Well, we made it. We've been through a lot in our time together. A look through the archives will reveal that we have been at this for a little while and have covered quite a few topics. We have made it to the end of our topic list, and covered everything that was asked about. (At least I think we did). I hope that it has been a blessing and even possibly enjoyable for you. I know it has certainly been so for me. Right now is an in-between kind of a time.

I am coming to the end of my ministry at Our Father Lutheran Church. At the same time, I am getting ready to begin my ministry at Faith Lutheran Church. So, allow me a moment to address each group.

For those of you from Our Father, I would like to say, "Thank You!" You have been a blessing to me and I give thanks for your friendship and support. I have enjoyed doing ministry with you. Being my first call, you have allowed me a large learning curve and God has used our experiences together to make me into the man and pastor that I am today. You will always have a special place in my heart.

For those of you from Faith, I would like to say that I am very much looking forward to coming and serving with you. I am honored to be able to come and be your pastor. I know that there are some exciting ministry opportunities and I am looking forward to working together with you.

No matter where we are in life; whether we find ourselves at a beginning or an end, or even if we are standing right in the middle of an in-between. We do not stand there alone. We stand with a God who is ever present. His love and grace and mercy are constants in our lives. He has powerfully defeated the powers of sin, and death and the devil through a cross and an empty tomb. And in that he has reconciled you and me to himself and to one another.

He gives us his Spirit and promises to never leave us. Having this, and knowing this, we are able to face whatever comes our way with peace and hope.

This blog will continue on. I pray that you would continue to be blessed by it. And please feel free to leave comments and get conversations started. I am always looking for a good discussion. God's blessings and peace in Jesus be with you this week and always.

Sincerely,

Pastor CJ

Amazing Moments

Every now and then we find ourselves caught up in a moment that just sort of takes our breath away. It is a moment where we experience God's presence or love or grace in a way that seems to be much more than normal. It is not that we are actually experiencing it more, because God's presence in our lives is constant and is based on his love and grace toward us and not on us alone. When it grips you, when you find yourself suddenly more aware, you want to sing out in praise and worship.

Last night was one of those moments for me. I was playing with the kids at the park. We went for a walk. Nothing big, the park is less than two tenths of a mile away. We walked over there and we played. We just played. For the first time in a very long time, and in a time that is surrounded with a whole host of distractions, I played with and was blessed by my children. The casual observe would not notice, but the reality that these three wonderful and very special people, are a gift to me from God. Who am I that the Lord would bless me in such a great and awesome way?

God works in the lives of his people. It is such an awesome thing. Every now and then it just hits us. My hope and prayer for the people that have made up this community time that we have spent together over the last several months, is that you will see in each other this exact gift. Because it is you that made the time fun. It is you that made it a blessing. I had some knowledge to share with you, but it was a great experience because you were there and you participated in it.

What you have in this is a great gift to offer to the people of Our Father and to the guests and visitors that come into the door. I pray that you will experience the presence of God in that awesome way in the time that you spend together. Because what you have to offer is such an awesome gift. I am very thankful for our time together, and pray that you will continue to grow and be a blessing to others. Thank You!

God's peace in Jesus be yours this week and always.

 

Sincerely,

Pastor CJ

Thank You

We had a good conversation last week. Thank you to everyone who participated in that and made it happen. This next week we will have a special treat in store. Major Ron Geurts will be sharing some stories and experiences from his time in Afghanistan earlier this year. This is a great opportunity to hear first hand what is going on and what things are like. It is also a chance to say, "thank you," not just to a man who has done a lot for our country but to his family also.

Ron and his wife Redd have been a part of our group for a while now. It will be great to hear what he has to share. Come and support Ron, and ask lots of good questions.

Blessings on your week this week.

Sincerely,
Pastor CJ

Your Days are Numbered

The title for this week's blog is actually a quote (not a threat). It is what one calendar said to another. This week in community we will be looking at some of the different celebrations that take place in the year and will talk about them a little bit. We will also look at the church calendar and talk about the benefit of such a thing, and how does one balance between a church calendar and the calendar that we use on a day to day basis.

This is actually a very interesting topic because the idea behind these times and seasons is that they help us to tell a story, and to find our place in that story. The church year, and the celebrations of the church (the big ones are on both calendars) provide for us a reminder of the greatest story ever told. This is the story of God's love for humanity. This love is great that he sent his son, Jesus, to live the perfect life that we are unable to live, to die for our sins on the cross, and to be raised again to life. So the seasons and celebrations of the calendar help us to tell the story and to find our place in it.

How does your calendar work in your life? If you are like me, it is full of appointments and even a nice to-do list. While this is supposed to help with productivity, what it seems to do is remind you of how little time you have to do everything that needs to be done. In other words, the calendar is not the most positive experience in the world. Yet, I could not live without mine. I have even been told that I need to look at more often as I am planning other meetings and events.

But what if our calendars were reminders of other things as well. What if they days they counted enable us to not only remember appointments and to-dos but also important days, and special events. As those days come around each year, we are able to re-live, remember those events, and as we do this, we find the story of our lives unfolding before our very eyes.

Calendars can be a very good thing. As we gather this weekend we will look at the story that is told by the church calendar and how our own stories fit into that also.

May God richly bless you this week and always.

Sincerely,
Pastor CJ