Looking For Good

No less than three times last week I was reminded to look for more good around me.

There is so much bad in the world. So much evil. So much trouble. So much pain and sorrow. And as a Christian, I know that much of the bad that comes my may is either of my own doing (flowing out of my sinful human nature) or of the devil’s doing.

I’ve realized that I’ve been sucked into the devil’s trap of focusing on all that bad stuff. I forget the good that God gives. The Bible says, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning….” (Lamentations 3:22-23a).

When I turn my head – and my heart – to look at the mercies, at the good, that God showers on me every day my whole attitude changes. A smile comes to my face. My heart is lighter. I tend to say nice things, and do nice things, to other people.

When I’m focusing on the bad stuff in my life and in the world, I feel differently. I feel tired, worn out, beat down, and I tend to say snarky things about other people. Mostly without their knowledge. I’ll read something on Facebook that someone says about an idea being stupid and take it personally (hopefully more personally than they actually intended). Or I’ll be driving in the car and listening to talk radio and really get in a poor mood about what they are saying.

I need more good – and more God – in my life.

So, I’m being more intentional about looking for the good from God in my life today. And the second half of the passage from Lamentations is thumping in my heart!

“Great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” (Lamentations 3:2b-24)

Christmas Time is Here

A guest post from Ed Blonski, Assistant Pastor at St. Matthew and speaker at True Men Ministries.

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Christmas 1991 was the first Christmas Nancy and I celebrated as husband and wife. After talking about how we wanted to celebrate Christmas in our new family, one of the things we decided was that we would decorate our Christmas tree with one ornament a year. Each year we would find one special ornament, and only one, and hang it on the tree. It also had to have the year clearly marked on it.

That first was a traditional ornament that depicted a couple in 19th Century garb skating together on a snowy pond with the words, “Our First Christmas Together 1991.”

It didn’t matter that neither one of us skate, nor do we live in the 19th Century (however, I did have a mustache at the time), it was the perfect ornament for our first Christmas together.

The tree that year looked a little goofy with only one ornament on it (plus white lights and a simple garland). But we were looking ahead to the time when the tree would be filled with ornaments as we filled our home with children.

1996 was the sixth ornament for our tree and our first Christmas as parents. Nancy is a great mother, as I knew she would be. So the ornament that year reflected her new role as mother. (You can see R2D2 next to it, that was 2005′s ornament).

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Our tree now has a diverse collection of ornaments – from footballs to Ralphie with his Red Ryder BB gun.

My favorite is the ornament from 2001. It was our 11th ornament and our house was now full of those children that were just hopes 10 years before.

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Our tree now is full with 21 ornaments. The 2011 ornament was picked democratically – but also evidence of a family with three growing boys and one grown boy outnumbering the lady amongst us!.

In our family, Christmas is just about our most favorite time of year. We look forward to the time we get to spend together – playing hockey in the driveway, basketball in the gym, monopoly in the dining room, and baseball on the Wii. We also love the time we get to spend together at church. I’m usually preaching Christmas morning. When we first were married, Nancy had to sit by herself in the pew. Now that the boys are old enough to help with the service, carrying the cross or lighting the candles and taking the offering, she is again usually sitting by herself in the pew.

But we wouldn’t have it any other way. Because we are still all together, sharing memories and making new ones, since Christmastime is here again.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

Christmastime is Here lyrics by Lee Mendelson

Guest Post from Billy Coffey - Picking Your Poison

This post is from Billy Coffey - author of Snow Day and a new book, Paper Angels. His blog is here.

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image courtesy of photobucket.com

I was fifteen when I took my first dip of snuff behind the dugout of the high school baseball field. It was during the bottom of the third inning, I remember that. And I remember I was due up second and the other team’s pitcher could hum a fastball. He would nod a yes to the catcher and begin a windup so slow it would almost put you to sleep, and then there was a blur from his arm and the ball was on you. It was on you and you knew if you blinked, you’d miss it. I hadn’t missed it the first time, I’d grounded out to third. That was pure luck—truth was, I never saw the ball. I swung at air and just happened to connect.

So my buddy said, “Try a dip. It’ll relax you.” And me, being fifteen and therefore almost completely a man, said yes. Because where I come from, men dip snuff.

I won’t say the habit started because I hit a double into the gap my next time at the plate. And honestly, sunflower seeds seemed to relax me more than Skoal. But I had another one after the game on the ride home—the same buddy who got me dipping also got me listening to Whitesnake and Motley Crue, but that habit, thankfully, has since been broken. I took two more the next day during practice. Then we stopped by the 7-11 on the way home and I bought my own can.

