elder Brother – do you remember the Prodigal God series? – at Christmas our true Elder Brother came looking for us... from the old country... from our true home... And even though we were scared to hear the news... the message of the angels... to Mary... to Joseph... to the shepherds... and to us... was always consistent... “Do not be afraid.”

"Wow, gee whiz, golly wolly!" Jesus tells us who we are... shows us who we really are... and makes it possible to BE who we really are...

N.T. Wright says,

Part of the central achievement of the incarnation, which is then celebrated in the resurrection and ascension, is that heaven and earth are now joined together with an unbreakable bond and that we too are by rights citizens of both together. We can, if we choose, screen out the heavenly dimension and live as flatlanders, materialists. If we do that, we will be buying into a system that will go bad, and will wither and die, because earth gets its vital life from heaven.
But if we focus our attention on the heavenly dimension, all sorts of positive and practical results follow.

Paul is describing these “results” to the Colossians. Paul is talking about “...actual current physical reality shot through now with the life of heaven.... Heaven and earth... are made for each other, and at certain points they intersect and interlock. Jesus is the ultimate such point. We as Christians are meant to be such points, derived from him” (N.T. Wright).

We are these points of intersection. We are – this is amazing – we are glimpses of heaven because....

Because we believe we have Jesus inside.

“Christ did not rise alone. Christ arose as the head of a whole body of people elected to have faith in him, to benefit from him, and to extend his mission in the world” (Plantinga).

Jesus inside. To be the presence of Jesus in this broken and hurting world. It's who we are.

λ

At the end of The Bourne Identity, Jason discovers who he is really is and why everything seemed so confusing to him and, for that matter, confusing to others, too.

But when he knows WHO HE IS, then... and only then... can he be SURE OF WHAT HE HAS BEEN CALLED TO DO... OF WHAT HE MUST DO!

And even though Mia doesn't feel like a princess, she is. And even if you're just shocked as Mia when you think of who the Messenger is telling you that you are...

It is, nevertheless, really, really true.

You are Princess of Genovia.
Jesus inside.
Raised with Christ.

Believing THAT ought to make it crystal clear who you have been called to be... and what you have been called to do!

“So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides” (Message).

The Holy Spirit, the scriptures, the sacraments, the church, our weekly gathering for worship, the times of fellowship we enjoy, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice, giving food to the hungry, visiting the sick, sharing the gifts God has given you....

All those things are given by God so that the “double life of Jesus,” both heavenly and earthly, can become ours as well, right here... right now...

“So don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that's where the action is. See things from Christ's perspective” (Message).

Because it's who you were called to be.

It's who you really are.

Amen.

Bibliography:
Clayton Libolt, “When Heaven Came Down, Reformed Worship 97.
Cornelius Plantinga Jr. Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living
N.T. Wright. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church

Do you have "enough" faith?

2010-08-04T10:52:00.002-05:00

"And the life I now live... I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Ever feel like you don't have enough faith? Ever wonder whether your faith is strong enough, sturdy enough, "good enough" for God? I think a lot of us do. Our do-it-yourself, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps culture convinces us that, "If it is to be, it's up to me." But if faith in God is up to me, I'm always gonna fall short. Sometimes I don't even have a mustard seed of faith. Thank God, it isn't up to me--it's up to God. T.F. Torrance puts it this way, "...Jesus Christ in me believes in my place and at the same time takes up my poor faltering and stumbling faith into his... embracing, upholding, and undergirding it through his invariant faithfulness. That is the kind of faith that will never fail." That's what you and I need, right? Not an "up-to-me" faith but the faith--the whole life of obedience and response--of Christ in me. It's all Gift.

Peace, Love, and Coffee,
Pastor Randy

Repentance

2010-03-07T18:01:00.002-06:00

“Repentance: Turning towards God’s Vision for Ministry”
Third Sunday in Lent (Year C) – Sunday, March 7, 2010
First Presbyterian Church - Lake Crystal, Minnesota
Readings from Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9
Rev. Randy Lubbers

Confession and Repentance seem closely linked—almost spiritual synonyms. But they’re different. Last week we talked about confession; today we focus on repentance. If confession is “admitting to God,” then repentance is “agreeing with God.”

Have you heard the phrase, “spiritual but not religious”? Certainly most of you have, right? Hey, I’m spiritual but not religious often means “I really believe there’s a God but I haven’t found God in church and I’m going to take care of my spiritual needs in my own way.” Sometimes it means, “I’d like to take a little bit from many different spiritual traditions but I can’t really buy into one totally and completely.”

This is not a completely new phrase. When I was a teen—and that’s a long time ago—there was a Sunday school study book called, “How to be a Christian without being religious.” Inherent in the idea of “not being religious” is the idea that “being religious” means “working one’s tail off to make sure you’re okay with God.” In that respect, I agree with the idea of not being religious because there is nothing we can do to make ourselves okay with God. But, to most people, the idea of being religious not only means “working really hard to become good enough for God,” but also encompasses the whole idea of being connected with a church and the whole idea of what the Bible calls “bearing fruit.”

To the extent “being spiritual without being religious” means “just doing what feels good,” or “pursuing God in my own way” without any grasping of what God might think about it, or what God expects or desires for you… Well, often “being spiritual without being religious” becomes a new religion. Sometimes it can be a very lonely religion, or a religion without a sure and certain hope, or a religion which worships something other than the one true God. Sometimes, the idol is one’s own self. Sometimes, ironically, the idol is what everyone else thinks. Often, the idol is a chameleon, changing color, impossible to nail down, impossible to discover.

If you remember the temptation story from two weeks ago, you might recall the devil’s offer to Jesus: Just bow down to me, just worship me, and I will give you everything—all the kingdoms of this world, everything will be yours.

And although we know the right answer—“No, Mr. Devil, no sir, the Bible says Worship God and God alone…” still… still… it’s tempting, isn't it? Certainly God wants good stuff for us, right? Certainly God wants our ministries to be successful… and if all it takes is giving the Devil his due… could that be so bad? Certainly God wants our kids to be good kids and safe and drug-free and successful… if all it takes is putting a little less emphasis on this whole crazy idea of “SHEER GRACE” and bowing down—just a little bit—to the idea of needing to EARN salvation by being good, being respectful, study-hard-and-just-say-no… how could that be wrong?

Temptation is the alluring, baited hook dangled in front of us by the devious and diabolical devil. Confession is humbly and honestly admitting to God that we have too-often taken the bait—and even openly admitting to God that we are ever-inclined to take the bait again and again.

All this must be endlessly frustrating to God.

“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”

Why indeed.

I wonder if our vision of ministry isn’t too often focused on “the ends” rather than “the means.” And we define the desirable “ends” or “purpose” or “objective” of spirituality or ministry in our own terms rather than on God’s terms. But God’s vision of ministry focuses on the process or the journey—not so much on the outcome. Maybe that’s because God knows the outcome is assured, regardless. And we’re not so sure.

So often, men and women want to go shopping for spiritual enlightenment, to go shopping for faith that feels good, to go shopping for God. And churches are tempted to respond in kind. If more and more people are shopping for this or that in a church or in God, then we’d better make sure we have our aisles stocked with exactly what they’re looking for. But “shopping for faith” or “shopping for a church that turns me on”—that’s all quite frustrating to God....

Why do you spend your money on that which is not bread;
Why, oh, why do you work so hard for those things which do not really satisfy?

Besides, God doesn’t invite the paying customers—
God invites the walking wounded
and welcomes the weakest and poorest
and those most lost and most confused
and God breathes new life into the hearts
of the very women and men
who may seem to be dead to any talk of God.

God offers all the delights we could ever need or want… and it’s all free.

God’s invitation is an invitation to Life
And God goes beyond the idea of “invitation”—
In love God has entered into a solemn promise which can never be broken. The promise (covenant) God made with David was to give David a house—a dynasty. In the Isaiah passage God expands the covenant to all Israel. And in the New Testament the promise is fulfilled in Christ. Christ is the new covenant, the new testament of God’s love.

We can’t buy God’s love, and—even though it’s so tempted to try—we cannot buy more protection or hope or spiritual nourishment than that which God has already promised to give us… freely! And we can’t sell it either.

That’s God’s vision of ministry—and we are called to turn around from our own ways of doing things and turn toward God’s vision of ministry.

Repentance is agreeing with God—seeing things God’s way—incorporating God’s vision (not just “picking and choosing” from what we perceive to be God’s rules for living, or God’s most important rules for living, or God’s rules we choose to make most important… but making God’s vision your vision… to incorporate means “to unite or work into something already existent so as to form an indistinguishable whole.”
So repentance isn’t feeling so darn bad about being so darn unworthy… repentance isn’t about your feelings… and it’s not even so much about your actions… it’s about our whole life-direction… Repentance is turning around from the direction that really seems right to us… (my goodness, can the GPS be wrong?) And turning-towards God.

The gospel lesson tells us at least three things about what this means.

Turning towards God means putting patience and long-suffering and compassion into practice:

Did you notice how the gardener pleads to give the plant one more chance, plowing around it and feeding it in hopes that it will bear fruit next year?

Turning towards God means bearing fruit:

If we’re just producing pretty leaves—nifty programs or a beautiful sanctuary or delightful choir anthems or big plans—just a good-looking fig tree won’t cut it if it’s all branches and leaves and no figs. What fruits are we producing in our ministries?

Turning towards God means turning away from ministries rooted in pride and discovering God’s vision of humbleness in ministry:

Do you think those folks are worse sinners than anyone else? Nope, Jesus said, they’re just like you… and you’re just like them. Therefore, repent. Turn around. Serve with true humility—which, as Christ showed us, sometimes even means humiliation. God’s vision of ministry means welcoming people other churches might not want. Even welcoming people YOU might not want. And, in doing that, perhaps, we discover we are yielding precisely those fruits God desires. Might that be?

Temptation is that which lures us away from God—the minnow on the hook.
Confession is admitting to painful truth to God—I really want that minnow.
Repentance is agreeing with God wholly and completely:

OK, God, we’ll do it YOUR way.

