readingdoc2

Jamaica trip

2012-01-28T20:29:00.001-08:00

This is an article I wrote about our Jamaica trip. http://www.austindailyherald.com/2012/01/27/church-of-christ-plans-mission-trip-to-jamaica/

Sermon on return from Phil.

2011-12-02T08:29:00.000-08:00

Trip Report – Cebu, Philippines – 2011

Acts 17.16 - 34

Thank you for the opportunity go on the Mission trip to Cebu City, Philippines, for the last 3 weeks. This is complex of cities for 3.5 million people, lots of dogs, and even more chickens. Thank you for your prayers – everything went well on the flights, and I am recovering pretty well from the jet lag. I stayed with Nigel and Loida Pyle, and their two kids – David – 16 and Melody – 14. Nigel was originally from New Zealand – his family was farmers who milked cows. He then moved to Australia near Perth where he was converted under the ministry of Leroy Randall. He came to Minnesota Bible College when I was teaching there and I got to meet him. He went to the Phil in about 1990 as a missionary. He worked at a Bible college there until 2001 when he helped start the Central Phil Bible College. They were very good hosts.

This was a different trip than the Jamaica trips or any of the other mission trips I have been on. I did a lot of teaching on prayer and on the book of James, as well as preaching at different churches in Cebu City. They spoke English so my sermons did not have to be translated. I learned a lot about the Philippines and the religious life there and I am going to share some of that with you today. The city is big, crowded and the traffic is terrible. There are cars, trucks, jeepneys – van type thing that is used as buses – hundreds of them, and more motorcycles than you can count. All of these are crowded onto good sized streets, but way too many vehicles. Add to that people crossing the streets all the time. At night it is even more challenging to drive.

The scripture that came to mind as I traveled around the city of Cebu was the one found in Acts 17 where the Apostle Paul was in Athens, Greece. As he walked around the city he came to this conclusion: Read with me Acts 17. 16-23. I want you to notice that the people were very religious, but they always were looking for something new and different. They even had a statue for the “unknown god.” They were not dumb – they did not to take a chance of missing and offending any god, so they had this special statue. Paul took the opportunity to proclaim to them the

God who is known, as he revealed himself to them and to us especially in Jesus Christ.

The Philippines as a country is 80% Roman Catholic, 5% Muslim, 10% Protestant, and mixture of other religions. One morning the Pyles took me to the main Cathedral in the city – Santa Nino – in which is a statue of the baby Jesus that has been in the church since the 1600s. (Show the statue) There were long lines even during the week, for the chance to stand before it. They say it has the power to heal and grant requests. Outside there was a huge open air plaza for huge masses that are said there on special occasions. There was a place to light candles – there could be 1000s of candles lit at one time. This was just one of a number of very large Catholic churches in Cebu. They also honor the Virgin Mary calling her the mother of God instead of the mother of Jesus – she is honored as equal with the God Jesus.

The same afternoon, we went next door from the Bible College to use the recreational area of a Buddhist temple. (Show the statue) The students from the college used the basketball and volleyball courts. I explored the temple and the monastery areas. It was very interesting. There were other temples – Buddhist and Taoist temples. There was a church group called the Church of Christ which does not believe in the deity of Christ – it is sort of like the Mormon Church here, but different. It has thousands of members and is really politically active. As we drove around the city we saw all kinds of different churches – store front churches and other kinds. There was also a Muslim mosque in Cebu, but they are more prevalent in the southern island of Mindanao. Cebu is a very religious city. Yet on Sunday there were few people in the big churches.

Nigel, Loida, and another couple started the Central Phil. Bible College and City Church 10 years ago with the purpose of reaching the city for the Lord. At the time there was just one Church of Christ in the city of 3.5 million people. In the 10 yrs since, they have helped start 5 churches in various parts of the city. I visited 4 of them. The graduates of the Bible College go into a neighborhood and start a church. They usually rent a house until they can afford to by a property. These are small places – about the size of our foyer – but there are a lot of people close to the church building that they can reach. One place was in an area of shops down a small street – too small for cars. We walked about a half a block to the building. 6 or 8 of the members were meeting for a Bible study – this is in a poor area and only two of them spoke much English – they speak Cebuano. But they were very friendly to us.

This is something I was really impressed with there, as I have been as I traveled to other places on mission trips – these are brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what the color of their skin or their language. They love the Lord and are trying as hard as they can to win others to him. At the worship services the elders read the same scriptures we do for communion and they have grape juice and wafers. Since they are so far to the East, they are some of the first ones on a Sunday to worship and partake of the Lord’s Supper. Then Chrs all around the world partake. Finally a half a day later we gather to worship and partake together.

I got to meet the two students I have supported at the college. I give $50 a month for their room, board and tuition. For 2 yrs I paid for the education of John Paul. He graduated two yrs ago and is now a youth minister in Davao – he also teaches at a private high school there and leads a basketball ministry. It was fun to meet him. The other student I am supporting is a young man named Roy. He was abandoned at age 7 and spent a few years on the streets. A minister took him in and he became a Chr. He is a second yr student and is an excellent guitar player. He loves the Lord and is studying hard to become a minister. For just $50 a month I think that is a real bargain and well worth it – if you would like to adopt a student – talk to me.

During the first week I taught them the ACTS prayer material in detail. The last time they were in the US I gave Nigel a copy of the prayer material and he has been using it there. On that Saturday morning all the students and faculty members participated in a 3 hour or so, prayer and fasting time using the ACTS prayer material (6-9 AM). That was a good experience for them and me. They were eager to learn and then used the prayer information in their lives.

I also taught them the book of James – the Bible study I taught here at the Wed. morning Bible study. They listened and asked good questions. One of the things I learned about the Pilipino students is that they do not like to read books. I really pushed them to read so they would have something to share with others in the churches where they served.

In Acts 17 Paul finishes his message to the people of Athens with these words: read Acts 17. 29-34. The message of Jesus Christ and his resurrection needs to be preached because there are still lots of people even in a religious nation that need to know Jesus as their personal Savior. That is what our brothers and sisters in Christ are doing in Cebu. I think God used me to encourage them in their work, and I was encouraged in the process. Again thank you for letting me go and for praying for me while I was there.

Philippines trip

2011-12-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

Pastor DeFor returns from the Philippines

Thank you for praying for me on my recent mission trip to Cebu City, Philippines. All the flights went well and the whole trip was very good. It was very hot and muggy for me coming from our climate.

I taught and preached at the Central Philippines Bible College in Cebu. The college is ten years old and I helped them celebrate with a weeklong conference which brought together former and present students. It was great to be with students eager to learn. They loved to sing and praise God.

One thing I thought about was the church all over the world worshiping God all day on every Sunday. Cebu is 14 hours ahead of Austin so we came together there early to participate in worship and the Lord’s Supper. The Philippines is one of the first places in the world to start their Sunday services. After them, brothers and sisters in Christ in succession in China, India, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and then South and North America come together to worship God – sometimes with the same songs and certainly the same scriptures. We are part of a vast family of believers all over the world – something we sometimes forget being here is the US.

Cebu is part of a complex of cities of 3.5 million people, and when we were driving from place to place it seemed like all of them were on the streets. There were cars, trucks, hundreds of motorcycle, and Jeepneys – a van like vehicle that the people ride in. Add to this people crossing the streets all the time and driving or riding in a car was an adventure. The city had a lot of churches of different kinds – from large cathedrals to many storefront churches, Buddhist and Taoist temples, and I saw one Mosque. They are definitely a very religious people.

One of the things I had fun with was giving out nickels. I brought 100 nickels with me, and give them out and asked the people to pray for the kids in the US when they saw it. They were eager to do that. I brought back about 100 pesos and am giving them out here, asking the people to pray for the children in the Philippines. People here have been just as willing to do that.

It was a tiring but fulfilling trip. Thanks again for your pray

Sermon for 10/23

2011-10-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

I HAVE FOUGHT THE FIGHT

^{2Ti 4:5} But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

^{2Ti 4:6} For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.

^{2Ti 4:7} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ^{2Ti 4:8} Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

As we get older, we begin to think about our lives – what have I accomplished in this life – how have I spent my years? Psychologists say all of us get to a point in our lives where we evaluate our lives – looking back to assess how we have spent our lives. Sometimes we are too negative in doing this and fall into despair according to some. As we look at our lives we can also see that we have indeed served the Lord and have integrity.

The Apostle Paul is my hero – my model, my example in the Chr live. In the NT we have an account of his life from when he was young and fiery, until he was older and ready to go to meet the Lord. We are going to look this morning at what he said about the end of his life. In 2 Timothy 4.5-8 Paul is writing to his younger friend Timothy about his work for the Lord. Read with me what he says. Read 2 Tim. 4.5-8.

First, Paul had a sense of purpose in life. In Acts 9 we read about Saul/Paul being converted. He was a committed Jewish leader who wanted to destroy this new religion which was preaching about a risen Jesus Christ. He was going to the city of Damascus to arrest the Chrs there when Jesus appeared to him and called him to be an evangelist for him. From the very beginning Paul knew what he was supposed to do – preach and teach about the love of Jesus Christ and salvation through his name. Paul spent the rest of his life knowing his purpose and doing it.

Our faith in Jesus Christ gives us purpose in life. All of us have a reason to live because of Jesus. Some of us serve by cleaning the church; others by teaching Bible school; others by praying for others; some by leading Thursday night alive; many by serving your families; some by helping our neighbors. The list could go on and on, but I believe all of us have a purpose – a God given reason to live. We have a sense of purpose in our lives.

In the passage Paul also knows that he has a sense of accomplishment. He wrote that he had fought the fight, he had finished the race, and he had kept the faith. The Chr life is a fight or a war according to Paul. We need to recognize that we all are in a life and death battle against satan. He is a like a lion looking for every opportunity he can to destroy us. Many do not even see that they are in a battle for their soul. We are to resist the devil and he will flee from us.

The Chr life is also a race. Maybe Paul was in a town where they something like the Olympic Games and he saw the races that took place. The runners would line up and run the race and the crowd would cheer. The race he is talking about here is not a 100 yd dash, but a marathon. In 100 yd dash today the runners are done in 10 seconds or so. The Chr life is a marathon. Years ago I ran marathon races (26.2 miles) and a lot of shorter races. I started 15 marathons and finished 14. I ran Grandma’s marathon from Two Harbor to Duluth a number of times. We would start at 7.30 in the morning and if I had a good race, I would finish running before 11. They were tiring but it was a great accomplishment to finish the race. We are called to run your race for the Lord – day after day for his glory.

The Chr life is about keeping the faith. Paul loved Jesus Christ with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength. He believed that Jesus had lived, died, and then arose from the dead to ascend to heaven to live with God forever there. In the life of Paul, all of these things he believed were challenged by those who did not believe them. Paul is probably the greatest defender of the Chr faith who ever lived. Jesus lived his life and taught us what we needed to do, and then Paul took those teachings and told us how to live them.

We need to keep our faith in Jesus Christ. I know many people who made a commitment to Jesus Christ when they were teenagers, but have not been servants of the Lord for years. I know others who served God in their adult lives, but then for whatever reason, just stopped serving him. Still others may have lived for him into their later years, but then fell away from God. We need to be faithful to God all of our lives. God is faithful to us all of our lives and into eternity. In our lives we have a sense of accomplishment.

Finally, Paul speaks of a sense of assurance. Listen again to what he says in verse 18. Read. He knew that what God promised through Jesus Christ, he would carry out. Jesus promised eternal life with him for all of his servants. Paul was looking forward to the crown of righteousness that he would get from the hand of God at the end of his life. Maybe Paul was thinking again about the races he had seen. At the end of the race, the winner was given a crown of flowers or leaves as his prize. When I finished a marathon, I got T-shirt and a medal usually. A million times more valuable than that will the crown of righteousness that we get from the Lord at the end of our lives.

Notice too that is crown will be awarded by the Lord to him and to all others who are looking forward to the return of the Lord. Sometimes we think – sure Paul will get his crown – he was the best Chr ever and served the Lord so faithfully. But not me – I am a sinner; I fail too often to do what the Lord wants. We even get the idea that maybe we will get disqualified from heaven just at the last minute. If I have an evil thought and then step out on the street and get run over by a car, I will miss out on heaven. We think that we have not done enough to earn our way into heaven, so we will not be welcomed there. I am sure that none of us here today will ever earn our way into heaven – none of us. We are saved only by the grace of God, and his grace alone. We have the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ.

There is one more passage of scripture written by Paul tells us what we need to do with our lives. Listen to Phil. 3.12-14. ¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Paul knew that in his Chr life, he must continue serving the Lord no matter what. He did not rest on his past accomplishments, thinking that he had done enough for the Lord. He knew that there was a crown of righteousness promised for him by the Lord, but he was not done on earth. He was not made perfect by God yet, but he would press on to that goal. Do you hear the eagerness and determination in these verses written by Paul? With all his strength he would keep on keeping on. With all the power that came from the Holy Spirit he would press on the goal, so that at the end of his life, he would win the absolutely unbelievable prize of eternal life with the Lord. At the end of his race on earth he would not just have a crown, but eternal life with the Lord.

God calls us heavenward; God calls us to life with him forever in heaven. No matter what age we are, we cannot stop serving the Lord. Do not let anything keep you from the vision of heaven with the Lord forever. Pray for me that I will never let anything keep me from the serving the Lord. I will do everything I can to help you to press on to the goal of winning the prize for which God had called us heavenward in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Come to the Lord.

Keep on serving him.

Gen.5 walking with God

2011-09-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

Genesis 5 – The Ultimate Senior Citizen Chapter

We are starting a series of sermons about Senior Citizen in the Bible and in our town. Mower County has one of the highest rates of retired men and women in the state. All you have to do is go to the grocery store to see how many SrCs we have here in Austin. They provide this county with some great people and wonderful models to live by. There are many who have church homes but many still needed to have a relationship with Christ and a place to worship. Some people don’t mind being SrCs but others don’t like it. (Are you a SrC too?)

In Genesis 5 we have the listing of the line of Adam and Eve. In our day, if a person lives to be over 100, they are really old. Listen to the ages of the men when they died as listed in this chapter – Adam was 930; Seth was 912; Enosh was 905; Kenan was 910; Mahalalel was only 895; Jared was 962; Enoch was really young – only 365; Methuselah was the oldest at 969; Lamech was 777 years old. This is definitely the ultimate SrC chapter in the Bible.

Let me say a little about the ages in this chapter. Many people have questioned the numbers listed in Genesis 5. How could anyone live to be 969 years old? What would the person look like at that age if they aged the way we do? Can you imagine the wrinkles that person would have? Men’s ears get bigger as we age – they would be hanging down to our waist by that time. Can you imagine how bad our knees would hurt by the age of 900? Some have suggested that the years are really months or maybe 1/10 of what we would have. So Mahalalel was not 895 but maybe 89 when he died. But that would mean that he would have born a son at age 6.5 years old. I believe the numbers are accurate, but the atmosphere in the world before the Flood was different and plants and animals aged differently then. It might have been like a greenhouse where everything was protected from the sunlight so we aged differently.

I want to look at just 3 of these men this morning – the last three in the chapter. Methuselah is the man who lived the longest on this earth – 969 yrs old - when he died. In our day he would have been of Social Security for over 900 yrs. All we know about him was that his father was Enoch; his first son was born when he was 187, that he had other sons and daughters, and that he died. That is not much information for that many yrs. We assume he was a farmer or a herdsman, and he may have been very good at it, but we do not know. Methuselah is like a lot of people who live and die and not much is known about him. He might have accomplished many things during his life, but we don’t know. There is a poem I use at some funerals called, The Dash – it refers to the dash between the date of birth and the date of death on a tombstone. All of the person’s life is represented by that little “dash” - certainly there was more to his life.

Next let us look at Lamech. We know more about him than we do his father. The picture we have is a vicious man. In Genesis 4 we hear him bragging to his two wives: ^{Ge 4:23} Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. ^{Ge 4:24} If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” Lamech was probably more like the other men of his time – arrogant and violent. This is the generation and time that was so evil that God was sorry he had made men and eventually wiped them out with the flood at the time of Noah. Lamech acted like the gangsters in the movies who would kill another person without a second thought.

There is a second short passage that quotes him – found in Gen.5.29 where is says this: ^{Ge 5:28} When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ^{Ge 5:29} He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” To Lamech God was the cause of all the problems of the earth. God cursed the ground because of the sin of Adam and Eve, but Lamech did not see that. He was a wickedness man probably for his whole life – 777 years. Are there SrCs like that?

Now we come to Enoch. The main phrase that characterizes this man is “Enoch walked with God.” Read Gen. 5.21-24. (With the death of Fern Everson last week – I said over and over – she walked with God day by day.) At first we might feel sorry for Enoch since he only lived 365 yrs. He was a young man compared with all his relatives. He had a wonderful quality of life rather than quantity. Again we do not know what Enoch did – whether he was a farmer or what. We know he lived in the midst of a wicked people - listen to what God said: Genesis 6.5 “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. ^{Ge 6:6} The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ^{Ge 6:7} So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” That sounds like people in our age – some people. Can you imagine living in your whole life in that kind of atmosphere? Instead of wanting to do good for others, everyone is trying to hurt you. We are used to living in a fairly Chr world – but there are places where evil is the typical. (In most places in our world you just don’t lock your doors, you have bars on the windows.)

Yet somehow Enoch was different from the rest – he walked with God. This reminds me of Adam and Eve in Gen.3 where it says God walked in the Garden in the cool of the evening, and they walked with him, talked with him and received his love directly. Enoch must have done the same. Why did he walk with God and not the rest of the people? I know that God sought people then and he does now. The big issue is our receptivity to God. It is like God is a TV station broadcasting on channel 4, but most people do not tune into that channel. God always has and does now want a personal, intimate relationship with people. I don’t know why – we seldom are very good company – we always fail him and break the bond between us. Enoch listened to God and walked with him.

Walking with God for Enoch was difficult for a number of reasons. Nobody else it seems was listening to God. In fact I am sure he was mocked and made fun of for his faith in God. No doubt the rest of the people had invented their own gods by this time, idols and images. But Enoch worshiped the one true God in spirit and in truth directly. He had purpose and fulfillment in life – Augustine said there is a God-shaped hole in our heart that only God can fill. Enoch found God and his heart was filled completely. I am sure he tried to share his faith in God with others, but they did not listen, none of them.

Remember this was centuries before the Law of Moses, before the Temple, and before the sacrificial system. Enoch had no scriptures to read – we have both the OT and NT to encourage us in our Chr life – he had none. There were probably the stories about Adam and Eve, and all the others and how this God had work with them. Maybe these sustained him some.

Mostly I believe it was God reaching out to Enoch and drawing him to his side day after day. Listen to what is written about Enoch in Hebrews 11.5 &6: “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” The passage say God rewarded him – he was no more because God took him away – directly to heaven so their fellowship could continue for eternity.

