…since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. (Romans 3:23-25a)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

As we celebrate the Reformation each October, we can be tempted into commemorating a historical era. While the ‘Protestant Reformation’ is indeed an era in the history books, reformation cannot be relegated into the past. Reformation is an ongoing movement and work of the Holy Spirit that continues in our lives and in our world.

God did not cease His salvific work. We do not cease being changed by God. We are re-formed regularly. Our faith is re-formed. Our congregations are re-formed. The Holy Spirit continues to influence our lives and our choices – re-forming the people whom God has called and chosen. We pray that we do not remain static – and God’s ongoing Reformation continues in us and among us. We pray that all the world be able to confess with the full confidence of the Holy Spirit … Jesus Christ is Lord!

The grace and peace of God which h surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

…because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.  (Romans 10:9-10)

¹Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.
² Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
³ Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

 (Psalm 33:1-5)

 

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

There are strong Biblical correlations between praise, righteousness, joy, justice, love, and faithfulness. Witnessed throughout many of the Psalms, worship is an expression of that correlation. Worship is where we intersect with living faith. Worship is not intended to stand alone in our lives or be separate from our lives. It is an opportunity to express our faith, hear God’s Word, and be strengthened for our daily journeys.

Luther’s explanation to the 3^rd article of the Apostles’ Creed includes the oft memorized line, “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.” The primary function of the Holy Spirit is to call, gather, enlighten, and make holy (aka sanctify) the whole Christian Church on earth. The Holy Spirit calls and gathers us together to praise God.

Worship is best accomplished in community. We join our voices in praise and lift them to God. We draw strength from the voices around us. We proclaim God’s Word to one another. We listen and discern God’s promises together.

While personal devotions and prayer time are well and good, they cannot offer satisfactory replacement communal worship. One does not sing songs of praise in 4-part harmony alone. Responsive readings do not work well with one person. One does not experience the magnitude of communing with the whole Body of Christ in isolation.

What we take for granted – the opportunity to join our praises with others – is often the most lamented aspect of being homebound. They miss the chance to sing together, even if their voices are weak. They miss the sense of being surrounded by other believers as they pray. They have to make a conscious effort to maintain a sense of connection to other believers at Holy Communion.

Even flawed communities (which all earthly communities are) are better than isolation. Human beings were created to be in community. They were created to give praise in community. They were created to be in relationship with God and with one another. They were created to experience the love of God together.

There are many times when we rely on the faith of others. During personal times of lament, we rely on the voices of others to praise God. When our faith is weak, we lean on the faith of other believers. When our voices feel weak and tired, we draw from the strength and energy of the worshippers around us. When we are feeling strong, energetic, and at the tumult of faith, we emanate that strength to those who are not. Together our voices praise God for the whole of His everlasting love and faithfulness shown to us in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 33 begins with an exhortation to the people to worship. The psalmist then moves through a lengthy explanation of how to go about that worship and lists many and various reasons why to worship. It concludes with a communal confession of faith and trust in Him. The Psalmist moves from exhortation to accomplishment of that very command. The Psalmist moves from telling the people to worship to actually worshipping with the people. Tens of centuries later, Psalm 33 demonstrates worship to us. It does exactly what it sets out to do – praise the Lord. We add our voices to the mix as we express our faith in song and spoken word, prayer and praise – praise the Lord.

The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
²¹ Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:20-22)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

Breaking down the etymology of the phrase ‘transformed community’ provides us with this insight: A ‘transformed community’ is a group of individuals who together move beyond their current identity.

Transformed: adjective form of the past tense of the verb ‘to transform’

trans-: prefix from the Latin preposition trāns meaning across or beyond (on the other side of)

form: from the Latin noun forma meaning Form, shape, beauty

Community: a unified body of individuals

Com-: prefix from the Latin preposition cum meaning ‘with’ or ‘together’

Munus: (from the Latin) a service, office, employment

‘Transformed community’ is a function of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit changes us as individuals & communities into the image of Christ in order that we serve as His Body here on earth. Our campers experienced this as cabin groups, program groups, & a parish group this past month. They experienced how God changes communities and individuals – calling us together into one. They now return into their congregational, school, family communities bringing an awareness of God’s transforming power in those communities.