We are called to be fishers of people—but not with hooks; rather, with nets;
And not for a meal—but to set people free!

Be Mine

2010-02-16T14:12:00.002-06:00

BE MINE
Sermon for the Feast of St. Valentine
Readings from James 1:2-4, 12; John 15:1-17
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Rev. Randal K. Lubbers
First Presbyterian Church • Lake Crystal, Minnesota

Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate God’s gift of love.

We love because God first loved us. God so loved that he sent his one and only Son, Jesus, who came into the world to rescue sinners. He personally bore our sin in his own body on the cross so that we might be dead to sin and alive to all that is good.

That’s really the whole of the good news, is it not? God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, the one who loves us to the uttermost…
And Jesus loved so much that he humbled himself—yes, even humiliated himself and came and became one of us. Jesus proclaims the height and depth and breadth and intensity of God’s love: in his birth, in his life, in his preaching and his healing, in sharing our laughter and our tears, in sharing our trials and temptations, and in his death; yes, in his every word and deed Jesus proclaims God’s deepest desire for you and for me and for all creation, “Be Mine.”

Jesus proclaims “Be Mine” because you are branches on the Vine to which God—the Vinegrower—has grafted you in order to bear fruit. This is your reason for living. Have you been searching for the illusive “meaning of life”? This is it! To be “in Christ,” to bear fruit by living in oneness with the Vine, in communion with Christ. Not only is this our reason for living; it is life itself.

Jesus says, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” Self-sufficiency, my friends, is overrated. And self-sufficiency, my friends, has been oversold in Christian institutional thought over the last 200 years. Jesus did not come into our world to create self-sufficient, go-it-alone Christians. Jesus comes and heals us of our driving desire to do it ourselves. The power to do all things and to endure all things, the miracle of a transformed life and a transformed church, the courage to be the Light of Christ in the world… this comes from God… NOT in our self-sufficiency… but in our sufficiency in Christ.

Jesus says, “Be Mine because I am the Vine and you are the branches… Be mine because you belong to me.” This is not “belonging” as “ownership” but “belonging” as in an “organic union.” Jesus says “be mine”—but not like the contemporary love songs—Jesus doesn’t sing “can’t live, if living is without you.” But rather, Jesus says “be mine” because “YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT ME!” Remember what I’ve said so often before: In acknowledging and living out our belonging to God, we are more alive, more free, more human than we could ever be apart from being who we are in Christ. And be very sure of this— the branches, outside the Vine, will surely die.

Jesus wants you to be alive and filled with joy. He says “Be mine because I love you. And because I love you, I want the best for you, I want you to be happy…” Quoting John chapter 15, Jesus says, “I want your joy to be complete.”

God’s deepest joy is you fully alive, you truly happy, you filled with joy—yes, overflowing with joy, elation, delight, amazement and wonder and awe.

Many of my friends have been talking about K.D. Lang’s solo at the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Maybe you saw her sing, “Hallelujah.” It was beautiful and very moving. The opening ceremonies—the whole event—was very worshipful, don’t you think? The procession of athletes was like a processional into a church; the spectacular celebration of the diversity of Canada was like a worship celebration in the best possible ways: mysterious, awe-inspiring, filled with joy, hospitable, inclusive, a delight to the senses...

It pulled us in… It filled us with wonder and awe and joy…

It was a celebration of beauty and diversity. We glorify God when we live fully in God’s love and when we recognize the beauty of other human beings living in God’s love. The passage from James alludes to this. And it speaks to the reality of difficulties and trials along the way. James says, “Whenever you come face-to-face with a daunting or challenging circumstances, think of it as joy—pure, wonderful joy!”

Does that make sense?

“Well, of course it makes sense,” you may answer, “That’s what the Bible says, so of course, of course—it must—it has to—make sense!”

But does it? Does it really?

You’re going through the worst of times, God says be joyful? Now if that doesn’t seem ridiculous or impossible, then you’ve been anesthetized through years and years of agreeing in your mind to whatever is said in church. Because it doesn’t make sense. It actually sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

And yet.

And yet, James says, “Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised….”

Joy regardless of circumstances—
Joy in passing through hardest of times—
It doesn’t make sense, but it’s true.
God says, “Be Mine, because I love you and I want your joy to be complete.”

God says, “Be Mine, because I made you in my image…”
Created in God’s image, you are God’s work of art.

Every work of art has something of its creator in it. This water color painting by my high school art teacher usually hangs in my study. Don Harding is a neat guy and a follower of Christ and an old friend, and there is something of Don Harding in this painting. This goldfinch—the state bird of Iowa—was painted by Miriam Jones and given to me. She didn’t know it was the state bird of Iowa, but now she does. And there’s something of Miriam in this painting. These cross-stitchings of Carolyn—of course I feel something of her in these. The homemade cards given to each of you today and made by the card-making group a few Sundays ago. There is something of each of them in each card.

Abraham Kuyper says, “That you have been created after God’s Image, declares that by virtue of your creation, God feels himself related to you…. Because God has made your soul, there is something in it of God himself, a Divine stamp has been impressed upon you, there is something of God’s power, thought, and creative genius in you, as in no other. You are one of the Lord’s own works of art, precisely like which he created no other….”

God created you and you uniquely in love.

And just like an artist would be devastated if someone should do damage to his painting, God is devastated when his creation is harmed. Just like the mother lion who staunchly guards her cubs, God cares for you; indeed, God is fiercely protective of you.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… the Triune God says, Be Mine.

The Holy Spirit longs for us to be truly alive and truly joyful in Christ. The Spirit whispers every moment, hoping for those times we’re quiet enough to hear.

The Father longs for us to come home. Loving and longing; long-suffering and patient. Welcoming and waiting… and waiting… like the Father waiting for the prodigal son to return home.

The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, longs for fellowship with us. “Be mine,” says Jesus, “because I love you so much that I gave my life for you… No one has greater love than this, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Be Mine. And whatever you need, I will provide; Be Mine. And whatever you ask, I will give.”

Jesus longs to be in communion with you. He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. And if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter… and eat with him.” Jesus says, “Be Mine.”

And, really now, where else could we go for Real Love than to Christ?

In Christ alone my hope is found;
he is my light, my strength, my song;
this cornerstone, this solid ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
here in the love of Christ I stand.

Where else could we go? And how else can we respond?... than to pray…

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee,
Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Be Mine. This is no mere theological concept. God really, really loves you. This is not love “in theory,” but a passionate, burning, longing, hurting, deep, wondrous, amazing, beyond-the-deepest-heartache you or I have ever experienced, like a knife in the gut, like the spear piercing the side of the Savior. Passion means suffering. Christ is passionately, heart-wrenchingly in love with you.

And he asks just one thing:

“Be Mine.”

Be Mine: Excerpts from the sermon on St. Valentine’s Day

2010-02-15T00:02:00.001-06:00

We love because God first loved us. God so loved that he sent his one and only Son, Jesus, who came into the world to rescue sinners. He personally bore our sin in his own body on the cross so that we might be dead to sin and alive to all that is good.

That’s really the whole of the good news, is it not? God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, the one who loves us to the uttermost…

And Jesus loved so much that he humbled himself—yes, even humiliated himself and came and became one of us. Jesus proclaims the height and depth and breadth and intensity of God’s love: in his birth, in his life, in his preaching and his healing, in sharing our laughter and our tears, in sharing our trials and temptations, and in his death; yes, in his every word and deed Jesus proclaims God’s deepest desire for you and for me and for all creation, “Be Mine.”

Be Mine.” This is no mere theological concept. God really, really loves you. This is not love “in theory,” but a passionate, burning, longing, hurting, deep, wondrous, amazing, beyond-the-deepest-heartache you or I have ever experienced, like a knife in the gut, like the spear piercing the side of the Savior. Passion means suffering. Christ is passionately, heart-wrenchingly in love with you.

And he asks just one thing. “Be Mine.”

D.Min. - Vocational Calling and Ministry Goals

2010-02-12T15:17:00.003-06:00

When I was in high school, I often led the “song service” at the beginning of the evening worship service at Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. I remember I enjoyed selecting the music, and I enjoyed forming a thematic or a way for the songs to flow somewhat seamlessly. I enjoyed writing the opening prayer. I enjoyed leading the congregation in worship. It’s been a while since I’ve thought about that experience. In many ways, standing in the pulpit, I felt called to ministry—yes, even then and through college and beyond. I suppose it’s probably fairly normal for someone who enters ordained pastoral ministry somewhat late in life to think about the earliest inklings of a call and to wonder, “What if?”

Regardless, the call to ordained ministry that “finally” launched me into becoming a minister of Word and sacrament was a process—not just a moment in time. In retrospect, the process was life-long. It would not be incorrect to say it began at baptism, though I knew nothing of it at the time. In addition, six years of elementary school “catechism classes” (almost exclusively focused on the Heidelberg Catechism), church choirs, Sunday school classes, the influences of parents and grandparents and teachers, summer church camps, profession of faith, and all the other “life events”—whether of good or ill—were all most certainly mile-markers along the way.

In my youth I was particularly inspired by the passion for excellence, beauty, and communicating the good news which I saw in the example of our church choir director, Dr. Lawrence Van Wyk, who later served on the hymnbook committee for Rejoice in the Lord: A Hymn Companion to the Scriptures edited by Erik Routley (Eerdmans, 1985). I sang for “Prof Van Wyk” for seven years. The longer I live, the more I understand and appreciate the influence of his unique Christian witness in my life. Tears would come to his eyes and sweat drip down from his bald head as he prodded and cajoled us to make our singing an adequate reflection of the beauty and reality of the text. “There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul” is forever ingrained into my own soul; because I sang it with passion, and because I can still hear him and see him begging us to sing it with passion.

I was the youngest in the group of young people to make profession of faith at Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa the summer of 1970. I still recall the touch of the pastor’s hand on my head as I knelt on the steps near the pulpit on a Sunday morning. He prayed a prayer of blessing and gave me a Bible signed, “Pastor Donald R. Lenderink / June 28, 1970 / 2 Tim. 3:14-16.”

