dmh

2012-01-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

i am darren harbaugh and i still exist

Pentecost 6 july 24

2011-08-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Vicar Darren Harbaugh
Pentecost 6 july 24

“But, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

Today I’d like to talk about nike. When I was growing up, I wanted a pair of Nike Air Jordans. Those are basketball shoes. Nike always had these great commercials featuring Michael Jordan, doing funny and zany things. I felt like if I had a pair of Nikes, my life would be better. I would be able to run a little faster and jump a little higher than everyone else.

I never got that pair of Nikes. I got whatever was on sale at the store and, of course, I blamed all my problems on that cheap pair of shoes I was stuck with

It’s a nice thought though, right? Put on a pair of magic shoes and all your problems go away, you become superhuman in your ability to deal with adversity, life is great.

It seems like this is how many people approach Christianity. Take, for instance, verse 37 from our epistle reading, “But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” I remember seeing this verse on one of those Christian motivational posters. There is a picture of a man on top of a mountain arms raised in victory, with the phrase “More than conquerors!” pasted on the bottom. The impression is: With Jesus, you to can conquer any obstacle, even Mt Everest.

I’ve seen Christian leaders using this line of thought, instructing believers on how to conquer lust and fear and envy and other “impossible habits” perhaps by following their “5 principles of success.” Some Christian leaders tell believers to pray for whatever they want and they will get it.

They treat Jesus like a magic pair of Nikes that you slip on to make your life better.

So what do you think? What does experience tell you? Do Christians have any problems in life? Ever encountered any rough patches?

Right. Obviously, we still face anxiety and worry, divorce, family struggles, job setbacks, financial trouble, alcoholism, persistent sin and many other problems.

Sometimes we Christians, experience these troubles more than non-Christians. You can look at an unbelieving friend who seems to be a great person, with a wonderful marriage, a happy family, a fulfilling career and think “What’s going on?”

His parents must have bought him a pair of Nikes when he was a kid. That’s gotta be it.

If you haven’t realized it by now, let me break the news to you: being a Christian does not mean that all life’s problems automatically vanish. Nor does being a Christian mean an easy road to money, success and happiness. But I’ll take it that you’ve figured that out by now.

So what about Romans 8:37? “But in all these things we are more than conquerors though him who loved us.”

We do not achieve success in whatever we put out mind to That is not what this is talking about. You can go down to Ocean Beach, offer God a really sincere prayer, and then try to swim from here to China and back, and well, I’m sorry but in this situation you will not be more than a conquerer.

Paul says that we are more than conquerers in “all these things.” All what things? A couple verses earlier it says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …No, in all these things we are more than conquereors through Him who loved us.”

Notice, we conquer IN these things not despite these things. We conquer not by avoiding or escaping, or by strapping on our Nikes and out-running the problems of life. No, we conquer in experiencing them.

Conquer in experiencing problems? “That’ll never work.” What a foolish way to achieve a victory. Yeah, That’s what they said as Jesus lifted up on the cross.

It is not our courage and strength and endurance by which we conquer. No, it is all Christ.

All the junk that you experience in this life. All that guilt and pain. All those trials and tempations. All the stuff that keeps you up at night. Those regrets you can’t shake. The mistakes that you feel you can never correct. Those things you wish you could erase from your memory, but remain seared there, taunting you.

Jesus takes all these things upon himself.

The sadness you feel because a loved one has been torn from this life, the depression you experience because your health has been diminished by disease and age, the frustration you have because illness has so limited you that simply living and existing is hard work.

Jesus takes all these things upon himself.

And because Christ has suffered all these things for us on the cross, that is what brings the victory. We have victory in the worst adversity. We are more than conquerors “though him who loved us.”

This love is not a vague sentimental affection. It refers to a specific historical act of love on Christ’s part: his death upon the cross.

Our religion is not a religion only of love, but it is a religion of Christ’s love, a love that hung on the cross and walked out of the grave and ascended to the Father to intercede for us, opening to us the doors of heaven. This is a love that is for us all.

As it says in verse 32 “God who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things.”

We are given all things: our sins are forgiven; God’s demands, impossible for us because of sin, are fulfilled,; the bonds of death itself are broken. Christ ,by his innocent life, suffering, death and resurrection has arisen victorious to release us from bondage, and to heal our hurt and bitterness.

How great is His love for us! Nothing, I repeat nothing, can separate us from Christ, his love and his victory!

We’ve talked a lot about victory and conquering. The Greek word for overcoming, conquering or being victorious is “nikao.” The root word for victory is NeeKay or Nike.

Let me put it in a biblical context for you

I Corinthians 15 54
Death is swallowed up in nike.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy nike?
Thanks be to God, who giveth us the nike through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I did not get the nike from my parents, but thanks be to God who gives us the nike (the victory) through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The nike is yours.

You don’t even have to pay retail price for it. You don’t have to pay anything at all. Free nike! Free Victory!

You know what’s even better though. Nike was not a good enough word for St Paul to describe the victory we have though the love of Christ. We are more than conquers. Paul made up a word – huper nikao– Hyper victorious, surpassingly successful, an ultimate overcomer, a complete conquer, or, dare I say, super nike. In Christ, we have the super nike. We are super victorious.

A few weeks ago, the Giants played my favorite team the Detroit Tigers and the 2nd game of the series was a super nike for the Giants. They won 15-3. A super victory, excessive, more than expected. In Christ, we are not simply going to be victorious, we are going to be REALLY victorious.

How do we live victoriously? Because of all this junk in life, we are being killed all day long, but through Christ we endure and survive in the midst of it all. You may remember St. Paul’s autobiography from 2 Corinthains 4. He said, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor. 4:8-12). Then he says: "So we do not lose heart!" (2 Cor. 4:16a).

Nothing shall wipe us out! Nothing shall separate us from the love and the life of Christ! Nothing! We endure. We survive.

Though we are being killed all day long, we survive because the Lamb of God was willing allow himself to be slaughtered on the cross, enduring the suffering and shame so that we would not be led to the slaughterhouse.