This transformation is ongoing. God is continually transforming each of you into faithful, loving children of God – calling you together into ‘transformed communities.’ By His power you are made new; your communities, many and varied, are made new. The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;  love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. (Romans 12:9-13)

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  (I Corinthians 12:4-7)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

Years ago, one of the confirmation students (who shall remain nameless) asked why I wasn’t eating any snack at the beginning of class. It happened to be one of those Wednesdays that had involved a lot of visitation and had already included a fair dose of goodies and coffee (probably way more than is considered healthy). She then declared that she wanted to be a pastor too — so she could drink coffee and eat treats all day. As amusing as that anecdote is, I do not discount the gifts of eating and drinking coffee because it is so often integral to hearing people’s stories. Those are two gifts that have served me well over the years (even if my primary physician thinks otherwise).

Oftentimes we do discount many of our own gifts. Some we take for granted. Others we simply do not associate with ‘church’ activities and especially not with ministry. Yet much mission work is made up of seemingly mundane tasks done out of love for God for our neighbor.

We also tend to have difficulty appreciating the gifts of others. It takes building a relationship with someone to really appreciate the variety of gifts they bring to the Body of Christ. Relationship involve vulnerability and vulnerability can open us up to pain or rejection.

It can be challenging to identify means of service in seemingly mundane gifts and talents in ourselves and others. In those instances, we not only do limit ourselves, but we are attempting to limit the Holy Spirit – which usually doesn’t work very well.

The challenge is in discerning and using those gifts to serve God and neighbor. This challenge can only be met by listening and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We rely on the Spirit not only to strengthen us but also to lead us. The Spirit gives us gifts and helps us use them to the glory of God.

We have been given the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is alive and active in the world, in our lives – and in the Church. The hard part is listening to the Spirit’s guidance. Discipleship depends upon listening to that voice. Congregational life is intended to serve the efforts of the community to listen to that voice together. We listen together. We share those ‘varieties of gifts’ to serve God and neighbor. We move as one in the world to make disciples of all nations. We trust in Christ’s presence in our midst as we go out into the world. We see His presence in the presence of our fellow believers.

Something as simple as helping a neighbor turn to the correct ‘red hymnal’ is a form of evangelism (and can spare them a fair amount of grief and embarrassment). That is just one example of how mundane actions can be used to glorify God. Here are some other various gifts (very loosely categorized) that can be used to shine the light of Christ into the world:

Teaching

• Telling Bible Stories
• Skills
• Sports
• General
• Relationship building
• Marriage mentoring
• Parent mentoring

Music

• Teaching
• Performing
• Leading
• Planning

Evangelism

• Visiting
• Drinking (serving) Coffee
• Greeting
• Sitting w/ someone during worship
• Inviting
• Hymnal guides
• Writing

Caring ministries/service

• Sewing
• Crafts
• Cooking
• Repairs/ maintenance
• Building
• Cleaning
• Organizing
• Gardening
• Visiting
• Reading (to elderly)
• Childcare
• Sending cards

This list is only a sampling. There are many other gifts and talents that we can use to serve God. There are varieties of gifts and varieties of services, but one Holy Spirit. Christ has promised to be with us. He has sent the Holy Spirit to work among and in us. He has given us authority to be His Body in the world. Trust Him. Let us go out into the world to serve God with confidence.

The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore 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 that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20

Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

The three days between death and resurrection probably seemed like an eternity to the disciples. Their grief and fear would have been palpable. Confounded by the present, terrified of the future, and perplexed by the past, their faith experienced the greatest test of all. The one whom they had trusted and loved, the one they truly believed was the promised Messiah, was dead.

