LivingSermons

New Blog Address

2010-09-29T23:07:00.002+09:00

My newest blog is now at www.pastorseye.com

MOVED!

2007-05-20T08:46:00.001+09:00

I have my blog to My Wordpress Blog Site The plain text of the link is: livingsermons.wordpress.com

Blogger is too restrictive to third-party software! For example, I want to use Adobe Contribute CS3 to create my entries. Blogger won't let it upload images, whereas Wordpress will.

Contribute makes adding images a breeze! It automatically resizes large images to be more blog friendly. (Hopefulyl this more efficient workflow will allow me to add more images. In the past it took several extra steps to add images to my blog.

I messed around with Wordpress features and find it an overall easier service to use!

I've exported all my entries to the new blog so there will be no interruption of service! This page will remain active but please update any bookmarks so as to save a step in getting to the blog!

Blog Entry dated 5/19/2007 11:37 AM

2007-05-19T11:43:00.001+09:00

This is a test using Adobe Contribute CS3. I'm wanting to see how to upload a picture.

It would'nt let me upload a local pic. So now here's an attempt from my SmugMug site.

This is a picture of cherry blossoms in Hirosaki, Japan.

Lutheran Carnival XLVIII

2007-04-22T14:07:00.001+09:00

We had a healthy number of submissions again! (It took me awhile to digest the last carnival—good stuff!) I don't really have a post of my own. I just returned from a quick trip to the states. I always resolve to do a lot of work on the 12-14 hour plane rides but often don't do more than catch up on the in-flight movies! (We miss out on a lot here, it's inconvenient to go to movies so I hadn't yet seen the latest James Bond—fun stuff!)

I planned to do some good blogging but ended up focusing on the tasks at hand. It was a good trip!

I will commend my Good Friday service to your viewing pleasure. The actual conversation with the devil starts about 6 minutes into the video.

Enjoy the Carnival!

Since When Did Divine Service Need an Appetizer?
Don't leave the steak in the freezer! Dan at Necessary Roughness challenges conventional LCMS wisdom that there is a time when a new mission church should only hold Bible studies without participating in actual Divine Service.

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like ...
What does an herb garden have to do with salvation? Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength remembers that Christ portrays the kingdom of heaven like many of the things around us. This is considered as a reminder of creation, a foretaste of heaven, and a blessing on the things around us.

A Trip Down Aardvark Alley
After setting up hosting for Lutheran Carnival XLVII, the Aardvark found plenty of work to do in his congregation but still had time to update the Big Blogroll O' Vark and cobble together a few posts on a various topics. Two of these touched on abortion, and Supremes Singing on the Babies' Side lauded the Supreme Court upholding the federal ban on partial birth abortions. Of course, whenever there's a commemoration from the LCMS calendar, Aardvark Alley tries to make sure we remember it, so we also get to read about Luther's pastor and fellow reformer Johannes Bugenhagen.

Why Aren't Christians Jews? and More!
The Rev. Walter Snyder of Ask the Pastor provided a pair of posts this time. In one, he responded to a person who is being drawn toward the Christian Faith but struggling to comprehend parts of Scripture, particularly the Lord's claim of being A Jealous God. He also examined Christianity, Judaism, and the Scriptures to answer the question Why Aren't Christians Jews?

Be A Saint: Donate To The VA Tech Memorial Fund

jWinters reflects on the Virginia Tech tragedy with a short devotion along with a way for people to act out in sanctification.

The Jesus Three
Nurse Ratched provides a modern parable in an unlikely place and circumstance.

Abduction?Confinement?Torture?Termination?IRRESPONSIBLITY
Spotlight on misplaced priorities and how several horror fans revolted against public snuff-movie imagery. Smoking is the least of my concerns. With photo editing lulz.

Talking About Death
Even though we are saved from sin, death, and the devil, Christians can still be uncomfortable when discussing death. Dan uses an Athanasius quote on incarnatus est to illustrate that Christians need not only not fear death but "tread it underfoot as nothing."

Commentary on an Old Favorite!
We were referred to a post at Susan's Pendulum wherein Susan makes the point that the song "This is the Day that the Lord has made" is more than a statement on how good today is.

Bibliography

http://necessaryroughness.org
http://weekendfisher.blogspot.com/
Aardvark Alley
http://xrysostom.blogspot.com/
http://nurse-ratcheds.blogspot.com/index.html
http://www.carolrutz.com

My Good Friday Service

2007-04-09T06:08:00.000+09:00

I have posted a video of my Good Friday Service entitled "A Conversation With the Devil".

Check it out at http://livingsermons.com!

I also keep an archive of my sermon videos on that site.

Prayer Cards

2007-04-06T08:27:00.000+09:00

I have recently added prayer cards to my ministry arsenal.

