Weekly Devotion: Rejoicing

The final exhortations of the letter to the Philippians include these passages:

Philippians 4: 4-7 

 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You could write 82 separate devotions out of those four verses but today I want to concentrate on Philippians 4:4 which gives us the repeated command to rejoice.  Rejoicing is discussed plenty in the book of Philippians.  Rejoicing is also the end product of our faith journey...our destiny through God.  Yet it's a discipline we take for granted.  In fact I'd wager most of us don't even think of it as a faith discipline at all!

Click through to read more about this tragic phenomenon and what we can do about it...

Prepare for Cookies!

The holiday season is just around the corner.  Among the many preparations you make we hope you set aside some time to help us with cookie distribution again this year.  Last year we surprised friends and neighbors by taking plates of homemade cookies door to door, wishing people a Merry Christmas and sending them God's love through goodies.  We'll do the same again this year, hopefully on an even larger scale.  The dream is to get a plate of cookies to every household in Genesee.  Many hands and willing bakers will be necessary!  A little over a month from now we'll be delivering.  Make your plans now to help.

It's no accident this event was a huge success.  It has all the hallmarks of the gospel we're trying to spread and the ministry patterns we're trying to establish.

• It's inter-generational and cuts across boundary lines.  Young folks and old love making cookies.  Young folks and old love eating them too!  And distributing them was so much fun that I've already got young people from our church coming up to us and saying, "We're going to do that again this year, right?!?"  People expect a God who only talks to (and through) people who think, look, and act a certain way.  This turns God loose!
• It's personal.  The homemade aspect shows warmth, love, and a person-to-person care.  So does the hand-to-hand delivery method.  You see faces, smiles, taste hand-touched goodness.  Mailing a bunch of pre-packaged, store-bought cookies wouldn't have nearly the same effect.  People expect a predictable, one-size-fits-all message about the gospel, as you'd see on a billboard.  This brings God back into our real relationships.
• It's freely given.  Everybody expects to be sold something when you come to their door.  Religious-based visitors don't alleviate this concern.  Folks are accustomed to being told, "Convert to our religion" or "Give us money" or "Come to our church" or "Amend your life or you'll be in trouble when you die".  All of them amount to, "Think like us and give us satisfaction or you're wrong!"  What a message.  A freely-given plate of cookies demonstrates everything they need to know about how God really approaches his children.  Without words we've lived out the gospel.
• It's love.  This is obvious!
• It's fun!!!  People expect church to be all serious.  What a relief that we can come together in near-carefree joy and celebrate!  We're starting to do this in our Bible Studies and other meetings.  That's a powerful discovery.  It flows out to the town through those cookies.  They show who we are, who God wants us to be.

So...this is one of the best things we can possibly do.  We need you to help make it happen. Watch for details on baking and distribution and jump in as enthusiastically as you can.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Monday Morning Sermon: November 7th, 2011

Sunday was one of those days pastors dream about when the gospel, the festival theme (All Saint's Day), and the special use to which we put the day (first communion) all came together in a glorious, intertwined whole.

The gospel text was Matthew's Beatitudes, Chapter 5: 1-12

 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
    He said:
   3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

   11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Click through to read the saintly, communion-ish lesson in all this!

Theology On Tap Begins Saturday!

Reminder that Theology On Tap, our new study gathering, begins on Saturday at the home of Brent and Verna Studer.  They live on Spruce Street in Genesee.  Turn north from main street, two blocks up on the corner, white house, big yard.  Call if you need the exact address.

Theology On Tap differs from our other studies in four key aspects:

1.  It meets once a month, on the first Saturday, instead of weekly.

2.  Each meeting is self-contained, featuring its own topic.  Instead of reading through a book of the Bible we'll be discussing and debating theological questions in good-natured manner.  It'll be a place to share ideas and experiences and learn from each other.

3.  That good-natured attitude will be helped along by sharing a little beer and wine, including some homemade by the various brewers at our own church.

4.  We'll be hosted in different house each month

In short, this is the perfect study for people who don't get into traditional studies all that much.  Both conversation and friends will be good!  Join us at 7:00 on Saturday for the inaugural edition!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)