Jesus was ripped from this earth and their lives in the most humiliating and painful means available. Crucifixion was reserved for the worst of the worst criminals. The purpose was to make the suffering of the accused so great that it deterred all sympathizers from committing similar crimes. The challenge of re-evaluating all of Jesus’s teachings and the life the disciples shared with Him in light of the condemnation of the religious and state authorities would have been daunting. How do you reconcile the reality of the person you loved and believed to be the Son of God is branded and executed as an enemy of both Rome and Israel? How do you make reconcile the all He taught you with the violence done to Him? Making any sense of how events transpired from Thursday evening through Friday noon would have been both arduous and horrifying for this group of followers. How do you move into tomorrow when yesterday and today are so full of conflict, worry, and suffering? How do you face the future mission of your group while struggling to come to terms with the complete upheaval?

The wait for Sunday morning would have been excruciating. Especially since they managed to forget Sunday morning was coming. Despite Jesus’s promises and teachings about His own death and resurrection, despite the teachings of prophets like Isaiah, the disciples are depicted as being too paralyzed by grief and fear to remember the promise. Christ told them He would rise, but they either forgot or they never really got it. When faced with grief and fear, their hearts were hardened to the very promise that could ease their pain.

How do you comprehend the Will of God in the midst of pain and grief? It has been commented by theologians, particularly those specializing in pastoral care, that most of our lives are spent ‘living in Holy Saturday.’

Some scholars are describing faith with this metaphor. They posit our faith existing somewhere between the crucifixion and the resurrection. We have experienced the pain. We are expecting the joy. We are waiting for the fullness of God to be accomplished in us.

Others are describing human experience. We all have times in our lives we consider ‘highs’ and others we would say are ‘lows.’ The bulk of our time is spent somewhere around the middle of those times.

Either way, ‘Holy Saturday’ time describes a time with some degree of uncertainty and waiting. It is time spent trying to comprehend the past and present while imagining the future. It is a time of testing. It is a time of reflection. It is a time to listen for God. ‘Holy Saturday’ time is sacred.

While hiding in the caves, Elijah recognized God in “a sound of sheer silence.” (2 Kings 19:12b) For the disciples, that “sound of sheer silence” was Holy Saturday. That was their time to listen for God’s voice. It was their time to remember all that Jesus had taught them. Our ‘Holy Saturday’ times provide us the opportunity to listen for God’s voice and listen in the midst of ‘sheer silence.’ We too have time to remember all that Jesus has taught us. And, so we wait. We wait until that time when we, having been united to Him in death, are raised in Christ.

‘Holy Saturday’ is not forever. Easter Sunday comes. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. …  We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. (Romans 6:5,9)

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

The above passage has become through the years a very popular selection for use at wedding ceremonies. While it does offer valuable advice on the nature of love within a marital relationship, that was not actually Paul’s intent.

Our culture tends to put an extremely high emphasis on romantic love. Yet, all romantic love needs the foundation of a more inclusive and potent communal love. It could even be argued that what we call romantic love is merely lust without a that foundation.

The Greek language has multiple words as compared to our one word to discuss love. There are three primary words for love in the New Testament, each describing a particular form of love within relationships. Paul does not use the word for romantic love in this passage, but the word best described as communal love. It is the same word for love Jesus uses in Luke in reference to God and neighbor. Paul is expounding on this vision of love embodied by Christians as the Corinthians struggle to manifest that love within their community.

The bonds founded on the love of God and neighbor form the foundation of the church. Those bonds form the foundation of all relationships. We relate to the world under the umbrella of Christ’s love. Paul’s advice is relevant to all our relationships. Jesus’s command to love impacts all of our interpersonal interactions. God calls us to demonstrate Christ’s love to others and to perceive Christ’s love in others. We, as beloved children of God, are called to love.

