Matthew 13:17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.
Time for some real talk, some hard truths: not everybody in the world believes in the truths we share as members of the church. I know. Now pick up your jaw and read on.
You have a privilege: you have heard and seen the truth. Life has meaning and purpose. That meaning and purpose is the unfolding of God's love for the whole world through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. And you get to participate in the unfolding of God's love. It's a privilege. Claim it and love it.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
ASLC Devotions - Tuesday
Ephesians 4:25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another.
We are to speak the truth to one another, even when it's hard. Even when we'd rather just keep our mouths shut and get along. But there's a VERY important secondary phrase in this sentence. "For we are members of one another." That's the crucial issue. And that's the test of how the truth is spoken.
The truth isn't spoken (or shouldn't be as we live out our faith) in order to prove we know the truth. The truth isn't spoken to win. The truth isn't spoken to shut up the other person. The truth is spoken because I'm a member of you and you're a member of me. When you hurt, I hurt. I don't want to add to that hurt. I want to try to help. That's what the real truth is for.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
Monday, July 14, 2014
ASLC Devotions - Monday
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more.
More and more I'm convinced of the truth that mostly, people know what they are supposed to do. Treat other people the way you'd want to be treated. Don't kill. Don't steal. Don't lie. There's a reason that Christianity (or Judaism) doesn't have the corner on the market of these life lessons. They're universal truths. The more we can all follow them, the better we'll get along and the better life will be for all of us.
So we don't need to worship or go to a Bible Study class to learn the rules. I think we need to go and be together to be encouraged as we try to live the right way. We're all trying. We make mistakes. We fall back. We don't understand the implications of our actions. We need to be encouraged to keep doing these things "more and more" as Paul said. So I know you're working at it. Keep it up. And I'll try to do the same.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
More and more I'm convinced of the truth that mostly, people know what they are supposed to do. Treat other people the way you'd want to be treated. Don't kill. Don't steal. Don't lie. There's a reason that Christianity (or Judaism) doesn't have the corner on the market of these life lessons. They're universal truths. The more we can all follow them, the better we'll get along and the better life will be for all of us.
So we don't need to worship or go to a Bible Study class to learn the rules. I think we need to go and be together to be encouraged as we try to live the right way. We're all trying. We make mistakes. We fall back. We don't understand the implications of our actions. We need to be encouraged to keep doing these things "more and more" as Paul said. So I know you're working at it. Keep it up. And I'll try to do the same.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
Friday, July 4, 2014
ASLC Devotions - Friday
A prayer for today:
Lord of all the worlds, guide this nation by your Spirit to go forward in justice and freedom. Give to all our people the blessings of well-being and harmony, but above all things give us faith in you, that our nation may bring glory to your name and blessings to all peoples, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
Lord of all the worlds, guide this nation by your Spirit to go forward in justice and freedom. Give to all our people the blessings of well-being and harmony, but above all things give us faith in you, that our nation may bring glory to your name and blessings to all peoples, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
ASLC Devotions - Thursday
Romans 7:6 But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
All that the law can do is hold us captive. All that the law can do is hold us back and condemn us. It can tell us what we've done wrong. It can keep us from doing other things. This might actually be useful. In fact, it is quite useful in life and in our communal life together. But it's limited.
The freedom and new life we have in the Spirit is so much broader than that. It doesn't provide us the clear "do nots" and so sometimes it's more frustrating. Freedom in the Spirit is harder because it's not quite as clear. "Love your neighbor" is freedom in the Spirit. But how do you do that exactly? "Don't kill your neighbor." That's law and it's pretty clear. The challenge of the Christian life is to live in the Spirit, to embrace it's freedom and it's joy in service to God and others.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
All that the law can do is hold us captive. All that the law can do is hold us back and condemn us. It can tell us what we've done wrong. It can keep us from doing other things. This might actually be useful. In fact, it is quite useful in life and in our communal life together. But it's limited.
The freedom and new life we have in the Spirit is so much broader than that. It doesn't provide us the clear "do nots" and so sometimes it's more frustrating. Freedom in the Spirit is harder because it's not quite as clear. "Love your neighbor" is freedom in the Spirit. But how do you do that exactly? "Don't kill your neighbor." That's law and it's pretty clear. The challenge of the Christian life is to live in the Spirit, to embrace it's freedom and it's joy in service to God and others.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
ASLC Devotions - Wednesday
Psalm 119:161 Princes persecute me without cause,
but my heart stands in awe of your words.
First, a bit of trivia our third graders learned in their Bible class this spring: Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, clocking in at 176 verses. OK
For those who dwell in God's word and God's presence there is a deep peace that even the worst things of this world cannot puncture. The psalmist writes about princes persecuting him without cause. Lots of terrible things are going on in the world. And yet the psalmist rests in God's words. How do you rest in God's words? How do you stand in awe of God's words?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
but my heart stands in awe of your words.
First, a bit of trivia our third graders learned in their Bible class this spring: Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, clocking in at 176 verses. OK
For those who dwell in God's word and God's presence there is a deep peace that even the worst things of this world cannot puncture. The psalmist writes about princes persecuting him without cause. Lots of terrible things are going on in the world. And yet the psalmist rests in God's words. How do you rest in God's words? How do you stand in awe of God's words?
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
ASLC Devotions - Tuesday
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
We all know this and understand it - that not everything or everyone who claims to speak for God really does. So how do you tell the difference? How do you "test the spirits" as John wrote?
Lutherans have a handy rule - I call it the Jesus principle. When you hear someone say something about God or what God would want in the world, ask yourself a simple question: If what you're hearing consistent with the love of God shown for the whole world in Jesus? That's how you test the spirits? If it's about love and unity, then it's from God. If it's about division and condemning others, it's probably not.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
We all know this and understand it - that not everything or everyone who claims to speak for God really does. So how do you tell the difference? How do you "test the spirits" as John wrote?
Lutherans have a handy rule - I call it the Jesus principle. When you hear someone say something about God or what God would want in the world, ask yourself a simple question: If what you're hearing consistent with the love of God shown for the whole world in Jesus? That's how you test the spirits? If it's about love and unity, then it's from God. If it's about division and condemning others, it's probably not.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is a ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. To be removed (or added) to our mailing list, please reply via this email address. Worship with us this weekend: Holy Communion Saturday night at 5 and Sunday morning at 9.
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