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Immediately prior to my enrollment in the M.Div. program at UDTS, I experienced “the call” in at least three ways: (1) from the encouragement of others and their confirmation of my spiritual gifts for ministry, (2) from a detailed personal self-assessment of my gifts and natural abilities, and (3) from a very strong sense that ordained ministry was what “I must be doing”—that it was “something I can’t not do.” Carolyn was not at all in favor of the decision—she did not see herself as “a pastor’s wife” and, just as significantly, had seen first-hand the effects of “living in a bubble” on some clergy marriages. I had told Carolyn throughout the process that I would not (and could not!) make a final decision to attend seminary unless she was “on board” with the plans. Late in the summer she asked, “When do they need to know for sure?” and I said, “About a month ago, but they’ve been patient with me.” That was my way of saying “they're patient with you, dear” and she knew it. She replied, “Well, why don’t we 'try it' for a semester or two and see how it goes…” which was her way of saying “Okay.” Nevertheless, as we looked back on the calling -- both to seminary and to Lake Crystal, as we had many opportunities to do -- we saw much evidence of divine providence through it all.

In many ways, our call to First Presbyterian Church in Lake Crystal, in retrospect, was an “even-more-wonderful blessing” than we could have ever imagined. Just after Easter during our first year here, Carolyn was diagnosed with stage-four ovarian cancer. At the time I had just begin an Eastertide series, “Finding Hope in Hard Times.” Carolyn and I found it providential to be in a supportive congregation, a caring church and wider community, and a location so close to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Carolyn died on June 4, 2009. Our family has continued to experience support and encouragement from friends—within and beyond our local church family -- in Lake Crystal and, of course, from family and friends beyond. The church carries on a tradition begun by Carolyn during our first year -- a free Thanksgiving meal for “anyone and everyone” in the wider community looking for or needing a place to celebrate Thanksgiving. A new cookbook -- a project she inspired and spearheaded -- was dedicated to her and published three months after her death.

MY GOALS IN THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY PROGRAM:

1. To gain a deeper and broader understanding of church and congregational renewal/revitalization for: (a) the building up of the congregation at First Presbyterian Church Lake Crystal; and (b) our church's work in the mission fields of Lake Crystal and Blue Earth County.

2. To gain a connectedness with new friends in the cohort group, to be an active participant and contributor, to share ideas and insights, to learn from each member of the group, to gain new and trusted colleagues in ministry.

3. To grow in my calling and in my ministry at First Presbyterian Church Lake Crystal. To learn new skills, to implement new tools, to work with the congregational resource team towards congregational revitalization.

4. To take my preaching "to the next level.” Worship leadership, creative worship planning, biblical exegesis and preaching are strengths and passions of mine. My goal in the program is to build stronger, more creative, more imaginative, biblical exegetical skills to help me connect the reality of the gospel with the context of the local church in new and exciting ways.

5. To make strides towards a significant increase in writing for publication: (a) for the building up of our local church, including teaching and leadership development; (b) for the mission field (“sphere of influence”) of our local church; and (c) for the whole church in North America (particularly Presbyterian and Reformed pastors and churches) in the areas of worship and music, worship as pastoral care, theological reflection on contemporary concerns, issues of social justice and peacemaking, church revitalization, and membership in the local church as a covenant commitment (and what that ought to “look like” in 2010).

Doctor of Ministry

2010-02-12T15:01:00.004-06:00

As most of you in our church know, I will be investing myself in the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary beginning in May of this year. The program is unique in its emphasis on congregational revitalization and the leadership role of the pastor. It is both practical and theoretical: practical in that it is based in the local congregation and attempts to identify concrete leadership tools for the pastor; theoretical in that it is rooted in the classical theological disciplines of the church.

The particular "cohort group" of which I will be a part will be digging into readings from both testaments and considering "Canon and Covenant," "Canon and Atonement," and "Canon and Community" in each of the three years, respectively. The prospectus is named:

One from Two’ : Teaching and Preaching the Christian Bible of the Old and New Testaments

We will be studying under two international known biblical scholars:

The Rev. Dr. David P. Moessner, Dr. Theol.
Professor of Biblical Theology
University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
University of Pretoria

The Rev. Dr. J. Andrew Dearman, Ph.D., Dr. Theol. (h.c.)
Director, Associate Dean, and Profesor of Old Testament
Fuller Seminary Texas

More about this program as time goes on...

My next post will share my thoughts on the call to ministry and my goals for myself and the church in the program.

2009-12-27T23:50:00.001-06:00

First Sunday after Christmas Day
December 27, 2009
First Presbyterian Church
Lake Crystal, Minnesota

OPENING HYMN
“Arise, Your Light Is Come!”
Words by Ruth Duck, 1974

Arise, your light is come!
The Spirit’s call obey;
show forth the glory of your God
which shines on you today.

Arise, your light is come!
Fling wide the prison door;
proclaim the captives’ liberty,
good tidings to the poor.

Arise, your light is come!
All you in sorrow born,
bind up the broken-hearted ones
and comfort those who mourn.

Arise, your light is come!
The mountains burst in song!
Rise up like eagles on the wing;
God’s power will make us strong.

FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 43:1-2, 4a, 5a

CAROL: “There’s a Song in the Air”

SECOND LESSON: Psalm 150

CAROL: “Angels We Have Heard on High”

THIRD LESSON: Galatians 3:23—4:7

CAROL: “O Sing a Song of Bethlehem”

FOURTH LESSON: Revelation 21:1-7

CAROL: “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates”

FIFTH LESSON: Luke 2:25-33

CAROL: “Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing”

SERMON by Rev. Randal Lubbers

If you’re like me, you maybe do a bit of reflecting over the past year during this last week of the calendar year. Maybe you think about a New Year’s Resolution or two. Maybe you pray for things to be better than the last year. If you’ve experienced a loss in 2009, maybe—just maybe—you look towards 2010 as a year for trying to move beyond feelings of sorrow and grief. Even if you’ve begun to move forward, maybe you look to the New Year as a point in time for taking a bigger step forward. If the idea of “looking forward” rings true to you at all, then I invite you to join me in looking backwards first… in recounting and reflecting upon the joys and sorrows of the past… and then—only then—looking forward.

In the Gospel according to Matthew, we read these profound words, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and she shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is ‘God with us.’”

As I reflect upon this year, I can’t help but reflect and think and ponder… all in the context of Carolyn’s death in June… and in the context of her smiles and laughter, and her determination and love and courage, and the even the joys we shared during the process of saying goodbye. As I reflect upon that, and on how the depth of compassion and acts of caring our family has received, the Christmas good news—the message of the Incarnation—Emmanuel—God with us—rings especially true.

God is with us.
No matter what we’re going through.
God is with us.
God is faithful.
God is full of grace and mercy,
patient and kind, overflowing in love.
In dark times—when you’re lonely, when you have doubts, in the chemo chair, while looking for a new job, while dealing with family or relationship issues, when anxious about finances… God is with you. In darker times—in the midst of depression, while you’re under stress, when you are filled with an overwhelming sadness… God is with you. In the darkest times—even if you feel you’ve lost or are losing all hope… God is with you.

Emmanuel… God is with us.

And God has given us reason for hope and joy in and through whatever our circumstances may be: In Galatians, Paul teaches, God has adopted you—adopted me too! In Christ, we are all children of God. (In the Greek, the word is “sons.” But the sonship, as Paul makes very clear, applies to men and women.) “Son” infers an inheritance…

Sonship transcends distinctions of ethnicity: “there is no longer Jew or Greek.” Sonship transcends distinctions of social order: “there is no longer slave or free.” Sonship transcends gender: “no longer male and female.” We are all children of God.

God is with us. In Revelation we are promised, God will live with us and we will be God’s people. And out of whatever you have gone through, are going through, or will go through… God has promised to carry you through to that festive banquet on that day when death will be put to death and every tear wiped away.

Like the persecuted Christians to whom John wrote the book of Revelation, we too have been promised a great feast, peace at the last, wholeness, shalom.

We rehearse that great wedding feast at the Table of our Lord. And when we take communion we pray, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”
And in the meantime… We have the presence of Christ in the bread and cup. And the presence of Christ made known to us
by the Holy Spirit, and through scripture, and through the presence of Christ in the Body of Christ—the church—in each other! And our eyes, like Simeon’s, have seen the salvation of our God.

So if you’re the type of person to make New Year’s Resolutions, or if you’re looking forward to better days, or if you’re trying to become more and more the person God intends for you to be, more and more like Jesus, or if you’re just trying to make it through to the next day, or whatever…

To you, I say this:

I cannot say for sure
What the future holds
But
I can say with complete assurance
That God will continue to be with you
In all aspects and circumstances of your life.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you,”
says the Lord.
“I have called you by name… you are mine.
You are precious in my sight…
Do not fear… for I am with you.”

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Peacemaking Offering

2009-09-02T23:48:00.000-05:00

A Prayer for Mother's Day

2009-05-05T20:49:00.003-05:00

Eternal God, Creator and Lover and Sustainer of all things, we give you thanks and praise for you have given birth to our very lives; indeed, you have made us who we are—persons created in your own image — mysterious, beautiful, and wonderful.

We give you thanks for all the good gifts we have received. For the love of family and friends. For your good creation, for the good earth, for the rain and the sunshine, for the season of planting, of flowers, of new growth.

We praise and thank you for giving birth to us in the Spirit, and for adopting us in love to be sisters and brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your love and care for us is beyond all our images. Like a mother’s womb you hold us and feed us and keep us safe. Like adoptive parents you have given to each of us a new name in Christ. Your mercies never end and never cease to amaze us!