What about us today? What does it mean to walk with God? Am I doing that – are we walking daily with him? That is what Christianity is – daily walking by faith with the Almighty God, the loving God. As Chrs he takes our hand or puts his arm around us and we walk. We feel his love and forgiveness because of Jesus Christ. He comforts us and challenges us – always helping us to be obedient to him in all of our life. There is nothing that could be more wonderful in the whole world than walking with God day after day. None of us are good enough to be taken directly to heaven like Enoch, but we have the best possible life walking with God.

Fern Everson

2011-09-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

I just got a call that Fern Everson died this morning. She was the sweetest lady ever. She taught all the kids at church for over 50 years and baked cookies for people all over town. She will be missed. I do not know when the memorial service will be yet. A saint went to be with the Lord after a life well lived for Him. Steve.

Sermon for 8/28

2011-09-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

Two Seniors Citizens meet Jesus

Luke 2.21-40

All through the Bible there are people who loved and served God but we know little about them. We know about Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and many others. In the time of Moses there were thousands of Jews some of whom I believe were fully committed to the Lord. We do not know about them since the Bible could not contain all the stories about all these people. At the time of the birth of Jesus we know about Zachariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptizer. This couple were committed to God and he rewarded by giving them a son in their old age – the joy of their lives – a strange but wonderful young man who prepared the way for the Messiah. There are two other senior citizens at this same time who were as committed to God as any of the famous people of their time. Let us look at them and learn from them.

In Luke chapter two we see that Mary and Joseph had gone to Jerusalem from Bethlehem to present him to the Lord at the temple. Every firstborn male was dedicated to the Lord and a sacrifice of two doves was made for him. These new parents were faithful to God in doing what the law required. They did not know, but this would be a surprising and wonderful day for them.

Read Luke 2.25-26. There could be a more complimentary description of any man. We know little about Simeon except what is written here. At first I thought he must be a retired man from Jerusalem but the people back then did not retire. He might have been a butcher, baker or a candlestick maker or maybe a priest at the temple at one time. We do know he was an absolutely committed to God. He was righteous in his lifestyle and devoted to God completely. These are characteristics that all of us should want in our own lives. They do not come as we passively sit back and do nothing. Simeon was also looking for the fulfillment of the promise of God to send the Messiah to the people of Israel. I don’t know if all the people in Israel were looking forward to the coming Messiah, this man was.

An amazing thing is recorded about Simenon here – The passage says the Holy Spirit was upon him. As Chrs we know the Holy Spirit is upon us, but Simeon was alive before Christianity was established. (He was a pre-Chr charismatic.) There were few if any in his days, who were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before he saw the Lord’s Christ or the Messiah. What an honor that was for him, and maybe that was because he was so devoted to God. We are not necessarily rewarded like this for our commitment to God, but sometimes God gives these special gifts. (I wonder if he had ever told anyone about this. He could have gone around bragging about this revelation, but I think he just quietly waited, prayed and worshiped God.) (There are many people who think they have a revelation of God about living until the Lord returns a second time. I wonder if that is true.)

Read with me vss. 27 – 32. The Holy Spirit moved him to go to the temple that day and there he saw a poor couple holding a new-born baby. He rushed up and took the child in his arms and was overcome with joy as he praised God. The Sovereign Lord had fulfilled his promise of the Messiah in this tiny, fragile, baby. Here is the Messiah, the source of salvation for all people, for the Gentiles and for the Jews. The promise God made to the Jewish people centuries before was fulfilled that day and the blessing would not be just for the Jews, but for us, the Gentiles of the world. Do you see this? The one thing that gave Simeon his purpose in life – the promise of seeing the Messiah – was fulfilled completely. He could die now knowing that God had been faithful and truthful to him – he had held in his own arms the Messiah – Jesus Christ, the Lord God himself. (I wonder if he was surprised by this Messiah being a newborn baby instead of a man.)

There was one more message Simeon had for Mary and Joseph – read vss. 34-35. They were told this little baby would cause a tremendous change in the Jewish nation. Some would be lifted up to God by him, and others would turn away from God because of his teachings and his death on the cross. Even this couple would be pierced with a sword – figuratively – by this wonderful child.

As they were standing there marveling at what Simeon had said, another senior citizen came up to them and startled them – this was a lady named Anna. Read vss. 36-38. Again we do not know anything else about this wonderful lady than what we have here. She was very old – 7 years married and 84 years a widow – she must have been 110 or so. That is very old when people had a life expectance of 40 or so. This lady it says never left the temple – she lived there – she was homeless in a sense, but she lived in the best possible place – the house of God. Anna worshiped God night and day, fasting and praying. She is the first nun if you will, living not in a convent, but in the temple in Jerusalem. She was a holy lady who loved God with all her heart. She was a prophetess and there had not been prophets or prophetesses in Israel for a long time. As a prophetess she foretold the future and preached to the people, telling them what the Lord wanted from them in their lives.

Anna I think took the baby Jesus in her arms and praised God, thanking him for sending the promised Messiah. Can you see the scene? The worshipers in the temple were walking around in the temple area as they had done every time they came to the temple. But on this day first Simeon and now Anna was praising God because of Jesus. He was proclaimed as the one who would provide salvation and redemption for all people in the world. I do not think many really knew what was going on here. This was the beginning of the movement of God to start Christianity, the means of salvation for all. Her life was fulfilled – she had seen and held the promised one of God, the Messiah.

What do we learn from these two senior citizens? First, we learn how to live – the greatest lifestyle is to live for the Lord. They were both righteous and devout believers, living for God. They were also knew God intimately.

He was the center of their lives, and he needs to be the center of our lives. Anna worshiped God day and night, fasting and praying.

These two knew the love and faithfulness of God, and they knew it for a long time. At camp a couple of weeks ago, I preached in chapel about the love has for kids. In the sermon I said I was older than anyone at camp and a lot older than most of them. That meant I had felt the love and faithfulness of God longer than anyone else there.

In their old age, God at times blessed with a very special holy gift – they got to see the Messiah, and hold him. In the midst of our struggles with pain as we get older, God blesses us with his presence, his love, and the absolute hope of eternal life when we will not only see the Messiah, but live with him forever.

This morning we invite you to come and give yourself to the Lord.

Pictures from Eagle Center

2011-09-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

2011-07-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

July 4^th, 2011 – If my people…

^{2Ch 7:14} if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

On the 4^th of July this country celebrates the Declaration of Independence, declaring our independence from England. The 13 colonies had been the possession of England and found that the way they were being treated was intolerable. The Parliament in London made laws for the colonies without even asking the people here what they wanted. There were taxes imposed to control what the people bought and who they bought them from. A Continental Congress was called to see if the 13 colonies could agree to work together to get their freedom from England.

On July 4^th, 1776 the men who were meeting prayed and then voted to sign this Declaration of Independence. The British did not want to lose the colonies so they sent the best soldiers they had to put down the rebellion of Americans. The war that resulted was fought for many years – a rag-tag army lead by General George Washington against the best army and navy in the world. The British were the best trained and the best equipped military men in the world. The Americans defeated them, by the grace of God – almost miraculously and the colonies won their freedom for themselves and for us.

The new nation was formed with a new constitution and new way of governing. All the nations of Europe had kings or queens ruling them, and many wanted George Washington to be our king. He refused, was elected President and served two terms – he could have been elected to more terms, but refused to run again – a brilliant move. Our government was of the people and for the people.

Out of this beginning, a very different nation was formed. There were 13 independent colonies that could have formed 13 countries, but instead became one nation, united with one central government, one language, on currency eventually, and one unique vision for the new nation. Many states formed one nation.

Many people from different counties and nations formed on people – Americans. (I was told by my 3^rd grade teacher to find out what nationality I was – I asked my Dad – he said you tell that teacher we are Americans. I told her that – she said I needed to find out if I were English or Danish or what. My Dad told me to go back and tell the teacher we were 100% American.) We Americans are a different people – maybe too proud and loud, but we get things done and have for our whole history.

Americans are different in our religions also. All the states of Europe had a state religion – the state paid the ministers and for the churches (if there were offerings they were only for special purposes) . Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany were all Lutheran states. France, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Portugal were Roman Catholic countries. England was the Church of England or Anglican. In the century after the US was formed, all churches were not state supported and really all kinds of religions were tolerated. In our day we are the most open country to all religions, sometime I think too open, but I am glad we are. We are unique in our view of religion.

Today we have a lot of problems in our country – we could spend the rest of today and all of the 4^th of July talking about them. We are in an economic crisis – and there is enough blame to go around for both political parties in the nation and the state. We have a moral crisis – we have been told for two generations that there are no absolutes and no right or wrong, so we should not be surprised that our prisons and jails are stuffed full of people who break the laws. This crisis is in individual morality, corporate morality, business morality, and governmental morality. We have a crisis in our housing industry – falling home prices and massive foreclosures and bankruptcy. We have a crisis in families – high divorce rates, huge numbers of single mothers, very high rates of unwed mothers having children, and kids who are not getting the love and discipline they need.

What do we need to do? Let’s look at the passage of scripture I read at the beginning. Read again – 2 Chr. 7.14. The Jewish people were dedicating the newly finished temple in Jerusalem. They had built this magnificent temple with gold and silver all over it. They had sacrificed thousands of animals in the dedication. Then God spoke to them. He began by saying, If. The people had a choice to do what their God is telling them to do. God does not force us to do his will. If my people who are called by my name – we are his people today and we are called by his name. Do you understand that? He is saying if all my people, my Chrs, will do these 4 things, God will bless us.

1. We must humble ourselves – pride is the enemy of God – thinking too much of ourselves or thinking what we have is because we deserve it or are responsible for it. Israel thought that the land they had and the beautiful temple they had, were because of their own effort. We need to recognize God is the source of all we have and will ever have.

2. We must pray – prayer is always to the creator, all-powerful God. We should not pray for more prosperity – we have enough of that and too often, more money and things lead us away from God rather than to him. We need to pray for a return to God’s morality, God’s values and God’s vision of what this country should be.

3. We must seek his face – That is to seek God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. What good are a rich country, with expensive cars and big houses with lots of stuff, and no relationship with the loving God? We have fewer people going to church in this country than we had just 10 years ago. We have a generation or two who do not know God and salvation in him. I think also that we have a lot of people who go to church but do not really seek his face – his heart – his loving hands.

4. Last we need turn from our wicked ways. It is hard for us to see how much evil we tolerate in this country. I was watching the Archie Bunker show for a while the other night. I remember when that started the furor about how bad that was show was. Now that is mild compared with all the things we Americans and even Chrs watch every day and night. We cannot make our non-Chr culture follow God ways, but we sure can and better turn from our wicked ways.

5. Then God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land so we can be used for his glory again. God will heal his churches first, and this uniquely special land, for his glory.

2011-06-21T06:58:00.001-07:00

Father’s Day 2011 – Fight the fight 2 Timothy 4.7-8

^{2Ti 4:7} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

^{2Ti 4:8} Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Men – What kind of movies do you like to watch? If I would list my favorite movies of all times most of them would be like Patton, Midway, and Brave heart.

I have watched Midway may times – it is the story of the battle around Midway Island during WWII. The aircraft carriers of the US met the aircraft carriers of Japan. Both sent out planes to find the other. By luck I guess, the US planes found and sunk 3 or 4 of the Japanese aircraft carriers in just a short time, while suffering minor losses in ships and men. It is a 3+ hour movie.

Why do I like the movie and others like it? It is the pride I have in the US military; at the men how were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect our country; and the bravery of these men. They were warriors fighting an enemy for their own protection and the well-being of their families and country. Men especially like that.

This morning I am going to talk about a war or a fight all men (and women) are in every day, and one that at times we do not even know we are fighting. This is a different kind of war. It is an all out battle with satan for your life – your life here on earth and your eternal life. The best way to fight an enemy is to know the enemy we are fighting – to be able to see the one we are fighting. We cannot see the devil as such, but we can see the awful work that he does in our world. He indeed is a dangerous enemy. Satan is the original terrorist enemy doing whatever he can wherever he can to destroy us and our families.

1 Peter 5.8 says this: ^5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.^5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

This enemy we have wants to devour us – attack us, kill us and then tear us to pieces. He wants to destroy your life and everything that is important to you. He wants to tear up our families and devastate our children. He wants to make us miserable – taking away our money and homes and whatever else he can. He wants to destroy this church and everyone in it. He wants us to take away all our joy and happiness in this life. Ultimately the devil wants to keep us from going to heaven and living forever with our heavenly Father. Other than those things, he is a pretty nice guy. Do you understand what your enemy wants to do to you and all that you love and see as important to you? (As I wrote this I could not help but think that these are the very things Alkida and the radical Muslims want to take away from us too.)

What are we to do about the attacks of the devil? In the passage from 1 Peter 5.8 it says we are to resist him and he will flee from us. Read again. Whenever you and I feel him pushing against us, we need to resist him by standing firm in our faith in God. God is the one who gives us the strength to fight the attacks of the evil one. Some teachers give us the idea that all we have to do is let God fight for us, but this passage says we have a responsibility to resist satan ourselves. Stand up to him. Call him by name – Jesus said, get behind me satan. Tell him, I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and want nothing to do with you. Stay away from me. This is the phrase I have been using – I love you my God. Please help me fight this temptation. The passage also says that brothers and sisters all over the world are being attacked by this evil one also – we need to stand together with them in resisting the devil.

Do you ever feel like satan’s full-time job is attacking you? Some days I think that is true of me. Right from the beginning of the day, he is after me about something. This temptation comes to mind, and I resist that one, but pretty soon something else comes to mind. I get into a funk and think the burdens of life are too much. Poor me. There is not enough money in my account. I don’t feel good or something else. That is when I have to stop and tell the devil to bug off. What do I say? I love you my God. Please help me fight this temptation. There is a story about the great Martin Luther in his study working on translating the Bible into the German language. He felt the attacks of the devil so vividly he picked up the ink pot and threw it at the devil.

Toward the end of his life the apostle Paul could say this: read 2 Tim. 4.7-8.

I have fought the fight – he is saying day after day he fought the fight against the evil one and won because of Jesus Christ. He says he ran the race – he is not talking about a 100 yd dash here, but a marathon race. I used to run marathons – that is a race of 26.2 miles – from here to Albert Lea and half way back. I started 15 of those races and finished 14. It was actually fun to train for the races and run them – finishing was quite an accomplishment. The winners of the race (who finished an hour or more before I finished) won money for running the race. I got a T-shirt and sore feet and muscles.

Running the race of life is not just a short sprint, but a life-long race for the Lord. That is part of the problem: the race just keeps going on and on. We are victorious today and tomorrow he comes again to attack us. Remember though before he comes, the Lord is there with us. We ask day after day for the Spirit of God to fill us and he does.

The rest of the passage says that if we fight the fight and run the race, there is a reward for us – the crown of life – eternal life with the Lord himself. That is the goal we all are aiming at, like I talked about last week. The reward of heaven is what drives us on. Yesterday was Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth – 26.2 miles starting in Two Harbors, MN. I ran that 7 times, I think. This is a unique marathon in that you can see the finish for the last 20 miles or so. The race ends at the foot of the lift bridge in Duluth and you can see that from a long way off. See the end, the goal, helps us going on toward the goal. Heaven is our goal – we need to keep our eyes on that and live today in light of living eternally with the Lord.

Today is Father’s Day, a day to remember our dad and what they did for us or are doing for us. I believe dads are under a severe attack by the devil today. If he can get to the father, he can destroy the family. We need to pray for our fathers here in the congregation to help keep them safe. Also, I believe we dads have a special extremely important job to do with our families. We need to pray for each of them constantly that they will be ready for the battle each day to resist the evil one. Remember : I love you my God. Please help me fight this temptation.

Lesson on satan

1. He is the father of lies – John 8.44

2. Causes spiritual blindness – 2 Cor.4.4

3. Deceiver of the whole world – Rev. 12.9

4. Can be angle of light – 2 Cor. 11.14

5. Prince of this world – John 12.31 & Eph. 6.12

6. Defeated foe – 1John 3.8

7. Destiny – Matthew 25.41

Fight against satan

1. Resist the devil – 1 Peter 5.8

2. Limit to temptation - 1 Cor.10.13

3. Do not fall into temptation – Mark 14.37 – 38

2011-06-14T04:33:00.001-07:00

Psalm 119 with Jesus Christ in view

aAleph

¹ Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.
² Blessed are those who keep the teachings of Jesus Christ and seek him with all their heart—
³ they do no wrong but follow his ways.
⁴ You have laid down His precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
⁵ Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Jesus Christ!
⁶ Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn from Jesus Christ.
⁸ I will obey Jesus Christ; do not utterly forsake me.

   ב Beth

   ⁹ How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from Jesus Christ.
¹¹ I have enthroned Jesus Christ in my heart that I might not sin against Him.
¹² Praise be to you, LORD; teach me the decrees of Jesus Christ.
¹³ With my lips I recount all the words of Jesus that come from his mouth.
¹⁴ I rejoice in following Jesus Christ as one rejoices in great riches.
¹⁵ I meditate on Jesus Christ and consider His ways.
¹⁶ I delight in Jesus Christ; I will not neglect his word.

   ג Gimel

   ¹⁷ Be good to your servant while I live, that I may obey Jesus Christ.
¹⁸ Open my eyes that I may see the wonderful things Jesus taught and did.
¹⁹ I am a stranger on earth; do not hide Jesus Christ from me.
²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing for Jesus Christ at all times.
²¹ You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from Jesus Christ.
²² Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep the sayings of Jesus Christ.
²³ Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on Jesus Christ.
²⁴ Jesus Christ is my delight; he is my counselor.

   ד Daleth

   ²⁵ I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to Jesus Christ.
²⁶ I gave an account of my ways and you answered me; teach me the decrees of Jesus Christ.
²⁷ Cause me to understand the way of Jesus, that I may meditate on his wonderful deeds.
²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to the word of Jesus Christ.
²⁹ Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me the words of Jesus Christ.
³⁰ I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on Jesus Christ.
³¹ I hold fast to Jesus Christ, the LORD; do not let me be put to shame. ³² I run in the path of Jesus Christ, for you have broadened my understanding.

   ה He

   ³³ Teach me, LORD, the way of Jesus Christ, that I may follow him to the end.^[b]
³⁴ Give me understanding, so that I may keep the teachings of Jesus and obey him with all my heart.
³⁵ Direct me in the path of Jesus Christ, for in Him I find delight.
³⁶ Turn my heart toward Jesus Christ and not toward selfish gain.
³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Jesus Christ.^[c]
³⁸ Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
³⁹ Take away the disgrace I dread, for Jesus Christ is good.
⁴⁰ How I long for Jesus Christ! In his righteousness preserve my life.

   ו Waw

   ⁴¹ May your unfailing love come to me, LORD, your salvation, according to your promise;
⁴² then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in Jesus Christ.
⁴³ Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in Jesus Christ.
⁴⁴ I will always obey Jesus Christ, forever and ever.
⁴⁵ I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out Jesus Christ.
⁴⁶ I will speak of Jesus Christ before kings and will not be put to shame,
⁴⁷ for I delight in Jesus Christ because I love Him.
⁴⁸ I reach out for Jesus Christ, whom I love, that I may meditate on Him.