The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

He [Jesus] answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

 

Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
In June I accompanied some of our youth to Bible Camp. The theme for summer camp at Green Lake Lutheran Ministries is ‘Get Lost!’ based upon the theme verse of Matthew 10:39. Some of the older students commented that ‘Get Lost!’ sounded “kind of harsh” for a Bible Camp theme. That is a risk one takes when themes are based on Bible verses.
At the end of June, Kim Dougherty and Mitch Reierson accompanied 4 of our older youth to Houston for the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering. The theme for this gathering is ‘This Changes Everything!’ based on Ephesians 2:8. Less harsh sounding than the Bible Camp theme, but this theme still uses the 2nd most-feared c-word — C-H-A-N-G-E.
Loss and change are connected. Life in Christ is change. We lose our former selves to the new life in the One who claims us as His own. The two verses are in many ways two sides to the same coin – the impact faith in Christ has on our lives. Jesus does change everything. We do lose our old life and find our new one.
The Apostle Paul often talks about the new life we have in Christ. “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Jesus Himself referred to new wine being stored in new wineskins, not old ones. (Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37) Newness necessitates change. If anything is made new, it is no longer the same.
As logical as that seems, it has been much more difficult for the church on earth to embody that concept. Somehow throughout the centuries, the church on earth has oftentimes become a catalyst against change. Rather than embodying the newness of life given in Christ, the church has declared itself an agent of homogeny of a posited precedent. The church itself willingly enters into a position to impede the very newness promised in Christ. The past (whether real or imagined) becomes an idol.
Yet Christ continues to promise us new life. The Holy Spirit continue to infuse newness within us and within our congregations. Several leaders of varying backgrounds (Thomas Paine, George S. Patton, Lee Iacocca) are quoted as saying “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” As Christian disciples, the choice facing us is simple. The Holy Spirit leads – always. We follow. And occasionally, we do have to get out of the way. We fight the temptation to collapse into fear and sameness. We pray to receive the newness of life with joy.
Jesus Christ does change it all. Thanks be to God that we do lose our old lives… the new lives we have in Christ are incomparable. The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— (Ephesians 2:8)

Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
Once upon a time, June represented a calmer time in people’s lives. School let out for summer vacation, families planned get-aways, even many workplaces adopted a slightly more casual atmosphere. (Of course, our memories are probably more relaxed than the reality. We tend to remember the great fun we had on vacation rather than how many times Mom or Dad threatened to ‘turn this car around!’)
Now…the busyness continues. Community programs charge ahead full speed. Sports camps, Bible camps, summer classes, get underway. Teams take advantage of the ‘down-time’ to have ‘unofficial’ practices to get ahead of the curve before the season begins. Teens try to get as many hours logged at work while they have school ‘vacation.’ Teachers try to plan ahead for the coming year of lesson plans. Oftentimes, ‘vacation time’ from work is used to catch up on chores or projects at home.
Vacation and rest can be hard work. We often work so hard at planning and making the most of our time of ‘rest,’ we fail to actually rest. The ‘rest’ portion gets lost amidst our attempts to make that ‘rest’ absolutely perfect. There is a certain irony in how hard we work to achieve the best quality of ‘rest & relaxation.’
This is not a new problem. The Pharisees put an incredible amount of work and energy into clarifying the third commandment – efforts to perfect the state of ‘rest.’ They spent countless hours and an amazing amount of effort to perfect ‘rest.’ Jesus pointed out how far they had strayed from God’s intent. They missed the point.
Rest is a gift from God to grant us a change of pace. Hopefully that change helps us reflect on God’s Word and work in the world and our lives. The third commandment is intended to aid our awareness of God’s presence in our lives. It is not intended to be or make more work. It is about presence – being present to God and to one another. ‘Being’ present does not require perfection or work. We have to stop working in order to rest. It defeats the purpose when we try so hard. It is just ‘being.’ Enjoy the gift of rest given to you by God. Just be.
The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest… (Hebrews 4:9-11a)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
The Holy Spirit influences our lives a lot more than we talk about it. We may mention the Spirit in passing, but find it much easier to discuss the Father or the Son. Creation is more tangible than the Spirit. The life, death, and even resurrection of Jesus is literally more corporeal than the Spirit. Of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the most difficult to explain, but arguably the most active in our daily lives.
The Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” God has sent the Holy Spirit to us precisely to be present in our daily lives. The primary role of the third person of the Trinity is to be a constant presence and involvement in the lives of the believers. Despite being more difficult to grasp as a concept, the Spirit is the most present in our lives.
Both the Hebrew [ר֖וּחַ (ruwach)] and Greek [πνεῦμα (pneuma)] words for Spirit are the same words used for breath or wind. Like breath and wind, the Spirit manifests itself in an imperceptible physical form yet impacts the physical world quite perceptibly. We experience both breath and wind. We are aware of their necessity and notice their absence. We witness the results of their power. We also experience the Holy Spirit. We witness the gifts of the Spirit in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We recognize the impact and the strength of the Spirit. We perceive the power of the Spirit in our lives.
You know the Holy Spirit is among you. You can be confident Christ has sent His Spirit to dwell in you. You experience the Spirit’s involvement in your daily lives. The Spirit gives blesses you with a multitude of gifts. The Spirit grants you strength and comfort. The Spirit guides you in God’s ways and calls you back when you falter. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God that fills you with life, faith, and love.
The grace and peace of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. (John 15:26)