This was a very real, physical, tangible historical act of love. We survive and endure because Christ continues to come to us in love in a very real, physical, tangible, present way, comforting us with his love and grace. You receive Christ’s love and comfort in your ear from the sound waves of the sermon and the absolution. You receive Christ’s love and comfort on your lips in the bread and the wine, his body and blood. We come away refreshed and strengthened.

So that when we see the problems that we face in life, that we will continue to face in this life, in light of the suffering of Christ, we see that they are no longer life-threatening, but life enhancing. Our struggles are no longer final word, but a prelude to something greater that finds its resolution in the suffering of Christ for us.

All the trials in your life point you to the One that suffered for us, in all these things we are more than conquerors though him who loved us. In all these things. The more we see the suffering of Christ in our troubles, the more we are enabled to view them as a victory-producing gift from God.

Christ’s death didn’t look victorious to those who saw it. Even today, it defies the logic of the world. But God's love and loving action in our lives though Word and Sacrament remains victorious—even when it is most hidden by our external and internal sufferings.

The troubles, anxiety, stress, and danger that we face in may no way seem like a victory, but in experiencing them we conquer, because God shows us again and again, day after day his hyper conquering super nike love though Christ our Lord. His love leaps from the ink and paper of Holy Scripture into our hearts as the Holy Spirit enlightens and strengthens us.

So we are able to boldly confess along with St Paul. “ I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angel nor principalities, not rulers nor things present nor things to come or height nor depth nor any other created things shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We walk the way of the Cross

2011-06-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Walking the Way of the Cross
Pentecost 2
Matthew 10:34-42
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

A little over 150 years ago, the Civil War began. It’s been referred to as the “Brother’s War,” in part because families were torn apart by differing loyalties.

At the battle of Shiloh, when two Kentucky regiments were fighting each other, one of the Union soldiers wounded his own brother and took him prisoner. After the soldier handed over his brother, he began firing at a man near a tree. The captured brother shouted, "Bill! Hold your fire! That's father!"

Loyalties in the Civil War ran deep, with the result that it set a man against his father. Families were divided, severed in two.

Imagine if the Union Soldiers had said, “This is too much! I can’t handle such family conflict.” Our country’s history would read a bit differently.

There have been times when millions of men have given up a comfortable, quiet life with friends and family, and have taken up arms in service to their nation. They were willing to suffer loss of life and limb for a greater cause.

In the Gospel reading today from Matthew 10, Jesus issues a similar call of duty to his disciples.

The disciples were enlisted men, commissioned by Jesus to proclaim the kingdom of God; sent out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Jesus gives the disciples their marching orders: This is not to be a peacekeeping mission. They will be right in the thick of it. “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth,” Jesus says “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Jesus is saying that because of him, there will be conflict. And he draws a line in the sand, saying, “Are you with me?”

The disciples needed to know they were not entitled to a quiet life. Followers of Jesus have signed away all their rights to a comfortable self-determined existence.

The disciples found out that the message “Jesus is Lord” is a declaration of war against sin and selfishness often provoking a violent response from those threatened by it. This has always been the case. Sometimes this hostility comes from your own friends and family. Try talking about sin with someone who is proud of their ungodly behavior and see how far you get.

By saying that he came to bring a sword, Jesus was telling his disciples that loyalty to God and his mission comes first. The result may be that family ties are strained to the breaking point. A true disciple knows who to love more, putting the cause of Christ above all else.

As much as you love your children or grandchildren; As much as your love your parents and grandparents - Jesus demands a loyalty which transcends even the closest family tie.

Hear his word again: “I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother, more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Loyalty to Christ may mean that your family is no longer a place of refuge.

The world seeks peace – a truce, a ceasefire - achieved by overlooking or ignoring differences. There could be “peace” if Christians stopped sharing the good news of Christ – the forgiveness of sins that he offers to all.

Jesus doesn’t want any part of this false peace. It’s just avoiding conflict, allowing the world to go undisturbed in sin. God decided that it is better to have war and division, saving as many people as possible, rather than let everyone die in their sin. Christ came to remove sin, to offer His righteousness to all. Because of this, he did not shy from confrontation. His whole experience was the opposite of a peaceful, quiet way of life, impacting even His family. At one point, his family tried seizing him. Because of his teaching, they thought he was insane.

If you choose the comfortable path, if you fail to share Christ because you don’t want to deal with the shame and embarrassment that come along with it, you are not worthy to be called a Christian.

Sometimes religion is kept off-limits at family gatherings or other social events so that things stay pleasant. I can’t imagine that is what Jesus had in mind when he was dining with sinners.

But beyond some potentially awkward dinner conversation, Jesus addresses something even more demanding.

He says,“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

If you’re looking for a nice, comfy, convenient religion, this is not it. If you are not willing to forsake all that is important to you, friends, family, your very life, then you will have no part of eternal life with God.

Christ suffered and died for you and He expects you to follow him, even to death. You might as well consider yourself an enlisted soldier, under the command of another. Following Christ is like going to battle. It can be lethal.

“Take up your cross” had very specific, revolting, and terrifying connotations for the people of Gallilee in Jesus’ Day.

Not only was crucifixion the cruelest form of execution, but it was the ultimate shame if a member of your family was crucified. The public disgrace and physical suffering began not just when the condemned man was hung on the cross, but with the procession through the streets in which the victim was forced carry the heavy cross-piece while enduring the insults of the crowd on the way to execution.

Jesus himself would literally go through that experience of a savage death and public disgrace. In Matthew 10 this is the prospect that he holds before any “worthy” disciple.

The familiar language of discipleship – come follow after me – takes on the morbid sense of following Jesus on the march to execution.

Will you be called on to suffer physically for the sake of Christ? Not likely. But he cross is whatever Christians suffer for living their Christian faith in the world; confessing the gospel of Christ crucified. Whoever refuses or is unwilling to bear this cross, can no longer claim to be a Christian.

The cross is our life as Christians, and guess what, Jesus wants us to be happy about it. He says in Matthew 5 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

“Rejoice and be glad!”