   ז Zayin

   ⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.
⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this: Jesus Christ preserves my life.
⁵¹ The arrogant mock me unmercifully, but I do not turn from Jesus Christ.
⁵² I remember, the LORD Jesus Christ, and I find comfort in Him.
⁵³ Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken Jesus Christ.
⁵⁴ Jesus Christ is the theme of my song wherever I lodge.
⁵⁵ In the night, LORD, I remember Jesus Christ, that I may keep his Teachings.
⁵⁶ This has been my practice: I obey Jesus Christ.

ח Heth

   ⁵⁷ You are my portion, LORD; I have promised to obey Jesus Christ.
⁵⁸ I have sought Jesus Christ with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.
⁵⁹ I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to Jesus Christ.
⁶⁰ I will hasten and not delay to obey Jesus Christ.
⁶¹ Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget Jesus Christ.
⁶² At midnight I rise to give you thanks for Jesus Christ.
⁶³ I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow Jesus Christ.
⁶⁴ The earth is filled with your love, LORD; teach me about Jesus Christ.

ט Teth

  ⁶⁵ Do good to your servant according to Jesus Christ, my LORD.
⁶⁶ Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust Jesus Christ.
⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Jesus Christ.
⁶⁸ You are good, and what you do is good; teach me to love Jesus Christ.
⁶⁹ Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I love Jesus Christ with all my heart.
⁷⁰ Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in Jesus Christ.
⁷¹ It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn to trust Jesus Christ.
⁷² Jesus Christ is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

   י Yodh

   ⁷³ Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn about Jesus Christ.
⁷⁴ May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in Jesus Christ.
⁷⁵ I know, LORD, that Jesus Christ is righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
⁷⁶ May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to the promises of Jesus Christ.
⁷⁷ Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for Jesus Christ is my delight.
⁷⁸ May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate Jesus Christ.
⁷⁹ May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand Jesus Christ.
⁸⁰ May I wholeheartedly follow Jesus Christ, that I may not be put to shame.

   כ Kaph

   ⁸¹ My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in Jesus Christ.
⁸² My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, “When will you comfort me?”
⁸³ Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget Jesus Christ.
⁸⁴ How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors?
⁸⁵ The arrogant dig pits to trap me, contrary to Jesus Christ.
⁸⁶ All the commands of Jesus Christ are trustworthy; help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
⁸⁷ They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken Jesus Christ.
⁸⁸ In your unfailing love preserve my life, that I may obey the statutes of Jesus Christ.

   ל Lamedh

   ⁸⁹ Jesus Christ, my LORD, is eternal; He stands firm in the heavens.
⁹⁰ Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.
⁹¹ Jesus Christ endure to this day, for all things serve him.
⁹² If Jesus Christ had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
⁹³ I will never forget Jesus Christ, for by him you have preserved my life.
⁹⁴ Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out Jesus Christ.
⁹⁵ The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will trust in Jesus Christ.
⁹⁶ To all perfection I see a limit, but Jesus Christ is without limit.

   מ Mem

   ⁹⁷ Oh, how I love Jesus Christ! I meditate on Him all day long.
⁹⁸ Jesus Christ is always with me and He makes me wiser than my enemies.
⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Jesus Christ.
¹⁰⁰ I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey Jesus Christ.
¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Jesus Christ.
¹⁰² I have not departed from Jesus Christ, for you yourself have taught me.
¹⁰³ How sweet is Jesus Christ to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
¹⁰⁴ I gain understanding from Jesus Christ; therefore I hate every wrong path.

   נ Nun

   ¹⁰⁵ Jesus Christ is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
¹⁰⁶ I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow Jesus Christ.
¹⁰⁷ I have suffered much; preserve my life, LORD, according to Jesus Christ.
¹⁰⁸ Accept, LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me about Jesus Christ.
¹⁰⁹ Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget Jesus Christ.
¹¹⁰ The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from Jesus Christ.
¹¹¹ Jesus Christ my heritage forever; He is the joy of my heart.
¹¹² My heart is set on keeping the decrees of Jesus Christ to the very end.^[d]

sSamekh

¹¹³ I hate double-minded people, but I love Jesus Christ.
¹¹⁴ You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Jesus Christ.
¹¹⁵ Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!
¹¹⁶ Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed.
¹¹⁷ Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for Jesus Christ.
¹¹⁸ You reject all who stray from Jesus Christ, for their delusions come to nothing.
¹¹⁹ All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love Jesus Christ.
¹²⁰ My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of Jesus Christ.

   ע Ayin

   ¹²¹ I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors.
¹²² Ensure your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me.
¹²³ My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for the promised Jesus Christ.
¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me about Jesus Christ.
¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand Jesus Christ.
¹²⁶ It is time for you to act, LORD; your law is being broken.
¹²⁷ Because I love Jesus Christ more than gold, more than pure gold,
¹²⁸ and because I consider Jesus Christ is right, I hate every wrong path.

   פ Pe

   ¹²⁹ Jesus Christ is wonderful; therefore I obey Him.
¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
¹³¹ I open my mouth and pant, longing for Jesus Christ.
¹³² Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love Jesus Christ.
¹³³ Direct my footsteps according to Jesus Christ; let no sin rule over me.
¹³⁴ Redeem me from human oppression, that I may obey Jesus Christ.
¹³⁵ Make your face shine on your servant and teach me to love Jesus Christ.
¹³⁶ Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for Jesus Christ is not obeyed.

   צ Tsadhe

   ¹³⁷ You are righteous, LORD, and Jesus Christ is right.
¹³⁸ The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy.
¹³⁹ My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore Jesus Christ.
¹⁴⁰ Jesus Christ has been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves Him.
¹⁴¹ Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget Jesus Christ.
¹⁴² Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.
¹⁴³ Trouble and distress have come upon me, but Jesus Christ gives me delight.
¹⁴⁴ Jesus Christ is always righteous; give me understanding that I may live.

   ק Qoph

   ¹⁴⁵ I call with all my heart; answer me, LORD, and I will obey Jesus Christ.
¹⁴⁶ I call out to you; save me and I will serve Jesus Christ.
¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in Jesus Christ.
¹⁴⁸ My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on Jesus Christ.
¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, LORD, according to Jesus Christ.
¹⁵⁰ Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from Jesus Christ.
¹⁵¹ Yet you are near, LORD, and all the teachings of Jesus Christ are always true.
¹⁵² Long ago I learned from Jesus Christ and his teachings that you established to last forever.

   ר Resh

   ¹⁵³ Look on my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten Jesus Christ.
¹⁵⁴ Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to Jesus Christ.
¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out Jesus Christ.
¹⁵⁶ Your compassion, LORD, is great; preserve my life according to Jesus Christ.
¹⁵⁷ Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from Jesus Christ.
¹⁵⁸ I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey Jesus Christ.
¹⁵⁹ See how I love Jesus Christ; preserve my life, LORD, in accordance with your love.
¹⁶⁰ Jesus Christ is true; Jesus Christ is eternal.

   ש Sin and Shin

   ¹⁶¹ Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles before Jesus Christ.
¹⁶² I rejoice in Jesus Christ like one who finds great spoil.
¹⁶³ I hate and detest falsehood but I love Jesus Christ.
¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day I praise you, Lord Jesus.
¹⁶⁵ Great peace have those who love Jesus Christ, and nothing can make them stumble.
¹⁶⁶ I wait for your salvation, LORD, and I follow your commands.
¹⁶⁷ I obey your Jesus Christ, for I love Him greatly.
¹⁶⁸ I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.

   ת Taw

   ¹⁶⁹ May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
¹⁷⁰ May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to the power of Jesus Christ.
¹⁷¹ May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
¹⁷² May my tongue sing of your word, for Jesus Christ is righteous.
¹⁷³ May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
¹⁷⁴ I long for your salvation, LORD, and Jesus Christ gives me delight.
¹⁷⁵ Let me live that I may praise you, and may Jesus Christ sustains me.
¹⁷⁶ I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten Jesus Christ.

Jesus in Psalm 119

2010-12-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

2010-12-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, Merry Christmas on the day we celebrate the birth of the Lord. This has been a special Christmas with all the kids and grandkids home and getting to spend time with them. Yesterday Hans, Rachel and kids were here in Austin and I got to babysit all the kids for a while - what fun. They were all at church last night and then we went to Dave and Donna's for lunch or something. What a good evening service at church and wonderful time with all after that.
God has blessed us beyond what we can imagine. Love Steve.

2010-12-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

Hi every one. I am going to try to do more on this again.
I am completing my plans for the Jamaica trip. We will go late in January for a week.
I always look forward to the trip - it is a good time of service and of spiritual renewal.
(I am battling my cat as I type - she steps on the keyboard and thinkgs go wild.) We got the plain tickets for about$200 less this year than last year - that is nice.
All of my kids will be home for Christmas - that will be great. Merry Christmas. Steve

2010-01-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

Happy New 2010 a year of possibility and adventure.
I will leave for Jamaica for my annual mission trip - we leave on Jan 2 and return Jan 11. The "we" is 25 others from the United Methodist Church in Wells.
2009 was good for me. I have jobs I like - I love the work at the church, do the teaching on the internet, and the work at Worlein's funeral home is interesting.
I enjoyed my kids and grandkids - I did not see Hans' kids but got talk to Jo and Anika, and see pictures of Will. Relia and Marshal were great to see, listen to, and enjoy. I a proud of my kids and their spouses.
Mary and I did spent a lot of time together and that was great.
Missy came into my life - my cat. I wish she would sleep a little later.
2010 - God will lead this year and I will follow with joy.
Love, Steve.

2009-12-28T04:06:00.000-08:00

Greetings from cold MN.
I am getting ready this week to go to Jamaica - Jan 2-11. I am going with a group from the United Methodist Church in Wells, Mn. It should be interesting. We are going to spend 3 days up in the mountains working at a school there. Then we will spend the rest of the time in Montego Bay working at the orphanages there.
This is my 12th trip to Jamaica and each one has been a good spiritual experience as well as a time of service. It is also fun - we are staying at a hotel this year that is right on the beach front.
This has been a good year and I look forward to 2010.
Blessings, Steve.

2009-10-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

October 21, 2009
Today I am 65 years old. For many years I did not think I would ever live to be this old, as my great grandfather, my grandfather, and my father had all died before they were 40 years old. All of my life has been a gift from God, especially the last 25 years.
When I think about this the words from the song by Andre Crouch come to mind: “How can I say thanks for the things he has done for me?” I have so much for which to be thankful. I am thankful for the salvation I have in Jesus Christ, so thankful. I thank him for the purpose and meaning he has given me for my life. I have every reason to live.
I am infinitely thankful for my kids, their spouses, and my grandchildren. I have loved and enjoyed my kids since they came into the world, Hans, Peder and Heidi. There is no way to say how much joy and challenge they have given me in my years. Since they married wonderful people, even more joy has been added. I am proud of all of them. Then they gave me the fantastic joy of having grandchildren, five so far and one more on the way. I am so blessed.
I am thankful for Mary and the love she gives me day after day. She is extremely important to me in so many ways.
I am thankful for all of my friends who walk with me in this life that many times can be difficult. We walk together each supporting the other. Dave and Donna are especially important in so many ways. Thank you.
I enjoy the work God has given me to do in the Austin Church of Christ. I get to preach and teach the Word of God. God has given me the gift of reading and study, so I can share what I have learned. An essential attribute of my life is that I am a pastor and teacher.
Reading is essential to my life. I read about a book a week. I have enough books to last me for about a hundred years that I have not read yet. Each book opens up a new world for me. Many book challenges me to think or act differently. Then I take what I read and share it with others. Studying and writing about prayer are what I am doing at this time.
I enjoy the variety of experiences of my life. I am referee for football during the fall – tonight on my birthday I am working a varsity game at the age of 65. I love to walk – sometimes while lifting weights, while bouncing a ball, or while reading a book. In reading and walking, I combine two of my favorite things to do. I love to watch football and other programs on TV. I enjoy listening to Christian radio. I love mission trips and sharing the money God had given to me for the support of the church and missionaries. I am so blessed by the Lord.

2009-09-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I had an entry. I am going to try to be more regular.
This is my busy time of the year - in addition to my 3 jobs I am refing football for the next two months. I like the group of guys I work with and it is fun again to ref. I have 7 varsity games and 12-15 other games.
At church we are starting to study the book of Revelation in Wed. Bible study, Sunday school, and Dave and I are preaching through the book starting next Sunday. I have been doing a lot of reading to get ready for the study. That has been fun and challenging.
My cat, Missy, is doing fine. She wants attention all the time - even when I am trying to sleep. We get along well most of the time.
My leg is getting better and my blood thinner is working well I guess. I will be on it until the end of October.
I will write more soon.
Steve.

More storms

2009-06-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

We are getting more storms through this evening. So far they are mostly west of Austin. Some were approaching Geneva when I left there. We are in a bad pattern.
The mess done to the area last Wed. is mostly cleaned up. A few businesses out by UBC were hit pretty had and a lot of trees in Todd Park, the Nature Center, and the golf course. Fortunately no people were really hurt.
If has been a nice Father's Day. Thanks.
Steve.

Father's Day sermon

2009-06-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Father’s Day 2009
1 Thessalonians 2.10 – 12

I like Father’s Day of course. I get cards and calls from my kids and really enjoy that. I also take time to think about my dad – he died 50 years ago this year – that is a long time. I remember a lot of things about him, and the things I remember get better and better every year. He was a good man, but not a perfect man, of course. My dad almost never went to church until the last year or so of his life. I say he went to church on Christmas and Easter unless he could find some way to get out of going then. He liked to go golfing and fishing and for some reason he thought he caught more fish and played golf better on Sunday morning than any other time. He expected my mom to get us to church. Only after he came to Christ did he like to go to church. Unfortunately he had a stroke on the day our family was going to be baptized and was sick much of the time before he died. I believe he loved the Lord and would have served him if he could have.
This is a father’s day sermon aimed at fathers – those who are raising their kids right now and those whose kids are out of the house. We never stop being their dads and we never should.
What is a good and godly father? How do we learn what a father should be like? We turn to the word of God. We are studying the book of 1 Thessalonians for a while. In chapter 2 of this book, verses 10-12 we have one of the most wonderful short passages in the Bible about fathers. Listen for the two fundamental characteristics of a good father. Read verses 10-12.
The context of this passage is Paul’s defense of his ministry to the church – he is actually saying to them this is the way I ministered to you – in vss. 7 and 8 above he says he cared for them as a mother cares for her children and then in these verses he tell how in cared for them as a father. The passage is really for ministers telling us how they should care for the church. It is also for all of us saying that this is the way we should treat one another.
First, he says that they are witnesses and so is God, how holy, righteous and blameless he was as he ministered to them. Fathers, all of us know how our kids follow our example in what we do and say. They imitate us in ways we do not even recognize sometimes. I was with a man and his son last week for a couple of hours. The man said his son got into trouble at school for swearing. He told he had punished his son but he keeps on swearing. I gently pointed out that the man swore way too much, but he did not even recognize what he was saying. Kids model after us, and it seems like they pick up on our negative characteristics more than our good ones.
As Chr men, and as Chrs, we need to be holy, righteous, and blameless as much as we can. Look at your life to see what needs to be changed so that you can be holy and blameless. I look at my life often to see what needs to be changed. I did not say if something needs to be changed. I said I look to see what needs to be changed. The God we worship and serve is holy and blameless and he wants us to be the same. By his power and help, we can be holy and blameless. We are all in a battle with satan – we win only with the power and help of the Lord.
The second part of this verse says we need to deal with our kids as fathers who is encouraging, comforting, and urging them to live lives worthy of God. This is not the image we have of fathers in our culture. In the movies and on TV fathers do not care about their kids serving God or even the fathers serving God. Paul was being a father to the Chrs by encouraging, comforting, and urging them to serve God.
As fathers with kids at home we need to be their finest encouragers. We need to be their constant cheerleaders, standing with them as go to school, participate in sports or drama, in the church, and every aspect of their lives. I was so proud of each of my kids and the things they did when they were growing up. I bragged about them to everyone who would listen and I told them often I was proud of them.
I still try to encourage them even though they live far away. In every phone call I try to say something that will encourage them in their lives today. I love them very much and am genuinely proud of them. Hans and Peder are very good dads, and Heidi is a good mother. They all enjoy their kids and work had at helping the kids grow. (Peder and Aurelia and the clothes thing.) I try to encourage them the work they do – jobs are not easy.
On of the other things I have discovered is that I need to try to encourage their spouses too. There is no question in my mind that the enjoyment and success in the lives of my kids is directly connected to their spouses. I love Hans’ wife Rachel, Peder’s wife Sarah, and Heidi’s husband Chad and I pray for them regularly. I could tell you about each of them and why I am proud of them, but we only have a certain amount of time for this sermon. I am not their father, but they are my kids.
I am committed to comforting my kids too. They have really not had situations where comforting has been needed, at least in big things, but they will come and I will do everything I can to comfort and strengthen them with the love of God.
Finally this passage says we as fathers need to urge our kids to live lives worthy of God, the God who call us and them into his kingdom. I want my kids to live for the Lord because that is the best possible life in all the world. There is no better way to live – the Chr life is a life of challenge, comfort, joy, peace, and growth. There is no more joyful life than the Chr life. I have learned over and over again that God loves me more than I can understand, and more than I will ever know, and of course more than I deserve. I need to show my kids that God loves them more than they can understand, more than they can know, and more than they deserve. But he loves them.
In reality, the best thing we can do for our kids is help them to know my Father, God the Father. He is the Father to the fatherless. God is the perfect Father, disciplining us when that is needed, comforting us when that is needed, and loving us all the time. He is the eternal God so he does not die and leave us. He is with us all of the time to give us the counsel we need. I am so thankful to God that he is my Father and always will be.
Do you need a Father, the perfect Father, come to him.

Bad leg and picuture of Mom's stone

2009-04-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,

I went to the hospital last night and learned I have a blood clot in my left leg. I have to have shots for a few days and commidin for 20 days to desolve the clot and thin my blood.

I have to sit around a lot until things start to happen. Hopefully in a couple of days.

It was Mom's birthday on Thursday and they have her stone on her grave. I will try to put on a couple of pictures.

Pray for me.

Steve.