God of unconditional and passionate love, even as we give thanks we confess that we don’t always said Thank You in the way we live. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves, and we have not loved you with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. We often find ourselves forgetting you and ignoring others; and, sometimes... sometimes we are afraid of you, afraid of others, afraid of ourselves. God, who so loved the world, you know our deepest needs and our innermost fears. Like the woman healed by touching your coat, we sometimes feel as though our lives — our very selves — have been bleeding away — we feel accused and inadequate — we feel unclean and alone. O Lord, in faith we reach out to touch the hem of your cloak! Speak to us with gentle words of assurance and restore us to wholeness and life.

Spirit of Christ, grant us the faith to believe what seems unbelievable: That in Jesus Christ we are made whole and restored to a living, vibrant love-relationship with you; and that as a mother comforts her child, so also, you have promised to comfort us.

Lord Jesus, you are the resurrection and the life! On this Mother’s Day we remember and give thanks for those mothers and grandmothers who have passed through death to their eternal home in your presence, in your embrace. You, O Christ—you were their rock, their refuge, and their strength; you, O Christ, their only comfort in life and in death.

And so we ask, dear Jesus, that you be a rock and refuge to all those grieving losses today. Remind us of the sure hope of the Resurrection; and give us strength as we continue our journey until that day when, once again, we will feast with sisters and brothers and fathers and mothers and children, who even now are clothed in white, who hunger no more, and thirst no more, and whose tears are wiped away by your tender touch.

On this Mother’s Day, we give you thanks for the witness and work of women of faith and courage...

For women at work in our congregation—
for young girls giving witness among their peers
and for women sharing teaching and leadership gifts;
for deacons and elders; worship leaders; and encouragers;
for sweet-bread-bakers and hot dish makers;
for those with gifts of hospitality and faithfulness in prayer,
with gifts of vision and healing and administration,
and those who serve in unacknowledged ministries—
quiet, simple service that changes lives!

God of mission, for your gifts and for your faithful disciples, we celebrate and give thanks. Grant, O God, that their witness may remind our daughters and each one of us, that by the Holy Spirit all who believe and are baptized receive a ministry to witness to Jesus as Savior and Lord!

God of justice and compassion,
We pray for all who suffer… for the poor and afflicted, for the sick and the dying, for prisoners and all who are lonely, for victims of war and injustice and inhumanity… for members of our congregation and for all those for whom we have been asked to pray.

God of righteousness and peace,
We pray for an end to violence and evil in the world… for an end to killing, an end to terrorism, an end to all war… for an end to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse… for an end to violent and abusive images in our culture…

God of faith, hope, and love,
Make your presence known to us this day in the proclamation of the Word.
Call forth more disciples to share in your mission
to heal the world through justice and mercy, truth and love.
And fill us anew with the Holy Spirit,
so that we may see the world through the eyes of our Savior.

Through the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mother's Day

2009-04-30T10:15:00.003-05:00

THE PINK ROSE: a gathering for celebration, hope, and wholeness

Mother's Day is a day of delight and joy for many women and their children. Yet, for many women (and men), Mother's Day can be a very difficult time... a time of great pain and scarring memories. For some, there are memories of mothers no longer alive on this earth. For others, memories of children lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, accident, injury, or illness. For others, the heartbreak of hoping for children while dealing with infertility. And still others, memories of children or mothers emotionally disconnected from them. And there are even more reasons why authentic worship must move beyond merely celebrating an idealized picture of "motherhood" and move towards celebration and hope in the context of suffering and pain, of healing and wholeness.

"The Pink Rose: A Gathering for Celebration, Hope, and Wholeness" strives to do just that.

Mother's Day 2009 at First Presbyterian-Lake Crystal will be a unique, contemporary-eclectic-liturgical, meaningful and poignant worship gathering built around the motif of "The Pink Rose," a sermon preached in 1997 and published in 1998 by Jeanne Stevenson Moessner.

First Presbyterian Church in Lake Crystal is a gathering of imperfect people transformed by the unconditional love and amazing grace of God. We strive to reflect the hospitality of God as "A House of Prayer for All Peoples."

Worship begins at 10:00am. A gathering for juice and donuts and Fair Trade Coffee and good conversation begins officially at 9:30, although many arrive as early as 9:00. Everyone is welcome.

Christ is always close by

2009-03-08T20:40:00.002-05:00

Lent 2 – The Presence of Christ in the Sacrament

Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 (NASB)
New Testament Reading: Romans 4:13-25 (Message)

Gospel Reading: Mark 8:31-38 (NIV)
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

Then [Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it....

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. May he be forever praised.

Sermon: Christ is Always Close By

Poor Peter. Not more than moments after he confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, he—like me so often—opens up his mouth and spits out something stupid. Jesus had asked, “Who do YOU say that I am?” And just after it seemed like Peter was the one who had the right answer… (Remember? Peter had said, “You are the Christ”) …and before you know it Jesus is hauling Peter over the coals, “Peter, Temptation with a capital T, get thee behind me! Your perspective isn’t God’s perspective but rather earth-bound and self-centered.” Yikes!

But, let’s think of this scene in a different way. I believe that, even at that moment in time when Peter must have felt very small and even belittled, even then, I believe Jesus was not so much outraged or even irritated with Peter, but—even in his rebuke—Jesus was abounding in steadfast love, merciful, and gracious. (See Psalm 103:8). Even at that moment, Jesus loved Peter, was closer than a brother to Peter, cared for Peter, and was faithful to his promise to never let him down and to never let him go.

Jesus is always close by.

God’s words to Jesus are God’s words to you and to me: You are my dearly loved child I am well-pleased with you. This promise of God which seems to evolve in the Old Testament and comes to its full perfection in the person and work of Jesus Christ—this promise of God is not dependent on having the right answers to God’s pop quiz or dependent on anything you have done or will do in the future. The promise of God arrives as pure gift.

There is nothing you must do to make God love you more. There is nothing you can do that could make God love you less.

One facet of the Sacrament is the presence of Christ. Communion is a celebration of our oneness with Christ. The Lord’s Supper—instituted on the night of Jesus’ arrest—ought to remind us of Jesus’ words of comfort and assurance spoken on that very night…

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

In the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit takes us to the place where Jesus is. Christ is always near, but even more near as we partake of the bread and the cup. This holy meal—instituted by Christ on the night he was betrayed—reminds us that he will never betray us. No matter what, Jesus is always close by.

Don Postema, author of Space for God, tells a story of a lady with severe mental health problems and depression who thought, as she lay in a hospital bed, that she was in hell. Until one day she was somehow reminded and comprehended the presence of God. There was a miraculous change in her attitude and demeanor, even though she was still not what we might think of as altogether sane. She thought, “If God is here, this place cannot be hell. If God is here, there is hope.”

Jesus is here, at the Table. May this feast remind you, each and every day, and even through whatever hell you may be enduring, Christ is always close by.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Food and Faith: Nourishment for the Journey

2009-03-01T17:01:00.002-06:00

First Sunday in Lent 2009
Psalm 25 & Mark 1:9-15

The psalmist proclaims, “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness.”

We are beginning our Lenten journey… taking our first steps along the Way towards Holy Week and our remembrances of Christ’s suffering, Christ’s last meal with his disciples, Christ’s prayer for the Church, Christ’s death and resurrection. Along the way, we can be sure that God will feed us, God will nourish us, God will give us strength.

If you’re like me, it’s sometimes the food you remember most from a vacation, a journey, or even just an afternoon walk through the woods. I remember sandwiches with leftover Iowa Chops on the first leg of a family vacation to Nashville, Chattanooga, and the Great Smokey Mountains. I remember packing snacks for a hike in the woods with my oldest son John, years ago in Pella. I remember a trip to the Drake Relays in junior high, packing a whole loaf of sandwiches.

Whenever we travel, we need food along the way.
And God has given us food and drink for our journey of faith.

God has given us the Bible, the Scriptures. The psalmist wrote, “I hid your Word in my heart, so that I might not sin against you.” St. Augustine began a journey of transformation and renewal when he heard the words, “Take and read,” and knew, deep within himself, that this meant to take and read the Bible—to take and eat, to take the stories and the prayers, the teachings and the promises, to eat them, to ingest them, to digest them, to make them a part of himself.
“You are what you eat.” Food becomes part of you when we take it in and digest it. God has given us the Bible to be food along the way. Take and eat.

God has given us other good things to read and take in as spiritual food – Henri Nouwen, a friend and mentor I never had the chance to meet, but who I sometimes feel I know, wrote a book called, “Bread for the Journey.” The written words of others can be spiritual food for us. And so can spoken words: the kind words of others, the words of forgiveness from others, the instructive words of others, can feed us, nurture us, build us up, strengthen us.

God has given us the communion of the saints—the memories and words of wisdom and prayers of those who have gone before us; as well as the body of Christ in this place: Eating with each other, being with each other, worshiping with each other can all be nourishment along the Way.

Finally, God has given us the Feast, the meal, to be nourishment for our souls on our spiritual journeys. Communion has many facets. One of the meanings we too often overlook is that of Communion-as-Meal. We are, by faith, nourished and strengthened at the Table.

The body of Christ, the bread of heaven;
the blood of Christ, the cup of salvation.
Christ is our food and drink.
Christ is our strength for the journey.

The gospel lesson for today tells the story of Jesus’ baptism and temptation. Immediately after hearing the nourishing, affirming words of the Father – “you are my dearly loved child in whom I am well-pleased” – Jesus was driven by the Spirit into the desert of aloneness, of solitude, of testing and trials.

And so will you be, on your Lenten journey.

Trust me. The more you desire to follow Christ, the more you take to heart God’s affirmation of Christ as God’s affirmation of you yourself (“You are my child, you are my Beloved, I am well-pleased with you”), and the more you strive to pray and to turn towards God daily, and the more you breathe in the Holy Spirit with every breath… the more certain you can be that the Spirit will lead you into the desert of solitude and testing, just as Jesus was.
But you will not lose hope in the desert. No! You will not lose hope. Because just as you share in Christ’s baptism and in God’s affirmation and blessing of Christ, so you can know—without a doubt—that the angels will wait on you, too, in your times of aloneness and testing and solitude.
Christ is our food and drink.