I give credit for the idea to Kelly Klages at her blog Confessional Lutheran Ecclesiastical Art Resources and this post: A Wierd Little Collection of Mine

One of the cards she previews on that blog is St. Patrick's prayer. Here is an example of a copy of that prayer in use in Iraq!

The person wearing the vest survived a shot to the chest. The doc asks, "was it the vest or the prayer that stopped the bullet?"

I hope someone develops the kind of cards about which Kelly blogged.

I found some cards with scripture verses and short meditative thoughts. I have been sharing them with our Airmen. I had a great opportunity recently. In an exercise we were waiting for hours for a fictitious plane. We couldn't wait for it to "arrive" for then we could go home and rest. (Some people had been working over 18 hours at that point.)

When the time came for us to go, the "airplane" was simulated "delayed" four hours! That's just my luck--I can't even have an imaginary flight leave on time!

In the midst of all that I was sharing my prayer cards. Everyone was tired and even a bit irritable! I found most people simply put the cards in their pockets (hopefully for future reference!) So I decided to take another approach. I began reading them out loud to a fellow chaplain and engaged him in spiritual conversation.

Before long, the people around us overheard our discussion and joined us asking questions about the Bible, faith, etc.

I always like it when people ask spiritual questions because I can then witness to them in a meaningful way.

Catholics have areally a powerful tool as they have a wide variety of this type of card. I'd love to see some distinctly Lutheran cards!

Lutheran Devotional Corner

2007-03-26T04:56:00.001+09:00

An excellent site is http://lutherandevotionalcorner.info/ it has links to a wide variety of Lutheran sermons including text, video and audio.

I am listed there under flash video. It looks like I'm the only one using flash! I like flash because it gives incredible video resolution for a relatively small file size. It's a bit of a pain to code the web page because flash videos don't just automatically play like windows media files!

Here is my most recent sermon:

March 25th

But I think the fact that YouTube uses flash is a good endorsement!

Speaking of YouTube, I found these AFN commercials there recently. These are examples of the commercials we get overseas. They are locally produced. I can't say that I miss regular commercials—these can be fun sometimes!

I think it helps the kids remember to be diligent in washing their hands! My 7 year old laughs every time he sees these! (I had the distinct honor of meeting Mr. Soapy. I host a weekly radio show at AFN and Mr. Soapy lived in the studio for a few weeks back when the episodes were filming!)

Interesting New Book

2007-03-09T05:59:00.001+09:00

I am reading the book "Change or Die". I'm not very far along in the book but it seems very interesting. The premise is that people resist normal approaches to change. For example, most heart patients don't change their lifestyle (smoking, eating, exercising) even though the result of their lack of change will be an earlier death.

The author maintains that facts, fear and force don't work as effective motivators of change. This is an accurate assessment!

I'm just getting started in the book and I'll post more as I read further. The book has already been valuable to me as an eloquent description of a common problem. This will help me address the problem in my preaching.

I often find that self-help books are most valuable in describing human maladies. I often disagree with part or all of a solution presented in such a book but the description of the problem really helps me in applying the Gospel to the needs of the people sitting in the pews as I present a sermon.

Testing Pictures

2007-02-03T14:46:00.001+09:00

Ethan's Most Recent Portrait

Not Too Much Snow This Year

2007-02-03T14:33:00.001+09:00

Last year we had an incredible amount of snow. By this time there was over two feet on the ground. This year we've had more rain than snow. The ground was fully covered only yesterday. There still isn't too much. It's been unseasonably warm. It was 50 only last week. I don't think we're going to get too much winter. Only a month to go before it starts warming to spring!

Testing New Word Connectivity

2007-02-03T14:16:00.001+09:00

I am writing this post in Word 2007. Word features a blogging publishing option. I still need to figure out the pictures uploading but if this works I'll be happy!

Lutheran Carnival

2007-01-01T21:53:00.000+09:00

A rather robust Lutheran Carnival XL (xtra large!) is up, check it out:

Lutheran Carnival LX

Console Wars Indication

2007-01-01T21:48:00.000+09:00

With the recent release of the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii, the next generation console war is officially engaged.

A recent visit to a Toys R Us in Northern Japan was revealing--they had a PS3 in stock! However, the Nintendo Wii was completely out of stock. A stocker was replenshing some items in the Wii case and a crowd of about 10 people quickly formed to see if any consoles were going to be available.

Looks like Nintendo really made a good move this time around. (BTW, we were able to get our hands on a Wii for Christmas and we love it! But the kids still gravitate towards the 360 and the standard controls. Explaining the motion controls to a 4 year old is difficult.)