Sermon - 3/29

2009-04-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Jesus Watched the Offering Boxes
Mark 12.41-44

I am going to talk about money and giving this morning – that is a warning. We as a church do not talk about it a lot. There is one of the radio preachers, who uses the month of January each year as the time to talk about tithing, giving and offerings – every Sunday for a month. This is just one sermon, but I hope it is one that will help to see the importance that Jesus puts on giving. This teaching came near the end of the ministry and life of Jesus. He has been debating with the teachers of the law all day and this is the last of his teachings for the day.
Read Mark 12.41-44. The scene is the temple in Jerusalem in the court of the women where the offering boxes were set up – they were trumpet shaped boxes – 13 in all according to one source. We pass the offering plate, but they came be the boxes and put in their offering. I can imagine, since I know human nature, some people would just come by and slip in their offering. Others would make a lot of fanfare about their giving letting everyone know that they had given and how much. (Big bag of money or maybe stand there and count out the amount so all could see.
In this scene Jesus is watching all of the people, when a widow lady walked up and quietly put in two small copper coins – the smallest coin as far as value. (This woman is not named – I want to give her the name – Esther.) They were worth less than a penny. Others might have just laughed at what she gave or thought little of it, but Jesus called his disciples to himself and pointed out what she had done so they would notice it and so they would learn from her example. (Does the Lord watch what we put into the offering plate?)
This widow was a poor lady – widows were in those days. They had no Social Security. They had to beg sometimes or depend on their children for money. I think Esther had very little, but she was praised by Jesus because she gave out of her poverty, not out of her wealth. She put in all she had to live on. This is sacrificial giving, the kind of giving few people give. Why would she give like this? It certainly was not out of duty – the law did not require her to give like this. She did not give out of guilt – no one would check on her to see how much she gave.
I am not sure why she gave so much, but here are some possible reasons. 1) The giving was an expression of Esther’s love and trust in God. She would not have given what she did it she did not love God. She obviously loved God more than she loved money. In the verses just before the ones we are looking at is this statement – read Mark 12.38-40. The phrase I see is “they devour widow’s houses.” They thought the money they could get by stealing it from widows was more important than being honest, helping widows, and serving God with their money. These were the best of the Jewish religious men of the day. They probably taught the people that they should tithe and give as much as they could. But they were then stealing all that widows had. I can tell you, they received their reward from doing that, I think in this life and the life to come. Esther loved and trusted God to supply what she needed. Does he supply what we need? Have you seen that? This is the real issue for so many – if I give this amount, I will not have enough in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years. God supplies what we need today and he will give us what we need all of our lives.
2) Esther gave because she was also a thankful woman. Being thankful is one of the best reasons to give. God gives so much to us – so much. We show our thankfulness by giving to him and his work. I had printed a page from my prayer booklets – the one that encourages us to: Thank the God who is Generous. These are some of the things I thank God for every time I pray through this section of the booklet. Look at some of them with me.
A) I thank you God for eternal salvation because of the death of Christ. As Chrs we are saved by Christ. Our sins are forgiven completely and eternally. All of us are sinners, but through Jesus Christ, God forgives us of all our sins. B) I thank you God for purpose in life, reasons to live and serve. A few years ago we went though the book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. As Chrs we all have a very definite purpose and reason to live for the Lord – a purpose that only we can accomplish. C) I thank you God for my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. I could take a 100 sermons to tell you how thankful I am for my kids, their spouses and my 4 grandkids, soon to be 5. What a blessing God has given. D) I thank God for a husband or wife who is loving and faithful. I do not have a wife, but I have my friend Mary, who loves me and I can love. God has truly blessed me with her. E) I thank God for my parents, grandparents, and other relatives. Again, I do not have parents or grandparents any more, but I have relatives who love God and serve him. F) I am thankful God for my Chr friends who walk with me in the Chr life. That is all of you – you encourage me to live for the Lord as I encourage you to live for him. I am not going to go through the whole list but I challenge you to take this list home and slowly pray through it, thanking God for all he has given you.
Since I am thankful for all of these people and things God so generously gives me, I love to give to him and his causes.
3) I believe that we are motivated to give to God and his causes because the needs are so great. You know I am committed to missions of all kinds, especially foreign missions. I give because the need is so great. In our world today there are missions in every country in the world – even ones than tell Chr missionaries they can not come into their countries. There are billions – billions with a B – who still need to hear about our Lord Jesus Christ and the message of salvation that come only through him. There are millions of children who need food and clean water just to live. Missions are working to dig wells and plant crops and give food for them to eat. There are people who need to just the minimal amounts of medical care and do not get it unless we do something about it. There are AIDS victims and orphans of AIDS victims who need help. There are missionaries that need to be sent to replace ones that are retiring – young couples who want to give their lives to preach the gospel of the Lord. I could go on all day with this list too, but just to say, we need to give so the causes of God can be funded.
We have been blessed by God – Chrs and non-Chrs. I am talking about nearly all Americans – maybe blessed too much. With the blessing of God comes the responsibility to help others. We as a nation are extremely generous to others. As Chrs we need to give even sacrificially because of our love and trust in God, out of our thankfulness to God, and because we see the needs in our world that God wants fulfill.

Sermon - his eyes were on the Cross

2009-04-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

His Eyes were on the cross
Mark 15.21 – 39

The last week of the life of Jesus Christ was a busy, dramatic week. It started with what we call Palm Sunday where Jesus came to Jerusalem riding on a donkey and was received with shouts of Hosanna and Praise God. The common people of Jerusalem received him like a king. As the week went on he cleansed the temple again, driving out the money changers. He celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples in the upper room – what we call the Last Supper. Then he went to the garden of Gethsemane where he prayed all night – struggling with what he would have to go through on the cross. At the end of the struggle, Jesus knew what he needed to do, and his eyes were on the cross. The conclusion of the night was Jesus declaring absolutely – not my will be your will, O God. I will do whatever it takes for your glory. Then Jesus went through the mockery of the Jewish trials and even the Roman trials where he was declared not guilty. He was denied by his close friend, Peter, three times.
After the trials, Jesus was taken and beaten terribly by the Romans. Finally he was lead away to Golgotha to be crucified. On the way he struggled carrying the cross and Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry his cross. Read Mark 15. 21-32. Lets look for a few minutes at what happened on the cross. (At the cross)
The condemned man probably carried the cross piece.
Laid on this cross piece – hands nailed and tied to the wood. Think about the pain of the nails.
The cross piece was attached to the upright piece, his feet nailed to the bottom of the cross and then the whole thing was raised up and put into a hole with a thud.
All of the weight of Jesus was on the nails through his hands and the nails in his feet. In order to breathe he had to push down on his feet which would lift up his body. There was a constant struggle for him to just breathe. (back from the cross)
While he was on the cross the people and the leaders mocked him – you saved others, save yourself. Come down form the cross and we will believe in you.
Even though Jesus was in terrible pain and torture, he spoke seven times according to the various gospels. In Gospel of John he told the Apostle John to take care of Mary his mother. John also recorded that he said, “I am thirsty.” In Luke it is recorded that Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. (Can you imagine forgiving others while they were in the process of killing him?) In that Gospel he told on of the other men being crucified that this day you will be with me in paradise. The Gospel of Matthew records the difficult saying, “Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”( I will never understand completely what that means.) Finally he said, “It is finished. Father into your hands, I commit my spirit.”
With this Jesus died on the cross. He gave up his life. He was dead. At that point a number of things happened. Read Mark 15.38-39. In the beautiful temple the heavy clothe which divided the holy of holies from the holy place was torn in two showing that the way to God was open to all.
Jesus died on the cross – that is the message of the morning. There are two questions we need to look at now. The first is what does his death on the cross mean? Why do we remember it all these centuries later? Millions of other men and women had died before Jesus. Hundreds and maybe thousands of Jews had been crucified by the Romans. Even on the day that Jesus was crucified, two others Jesus were crucified and died. What make the death of Jesus so important?
Jesus was and is the sinless Son Of God in human flesh. He came to the earth to teach us how to live for God completely. He also came to earth to die for us, so we can have forgiveness of sins. In Colossians 1.19-23 we read this. The fullness of God was in Jesus Christ the Lord. He was fully God. Jesus died on the cross and through the shedding of the blood of Jesus; God reconciled all things to himself. God is holy and demands payment for sin. On the cross, Jesus became the sacrificial lamb of God. When he died, the payment for all the sins ever done in the world, was made. I do not understand what happened. I do not understand why the payment had to be made and why it had to be made in this way, but the price was paid in full and forever.
According to this passage, God reconciled the world to himself by the death of Christ to present all people holy and acceptable to himself, without blemish and free from accusation. Preaching this is the good news, the Gospel, which is to be preached to all people. All of this was made possible because our Lord was obedient to God, was willing to endure the pain and suffering of the cross, and he died for us. Why did Jesus die on the cross? He died for the salvation of all people.
I said there were two questions we needed to ask. The first was what does the death of Christ mean? The second is what does the death of Jesus Christ mean to you and to me? There is no question that Jesus died for all, but every person needs to believe and accept the death of Christ for himself or herself. There is nothing automatic about it. You need to make a decision about Jesus Christ for yourself. I am asking all of you, do you believe that Jesus Christ died for you? Answer me by saying I believe. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is not just some ancient history. It is the event in the whole world that changed everything in the world forever for all people, at least potentially. By believing in the death of Christ, by accepting him as your Lord and savior, by being baptized into his death and raising to walk in the newness of life, you can have the hope of eternal life. I can have the hope of eternal life.

Isaac Watts – 1707 “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died,My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God!All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down!Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o’er His body on the tree;Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small;Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
To Christ, who won for sinners grace By bitter grief and anguish sore,Be praise from all the ransomed race Forever and forevermore.

Sermon February 8

2009-02-16T04:51:00.000-08:00

God loves Children – Jamaica Report 2009
Mark 10.13-16 (page )

We got back from Jamaica on Monday night – I want to thank Lindon and Betty for taking us up to the airport and thank Dave for picking us up. When we left it was about -8 degrees and still cold when we got back. It is always 80 to 90 degrees in Montego Bay.
This was my 11th time going on a mission trip to Jamaica. Many of you have gone with us and hopefully in the future, more of you will go. It is a trip that is in some ways the same every year, but also unique every year. We had a total of 18 people on our trip. A large part of the trip is taking things down with us to give to the orphanages and schools we visit and I want to thank you for what you gave us to take down. We took the school supplies you brought in last summer. You gave us close to $500 to spend. I spent about $350 for medicines at Medicap Pharmacy – Thank John Engelhardt – this included children’s Tylenol, cold medicines, anti-biotic creams, and a new kind of Pedialite for the kids. While we were there we spent the rest of the money on other supplies the orphanages needed, including a new printer for the office at Blossom Gardens Children’s home. I thank you all for what you contributed this year – all of you.
Why do we go to Jamaica each year? There are a lot of answers to that question; including it is warm down there and very cold up here in February. It is fun for me to swim in the ocean every day. But there are other answers to the question.
1. We are showing love to children that God loves. In Mark 10.13-16 Jesus told us very clearly his attitude toward children. Read. Jesus had been in a serious discussion with the Jewish people and his disciples. These were important matters that needed to be settled. But right in the middle of all of that, some of the parents came with there noisy little kids to have Jesus bless them. The disciples of Jesus, Saint Peter, Saint John and all the rest, tried to keep the kids from Jesus. When he saw what they were doing, he got very upset at them – indignant is the word. What are you doing? It would have been normal for kids to be excluded from a teacher or rabbi. They were just a bother – they did not pay attention to what was being said and they may even talk out loud when they should be quiet. But Jesus loved them – all children – very much, so he told his disciples to let them come to him. Listen again to what he said to the disciples – read 14-15. The kingdom of God belongs to them – they are God’s children, and he loves them very much. If we as adults do not receive the kingdom of God like these kids, we will not enter the kingdom of God. Do you see the love Jesus had for these kids? He not only blessed them, but took them in his arms and held them. There is something almost divine about holding a special little child – Jesus experienced that, and so do we.
Then Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them. This is what we do in Jamaica, for the Lord. We show God’s love to them in very special ways. These kids are taken care of from a physical sense – enough food, clothes, etc. They are taken care of very well we believe. What they need is someone to talk to them, hold them, play with them, and pray for them. That is what we do. Blossom Gardens has a lot of little babies who have been abandoned or taken away from parents. Some were just a few weeks old. They also have toddlers – a total of 50 some kids. (This number is down from 60 to 70 kids in years past.) The workers there take care of them, but there are just not enough laps and arms to hold all of them. We get to hold them and play with them, and they just absorb all of the love we give to them. (Like little sponges)
One of the things we encourage all of the team members to do is pray for them – we composed this HUSH prayer a couple of years back to pray for them as we hold them. Read. We pray this prayer and we just pray for them, telling them I love you and God love you. We have seen God bless them in special ways. It is hard to describe, but it was seen this year that the kids are a lot better off than in the past. They are more able to share, less aggressive, and even more relaxed it seems. Things are better at Blossom than they have been.
We also spent a couple of days at Westhaven Children’s home. This is out in the country a few miles from MoBay. It is for older kids – mentally and physically handicapped – from 8 or 10 years old to in their 20s or more. Some of them were little babies at Blossom when we first started going there. In some ways they are harder to deal with – they will never get better and most will spend their whole lives there.
One difficult thing was the death of Marlin last year. He was a teenager who developed some tumors a couple of years ago. He was supposed to be brought to the US to have them taken care of, but that never happened, and he died last May. He was a joy to talk to there and greatly missed. We are really praying for his twin sister, Marlene, who needs to get out of there. She is developing the same kinds of tumors. She is not mentally handicapped – very normal – probably put in there just as an orphan. Do any of you want to 17 year old to raise?
One of the things I do each year is take a book with me to read. It is hard to decide which book I am going to read down there, but usually they have been pretty good. This year I read the book Desire by James Huston. The main thrust of the book is that we need to develop a deep desire for God and the things of God. The desire for God is unique in that God fulfills that desire as God gives us himself and his peace to us. He fulfills our desire. But also there is a lasting hunger for more of God – more of his love, more of his joy. So we keep on seeking God.
One of the sections of the book referred to a passage of scripture in Romans 8 where the apostle Paul uses the word – ABBA. This is the word in Aramaic for what we would us as Daddy or as my son Peder calls me – Pops. Jesus used this word when he talked to his Father – God. This word was never used to refer to God, but Jesus used it. Then it is used in Romans 8.13-17. Read. Abba, Father. The morning after I read this section of the book I was holding one of the little kids and thought – this is an Abba child – the Father’s child, God’s child. I am getting to hold this little one for a few days to show the love of God. God know the name of this child and loves him or her very much. He is an Abba child. All of the kids around the world are his, no matter what color or language, rich or poor. They are Abba kids.
In the same way, all of us here are Abba children, kids of the Father, children of God, and he loves us very much. I had a Dad and Mom who loved me, but even more than that I have a Daddy, God himself, who loves me with a love that is wider, longer, higher, and deeper than I can even imagine.
God loves you, and offers to all salvation in Jesus Christ.

Sermon Feb 15th

2009-02-16T04:50:00.000-08:00

Faith in Jesus – What does that mean?
Mark 6.1-6

Believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is easy for some people but very difficult for others. After we believe, we almost take it for granted that all people should believe what Jesus taught and said. But some have a hard time believing in Jesus Christ. Why? That is what we are going to look at today in this message. The passage in Mark 6 tells about Jesus teaching in a Jewish synagogue about himself and then the reaction of the hearers to what he said.
Listen as I read Mark 6.1-6. What made it hard for the listeners to believe what Jesus said? Read. The Jewish synagogue was the equivalent to our churches. The Jews traveled to the temple in Jerusalem once a year or so to worship there. But on a regular basis – every Sabbath or Saturday the Jews gathered in their synagogue to read the OT, hear a message about the scripture, and pray. This was the home synagogue of Jesus where he learned Hebrew and the other teachings of the Jewish religion. It was a custom to invite a teacher to read the OT in Hebrew. The congregation read a portion of their Bible – the OT – on a regular system – on a 3 year rotation or something like that, like some churches do with a lectionary today.
It just so happened that the scripture Jesus read on that day was from Isaiah 61.1-2. Luke 4 is the parallel passage of the gospels and it says Jesus read this. Read Luke 4.18-21. For centuries the Jews in their synagogues read this passage on a certain day. After it was read the speaker of the day would say, someday this scripture will be fulfilled and the Messiah of Israel will come to us. The people in the congregation would shake their heads in agreement with a hope that someday soon the Messiah would come. But this day after it was read, Jesus rolled up the scroll and said to the people, “Today the scripture is fulfilled in me.” In Jesus.
The barrier to belief here is that they knew him too well – he was from their home town.
That is why the people in the congregation were so surprised at what Jesus said. They knew he was claiming to be the very Messiah prophesied in so many passages in the OT. The congregation was being asked to believe that this man, a man who had grown up in this very town and synagogue was the Messiah. It would be like me claiming to the Messiah here today. I am not, but I did grow up here in Austin and this very congregation. Some of you knew me when I was a teenager when my whole family came to this church – not many, but at least some. Would it be hard for you to believe me, if I claimed to be the long awaited Messiah? Of course.
Jesus had given them some evidence already that he was the Messiah. His teachings were extremely unusual. He did preach to the poor. He did give sight to the blind. He did heal many diseases. Jesus gave them evidence of his right to be called the Messiah.
Some times it is hard to believe in Jesus in our world today. There are a lot of honest people who do not believe that Jesus was or is God. There are a number of reasons for lack of belief, or barriers to belief. 1)It is hard to believe in the miraculous things Jesus did when the view of the world is that everything is based on scientific evidence. Science seems to say that only natural things can happen, not supernatural things. If Jesus claims to raise people from the dead or feed thousands of people with just a few fish and a couple of biscuits, it just could not happen to them.
2) What is taught in college and even high schools is a barrier to belief. I think too that many college teachers think their main job in teaching is to get their students to give up any childish faith in God. They want the students to doubt everything they have been taught in church or Sunday school. They want to create atheists it seems or young people without morals, without purpose and direction, for whatever reason. I have looked at the evidence for faith, and I am sure there are good reasons to believe in Jesus Christ. (Intelligent design/millions of pure accidents.)
This week I received an email with a story about and atheist. He was in the Rockies enjoying the beautiful scenery – what beautiful mountains, trees, little animals. Then a bear started chasing him. Tripped and fell. Bear right on top of him. Prayed – God, save me. Behind the bear there was light and a voice which said, “Is that really fair? You have denied me all of your life.” The atheists said, you are right, but one thing. Will you make the bear a Chr? Immediately the face of the bear changed to a serene look. The bear sat up, folded his paws, closed his eyes and prayed, “Dear God, for this meal I am about to eat, make me truly thankful.”
3) Another barrier to belief is the sins of others. I have talked to people who tell me that their dad or grandpa or a priest or minister was a religious person, but did this or that to them. That is too bad and I am sorry. Too many religious or even Chr people sin against children, but the greatest tragedy is that these sins might keep the child from God.
4) Sometimes sin of the person, himself or herself, is a barrier to belief. When we sin we do not want to face God or go to church so we avoid God. I know the devil works hard on this as he tells us we are can not ask forgiveness – we are not worthy to even approach God. But that is the very message of Jesus Christ – he says I love you just as you are. Come to Jesus and ask forgiveness. Let me say too that Jesus loves us so much he will not leave us the way we are – with his power he will change us so we can live a fulfilling life for him.
These are barriers to belief. Are there benefits of belief? 1) Hebrew 11.6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” We must believe in Jesus Christ to have a relationship with God. God rewards us when we diligently seek our loving God.
2) Another benefit of belief is the knowledge of forgiveness of sins – you and I are completely cleansed from sin – all past sins. We do not need to carry the burden of the past around. We can come into the presence of God as clean and pure because of the blood of Christ.
3) We have purpose in life – to live and serve the living God for his glory. We are not just floating through life aimlessly – we know where we are going and what we are doing.
4) Finally, we have the benefit of belief that gives us the hope of eternal life – heaven forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. Forever and ever. Eternal bliss and eternal joy.
Jesus invites you to believe in him today. He is the Messiah – the Savior – the Lord.

