07052015 5th Sunday After Trinity - We are to be a blessing!

Sermon Audio (Will be posted soon!)

July 5, 2015

We are to be a blessing!

When Emmanuel built the Education Wing, the congregation was busting at the seams with adults and kids.  Every imaginable space was being used from the loft here in the sanctuary, the rooms behind the stage downstairs, the overflow where a lot of people love to sit to the fellowship hall that bustled with Sunday School classes with dividers.  At the time building on a new addition to Emmanuel seemed the only thing that could be done in light of the fact that the sanctuary of our church had been built only 20 years earlier.  Pastor Clifton Osborn wrote the following in the booklet for the Dedication of the Educational Unit:

“God has blessed us.  We pray that this building will be a blessing to those who follow us….I thank God for the great unity displayed in this program.  Truly the love of God is at work in this congregation.”

Pastor Osborn clearly embodied the belief of Peter as he wrote our Epistle this morning.  Emmanuel was on the verge of large growth and needed the room to grow, expand and offer more for the ministry to and for the saints here at Emmanuel and for all of Goodland.

When Sky Ranch was here we used the educational wing, we channeled our forefather’s and followed the call Pastor Osborn clearly spoke of as we did exactly what Peter calls us to be.  “We are to be a blessing.”

And the blessing we are to be not only began with the building of the church in 1948, the education wing in 1968, but continues even today with our current state of our congregation.  We are a congregation that is different from 1968.  Some of the people are the same, a few more miles on each of us, some have entered the Church Triumphant, but we are ultimately the same.  For our identity is not in our outward appearance that for some like me is graying, but our identity is in what God has done for each and every one of us.

When we were baptized into the Body of Christ, the church, we were changed, reformed, reshaped and reborn as Children of God.  We identify with Jesus Christ and what He has done for each and every one of us.  We can then identify, emulate and be what Peter says, “Be a blessing”.  Our identity as followers of Jesus Christ not only connects us through our baptism to Jesus Christ, but changes each and every one of us.

Our identity also connects us to each other.  Not only are we identified with the church when we are out in the community.  We carry Jesus Christ with us where ever we go and in whatever we are doing.  As I have stated since Pentecost, God is love and we are to love one another.  Whether shopping at Wal-Mart, eating at McDonald’s or Steak and Shake or even playing cards with our friends.  People are watching what we do, what we say and how we act and this is why Peter says clearly we are to be a blessing.  When we are cursed, bless.  When you are talked bad about, bless.  When you have the opportunity to minister, bless.  For in our blessing others, we show our connection not only to Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 222 West 13^th, Goodland, KS, but especially to Jesus Christ, in Whom we have been baptized.

Why should this matter?  Well this weekend is a prime example of why it should matter.  Last night our country celebrated July 4^th with all the pomp and circumstance, fireworks going til even midnight, comradery with our family, friends and neighbors and a clear identification of our heritage.  Today we sing songs of our native land.  Our identity as American’s is clear, why can and do we not have this same identity as Christians, heirs of Jesus Christ and our baptism into His life, death and resurrection?

Peter inspires us clearly, we need to be a blessing and God can do this through each of us, we only need to fulfill what Pastor Osborn said since we are the legacy that can be a blessing for countless others with our church, our educational wing, but especially the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for all of mankind.  For our God is a God of love and we can share God’s love for each of us and with others as we bless each other and our community for God’s Glory.  Let’s be the blessing and love as Jesus Christ loves each and every one of us.  AMEN.

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06282015 4th Sunday After Trinity - We are adopted as sons and daughters!

Sermon Audio (Will be posted soon!)

June 28, 2015

We are adopted as sons and daughters!

The year was 2002.  Having been married for nearly three years and trying to have children the news we heard on September 13, 2001 from the fertility doctor was still raw.  It would cost us upwards of $40,000 to attempt to have a child.  And with a job in education, the cost was way more than we could afford.

We prayed after that faithful day and determined there may be other ways of having a family.  We thought, there are plenty of children in the world who do not have parents, why not adopt and create an instant family?  It would be easier we thought, but then it happened.

After filling out all the paperwork, making sure all the required forms were complete, the medical exams were complete and the background information about our past lives was complete, we thought we were ready for the next step.  Then it happened that faithful day in April 2002.  I was rushed from a routine doctor’s appointment and instantly put into the Intensive Care Unit.  For the next three days I was hooked to blood pressure cuffs, oxygen sensors, pulse and heart monitors and had more blood taken than I can imagine.  I walked on a treadmill and was stressed to see what was wrong with me.