Come to the Table and feast on him…
Here you will receive nourishment for your soul,
joy in the midst of sorrow,
and strength for the journey.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speechless

2009-02-27T11:06:00.003-06:00

Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday 2009
Mark 9:2-9

Have you ever been speechless?
Have you ever found yourself with absolutely nothing to say?

It can sometimes be embarrassing. If you’re in school and the teacher calls your name, and you haven’t been paying attention so you don’t even know what the question is… Omigosh! You’re speechless. And you feel yourself turning shades of red. If you’re going through the receiving line at a wedding, or through a line where you greet the grieving members of a family at a visitation—you might feel embarrassed if you find yourself speechless. But being speechless—even in those situations—can sometimes be a good thing. Certainly it’s better than saying something stupid—Lord knows, I’ve learned that in my life—and still, sometimes, seem to be learning the lesson.

Sometimes we’re speechless because of joy, sometimes because of grief and pain. Sometimes because we’re so angry we could scream—that’s a probably a good time just to remain speechless. Sometimes because we’re so elated that words… just… can’t… express! Like Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, when he saw a glimpse of the Pacific for the first time could only write, “O the joy!”

Sometimes being speechless is a reaction to something so grand, so big, so vast— Words can’t express.

Your first sight of the Rocky Mountains
The view from an airplane over the Boundary Waters
The Grand Canyon
The ocean

Two phrases hit home with me on two separate occasions as I read and reread and prayed with this passage. The first is the phrase about Peter, "He did not know what to say." This cracks me up! Because it's a parenthetical comment about what Peter has previously said which was pretty lame. It’s almost as if the gospel writing is explaining: If this sounds stupid, well, let me explain, you see, Peter—and you know how Peter is—Peter didn’t know what to say. So he just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.
Like me? Omigosh, yes! Yes, that’s so JUST LIKE ME sometimes, when there is nothing to say, I just spit out something stupid to fill the empty space. And so I wonder if this parenthetical aside in this passage is just telling me to shut up a little more often.
To listen.
To be quiet.
And to just breathe in the vastness, the greatness of God.

And then, the second phrase which hit home—very much related to the first—the beautiful and familiar words,
"This is my Beloved Son, listen to him."

I hear God speaking loud and clear. “Randy, shut up and listen. Turn your eyes towards the face of my dearly loved Son, and listen to him.” Maybe you’re hearing something like that, too?

I've been reading bits and pieces of a new book by Ann Spangler called The Tender Words of God. In the last chapter she refers to Jesus as "the last, most tender word" of God. In the brightness and the “oh wow, baby, wow” of the Transfiguration, can we just not say anything… and just listen to Jesus tender words?

These are Jesus’ tender words.
These are words God wants you to hear.

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son… God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to rescue the world through him.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed my to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty..... and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds.

I am the good shepherd....

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest....

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

Get the idea?

Peter spoke because he didn't know what to say.
When he maybe should have simply dropped to his knees
In awe and amazement at the glory of God
Revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

The transfiguration story—situated as it is between two teachings about Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, and his resurrection, and just before Christ’s teaching about discipleship—if anyone wants to be first he must become last, if anyone wants to lead the way she must become servant of all—the context of the transfiguration story reminds us that God is revealed not only in the transfigured, glorified face of Christ, but in the suffering of Christ who—even though he knew no sin, knew no shame, was made to be sin and shame on our behalf, so that in him we might be the Righteousness of God. And so an ancient Saint of the Church could say, “The Glory of God is the man or woman fully alive.”

The ultimate goal of the cross is more than the forgiveness of our sins, it is more than just the restoration of our relationship with God—the ultimate goal of the cross is oneness with God in and through Jesus Christ in whom our human nature is not only saved, healed, and renewed, but lifted up to participate in the very light, life and love of God the Father Son and Holy Spirit. That bright light, the “glory,” the strange and wonderful glow we see on the Mount of Transfiguration is the “Glory of God revealed in the Good News. And the good news is that God has loved us to the uttermost and has even entered the darkest, deepest depths of our sinful humanity within this fallen creation “in in order to make our misery, shame, sin, guilt, alienation, and godlessness his own, substituting himself for us, thwarting evil, redeeming and restoring us to union and communion with the Triune God who loves us more than he loves himself.”

(Torrence quoted by Colyer and paraphrases from Colyer/Torrence)

This is a mystery before which even the angels hide their faces.

It ought to render us speechless.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me
Is the current of his love;
Leading onward, leading homeward
To my glorious home above.

Peter spoke because he didn't know what to say.
And we all do that sometimes. I know I do.
But when, instead, I listen to the tender words of Jesus,
Then I am, like a young person who has fallen in love…
In total astonishment—even like being in shock—
In total awe at the great, great love of Jesus:
Speechless.
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen,

Do you REALLY know who you are?

2008-10-26T19:28:00.002-05:00

A sermon, the third in a series on Discipleship, preached October 26, 2008 at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Crystal

Romans 6:1-11; Colossians 2:6-12; Matthew 3:13-17

Do you REALLY know who you are?

When you look into the mirror, who do you see? When you look into your heart—

(And I don’t know about you, but I find myself doing that before I go to sleep. That’s a good, child-like thing to do, sometimes, as long as you don’t lose sleep over it. Self-examination is really a spiritual discipline. Sometimes in bed might not be the best place to do it. Sometimes a walk, or just sitting alone, or writing in a journal… different things work better for different people. We’re created in God’s image… so we all have something of God’s DNA… but we’re all unique and special… each of us wired a little bit different… different gifts and different ways of praying…)

But when you look into your heart, do you REALLY know who you are?

Does that thought scare you to death? In the movie “The Neverending Story,” the hero comes to a certain test along his journey and remembers the warning: This is the place, the mirror, when people look into and see themselves as they REALLY are. And, boy oh boy oh boy, if we’re honest with ourselves, that can be a frightening thought. It explains why Adam and Eve hid from God. They were no longer able to look at themselves without blushing.

We can feel that way, too. Feeling guilty makes us feel uncomfortable… Guilt makes us feel defensive… makes us feel like running and hiding like Adam and Eve.
Someone has said, “Guilt is a thief of grace.” Guilt clouds the mirror and clouds our hearts and minds—guilt makes us forget who we are.

Different people react differently to looking into the mirror, and probably all us carry guilt about something we regret… but God has NOT created us to be consumed by guilt. The apostle Paul says we should be looking into the mirror through the lens of our baptism into Jesus Christ. Because we share not only in Christ's baptism into death but in Christ's resurrection into New Creation, guilt is supplanted with grace and the paralysis of guilt supplanted by personal accountability rooted in a transformation of self-image and watered by the gift of gratitude. As Paul writes to the church in Rome,

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Most of you have heard that passage many times before. But chances are there are times when you think of it in a purely “spiritual” sense.

It’s actually somewhat easy to think, “Oh yes, I’ve been spiritually baptized into Christ’s death, so I will someday… somewhere over the rainbow… be united with Christ in a resurrection like his.” It’s almost like the popular country song—it goes something like this: "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go right now” (Kenny Chesney).

But let’s think of this in a merely “spiritual sense” but in a holistic, all-encompassing sense. Too often we equate “spiritual” with “unreal.” But we have really died with Christ. So we are dead to sin—not in a sort-of unreal spiritual sense, but our whole selves—our spirits, yes, but our minds and bodies, too. We are—our whole selves are—dead to sin.

And if my whole self has died with Christ, then my whole being has been made new in Christ’s resurrection!

So do you REALLY know who you are?

You are the one for whom Christ fulfilled all righteousness. John the Baptizer was shocked when Jesus asked to be baptized. He said, “No, no, I am the one who needs to be baptized by you.” But, you see, in his baptism Jesus took on even the deep and true repentance we were unable to enter into without first entering into Christ. Christ’s baptism has become our baptism.

Do you REALLY know who you are?

You are God’s Beloved. You are a child of God—your whole self is a New Creation in Christ. When you look into the mirror, God wants you to see yourself as the one on whom the dove alights and renews and grants transcendent peace beyond our understanding.

You are the one in whom God takes immense delight; you are God’s Beloved.

As we prepare to celebrate the Lord’s Supper next week, think about who you are in Christ. Communion is the feast of victory of God. It is God’s feast of love, and it was in love that Christ gave himself for us.

As you prepare for communion, recommit yourself to following Jesus because…. Because this is who you were created to be in your baptism!

Spend time this week—each and every day if you possibly can—and simply thank God each day for this immense miracle of grace and unfailing love.

And even when the mirror of your conscience declares you unworthy of God’s gifts, of God’s mercy, of God’s love… even when you—as I so often do—discover that you have neither loved the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, nor have we loved our neighbor as yourself, know this to be true:

The mirror of our conscience and even we ourselves have been washed in Christ’s baptism.

When we were unworthy, Christ made us worthy. Christ has become our complete righteousness.

Friends, trust in the work of God on our behalf and receive the gift of forgiveness offered us in Christ Jesus. Our reconciliation to God is found in trusting this good news—that before we chose God, God chose us. God has made us a New Creation in Christ.

So come to the Table next week,
renewed by the Spirit,
a child in whom God takes delight,
a child of God dearly loved by God…
loved by God with love as high and wide
and deep and broad as the love God shares
with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Come to the Table as God’s Beloved,
because that, dear sister, dear brother…
that is who you really are!

Each of us and all of us together

2008-10-26T19:14:00.002-05:00

A Sermon by Randy Lubbers (Second in a series of seven)
Matthew 10:1-4; John 15:9-17
First Presbyterian Church • Lake Crystal, Minnesota
Sunday, October 19, 2008

Called

“Follow me.”

That’s an invitation you’ve heard before…

“Follow me” is the simple call Jesus spoke to Peter and Andrew, to John and his brother James, to the tax collector Matthew, and to others, too—women and men: “Follow me… Just follow me.” No fancy argument. No long debate. No motivational speech. No power point presentation. Just, “Follow me.”

“And immediately they left everything… and followed Jesus.”