Busy Christmas Season

2006-12-16T19:48:00.000+09:00

It's been very busy for us. My wife went to the states for an unexpected trip. I had the opportunity to be a single dad for a week. The biggest principle that got me through successfully was knowing that if I had a moment to sit down or to rest something wasn't getting done!

I also had the opportunity to help produce and sing in a choral presentation of selections from Handel's Messiah. I also started co-teaching an evening marriage enrichment class.

By God's grace, we made it through very well. I need to update the Lutheran carnival to read include a reference that I mistakenly deleted. I just have to go back and find a reference to the site, which is giving me some problems right now.

No snow yet. It's been unseasonably warm. But word is there's a cold air mass currently over China of its heading our way and once again severe winter will begin in earnest! The kids are really ready for the snow. Today they were sledding down a hill on the grass.

Lutheran Carnival XXXVIII

2006-12-02T20:13:00.000+09:00

This Carnival hails from (now) snowy Northern Japan. An interesting local legend holds that Jesus actually escaped Crucifixion and took up residence near here. We don't yet have pictures. We actually tried to go when the fall colors were in bloom and road construction kept us from our destination. (Normally not being able to read Kanji isn't a problem because most signs are annotated in English. But, in this case, the detour signs didn't have any English and we got a bit lost. Thankfully GPS got us back home!)

I'm a little early, but Sunday is a work day for me and Monday is quite busy. (Especially with singing in a choir that will be presenting The Messiah next Saturday!)

We leap into the carnival with two excellent entries by Kelly Klages. The first, at Kelly's Blog, shows two pages of Lutheran and Reformation themed Stamps. (Make sure to click on the images as they open into very high resolution photos showing great detail!) Kelly especially points out "the illuminated cover page from Luther's German Bible, an Olaus Petri stamp from Sweden, and some Papua New Guinea stamps."

Kelly's second entry, at Confessional Lutheran Ecclesiastical Art Resources (CLEAR), contains an engaging discussion on the devotional use of prayer beads. Perhaps tactile, physical devotional aids would enrich your devotional life!

Orycteropus Afer invites us for a stroll along Aardvark Alley. Clement of Rome "is remembered for establishing the pattern of apostolic authority that governed the Christian Church during the first and second centuries." Check out his biography to learn more about how the Apostolic era found expression in later church history.

Recalling more recent history, the Aardvark looks back at Thanksgiving 2006 looking at godless thankfulness and noting an inconsistency between celebrating family and holding pro-Abortion views.

Enquiring spirits want to know! And Ask The Pastor supplies the knowlede. A dedicated Christian who regularly tithes based on salary wants to know if a Christian should tithe from profits gained from selling a house and business. Read the answer for an insightful response!

A second question at Ask The Pastor continues an engaging look at Who Speaks Christ's Forgiveness?

Finally, Random Intolerance has a couple of entries. The first deals with a topic on everyone's mind: Winter Weather. Why is it that meteorologists have such a hard time with the white fluffy stuff?

And the last entry for this edition of the Lutheran Carnival: Elle showcases the diversity of Thanksgiving meals partaken at a zoo.

Peace!

Translation Needed!

2006-11-24T20:58:00.000+09:00

Sometimes having the Japanese literally translated to English still leaves a gap of understanding. Consider the sign below. Some times I think I almost understand the point of the sign, but then I realize I have not a clue as to what it means! It's a little hard to read with the Blogger compression. Click here to see a higher resolution version.

Welcome Lutheran Carnival!

2006-11-24T20:35:00.000+09:00

I'm looking forward to hosting the Lutheran Carnival in a few days! The Carnival really helped me get plugged into good Lutheran blogs. (Then individual blogrolls continued to lead me into this good Blogosphere.) Being in Japan, I am more accountable for ministry to Lutheran laypeople. (In the States, I refer people to local congregations--we don't have that option here!) I felt a bit disconnected from Lutheran life due to my isolation from regular Lutheran fellowship. These blogs have helped quite a bit!

To answer the consideration of deadlines and timezones, I'm happy to keep the deadline as normal. (Everyone'll just be a day late from my perspective!) I'll have plenty of time to pull it together.

Timezones are always an issue for us. It's hard to call family. Emails from the states always come in overnight. Business calls to the states necessitate a late night or early morning. And then the flights to and from the states are always a challenge. (Modern travel is still a challenge! Getting home is a 24 hour ordeal. Many people opt to stay the night in Tokyo after the flight, but I always like to get home as soon as possible!)

Here's a sample of what it takes to get here: leave Las Vegas at 10am, leave San Jose at 1PM, arrive Tokyo 5PM the next day, get on Narita Express to Tokyo station at 6PM, get on Shinkansen to Misawa at 8PM, arrive Misawa at 11:30PM, walk in the door at midnight. So the local time goes from 10am to midnight the next day. Actual time passage ends up being about a 24 hour trip. (My fear is that I'll fall asleep on the train and miss my stop!)