With that one stay in the hospital the hope Michele and I had of having a family of our own was dashed upon the rocks of reality.  During some of our preliminary information sessions, they said, if one was ever hospitalized, for other than routine procedures, that would be an automatic disqualifier.  So we even by adoption would not be able to have a family of our own.  It was a tough pill to swallow and one that wasn’t fully and completely resolved until March 14, 2009 and you know the rest of that story.

During those next seven years, I was reminded of the passage we have heard this morning from Paul in our epistle.  Paul, writing to the Romans explains a truth we need to hear and clearly understand as Christians.  We are promised that in our baptism, we are adopted as sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ claims us and since we are adopted we become children of God in and through our baptism through Water and Word.

With the Water connected to the Word of God, we are intimately connected to the love that Jesus Christ has for all of mankind.  Just as we have been reminded since Pentecost that God is a God of love and He loves us unconditionally, Jesus Christ as God’s Son loves us just as much even to giving Himself on the Cross in order that we might have eternal life.

Since we who gather here today are adopted into the family of God, we are also heirs of eternal life.  And as heirs we cannot earn God’s love, nor can we earn our salvation, but each of these are gifts freely given unto each and every one of us without cost.  God’s love for us is clearly shown by Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.  What we get to do is share it.  Not just share it with our friends, but share it with everyone we meet.

This week we have had Sky Ranch here at Emmanuel for our Vacation Bible School.  Like in years past the staff has been high energy, high octane and high impact upon the kids we have coming for Day Camp.  This year 54% of the kids here for our day camp were from families of members of Emmanuel.  That’s 20 of the 37 who attended this year, both pre-school and school age kids.  The theme for this year was “A Love That Never Ends”. 

In one sense all of the kids that came this week were adopted and loved by the leaders, counselors and you the people of Emmanuel and have been taught about God’s Love.  This sharing of God’s love is not only clear and manifest in the children, but has impacted our church.  We have had fun and have made fun of ourselves, from my being given the gift of a cow bell to help people know I was coming, to enjoying the kids faith development, this has been an awesome week.  But the greatest opportunity is adopting each and every one of these kids and each of us gathered here and showing all of us the love of Jesus Christ.

May we as a congregation continue to show love for one another and share what Jesus Christ has done for all of mankind.  For God’s love never does end as we are adopted into His family and feel and share the love of God with everyone we meet.  AMEN.

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06212015 3rd Sunday After Trinity - Hold Firm in Your Faith

Gospel Audio (Will be posted soon)
Sermon Audio

June 21, 2015

Hold firm in your faith!

Have you ever seen a ships captain looking out from the bridge of a large ship.  The best tool the captain has are his eyes, but like most of us, our eyes can only see a short distance unaided.  This is why most ships carry a pair of binoculars.  The binoculars help the captain as well as the officers on the bridge to scan with their eyes both close to the ship and all the way to the horizon.  This increased vision allows decisions to be made by the captain and crew to insure not only the cargo he is carrying on the ship will be safe, but to insure that others will not come to any harm by getting in the way of the large ship. 

So to on the farm, farmers always when on the tractor or going to check wells always keep an eye on the horizon in all directions to see if there is rain coming or if a thunderstorm with hail and high winds is bearing down on our winter wheat crop or stand of corn that could easily be blown over.  Everyone always is looking to make sure what we have will not be damaged or destroyed.

Since Trinity Sunday we have heard the clear message from God that “God is love” and our opportunity and calling is to love as God first loved us.  The vision that God has of all events far exceeds our own and He doesn’t need binoculars, but the sentiment and lesson we can take away from our lesson this morning is that we need to be like the ships captain and you the farmer here in Northwest Kansas.  It doesn’t mean we need to get a pair of binoculars, but it does mean we need to “be on alert”.

Peter one of the authors of the New Testament lived his life in love for his brother’s and sister’s in Christ.  He preached and proclaimed, “God is love” and taught constantly as he travelled and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And His message was clear, “Be of sober spirit, be on alert”.  The reason for being on alert was that he knew the devil was seeking to ‘wreck’ and ‘destroy’ the life of anyone that would fall victim to his leading them astray.  The devil is closer to leading us astray than we might like to think.