2009-02-16T04:48:00.000-08:00

It is my Dad’s birthday today – Vernon Arnold DeFor – February 16, 1921 – he would have been 88 years old today. In late October he will have been dead for 50 years – that is a long time.
I am thankful for him. He was a kind and gentle man even though he was a big man. He was fun to be around.
I think of how fortunate I am for a number of things. I have seen my kids grow into adulthood – Dad did not get to see that. I am proud of all of my kids as adults. I have seen them get married and have kids. He would have had so much fun with his grandkids, and he would have been good with them. I know that I have the most handsome and pretty grandchild – they are smart and nice too.
I guess I have thought about him more since Mom is gone. When she married Ray I struggled with some one else replacing my Dad. Ray did not do that – he was very good for Mom, but never my Dad.
I am going to go out to the cemetery this afternoon and put a flower on his grave and talk to him – thanking him for being my Dad. I hope that does not sound too weird. I had him for too short a time.

Sermon 1

2009-01-15T04:24:00.000-08:00

A Busy Restful Couple of Days
Mark 1.21 -37

What was the daily life of the Lord Jesus Christ like? What did he do? What didn’t he do? All of have our routines that we follow in our days. We usually get up at a certain time. It might change if we go to work or have a day off, but we generally do things in a specific pattern. Did Jesus have any kind of pattern he followed on a typical day? Let us look at a couple of days in the life of Jesus to see some of the things he did, maybe on a typical day.
Read Mark 1.21 – 22. The days we are going to look at start on a Friday afternoon. We know it is a Friday afternoon because that is when the Sabbath starts in the Jewish tradition. We think of going to church on Sunday morning, when the Jews went to the synagogue service it was on Friday evening – after sunset on Friday. Jesus taught in the synagogue on that day. He was traveling through the area and he was invited to teach the Jews on that day. The people were in for a real surprise – this Rabbi – teacher – taught with authority not like everyone else. And they listened. I can imagine the normal Sabbath service – when the speaker stood up, their minds turned off and maybe they went to sleep, like people here. But this preacher really challenged them with what he said.
The passage does not tell us what he talked about, but in his teaching he said, “Do to others as you would have them to do you.” Do you not want people to cheat you in a transaction? Then you better not cheat them. Do you want them not to gossip about you, then don’t gossip about them. Jesus said seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all of this will be other things will be given to you. The people who were listening were good church people but they were as materialistic as the rest of the culture. I will seek the money and job first, and then maybe give a little to God. Jesus said – I must be first in your life – absolutely first. The listeners were awake and listening because this was very different.
Move with me to the next four verses – Read 1.23-28. Then during the service on of the Jews in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit, stood up right there and shouted. It does not often happen that you talk back to me during the service when I am preaching, and I do not think any of you are demon possessed. This man knew who Jesus was even more than the disciple of Jesus knew. Jesus was indeed the “Holy One of God” as this man said. Then right during the service, Jesus did an exorcism – he ordered the evil spirit out of this man. The man was cleansed of this evil spirit.
That was not the end of the day for Jesus. Jesus went to the home of Simon Peter and Andrew. Peter was married and his mother-in-law who lived with Peter and his wife was sick. Jesus healed her – just another miracle. That was the close of that day. Everyone had some supper and when to bed.
Between verse 31 and 32, was most of a day. This was the Sabbath day – the day of rest. We are not told what Jesus and his disciples did on that day, but it could not have been much. They could not do anything but just the minimal amount of work. They pretty much did nothing from the time they got up until sunset that afternoon. We should learn from them – we have to be busy all the time – running here and there – being busy. Not so with our Lord on the Sabbath day.
As soon as they could move around after the Sabbath, the people of the area brought all the sick to Jesus to be healed. Read 1.32-34. This was tremendously exciting for the people. We take our sick to the hospital, but they had extremely primitive medicine if they had any at all. All of a sudden here was Jesus who could heal any disease including demon possession. The people came so Jesus healed the blind, the deaf, those with broken arms or legs – some which had healed wrong. He healed heart conditions, cancers, goiter, and other diseases. He also drove out demons which had invaded men and women. These were people who could no longer control themselves, but were tortured by evil all the time. With the power of God, Jesus spoke and these demons were driven out. This must have been totally exhausting for him. Because of his love for these suffering men and women, he healed them. Maybe hundreds walked home that night relieved of their sicknesses and spiritual torture.
I can imagine the disciples went to sleep that night excited about the day. Their Rabbi was certainly something different – he was a teacher better than anyone could even imagine. Besides that he could heal sicknesses. It must have been hard for them to sleep thinking about the day. But they did go to sleep.
Read 1.35-37. When the disciples got probably at sunrise, Jesus was gone. They looked all around the house and he was not anywhere. Early in the morning or late at night Jesus got up and left house. He went to be by himself to pray. This for him was the most important thing that he did in the last couple of days. People have wondered why God the Son would pray to God the Father – God to God? What would he pray about? For me the answer is very clear. Pray is not just asking for things, but pray at its best is coming into the presence of God – just being there. For eternity, Jesus and the Father had been in constant intimate fellowship. When Jesus was on earth there was a separation that Jesus had never experienced. This time of prayer was a time of filling for him, and he needed that.
What do we learn from this passage? This is what I think – all of this was to build the faith of the disciples. As they watched all of what went on that day, their faith was built up. They must have asked each other – who is this? In the same way we as his modern day disciples have our faith built up as we see what Jesus did. Who is this? The greatest teacher ever. Who is this? The powerful healer from God. Who is this? Jesus Christ the very son of God

New Year

2009-01-06T06:18:00.000-08:00

One of my New Years resolutions is to do a blog every week in 2009. I will try.
This has been a busy and great couple of months.
The last part of November I flew to Germany and spent time with Hans and his family. We had a great time driving very fast around Germany looking a Dachau and many other places. I got to spend some time with two on my wonderful grandkids there.

In December I flew to Seattle to see Marshall Dean for the first time. They had the worst snow storm in 40 years that weekend so I spent a lot of time holding Marshall. Heidi and I flew back - Marshall was perfect on the flight.

We had a good Christmas topped off with watching the Vikings get beat in the playoff game. I went to Peder and Sarah's and I picked up Heidi and Marshall on the way. How great was that being with two of my kids and two grandkids. I watch Relia interact with Heidi and Marshall - she is so demonstrative in her actions and facial expressions. Wow. The only thing that could have made it better would have been Hans and Rachel and their kids bing there - someday.

Mary and I went to the Strange Case of Benjamin Button - it was an unusual but very good long movie.

Hope you have a good 2009.
Love to all,
Steve/Dad

June 1 sermon

2008-06-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to God
Romans 12.1 – 8

The book of Romans is divided by most scholars into the theological section – chapters 1 -11 – and the practical section – chapters 12 – 16. Paul does this in most of his books – he sets forth the theology first and then applies it to life. That is what he does here.
In Chapter 1 he wrote that the righteous will life by faith.
In chapter 2 he says those who sin apart from the law will be judged and those who sin while under the law will be judged.
In Chapter 3 Paul writes that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
In Chapter 5 Paul wrote that because of his love for us, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In Chapter 6 we learn that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.
In Chapter 8 Paul writes that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Because of all of that, Paul writes that we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. Read Romans 12.1 – 2. The logical thing to do after all the things God has done for us is to give our bodies, our whole selves, to God as a living sacrifice. God wants all of me and all of you in his service. We used to talk about winning souls for the Lord. God want not just souls, but all of us. As Chrs we do not divide ourselves into parts, but we are whole beings and God wants all of us.
He does not demand that we give ourselves to God, but he urges us to give ourselves as living sacrifices to God. In the OT God told the Jews he wanted them to sacrifice animals to him and thousands of goats and sheep were sacrificed to him. These animals were killed and their blood was given as the sacrifice. God instead of that wants living sacrifices – we are to give ourselves to him to live for him every day. This is a pleasing sacrifice to God.
Have you committed yourself to God? There is a difference between becoming a Chr and committing ourselves to God. There should not be, but there is in practice. God wants all of me to serve him, all of us to serve him. He wants our talents, our love, our time, our money and all of us. Make a commitment to God right now – give him all of you.
Paul then goes on to tell us what this means. He says we are to be changed morally, mentally, and even our motivation. He says, do not be any longer conformed to the pattern of this world. The Chr is too much like the rest of the world. One of my Professors used to say that is alright to have the ship in the ocean, but not to have the ocean in the ship. The church is indeed in the world, but we can not have the world in the church, especially in morally. We need to be careful not to be conformed to the attitudes and actions of the world. Our world says that there is no such thing as sin. We should never judge the actions of any one. What is good for you is fine, but do not tell me what to do. What is good for me is what I follow. I can do any thing I want as long as I do not get caught or break the law. There are no absolutes in our world just choices I make about what makes me happy. At least that is what the world thinks.
I was listening to a radio program by Charles Colson this week. He was talking about two young men who have written a book entitled, Do Hard Things: Rebellion Against Low Expectations. The world expects kids to accomplish very little morally and educationally, but this book calls on kids to do the hard things even if the culture does not expect you to. This is where Chr kids go on mission trips to build a church or school instead of going to the beach and getting involved in sex and drugs. Do not be conformed to the pattern of the world.
The next phrase is “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our thinking needs to be changed. Again we as Chrs too often have the same patterns of thinking as the world. We honor the rich and look down on the poor. We like the pretty people and avoid the not so pretty people. We watch the same movies and TV shows as the rest of the people around us. We have time and money for every thing that is a pleasure for us, but not the time or money for serving the Lord.
Our minds need to be renewed for the glory of God. I said yesterday in the wedding I had, there needs to be a transition when we get married from thinking about me to thinking about we, and from I to us. Before we are married a man or woman can think of what is best for me, but when he or she marries, the thinking needs to change to what is best for us. Some people never make that transition. When we become Chrs we need to stop thinking what do I want and start thinking about what God wants me to do and be. Chrs think differently from non-Chrs.
In one of the books I was reading this week, the writer told about his change from an unforgiving spirit and wanting revenge to being forgiving. He and his family had been hit in a car accident by a drunk driver. His wife, his daughter and his mother were all killed, and one other child was injured. He was naturally angry at the driver of the other car. But he said after time he recognized that this anger had changed to wanting revenge – real revenge. He saw that that was based on the unforgiveness he had in his heart. As Chrs we think like Jesus Christ so we can not want revenge. He talked about getting rid of the unforgiveness and revenge. That is having our minds renewed in Jesus Christ our Lord.
When we stop being conformed to the world and have our minds transformed to the mind of Christ, we will as the last part of this section says, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” For all of us as Chrs this is what we want more than anything in our lives – to know what the will of God is in our lives every minute. God knows what is best for us and that is to do his will. When we get outside his will we know it and the Spirit of God helps us to know it. When we are living according to the will of God we know that too. God never forces us into his will, but he leads us into that will, and then blesses us as we do his will. I felt very definitely that I was in the will of God on the mission trip to Zimbabwe, but you do not have to go to Africa to be in the will of God. Every day we can be in his good, pleasing, and perfect will. This is what the rest of the book of Romans is about – being in God’s will.
God had given us salvation and righteousness in Jesus Christ. Because of that, we dedicate our lives as a living sacrifice to God. Then we stop being conformed to the pattern of the world and have our minds transformed by the power of God. Then we will be in the perfect will of God again for his glory.

2008-05-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

Zimbabwe trip sermon

2008-05-29T07:15:00.003-07:00

Brothers and Sisters in Christ
James 1.1-4

I want to begin by saying thank you for praying for us while we were in Zimbabwe. I could feel the power of God working in all of us and his protection while we worked there. In about 9 days we conducted an all day VBS, preached 8 sermons and taught about 15 lessons in various churches. We traveled 3 or 4000 kilometers and were safe all the time. Thank you.
I bring you greetings from many Chr. brothers and sisters in Christ from many churches in Zimbabwe. Every where we went we met young people and old who wanted to talk about the US. They wanted to know all about this country, and I was surprised at how much they knew about this country. It was not long before I began to see that even though we were separated by thousands of miles and spoke very different languages, we believed the same thing about our Lord Jesus Christ.
I remember here in the church when I was a teenager; Max Ward Randall came to tell us about flying from South Africa to Rhodesia to open up a mission field there. I asked around some and three or four of the older Chrs had seen Max Randall and knew the churches he started. So the mission money this church sent to the Randalls a half a century ago help start churches in the country now called Zimbabwe.
The passage of scripture I want to use this morning is from James 1.1 – 4. Read. James is writing to fellow believers who he had never seen, but they were his bothers and sisters in Christ. I think we need to understand that. There are fellow believers all over the world speaking hundreds of languages but all worshiping the same God.
The most exciting thing I experienced was participating in the Lord’s Supper in Zimbabwe. The first Sunday I was there I was dropped off at the Town Church in Gweru. The congregation has a new brick building that is not finished, but will be very nice when it is done. The leaders greeted me – mostly in English. There were about a hundred people there when we started, but more came in as the service continued. Most of the service was in the Shona language – the songs, prayer, and announcements. (By the way, they use some of the western songs and tunes, but in the Shona tongue.)
I sat on the platform with two other men and on the table before us were a holder for the small cups and a plate for the bread for the Lord’s Supper. At the appropriate time, one of the elders of the church stood up and read from John 6 just as we did today and then prayed in Shona. I did not understand any of what he said, but I knew we were joining together to commune with God. As they served me and all the others in the church I had tears running down my face. I was the only white person in the church building, but all of these people were indeed brothers and sisters in Christ worshiping God through Jesus Christ.
The next Sunday we were in the western part of Zimbabwe at a church in Hwange. At that service the elder of that church stood and read from John 6 and then prayed in the Tonga language. Again I was overcome knowing we were joining together to commune with God. I also thought about you meeting 7 hours later to partake of the Lord’s Supper as we were doing.
Then my mind went all over the world. Sunday starts in the east. I do not know what country comes first, but somewhere about 9 or 10 in the morning in country after country elders read maybe from John 6 and then pray in hundreds of languages in thousands of churches. Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippians, Korea, China, Burma, India, Russia, Europe, the middle east, Africa, South America, North America, and all the way to the last country before it become Monday. We are part of a huge fellowship of God worshippers.
There are a lot of Chrs in Zimbabwe. The churches buildings we saw are generally small, but they can put 2 or 3 hundred people in a very small place. They are going though very difficult political and economic times. They had an election over two months ago, but the President did not release the results for over a month. He lost, but there needed to be a run-off election between the two top vote getters. The constitution says it should be held in three weeks, but it will be delayed until June or July. No one knows if it will be held or if it will be fair or rigged. The Mugabe government has been extremely repressive and violent and it continues to be that. (White farmer we stayed with.)
Economically it is a disaster. A lady told me that in 2002 you could get 60 Zim dollars for one US dollar. When we got there it was 204 million Zim dollars for one US. When we left it was 250 million to 1. (I have a number of $50 million dollar bills to give way – making you instant millionaires.) It almost does not matter because there is little to buy there. The shelves in stores are empty. We had to go to 2 or 3 different gas stations to get fuel. It was $650 million per liter or about $10 a gallon. We had electricity less than half the time – we had a lot of candle light dinners and they were not very romantic. We talked to a couple of retirees who had a pension when they retired, but with the inflation, their retirement money is worthless. They live on nothing now.
But these believers are tremendously dedicated to God. They enjoy their faith, they love to worship – it is lively and loud – singing and dancing. I have some of it on video in the back. They enjoy their fellowship and share their faith with others. They give at offering time even though they have little for themselves. Their faith has been tested over the years, but as the scriptures says, the tests have produced perseverance, and that perseverance is producing maturity. I enjoyed talking to the few older people in the churches – they with great smiles on their faces proclaimed that God had been faithful to them for 40, 50, and 60 years. There are fewer middle aged members as AIDS has taken a terrible toll on that age group in Zim. There are a lot of kids and so many eager teens in the churches.
They have a Zimbabwe Chr College in Harare and it is educating good young men and women for the ministry. There were about 40 students on campus plus over 100 taking courses by correspondence or by extension classes. These ministers seem to be dedicated to serving the Lord and their congregations.
Again I say thank you for praying for us. You were an essential part of this trip. Please pray for me – I am still very tired.
I hope we can learn from the Zim Christians. They have learned to be faithful in times of testing, and are a model of what the Chr faith can do for people.
Finally, they are indeed brother and sisters in Christ – we worship the same majestic God. Join me in praying for these people as they live the Chr life.

sermon 3/9/08

2008-03-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

God’s Economics – the Widow’s Mite
Mark 12. 41 – 44

The message today is taken from Mark 12. This is the last section of public teaching by Jesus before his death. He would teach his disciples in the upper room, but this was for the religious leaders of his day. In the whole book of Mark Jesus has shown that his kingdom and his people will be different than the religious leaders of the day. What they taught and practiced was not what Jesus wanted for his church and his people. Read Mark 12.41 – 44.
This is what this might have looked like – 3 men putting in money in the offering with a lot of show and for the praise of men. One (smiling because it made her happy) putting in just two pennies but it was all that the person had. The people around praised the ones who have been giving a lot of money. They may have made fun of this widow for giving just two cents.
Let’s look at this widow, her gift and what it means to us today.
1. First, her gift was a gift of faith and trust. She gave all she had because she had learned that God would supply her needs. She had learned to trust God for what she needed. All of us need to learn to trust God and learn that he is faithful to supply what we need.
This lady is really dumb or very smart. She is dumb if she gave all she had and did not have anything to buy food or clothes. God does not expect us to starve to death or give everything we have to others. Then we would have nothing and need to depend on others for even our food. She gave what she had and in God’s economics she gave more than all the rest. Would we rather have the two pennies she gave or $200? I believe God can do more with her two cents than the $200.
If it is very clear to you that God is telling you to give everything, then do it. Give everything. But usually God tells us to give a certain amount and he will supply what we need. For the last few years it has been clear to me that God wanted me to give a certain amount – a very specific amount. When God made it clear to me what he wanted me to give, I did not have enough to cover that. But I just said, if you want that amount, then you will need to supply the money, and he has completely every time.
On our money is the motto of our country – In God we Trust. (It is there right now – there are some who what that removed.) As Chrs especially that should be our motto. God, I trust you to supply what I need for myself and to give to others.
2. Next, the gift of the widow was a sacrificial gift. It cost her everything she had to give this gift. The others gave out of their bounty or as one writer said, they gave out of their excess or superfluity. I like that word – superfluity. They had a lot of money and they just gave a small amount of that. Most of the time, we give out of our excess. After all, we need to take care of ourselves, don’t we? We give if we have any left over.
One of the things I have learned about giving is that some of the money I have is God’s money. In the OT the tithe or 10% of the income of the Jews belonged to the God. It was God’s money. It is not my money to spend. It is His money. In the OT God told his people that they were robbing him. They were robbing God in their tithes and offerings. People were using God’s money as if it were their own. God’s money has bought a lot of cars and clothes, and a lot of other things I think.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills according to Ps 50. He has an unlimited supply of money that he wants used for his purposes. What he does usually is get one of us to be the channel of his money. He says, Steve, I want this money given so you give it and I will supply it. (Too often he gives us money and we just keep it ourselves.) He gives us money so we can take care of what he wants to get done. If we give sacrificially he will supply what we need to give. We need to open channels to him so his money will flow to us and then out from us to do his will.
Lastly, the widow gave a gift of love. She loved God so she gave so his will would be done. The money she gave to the offering in the temple that day was to be used to support the priest and the poor. (I wonder if the poor got their fair share.) Even though she had little, she still gave so his work could be done.
The greatest commandment is Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This widow loved God and her fellow believers and she showed it by giving what she did – all she had. Our giving is an act of love – we give because we love God and we love the people who receive what we give.
Giving sacrificially helps us to know and love God. It is fun to listen to God about our giving and then watch him supply what we need. He does it in some unusual ways. It builds our faith in God as we see him working today – not just years ago. He wants his will to be done and he will supply what is necessary.
Last year the National Missionary Convention was in Cincinnati. Dave and I went to it. On Friday night they had an invitation for all who wanted to commit themselves to full time mission service to come forward. There were a lot of people with eyes full of tears as we watched about 100 people stream down the isles of that auditorium. These were mostly young couple and individuals, but many of them were middle aged and older. They want to go to mission fields to win people to Christ while there is still time to do that. I was thrilled, but I also thought that the churches need to supply the thousands of dollars that is necessary to send them to foreign countries and keep them there. These will need somewhere near $2-4 million a year to go and preach and teach.
Who is going to pay for this? We are in the churches. How? Most of us would claim we do not even have enough for ourselves. How can we give to others? God will supply. But he needs you and me to be willing to give the money.
I have a challenge for you. A while ago I heard a televangelist say – you send me $1000 and if God does not bless you in a special way, I will give you back your money. I am saying, if you give $1000 to mission this year and are not blessed in a special way, I will give you back your $1000 – no questions asked. Will you trust God and give?