It's a fun trip though. I always try to get on a 777 as they have a TV in every seat. (I do have the video IPod in the event I get an old school 747.) The frequent flyer miles add up quickly! And I do enjoy riding on the Shinkansen (bullet train).

It's a very small town here, but most Japanese know of it due to the Miss Veedol (see earlier post). It's a great town with a lot of building happening. We've seen a lot of transformation over the last 18 months.

We're now getting ready for the snow. Last winter we had 158 inches. (The nearby mountains often get 30 FEET!) The temperature keeps dropping. It's only a matter of time! Snow shovels, etc. stand at the ready...

Busy Worship Schedule!

2006-11-24T20:15:00.000+09:00

I'll have a busy worship schedule the next week! On Sunday I preach at a liturgical format service, then a contemporary format service followed by the Gospel/Inspirational format service. Busy day! But I'm realy looking forward to bringing the word on Christ the King Sunday.

Right now, I'm toying with a theme based on the opening line of a very popular book: "It's not about you." My thesis is: "It's all about you." Consider Matthew 18:12 or Luke 12:5-7 or even Matthew 13:44 (I think a strong case can be made for the man in the parable representing God and the treasure representing us--I mean, if the man represents us and the field is the Kingdom of God, what can we sell to buy the Kingdom? I know the price God paid for me!) There are several other passages along this line.

Now, we do have our sinful flesh and desire with which to contend -- let me be very clear: it's not about your sinful lusts! But it is about you!

I believe this is a very important distinction!

Peace!

Trick or Treating in Japan

2006-11-02T20:36:00.000+09:00

Halloween in Japan is a lot of fun. It takes me back to when I was a kid. It is still very much a social holiday here. We bought about $100 worth of candy and it was gone in 45 minutes. There were times when our sidewalk was completely jammed with kids.

It's really neat to hear the little Japanese children saying, very carefully, trick-or-treat and thank you. It's also a lot of fun to see the costumes that they come up with. There was no way I could keep count of how many children came to our house that night.

Are Denominations the Cause of Disunity?

2006-10-29T17:12:00.000+09:00

Lately, I've heard a lot of people speaking negatively about the whole concept of denominations. For example, I overheard someone saying that if Christians could just come together apart from their denominations we'd have unity in a minute.

I guess the more I reflect upon it, the more I disagree with that sentiment; and that's not just because I'm a pastor. Consider for a moment what we would have without denominations. We would have a bunch of people: each with their own opinions, their own interpretations, and no accountability. We'd have, in short, pandemonium. (Even greater than what already exsists!)

We would have no ability to create consensus with such a group. That is, unless they wanted to come together to the lowest common denominator. And even then agreement would be impossible.

Also, I consider the phenomenon of many nondenominational churches. What ends up happening is that a nondenominational church realizes that it's very difficult to stand all by itself. It ends up finding other like-minded congregations or even an organization that is like-minded. Upon finding these like-minded cohorts they seek to strike an agreement to willingly walk together in ministry. They might even pull together their resources in order to more efficiently train pastors and send missionaries. Sounds an awful lot like a Synod.

I believe that denominations are the key to future unity in the Christian church. Representatives from denominations may come together to talk about theological agreement/disagreement. These representatives would be speaking on behalf of many Christians. Even that situation can be chaotic, but is certainly a whole lot better than bringing thousands and thousands of Christians together to all speak at once.

Denominations give accountability to their members and pastors. Without such accountability, it is very easy for people to be led far astray from the gospel. (Of course it's still possible for people to be led astray within a denomination. It's just that people have a recourse against a false teacher within a denomination.)

While I long for unity in the Christian church, I don't believe denominations are stumbling blocks to it.

Predestination

2006-10-29T17:07:00.000+09:00

Today in Bible class, one of the students made a comment that was simply enlightening about the topic of predestination. She said that she perceived that people run into problems with the topic of predestination when they try to treat it as a means of grace.

I really appreciated her comment because it was a concise explanation of what I was explaining to the class: that predestination is never treated apart from Christ.

Miss Veedol

2006-10-28T14:18:00.000+09:00

Most of us are familiar with Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis flight across the Atlantic. But how many of us are familiar with the Miss Veedol flight from Japan to America across the Pacific?

Miss Veedol was the first plane to fly nonstop across the Pacific Ocean. The flight took place on October 5, 1931. It went from Misawa to Washington. The flight lasted about 41 hours and puts the current 11 hours needed for the trip into perspective!

