ASLC Devotions - Friday

Galatians 6:10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. 

I think Paul is trying to make the point here that I tried to make yesterday. Whenever we have the opportunity, let's really taste the fruit of the spirit and not just admire it. Let's work for the good of all. That's what the Christian life is about. That's what stewardship is all about.

We often say that stewardship is about everything I do after I say "I believe." Saying "I believe" is the beginning of the life of faith and something we do over and over, each and every day. But then what? That's stewardship. What are you going to do with your faith? What are you going to do with the gifts God has given? What are you going to do with the Spirit-fruits you've been given? Work for the good of all.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. See our website for lots of ministries and activities. We worship every Sunday morning at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from the mailing list, please press reply and request that. This Sunday is the Festival of Pentecost. Remember to wear red.

ASLC Devotions - Thursday

Galatians 5:22-23 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

I love the sight of a good overflowing fruit basket. There's nothing quite like the explosion of color, the promise of tasty freshness. Fruit baskets are amazing! But the sight, of course, is not what fruit baskets are all about. If fruit baskets are left just to be looked at, bad things happen. Fruit is meant to be eaten, not just admired from afar.

The same thing is true of spirit fruits. These are not simply to be admired from afar, or admired in theory, or had but not really exercised. Fruit is meant to be eaten and enjoyed. Spirit-fruit is meant to be tasted. So bite into some love today. Taste some joy and kindness. Don't let generosity just sit in your theoretical basket, but try it out.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. See our website for lots of ministries and activities. We worship every Sunday morning at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from the mailing list, please press reply and request that. Funeral services for Helen Johnson will be held on Thursday (today) at 11 am followed by a luncheon. This Sunday is the Festival of Pentecost. Remember to wear red.

ASLC Devotions - Wednesday

Luke 9:27 But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.

Jesus' promise, or declaration, that some standing with him would not taste death before they see the kingdom of God rings in my ears. This congregation has experienced a fair bit of death recently, as sisters and brothers in Christ have entered their heavenly rest. Our world experiences quite a bit of death every day, some of it peaceful and beautiful and some horrific and terrifying. And so I wonder, did those who died get to see the kingdom of God before they did?

That begs the question I guess as to what we mean by the kingdom of God and what it might mean to see it. Does it mean seeing a physical place like heaven before death? Does it mean having a vision of the new heaven and the new earth as John did and wrote about in the book we call Revelation? I have come to believe that seeing the kingdom of God in this life means seeing God in action. Have you seen God in action? Have you seen new life coming to birth? Have you seen love and compassion en-acted? Have you seen grace embodied? Then in my book you've seen the kingdom of God. And we live lives of thankfulness for those visions.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. See our website for lots of ministries and activities. We worship every Sunday morning at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from the mailing list, please press reply and request that. Funeral services for Helen Johnson will be held on Thursday at 11 am followed by a luncheon. This Sunday is the Festival of Pentecost. Remember to wear red.

ASLC Devotions - Tuesday

2 Chronicles 5:7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 

Places matter. We worship a God who is beyond place and time, who is not bound to place and time. But places matter. There are special places in our lives matter because of the associations. The site of a first date, the place where our children were born, the home in which we grew up. These places matter. They matter because of the way we've encountered God and God's people there.

God knows that places matter, and so God blesses places. God, who is beyond place and time, enters place and time in certain ways. In ancient Israel it was the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle. This was a special place set aside where people would know God's presence with them. Because places matter. Where is your special place?

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. See our website for lots of ministries and activities. We worship every Sunday morning at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from the mailing list, please press reply and request that.

ASLC Devotions - Monday

Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of theLord filled the tabernacle.

God tabernacled with the people. God stayed with the people. God settled with the people. God lived with the people. God abided with the people. For 40 years the people wandered in the wilderness after their escape from slavery in Egypt. And God was with them. God was with them in the cloud. They knew God was with them because they woke up each morning and saw the cloud leading them on the path.

And then things changed. Change is hard. It's hard to come to a point where the things we once knew aren't true anymore. Even good change is hard. The people came to settle down and build homes. They didn't have to wander anymore. But that was hard. How would they know God was with them now? How would they know God was going to tabernacle with them in this new place? They built a tabernacle, a physical structure. And the cloud rested there. God rested there. God stayed with them. And God stays with you.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. See our website for lots of ministries and activities. We worship every Sunday morning at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from the mailing list, please press reply and request that.