This is just what the apostles in Acts 5. They were beaten and left “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus”

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were beaten with rods and thrown into prison where their feet were put in stocks and at midnight hey “were praying and singing hymns to God”

What do you do after being attacked and imprisoned for being a Christian? You sing “A Mighty Fortress”, “And take they our life, Goods, fame, child ,and wife, Though these all be gone. Our vict’ry has been won. The Kingdom ours remaineth.”
“The Kingdom ours remaineth.” That’s why Christians throughout the ages have given up a comfortable, quiet life with friends and family in service to their Savior, willing to suffer loss of life and limb.

Jesus says ‘Rejoice and be glad,” - because your reward is great is heaven!

What is this reward? Eternal life. How do we receive the reward? We receive it because Christ has come to us and identified with us. Whoever receives Christ’s messengers and the Word they bring, receives Christ and also receives the reward of a righteous person as it says in verses 40-42.

By believing the word preached to you, Christ identifies with you though faith. As Paul says in Romans 10, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Christ unites with you with His Righteousness. His victory over sin, death and the devil that he won by his death on the cross is your victory. In Christ, you find your reward - eternal life.

But it’s tough. If we don’t love Christ more than family, if we don’t bear our cross enduring shame, suffering, and abuse for Christ then we are not worthy of him.

Well, we aren’t worthy. Like John the Baptist, we aren’t worthy to even unloose Jesus’ sandals. Like the Prodigal Son, we aren’t worthy to be called son by our Father in heaven.
What we are worthy of, is death, because we’re sinners.
But Jesus - whom Pilate confessed did nothing worthy of death - died on our behalf, so that we would be counted worthy in the Father’s eyes. And now because of Christ and the cross, we are counted worthy to bear our cross and to suffer for that name. But with Paul, we confess that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.

That glory will be revealed on that great and final day when we sing “Worthy is Christ, the lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be the people of God, Power and riches wisdom and strength glory and honor and blessing are his.”

What a day.

Though we enter into the kingdom through much tribulation as it says in Acts 14, we do indeed enter into the kingdom. The assurance of eternal glory makes us able to bear the cross.

We look to the eternal unseen things, in spite of affliction, in spite of the worst the world has to throw at us. Eternal life is yours right now because of the cross of Christ our Lord. Amen.

A blessed belated Holy Trinity Sunday

2011-06-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

This about sums up the Trinity:

O, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Romans 11

Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Big Y You

2011-06-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

If you write things about God, it is inevitable that the spell checker will not understand your capital letter, big "Y" "You". As in "May Your name be glorified."

At some point, folks thought they'd show reverence to God, even in regard to pronouns - You, His, etc. I'm sure it was the good old King James Version that popularized it. Maybe it was rooted in 'The Name' business of the Jews - Don't say Yahweh's name and all that. Who knows.

I'm again learning to love the King James ("Authorized Version") on this its 400th anniversary. The KJV causes me to slow down and consider the text rather than breezing through it with all its 'Thees' and 'Thous.' I think the KJV, really outshines than any other version in its oral presentation of the word. When I die, I want Psalm 23 read at my funeral - in the KJV.

And it's got saying power. The third version of the NIV (first released in 1984) came out this year.

But best of all, I think the KJV still retains in its pages bit more of the majesty and awe of God. Reverence. Maybe its just because the Thees and Thous sound more like the Bible. Fine, I'll grant that.

However you slice it, reverence is not all that popular today. From the way we dress, to how we speak, to how we think - publicly and privately. Reverence is more or less considered old-fashioned. Like pews and organs and hymnals and the KJV. Maybe they are old-fashioned. I like old-fashioned donuts though. They are quite tasty. I like Wrigley Field. That's pretty old-fashioned. It's even been referred to as a baseball cathedral, and not in a pejorative manner. People say that Wrigley is a shrine, that it fills them with awe and reverence. And it's only a 1/4 the age of the KJV, 1/20th the age of the Christian church, and, well, I guess I can't put a fraction to it in comparison to the Ageless One, but you get the idea.

Some things seem ageless, but only One is. The KJV may not be ageless, but at least it still evokes reverence in my mind. Even in its pronouns.

"Jesus, here I share Your woe; help me there Your joy to know."

2011-06-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is a verse from the hymn" Let us ever walk with Jesus." I like it.

Let us suffer here with Jesus, and with patience bear our cross.
Joy will follow all our sadness; where He is, there is no loss.
Though today we sow no laughter, we shall reap celestial joy;
All discomforts that annoy shall give way to mirth here-after.
Jesus, here I share Your woe; help me there Your joy to know.

Augustine's words

2011-06-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

I liked this. Not much more to say. Merry Christmas!

Then I sought a way of obtaining strength sufficient to enjoy Thee; and found it not, until I embraced that Mediator betwixt God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who is over all, God blessed for evermore, calling unto me, and saying, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and mingling that food which I was unable to receive, with our flesh.
For, the Word was made flesh, that Thy wisdom, whereby Thou createdst all things, might provide milk for our infant state. For I did not hold to my Lord Jesus Christ, I, humbled, to the Humble; nor knew I yet whereto His infirmity would guide us. For Thy Word, the Eternal Truth, far above the higher parts of Thy Creation, raises up the subdued unto Itself: but in this lower world built for Itself a lowly habitation of our clay, whereby to abase from themselves such as would be subdued, and bring them over to Himself; allaying their swelling, and tomenting their love; to the end they might go on no further in self-confidence, but rather consent to become weak, seeing before their feet the Divinity weak by taking our coats of skin; and wearied, might cast themselves down upon It, and It rising, might lift them up.

Augustine, confessions 7.18

I am a skunk.

2011-06-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

I live in a busy area. To the left is one of the busiest intersections in town - St Francis Circle. To the right is one of the busiest intersections in town - 19th Ave (AKA Hwy 1. You can turn left going southbound!) and Sloat. There are always rumbling tractor trailers, screeching tires, and reeving motors serenading us just out side the window. It's fine. It's city noise. Everybody needs to get somewhere.