Another Resource

2006-10-26T07:32:00.000+09:00

There's another resource to identify Lutheran blogs on the web: Lutheran Blog Links

Another tool that I think is going to be very helpful in reading blogs is the new Sony Ereader. It utilizes a new technology called Eink. It is supposedly like reading on a page. One of the things I really like about it is that it will sync up with blogs. I'm hoping that having blogs in a more portable and readable form will allow me more opportunities to follow blogs.

We have a rainy day here in northern Japan. We were planning to go to the zoo down in Morioka. But due to the poor weather we decided to stay closer to home. So we are going to check out the Misawa aerospace and science Museum. I'll have a note or two on how that goes.

Peace!

Matt

New blogging tool!

2006-10-25T22:35:00.000+09:00

I have just discovered the ultimate blogging tool. It is the software Dragon naturally speaking version 9. It is text recognition software. It's been a few years since I've tried text recognition software. The last time I tried it was about five years ago. It didn't work so well then.

This new version works almost perfectly right out of the box. I spent about 10 minutes training it. In fact, I'd say it makes fewer mistakes with the voice recognition than I make typing.

So I'm really hoping that this is can I help my blogging get off the ground in a better way. Typing is so laborious to me that I don't often update my blog because it becomes more of a chore. But being able to dictate my blog, I think I'll be able to update it more often because it's much easier.

I believe that I will be updating my blog much more frequently now. I've just discovered a whole slew of Lutheran blogs. It was like uncovering a treasure trove. One of my favorite nexus of Lutheran blogs is one called Lutheran carnival you can find it here: Lutheran Carnival

Until next time God bless and keep you.
Pastor Matt and he

Sermon Preparation

2006-10-07T17:52:00.000+09:00

Blogging takes a bit of time, and I haven't had much of that! (That and I haven't written a sermon in a few months.) But I want to get into the habit of doing so and since today has been rainy (along with most of yesterday) I've been stuck inside so this is a good time to restart!

I am preaching tomorrow so it's prompted me to get out some readings and analyze and apply.

The readings chosen for tomorrow are:

Jeremiah 11:18-20 -- innocent prophet being "set up" by his enemies
James 3:16-4:6 -- jealousy causes quarrels
Mark 9:30-37 -- who's the greatest?

The immediate illustration that comes to mind is the movie "The Caine Mutiny". The story had all the elements present in these readings: plotting, lying, and jealousy.

In "The Caine Mutiny" the captain made several mistakes. Then, in the midst of a typhoon, the Executive officer challenges and relieves the captain from command.

Later, in the court martial, the Executive officer's defense attorney was able to prove that the captain was incompetent. At the celebration party, the attorney upbraids the Executive officer and others. Even though the captain made several mistakes and may even have been legally incompentent--at one point the captain asked the officers for help and they refused to help him.

That, said the attorney, put the blame of failure in command on the officers, not the captain.

The christian should anticipate the needs of others. If we see someone having trouble we should lend them aid--even before they need it. And we needn't even receive praise for their assistance. We should never relish the fall of another.

Sometimes offensive behavior and plotting is obvious, sometimes it is subtle, but it is always wrong--regardless of motivation.

Sunday 12 March 2006, 2nd Sunday in Lent

2006-03-06T16:13:00.000+09:00

The readings for Sunday, the 2nd Sunday in Lent are:
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Romans 4:13-25
Mark 8:31-38

I'll also be considering Psalm 22:22-30

The theme that immediately jumps out from the Gospel is that of sacrifice. My initial study will revolve around the concept of sacrifice.

I think of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego in the book of Daniel. The were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. They refused to worship the king. Even when threatened with death, they refused to compromise.

Certainly anyone would understand a decision to compromise in such circumstances! They could have worshipped the king with their mouths only. Their hearts would have been far from worshipping the king. Anyone who knew them would have known that their worship of the king was insincere and they would've avoided the death penalty with such empty words.

But their faith encouraged them to make a foolish decision. They refused to bend. They refused to compromise.

The king was so furious that he had the oven fired twice as hot as normal before throwing in Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego. It was so hot the guards throwing them in were killed by the heat outside the oven!

God miraculously saved them. Inside the fire was an additional person--an angel. And God preserved them from the flames.

The temptation to compromise our faith comes in many forms. What is the tempation in your life?

Next I'll look at the value of faith as evidenced by Abraham. For faith is the answer to the tempation to compromise!

Oops!

2006-02-23T17:47:00.000+09:00

Wow, I let this slip for several days! I'm intending to make my blog a daily habit. I'm sure I'll have a few more starts and stops before I get going on such a regular basis!

The sermon this week will focus on the Transfiguration of Jesus. His Transfiguration was a key event in tying together the Old and New Testaments. The presence of Moses and Elijah along with Jesus and the disciples is significant!

I'll be exploring that significance in the days ahead.

