A hymn text for you: "If God My Lord Be For Me" by Paul Gerhardt - ELW 788
If God my Lord be for me, I may a host defy;
for when I pray, before me, my foes, confounded, fly.
If Christ, my friend and master, befriend me from above,
what foe or what disaster can drive me from his love?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Monday
A hymn text for you: "Take, Oh, Take Me As I Am" by John Bell - ELW 804
Take, oh, take me as I am;
Summon out what I shall be.
Set your seal upon my heart
and live in me.
That is our prayer for today.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Take, oh, take me as I am;
Summon out what I shall be.
Set your seal upon my heart
and live in me.
That is our prayer for today.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Friday, August 16, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Friday
Hebrews 10:36 For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
A couple of weeks ago, we were engaged in Kingdom Rock Vacation Bible School. The church walls rang each and every day with dozens of children shouting "Stand Strong." We taught and re-taught that lesson. We learned and re-learned all the times we can stand strong and all the ways God helps us stand strong.
That is a huge lesson. For you need endurance to continue to do the will of God, to continue to claim the promises of God, the grace of God promised in your baptism. Stick with it. Believe in the face of doubt. Do the right thing in the face of pressure. Trust in times that seem unsure. Stand strong.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
A couple of weeks ago, we were engaged in Kingdom Rock Vacation Bible School. The church walls rang each and every day with dozens of children shouting "Stand Strong." We taught and re-taught that lesson. We learned and re-learned all the times we can stand strong and all the ways God helps us stand strong.
That is a huge lesson. For you need endurance to continue to do the will of God, to continue to claim the promises of God, the grace of God promised in your baptism. Stick with it. Believe in the face of doubt. Do the right thing in the face of pressure. Trust in times that seem unsure. Stand strong.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Thursday
Today is the Feast Day, Mary, Mother of our Lord:
Luke 1:46-55 46And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Luke 1:46-55 46And Mary said,
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Wednesday
Philippians 2:5-11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Tuesday
Psalm 28: 8-9 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
O save your people, and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them for ever.
Psalm 28 ends with this strange mixture of pleading with God and sounding as if the salvation has already been granted. Verse 8 sounds like a celebration of God's saving in the past: "The Lord is the strength of his people..." while verse 9 returns to praying for the saving.
This is a wonderful example of the great mixed-up chronology of the Bible, and of faith. We know that God saves, and yet we don't experience it every moment. We pray for deliverance, and we know that it's there. We know that God has defeated death, and yet we still die. It's a jumbled world of faith in which we live. But it always comes back to an assurance that God is a God who saves. Every time.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
O save your people, and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them for ever.
Psalm 28 ends with this strange mixture of pleading with God and sounding as if the salvation has already been granted. Verse 8 sounds like a celebration of God's saving in the past: "The Lord is the strength of his people..." while verse 9 returns to praying for the saving.
This is a wonderful example of the great mixed-up chronology of the Bible, and of faith. We know that God saves, and yet we don't experience it every moment. We pray for deliverance, and we know that it's there. We know that God has defeated death, and yet we still die. It's a jumbled world of faith in which we live. But it always comes back to an assurance that God is a God who saves. Every time.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Monday, August 12, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Monday
2 Chronicles 33:12-13 While King Manasseh was in distress he entreated the favour of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to him, and God received his entreaty, heard his plea, and restored him again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord indeed was God.
Manasseh was one of the many kings of ancient Israel who, to quote Chronicles "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." What this usually means is that they promoted the worship of the native false gods instead of worshiping the one God. It also usually means they took from the poor and neglected to care for the widows, aliens, and orphans as God commanded. Manasseh was one of those kings. Things went badly for him, he prayed and God restored him.
Is it really that simple, we often ask? Can you just pray and God forgives, no matter what it is that you've done? We want the answer to be "yes" when it's about us and "no" when it's about someone else. God doesn't work like us, though. God's Word is God's Word, whether it's for you or the people who have harmed you. God is ALWAYS ready to forgive. No matter whom, no matter what.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Manasseh was one of the many kings of ancient Israel who, to quote Chronicles "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." What this usually means is that they promoted the worship of the native false gods instead of worshiping the one God. It also usually means they took from the poor and neglected to care for the widows, aliens, and orphans as God commanded. Manasseh was one of those kings. Things went badly for him, he prayed and God restored him.