Peter wrote, “Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”.  The devil is trying to get all of us to question God, question God’s love of us and even question that God is love.  The devil is filling our heads with lies, deceit, questions and desiring us to lose interest in God.  For some he is clearly succeeding like the young man who took nine lives in Charleston, South Carolina this week.  Closer to home, in recent visits members of the congregation have even noticed how our worship attendance here at Emmanuel is being affected.

You might say, how can the devil do this?  Easily, when we place our own wants and desires above God’s glory, we fall victim.  When we chose activities that bring us satisfaction to our human longing, or our own glory instead of God, we fall victim.  When we spread rumors about friends, neighbors or even about our church family, we fall victim.  All of us daily fall victim, because we are in a constant battle to do what is right.  Hence why Peter said, “Be on alert” and why I began with the image of binoculars.

Peter continues with what we need to hear and do, “But resist him [that is the devil], firm in your faith”.  We need to resist the draw that the devil has on our time, our talents and even our treasure.  We can resist, but we cannot do it in and of ourselves.  We are incapable of resisting the arrows of deceit, the arrow of want, the arrow of being known and seen as an expert.  In and of ourselves we are incapable of overcoming evil.  But God has the cure.

The cure Peter states clearly for us to hear, mark and inwardly digest and lay claim to because of our baptism into Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.  God in His great love for us through Peter consoles us with this truth, “the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”  That statement, though a mouthful contains the greatest measure of grace we need to hear and remind each other of each and every day.

God is a God of grace.  God has called each of us in and through our Holy Baptism into Jesus Christ.  We are connected to Jesus Christ for all eternity and He will not let go of us.  And God makes us the promise to “perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish” each and every one of us.

We are perfected in Christ, we are confirmed in the faith given to us from generation to generation, we are strengthened for the daily battle with the devil and established as God’s children.  When we lay claim to these four truths we then can follow God’s call on our lives.  We can hear clearly Peter’s desire for us, we can stand “firm in your faith”.  God then can work through us and we then can cast “all our anxiety on” God and as His children trust Him in all aspects of our lives.

But our society daily questions, how can we trust God?  How can we see God at work?  Our society even asks if God is real or exists?  And this is what the devil wants to get us to do, to question God.  So I stand here today to remind all of us gathered here this morning of the truth.  God is love, He loves us unconditionally.  God wants us to ‘hold firm in our faith.’  And God gives us the strength to do this.  The proof we need we have from two very distinct places.

First, it comes from God’s Word that we have heard read today in the lessons.  And second it comes from the meal we are about to partake of from the altar.  When we receive Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood, we receive the food we need to ‘stand firm in our faith’.  And God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ promises to each of us to enable us to stand firm in the faith that has been passed down from generation to generation.

And today we Emmanuel Lutheran embark again upon our passing down this same faith.  You see, Emmanuel Lutheran Church was one of the founding churches for Sky Ranch just over 50 years ago.  Two years ago three members of our congregation celebrated up at Sky Ranch the Year of Jubilee.  Peyton and Powell Sieck and Autumn Mays joined with youth from across the United States to celebrate the legacy that Sky Ranch has been fulfilling in spreading the Gospel message.  The following week, we as a congregation joined together with staff from Sky Ranch and our own children here at Emmanuel to celebrate the year of Jubilee.  And today we embark again on another week of Vacation Bible School here at Emmanuel with the Sky Ranch counselors.

Today we as a congregation ‘stand firm in our faith’, proclaiming the love of God for all of mankind, and inviting all to join us in spreading the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is the legacy that our congregation continues to proclaim, because of God’s grace and love offered by His Son Jesus Christ.  May we continue this legacy and be the church that God can use to reach Goodland proclaiming God’s love for all of mankind, including God’s love for all of us gathered here today.  AMEN.

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2014 VBS at Emmanuel Sunday Videos

Here are two videos from Emmanuel Lutheran VBS 2014 with Sky Ranch.  There were more kids during the week, but these are the kids who came on Sunday!

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06292014 Second Sunday After Trinity

Sermon Audio 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

“Love, love, love, all you need is love”.  This lyric by the Beatles ran through my mind as I read this week’s Epistle Lesson.  Yes it dates me, but it is a classic that I know Jesus Christ and John would agree with.  And this is exactly what we here at Emmanuel have shown this week.

Thank you to the congregation for the love and spreading the Gospel message of Jesus Christ by supporting Sky Ranch.  This week, we as a congregation opened up our doors, our hearts and our love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ here in Goodland by sharing the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  By providing a place to stay for the staff, giving of food for the snacks for the kids, donating your time and effort for God’s message of ‘Growing in Christ’ and ‘Fully Rely On God’ we have honored God.  Thank you!!