Radio Show

2006-01-25T21:07:00.000+09:00

I've been blessed with the opportunity to do an hour radio show each week on our AFN station! The first week was kind of rough but an excellent learning platform--some things I can only learn from doing!

This week we covered the topic of Hope and touched on suicide issues. Next week I've planned a show on friendship. We talk a lot about the Wingman concept. Chaplains use the word "friend". We all need friends! The music this Tuesday at 1500 will celebrate friendship.

I've even been able to plan the following week: parents and children. I've gotten most of the music for this but it has been the hardest so far. If you know of any tunes from the 70s, 80s, or 90s that covers this topic, let me know!

My sermon for Sunday is also underway! The topic for the sermon will be "Strength", as in the Lord will lift us as on wings of an Eagle! The Father strengthened Christ in His time of need, we too can expect to receive strength in our times of need.

An illustration of this: a young girl was going to take the plane to her grandmothers. This was in the day when we still used paper tickets. In the days and weeks before her journey she kept pestering her father to give her the ticket so she could hold on to it and know her journey was guaranteed. Her father kept replying that he would keep the ticket in safe-keeping until the moment she needed it.

That is how it often is with our strength--God gives it to us as we need it! We are all capable of far more than we realize. It's been said a hero is a normal person in extraordinary circumstances. When we have the need for strength, the Lord will deliver us!

The Great Reversal

2006-01-18T07:24:00.000+09:00

The Bible is full of reversals. People who have labored to get ahead and sacrificed their morality, their integrity and their souls to gain the world find that the world is an empty promise.

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. The world only takes. Human beings are truly only dust in the wind in terms of the history of the world. Even the greatest civilizations of the past have been forgotten. Ours too will be forgotten and others rise up in its place (unless the Lord comes first!)

The Kingdom of God is eternal. It will never end and all who invest in it will be richly rewarded!

It is like the extravagent spender--he may look wealthy and happy, but he's living hand to mouth--spending income as he gets it, even going into debt to keep up the lifestyle. When it ends, it ends abruptly and he finds himself destitute.

Others live frugally, appearing to be somewhat poor even as they wisely save for the future. One day their investments mature and they live in wealth until the end of their days.

It's like the fable of the ant and the grasshopper. Here's a link to the fable if you've forgotten it! http://www.civprod.com/storylady/stories/AesopFables.htm

The Kingdom of God works similarly--some choose to reject God and live according to the desires of the flesh. (Billy Joel--"I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.") We can even be jealous of them in the shine of their youth as we watch them having fun, doing what they want. But the harvest they reap from this lifestyle is certainly not to be envied!

Instead, the people who have lived by restraint gain wisdom and become respected and sought after for their teaching. They become the rock, the shelter in the storm sharing the strength of God who has kept them strong all the years.

Certainly salvation may come to both types of people through the grace of God in Christ Jesus--but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord! I'd rather know the full joy of walking in will of God than the empty satisfaction of gorging my stomach!

Great Power=Great Responsibility

2006-01-14T13:14:00.000+09:00

The catch-phrase of Spiderman is "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility." This should also be a catchphrase of the Christian.

God has invested great power in the invidual Christian and even greater power in the Christian community known as the church. Individually and collectively, Christians have the power to forgive sins, the power to pray, the power to witness, the power to be the light on the hill, the power to be the salt of the earth, the power to be Children of the Lord Most High.

With that power comes responsibility. We must work to bring people to salvation. We must be good ambassadors for our Father and King. We must be the one's who take the high road even when it's not popular. We are witnesses! Let us tap into the great power, for then we will find the ability to share in the responsibility!

Christian Growth and Trees

2006-01-11T21:35:00.000+09:00

Christian growth is much like the growth of trees. It is not constant. It comes in spurts and even seems to go away at times.

In the spring the tree grows quickly and puts out buds and new life all around. This is equal to times of joy and vigor in the life of faith.

In the summer the tree settles down to full leafy green beauty. This is the equivalent of the more mature Christian settling down to learn the depth of God's Word.

In the late summer the tree bears fruit. This is seen in the Christian life as the mature Chrsitian bearing the fruits of the spirit.

In the fall the tree is clothed in a glorious colorful display. In the Christian life this is the time of acknowledgement for service done in the church.

In the winter, the tree appears to be dead and not growing. In the Christian life this is the "Dark Night of the Soul". It can feel like faith is gone and God no longer hears prayer. But have no fear, life remains deep within and the roots still carry nutrients! And Spring is around the corner!

Christian growth is not constant at all! We need to rejoice at every stage of the way and not become prideful nor frightful!

Peace!

Is Baptism the Work of God or the Work of Man?

