Disciples, great commission, story, preaching

Planted in God

After reading the title above for the MAY newsletter, some of you are probably thinking that Pastor is more than one egg short of a complete basket! After all, Easter was in April, right?! Then again, some of you (who were at the Easter Sunday service) are beginning to realize that Easter is continuing and is certainly MORE than just one day of the year. And that is really the point of this month’s newsletter – EASTER is, indeed, still part of our daily lives. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ that we celebrate is more than can be contained in a single morning – it is all year long, every year. We can see it if we look for it. And we can embody it if we truly believe it. Among the congregational activities this month, you will have many opportunities to fulfill your own expression of your resurrected life in Christ, and you are encouraged to share that with others. Are you allowing your life to interrupted by God? Remember that we heard Dietrich Bonhoeffer write, “God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together [San Francisco: Harper, 1954], 99). St. Peter says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). So, are you giving everyone a reason to ask? Consider how you might go about doing that in your daily life, and then share the things that have worked for you with your fellow members, so we can all learn new ways to continue to show that Easter [still] Matters in our daily lives. Blessings in the Risen Christ, Pastor Jim Pastor Jim Kirschenmann

The coming of Spring brings a sense of "newness" and this is evident in our Faith lives, as well... AS we travel our Lenten Journey toward the cross and then Easter, we are called to repent and receive a New Life - in Christ Jesus.

As we embark on this year’s Lenten Season, it is time, once again, to hear and obey the call that God places on our hearts... While February seems to be all about Love, Lent is a time to reflect on how we are acting in response to God’s love. On Ash Wednesday we will here God speak through the prophet Joel: “ … and rend your hearts … Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love…” Joel 2:13 (ESV) So, what does it mean to “rend” our hearts? Those experiencing a heavy loss or extreme grief in the Old Testament would “rend” their garments – tear them apart, usually at the center of the chest – revealing their heart. To “rend” your heart, then, is to expose the inner most part of your being – to open up – and thus allow God to do His work in your life. This is how we are to RETURN to the LORD – with a heart open to receive his steadfast love. Psalm 51:7 (ESV ) states it this way… “ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” During this period of Lent in March, bring your broken and contrite heart. RETURN to the LORD, and receive the blessings of His grace and mercy, share in His abounding and steadfast love, those gifts given in the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ, to atone for your sins. Let the Cross of Christ “mend the rend” of your heart! And be blessed to share such blessings with others. Pastor Jim Pastor Jim Kirschenmann

February, with Valentine’s Day, brings to mind the concept of “Love.” What do you love?

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV): "See, I am doing a new thing!..."

GIVE AS GOOD AS YOU GET That phrase is often used in our secular world in a negative context; for example, in a third-person perspective of “[person] gives negative comments as effectively as those being dished out against [him/her/them]“… And so often the case is that we are proud of the fact that we can lambast another with a slur that tops whatever they said against us. But… what if? What if this season we turn that around and flip it into a POSITIVE mindset? What if we were to build others up (see Ephesians 4:29 ), rather than tearing them down? What if we were to focus on what could make things better, instead of focusing on what does (or could) make things worse? What if we were to GIVE hope, encouragement, trust, kindness, compassion, and care? And what if we were to become an example of that type of giving – all year ‘round? Would that make a difference in our world? (Sign up for “14 Days of Light” this month). As we’ve been studying the Acts of the Apostles, we recently came across the following passage from Acts 20:35 (ESV): In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” As you (hopefully) still have the remnants of Giving Thanks on top of mind, meditate also now on what God has given you (J ohn 3:16 ), For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. So, my encouragement for you this day, this month, this year (and the next) is to give an example, as the Apostle Paul did for us, and to remember that to ‘Give as good as you get’ also means you need to realize just how much you have been blessed – to the point of receiving eternal life… in paradise… with Christ Jesus! Give even as it has been given to you… in Christ, Pastor Jim Pastor Jim Kirschenmann

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...