But this morning when I stepped out to to go work, there were two skunks looking at me, right in front of the door.

I was struck my a number of things. First, that such creatures exist. Aren't skunks only in cartoons? Second, that they existed in front of my house. They had fur and were not wearing a collar. Third, that they could afflict me with their superpower of smell. What would I do? I would smell. Bad. Forever. Forth, that I looked just like them. They were black and white. I was black and white. Their white stripe was across their back. Mine was around my neck. I am a skunk.

I think my doppelgangers recognized our similarity in appearance and regarded it fondly because the left me alone and wandered off. I don't know if they considered me one of their own, or just had other things to do. Probably the latter. Everybody is busy it seems. Even skunks.

Geese, God and the American people

2011-06-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

Garrison Keillor once wrote, "It is more worthy in the eyes of God and better for us as a people if a writer make three pages sharp and funny about the lives of geese than to make three hundred fat and flabby about God or the American people."

I will try, as I always do, to continue writing fat and flabby words about geese, God and the American people.

-

I think this is a great modern paraphrase of the Magnificat. Particularly Luke 1:53: "He has filled the hungry with good things"

Also perhaps a fulfillment of the beatitudes, Luke 6:21: "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied."

Or maybe this is a case of Things being filled with good hungry.

(link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Os-CACRwM8)

Healthy. Wealthy. Wise.

2011-06-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

I wish I could be an early riser.

Part of me idealizes waking up at the break of dawn, getting the morning paper, a cup of joe and enjoying the stillness before the day comes to life.

I like twilight (small “t”) – dusk and dawn. I’m seen a fair share more dusks in my day though. It’s that time when things don’t look quite like they are supposed to look or at least how you remember them looking during the day (or night).

I remember playing catch with my dad and I was not quite so fond of dusk then. I’d want to keep playing until my nose was in danger of being broken by a rapidly-advancing baseball that blended perfectly with the quickly-graying night sky.

I originally had a Lou Whitaker autograph model mitt, followed by a Bo Jackson model that was replaced by a non-autograph model in high school which I then lost while at college. But then my buddy Melvin gave me a mitt he found in the bathroom at Dodger Stadium.

With this new mitt, I joined the baseball team (The Preachers) while at seminary. It served me well at second base. I felt much less afraid in my fielding this time around than I did 10 years prior.

In manning the keystone for the Preachers, I had my first opportunity to play under the lights. I felt like a big leaguer. But I also felt sad. Because Baseball felt sad. I don’t think it’s a game that is meant to thrive at night. It does. And it does it well, but it knows that it is just moon lighting. Baseball is meant for the afternoon, but even so, a day game is a relic. It exists as a once-a-week token Sunday matinee, with an occasional weekday game. But it’s a shadow of the past. Like the Sunday drive in the country. Like reading the newspaper early in the morning with a cup of Joe. Maybe it’s all just good in theory, but not in practice. Gotta watch out for those things. There’s a lot of them.

Bonhoeffer wrote something about how it’s not natural for man to be up at night, living his life illuminated by the glow of a florescent tube; his internal clock determined by an artificial time schedule. He actually wrote none of those words. That is just how I remember what he said. And I’ll leave it at that. Good night. See you in the morning.

Yosemite

2011-06-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

I went to Yosemite. Beautiful. Sunshine, waterfalls, rock faces and such. Last time I was there I couldn't see anything. It was completely snowed out. Spent the night sleeping in my car parked in a snow-filled campsite, frightened that keeping the heater on would attract bears. Keith and I reclined our seats and slept ok. Can't say the same for the one scrunched up in the back seat (Sorry, Amber!). That was over 12 years ago. Twelve years from now my child will be finishing 7th grade. I'll let you know how all that turns out.

My favorite part of the trip was a conversation I overheard in the bathroom between a Dad and his 10 year-old-ish son.
"Dad, what is your favorite beer?"
"Maybe Anchor Steam. Maybe Sierra Nevada...It all depends on the day though"
"You like Pacifico too."
"That is true."

Simple. But I appreciate a Father teaching his child such wisdom at a young age. A beer is not just a beer, but is indeed intertwined with the essence of the day. It often takes until 6 or 7 PM - fully experiencing a day - to properly choose the right beer for that specific occasion.

Later that day I drank a PBR while surfing barefoot down Upper Yosemite Falls. I don't know what that says about my day. At least I avoided snow. And being eaten by a bear.

Kyrie Eleison!

2011-05-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

I’m not a very good phone talker. I get distracted. I don’t like speaking into a plastic machine. Don’t get me wrong, I like connecting with friends, I guess just not the medium of phone conversation. I’m not going to stop doing it though even though I find it a difficult mode of communication.

Prayer is difficult too. I get distracted. I often don’t like the feeling that I’m talking to a wall or a book. I’m not going to stop doing it though.
As it was with the disciples, so it is with us “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). I need to be taught. Well, I suppose Jesus already taught us with the Lord’s prayer. I that case, I need to continue my studies.

There is the old phase: lex orandi, lex credendi – the law of praying is the law of believing (or something close to that). It means the way we pray is the way we believe. It orders it. This is intended I think in relation to matters of corporate worship, but I believe it goes for our own personal prayer as well. Our praying orders/directs/shapes/molds/guides our believing. I’m not one for trite American pop- christianity slogans, though I used to have quite a few bummer stickers in high school and college, but let’s not get into that now… But I remember on bummer sticker that said “7 days without prayer make one weak.” Once you are done picking yourself of the ground from laughter, we can see that there is truth in the statement. There is so much law and works-based theology underlying American pop-christianity that I often try to hide my eye as often as possible, but I guess this is true. I think I would put it a different way though:”… I was going to think of a slogan but maybe I’d just try and fit these 316 verses on a bummer sticker: http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=pray&searchtype=all&version1=47&spanbegin=1&spanend=73

I guess it’s not as snappy as the previous phase, but I think it gets the job done-ish.