2006-01-07T07:30:00.000+09:00

Who does the work in Baptism? This is key question in understanding the doctrine. For if the work in Baptism is done by humans then the benefit of baptism comes from the worthiness of the person being baptized.

If the person being baptized is being baptized based on his or her worthiness, then what is baptism? What benefit is baptism?

Now, if the work in baptism is done by God, then a person is made worthy in baptism. Baptism is a way that God reaches into a person's life and brings grace and favor into that person's life.

Baptism clearly belongs to God. He made the promise attached to baptism. He instituted baptism. God does the work in baptism.

This is a comfort because our relationship with God does not depend upon our strength of faith, strength of character or stength of anything in us. And that's a good thing because we're all sinners and we are weak. If our relationship with God depended upon anything from within us, that relationship would soon fail.

Instead, our relationship with God depends upon His strength. Our relationship with God depends entirely upon God. He gives us our faith, He gives us our strength, He gives us our Salvation. This is a comforting thought, in the darkness of our weakness we will always see the light of His strength!

What If the Wicked Witch of the West Repented?

2006-01-01T19:54:00.000+09:00

We do find repentance entertaining. One of the biggest repentance scenes in a movie is that of Darth Vader in the third Star Wars movie. And the movie clearly implies that Vader found forgiveness upon his repentance.

What if the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz had repented? Of course she didn't and we see the other preferred end of evil characters: death and destruction. She remained hard hearted and it led to her destruction. Consider the end of the Wizard of Oz had she repented like Vader!

We also have what I would consider the opposite of repentance in the Incredible Hulk. He changes from a mild mannered gentleman into a raging hulk of a monster! That too is a complete change in thinking and acting but in the wrong way!

Repentance means coming to terms with your past. Hard heartedness means continued denial of reality and leads to bitterness and indeed destruction. I think Vader is the better path over the Wicked Witch!

It is up to each Christian to throw off the fetters of hard heartedeness and repent! For then we shall find forgiveness and be truly free!

Peace!

Pastor Boarts

Metanoieo

2005-12-31T21:53:00.000+09:00

I'm not sure about the spelling of the title! The greek word for repentance is meta-noi-e-o which means "a complete change in ways of thinking and acting."

In order to do this complete change, we must despair of the worldly ways of thinking and acting. And this isn't so easy to do! In the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" the main characters are driving down an interstate against traffic.

Someone in a car heading the same direction in the proper lane gets their attention and shouts, "You're going the wrong way!" One of the main characters, John Candy, says to the other, Steve Martin, "That's nice of them, but how do they know where we're going?"

Each of us has goals in life and those goals are unique to each individual. But there are things common to each of us also. One of the main things we have in common are the things of God.

I heard a news commentary today in which the commentator mis-interpreted the first commandment. He said that in the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods", the "you" referred only to the Jews. According to this commentator, God wasn't prohibiting other people from having other gods. In fact the commentator was criticizing someone for saying Jesus is the only way to salvation. The commentator stated that anyone who says that Jesus is the only way to salvation doesn't know the Bible at all.

Wow. Here's the link to the video I'm speaking about, listen until the part about John Gibson http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/12/27.html#a6493

Voice On the Water

2005-12-30T16:46:00.000+09:00

Reflecting on Jesus' baptism led me to consider the role of water. Through a chain of thought I came to a new understanding of the role of water in Jesus' ministry.

Several times in the Gospels, Jesus preaches from a boat just off shore. Commonly we understand His purpose in doing this was to reach a greater number of people--voices carry better over water and He could reach a significant number of people from a boat just off shore.

This is also a symbolic action. As I considered the role of water in the re-creation of baptism, I also considered its role in the creation of the world. In the beginning of creation, when God spoke the words of creation, He was hovering over the waters. Christ also spoke words over the water in His ministry of re-creation.

This role of water in creation and in Jesus' ministry makes a compelling connection that I continue to ponder.

Peace!

And It Snowed!

2005-12-29T20:30:00.000+09:00

We've gotten more than average snow for December so far--and for Misawa that's saying a lot! The average for December is around 22 inches. We've gotten over 30 so far! None of the snowfalls have been particularly large -- 1 to 2 inches at a time, maybe 4-5 inches a few times. But it seems like I have to go out and shovel the walk every morning! And this is just the beginning--it's good exercise and I appreciate the time to listen to my audiobooks on the Ipod while I shovel, so all in all I can't complain!

We finally made it to the Shimoda mall! It's one of those things we kept meaning to do but things kept coming up. It was a good experience--the boys haven't seen a full toy department/store since we left the states. I think we could have left them at the mall for a week or so while they absorbed the toys! We did pick up a truly Japanese toy for my nephew for his birthday, he should be pleasantly surprised!

More on the sermon preparation tomorrow!