Again, just to recap last week and to put this in perspective for today, “they left life-as-they-knew-it behind, and—the way Matthew tells the story—they followed Jesus knowing nothing about what might be ahead for them, knowing nothing of Jesus’ teachings or healings or anything else, knowing nothing except his irresistible call, his irresistible authority.

They hear the call. And they follow. And along the journey they learn Christ’s mission from listening to his teachings and watching what he does:

Jesus teaches an upside kingdom of God where the poor in spirit are blessed and given everything, where the meek inherit the earth, where peacemakers are called God’s children. Jesus heals—he goes to those who need his healing the most and makes them whole again. Jesus welcomes sinners—he associates with the tax collectors, the most despicable and unloved.

Those Wall Street tycoons, those shady politicians, those ambulance-chasing lawyers—Jesus has dinner with them! He is their physician before they even know they are sick.

And he does the same with us! He welcomes us not as “good church folks” but he welcomes us as sinners—as weak and weary travelers who for too long have been carrying a load we can no longer bear. And he replaces our heavy burdens with a new, light and easy-to-carry burden—a burden for those still carrying burdens who will jump up and down with joy when they discover the wonder, the awesomeness, the great gladness and peace to be found in following the Master day by day.
Each and every one of you are to be invited to follow Jesus, not because you are good enough, but because Jesus—who is love beyond our imagination—because Jesus wants you to be invited.

Jesus says, “Follow me."

And immediately they left everything… and followed him.

Called in Love

Have you heard, somewhere along the way, Jesus’ call portrayed as something other than a loving call?

When I was in sixth grade, I remember receiving an ominous call. It was a call to make my presence known in the principal’s office. I won’t expand on the exact circumstances, except to say, it didn’t feel like a loving call. Have you ever been called to “get your ‘sorry blank-itty-blank’ in here right now or else” by someone? Ever been called on the carpet? Jesus calls with authority, but gently and in love. His posture is open—hands open and welcoming, arms outstretched and ready to heal and forgive and hug.

Jesus’ call is a call in love for you.

Have you ever thought of Jesus’ call as something which only comes to those who are super-spiritual, to those who are better than you, to those who are richer or smarter, to someone who can sing better than you or teach better than you? No, Jesus’ call is a call for you. His call is for you and me and all of us together.
Jesus calls us in love and for love—to become part of a joyful, blessed ministry of service to others, bearing much fruit, imitating Christ by being a servant to all.
Jesus’ call is a call to compassion. It is a call to walk with Christ as his friend. And as his friend, to share with him and to share in his ministry.

Brian Wren, British poet and hymn writer, says it this way,

True friends
like us to tell
our joys and our fears
and need us to hear
their plans and ideas.
Jesus says,
travel with me
and we’ll be friends for ever.
True friends
show that they care
when life gets us down,
they never play boss
or push us around.
Jesus says,
travel with me
and we’ll be friends for ever.
True friends
say what they think
(and sometimes it hurts),
but stay on our side
when we’re at our worst.
Jesus says,
travel with me
and we’ll be friends for ever.
True friends
don’t make us pay
for all that they give;
they even will die
so others can live.
Jesus says,
travel with me
and we’ll be friends for ever.

Called: Each of Them & All of Them Together

Jesus says, “Follow me.”

And immediately they left everything… and followed him.

And… almost immediately… after a fairly short apprenticeship… Jesus, who calls with authority, calls his followers together and gives them authority. And not just to the most qualified of the group. Jesus gives them all authority.

This is really amazing, you know, because if had been up to you or me, we might have called them into private meetings and given out authority based an analysis of their leadership skills or people skills, or based on who we felt most comfortable working with, or using an aptitude test or a gut feeling or who we liked best.

Jesus could have given out authority only to those disciples who understood his mission, only to the one who had been the best student, only to the most humble, the most loving, the kindest of the bunch.

At the very least, he could have thought twice about Judas Iscariot, who would later betray him. Or at least he might have passed over James and John, who had such anger issues they were called sons of thunder, and who were so filled with pride they had their mother ask Jesus if they could be his number one and two “go-to-guys” in the kingdom.

And, you know, if it had been up to me, I would have thought twice about giving authority to Matthew—everybody knows how devious and shifty those tax collectors were. And if it had been up to you, you might have skipped Simon the Zealot. (You’ve got to think twice about giving authority to someone who advocates using violence and revolution to overthrow the government, like the Zealots did. The Romans and many Jewish religious leaders would have considered him a suspected terrorist.)

So who are we left with? Thomas, the doubter—and we can’t be giving authority to someone who always seems to be troubled by lingering doubts, always needing proof, always coming up short in the “faith department.”

And all the others? We know almost nothing about them. Probably not leadership material.

Oh, and finally, Peter—impulsive, clumsy, rigid, often putting his booming voice in gear before his brain and as a result often putting his foot in his mouth. Peter, who would later go on to deny his Lord to save his own skin…

If it had been up to you or me, who would be good enough? Perhaps we could finally settle on one or two. But Jesus calls them… each one of them…

And he calls all of them together.

I wonder. What might that teach us?

Called to Compassion

Jesus says, “Follow me.”

And immediately they left everything… and followed him.

And… almost immediately… Jesus gives authority to each of them and all of them together. He gives them authority… to do what? To be peacemakers and healers. To do the same things he himself has been doing.

This, too, is quite amazing.

Seventh and eighth grade students: Imagine your confirmation teacher preparing you for just another month or two and then telling you that, instead of coming to class in January and February, you are supposed to go find your own students—those who need to hear about Jesus’ love the most—and teaching them what you’ve learned.

Jesus—who called with authority—grants that same authority to his disciples. Jesus’ call is not just a call to learn and grow and become more and more like him in some vague way. No, it is a call to actively share in his mission, a call to live in love surrounded by his love and to show his love to others.

Kids, this is like your first grade teacher calling you to learn the ABC’s and your addition and subtraction tables, and then—only a month or two later—telling you to go help others learn the same things you have learned. It’s like Jessica Conover teaching you the song, “Shalom, my friend,” and asking you to sing the song with your friends, and asking you to teach them that shalom means peace and that Jesus has called us to be loving and forgiving, patient and kind.

Neil Plantinga, in a speech entitled, “A Child Shall Lead Them,” makes four observations about how thriving churches need to be multi-generational churches. He says "

First (observation): a key to health and life in the church is to treat children and teens as real members of the body of Christ...”

Not as future members… not as not-quite-yet members… not as someday members.

No. Not someday, but now. Children and young people, you are not the so-called “future of the church.” You are the church!

And parents and grandparents, deacons and elders, if you can say “Amen!” to that, then is not the very same thing true for each of us, too—and even more true?
Of course it is. Who among us is called to follow Jesus as members of the audience? Who among us is called to come to a church to be passive receivers of a weekly (or monthly) “minimum-recommended” dosage of Jesus, and not called to participate in Jesus’ mission? Any of us?

By the way, this is Neil Plantinga’s second observation:

We adults have much to give to children and teens when it comes to passing on the faith, and we have a great responsibility to give it.

You know, I wonder sometimes… Is it maybe because the church has for so long—for generations even—treated young people and children as future but not-yet members of the church, that so many of our children have grown up to be parents and even grandparents who still think of themselves as “future but not-yet” members? As members in the audience? I wonder.

Friends in Christ, the greatest thing in the world a father can do for his children is to put them on the path of faith; to teach them the psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; to tell the stories of Joseph’s many-colored coat and Jesus’ seamless robe, of the garden of Eden and the garden of Gethsemane, of Moses smashing the golden calf; and about Judas betraying Jesus and Peter denying him; and about Jesus’ resurrection and Steven’s brave witness and Saul’s complete transformation after seeing Jesus face-to-face. The greatest thing a mother can do for her children—indeed, the greatest thing any of you can do for children, quoting Neil Plantinga’s own quote from his former pastor, is

…To put them on the path of faith, to help move them onto the same path with Abraham and Sarah and Moses and Miriam and David and Ruth and Jesus and Paul and Peter. To put children on that path is to save them from drifting—and from drowning. The path of faith is where they need to be, because that’s the path that leads home, all the way home to the heart of God and the kingdom of God, where the Lord is always welcoming sons and daughters with banquets and bands and punchbowls.

And, if any adults don’t know the stories, then are we not called to learn them so they can be taught. And aren’t we called to do this together?

The call of Jesus Christ is a call to compassion. Compassion means “shared suffering;” and we often think of compassion in the context of sharing in the suffering of those who are the last and least, the suffering of the hungry children in the world, the suffering of the sick, and the suffering of those going through the hardest of circumstances…

And yes, we are indeed called to compassion in that sense of the word. But on a deeper level, we are called to compassion with Christ himself—in other words, to share in Christ’s passion, to share in his compassion for those children in need of a shepherd.

As I often mention, it is always important—when trying to understand a passage of scripture—to understand and pay attention to the context of the passage. I think it is very illuminating to re-read the paragraph immediately preceding Jesus’ giving authority to his disciples:

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

And then, immediately after that passage, with heartfelt compassion for the sheep in need of a shepherd, Jesus calls his disciples together and gives each of them and all of them together the authority, the holy calling to be shepherds, to be pastors.
Because he couldn’t do it all by himself.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, please forgive me if I have ever, ever given you the impression that the ministry of this church is up to me—that I feel like I can do it all—because I can’t. Even Jesus couldn’t do it all by himself. And he has called each of us and all of us together to share in his work.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Follow Me

2008-10-13T14:05:00.005-05:00

Immediately they left everything… and followed Jesus (See Matthew 4:20, 22).

Sunday, October 12 was the first in a seven-week series, “Journey of Discipleship.” This is the introductory sermon to the series...

I – The Summons

“Follow me.”

That’s an invitation you’ve heard before…

Those are the words Jesus spoke to Peter and Andrew, to John and his brother James, to the tax collector Matthew. No fancy argument. No long debate. No inspirational or motivational presentation. No power point. Just a summons, “Follow me.”
“And immediately they left everything… and followed Jesus.”