Outside of the Lord’s Prayer, I think the best prayer is “Lord, have mercy.” Kyrie eleison!” Says it all.

The Litany (LSB 288) is amazing in regard to this. I could pray the litany everyday of my life and never get tired of it and it would always remain relevant. It’s basically an expansion of the Kyrie. It’s origin is old. It was purged of error by Luther and translated into English by Cranmer for his Book of Common Prayer. It includes petition for almost everything you could think of: pregnant women, children, those traveling, the sick, widow and orphans and on and on.

Usually, Becca and I listen to the news in the morning and it always seems like there is something that I could include in the litany. “Lord, deliver us from…lightning and tempest (tornadoes); from calamity by fire and water (tsunamis, nuclear power plants).” Give to all peoples concord and peace (Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, well, the entire Middle East)” and on and on.

Not to mention opportunity to include petitions for prayer requests from church, to lift up family members, friends, co-workers.

Basically, it’s been a great resource for me. That petition about seeking the Lord’s deliverance from tempest made me pause for a while this morning. I don’t know any one affected in Joplin, but it makes me sad. All around the country petitions of the Lord’s mercy are being offered for them. I suppose that brings comfort knowing that the faithful will also petition the Lord on my behalf should tragedy befall me.

-

Another resource that has been blowing my mind is Starck’s Prayer book. If you want an antidote to American pop-christianity, this is it. It was written by a pastor in the 1700’s. But it’s straight up medieval, in a good way. My understanding is that Rev. Starck dealt with a lot of death, plagues, etc and that is evident. This prayer book is really in line with the art of dying well. It is always in mind that our last breath is near and that for many around us it is even closer. His prayers emanate utter and complete dependence on God at every moment. While the prayers are completely practical and applicable to our daily lives, they are also theological to the core, as in good theology. They are the opposite of pop-psycho-emotionalism christiantity; yet they honestly stir my soul more because they deliver doses of God’s law and his gospel. Starck is great. This book and Gerhard’s Sacred Meditations, probably two desert island books.

Also the Treasury of Daily Prayer, but if you don’t already have that, I’m surprised that your still reading this, go get it. It's cool.

-

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he [Jesus] departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

2011-05-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.

I have been as a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all the day.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.

O God, be not far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!

But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.
With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.

(ps 71, selected portions)

Baptism of June Paul Harbaugh - Acts 2:38-39 - For You and Your Children – Easter 3

2011-05-09T17:05:00.001-07:00

Baptism of June Paul Harbaugh

Acts 2:38-39 - "For You and Your Children" – Easter 3

Vicar Darren Harbaugh

What are you doing here? There’s lot of other places you could be and a lot of other things you could be doing. So, what are you doing here? Think about it. In the meantime, I’ll preach a sermon.

In our reading from Acts 2, Peter proclaims to the crowd in Jerusalem that Jesus, whom they had crucified, is the messiah and the God of Israel.

The Spirit worked though Peter’s words and all the men were cut or pierced to the heart, meaning they experienced the deepest emotional sorrow a human can feel. Their minds and souls and bodies were overwhelmed and agitated to the breaking point. That’s what the realization of sin and guilt can do to a person.

These men, had earlier shouted for Jesus’ crucifixion, spit on him, laughed at him, and rejoiced at Jesus’ death, which was confirmed when his side was pierced with a spear. But now, these men themselves were pierced, pierced to the heart by the Word of God, which is more powerful than any two-edged sword, or any Roman spear.

These men just realized what they had done; becoming the latest in a line of tragic characters - like Peter who wept bitterly at the rooster’s crow - feeling the weight of his denial; like Judas who was grieved at the fate of Jesus - recognizing the mistake of his betrayal.

These condemned men of Jerusalem cried out to Peter, a man well acquainted with sin but even more acquainted with absolution, granted by the Lord himself. They cry, “What shall we do?”

Peter says: “Repent and be baptized.”

You’ve heard that word “repent” before. What does it mean? Repentance is not just acknowledging sin and feeling sorry - Judas did that. Repentance is receiving God’s pardon, a complete change from a former life to a new and different life. It leads to recreation. Jesus wants to kill you. But just like He wasn’t left to rot in the grave, we too rise to new life with him. Those who are in Christ are a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come.

This is what happens in baptism. You get wet, you get cleansed from the filth of your sins, you get a new spirit, you get God’s Spirit, and you get a new heart.
In Baptism, you are cleansed with water and you receive forgiveness. We hear the word “forgiveness” a lot, but what does it mean?

Forgiveness means that your sin, your debt, your punishment, your penalty has been dismissed - set free. It is as if none of your sins had been committed. You have entered God witness protection program. In baptism, your old life of sin has been wiped away, erased.

But in Christ, it’s not just that the bad has been taken away, but the good, the righteous and the holy is given to you. In baptism, you have received the free gift of the Holy Spirit. A present, no strings attached. All this is a promise from God.

But who is this promise of baptism, forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Spirit for? Only for Jews? Only for Men? Only for adults 18 and older? Only for people smart enough to understand?

The Bible says “This promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off - everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Everyone.

That’s why we’ve got a bunch of family and friends in town this weekend. Becca and I, along with the holy catholic and apostolic church, believe St. Peter’s words and God’s promise that baptism effects the forgiveness of sins, gives the gift of the Holy Spirit and is for us, and for our children. So we brought our daughter June to be baptized today.

You know, I have to admit that not too many years ago, when I started going to a Lutheran church, the hardest thing for me to accept was infant baptism. I could not understand how a baby could ask Jesus to come into their heart. I could not understand how a baby could make a decision and chose to follow Jesus.
It’s because I didn’t understand God’s grace.

My baby, June, is not even three weeks old. She is helpless. She hasn’t made a decision in her life. But when I saw the water poured on her head and heard the words: I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, I saw God’s grace.

This morning, June had to have her diaper changed, she had to be fed, she had to be dressed. She didn’t do any of that for herself. She didn’t even pick out her own outfit. We, her parents, do everything for her. She does nothing. Throughout my life, Baptism had been a symbol of people making decisions and doing something. Now, well, I have a living, breathing, crying, pooping, visual aid of God’s grace.