The Baptism of Our Lord

2005-12-26T10:43:00.002+09:00

The next time I'll be preaching is 8 Jan 06 which is the celebration of the baptism of our Lord. So my devotional writings will center around the pericopes for that week as I prepare for the sermon. The readings are Genesis 1:1-5, Acts 19:1-7, and Mark 1:4-11. The psalm is 29.

The first thing I like to do in looking at a pericope is to look for a common thread between the readings. I also look for a theme incorporating the theme of a special Sunday like this one: the Baptism of Our Lord.

First, a quick look at each of the readings:

Genesis 1:1-5-God creates light
Acts 19:1-7 Paul informs people who had been baptized by John about the Holy Spirit
Mark 1:4-11 Jesus is baptized

A connection between the Acts and Mark readings are the role of repentance and the Holy Spirit in baptism. The connection between Genesis and baptism is the beginning of light. Baptism ushers in the light of Christ into a persons life and that person becomes a new creation. As God created the world so He creates new people through baptism.

We repent, we receive the Holy Spirit, and we are recreated as new creatures in Christ.

My reflections the next couple of weeks will revolve around three elements: repentance, the Holy Spirit, and re-creation.My prayer is that a unique angle of connection between these elements and baptism will emerge and serve as the basis for an engaging sermon!

I invite you to join me on this journey! I'll publish the finished sermon on my new website: www.livingsermons.com. The new site is up but I don't have content on it. This sermon on 8 Jan 05 will be my first post to that site.

Peace!

Pastor Boarts

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-24T16:14:00.000+09:00

Beginnings are always a wonderful time. That is a big part of the joy of Christmas--it is the beginning of Christ's journey on Earth. We know that His journey will be difficult to say the least--but beginnings are always full of anticipation, even if the journey is going to be difficult.

During my deployments the beginnings were always full of adrenaline and excitement. Eventually that wore off and routine set in. But it was in the midst of the routine that I found significance. I was able to bring the joy of Salvation to others in the midst of their routines.

The beginning of faith is often full of adrenaline and excitement. But then, in faith as well, routine sets in. Some people fall away from the faith then--drawn only by the adrenaline and excitement. But many find significance in the routine. That is when they truly find that they know God who is the rock, God who is the Alpha and the Omega--the beginning and the end, God who never changes.

Even as life changes around us the promises of God stand firm. As we celebrate the beginning of Christ's life, let us celebrate our faith whether it too is new or whether it is mature having been tested and found pure.

Merry Christmas!

Holidays and Christmas

2005-12-23T18:19:00.000+09:00

Perhaps I'm not Christian politically correct on this issue!

I find the Christian backlash against stores for dropping "Christmas" ironic. How long have Christians lamented the commercialization of Christmas? Now, when the stores want to move away from Christmas, some Christians get even more upset!

I'd rather have a store prevent their employees from saying "Merry Christmas" and then let those employees attend worship on Christmas, Sunday, and other occasions. Many, if not most, companies do not take a persons worship schedule into consideration when composing work schedules.

Where's the "Merry" when you're working on Christmas! For that matter, where's the "Happy" when you're working on the holidays!

Probably the only national company I've seen with sensitivity here is Chick-filet. They are closed on Sunday--to allow their employees a day off and to worship if they choose...what a concept!

I suppose the motivation of the stores isn't the best. But, hey, let's let them drop Christmas! Then the church can once again define the meaning of Christmas. As it is, I think the people upset about stores dropping Christmas are sending the message that Christmas may only be found in stores!

Excellent Book

2005-12-23T08:19:00.000+09:00

Have you ever read a book you didn't want to end because the characters were so compelling? I recently had that experience with "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" by Ann Rice.

As Rice states in the Epilogue, creating a homosexual or liberal Jesus is easy, portraying the Jesus of the Gospels is extraordinarily difficult. And Rice did an excellent job of painting a picture of Jesus of the Gospels.

I'm looking forward to the next installment! Many events of the boy Jesus' life foreshadow later events in His ministry. Although Rice is known for her vampire books, she's made a change in her life rediscovering her Christian faith. This book really enriched my faith. I recommend it highly!

Snow and ... Christmas

2005-12-22T22:23:00.000+09:00

The forecasters have no idea what the weather will be! Each time we've had a wind and/or snow warning, it was calm and/or not snowing! The only time we've had a major snowfall so far this year (about 5 inches), the forecast was for 1 inch! At any rate, we've had plenty of snow so far!

This Christmas, I'm focusing on the mystery. So often religion is criticized if it isn't "practical". Well, perhaps some parts of our faith aren't "practical"! Some parts of our faith are so much a part of the things of heaven, that they have nothing to do with the world and so don't seem practical at all!