sermon 3/16/08

2008-03-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

Cross Talk
Mark 15.21-39

The cross is an unusual thing for us to talk about and display. It was the instrument of torture and death in the first century. It would be the electric chair or lethal injection equipment and the water boarding instrument all rolled into one. It is strange that we would wear a cross as a necklace or ear rings. Why do we display it in our churches? Because, the cross is absolutely central to the Chr faith. The cross was used by the Romans to execute traitors or terrible criminals. The torture element was that it could take days for the person to die on a cross. The person would struggle all that time in awful pain trying to breathe. Jesus was nailed to a cross and the crowd watched as he struggled to breathe. As he was on the cross different things were said to him and he said some things. This morning we are going to look at four things that were said and see how it applies to us.
Read Mark 15.25 – 30. The place of execution was a very public place – it always was so it would be a stark warning to other people not to do the crime being punished. Lots of people walked by to just stare at the condemned people. Some even shouted at Jesus thinking that they could heap even more disgrace on him. Mark writes that some said, “You who were going to destroy the temple and build it in three day, come down from the cross and save yourself.” Jesus could have saved himself – he could have popped those nails out of his hands and feet with the blink of his eye. The truth is that the nails were not what held him on the cross at all. It was the absolute love for you and me that held him on the cross. He had the choice to either save himself or save us, and he chose to save us by giving his life on the cross. What love! What self-sacrifice he made for us!
The truth is these people and the leaders of the Jews in the next section did not have a clue what was taking place before their eyes. They thought they were seeing a poor God-forsaken criminal getting what he deserved for his crimes. What was actually taking place was a cosmic, universal and eternal drama between God and evil. The pure Lamb of God was being sacrificed once and for all for the sins of everyone in the world. If Jesus would have come down from the cross, there would be no salvation, no hope, and no eternal life for anyone.
Next Mark records some of the things the chief priest and teachers of the law said to him. Read 31 – 32. These men demanded that Jesus be crucified and now they mocked him while he was on the cross. They did not believe he was the Christ – the anointed one. They did not believe he was the king of Israel. To them Jesus was just a man who was an absolute threat to them and their power as religious leaders. And they lied when they said that if he would come down from the cross they would believe in him. These men had seen all kinds of miracles – feeding on 5000 people, healing all kinds of sicknesses, driving out evil spirits, and even raising Lazarus from the dead. A simple miracle like coming down from the cross would not have changed their minds at this time. They in fact did not want him to come down from the cross – they wanted him to die so they would have been rid of him.
Later on the apostle Paul wrote that the Jews wanted to see signs of the power of God, but even the greatest display of power, the clearest display of power would not convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus did not come down from the cross because he loved these very religious leaders so much he was willing to give his life for them. He was willing to forgive them for what they were doing and saying. He wanted them to have new life in Christ. They wanted a show, a trick. Jesus gave them his life. Jesus gives us his life.
The next section of this chapter deals with one of the most difficult passages of the Bible. Read verses 33 – 38. I think Jesus knew this moment was coming even before he came to this earth. When he would be suffering the most, when all the sins of every one for all time were heaped on him, he would be separated from God. For all of eternity, millions of years, the Father and the Son had shared a loving and joyful intimate relationship. They were together in an absolute unity forever. But at this moment, when he was on the cross, he cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani’ – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This was a pray to the father, as many of the other statements Jesus made on the cross. This was an absolute cry of the heart from one who felt completely alone at that moment. I do not understand why he had to be alone right then. It may be that the sin heaped on Jesus at that moment meant that God could not be there. This to me is a profound mystery.
The last statement in this section was made by the centurion, the Roman soldier in charge of the crucifixion. Roman soldiers stationed in Jerusalem probably hated their jobs. They were hundreds of miles away from their homes. They probably hated the religion of the Jews and the petty laws of the Jews. Here he was killing another Jew for some crime that did not make sense. He heard what the people said, and what Jesus said, and concluded and confessed that this man was the son of God. Not just the king of the Jews as the sign over his head, said. “Surely this man was the Son of God.” I do not think even the disciples of Christ at that moment would have confessed what this soldier said. I do not know if this was special revelation from God or maybe he was more spiritually awake than anyone else in the crowd so he could see that this criminal hanging on the cross was indeed the son of God. We confess that this morning – Jesus is the Savior, the son of God.
So here we are. Jesus was nailed to an ugly cross. His own people did not accept him or understand what he was doing. The Messiah, the Son of God, was hanging on a cross. He had breathed his last breath. He was dead. The darkness of that afternoon reflected the darkness in the heart of all his followers. They did not know that it was Friday and Sunday was coming. They did not know that the resurrection was coming. For them hope was gone. For us the cross is a necessary step – the death of Jesus on the cross, but it lead to his burial and eventually to his glorious resurrection – to Easter.
We are going to sing the invitation hymn, “On a Hill Far Away.” Before we do I want to look at this song for a couple of minutes. Turn with me to page 317. (Go through the song verse by verse.)
This morning – do you love the cross? Do you love the dearest and best who died on the cross? Are you ready to give your life to him forever?

Jamaica slideshow

2008-02-19T13:43:00.000-08:00

Healing the Blind man

2008-02-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

Healing of the Blind Man
Mark 8.22 – 26

The message this morning is about the miracle Jesus performed at the village of Bethsaida – he gave sight to a blind man. I would be devastated if I lost my sight. A number of years ago I was listening to the Chr radio station while driving to Rochester. They were interviewing a man who had suddenly become blind. He was about 40 – married with two kids, a successful business man – leader in his church. On day his eyes felt a little different. The next day they hurt some, and within two weeks he was completely and irreversible blind. A virus had attacked the optical nerves and he was blind. As I listened, my heart sunk. What would my life be like if I could not see? I love to read and my profession depends on seeing the words – reading. I drive my car a lot. If I were blind I could not drive or do much else. The story today is about a blind man. Listen as I read Mark 8.22 -26.
Imagine with me this scene. One day a man’s children came to him. There were three young men and two daughters. They were all married and had children, and they loved their father a lot. “Dad, please come with us? There is a Rabbi in a village not too far from here. He is leading our people back to God. He can also heal people by the power of God, even blind people!” “I would like to go, but I am sure I will be blind the rest of my life. I believe my blindness is the will of God and I have accepted it,” the father replied. “At least come with us and listen to the man. He has some good things to say about our faith, and maybe, he will heal you,” said one of the sons.
Jesus had just come into the village of Bethsaida when the children brought their father to Jesus. Jesus walked outside the village with the man and then put spit on the man’s eyes. He asked the man if he could see. The man replied that he could see partially but not very well. Jesus touched him again and the man could see fully. This might be the only miracle that Jesus did where the person was only partially healed right away. I will talk about this some more in a bit. Can you imagine the joy for this whole family as the father rejoined them seeing again after so many years of being blind? He could see his kids and wife, the beauty of the sunrise and the other parts of God’s magnificent creation.
What a tremendous miracle. Here was a man who could not see at all. Jesus touched him and the optical nerves and all the other things that needed to be healed were made perfect. I believe the man had perfect 20/20 vision. This is a miracle and it was done by the power of God working through Jesus Christ.
This story is about healing physical blindness, but I think the chapter underneath is about spiritual blindness. In the chapter the Pharisees tried to test Jesus by asking for a sign of some kind to prove he was the Messiah. They had a lot of signs to see already, but they wanted an amazing miracle of some kind to absolutely prove who he was. Do a better trick and we will believe in you, they were saying, but they would not have believed in him no matter what. They were religious but really blind to the work of God, or maybe better we could say they were partially spiritually blind. There are some people who can not see any thing spiritual, but there are others who can see things of God but not clearly or completely. They are the partially spiritually blind. As the man Jesus healed, at first he could see men moving like trees, these men could see only a fussy image of God and what he was doing.
Even the disciples could not see what Jesus was doing and understand what Jesus was talking about. In Mark 8.17 – 21 the disciples did not understand him. Read.
In the recent newsletter from Trevor and Cassie Long, Trevor wrote that he has a number of students who are doing Bible studies with him. They like the discussion, but when it comes to certain teachings of the Bible, they dismiss them. They want to see spiritual things, but they only want to see certain things. They are partially spiritually blind.
I was talking to a man a couple of weeks ago at a church. He said he attended a lot. The more we talked the more I recognized that he had a view of God that was not biblical at all. I talked to him about putting Jesus Christ first in his life, but he said no. He did not want to become a religious fanatic or something. A little religious stuff is good, but not too much, according to him. He was partially spiritually blind.
Jesus came to earth to show us as clearly as possible what it was like to know God as completely as humans can. He taught the disciples and then all the people what walking with God and serving God was like. The Jews of his day were religious and even very moral, but God has always wanted more than that. He wanted a personal relationship with his people, just like he had in the garden with Adam and Eve before they sinned. Jesus had that intimate relationship with God when he was on earth, and we can have that relationship too. We all need to be cured of our blindness – spiritual blindness. God wants us to see him clearly and fully.
One of the things I enjoyed most last week in Jamaica was walking with Antony and Keysha. I was pushing a couple of kids on the swings when I first saw Keysha. I looked over and saw her playing in the dirt by a short wall by the swing set. I went over to say hi to her, but she ran away. I went back to pushing the swings and she went back to her place.
In the next hour or so I tried a number of times to talk to her. I reached out my hand and she moved away. I do not know her medical condition or her background, but I thought she was afraid of me. Eventually she came to me and took my hand. For the next two days Antony, Keysha and I walked up and down the street at Westhaven. I talked to them, prayed for them, sang to them, and played with them. Antony had little reaction, but Keysha smiled and sort of laughed a number of times. One of the workers said she had never walked with anyone like that at all.
On Saturday she walked with me for about an hour, but then I stopped to help some other kids. When I looked up, she was gone. I found her playing in the dirt again where she was when I first saw her. She would not come and walk with me again. She played in the dirt. At least she had a couple of days of having fun, I think.
I wonder how many of us are like that. God comes to us at the special time. We are playing in the dirt somewhere. He reaches out and takes us by the hand and we walk with him for a while, enjoying his touch, his love, and his closeness. Then for whatever reason, we decide to go back and play in the dirt. No matter what God does to reach out to us, we do our own thing.
This morning God is reaching out his hand to you and to me – he loves us so much. Please take his hand and walk with him. Be healed of spiritual blindness. See him clearly and come to him.

Servant Leaders

2008-02-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

Leaders are Servants – The Church is Different
Mark 9.33 – 37 and Luke 9.46 – 48

If we would walk through a secular bookstore or a Chr bookstore, we would find hundreds of books on leadership. 12 Secrets of Leadership. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. The Leadership Principles of Genghis Khan. Hitler’s Leadership Style. We could go on and on with titles about leadership in business and in the church. Some think that these principles of leadership are completely interchangeable – if it works in business, then it will work in the church. Jesus taught his disciples how they were to lead and I wish the church had learned what Jesus taught. There have been times in the history of the church that you could not tell the difference between the leaders of the church and leaders of society. In the Middle ages, they dressed the same, they fought wars the same, and they lived and sinned in the same ways.
Is it important for all of us to hear a sermon about leadership? You might say, “I am not a leader in the church. Do waste my time. Talk to just the leaders of the church about leadership.” I think all of us are leaders in our own ways and we need to see what leadership is like. The specific leaders in the church need to lead the way Jesus taught and all the people need to remind the leaders of the way Jesus taught his disciples to lead.
There is a short passage in Mark 9.33-37 that Jesus used to teach the 12 about leadership. Read. Jesus caught these men arguing about who was the greatest among them. Can you imagine all of these saints – St. John, St. Peter, St. Matthew and all the rest arguing at all, but especially about who was the best among them? When you put these verses in context it is even worse. In the section of scripture just before this, Jesus told them that he would be arrested by his enemies, they would kill him and he would rise in three days. The passage says that they did not understand what he meant by this, but they quickly started arguing about who was the greatest or the best among them. They were human and maybe too human in this case.
Being servants is a huge part of being a Chr. As Chrs we are servants of all. A Chr husband is the servant of his wife. He loves her and serves her because of that love. A Chr. wife serves her husband because of her love for him. Chr parents serve their children. You kids don’t realize how much your parents serve you. In turn, you Chr kids need to serve your parents now and later in their lives when they need you. As a Chr church we need to serve this community and all people all over this world. We do that in doing missions and sending money so others can serve the people around them. Servanthood is a huge part of our Chr life.
I think this picture (Jesus washing the feet of his disciples) gives us the greatest example of who Jesus was and is. Just hours before he was crucified, he met with his disciples in the upper room he washed the feet of all of these men. That was the job of household slaves, but God himself in human flesh, became the servant and washed the feet of his disciples. He set an example for all of us as Chrs to be servants to one another.
Greatness and leadership is not a popularity contest. Do remember Mohammed Ali years ago standing in front of the cameras and almost yelling, “I am the greatest!” Over and over again he said this. I do not know any Chr leaders who would be so overt in claiming their greatness, but in almost everything they do and say they think and act like they are the greatest.
Jesus sat down in the posture of a teaching Rabbi, and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” If any of us want to serve God as leaders we must be the last and least and the servant of all. Jesus is the perfect example of servant leadership. He was the undisputed leader of these disciples, but he was a very different kind of leader. He did not lord it over these men. He was their lord and God, but he traveled with them and lived with them as their servant. Some times we might think that these disciples carried Jesus around on some kind of mobile chair, and set him on a throne ever night and served him like slaves. Jesus walked with them and I am sure he did the chores just like the others.
Ultimately Jesus became the servant of all by going to the cross and giving his life for all of us. How much more of a servant can there be?
Next, Jesus took a child who had no power or authority and told his disciples that this child was the greatest in the kingdom of God. The child could not order people around as a boss at least not in that culture. This kid was a servant of the family.
What does this mean to us? The way leaders lead is an important factor in how the church functions. Jesus is today as he always has been the head of this church. We are the body of Christ. Jesus is the Head of this church. The Head of the church directs the various parts of the body to do their work.
Let’s look at the main words for leaders in the church. Bishop or overseer is one of them. An overseer seems to be the boss type of leader, but as an overseer he was the second in command. The owner of a farm hired an overseer to run things. In the church the bishop is under the rule of Jesus, the head of the church. The pastor or shepherd is another term for leaders in the church. A shepherd cares for the sheep – he leads them, finding food and water for them, and protects them. The shepherd certainly serves his sheep and the pastors of the church are the servant of the flock. The term deacon is a transliteration of the Greek word for slave – diakonos. Instead of calling some one Deacon Jones, we should call him Slave Jones. The only one that does not fit this pattern is the term “elder” but I can see how an elder serves the people in the church.
This is the pattern of leadership in the church. Jesus Christ came to the earth to be the ultimate example of being a servant of all. He washed the feet of his disciples and even went to the cross to serve us. As Chr leaders, pastors and elders, we follow the example of Jesus and do everything we can to serve you. We put Jesus first in our lives and we want to lead you to make the Lord first in your life. We serve you in teaching and ministering to you in every way we can. Our goal is for you to follow our example and the example of Jesus to serve others. You meet people every day who need the love of Christ shown to them. Reach out to them as servants of God. The greatest compliment a church can receive is to be called a church that serves people. Then we are truly following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

mission trip 2008

2008-01-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Mission Trip 2008
Dr Stephen DeFor – Austin Church of Christ

What could be better than going to Montego Bay, Jamaica at the end of January each year? The temperature is always warm, the ocean is magnificent to swim in, and the food is wonderful.
For the last ten years I have spent a week in Jamaica on mission trips. Teens and adults from the Austin Church of Christ and other churches go there to work in two orphanages and help a couple of schools. We bring our suitcases filled with children’s medicines, school supplies, clothing and other things to give children and to the workers in the orphanages. We do repairs where that is needed, we paint walls, we carry cement to help build new buildings, but mostly we hold and play with the children. The staff people give the kids enough food and care for them well. What we supply is arms to hold kids, hands to push them in swings, ears to listen to them, and voices to talk and sing to them. It is not hard work, but we are sure tired after working with 50 or 60 kids a day.
We pay our own way. Some take precious vacation time to go. We come back exhausted but filled with joy. Our hearts are sometimes breaking when we realize that these kids we have learned to love will be never have parents and homes. They will never have their own clothes and toys. They will probably not get a good enough education to advance themselves in life. We give what we can of ourselves and show the love of God in ways only He can inspire. We are servants of God in a special way during the mission trip.
Our group is leaving on January 28 for a week. Please be praying for us that we will be safe, that we will remain healthy, and that we can truly show the love of God to brothers and sister in Christ in Jamaica.
One more thing: Would you like to go with us next year? The cost is not too great and the rewards in inspiration and joy are tremendous. Give me a call when I get back.