It is clear from Scripture that Baptism is the work of God. He brings us to faith in Him. He is not waiting for us to take the first step. Grace is not something we do. We are not saved by grace plus something else.

This, dear friends in Christ, is good news. It is THE gospel. We need this gospel now more than ever.

You may be a baptized, confirmed and faithful member of the church. You may confess along with St Paul that you are saved by grace through faith, not of yourself, but as a free gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

But, back to my question at the beginning, what are you doing here? Honestly. Do you have your answer?

At one point, I thought that the main reason to go to church was to praise God.
You know where this thinking got me? I concluded, “Well, you know, I think I can praise God just fine in my bed, thank you very much. I can praise God while eating Sunday morning brunch. I can praise God while watching the game on TV. Why go to church?” So I stopped going.

The problem in my thinking? I had the direction of communication wrong. You don’t go to church primarily to pray, praise and sing. You go to hear and learn and receive.

If the service is understood as God giving us the forgiveness of sins, then you’ve got to be there. You lame excuse for missing a Sunday won’t cut it. Perhaps the low attendance of members here and in so many churches across our country is a reflection of how we define the service. If I am acting, then I can do it another time. If God is acting, I better be there.

We call this time that we meet together the “Divine service.” That’s not us serving God; It’s God serving us.

And God loves to serve us. He served us to the point of death. Even death on a cross. He rose triumphantly from the grave and continues to serve us though his baptismal promises to us.

And we need God and his promises. Where do you find God? Not deep down in your heart. God is found hanging on a cross, dying for your sins. God’s true body and blood are found in the bread and the wine of the Lord’s Supper. God is found is the saving waters of Holy Baptism. God is found right here in church for you for the forgiveness of sins. You know what’s cool about that? It’s objective. It’s tangible. It’s not dependent on you. The way that God served you at your baptism is the same way he continues to serve you today

Your baptism is still valid right now. You daily die and rise with Christ. You still have the Holy Spirit and forgiveness, which was bestowed upon you at Baptism. And this promise isn’t just for you, but also for your children and all who are far off. God’s grace extends to those you think don’t deserve it. It extends to those who can’t choose it. It extends even to a little baby.

Today, that little heathen that we were living with for 3 weeks was born again in Christ. If she were to die tomorrow, I know that because of God’s baptismal promise of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, she will spend eternity with Christ.
That’s an amazing gift for her. For us her father and mother.

That’s why we are here. Everyone of us. That why we keep coming here: To be served by God and to receive his gracious gift of forgiveness. Amen.

*Some material adapted from "Fire and the Staff" by Klemet Preus

The Sacrament of Unity - I Corinthians 11:23-32

2011-04-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

The Sacrament of Unity - I Corinthians 11:23-32
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

We see from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that there was a problem in that church involving the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The people there were treating it like it was a cocktail party. The wealthiest members of the church sat inside in the VIP lounge, gorging themselves and getting drunk, while the poor people sat outside, sometimes left with nothing at all to eat.
Needless to say, this created divisions in the church. Paul needed to remind the Corinthians that the Lord’s Supper is not a private meal, or an all-you-can-eat buffet with an open bar, but it is the LORD’S supper. It doesn’t hurt for us to remember what the Lord’s Supper is about either. After all, it is Maundy Thursday. We remember the evening that Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples. Our celebration tonight may seem the polar opposite of that gluttonous, exclusionary Corinthian debacle, but Paul’s words are still relevant for our own local community today as we approach our Lord in his Supper.

The first part of our epistle reading is familiar – the Words of institution - but listen again to the second part: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. “

We believe the words of the Apostle Paul. We’ve even got the cards to proof it. This passage is the reason you’ve got one of these cards in front of you in the pew. We take Paul’s words seriously. We desire that all who come to the Lord’s Supper eat in a worthy manner, and that everyone examines himself.

Let’s look at these two statements about “examining yourself” and “eating in an unworthy manner.”

What does it mean to examine yourself? Well, you must believe that you are really eating the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Those are the two big things we want kids to learn about the Lord’s Supper as they go through Catechism. #1: True body and blood of Christ. #2 for the forgiveness of sins.

So, you want to examine yourself, that you actually believe what the Lord’s supper is and what it does. People in the Corinthian church actually got sick and died because they did not discern the body in the Lord’s Supper.

But there is another aspect involved here. Our card here welcomes all confessional Lutherans who are in agreement with these statements. We want all at our altar to be in agreement with each other. This comes from the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 10, when he says: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

I repeat: “we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

There is one bread, there is one body. We desire that all who come to the altar be united in confession and belief, united with one another.

Remember the Corinthian congregation? Instead of partaking in the Lord’s meal, each person acted like it was their own meal.

That leads to the next phrase, “eating in an unworthy manner.” How do you eat the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner? When you act like it is your own personal meal. It’s not. It is the LORD’S Supper. It is Communion - communion with Christ, and also communion with one another. You are but one of many guests who is invited to the Lord’s feast. It’s is not just God’s vertical relationship with us, but also the horizontal relationship we have with one another.

When Jesus said “Take and eat, this is my body given for you.” The “You” is not singular. It is plural. If Jesus was from Texas, perhaps He would have said, “this is my body given for all ya’ll.

The Lord’s Supper is not a private matter or the property of an individual Christian but it is a celebration of the whole body of Christ. We will share eternity together.

But, maybe there are times when you don’t know the name of a person kneeling at the altar, participating in this amazing celebration with you. I dare you to introduce yourself to that person after the service. Don’t worry; they probably don’t know your name either. I’ll even give an good introduction: “Well, the vicar said we had to do this, so, ‘Hello, my name is…fill-in-the blank.”

Being shy or not knowing names is one thing, but remember, that Corinthian congregation that was divided disunity? They not only treated the Lord’s supper like their own personal meal, but there was an even more grave matter: they had no respect for one another.