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
Another calendar year is beginning. The busyness of harvest, Thanksgiving, and the holidays is winding down. Often following all the busyness of December, many people experience an adrenaline crash. After all the celebrating, vacation days, and schedule abnormalities we try to return to life ‘as usual.’ Many become introspective and focus on changes they may want to make in their lives.
Oftentimes our lives feel suddenly quiet like the wintery landscape in which we live. Winter has been associated with death across cultural boundaries. For some reason, when deciduous trees shed their leaves, crops have been harvested, animals go into hibernation, and things generally stop growing, people are reminded of death. When life slows down people think of death.
Usually from Thanksgiving to early Spring, there seems to be an increase in funeral home activity. As one person recently commented, “there are always those who don’t make it through the winter.” In generations past, winter in the north was a harsh reality one hoped to survive. That is often how we look at death – as harsh and cold.
We have also come to associate the time just after Christmas with new beginnings. Change is comparable to death and resurrection. The old passes away and the new arises. Daily life is full of deaths and resurrections. Change is an inevitable part of life on this earth. Our time here on this pilgrimage is anything but static. Daily we struggle against sin and evil. Every day God destroys all that opposes Him and raises us up in His image.
The apostle Paul is sharing a ‘mystery’ with the congregation in Corinth – we will all be changed. Death is not some harsh and cold finale, but a relocation from this pilgrimage on earth to our heavenly home. It is the mortal morphing into the immortal – the temporal converting into the eternal. The change is necessary. This transformation is part and parcel of true life in Christ. Death in Christ is a passage from life to everlasting life.
The incarnation is beginning of God’s kingdom being realized. In Christ’s birth, the eternal enters the temporal. In His death and resurrection, the temporal crosses the threshold into the eternal. Mortality takes on immortality. Jesus comes and takes us with Him into the realm of the imperishable. We are changed.
As we go through the seasons of our lives, we cling to the knowledge that Christ is doing this amazing thing. At times those seasons are as unpredictable as Minnesota weather, yet through all those seasons, God is at work – molding us, transforming us, leading and sustaining us on that journey. God is preparing us for His kingdom in heaven and here on earth. The seasons in our lives are part of the journey. The Holy Spirit is given to us to be our guide. The Spirit is our Advocate as we ebb through the turbulence of this life on earth as we journey toward our eternal home.
Just as Winter gives way to Spring, death gives way to resurrection. As turbulent as some of our ‘seasons’ can be, God remains steadfast and true – He is indeed “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,
Pastor Carla

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. (Psalm 46:1-3)