Is it really that simple, we often ask? Can you just pray and God forgives, no matter what it is that you've done? We want the answer to be "yes" when it's about us and "no" when it's about someone else. God doesn't work like us, though. God's Word is God's Word, whether it's for you or the people who have harmed you. God is ALWAYS ready to forgive. No matter whom, no matter what.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Friday, August 9, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Friday
Acts 7:5 God did not give Abraham any of the land as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.
God gave Abraham many blessings - a place to call home is foremost among them. God gave Abraham land, a place that he could belong to, where he could put down roots and raise his children and they could raise their children.
But that promise wasn't really about land, or even about the children and descendants (which were also promised and were a gift of God). They were about the relationship. God was establishing a relationship with Abraham. God was saying, "You are mine from now on and I'll give you everything you need." Just like baptism isn't really about water and it isn't really about a candle: it's about a relationship, a relationship between God and the one claimed that says "You are mine from now on and I'll give you everything you need."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
God gave Abraham many blessings - a place to call home is foremost among them. God gave Abraham land, a place that he could belong to, where he could put down roots and raise his children and they could raise their children.
But that promise wasn't really about land, or even about the children and descendants (which were also promised and were a gift of God). They were about the relationship. God was establishing a relationship with Abraham. God was saying, "You are mine from now on and I'll give you everything you need." Just like baptism isn't really about water and it isn't really about a candle: it's about a relationship, a relationship between God and the one claimed that says "You are mine from now on and I'll give you everything you need."
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Thursday
Romans 9:6 It is not as though the word of God had failed.
Simple words.
True words.
Powerful words.
The word of God has not failed. The word of God cannot fail. By definition. The word of God is love. God's ultimate word is love. In many ways, the Bible can be described as the book that describes the love affair between God and humanity. And it cannot fail. Love cannot fail. God's love will not fail.
That's all.
And that's all we need.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Simple words.
True words.
Powerful words.
The word of God has not failed. The word of God cannot fail. By definition. The word of God is love. God's ultimate word is love. In many ways, the Bible can be described as the book that describes the love affair between God and humanity. And it cannot fail. Love cannot fail. God's love will not fail.
That's all.
And that's all we need.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Wednesday
Luke 19:45-46 Then Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, ‘It is written,
“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
but you have made it a den of robbers.’
There's a time and a place for everything. There are places to buy groceries - we call them grocery stores. There are places to buy everything else you could possibly need - we call them Target. There are places to sleep and places to play golf. It would be embarrassing if you got those places confused. One of the things I think Jesus is addressing in this incident that often goes unnoticed is: there ought to be at least one place in this world where we can simply pray.
Do you have a place to pray? A place where you can focus on God and listening for God's voice or speaking with God? What makes it a prayer place for you? Wherever it is, just remember that it's important to have one. Don't forget the place of prayer in everything else.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
but you have made it a den of robbers.’
There's a time and a place for everything. There are places to buy groceries - we call them grocery stores. There are places to buy everything else you could possibly need - we call them Target. There are places to sleep and places to play golf. It would be embarrassing if you got those places confused. One of the things I think Jesus is addressing in this incident that often goes unnoticed is: there ought to be at least one place in this world where we can simply pray.
Do you have a place to pray? A place where you can focus on God and listening for God's voice or speaking with God? What makes it a prayer place for you? Wherever it is, just remember that it's important to have one. Don't forget the place of prayer in everything else.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
ASLC Devotions - Wednesday
Luke 12:25-26 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?
I've tried. I've tried all the different worrying techniques you can think of. I've tried worrying about everything. I've tried worrying every time of the day and night. I've tried it all. So far as I know, I haven't added a single hour to my span of life through worrying.
And yet I still do. I still worry. Because I'm human. I need to be reminded. Weekly worship is about being reminded that God's got it under control and I don't have to worry. Daily prayer and Scripture reading is about being reminded that God's got it under control and I don't have to worry. How do you remind yourself not to worry?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
I've tried. I've tried all the different worrying techniques you can think of. I've tried worrying about everything. I've tried worrying every time of the day and night. I've tried it all. So far as I know, I haven't added a single hour to my span of life through worrying.