How do you eat the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner? If you come to the Lord’s Table and there is unresolved disunity between you and another person in this church, then you are eating the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. You are guilty concerning the body and blood of Christ.

It’s as great a crime as the crime of those who butchered the body of Christ and shed his blood. It’s as great a crime as Judas’ betrayal, Pilate’s condemnation and the bloodlust of the crowds in Jerusalem.

You have no right to come to this altar if you are treating another member of this church with disrespect, if you hold a grudge, spread gossip, or harbor bitterness.

We sin against God and we sin against others and must be willing to do what is needed to remove any division that is between us and someone else. Christ calls on us to repent and set aside disunity. A good time to do this is when we share the peace.
This is why it is so important to trust that the Lord’s Supper is for the forgiveness of our sins. Because we sin. A lot. We gossip and bicker. We talk behind people’s backs. We don’t think the best of others, rather, we often we assume the worst of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We put our own ideas and opinions above others. We want our voice to be heard. We don’t care about disunity.

But, Christ strengthens us to do as he did, to serve one anther. To love one another, so that others will know that we are His disciples.

Our gospel reading describes the first Lord's feast where Jesus gave his disciples the example of serving one another by washing their feet. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. He humbled himself not only to the point of washing two dozen dirty, smelly feet, but he humbled himself to the point of a degrading death on a cross.

Christ still serves us in the Lord’s Supper. There he forgives you from all your sins. In the supper, we are united to Christ whom we have dishonored and sinned against and we are united to our fellow Christians whom we have also disrespected and sinned against. In the Lord’s Supper we are also given the promise of a fabulous feast to come.

Remember that the Lord’s Supper is a feast! It’s not a microwave dinner that you eat all by yourself. It’s not a power bar that fits in nutrition among all the other things in life. It’s not a buffet that is all about you and what you want. It is not even a home cooked meal that you put a lot of your own effort into.

It is a feast! And, remember, it is the LORD’s feast. He is the host. He sends the invitations. He sets rules. You don’t go into a great feast and start demanding things of the host. He serves what is on his menu, and we show him honor and respect.
What is remarkable about this feast is that Jesus is not just the host, but he is also the honored guest, the waiter, and the meal.
This meal of his body and blood, to this day, still enlivens the senses. When you come up to the altar for the Lord’s Supper, You smell the wine. It is the sweetest scent you could ever smell. It is the smell of the Lord’s death, of the forgiveness of sins, of communion with Christ and one another.

It's the same when we actually taste the wine and the bread. That is the taste of Christ’s revelation, of fellowship with God and with others. It is the taste of our Lord’s own body and blood, the same body that was crucified, raised from the dead, glorified and raised into heaven.

At the Lord’s Supper, we look back not just at the crucifixion, but we look forward to the Lord’s final coming when we all will be raised to heaven. Past, present and future are united in this meal. It is something that happened in the past, but happens a fresh right here and transforms our lives today. The Lord’s Supper is also a foretaste of that great feast to come at the end of time.

Do you want to be in attendance at that great feast on the Last Day? Good news we’re all on the guest list. But if there is anything in your life that is an obstacle to unity - Repent. Whatever it is, set it aside. Come together with your brothers and sisters in Christ in mutual love, forgiveness and repentance.

The Lord, who forgives you and loves you, invites you to His supper of unity. Taste and see that the Lord is good. We are privileged to participate in the new covenant in Christ’s blood. It is a covenant that he has made, not privately with an individual, but with all his people together as one body. Come to the altar as we proclaim Christ’s death to one another by eating and drinking his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins until he comes again to take us all to that heavenly feast that has no end. Amen

2011-03-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

March 19, 2011 - Partners in Faith Seminar Series - "Is Truth Relative?" - John 14:6 and John 18:37-38
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

“What is Truth?” That’s a good question. It was asked 2,000 years ago by Pontius Pilate the Governor of Judea, who was in charge of Jesus’ Trial, and the question is still asked today.

'We live in a time when truth is seen as something relative, impossible to know for sure.' You may have heard people say things like: "I have my truth. You have your truth. As long as we respect our differences, that is all that matters." It seems that today the most important "truth" for many people is their extreme doubt that truth can be known. And there is another “truth” that is equally important, which is: those who claim to know the truth are wrong.*

It seems nice to believe that everyone can have their own truth, however, let’s look at this practically. Let’s say that you were pulled over by a police officer and he told you that you were driving 20 miles an hour over the speed limit. How do you think the officer would react if you said, “Well, you have your truth and I have mine. And I happen to believe that I wasn’t speeding.” Do you think the officer would say, “You know, I respect our differences? Have a nice day?” Yeah…I doubt it.

Have you ever heard of the word “Truthiness”? It was a word made up by comedian Steven Colbert. This word actually made it’s way into the dictionary. Truthiness is defined as "the quality of preferring facts that one simply wishes to be true, rather than facts that are known to be true." Or in other words, Truthiness is when you believe something is true in spite of the facts.

There are a lot of things that we may wish to be true, but that’s truthiness. Truth deals with facts and reality. Either you ate cereal for breakfast, or you didn’t. The truth can make a big difference. Either you paid your taxes this year or you didn’t. It is not possible for multiple, conflicting truths to exist along side one another.

Christians are under no illusions about truth. Christianity is a religion based on facts and reality. It is a historical religion. The accounts of Jesus are eyewitness testimony to the events that they report. For example, the Apostle John wrote: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life….we proclaim also to you.

Christians do not just believe that Jesus existed and was a good teacher, but rather that he is God, just as He claimed to be.
Some people say Jesus is God. Others say he is not God. It’s either one or the other. It’s not helping anybody to imagine that both opinions are equally true. Jesus made some bold claims. He said things about himself that could only be true of God, so as author C.S. Lewis says, if Jesus is not God, he’s either a lunatic or a liar.

But, we believe that Jesus substantiated his divine claims by rising from the dead. We actually believe that a man rose from the dead. That is basis of the entire Christian faith. This is not truthiness. It’s not something nice that we wish to be true, in spite of the facts. Who would dream up something like the resurrection and choose to make it the pillar of their religion? People just don’t go around rising from the dead. At least, I haven’t run into any. We don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead because we just “know it from the gut,” we believe it because of multiple eyewitness accounts that are recorded in this book. We believe the resurrection because it is true; it is the most well attested event in ancient history.

