I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  (Ephesians 4:1-7)
Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the risen Lord and Savior. Amen.
Paul wrote to the congregation in Ephesus from prison to remind them of their calling and encourage their lives as disciples. Like all congregations for the past couple thousand years, they needed some reassurance and fortification.
Communities are just as subject to discouragement, fear, doubt, and temptation as individuals. Being a community of faith is hard work. One fallacies of congregational life is that people expect it always be easy and harmonious. For some reason, we are tempted to think there is some magic force-field around churches that keeps out sin and evil. We somehow forget that we are a gathering of sinners who are being redeemed. If that magic force-field really did exist, Jesus would be sitting all by his lonesome.
Communities of faith need buttressing for the simple fact that living in community is difficult. We can be tempted to despair, to doubt, to apathy. We can be tempted to either hoard or devalue the gifts we have among us. We need reassurance. We need encouragement. We need the Gospel just as much as the person who has yet to hear it for the first time.
We have been blessed with innumerable and varied gifts. Together, we participate in God’s mission here on earth. We seek to reach out to proclaim Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to our little corner of the world. Our words express the love of Christ. Our actions declare the saving mercy of God. We build up the Body of Christ by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.
God uses us as a unit to give life and salvation to this world. God uses the very people who are being redeemed, to give redemption to others. As Jesus once stated to the disciples, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.” It is pretty amazing what God is accomplishing among us. And it will continue to be amazing as God continues to act in this area.
The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the risen Christ Jesus. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Carla
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

The eyes of all wait upon you, O LORD, and you give them their food in due season.

You open wide your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:15-16)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

The Lord provides. He does. Really. It may not always be what we ‘want’ or when we want it, but He does provide. He gives all his creatures all they need to live. He places us in community to help one another live life to the fullest according to His Will.

Luther explains the 4^th petition of the Lord’s Prayer like this:

Give us this day our daily bread.

What does this mean?

In fact, God gives daily bread without our prayer, even to all evil people, but we ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.

What then does “daily bread” mean?

Everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. (Luther’s Small Catechism. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #23163.)

God gives you all you need to live. God provides. At times He will use other people to satisfy your needs. He uses food shelves, social service agencies, voting booths, marriage counselors, real estate agents, schools, congregations, towns, families, neighbors and countless others to provide for all His people. Think of all the people involved in a simple sandwich – from the seed dealers to the farmer to the butcher to the baker to the sandwich maker and all the steps in between. Even with all local ingredients, it is a long and involved journey to lunch. God works through all those people to put food in your mouth.

He also uses you to provide for others. He calls you to care for your neighbors. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan. Who was a neighbor to the injured man? The lawyer responded, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37) We are called and try every day to “go and do likewise” because God is working through us to provide for His world.

God opens His hand wide for all who wait upon Him. He is near to you. He does provide. The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the risen Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

You are righteous in all your ways and loving in all your works.

You are near to all who call upon you, to all who call upon you faithfully. (Psalm 145:17-18)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; 

O LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.

If you were to keep watch over sins, O LORD, who could stand?

Yet with you is forgiveness, in order that you may be feared.

I wait for you, O LORD; my soul waits; in your word is my hope. (Psalm 130:1-5)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

God grants us forgiveness, but oftentimes, unlike the Psalmist, we take it for granted. Forgiveness is undeserved. There is nothing we can do to negate the effects of sin. The rift caused in the Garden of Eden was so great that no mortal can repair it. Yet, God chose to send His Son for that very purpose. Jesus repairs that rift. Jesus forgives.

We all tend to agree that forgiveness is important, but what exactly is it? What is forgiveness? The definition of the Hebrew is to pardon or to spare.  Forgiveness is being pardoned or spared from the full retribution deserved for the transgression. We have gone against God and as Luther put it, “deserve only death.” Redemption indicates being delivered from something or someone. Forgiveness delivers us from the ultimate deserved punishment – death.

Forgiveness gives new life. It delivers us from our old lives and gives us new life in Christ. It is greater than just a fresh start. It is empowering and freeing in a way that is almost unimaginable. Christ frees us from sin and death by blessing us with forgiveness. His forgiveness opens our eyes, ears and hearts to not only Him, but the world around us.

Knowing His immeasurable love and forgiveness opens us to love our neighbor. The forgiveness we receive from God translates into better relationships with God and those who live among us. Forgiveness opens our eyes to the graciousness of God and the extent of our need for forgiveness. Being forgiven aids us to “sin no more” (as Jesus commanded) by shedding light on those things in our lives that need forgiving. Forgiveness guides our daily interactions with God and one another.