2008-01-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

One with Authority
Mark 1.21 – 45

We are continuing this series of sermons from the book of Mark. I want to do something this morning to help us understand how the original people saw Jesus. We see him from the point of view of knowing all about him – all of his life. The people in the villages of Judea where he first taught did not know who he was.
Think with me for a minute. What if Bruce and Anita came to the church building this morning – just walking into the door, and they asked to sing to us for a half hour. We would probably say no. We would not know who they were, what they believed, how well they sang. But, since they were here last year and blessed us with their message, we know Living Proof and what they do. They have authenticity and authority with us so we invite them to minister with us.
When Jesus came into the Capernaum to start his ministry, he needed to earn his right to speak to them. He did this in two ways. Turn with me to Mark 1.21-22. Read. First thing he did was he taught in the synagogue but not just like other teachers. Other teachers would quote a rabbi and then another rabbi, but Jesus taught from the scripture and from himself. He taught as on having authority. This is the same thing the Jews said after Jesus finished the sermon or teaching on the mount in Matthew 5-7. I think in the synagogue in Capernaum he taught the same things as in Matthew. Let us look a little bit at what he taught in just chapter 5 to see why the people were so excited and challenged by what he taught.
MT 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. (To make it salty)
MT 5:14 "You are the light of the world. (To give it God’s light)
Mt.5.20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (They worked toward righteousness, we are forgiven)
MT 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. (Jesus made living for him harder than for the Jews)
MT 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Outward acts/ inward)
MT 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Revenge/ forgiveness)
MT 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Jesus indeed taught with authority and because of this he earned an authenticity for himself. But Jesus did not just want to be known as a good teacher. He wanted to be seen as the very son of God. So he did the next thing – he used his power to do miracles to show the Jews he was more than just a teacher. Read Mark 1.23-28. Here was a man who was controlled by evil spirits – the demons forced him to do evil deeds for the devil. (The man asked, what do you want with us, so there was more than one.) Demon possession was something Jesus faced often in his time and it is still faced today. When this man came into the presence of the holy and pure Jesus, he reacted to him. When evil comes into the presence of holiness there has to be a clash. Jesus spoke and the evil spirits came out of the man with a shriek. What a tremendous blessing this must have been for the man who was healed, and what a challenge it was to the devil who before was able to control people with evil, but now the holy Lord was able to cleanse those who were possessed with demons. Jesus was stronger than the demons.
The people in the synagogue were amazed by his teachings and his power to do miracles. Read Vss. 27 – 28. Jesus went on to heal others too, but he knew the problems this could cause. People want the miracles but not the new life that comes from God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus cleansed a man possessed by demons and stopped a fever. The people were utterly amazed as we would be, but these are just little things to the all-might God. He spoke and all things came into existence in the beginning. He can cure fevers and drive out demons and heal all kinds of sicknesses when it is best for his plan and purposes. We humans are amazed at such little things. God can and does far greater things every day, most of which we can not even see. By teaching what God wanted for his special people and doing miraculous healings, Jesus earned authenticity with the Jewish people and eventually opposition from the Jewish leaders.
Jesus still meets people today in the same way. We come to Christ either by being introduced to his teachings or we are impressed by his miraculous power, but I think we need both. I was reading about Muslims being converted to Christ even in Iraq today. Many come to Christ by hearing the teachings of Jesus Christ, especially about his love and forgiveness. They are thrilled at these teachings. Others are brought to Christ when he does something miraculous in their lives – a healing or a specific answer to prayer.
I came to Christ mostly from learning about his teachings, but then as time when on in my life I could see the power of the Lord working in me and for me. When we have both we know Christ more fully as the people originally did when Jesus preached and healed in the synagogue in Capernaum. The teachings of our Lord are absolutely true and extremely challenging. The power of our Lord is greater than anything we can imagine. Together they draw us to the Lord and his service.

Christmas sermon

2007-12-31T04:44:00.001-08:00

God’s Plans for Christmas
Luke 2 and Matthew 2

All of us make plans for Christmas. We go here this day and there that night. We see these relatives, then those friends. This morning we are going to see God’s plan for Christmas. About a month ago my son Hans graduated with a degree in strategic planning from the Navy War College – they plan how to get the right people at the right place at the right time with the right equipment. (I am proud of him of course.) I began to look at the Christmas story in a different way, as a strategic plan by God. When we look at the Christmas story it might look like a series of unrelated events happening randomly, but in reality, all of the events were part of a careful plan of God, God’s Grand Plan.
I do not know when the specific plan was formulated, but I do know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were all involved in the planning and execution of the plan. It might have been planned for centuries – I am sure it was not just a series of accidental happenings.
The first thing that happened was that God determined that the exact proper time for the birth of Christ was right then. God had waited for centuries for this event, but I think for a number of reasons this was the best time for the birth. The Roman Empire was extremely strong at the end of what we call B.C. or before Christ. That is important since the powerful Roman Empire provided a time of peace for the event to take place. The Romans had spread the Greek language all over the Empire and most of the people could communicate in it. The Roman roads also would make travel easier for the future spread of the message about Christ.
After the moment was selected, God put a star in the sky to announce the birth of Christ. Read Matthew 2.1 – 2. The star was probably placed in the sky about two years before the birth of Christ. I do not know what the star was – maybe it was a comet, or it might have been a special light in the sky that only a certain few could see. I believe the Magi were Jewish astronomers/astrologers who were watching a certain part of the sky that might have been called the constellation of David. In this part of the sky this light appeared and it was interpreted as a sign that a new king of the Jews had been born. I love to look at the night sky – what if tonight in the center of the big dipper there was a new light, a star that had never been there before? We would wonder what it was and if it had some significance. The Magi had been notified by the star that something special was going to take place, and this special event was the birth of a new king of the Jews, and they began to move toward Jerusalem.
Then God moved his attention across the Mediterranean Sea to Rome. There God talked to Caesar Augustus the ruler of the Roman Empire. God gave him the idea to have a census or taxation of in the entire Empire. Politicians usually need little help in deciding to tax their people. I don’t know if August knew this was part of God’s plan for Christmas, but it was, and the exact day for the birth of Jesus was set to coincide with the census.
Next, God had to select the right woman to have the baby Jesus. This was not just any young woman. She had to be of the house of David since the linage of the child must be from the line of King David. She had to be a good young lady – not perfect because no human being is perfect, sinless from birth except for Jesus himself. She needed to be engaged to be married but not married yet since she needed to be a virgin. There might have been a number of young ladies in Israel at this time that fit these qualifications, but God chose Mary to offer to be part of his plan. Read Luke 1. 26 – 38. I love the response of Mary. She had been surprised by the angel, and shocked at his announcement, but then she accepted what was going to happen with the magnificent statement - "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. The part of the plan that included Mary was in place. The baby Jesus was in the womb of Mary and began to grow.
God then began to work with Joseph who was the earthly father who was to raise Jesus. He needed to be included in the plan. Joseph was engaged to the love of his life. In a sense they were married already in the eyes of the people. Then Joseph discovered that Mary was expecting a baby. He knew he was not the father and he must have been furious and extremely disappointed. He loved Mary, but he could not marry her. Joseph was an essential part of God’s plan so he had to be included. God sent an angel to tell him what he needed to do. Read Matthew 1.18 – 26. Joseph did exactly what the angel told him to do. Joseph obeyed God because he loved God and wanted to obey him. He obeyed because he loved Mary and wanted to do what was best for her. He obeyed because he was part of God’s plan.
There was one more big part of God’s plan but it would have to wait for a while. I can imagine angels coming to God and saying what is next, what should we be doing? God just said wait – the plan is working but it will take the proper number of months.
When the right time came, Joseph heard about the taxation and knew he had to go to Bethlehem even with a very pregnant wife. He started out, I am sure treating Mary with as much gentleness he could. As they came to Bethlehem, God called the angels to start the last part of the plan. “Do you see those shepherds down there just outside of Bethlehem? Go tell them this: Read Luke 2.10 – 14. These shepherds were the last part of God’s Christmas plan. Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem and the precious baby Jesus was born in a stable, just as he planned. The shepherds came rushing into town and worshiped the baby just as he planned. Sometime later the Magi from the east came and worshiped the baby and brought expensive gifts to the family, to pay the expenses for the next part of God’s plan.
What do we learn from all of this? First, that the most important event in the history of the world before this or since the birth of Christ was carefully planned. Next, the plan was carried out by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Do you see how God plans and carries out his plans? From that we can see how he planned and carried out all the events in the life of his Son on earth.
Two more things: First this plan showed the absolute love God has for all of us on the earth. With great sacrifice the holy God of the universe sent his only son to earth to die for you and for me. The message of Christmas is I love you and want you to have eternal life.
Second, he has a plan for you in your life, a strategic plan for you to come to him for salvation and then live for him in a life of service.

New year's sermon

2007-12-31T04:40:00.000-08:00

New Year – New Normal
Ephesians 4. 17-28
This has been a good year for me reading a number of books. Some books I read are good as a whole, some have a great chapter of two. Some suggest to me a phrase or an idea that is good for me to think about and teach. Earlier this year I read the book, 90 minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper. He is a minister and a number of yrs ago he was returning from a conference when an 18 wheeler crossed the centerline and ran over his car. When the EMTs got to the scene, they checked on him but found no response or vital signs so they went on to help other victims. During the next 90 minutes Mr. Piper said he had a vision of going to heaven – it is an exciting description. Then another minister who had stopped to help on the crash scene checked Mr. Piper and found he was still alive so he was taken to the hospital and spent many months in tortuous recovery. The book is a good description of what crash victims go through in their recovery.
Later in the book, he writes about the “new normal” in his life. Before he could run and play with his kids, but now the new normal for him was very different – he could walk, but not much more. The idea of a new normal is what intrigued me. Every one of us has a normal way of life – habits we have and patterns we follow. Some one I know very well has a very predictable normal. Up at between 7 and 7.30. Get dressed while watching Little House on the Prairie, goes to the kitchen to fix a cup of coffee, goes to the living room to find the crossword puzzle in the paper, and does the puzzle while watching the Waltons.
What is your normal? All of us have habits like that. Sometimes things happen to change our normal, like the car crash of Don Piper, but we can also choose a new normal for ourselves, and change our lives to make them better and different. Most of us do not change because we are satisfied with our lives and do not see any necessity to change. As Chrs we need to have a constant dissatisfied satisfaction with our lives, I believe. When I look at my life there are things I am satisfied with, but there are things I need to change. Unless we are already perfectly like Jesus Christ, we need to want to change to be more like Christ. I need a new normal and a new year is a good time to start a new normal.
Turn with me to Ephesians 4. We are going to look at verses 20 – 24 – read. The apostle Paul is reminding the readers where they came from. He is saying you used to follow the evil desires of the flesh and going from bad to worse. But now they had been taught to put off the old self and put on the new self. In the new normal all of us need to look first at what we need to stop in our lives. In another book I read there was a story that told about a woman who lived in a small town. This woman gossiped all the time to every one about every one. Some one anonymously sent the woman a note saying – “Gossiping is a sin. Gossipers go to hell.” This woman got so mad that she went all over town accusing people of sending the note and spreading all kinds of rumors and talking about people, trying to find out who sent the note. That is a sin, and needs to be stopped. Listen to verses 25 – 28 for suggestions of things we need to stop. Read. Another sin is just wasting time. There is something I do which is a total waste of time and that is going to stop completely in 2008.
What do you need to do, as the passage says “to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” The newness comes primarily when we first become Christians, but we need to be renewed all the time. I am going to suggest a few small things that you might want to pray about and try as new normals for next year.
1. I believe every Christian needs to be in the word of God regularly. I have printed a new Bible reading list for the first 3 months of the year. I would be overjoyed if all of us would read just one chapter a day of the divine word of God. Let this become your new normal – studying the Word every day.
2. It would be great if all of us were involved in Bible studies. We have some already, but maybe you would like to start one for your friends or even host one – we have a number of people here at the church who could lead the Bible study at your home. Bible studies provide a time of growth in knowledge of the word of God and a good time of fellowship.
3. Maybe you need to look at what you give to the work of the Lord and try a new normal next year. In the last 3 years God has been challenging me to give more to the church and to missions. Each year I pray to God to have him tell me how much I should give the next year. Each year he has let me know and has provided what I need to give. As I give, God gives more for me to give. Look at what you are giving and then trust him to help you give what you have committed. (Minister – preaching about stewardship – someone asked if he was doing that so he could get a raise. Upset – preached this because all of us need to give so we can learn to trust the Lord.)
4. Make a commitment to serve God in some special way as a new normal next year. Are there things you have been thinking about doing to do here at the church or for others? Do them for the glory of God.
5. All of us need to work on our prayer life, or nearly all of us. There are some here at the church that spend hours every day praying for others in a great way. Maybe you need to make a time to pray and start a prayer list to use in your prayer time. Pray for those you love the most – your kids, spouses, grand kids, neighbors, and friends. Pray for the people God puts in your path. Make pray a part of your new normal this year.
In another book I read this year the author wrote about the problem of backsliding of Chrs in the church. I had not read that term for a long time. What it means is that unless we are progressing in our Chr lives, we are slipping back away from the Lord. There is usually no standing still. We are either getting to be more like Christ or we are backsliding.
At the end of each year I take some to look over what I have done that year. I have found that if I do not plan to do anything different, I usually do not change. This year I want a new normal in my life that centers of my relationship with Jesus Christ as I put him first in my life. Choose a new normal for the year 2008 and pray that God will help you to grow.

sermon for Dec 3

2007-12-06T05:15:00.000-08:00

The Joy of Christmas through Tears
Matthew 2.15 – 18
The Christmas season has started again. This to me is one of the most exciting times of the year – there is the most beautiful music, wonderful decorations, fantastic food, and some of the best times at church. But this is also the season for sadness and depression. I read an article last week that was entitled, “Surviving the Holidays.” You have read those articles – they are in every magazine and newspaper this time of year. Just the title bothers me – you survive terrible things in life, but I have a hard time thinking about Christmas as a terrible thing. Last year I went out to my daughter’s house in Seattle at Thanksgiving and we walked a half marathon – 13.1 miles. It was snowing, raining, windy, and a long ways to walk – we survived that, just barely.
There are sad things about Christmas. This might be the first holiday season without a loved one. Last year Lucille Moore and Guy McAlister were with us, but both of them died this year. We miss them. If some one asks if we had a good Thanksgiving or Christmas we usually think in terms of were our families with us. If yes, then we had a good time. If not, then it was not a good holiday.
Some people gage their happiness or sadness by what gifts they get or give at Christmas. All of us are busy shopping for just the right gift for those near us, or maybe you have finished your shopping. I know one lady who was done with her Christmas shopping last July. I will have a good Christmas if I get one special gift – I am not going to tell anyone what I want – if people know me they should guess what I want and get it for me. And I am going to be upset for mounts if I don’t get it. Enough of that.
There is only one passage in the Christmas narratives that is really sad. That is found in Matthew 2.16 – 18. Read. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and the vicious king Herod was afraid of him. Herod had killed even his own children because he was afraid they were going to take away his throne. When he heard there might be a rival king born in Bethlehem, he made sure no boy child born in the last two years near there was murdered. I can not imagine that – any human being ordering those killings and soldiers carrying them out. (Thing about Hans.)
I think there were tears connected with the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, but most of those were tears of joy. Earlier this year when Dave and I preached on OT people, I talked about God’s Grand Plan – starting with Abraham, then Joseph, Moses, David and others, God worked out his plan to bring the Messiah to the earth. Now here with the birth of Jesus in what we call the Christmas season, God’s Grand Plan came to fulfillment. All of the OT people looked forward to this moment in history. I think there were tears of joy in God when his plan came to fulfillment in the coming of his only son to the earth. All of history up to the first century was aiming at this very moment. God loves the world so much that he was willing to give his son so we can have eternal life. There was certainly joy when Jesus was born to Mary, maybe even tears of joy.
I don’t know too much about the emotional make up of angels, but if they cry, the angels who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds must have had tears of joy also. You remember the story – there were normal shepherds out in the dark fields guarding there sheep. These were just some guys doing their job like generations of other shepherd. Then out of the dark came an army of angels surrounded by the brightest light anyone had every seen, singing praises to because the very son of God was born in Bethlehem that night. I have sung songs of praise to God through tears of joy. Those angels probably did that too night. The shepherds, yes even those hard, rough shepherds, shed tears of joy when they went to Bethlehem and looked down at the baby in the manger.
There were tears of joy for Mary and Joseph that night too. For these two it is a little bit more complicated. Joseph was in love with a beautiful pure young lady. They were going to be married and celebrate that love. Then just before they were to be married, Joseph’s hopes and dreams seemed to be shattered went he learned that Mary was expecting a child. He knew he was not the father. There were tears of deep sorrow for this good godly man, lots of tears I am sure, and a great deal of anger too. It took the appearance of an angel from God to convince him to take Mary to be his wife. I think there were tears of sorrow by Mary too. She must have endured the looks and comments of the people in the village when she started to show. Very few of them would have believed claims of a miraculous birth.
But now in the city of Bethlehem that night Joseph and Mary both celebrated the birth of their firstborn son. Think back to when you held the first child born to you – to all the children born to you. There is no greater joy. My son Peder and his wife Sarah had Aurelia 3 months ago. I went up there late that afternoon and you could not force the smile off his face even if you would have wanted to. Joseph and Mary did not know fully yet how precious this would be, but they had tears of joy that night when they looked at the newborn baby Jesus in the manger.
I think the real secret people have at Christmas time whether they have tears of joy or tears of sorrow is if they see the baby in the manger or if they look at something else. He is the one who brings the joy even 2000 years later. Too many eyes at this time of year are focused on parties or food or presents or even family gatherings. Those are all good and fun. Way too many are focused on drinking at the Christmas parties, and that is never helpful.
Any time we take our eyes off the Lord – in this case the baby in the manger, we are can and probably will have tears of sorrow. My expectations are not met. I don’t get what I want. Other people did not do what I want them to do or get me what I wanted. Jesus came to show us that the joyful life is oriented to loving God and others. He came to give, and when we live for him and give to others, we have joy even tears of joy. This Christmas look at the son of God in the manger. Every time you get busy with other stuff, ask yourself, how can I get my eyes back on the Lord and how can I help others see him? Enjoy the other things about Christmas, but remember Jesus Christ is the one who gives joy, the lasting eternal life joy to us and others.