ASLC Devotions -- Friday, May 10

Ephesians 1:15-16

¹⁵I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus. What a wonderful compliment! What a great statement. And I love even more that it’s followed with “your love toward all the saints.” It makes me think of the many ways that we show our love “toward all the saints.” We feed and shelter people. We are kind. We gather for prayer. We support one another. We provide assistance where needed. We listen.

And for all of these things (and many more!) we give thanks. But you know what else is incredibly helpful about these verses? The reminder that because of these things, prayer was lifted – prayer and thanksgiving that did not cease. Hear these words and know that someone prays for you in your faith and love toward the saints. Who will you pray for today?

Peace,

Pastor Jenn  

ASLC Devotions -- Thursday, May 9

Acts 1:9-11

⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

These two verses are the pinnacle of the ascension story; these are the verses that tell us what happens when Jesus leaves this earth. Just before he leaves he says to his disciples that they will receive the Holy Spirit and “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” So when the two men in white robes approach them, they’ve been given a task and they’ve seen a strange and wonderful sight.

This isn’t all that different from our own sending as witnesses to Christ. We’ve all seen some strange and wonderful things – maybe no one has ascended into heaven, bodily, while we’ve been watching, but certainly we can all recount some strange and wonderful sites. Go in peace, for you have been sent as witnesses of Christ, so that all might know Christ.

Thanks be to God! Alleluia!

Pastor Jenn


Join us for Ascension Day Worship this evening at 7:00. 

ASLC Devotions -- Wednesday, May 8

Luke 2:27-32

²⁷Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

We often read these verses from Luke in the weeks after Christmas – the words of praise that both Simeon and Anna speak when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple for the first time. To hear them now, in May, feels a little strange, but they remain such powerful proclamations. My eyes have seen your salvation, Simeon says. And Anna began to praise God and to talk about the child.

Perhaps when we hear them in the heart of winter, with the Christ child so brand new, we can forget the power of the words spoken over a baby. But today, let us each remember the powerful witness of these words of truth and of praise.

Peace,

Pastor Jenn

Join us tonight for supper (served from 6:30-8:30) and Holden Evening Prayer at 7:30 as part of our Summer Supper series; dessert served after worship.

Join us Thursday evening for Ascension Day worship at 7:00.

ASLC Devotions -- Tuesday, May 7

2 Chronicles 15:14-15

¹⁴They took an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with horns. ¹⁵All Judah rejoiced over the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

I think one of the things that inspires me the most about scripture is the enthusiasm that the people have – or at least the enthusiasm that’s reported. The oath that the people take with the Lord has them shouting and playing trumpets – and they all rejoice. They sought the Lord with their whole desire.

Some days all of that just seems like a lot of work – the loud voices and the trumpet and the shouting – not to mention the “whole desire” bit. But I guess that’s probably the point, right? Not that our faith feels like a lot of work, but rather that we should be enthusiastic and celebrating the promises and relationship we have with God.

WOOHOO!! Blow the trumpets! Shout, “Alleluia!” Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice!

Peace (with a big dose of enthusiasm!),

Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Monday, May 6

1 Chronicles 12:16-18

Some Benjaminites and Judahites came to the stronghold to David. ¹⁷David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship, to help me, then my heart will be knit to you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, though my hands have done no wrong, then may the God of our ancestors see and give judgment.”

What is the intent in which you approach people? I read a blog post the other day in which the author prefaced what she wrote by setting the tone: “Imagine me stopping by your office, a can of Coke in my hand. My tone is light, my intent is dialogue and mutual understanding.” And she proceeded from there to write about a topic that could have led readers to be defensive, something that could have been at least touchy if not controversial. As I read, it was helpful to keep in mind her intended approach, and I found myself thankful for her preface.

David approaches these visitors and asks them plainly – do you come in friendship or do you come to betray me to my adversaries? It’s certainly one way to begin a conversation, and (hopefully) makes the intent clear from the beginning. They respond that they come in peace and a partnership is formed. May we approach in friendship, and may our hearts be knit together.

Peace,

Pastor Jenn