You couldn’t buy tobacco unless you were sixteen by then, but the guy behind the counter seemed more concerned with the sad state of his life than whether I was old enough to dip.

And that’s how it’s been for pretty much the last twenty-four years. Every couple days I’m back down at that very same 7-11 to sustain my habit. The only difference is that now there’s a lady behind the counter.

I come from a long line of tobacco users. Dad’s been chewing tobacco since he was eight years old. Not kidding. I’m not saying it was inevitable that I start too, but I think it’s in my blood. Much like some are born with hankering for whiskey. I will say my Skoal has seen me through my fair share of trouble. Somehow, someway, things are just better handled with a dip in your mouth. I don’t expect you to understand how that is, but it’s the truth.

It took two kids to make me realize how much of a hold tobacco had on my life. You want to be a role model for your children. You want them to understand that while you’re not perfect, you’re always trying to be better. And it was hard for me to tell them to trust in God to see them through when I was really trusting in tobacco to see me through—“Trust in,” I’d say, then I’d spit and finish, “God.”

When your kids ask you why you do the things you do and why those things are so important even if they could kill you one day, you start to think. You start to think long and hard.

So I quit. Did it last week. Six days of nightmares and shakes, ten bags of sunflower seeds, twelve packs of gum, and seventy-nine toothpicks later, I’m still here. Barely, but here. It’s scary. I don’t mind saying that.

But here’s what I’ve learned by talking to people about this—we’re all imprisoned by something. Whether it’s tobacco or alcohol or shopping, food or work or regret, we all stand in some short of shadow. And while that shadow is comfortable and familiar, while it even offers some sort of strength, we’re not meant to dwell in darkness. We were all made for the light.

Why Do They Leave?

Being a pastor in the Church is a joy for me. When asked why I became a pastor, I only half-jokingly reply, "Its the only thing I can do!"

One of the parts of being a pastor, though, is not so much fun. Watching people leave the church. I've seen people leave for a lot of reasons - church is boring, it doesn't meet my needs, the people are not friendly, the pastor is not friendly (that one kicks me in the groin gut every time).

Today I read a blog post that deals with the specific issue of why young poeple leave the church - those age 15 to about 30 years old.

You can read that blog here: (and I strongly encourage you do to so).

After you've done that, would you please post your feelings as a comment about one or more of the reasons that are cited in the article.

Thanks!

Pastor B.

Reason #1 – Churches seem overprotective.

Reason #2 – Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.
Reason #3 – Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
Reason #4 – Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
Reason #5 – They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
Reason #6 – The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.

Make A Dent in the Universe

A couple of months ago I re-entered the wonderful world of Junior and Senior High School ministry. Twenty years ago I was a youth ministry in St. Louis. But that was when I wasn't much older than a youth at the time – 25 years old.

Now I’m 46. I’m the age I felt was old when I was in high school.

I suspect that I’m considered old by the high school kids in my church. I know I am to my own kids (one of which is now in high school).

You would think that many things would change in 20 years. And they have. In 1991, the World Wide Web (WWW – sound familiar) had just come online.

However, that year the WWW could only be used on a NeXT Computer.

What a NeXT computer is isn’t nearly as important as who created the NeXT computer.

Steve Jobs.

Yes, the guy who co-founded Apple Computers!

Last week, Steve Jobs died at age 56 – 10 years older than I am – from complications due to pancreatic cancer.

A lot has been written about Steve Jobs, but there are two things that Steve Jobs said that caught my attention and really made me think.

The first one is this:

“I want to put a dent in the universe.”

This made me think about what Steve Jobs did with his life. Yes, he made a boat-load of money. But from what I read and heard about him, that wasn’t the reason he did what he did with his life. His motivation was to make a difference. He had a dream of doing things that went beyond the two feet around him. I get the impression that he didn’t really think of himself in a selfish way. His approach to life was not “what’s in it for me” but rather one of “how can I make a dent in the universe.”

This is a good way to live. But I didn’t think that way when I was in high school. When I was a teenager, I thought only of myself most of the time. Most of the things I did were designed to make me feel good. I did them to have fun and didn’t really think all that much about what other people thought.

I see this in high school kids today. I’d like to tell them what I needed to hear more often when I was their age, that there is more to life than just “me.” But that I also can “make a dent in the universe” through what I do and say.