National Missionary Converntion

2007-11-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

Dave and I will be leaving for Cincinnati on Wednesday afternoon for the NMC. It starts on Thursday night and gets over at noon on Sunday. We will be staying at Andrea's house - that should be fun.
Donna is coming over to take care of Mom but she will be alone most of the time so if you think about it give her a call.
There are about 8000 people at the convention and 600 - 700 mission groups who will have displays. It is fun for me to go.
I will write when I get back.
Steve/Dad.

sermon - Day of prayer for persecuted Church

2007-11-13T04:56:00.000-08:00

Brothers and sisters in Christ?
John 15.20 – 21 and 2 Cor. 8 – 9

The International Day of prayer started in 1996 when missionaries talked about the Chrs of the world who were being persecuted and those in the churches did not even know about these brothers and sisters in Christ and their suffering. It is estimated that right now there are 200 million Chrs. who are suffering real persecution in our world. More than anything else, they ask us to pray for them. In most of these cases we can not send money or books to them. In most cases no missionaries are permitted to go into their countries to preach. We live in a country where there is freedom to pray these Chrs and we are going to do that today and hopefully in the days to come.
Jesus warned his disciples that there was going to be persecution against them just because they were followers of him. In John 15.20 – 21 Jesus told them that since he was persecuted, they too would suffer the same fate. Read. Jesus did not deserve what he received – he had done nothing but good all of his life, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, encouraging those who were sad. Yes, he had challenged the traditions of the Jews and that is what engendered the persecution against him. Since Christianity started it has been persecuted by the Jews, the Roman government, Muslims, and even some Vikings. Chrs have persecuted each other – Catholics against Protestants, P and C against Anabaptists, P against P, etc. As it is still today there is persecution from secular governmental agencies and from religious groups. It is hard for us to understand this here in this country where there is a minimum of persecution; there are huge numbers of brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering.
That is something that I have been asked about the people we are talking about. Who are these people? They are common people from all over the world – I do not believe the red and yellow, black and white thing from the song we learned as children, but people of all colored. If 10 of them were standing right here today, most of them could not understand what I am saying and we could not understand what they would say. What denomination do they belong to? Most of them would not even know how to answer that question since they have not heard of Lutheran, Baptist or whatever. They believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They are trying to live for Jesus and are suffering because of that.
Christianity is unique in that we are taught to care about all people everywhere, but especially those who are Chrs. Most religions do not teach them to take care of other, but Chr does. One example of this is when Paul was traveling in Greece he learned that the believers in the church in Jerusalem were suffering because of a famine in Judea. Paul told the Chrs in Greece about the problem and they responded by taking up an offering to give to their fellow believers. This is recorded in 2 Cor. 8 and 9. They had never seen the Chrs in Jerusalem and would not see them this side of heaven but they loved them enough to give even sacrificially to help the Chrs in Jerusalem.
We will never see these believers we are praying for today, but they are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we love them because God loves them. We need to pray for them.
There are millions of Chrs being persecuted around the world including North Korea, China, India, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Sudan and other places. These are the ones we are praying for today.
North Korea is one place where the government is persecuting the Chrs. Before the Korean War Korea was one country. Missionaries had preached the Gospel all over the country. After the War the Communist government of N Korea instituted worship of the dictator and started persecuting the Chr. Maybe 100,000 to 200,000 Chrs are in prison camps for their faith. Many have been there for 10, 20, and 30 years. In N Korea it is illegal to teach your children about your faith, to own a Bible or any Chr book, and absolutely wrong to try to convert others to Christ. Yet thousands of believers still worship their Lord Jesus Christ. They need our prayers that they will remain faithful to the Lord.
China is in the center of world attention today. Next summer they will host the summer Olympic Games. This week the Communist government has warned people not to bring more than 1 Bible with them and no Chr literature. In some places in China there is a lot of persecution, but in other places the church can meet freely. Many ministers have spent years in prison because of their faith. Millions of Chinese Chrs hold secret Bible studies to learn about the Word of God. We need to pray for them.
In India, persecution is coming against Chrs from radical Hindus. One example is about Ranjan Dangua. He is from the Dalit caste, the lowest caste in India. He was converted from the Hindu religion and began to share his faith. People from his own village kidnapped him, took him to a house and beat him with rods, cut his hands and threatened worse. He escaped two days later and did the logical thing – he got his Bible and started preaching in the streets. He was kidnapped again, and held him for over a week, beating him regularly until he was able to escape. Pray for Ranjan and other believers in Christ in India.
There are many Chr suffering in the Muslim countries of Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as other Muslim countries. There have been hundreds of thousands of Chrs in Iraq for centuries. They have faithfully served God, built churches, maintained hospitals and schools, and have served their country well. In the last few years they have persecuted by radical Muslims who want only Muslims in that country. I was listening to a radio show from WCCO last week. They had a former Iraqi official on who was a Chr. He said in two instances new churches have been built – one in Bagdad that can seat 1000 people. He also said thousands of Chrs have fled Iraq because of the persecution. Many of the Chrs in Muslim countries are “secret believers” who can not openly profess their faith or their family members would kill them, but they worship as they can now. We will pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in these Muslim countries
One of the worst places where persecution is taking place is in Sudan. There is the Muslim government mostly in the north has been using their military to attack Chr villages in the south and west. They will attack a village, kill the men, and take the women and children to be sold as slaves. Hundreds of thousands of mostly women and children are in refugee camps where there is little food and water, and a lot of starvation, disease and death. Yet groups like Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse have hospitals there and have struggled to get food to these brothers and sisters in Christ.
We will pray for these brothers and sisters in Christ.
I wish that there was more we could do for these fellow Chrs. Most of them can not receive money of any kind and would not need it. It is almost impossible to get Chr literature to them although some does get through. We can pray that the persecution stops, and if it does not, we pray that these believers remain faithful to our Lord.
Open Doors, an international Christian ministry which supports and strengthens persecuted believers, is calling on Christians to pray for over 200 million suffering Christians during the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) on Sunday, Nov. 11. During that day churches around the United States will focus on prayer and support for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. IDOP is one of the largest prayer events in the world and has heightened awareness of persecuted Christians since its inception in 1996. Because of persecution and suffering that Muslim Background Believers -- those who convert from Islam to Christianity -- face daily, Open Doors USA has made these hundreds of thousands of "Secret Believers" the focus of this year's IDOP. "The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church presents a tremendous opportunity for millions of people to make a difference in the lives of those being persecuted for their faith in countries like Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, North Korea and many more,"

Sermon - 10/28/07

2007-10-31T05:15:00.000-07:00

Joy: Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2 and Galatians 5

In this series of sermons, we are looking at discovering joy in God, in discipline and in a number of other places in our Chr life. This morning we are looking at joy as it comes from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the most neglected member of the Trinity. We do not say enough about the presence of the Spirit of God and his work. Today we are going to see how the Spirit works in each of us to give us real joy.
The Holy Spirit was at work in the OT but was given in a special way in the NT. The night before Jesus was crucified; he gathered his disciples in the upper room and talked to them about what was going to happen to them after he left them. An essential teaching for them was the promise of the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the counselor, who would come to them when Jesus went away from them into heaven. (John 16) This promise was fulfilled in Acts 2 when God sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Read with me Acts 2.1 – 4. There were 120 believers gathered in the room when God fulfilled his promise by sending the Holy Spirit to them. It was seen as tongues of fire sitting on their heads, and these people spoke in other tongues or languages, and people in the crowd in Jerusalem from other countries could hear them speak in their own language. One of the main differences between the OT and NT is that the Holy Spirit came to all believers and not just a few.
Then the Apostle Peter stood up and preached to them. A summary of the message is recorded in Acts 2. He told them that God had sent Jesus as the Messiah and that the people of Jerusalem had killed him by crucifying him on a cross. When they heard this they were convicted of their guilt of killing the son of God, they asked what they should do. Peter told them in Acts 2.36 – 41. Read. These Jews were told to repent or their sins and to be baptized. When they did that, their sins would be forgiven and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. There are two things we are to do – repent and be baptized. There are two results both extremely important to us. All of our past sins are totally taken away, forgiven completely. I am not saying much more about this, but the gift of the Spirit is exceedingly important.
Do you realize that you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you? Every one who has been baptized into Jesus Christ has the Spirit of God in him or her right now. That is exciting and a confusing truth. God the Holy Spirit is in us to help us live our lives for God. Does that seem sort of mystical or spiritual? It is and it should be. But is Holy Spirit is not a tyrant or dictator. He is there but waits for us to ask for his help and guidance. The Spirit of God is in us.
In the NT the Spirit gives us gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. We could have a series of sermons on the gifts of the Spirit – the main passages about these are found in Romans 12 and 1 Cor. 12 -14, and Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4. But we are going to look at the fruit of the Spirit today. The passage about these is found in Galatians 5.22 – 26. Read.
All of these qualities are the result of the Holy Spirit helping them to grow in us. These are the qualities that should grow in us when the Spirit plants them. When we plant a garden, we expect that what we plant will grow – plant peas, and we expect peas to grow. (Story about Uncle Vic and his friend planted squash and Vic replaced them with cucumbers seeds. Two years in a row.) The Holy Spirit plants this fruit in us and he expects it to grow. This fruit – word is the singular – like a clump of grapes rather than a variety of individual fruits. One other essential point needs to be made – this fruit is supernatural. It comes from God, through the Spirit of God.
The fruit of supernatural love is listed first. This is agape love, sacrificial love that thinks first of the needs of others not ourselves. Natural love is good to see. I love to watch my sons and their wives with their kids – they love them and it show. Some times raising kids demands supernatural love from God. This love sees others in need and does something about it like the Good Samaritan. We need to love God, our neighbor and ourselves.
Next in the list is supernatural joy. This is the joy that comes from God. Natural joy is happiness, but this is supernatural joy does not depending on circumstances. Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are under severe persecution, but they have the joy of Christ in them, supernatural joy.
Supernatural peace is the next one on the list. We need peace in this world desperately. The peace listed here is peace with God. We do not need to fear God – he is working for our benefit through the Holy Spirit. This peace extends to our personal relationships – peace with others. And there is peace within ourselves. Some tremendous wars go on inside of us. The peace of God helps us to be at peace within ourselves.
The next three fruit of the Spirit help us in dealing with others. We need supernatural patience in dealing with others. I don’t have any problem with patience, except when I am driving a car and a few other places. (All of the idiot drivers in the world know when I am driving and they make sure they drive in front of me.) I think we need to be patiently impatient with others. For me, I am too patient with myself and impatient with others. God is infinitely patient with me in my spiritual growth and I need to be patient with others, patiently impatient.
We need to have supernatural kindness and goodness. Have you ever said something and as soon as it came out of your mouth, you said to yourself that was not very kind? With the love of God in us we say, think and do the kindest things. Goodness here has the element of giving to others to help them. I read a mission letter this week from a couple who are doing a good work in a difficult country. They were not receiving enough money to pay their bills. Part of me said, that is too bad, but the Spirit in me said, Steve what can you do to help them? That was the Spirit helping me to show goodness.
The last three fruit of the Spirit are qualities that we are to have in our character or inner being – supernatural faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I need to be faithful to God in all I do and am. The Spirit helps me to be faithful to him in a God inspired way. In dealing with others, people need to see the Spirit’s gentleness in me. Even in the face of opposition, I treat others with gentleness. Self-control is really being Spirit controlled. He lives in us to help us to avoid sin in deed or thought.
The main thing we need to do is pray for and then let the Spirit of God grow his fruit in us. Pray with me: I thank you my Lord for the Holy Spirit living in all of us. Fill us each day with your Spirit so your fruit will grow in us, supernatural love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We want to be like you in every way. In the Name of Jesus Christ we pray.
If you are here today and want to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sin, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we invite you to come forward. All of us pray to open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

2007-10-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

Wonderful Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday. Mary gave me a number of nice things and took me out for supper at the Timberlodge. Good food and we shared a birthday sundae.
I bought a book for myself - the biggest book I own. It is Biblica - A Bible Atlas. It weighs about 20 pounds and is about 2 ft by 2 ft and 5 inches thick. Fabulous pictures and maps.
Sunday at church I got a number of cards and presents and a lot teasing and hugs from my friends there.
In the afternoon I went to Peder's to hold Aurelia and watch the Vikings. She is so sweet and nice to hold.
Hans called while I was there and Josiah sang me Happy Birthday. How nice is that.
Heidi called so I got to talk to her too.
Thanks to all of you.
Love,
Dad/Steve.

Sermon for Sunday - 10/14

2007-10-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Joy of Maturing
Philippians 3.10 – 16

We have been talking about joy in the Chr. life. We are to rejoice in our faith in Jesus Christ. We are to enjoy our life because we have new life in Christ, we know God and we will receive eternal life. This morning we are going to learn about the joy of maturing. (The joy of getting old is different. There is joy in that, but also some struggles.)
Before we go to the scripture of the day, let me say a couple of things. When I was teaching human development, I started talking about maturing, not maturity. We are all in the process of maturing, changing, and as far as I am concerned, we do not finish the process once and for all. A child of 5 might be mature for a 5 year old, but immature at 10 if he or she does not change. We can be a mature 20 year old and immature at 40 unless we change in lives. We need to be maturing.
Also, the mature Chr is like Jesus Christ in his or her thinking, attitudes, talk, and life. That is the goal we are aiming at in our Chr lives. Unless we become like Christ, we are not mature. It seems like some of the Chrs in the church in Philippi were going around parading in front of the others as if they were completely mature. They were better than everyone else in their own eyes. This is where Paul tries to correct them. Read with me: Phil. 3:10 -16.
The passage shows the dynamic nature of the joy of maturing. First Paul tells us what he is aiming at. Paul wanted to know Christ, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, and even to become like him in his death, that is the resurrection from the dead. Paul first got to know Christ at his conversion after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. That changed his life, that was the start of his life in Christ, but after that he kept on growing in his relationship with Christ. Our conversion experience is important to us, but after that we need to keep growing Christ or maturing.
What does it mean to know Christ? It is not just to know about Christ, but to know him personally, intimately. Jesus is our God, but also our best friend. To know Christ means to love him more. He is so good to us every day so we love him more. To know Christ is to obey him more. Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” To know Christ is to trust him more. We like to trust ourselves, be the master of our own life, but the Chr life is a life of trusting the leadership of Jesus Christ.
Verses 12 – 14 of this passage give us the central message about the joy of maturing. Read. Do you hear that? I have not already obtained perfection, but I press on toward the goal of the high calling of Jesus Christ. This is the Apostle Paul speaking. He had been a Chr for 20 or 30 years by now. Certainly St. Paul would be perfect by this time. By his own admission, he was still straining to get to the goal.
The imagery is a race; I think a marathon race (26.2 miles). The Chr. life is a marathon race, not a 100 yd. dash. When I was running marathons, the best one was the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth. In that race we ran along Lake Superior the whole time, and from 20 miles from the finish line, we could see the end of the race. It finished just below the lift bridge and we could see that. During the race there were lots of times I wanted to quit, but I would look over toward the finish line and know I needed to just keep going, one foot in front of the other. Eventually I rounded the corner and about 3 blocks up was the finish line. All of a sudden, all the work and strain became worth it. Even though I was way past tired, a smile came across my face and I started running harder and faster than I had all day. In our Chr life we keep going – pressing on to reach the goal in Jesus Christ.
Paul say, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. He is not talking about forgetting what is behind in an absolute sense. We can not forget what we did in the past, and some of the things in our past are good things to remember. Paul talked often about his conversion experience. He did not forget that. What is means is that some times we get bogged down in what we did in the past. Satan likes to remind us of what we did in the past and then tell us we are worthless because of our past. That is not true – when we ask the forgiveness of God, we are forgiven.
At other times to we concentrate on our past accomplishments and think we have done enough, we have grown enough. I am thankful that I have been forgiven for my past and I am thankful for what I have done in the past, but today I strain toward what is ahead. This is a powerful tension in our lives. We appreciate what we have done for the Lord, but we want to do more to glorify him. We can not be satisfied with what we have done. There is so much that still needs to be done.
Two important marks that we are maturing are submitting to God more and trusting God more. This is a huge struggle for most of us – to submit to God’s will. We want to be the master of our own fate, the captain of our ship. We think we know what is best. We struggle with what God wants us to do and be. (A young man who was afraid to submit to God because that meant God would send him to Africa or someplace.) Listen to God no matter how old you are, he is still working with you and me to and as we submit to his will in our lives, he will bring glory to himself in our lives.
The second mark of a maturing Chr is learning to trust in God. What a joy it is to see how faithful God has been all through my life. I can see that he was with my family in bringing us to Christ – at the church at Faribault and here. He was with us when my dad died when I was a teenager. He was with me during my college years and ministry in Illinois. He was evident in many ways in raising my kids. God’s hand was in helping me move to Austin, and in the education I have gotten. My precious God has been faithful during all the struggles of my life. Did he protect me from all the problems? No. but he was there to walk with me and work out the best in my life along the way. God has been faithful in the past and he will be completely faithful in the future. Amen. And that brings the greatest joy possible.
How do we mature in Christ? We have said this over and over again. Read the word of God – there is joy in that. Pray to God – have a joyful conversation with him all the time. Look at your life and ask God what he wants you to do to grow in him. He might push you out of your comfort zone, but he will be with you and me every step of the way.
If you need to start your journey with God today by giving your life to him the invitation is for you. All of us commit our lives to work with God as he helps us in our maturing process.

busy week

2007-10-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

I felt busy last week and when I look back on it it was.

I worked at Worleins 4 days - M, Th, F and Sat. That took care of most of my mornings.
I had 2 football games to ref. The Friday games was between a 5 - 0 team and an 0 - 5 team. It ended up 28 -25 with both teams leading at times.

I had a good day on Wednesday with teaching my Bible study in the morning - on the book of Romans - it is fun. then there was calling in the after noon.

My car had to be fixed - the water pump when out and that is a pain to fix. That took from Wed. through Friday to get done. I hope that is the end of troubles with the radiator system.

I got a new computer and monitor this week. My computer at the church was 7 years old - still working, but very slow even for me. I am still working to get it set up. The 19 inch LCD screen is huge compared with what I had before.

Saturday Mary and I went out to celebrate going together 10 years. We went out for supper. After we got back to her house we were checking on some financial stuff for her and discovered we have going together for 11 years not 10. We have fun together. Mary is working 7 days a week right now and will be for probably 2 months or more. It is wearing on her.

I took Mom to the DR for her leg. She has a sore that would not heal. She has gone for 5 week - last week they put on a skin graft and it is healing well now.

There is it. nothing profound, but a good busy week for a sort of retired guy.

Love to all,
Dad/Steve.

picture in hospital

2007-09-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

New Granddaughter

2007-09-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

What is it going to be?

What is it going to be? Most of the time now that question has been answered, but not this time. Mom and Dad did not want to know so we ask this question – boy or girl? We will know the moment of birth.

What is it going to be? We know this child is going to be loved. Mom and Dad have already expanded their love capacity to surround this child with love. Grandparents, aunts and uncles and many others will insure that the child is going to be dearly loved. Maybe even the cats will love the baby.

What is it going to be? This little one is going to be cared for. It will be fed, changed, bathed, checked on, held, touched, smiled at, admired, carried, cuddled, watched, talked to, listened to, walked, bounced, and enjoyed.

What is it going to be? This child will be well trained – there will be books and other things to stimulate the little one to learn. The baby will be read to and played with.

What is it going to be? This child will be prayed for. God has known this precious little one since it began to be “knit in the womb.”

Everyday and many times a day the child will be brought before the loving heavenly Father.

What is it going to be? Looking to the future, this child will be happy and sad, successful and not so successful, challenged and stretched, frightened and comforted, have many friends and feel alone. This child will have many to help in all of these life situations.

What is it going to be? It could be the President of the US or a company, a teacher, a minister, a social worker, or almost anything else. The future is open and with the right support and encouragement, it will be happy with the choices it makes.

What is it going to be? We now know for sure that this child is Aurelia Ryan DeFor, born August 23, 2007 at 5.45 AM to Peder and Sarah.

With much love,
Grandpa Steve.

A new start

2007-08-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

I am trying to start a new blog and type in it regularly. I have my password written down now so I will not forget.
I am on vacation this week so maybe I will have some time to write.
I am taking my mom to the doctor this morning. There is nothing wrong but she has not had things checked for a long time so we are going. She is nervous as usual.
I will write more about the results.
Steve.