And yet I still do. I still worry. Because I'm human. I need to be reminded. Weekly worship is about being reminded that God's got it under control and I don't have to worry. Daily prayer and Scripture reading is about being reminded that God's got it under control and I don't have to worry. How do you remind yourself not to worry?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Tuesday
Ecclesiastes 3:17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work.
I love to know what's happening next. I want to have my schedule all laid out and my to-do list perfectly organized so I can know what I'm going to be doing. No surprises. That's my motto.
And then God laughs.
It's not my place to know what's happening next. It's not my place to know the results of what I'm working. It's not my place to know the future, to judge and to see how it all work out. That's all about God. God has appointed a time for every matter - and God has not consulted me on those things. It's tough, but I better get used to it!
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
I love to know what's happening next. I want to have my schedule all laid out and my to-do list perfectly organized so I can know what I'm going to be doing. No surprises. That's my motto.
And then God laughs.
It's not my place to know what's happening next. It's not my place to know the results of what I'm working. It's not my place to know the future, to judge and to see how it all work out. That's all about God. God has appointed a time for every matter - and God has not consulted me on those things. It's tough, but I better get used to it!
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Monday, August 5, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Monday
Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
The book of Ecclesiastes is full of a recognition of the wastefulness and the pointlessness of much of what we as human beings spend our time doing and thinking about. All my hands have done and all the toil I've done doing things - all is vanity and a chasing after wind. There is nothing to be gained under the sun. In other words - you can't take it with you.
This is not a call to give it all up and stop working, stop trying to practice good stewardship and build up the gifts that God has given you. It IS, however a call to continually reexamine priorities. We say that you can't take it with you, but do we act as if we believe it? We say that we believe the love of God is the greatest and most important thing in our lives, but would someone looking at your life know you believed that? That's what this is about - checking that you're not chasing after the wind. Chase after something you can catch - the love and grace of God.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
The book of Ecclesiastes is full of a recognition of the wastefulness and the pointlessness of much of what we as human beings spend our time doing and thinking about. All my hands have done and all the toil I've done doing things - all is vanity and a chasing after wind. There is nothing to be gained under the sun. In other words - you can't take it with you.
This is not a call to give it all up and stop working, stop trying to practice good stewardship and build up the gifts that God has given you. It IS, however a call to continually reexamine priorities. We say that you can't take it with you, but do we act as if we believe it? We say that we believe the love of God is the greatest and most important thing in our lives, but would someone looking at your life know you believed that? That's what this is about - checking that you're not chasing after the wind. Chase after something you can catch - the love and grace of God.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Worship with us this weekend at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
ASLC Devotions - Thursday
Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen.
Paul brought a lot of his letters to a close with liturgical sounding phrases. In fact, they probably were ancient liturgy and he was using them to remind the people of some of the core beliefs that he had taught to them. This is one of those phrases. It's a phrase we use so often that I think it begins to lose meaning: from God and through God and to God are all things.
It may be just a rote phrase, but think about the profound statement of faith included: it's the basics of any kind of belief in one God. ALL things come from God. ALL things come into being and come into our lives through God (not through luck or chance or our own pluck), and ALL things return to God one day. That's a good reminder.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Make sure to keep an eye on Kingdom Rock Vacation Bible School this week by watching our Facebook page. Worship with us this weekend in the Gathering Space at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
Paul brought a lot of his letters to a close with liturgical sounding phrases. In fact, they probably were ancient liturgy and he was using them to remind the people of some of the core beliefs that he had taught to them. This is one of those phrases. It's a phrase we use so often that I think it begins to lose meaning: from God and through God and to God are all things.
It may be just a rote phrase, but think about the profound statement of faith included: it's the basics of any kind of belief in one God. ALL things come from God. ALL things come into being and come into our lives through God (not through luck or chance or our own pluck), and ALL things return to God one day. That's a good reminder.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. If you wish to be unsubscribed, please send us a message. Visit our website for full calendar and information about our ministries. Make sure to keep an eye on Kingdom Rock Vacation Bible School this week by watching our Facebook page. Worship with us this weekend in the Gathering Space at 5 pm Saturday or 9 am Sunday.
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