There’s nothing wrong with having fun and feeling good. But there is so much more for a son or daughter of God. You don’t have to wait till you are older to make a dent in the universe. Look up and look out beyond you.

So a lot of what I do with the youth group today is based on a question, “What are you doing to make an impact in the Kingdom of God?” A corollary to this question is “Is what you are doing bringing glory to God’s name?”

I never gave that much thought when I was their age. I wish I had. Maybe I could have gotten to some very important and impactful things a lot sooner – and could have made an even larger dent in the universe.

The second thing that Steve Jobs once said just floored me.

“I want my kids to know who I am.”

He said this in answer to the question, “Why did you authorize your biography and sit down and do so many candid interviews for it?”

Steve Jobs was afraid that the only way for his kids to know him was to make sure a biography was written about him.

How sad is that?

I want my kids to know who I am. So I spend time with them. Lots of time. I pitch to my sons until my arm feels like it’s going to fall off (then I feed balls into a pitching machine). I sit with them as they fish. I play Wii bowling with them (but not as often as they would like, I suspect). I worship with them daily through devotions and prayer. I eat dinner with my family at least five nights a week.

That’s how I’m making a dent in the universe. I won’t invent some new technology like the World Wide Web or an incredible piece of electronic gadgetry like an iPhone or iPad. I won’t make billions of dollars.

I will make a dent in the universe by loving my kids – and the kids I minister to in our church’s youth group. They won’t need a book – or an ebook – to know who I am.

And I will tell them of the love of Jesus Christ. I will do it by making it a goal that everything I do will be so that God gets the glory and others will know I work in God’s Kingdom.

A Foretaste of the Celebration to Come

Happy birthday, St. Matthew Lutheran Church! 148 years old. That’s pretty amazing!

That’s a reason for us to celebrate – to mark a very special occasion. In the midst of the Civil War, a couple of dozen German-American Lutherans start a church here on the prairie north of what would become known as Lake Zurich.

Speaking of war …

Celebrations are also held to observe great victories. One that comes to mind is the celebration held in New York City when V-E Day was announced – the one with the sailor kissing the nurse.

During the war, the original St. Matthew sanctuary burned down – in 1942. As I thought about that more and more this past week, I began to realize that this event could be used by Satan against  our congregation’s mission and ministry. Satan tried very hard to get the people of St. Matthew to stop what they were doing – making disciples, baptizing, and teaching to observe all that Jesus commands.

But the people of St. Matthew – like the people of the United States as a whole – are not easily defeated.

While St. Matthew Lutheran church was awaiting materials to be made available to re-build the sanctuary after it burned to the ground in 1942, the United States observed first the victory in Europe in May 1945 and then victory over Japan in August of 1945.

Finally in 1949, we celebrated the dedication of the re-built sanctuary. We did so with a worship service that celebrated the greatest victory of all!

The reason St. Matthew is here – the reason all churches exist – is to proclaim the salvation victory won for us by Jesus Christ, the Son of God! We celebrate each week the greatest victory of all - when Jesus Christ defeated death for us.

In fact, it is very important to remember that is why we are here. For those taking sermon notes, here’s the Gospel:

St. Matthew Lutheran Church – here for 148 years – is here to live the victory celebration of our salvation by believing and proclaiming:

o          Jesus’ Birth  - that He was born to be our substitute under the Law

o          Jesus’ Life  - that He lived perfectly to be our righteousness.

o          Jesus’ Death – Through which He gives us the forgiveness of sins.

o          Jesus’ Resurrection  - which assures us that we who believe will also rise bodily on the last day – dead or alive - everlasting life.

o          Jesus’ Ascension –that gives us the promise that He will return to take us to heaven.

This is our message. This is our life.

At one point, Satan was so threatened by this that he tried to use the burning down of our sanctuary to stop us from being a powerful witness of the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Today, Satan uses different – but no less dangerous – tactics. Jesus warns of this in the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22.

This parable is about the second coming of Jesus Christ – the Son of the King. Heaven is elsewhere described as “the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom” (Revelation 19:9).

Will you be there? I hope that you accept the invitation of the Lamb. You are invited to the wedding feast. I think we might be surprised at who actually accepts the invitation – I think that’s part of the reason that the parable says that “both bad and good” have been invited. Those we might think do not have any chance of being invited to the wedding might actually be there and surprise us.

The reasons anyone can accept the invitation is that the Holy Spirit has created and sustained faith in their hearts through Word and Sacrament.

But the parable is blunt in telling us who will not be there.

