Standing Before God

ZZZ - Psalm Intro and Response

Throughout the months of July and August, we’ve been focusing upon God’s plan for our lives and for our world. We all know that our world is far from perfect. And yet, we live as people who look forward to that Great Day when God will wipe away the tears from our eyes and when there will be no more suffering, or pain, or sorrow, or mourning, or sickness, or hurt or pain. And, if you recall, we’ve referred to that Age of Perfection – to “What our world is yet to be” – as Olam Haba.

Well, this last message in our summer series reminds us that one of the most important things that we can do as we’re living our lives in the GAP that stands between “what our world is right now” and “what our world is yet to be” is remain deeply engaged in what’s happening in our world and continue to do the things that we believe God is calling us to do. In Christian circles, we refer to this challenge as God’s call to be engaged in mission.

In Psalm 82, we are drawn into a courtroom and that One who’s seated behind the bench speaks to us both clearly and directly:

How long will you continue to judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?”

And the command of the One who’s seated behind the bench is just as clear: “Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Mission keeps God’s people connected to other people in life-giving ways.

Picture a group of teenagers pounding nails, mixing concrete, and painting walls in the homes of people who need their help. Picture women crocheting hats for women who are fighting cancer, and other people walking through the streets of a busy city taking meals to people who are homeless. Can you imagine the joy that fills a woman’s heart when a pharmacist hands her a bottle of medication that she couldn’t afford a few hours earlier, or when a family realizes that the water in their home is running again? Mission keeps God’s people connected to other people in life-giving ways. Mission reminds us that God calls us to bring justice to the world, to maintain the rights of the lowly, and to rescue the weak and the needy. 

We all talk about the fact that we’re living in tough times these days. And, as we come to the end of this series of messages, I want to remind you that it’s people just like you who are changing our world and who are helping it to become a better place.

And so, here’s a challenge:  This week, I’d like to challenge you to think about one way that our world could become a better place. Think about something that could help our world to become more like what you think God wants it to be like. And at some point this week, go out and DO SOMETHING that you think would help to move our world in that direction. That’s mission! And you might even discover that it’s God’s deepest calling in your life!

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Stronger Together!

something-new-graphic

I can’t think of any words that describe the last few months of our ministry at Christ’s Lutheran Church better than the words: “Stronger Together!” We’ve been devoting a lot of time to developing partnerships with other churches and organizations, and the seeds that we’ve planted have already sprouted and grown into fruit-bearing trees! God has been doing mighty things in our midst and we have some exciting stories about how God has been at work in our congregation to share with you today. So, here’s what’s been happening….

Flea Market

In June, our Social Ministry and Outreach Team sponsored yet another successful Flea Market that drew hundreds of people from our local community together. Many of our partners in ministry at Christ’s generously donated items that were sold, while other partners carefully sorted and priced the items before the “BIG DAY” arrived. We had partners who supplied baked good, other partners who cooked hot dogs and sold cold drinks. We had still other partners who worked on the day of the event collecting money from hundreds of people who arrived searching for their treasures, and yet others who packed-up what remained unsold at the end of the day. People who joined together as partners with a common cause raised more than $2,000 that will be used to support life-giving ministries throughout our community.

As the month of June drew to a close, it was time for the young people from Christ’s and their adult sponsors to travel to Lorain, Ohio for our long-anticipated Mission Trip! We spent a week digging holes, pounding nails, pouring cement, painting walls, talking with people that we’d never met, worshipping in a church building where we’d never been, reflecting upon our own journey of faith, and learning what it’s like to be more deeply engaged in mission. We learned that people don’t have to travel to a strange land to be a missionary – because Lorain, Ohio isn’t all that different than Murrysville, Pennsylvania. We learned that people who serve as missionaries often face tight budgets and don’t always have the money that they need to do the things that they want to do. We learned that when we are willing to step out of our own “comfort-zone” we can learn things about life and other people that we’d have never known it we didn’t do that. And we learned that, sometimes, there’s a difference between what people need us to do for them and what we want to do for them (I remember a conversation with one of the women we were serving who wanted the steps on her deck to be placed in a different location, so that it would be easier for her to bring her groceries into the house – and there was a little bit of angst because the “plans” that were drawn for her deck indicated that the steps were going to be built in a different location).