In Matthew’s gospel – Jesus very first action is to call Peter and Andrew and James and John to follow. And Jesus’ final action is to commission the four of them and Matthew and the other disciples—and, of course, us—to the task of making disciples. This is the primary task of the church: making disciples. If we are not actively making disciples we are not actively participating in the mission of Christ.

I’m guessing you already know that’s true.

Certainly, after 40 days praying for renewal and revitalization, you don’t need me to tell you about Jesus’ invitation to follow. You have already been summoned by Christ himself through the quiet, silent voice of the Spirit. You’ve heard the summons on an early morning walk, in the wind blowing through the brightly colored leaves of the trees. You have felt it, sensed it—you have looked upwards, breathed in deep… and maybe you smiled, maybe you felt wonder and awe, maybe you sang a song. You have seen it—you have seen the face of Jesus in others and you wondered, “How can I show Jesus’ love to this person so loved by God?” Maybe, maybe you even groaned inside or even slammed you fist against your hand or into a wall, frustrated, saddened, at a real loss, asking yourself—asking God—“How can we share the reality of grace, of hope, of forgiveness, of transformation? Am I the only one who feels so overwhelmingly grateful to God? Am I the only one so poor and so needy and so desperate to walk as close as I possibly can get to the Savior? To just touch the edge of his shirt sleeve...

II – Called, Created, Crafted, Commissioned

I don’t know about you, but for me a host of feelings and questions well up when I hear (as-if-for-the-first-time) the summons, the invitation to follow. To you, who have heard during the last 40 days the quiet, even silent, call, “Follow me,”—and even to me—this is what I hear Jesus saying…

Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people. I have called you by name, you belong to me. Just follow. No details as to what this might involve. No safety from the rise and fall of financial markets. No insulation from the troubles which afflict all God’s children in this broken world. No guarantee except that in following you will share in my sufferings… no promise except my promise to be with you to the end…
For if you have been baptized into me, then you have died with me and you have new life with me. You have been created to follow me.
And in following me, you will be crafted to become—more and more, day by day, my disciple. Becoming my disciple isn’t the end—no, discipleship is a journey. Follow me, and we will walk and talk and you will be crafted along the way—like girls and boys who learn how to catch a ball by listening to what the coach says, and watching what he does; or like learning to quilt or bake cookies or build something from wood. Just listen to what I say, and do what I do.
You are God’s Beloved: Called, Created, and Crafted. And even before you think you’re ready—I will commission you. You will share in, participate in my mission. You will be my presence in a lost and broken world so loved by God.

III – Now More than Ever

This lost and broken world seems to be falling apart sometimes.

The financial world—for sure—is more than troubling. It’s scary.

Your own personal world may seem to be falling apart.

If you aren’t sometimes anxious, sometimes weak and weary, sometimes overwhelmed, sometimes sad, sometimes troubled by guilt, then you are the exception… And I might add (with a smile) that maybe you need to be praying more and more for those of us who do feel this way.

More than anything, our church and our world need to hear this one clear and powerful summons: The Lord Jesus Christ has invited you to come and follow. The primary task of the Church is making disciples, which is why we’re going to take this seven-week journey of discipleship… Because we can’t be making disciples if we aren’t following Jesus ourselves; and we aren’t following Jesus unless we’re actively helping others follow him too.

I’ll spend four weeks digging deeper into the four “God-action” verbs I briefly mentioned earlier: Discipleship… Following Jesus… involves being (1) called, (2) created, (3) crafted, and (4) commissioned. Then, I’ll take one week to talk about our response, our commitment. Finally, we conclude on Reign of Christ Sunday with the earliest confession of the Christian Church, Jesus is Lord, which ties it all together. And, as we take this journey together, I invite you to recommit yourself to prayer… Let’s end our 40 days of prayer by committing to another 50… and see where that takes us, OK?

IV- Matthew’s Perspective

Out of the blue, Jesus stepped up to Peter and Andrew and said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” And immediately they left everything and followed. They followed—the way Matthew tells the story—knowing nothing about what might be ahead for them, knowing nothing of Jesus’ teachings or healings or anything else except his irresistible authority. Jesus issues a summons and they respond with radical obedience. They hear the call. They follow. And along the journey they learn Christ’s mission from listening to his teachings and watching what he does—he teaches an upside kingdom of God where the poor in spirit are blessed and given everything, where the meek inherit the earth, where peacemakers are called God’s children. And he welcomes sinners—he associates with the tax collectors. (Those Wall Street cheats and thieves, those dirty politicians… he has dinner with them… he is their physician before they even know they are sick. And he does the same with us… he welcomes us not as good church folks but he welcomes us as sinners… as weak and weary travelers who for too long have been carrying a load we can no longer bear… and he replaces the heavy burden with a new, light burden—the burden for those still carrying burdens who will jump and down with joy when they discover the joy, the wonder, the awesomeness of following the Master day by day.
It is so interesting and often overlooked…. In the commission as recorded by Matthew, there is no mention of preaching, no talk of faith as a prerequisite for baptism. For Matthew, evidently those things could be assumed. But it could not be assumed that we would make disciples. All nations, all peoples, all those on the outside looking in… all are to be invited to follow Jesus, not because they are worthy, but because God—who is merciful, slow to anger, and overflowing in steadfast love and grace— Because God wants them to be invited.

How will I respond?

Early last week I was looking for a little background on the song, “I have decided to follow Jesus.” So I “googled” the words, “I have decided” and the results were very interesting. Most of the links were related to the two songs which together comprise the anthem to be sung by our two choirs—the traditional song based on a folk melody from India, “I have decided, to follow Jesus, I have decided, to follow Jesus,” and the contemporary song by Michael Card, “I have decided… I’m gonna live like a believer….”

But there were a lot of other interesting hits as well…
I have decided to end this blog…
I have decided to stay on You Tube…
I have decided my major…
I have decided to start typing correctly...
I have decided to love everyone…

One website reminds us of a quote from the stunning, drop-dead gorgeous Gloria Swanson. In 1922, in the early years of her movie career, she said, “I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment the star! Everybody from the studio gateman to the highest executive will know it.”

Then, in somewhat the same stream of egotistical pronouncements but without the innocence and without the beauty, there is Matt Bruce, the irresponsible and opportunistic radio talk show host. He’s the guy who, in one breath says “God bless America,” and in the next breath seriously suggests we ought to make it a law to literally cut off the hands of thieves as an appropriate deterrent to crime. Matt Bruce, host of "The Captain's AMERICA Radio Show," says, “I have decided to become a write-in candidate for president.” Lord, have mercy.

Had I looked further I’m sure I could have found other decisions people are announcing to the world via the internet. In these days of fear and anxiety regarding the financial markets, somewhere someone has certainly said, “I have decided to take all my money out of my mutual funds and invest in gold… or store it in my mattress…”

People make decisions—big and small—every day.
I have decided to drink eight glasses of water every day.
I have decided to go fishing.
I have decided to lose weight.
I have decided to quit criticizing and complaining.
I have decided to think positive.
I have decided to pray and read the Bible every morning at 6:00 am.

Peter and Andrew, James and John… they, too, faced decisions every day. Should we go fishing? Or mend nets? Should we go to this side of the lake or that? Should we go out together to yesterday’s hot spot? Or should we split up today and share whatever the other catches?

And then Jesus comes along. To these four unlikely candidates, Jesus says “Follow me.” It is at once both “gracious invitation” and “authoritative summons.” And immediately they left everything and followed.

Imagine yourself in the pickup with your older brother waiting for Dad to finish the round on the combine, and Jesus shows up and says, “Follow me, and I will make you plant seeds and harvest fields full of people.” And you get up, leave Dad to fend for himself, and follow.

Imagine yourself in the cafeteria before school, studying with friends, and Jesus shows up and says, “Follow me.” And you leave your books lay there on the table with a note for the teachers, “Gone fishing! Gone to follow Jesus.”

Imagine yourself, a teller at a bank, and Jesus shows up and says, “Follow me.” And you lock the drawer and immediately follow.

Imagine Jesus at your side, each day, wherever you go and whatever your circumstances… And then you hear his voice—a gentle call, an authoritative summons, a welcoming invitation… “Follow me.”

You and I make decisions every day—some big, some small—but, friends, there is no decision you will ever, ever make like this one: When I hear Jesus say, “Follow me,” how will I respond?

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Live like you were dyin'

2008-10-09T12:40:00.002-05:00

Only recently a really, really good friend -- who, like me, has eclectic tastes in music, art, food, exercise, and life in general -- reminded me that Tim McGraw is the son of former Phillies baseball pitcher Tug McGraw, and introduced me to some music that I've really fallen in love with. True confession time... I've always told folks I like all good music... but in my mind I've always made an exception for rap and country. Please don't take offense NASCAR fans, but I'd rather read a book. Same goes for watching golf on TV, if that makes a difference. :)

Anyway, I may still prefer Minnesota Public Radio to the "new country station," but I will now accept any Tim McGraw CD for Christmas! If you're so inclined.

Peace, love, and coffee,
Pax, agape, and java,
Randy

Forty Days of Prayer

2008-09-15T15:02:00.003-05:00

We began "Forty Days of Prayer for Spiritual Renewal and Church Revitalization" last week. Each week we "Light a Candle for Children." And at home, we're encouraging each other to pray for ourselves, for children, for renewal and revitalization, and for peace. Each week an insert to our worship folder lists ideas for prayer for each day of the week. For example, this week we're praying for children displaced by the hurricanes... children in Louisiana and Texas... and children in Haiti and elsewhere. Next week we'll pray for woman and children in response to the challenge of Rev. John McCullough, director of Church World Service, who says, “Throughout the world women make enormous contributions to human wellbeing and economic wealth. Yet their efforts are generally unrecognized and their work often unpaid. Most of the more than one billion people in the world today living in extreme poverty are women and girls. Their impoverishment is a product of inequality, circumscribed participation in decision making, and being deprived of economic opportunities, access to resources, education and support services.”