Now, this is going to sound harsh. But that’s because it is. It is the Law. This is God’s warning to you and me. The invitation is limited to this lifetime. Don’t reject it.

All are invited. But some will reject the invitation. Some pay no attention and walk away – they ignore the invitation. Some are too busy at home or with work. Others “shoot the messenger.” The invitation comes and they attack those bringing the invitation. Jesus may have in mind here something He had said before about those who killed the prophets in the past because they didn’t like hearing the Word of the Lord they brought.

It still happens today. Maybe the messenger isn’t killed but they are told in no uncertain terms that the invitation they bring will be rejected.

The invitation is to the wedding feast of the Lamb. This will be “heaven” – yet to come. But for now, we have three words to us as we await the celebration to come. In these three words we have a tantalizing taste of the celebration to come.

The first word is from the very familiar Psalm for today – Psalm 23. This Psalm is encouragement to us. God will take care of us, God will carry us. God will provide an overflowing cup of His goodness to us.

The second word is contentment in Philippians 4. God provides all things – sometimes directly, sometimes through other means and people. Whether worldly rich or poor, being content in any situation reminds us that we can do all things through God who strengthens us.

The third word is action – also from Philippians 4. Put into action – or “practice” as verse 9 says – the things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. Do these things as the foretaste of the celebration to come.

So on our birthday, St. Matthew, let’s celebrate with encouragement, contentment, and action in telling the Good News about Jesus to everyone we meet!

Living the Life

There seems to be no question that we are living in times of difficulty. The adverse economy has affected nearly everyone. 

There are many problems in the world that seem to have no solution, at least not one in the near future. Saint Paul’s descriptions of people living in difficult times nearly 2000 years old could have been written about today’s people. 

This list of descriptions is from 2 Timothy 3.

Lovers of self.

Lovers of money.

Proud.

Arrogant.

Abusive.

Disobedient to their parents.

Ungrateful.

Unholy.

Heartless.

Unappeasable.

Slanderous.

Without self-control.

Brutal.

Not loving good.

Treacherous.

Reckless.

Swollen with conceit.

Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

You may think that none of the descriptions on this list apply to you. I know that there are times when I’m tempted to think that about myself. But it isn’t true. Which ones on the list strike close to the heart with you? I’ll tell you which one it is for me: “Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

Oh yes, there are times when I’m arrogant. There are times when I was (and still am) disobedient to my parents. There are times when I am reckless – in that what I say is quickly followed by “I’m just kidding.”

But the one that slays me is “Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” This is when I do not take seriously what it means to be a Christian, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And this is devastatingly detrimental. When other people see me doing this, it tells them that I’m only playing at being a Christian, that I don’t take it seriously. And if I don’t take it seriously, then why should they? And if they don’t take it seriously because of me and the way I’m just playing at my faith, then they will not know Jesus. And if they do not know Jesus, then they are lost in their sins.

Because I am paid for what I do as a pastor, there is a great temptation to think of what I do as merely a job. That I do what I do simply because I have to. Because I’m a pastor Ihave to go to church. I have to read the Bible. I have to go to Bible study.

Do you know anyone who shows up for work because they have to? How well to they do their work? How inspiring are they in their work? I worked with a couple of people like that at Target. For the most part, the people I worked with at Target were good people, they were good workers. They did their jobs well and you got a sense that they enjoyed their work. But there were one or two people who were there because they had to be there. They didn’t want to be there. They only did the bare minimum of the job and no more and didn’t really care what the consequences of that were to the overall goals of Target.

I think it is that attitude that Saint Paul is getting at with his phrase, “Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

But here’s another way that I look at this phrase. Often, I think, people get the idea that if they are doing something “at” church or “for” church that it somehow means they are living the life Christ won for them by His death and resurrection.

But Christ didn’t die and rise again so that we could “do” things for the church or be “at” the church.

Christ died and rose again to give us life (John 10:10). Here’s what Christ has done for me. When I am at the church, I ‘m not working a job, I’m living a life. And this life has consequences – eternal consequences. I really believe there is power in living a godly life and that power comes from God’s Word – Scripture, the Sacred Writings that Saint Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 3 – whether it be preached, read, or inwardly digested through the Sacrament of the Altar.

I want to know more about that power. I want to have more of that power. I want others to know and have more of that power.

That’s why Bible studies are so important to me. I try very hard to have Bible studies that are relevant and interesting. But beyond relevant and interesting, the Bible makes you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures are inspired (breathed out by God) and are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

The Bible will make the man – and woman – of God competent and equip us for every good work.