Birds Have Nests

Birds Have Nests

"And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." (Luke 9:58 KJV)

Humankind's desire for more; for bigger and better, can sometimes be insatiable. But, what good is it if you strive to have the largest, finest homes and as you age, they become empty? What good is it to work long hours, every day of the year just to have the most and the best if in the end you leave it all behind and if you do not have time to actually live life? It seems to me that we spend a lot of time worrying about what we have and way too little time appreciating who we have. We (most of us) have family and friends. We also have Jesus. Are fancy houses better than a relationship with Jesus? Yes, we must work if we are to have a place to lay our heads. We must work to eat. (See 2 Thess 3:10-12)

Jesus did not have a fancy house. In fact, he tells us he did not even have a place to lay his head. He did not own a home of his own. His home was greater than a brick and mortar or a straw or a wooden house. His home is the entire Kingdom of God. 

"And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 

                                                                                        (Luke 12:29-31)

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Building Up Of The Holy Temple

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

                                                                               (Eph 2:19-22 KJV)

We are one in Christ. By faith in his saving work on the cross, we who were not God's children are now God's children; brothers and sisters in Christ; fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God.

To each of us is given gifts to build the Church. The gifts are not necessarily brick and mortar. Rather, they are gifts of the Spirit and some could be referred to as talents. Some may be teachers. Some may be readers or singers. Some may sweep the floors or shovel snow. Others may be gifted with the gift of charity and occupied with feeding the hungry and reaching out to those in need. No matter what it is that each individual has been given the ability to do; all of these gifts are necessary to help build the church on earth and ultimately building up the true Church, the holy temple; the Body of Christ.

God gives us gifts to build up this holy temple; yet, for some reason many congregations seem to not be doing much to build up the Body of Christ. They remain in their little groups catering to themselves rather than going out into the world to share the good news. So intent on saving their buildings and their little circles the great commission is often forgotten. They will say: "we are too old" or "when I retire I will have time to serve the lord." Who knows what tomorrow will bring! 

Consider that each stone in the building is a person and their gifts. If some of the stones have been left out of a building, what will happen when a storm comes along? The wind and the rain and the snow will ravage that place and the people will have to spend even more time focusing on repairing a building rather than building up the Body of Christ. He is the cornerstone on which the holy temple is built. If he is not, then it is not the holy temple that is being built.

We are the habitation of God. Together, we are the holy temple. We are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. That holy temple needs every brick to be complete. Don't be found missing. Serve the Lord together according to each person's individual gifts.

God's Peace - Pr. J 

What Is Our Mission?

Faithful Stewards of the Word

Pr. John Henry, Pr. Jimalee Jones, Bp Alex Malasusa

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20

I include the words of Jesus in what is known as the Great Commission in many of my sermons to remind us what the Church is really all about. Sometimes, I fear, we forget and need to be reminded.

"Back to the Future: First Century Principles for the Twenty First Century" is the theme for the Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ's annual convocation that will be held in Denver this week. The annual gathering is a time for members of LCMC from all around the globe to gather together in worship and fellowship; to exchange ideas; to lift one another up in Christ with the good news; and to reexamine our individual and corporate ideas of what Jesus calls us to and how to do.  ("Just do it!" Don't debate it! As the Spirit of Christ abides in us; he does it for us, through us. Trust him!)

The exchange of ideas; rededicating ourselves to the mission that we have been called to and exploring how this can be done locally are all well and good. But, usually putting these "good ideas" to use means that we have to take a good look at ourselves: where we have been; where we are now; and, where we are going. When we do that we will usually find areas that need a bit of changing, sometimes some hard changes.

Sadly, what I have experienced over the years is that when the ideas; when the possibilities for growth in Christ are brought back to the congregation any changes that might be good for the growth of the local church are put on the back burner. Business continues as usual with members continuing to lament their deteriorating congregations. Lutherans largely hate change and they will fight to keep it the same old, same old, even if it means putting their congregation into a state of hospice.

The church grew in amazing ways during the first century. The shepherds were not so worried about making people comfortable or making sure that their preaching did not intrude upon the private secular lives of those who were listening. They were focused on preaching the truth so that the sheep would be fed and saved. There are no new programs or new buildings or new people or new anything else that will help your congregation to grow unless those who have been chosen or called to serve have received new hearts. The church on earth has one purpose and that is to reach out to all people with the good news of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If things haven't been working well for your congregation; if mission has been put on a back burner and you are slowly (or maybe quickly) dying, maybe it's time to take a good look at what those first Christians focused on. Was it the building made of brick and mortar (there actually was none) or were they more interested in building up the Body of Christ, which is the Church?

May God help us to trust the power of His Spirit, that we might be good stewards of the Word, sharing the Good News with all people and spending less time focusing on our how we can save ourselves. We cannot save ourselves. Only God can save anyone.

God's Peace - Pr. J