Our Generous God, September 18th Worship

The parable in today’s Gospel has one main point: how generous the master is to his very core. He has a reputation for generosity. When his unjust steward discounts everyone’s bills, he doesn’t assert his legal right to reverse the steward’s actions; instead, he stays consistent with his reputation and generously forgives the debts. So it is with our Master, the Lord God. He is generous, providing each of us with, as Martin Luther wrote in the Small Catechism, “body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses . . . clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, spouse and children, land, animals, and all I have.” We rejoice in the generosity of God. In our joy, we hear God’s call to use wisely and well whatever God entrusts to us. Today and for eternity we get to celebrate our generous God.

"Rejoice with Me" September 11th Worship

This is a time of new beginnings. As a new school years begins and the weather begins to turn God sets new things before us. He is a consistent renewing Spirit for us. Our readings today speak to us of God’s ability to lead us back, or help us to find what was lost. Paul writes in 1st Timothy about the dramatic turn His life took by the grace and mercy of God. Jesus tells us a couple of short little stories to help us imagine the transforming nature of God’s care and compassion for us. Once we have found this, we like the woman who finds a valuable coin that had been lost, will exclaim, “Rejoice with me.”

Ready to Choose What God Has Given, Sept. 4th Worship

Jesus echoes Moses’ challenging words that we need to make a distinct, carefully considered choice to try to follow God.  Of all the other possibilities given we must choose to follow the God who wanted to lead His people to a Promised Land. We must choose to follow Jesus who wants to lead us into our promised land of heaven itself. Of all the different options as to how you will think and feel about this day, what will you choose? God has set before us good and eternal things that are right and true. Are you ready to choose?

Faith, The Eyes of the Heart, August 14th Worship

What is this thing called Faith? To start the journey of faith you could just look at the world around you and decide that it must have been designed and built by someone. Once begun the journey of faith can carry you pretty far. You can look at the evidence and decide to believe that a man named Jesus rose from his grave alive. Believing that will change a lot of things about your life, both now and forever. Faith can be a way of looking at the world and interpreting everything that happens. Things look very different when you are always ready to affirm that there is a good, merciful, and just God out there somewhere. Holding onto that no matter what is called faith. That’s why it is a truly dramatic choice to let your heart be led by the eyes of faith.