In short, we can pray the words of the Psalmist confident that what God has given us in Christ is exactly what the Psalmist is awaiting. The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the risen Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

My soul waits for the Lord more than those who keep watch for the morning, more than those who keep watch for the morning.

O Israel, wait for the LORD, for with the LORD there is steadfast love; with the LORD there is plenteous redemption.

For the LORD shall redeem Israel from all their sins.  (Psalm 130:6-8)

and he (Jesus) said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:46-49)
Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the risen Lord and Savior. Amen.
Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus did two very critical acts. He reiterated His promise of the Holy Spirit and He blessed the disciples. Both of these acts gave life to the church on earth. He made the disciples part of God’s mission.
You too are participants in God’s mission. You too are witnesses of “these things.” You have heard the Good News and trust in His Word. Jesus Christ has been revealed to you as Lord and Savior. God made His Word known to you in His Son. You stand with the disciples as Jesus returns to the Father.
You have witnessed these things by the power of the Holy Spirit. You have heard the Good News from those witnesses who have gone before us. You continue to hear the testimony of believers around us. Even though the Gospel according to Mark concludes with the women too frightened to say anything, eventually they told someone. That someone told someone else, who in turn also told someone else. The Good News continued to spread, until, one day, someone told you. Someone, somewhere witnessed to you about the crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ. They made you a witness.
As witnesses, you testify to the work that Jesus has done and continues to do. You do not tackle that task alone. You receive the promise of an Advocate. The Holy Spirit comes to you. God clothes you with ‘power from on high’ – the Holy Spirit. You have the power to proclaim Christ to the world in word and deed. The Holy Spirit guides us and empowers you as you undertake God’s mission in a broken world.
And…Jesus blesses you on that mission. Not just mere witnesses, you are also recipients of God’s grace and mercy. You are blessed. You share that blessing with the nations. The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the risen Christ Jesus. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Carla
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50-51)

This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

(Psalm 118:21-24)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Alleluia! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the risen Lord and Savior. Amen.

The world has changed in an instant. Nothing is the same. Nothing will ever be the same. The Rabbi is dead. He breathes no more. He walks no more. They watched Him die. They watched Him cry out and give up His spirit. The women are filled with grief and fear. The disciples are hiding from the Jews.

The tomb is empty. The Lord is not there where the disciples had left Him. The angel poses the question, “why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Do you look for the living among the dead? Do you look for Jesus only in the past? Yes, He is your past, but He is also your present. He is with you now. He is your future. He promises to be with you tomorrow.

Jesus is alive in the world. He continues to live among us. “God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25b) Imagine how strong God’s strength is. He has conquered death. He has defeated sin. He has overthrown evil. What can He do in your life?

The Lord has done this. God raised Jesus from the dead. Death did not defeat Him. He conquered death. He extends that life to you. He gives that life to you. God raises you from the dead. He frees you from any and all things that separate you from Him. He gives you true life now and eternal life forever. Paul reminded the Romans (among other things) that “… we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:8b) You do live with Christ.

Alleluia! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the risen Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

 

 

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

(Romans 6:9)

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. Psalm 31:5

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

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

Many of us realize that Jesus quoted David in the form of Psalm 22 from the cross. He also quoted Psalm 31. Those who were witnessing the events at Golgotha would have recognized the familiar words of the Psalmist. Most would have heard the whole of the Psalm as they heard Jesus’ final committal.

They would have heard the words of trust and promise. As Jesus hung on the cross, he continued to trust in God’s promise. No matter what (including what was currently happening to him), God would deliver Him. Even in pain and suffering and what seemed like complete and utter abandonment, Jesus was confident that God was in charge. Jesus knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that no matter how horrific and hopeless a situation appears, God is faithful. Despite what the world thought and vocalized, God had His back.

Life is full of crosses. We face grief, illness, fear and a myriad of other things in life that fight to rip our hearts and minds out of God’s grasp. This fallen world opposes the faith God has given us. Sin, death and evil want to win. The malevolent forces of this world seek to destroy us in body and soul.

We claim with the apostle Paul, ^“… in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)

God has shown us in the crucifixion how far He will go. He has shown us in the resurrection, the consequence of His profound actions. Jesus defeats all things that oppose the coming of God’s kingdom. Jesus conquers over any and all hostile forces in the world and in your life. Christ brings you back into the loving embrace of the Father Almighty.

God has your back. Hear God’s promise to you. He has redeemed you. He gives you courage and strength. God will continue to take care of you no matter what crosses you face. He is faithful. His strength and courage will carry your burdens. His wisdom will guide you. His love and mercy will redeem you. Commend your spirits to Christ, confident and trusting that in heaven, on earth and your life, Jesus prevails over all things.

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

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord. Psalm 31:24