Mission Trip 2

Mission Trip

We had a lot of fun. We learned a lot about life. We had many opportunities to reflect upon our faith. And again, it was all made possible because of partnerships that were forged between people who joined hands. Many of our generous partners at Christ’s contributed the money that we needed, and a few of our partners worked tirelessly to bring it all together. NextStep Ministries forged connections that we couldn’t have built by ourselves in Lorain, Ohio; gathered the tools that we needed; identified the locations where we worked, secured the necessary permits, and prepared our meals. The Avon Lake Presbyterian Church provided a place where we could leave our belongings, shower at the end of the day, gather for meals and worship, and sleep (when I wasn’t blasting Podcasts in the sleeping quarters). Once again, partnerships bring explosive results and open new doors to life-changing ministry!

And then, before we even had a chance to unpack the suitcases that we had taken to Lorain, Ohio, it was time for another adventure with Vacation Bible School. Once again, an army of partners at Christ’s was raised and rallied – and kids, from our congregation and from our local community, came out of nowhere. We sang songs and played games. We talked about the wonderful world that God has created, had a blast working on crafts, and filled our bellies with snacks every day. We even had a surprise development this year! On Monday, it took me a little bit longer than I had anticipated to get to the Fellowship Hall to say the prayer before the snack. Well, on Tuesday, the kids decided that they were not going to sit around and wait for me. And so, one of the kids stood up and said, “I’ll say the prayer today!” And every day after that, one of the children stood up and volunteered to say the prayer before the snack was served. Awesome! Another display of partnership! A great team of people coming together with a common goal and purpose – making great things happen together!

VBS

Now this story’s a bit tricky (and we can’t share a picture because of confidentiality issues), but it’s a real gem! Last Spring, our Outreach and Social Ministry Team had an idea and decided that it would like to reach-out to people in our community who are presently living their lives in the role of a “caregiver.” As you know, being a caregiver is not easy and we, at Christ’s, don’t have the resources (or the expertise) that we need to be able to offer the kinds of support that caregivers both need and deserve. And so, once again, partnership became something for us to explore. Our Outreach and Social Ministry Team contacted the Westmoreland County Area Agency on Aging and discovered that the agency offers a 6-week class for caregivers called Powerful Tools for Caregivers. And Voila…! We were ready to move forward. But, then, there was another challenge. How could we work together to enable people who are caregivers to attend the classes, particularly if they are a sole caregiver who needs to stay with their loved-one nearly 24-hours each day? And we found the solution in yet another partnership with the United Way through its Open Your Heart to a Senior program. Well, I’m happy to report that these vital partnerships (another example of our ministry bringing people and organizations together) is working well. We have 12 people enrolled in the class (the maximum number of people who can be enrolled) and we have four more people on our waiting list – ready to attend our next class!

And finally, yet another exciting partnership is blossoming at Christ’s Lutheran Church! This summer, we formed a new partnership with the Northside Common Ministries – a ministry that is supplying food to people who are facing hunger and homelessness in our area. The Northside Common Ministries is devoted to taking meals to people in our area who are homeless. Meals are packaged and delivered to the distribution site; and then, they are hand-delivered to people who are homeless by people who are committed to reaching-out to children of God who are caught in a quite difficult situation. Together, we have supplied food containers and flatware. Several of our partners in ministry have joined in the distribution of meals. And a group of our partners in ministry gathered on August 10th to prepare 66 meals that were distributed to people facing homelessness later that evening. This wonderful new partnership is yet another example of the fact that we can do far more when we join hands with other people who share the same kind of hopes and dreams that we have for a better world.

Food Packers

And so, as you can see, it’s been a busy summer! It’s been a summer where we’re stretching our wings in some new ways, where we’re exploring some new types of ministry, and where we’re seeing God work through the power of partnerships that we have formed with other groups of people in our community. Please keep your eyes open as we move into the Fall and as we continue to share the stories of other things that we’re doing. There are so many different ways that you can be a part of what God’s doing at Christ’s Lutheran Church. And there’s a special place for everyone – including you!