What we have committed to with our bringing Sky Ranch here to Emmanuel is a Kingdom Commitment!  We as the congregation of Emmanuel have stepped up and out and made a commitment to not only the community but to ourselves as well that we will not be silenced about the message and the mission of Jesus Christ!  I am proud of Emmanuel Lutheran Church!

The message of love shared this week of Sky Ranch Day Camp is extremely clear from the singing of the songs, the sharing in the bible studies and the kids being kids, but learning about Jesus Christ.  John in the epistle from this morning shares this as well.  At first John warns us that the world will hate us, why, because it takes commitment for a program like this, it takes time and it takes investment.  John writes, “Do not be surprised, bretheren, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.”  By our not only sponsoring Vacation Bible School, but opening our doors, we will be ridiculed, even questioned by some who wonder if the output of money is worth the cost.  But the questioning and ridicule is worth it, because what we are doing is kingdom work here at Emmanuel and for Goodland.

John says, “We know love by this, that He [that is Jesus Christ] laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”  Yes, this is about what Jesus Christ did on Calvary and He did that not only for the kids we invited to come, but also for each of us here today.  God came in order that we might be set free from that which binds us and lead kingdom lives as we have this last week with Sky Ranch.

Some of you may have heard about the man who saved a little child from certain death.  While performing his duty as of all things a tow truck driver, this man saw a little baby crawling and about to enter the highway.  After stopping and insuring this little girl would not be harmed, he spent the next four hours cuddling, caring for and being exactly what John wrote about for this little girl.  When she would get antsy and not want to settle down, he played gospel music on his phone for her, because it helped him settle down and the same was true for this little girl.  This self-sacrifice was clearly a gift from God for the little girl, but it was a result of God in this man’s life.

Previously, he had been a drug addict, been in jail and did not have anything to look forward to in his life, but one day through the work of God in a strange and mysterious way, he was set free from his former life.  And on this one day, he understood why God had freed him from his former life.  It was so he could be the angel looking out and seeing and rescuing this small, fragile little girl who would have certainly become the victim of certain death if it were not for him.

This is the impact that we with our Sky Ranch Day Camp and counselors have had upon Goodland this week.  Unknown to us right now is the impact we will have, but we have definitely followed God’s plan for us and John’s ending statement in the reading this morning.  John concludes, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”  We have done that for countless children this week here at Emmanuel and thank God for the gifts He has given us, especially of His Son Jesus Christ who died for all of mankind, but especially all of us saints gathered here to celebrate Sky Ranch this week here at Emmanuel.   AMEN.

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07212013 8th Sunday After Trinity

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  AMEN.

Let us pray!  “Lord, Lord”, though I say it does not make me nor anyone here a Christian, nor gain us entrance into the Kingdom of God.  For clearly, Lord Jesus Christ only by our bearing ‘good fruit’ will we gain heaven, but it is not because of the works themselves, but because of You working through us to accomplish Your will.  For Your will is simple for Your Glory to be revealed in our telling the truth of Your death on Calvary for all mankind, including all of us sinners who have become saints because of our baptism into Your life, death and resurrection.  May we truly understand You accomplish this once and for all mankind including all of us gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.

One of the great Christian Orators of the 20^th Century is Charles Stanley.  He is best known on radio, television and now the internet and not only has enabled the Christian church to grow, but helped launch other churches, including his own sons church which has as their motto, “Creating Church the Unchurched Love to Attend”.  One of the gifts that Charles Stanley gave to the church-at-large and still uses to this day is the “30 Life Principles”.  They are personal applications for individuals that range from intimacy with God, obeying God as well as listening to and serving God.  For us this morning his 12^th Principle seems to apply perfectly, “Peace with God is the fruit of oneness with God.”

In the turmoil of our lives where we during the summer months are beaten down by the blast furnace heat of the wind and hot temperatures that stop the growth of the corn.  To our mourning the lack of a wheat harvest which is usually a standard of our collective culture here in Northwestern Kansas in early July.  As well as the decrease in attendance and giving here at church, because everyone goes on vacation whether at the lake, the mountains, the Springs or just to stay home and relax during the heat of the summer.  Charles Stanley’s principle is the thorn that sticks in our collective side from our Gospel this morning.