I'm finding the more I pray, the more I find to pray about.
Has this been your experience, too?

If you're interested, here's our schedule of worship themes for the fall season...

Sept 21 – A Community of Peacemakers
Sept 28 – A Community of Humble Servants

Oct 5 – Break the Bread of New Creation
o World Communion Sunday
o Peacemaking Offering
Oct 12 – Discipleship: “Follow Me” (Start of new series)
Oct 19 – Discipleship: Called (#2 in the series)
Oct 26 – Discipleship: Created (#3 in the series)
Nov 2 – Discipleship: Crafted (#4 in the series)
Nov 9 – Discipleship: Commissioned (#5 in the series)
Nov 16 – Discipleship: Commitment (Stewardship Commitment Sunday)
Nov 23 – Discipleship: “Jesus is Lord!” (Conclusion of the series)

Worship is a celebration of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit!

Eating Together

2008-07-31T16:58:00.002-05:00

I just spent much of this afternoon preparing the Order of Worship for our second annual joint service with the local Methodist congregation which we share on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Practical considerations? Sure. A lot of folks spend that weekend at cabins, traveling, camping, and so forth... and, we hope, spend at least part of the time re-creating "Space for God" in their lives. So with lower attendance at all churches, this is a good weekend for a joint service. But it's a bad weekend, too, because so many miss out.

A big part of the fun, of course, is the joint potluck brunch following the service! I'll be writing more -- a lot more -- about faith and food in the days to come. Speaking of which, I'm expected at home in just a few minutes for Luke's birthday party dinner with three of his friends. Then the movie, WALL-E. And then birthday brownies with ice cream and hot fudge.

Eating Together! That's the title of the poem for today from Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac." If the link works, check out the poem... and the quote from St. Ignatius of Loyola. Otherwise google it. I'm new at this... clap for me if the link works.

Peace, love, and coffee,
Randy

Why get married in Church?

2008-07-29T21:44:00.002-05:00

I saw Mike and Steph Willaford today -- they're newlyweds! Their wedding was on Saturday, July 5 -- just before our family left on vacation. Today they told me that not only did people have a great time at their reception, but they remembered the sermon, too! How cool (and unusual?) is that! Mike and Steph were married in the little country church at Farmamerica just outside of Waseca. In that small church we asked, why get married in Church?

For friends and family of Mike and Steph, and for anyone else who would like to read it... here's a copy of the sermon and prayers from the wedding.

By the way, I originally preached the first draft of "Why get married in Church?" at the wedding of Nathan and Heidi Jones at First Presbyterian Church in Lake Crystal on June 28, 2008. I never preach the exact same sermon twice -- especially not a wedding sermon -- but big chunks of this published second edition were written originally used for Nathan and Heidi.

So here we are…
In this lovely, lush, green place…
In this small, graceful, beautiful church…
So, why get married in church anyway?
Of course, I’m a minister—so, you’re right, I do have a few reasons in my hip pocket. But forget that for a minute, because the truth is that even outside of being a pastor I’ve heard – unofficially – quite an amazing variety of answers.
So, why get married in church?
“Well, because my parents (or his parents) or the grandparents expect it, or would be hurt if we didn’t, or wouldn’t pay for it otherwise.”
“Because I always dreamed of the perfect church wedding… and it’s such a beautiful church… and the stained glass windows fit my color-scheme!"
“Because renting the church was cheaper than the VFW…”

But, Mike and Steph, I didn’t hear any of those reasons from you. What I heard—as we have gotten to know each other better and better… What I heard—clearly from you both—is that faith is more to you than something you observe only on Sundays: your faith permeates every corner of your lives! Your faith affects your decisions and your attitudes, it gives you hope and strength in times of stress and difficulty, and it enlivens your relationship with each other—it enlivens your hopes, your dreams, your struggles and your celebrations. Well, this is a day for celebration, for gladness, a day of blessing. This is a day of joy which transcends any clouds or even thundershowers—which, thankfully we have none of—and a joy which transcends all the storms and floods of life, too. Today is a day to celebrate love and all that love brings.
So, why get married in church? Because church is the place for joyful celebrations; Church is a place for profound joy, a place for loud shouts of joy and for love and for laughter. And if that thought throws you for a loop or amazes or surprises you—how could Church be full of joy?—then you’re probably just the sort of person Jesus would have stopped in the street and said—right out of the blue—come, follow me; come, if you are fatigued, or overwhelmed, or struggling under a heavy load; come along with me, and I will give you rest.
Today is a day to celebrate—and almost everybody loves a celebration, right? Everybody loves a party—Fourth of July picnics, fireworks, birthdays, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all. Everyone loves a party, but have you ever noticed that the most joyful and authentic celebrations are rooted in deep gratitude? Have you ever been to a party rooted in something other than heartfelt gratitude? Have you ever been to a party that seemed like a futile attempt to imitate a real celebration? It leaves you with a feeling of emptiness, don’t you think? It leaves you with a feeling that something is missing – like a Fourth of July without fireworks, or apple pie without ice cream.
So why get married at Church? Because church is a place which inspires gratitude. Church is all about acknowledging God’s goodness, God’s love and grace, acknowledging a God whose giving knows no ending. Church is the place for saying thank you…for the love that holds us together… and for each other… and for lovers and best friends…
So why get married in Church? Because the source of all love is God… God’s love is our center, God’s love is the source of all compassion—shared sufferings and shared joys, shared challenges and shared hopes and dreams.
Human commitment is fragile, and human love is imperfect; but the promise of God is eternal, and the love of God can bring our love to perfection.
So why get married in Church? Because marriage is sacramental… And although marriage may not be considered to be a “sacrament” in Reformed theology, marriage is very much a picture of God’s unconditional love and amazing grace in the world. Marriage is a holy mystery in which two persons are joined together and become one, just as Christ is one with the church. To say it another way, when I say marriage is sacramental, I’m saying that you will discover the love of God – in new and surprising ways – in your marriage. For God is in essence love and God is
in essence relational.
Even beyond the new ways the two of you discover God through and in your marriage, other people will discover the love of God in your marriage! In your marriage, the presence of God will be, should be, can be—amazingly—made known in the world. For when you experience your marriage as a celebration of God’s love, you will—more and more—discover that marriage isn’t just about the two of you.
The art of being married is the art of imitating the love of Christ. It is the giving of self and the affirmation of the other—in the context of your oneness with each other, and also in context with the whole world.
Why get married in Church? Well, for the same reason I made a pilgrimage to the Field of Dreams near Dyersville, Iowa. A baseball field in the middle of nowhere. A cornfield marking the outer edge of the outfield. And you just have this feeling that, any minute, baseball players will miraculously appear out of the corn.
In the same way in Church we expect something amazing will happen—something good, something special, something surprising… an unexpected blessing… a vision even an Epiphany. Henri Nouwen says, “Each day holds a surprise. But only
if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us.”
So don’t be afraid to receive each day’s new surprise, whether it comes to you as sorrow or joy. The unexpected in your lives will open up new places in your hearts—places where you can welcome new friends, places where you discover your
love for each other to be a reflection of God’s love, places where you celebrate more fully your shared humanity, and places where God’s compassion and peace can be felt in the world through your oneness with each other and your oneness in Christ Jesus.
Amen.

Introduction to Vows
Christian marriage is a joyful sharing of promises. In making your promises before God and before this congregation, you are affirming that God’s gracious presence and abiding power are needed for you to keep your vows, to continue in love, and to be faithful servants of Christ in this world. In witnessing your vows, we give thanks for your love, and we give thanks for God’s great, great love.
Exchange of Rings
Giver: This ring I give you, as a symbol and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love.
Receiver: Wearing this ring Touching this ring Feeling this ring Will remind me each day That our love is forever.
Prayer
Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, bless Mike and Stephanie, that they may live together in marriage according to the promises they have made before you.
Bless them with your love, that their love for each other may grow even deeper, and their love for you may shine forth before the world.
Bless them with your devotion and wisdom, that each may be to the other a companion in joy, a comfort in sorrow, and a strength in need.
Bless them with your mercy, that they may be patient and caring and willing to share each other’s joys and sorrows. Give them the grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and confess their fault, and to seek each other’s forgiveness and yours.
Bless them with your peace, that they may be calm and sure, trusting in you with confident hearts. May they live in harmony and concord within their family and among all people.
Bless them with your presence, that within their hearts and home Christ may reign as head. May they confess Christ with praise and thanksgiving, now and through all their life together, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Charge
As God’s own, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, and patience, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, and crown all these things with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Welcome Home

2008-07-22T01:33:00.002-05:00

It's good to be home. We're moving slowly from the "vacation pace" back into what we all call normal. The trip was wonderful. But it feels good to be home.
This is the first post to my new blog. Actually, it's one of two new blogs. They've been "inside me" for quite some time. Perhaps they just needed 15 days of vacation time. Under the heat lamp. Incubation. Now, finally birthed.
So this a new blog. I'll try for once a week or so. Mostly about being aWelcomingChurch and about worship and prayer and peacemaking. And how that all connects with being the Church, the living Body of the living Christ in a broken and hurting world. And how it connects with our ordinary lives. Still Up in the Air -- the "other blog" -- will be my place for more of the personal, day-to-day stuff. But that isn't because I believe there's any wall dividing the sacred from the ordinary. Just the opposite.
Anyway, I feel like I have nothing earth-shattering to offer... at least not right now... tonight... at this moment... but when I do... if I ever do...
Well, now I have a place to share it.
Welcome.
Like I said, it's good to be home.
That's really what being a welcoming church is all about, I think. Stretching out our arms, opening our hands, and sincerely saying "welcome" to all who desire a place to call home. That's what God does for each of us. And that's what we're graced by God to do with all those we're blessed to cross with in our everyday, ordinary lives.

Stay tuned...
Coming soon...
The Lockspot Cafe, Fish 'n Chips, a cheap baseball cap, and Grace...
And... Grace at the Wagon Wheel Cafe...