In God We Trust

In God We Trust

Every piece of money in the United States contains the phrase: “In God We Trust.”

A pastor from Pennsylvania first suggested that we add that phrase to our coins in 1861 to ensure that God would protect Union soldiers during the Civil War. The phrase was removed in 1907 by President Roosevelt because he believed that printing the words “In God We Trust” on our money was an unhealthy mingling of God and mammon. President Eisenhower approved adding the phrase to all of our money – both coins and paper bills – because he believed that it was important to draw a sharp distinction between the faith of the American people and the godlessness of the Communists. And, by 1983, Supreme Court justices ruled that the phrase, “In God We Trust,” didn’t need to be removed from our money because, by that time, the phrase had lost all religious significance.

And yet, even in 2019, we struggle to make sense of what those words mean. Some argue that America was created to be a Christian nation, while others argue that our Founders created our nation to be a place where the government was prevented from choosing a particular religion. Christian Nationalists continue to teach that America is a Christian nation even though people like Thomas Jefferson created their own Bibles by retaining only the portions of the Bible that they believed were helpful for moral instruction, and even though people like Thomas Paine set the Bible aside in favor of personal spiritual experience.

And so, what do we do with passages like Psalm 33 that contain the words: “Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord“? How do we live, as people of faith, remembering that it is ordinary people, not God, who have drawn the lines in the dirt that separate counties, states, and even nations that exist in the world today?

The psalmist reminds us that “from where God sits enthroned, God watches over ALL the inhabitants of the earth.” The prophet Micah also reminds us that, as God watches over ALL the peoples of the earth, God sends messengers to reminds us that one of our most holy callings in life is to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8)

The psalmist tells us, in Psalm 33, that the hope of a better future isn’t going to be found in trusting people who call us to build bigger armies, and who challenge us to find new ways to be bigger and stronger than people who live on the “other side” of the lines that we’ve drawn in the dirt. The psalmist tells us that the hope of a better future isn’t going to be found by silencing people who don’t think about life in the same ways that we do, and by continuing to separate ourselves into smaller and smaller pieces – until we get to the point where even all the King’s horses and all the King’s men can’t find a way to put us back together again.

Instead, the psalmist challenges us to envision God as a God who’s watching over ALL the nations of the world. The psalmist challenges us to rediscover a level of the soul that God has placed inside of us that connects us to every other living Being.

“In God We Trust” in a mighty statement.

How can we use that statement as something that binds us together as people who are called to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly in the presence of God in a world where people are using that phrase to separate us and to drive deep wedges between us?

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Resetting Your Heart

ZZZ - Psalm Intro and Response

In my last few posts, I have focused upon Paradise.

I pointed you back to the 21st Chapter of Revelation, and lifted-up the Day when there will not be any more crying or grief or hurt or broken relationshipss or mourning or sorrow or regrets. We have been focusing upon Olam Haba – “what our world is yet to be.” And we’ve talked about the fact that we’re just not there yet.

And so, how do we live our lives as we travel through a time that spans the period that stands between “what our world is right now” and “what our world is yet to be”?

We can spend our time and our days lamenting the fact that life can be brutal, or we can invest our time and energy in developing an intentional awareness of the ways that God is working in our lives and in the world. We can invest our time and energy in pointing out the ways that our world is far from being a Paradise, or we can allow God to help us to see goodness and blessings in even the smallest things that happen in our lives each day. And the choice is ours.

About a year ago, I placed “The Book of Blessings” in the doorway where people enter our worship space – to challenge people to stop for a moment and think about ways that God has blessed them in the last week. If you don’t worship with us at Christ’s Lutheran Church in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, I’d challenge you to get a small notebook, spend a moment thinking about ways that God’s blessed you, and write them down in your own “Book of Blessings.” It’s truly amazing to look back through pages and pages of blessings that we have intentionally recorded because in one way or another they were important to us at one moment in time. It’s also amazing to see how quickly we forget about how God has blessed us – especially when life gets tough.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly “thanksgiving” can reset your heart. You’ll be amazed at how something as simple as counting your blessings each day can reshape the way that you think about your life and the world. Why not start YOUR “Book of Blessings” today?

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