Jesus Christ in the Gospel confronts all of us with the reality that even though we may make personal claim that we are ‘Christians’ with our calling out “Lord, Lord” this does not guarantee our entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.  As Charles Stanley said, “Peace with God is the fruit of oneness with God.”  This oneness is not law driven, but is a direct result of the Gospel in our lives and being lived out for one another, not because we have to do it, but because we want to do it.

Our individual nature sometimes is to run with and remember the mantra, “I’ve done my time.”  When my kids were young, I was active and now it is someone else’s time to teach Sunday School, help with Vacation Bible School or do the work of the church.  But notice the intent that Jesus has with the Gospel, we may call out “Lord, Lord”, but it does not guarantee us entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is a very difficult reality for anyone to clearly understand and even respond to because we believe we deserve entrance into heaven.  But the reality is, if we sit in the pew, don’t continue to do the work of the kingdom of God, and expect our activity of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 40 or even 50 years ago to be enough fruit for our entrance into the Kingdom of God, then we clearly do not understand Jesus call to ministry, mission and meaningful relationship with Him and all of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Living in an agricultural community the reality is clear, there are times where we purposefully allow land to go fallow.  But it is only for a season, for a short time, one growing season in order for the land to regain some vigor.  So to our own faith lives need some rest, but the expectation still remains that it is not for more than a season.  God constantly and clearly calls us to bear fruit in the Kingdom of God.

Fruit is not like we buy in the grocery store or what we harvest in a combine, whether wheat or corn.  Fruit in the Kingdom of God is relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Fruit is the fullness of Jesus Christ living out in our lives whether with our family, friends or even here in the church.  This last week in a pre-marriage counseling, I asked the question, when having fun and relaxing, did the couple only ‘relax’ with family or with friends.  From my own experience, I see my brothers relaxing more with friends, because they were able to choose them.  So to all of us ‘choose’ who we let our hair down in front of or trust with who we really are as individuals.  But the reality is that we do this more with family and friends and not with fellow members of the Body of Christ.  Because if we were to ‘be who we really are’ the church members may judge us.

The reality is, we should not judge each other.  We are all part of the same Body of Christ and continuously manifest sinners in need of a savior.  Jesus Christ did not come to save only certain people, but came to save ALL of mankind, without any prejudice for anyone, whether sinner or saint, whether murderer, child molester, pastor or even farmer or housewife.  Jesus Christ came to save all of us from our sins and enable us to be the Kingdom of God where we live, breath and make our livelihood.

And today we enter again into a great opportunity to bear fruit in and with our community of faith.  This afternoon, our congregation will welcome Counselors from Sky Ranch.  These young adults are coming here to partner, let me say that again, partner with all of us that sit in the pews every week to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is where we connect with ‘bearing fruit’ for the Kingdom of God.  The counselors come with the message of salvation that we hear clearly of Jesus Christ life, death and resurrection.  The emphasis this year is a “Year of Jubilee” where we celebrate the 50^th Year of Sky Ranch.  As they arrive, as they teach as they minister to us and to the children not only of our church but also the children of our community we plant the seeds that will bear fruit.  We cannot make them grow, but God will in His time.  We are just action figures for God’s Glory to be revealed and made manifest for the world, but especially for Goodland through our support of the ministry of our congregation.

In a recent article by Greg Braezeale, he poised one question that for me as your pastor, I believe is appropriate for us today.  He asked, ‘Who is the Hero of Your Sermon?’  Clearly, Jesus Christ should be the right and correct answer.  But in the article there is also another hero that is important and impactful for us today.  That hero is you that sit in the pew.  You are my hero, because it is with your hands, your feet, your mouth, your lives that I see Jesus Christ active here in the Kingdom of God we call Goodland, KS.  Through our ministry that we undertake this evening and this week, we have the opportunity to bear great fruit with and for the Kingdom of God.  So when we call out, ‘Lord, Lord’, we are not denied entrance into the Kingdom of God, but welcomed as God’s Children who have continuously served to minister to the counselors needs, the childrens needs, but also and more importantly as the fruit of God’s ministry in and among us during our Vacation Bible School with Sky Ranch.

May we join together this week as a community of faith, support with our hands, heads and hearts the counselors who come to partner with us, spread the Gospel message of Jubilee that we celebrate and bear the fruit of God through our lives that only God can make grow.  For all of this only occurs because of the fruit manifest in each of our lives of our being baptized into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for all of us saints that are gathered here at Emmanuel this morning.  AMEN.