The Apostle Paul writes that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then preaching is in vain and the faith of Christians in in vain. It’s futile. And Christians are of all people to be most pitied.
This is honest. Christians would deserve to be pitied, except for the fact that Jesus did raise from the dead. If that actually happened, which it did, then that’s big. That proves that Jesus is God.

And if Jesus rose from the dead, if He is God, then truth takes on added meaning. Jesus came not just to give us some good teachings, but he came to actually reveal truth to us. Truth is reality, God’s reality. We believe that through Jesus, the Truth, God’s reality, is something that can be known.

For example, look at John 14:6, Speaking about himself, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except though me.” Jesus was not just claiming to teach people some truths. He was claiming to be THE truth, in the flesh.

In this sense, Truth is not teaching about God that was communicated by Jesus, but it is God’s very reality revealing itself – actually occurring! - in Jesus.
The Greek word that Jesus used when he said “I am the truth” is Aletheia. And it means “something that is disclosed or revealed. Jesus is indeed the alethia, the truth, God’s reality revealed to man.

And we need the Truth. We need the revelation of God’s reality, because all too often God appears hidden. If God is all-powerful, if God is all-loving, If God is not evil, then how could He allow the earthquake and tsunami in Japan?
Honestly, I don’t know. This is a terrible and tragic event. We mourn with all the families of Japan.

But, one thing I do know, while God may be hidden in this tragic event, God has revealed himself specifically in the person of Jesus Christ. When things in life may confuse us, when we are uncertain about what is true and what is real, we see in Jesus, God’s reality revealed, God’s truth for us.

This is truth that is not just correct knowledge of facts but an encounter with CHRIST, truth in the flesh.

Truth is not just an abstract concept. It is a reality. Our God is not just an abstract concept. He is reality. We believe that Jesus still comes to us in a real, tangible way. He comes to us when we hear the voice of Jesus speaking through the words of the bible. He comes when one person tells another the good things God has done.

But as I said in the beginning, when Jesus stood trial, the governor Pontius Pilate asked him the question: "What is truth?"
But Pilate doesn’t care to find out the answer. He just dismisses the subject of the truth altogether, as if Truth is something relative, impossible to know for sure. Yet, all the while, Pilate had THE truth right in front of him. Seems like not much has changed.

Jesus doesn’t give an answer to Pilate, at least not in words. Jesus’ conversation with Pilate was followed by his suffering and death and resurrection. On the cross and at the empty tomb, we learn what truth is.
We would prefer to have our own truth and live life our own way, but the reality is that Christ is the only way. We have the Truth right in front of us. And it is only through Christ - his life, death and resurrection - that we can ever find true hope, true joy and true peace.

-

*As Pastor Paul McCain points out: http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/06/25/does-being-and-remaining-lutheran-still-matter/

Epiphany 8 Matthew 6:24-24

2011-02-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

Epiphany 8 Matthew 6:24-24
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

[24 ] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
[25 ] “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26 ] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27 ] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28 ] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29 ] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30 ] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31 ] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32 ] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33 ] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
[34 ] “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(Matthew 6:24-34 ESV)

What do you do with our gospel reading? We are so far removed from the people that Jesus is speaking to that His words about basic physical need can fly right past us if we’re not careful. Keep in mind that Jesus is not an American; He is a first century Galilean Jew. And he is talking to people that are living hand to mouth. They’re worried about having enough food to feed themselves and their children. They are worried about not having clothes to keep themselves warm.

Does anybody here relate to this? Does this hit home for any of us? Maybe a very few.

It’s no secret, we’re rich. We are not first-century Galilean Jews. We’re Americans and making money is in the fabric of our capitalist, consumer-driven society. Money makes the world go round and we’ve got a lot of it. Even our middle class is unbelievably wealthy. Think about the rest of the world, which we don’t really do all that often because it can get kind of depressing. I once heard that if you own more than one pair of shoes and you get to choose what you eat for lunch, you’re rich. Well, yeah, that’s us.

Unlike the Galileans that Jesus was talking to, we do not have the slightest concern about whether or not we will be fed and clothed. That’s not to say that we don’t worry though. Oh, we have worries, but not that we will starve to death. We worry…that we won’t get the retirement plan we want. We worry that we won’t be able to travel as widely as we’d like in our old age. We worry that we’ll only be able to go to the mall once this week. We worry that we won’t be the first of our friends to own the newest version of the iphone, or ipad or Xbox. Or whatever else is coming out.

But we can quickly see that having money and possessions is not the issue. For example, Abraham and David were very wealthy. The question isn’t: “do you have money and possessions?” It’s “Are you controlled by your money and possessions? Where do you look for your security and identity and meaning? If you lost all your money and pocessions tomorrow, what would that mean for you? Does your money serve you (and by extension others) or are you a slave to your money? Do you trust in the Lord for every provision and acknowledge that every good thing comes from him, or are you anxious and worried about your financial future?

Let’s look more closely at what Jesus says about all this and see what it means for us today.

In verse 24 of our reading, Jesus says that you cannot serve God and money. Being a slave is not a part-time job. It involves total commitment. It is literally impossible to serve two masters. Either you serve God, or you serve money.

How do we become an undivided slave of God? Stop worrying. It’s easier said that done though. Worry is as much a part of our society as materialism is. They seem to go hand in hand. Concern for tomorrow is built into our commercial and economic structures. But worry is a sign that we do not trust God to provide. The people of God are to live “a carefree life of confident dependence on a caring and generous Father,” as R.T. France says. That sounds attractive, but it’s difficult to relate to. The people of God are to be generous toward others, but anxiety about the future devours any thought of this. To us modern Western disciples with 9-5 jobs and mortgages and children to put through school and investment portfolios, Jesus and his wandering band of rag tag disciples may seem like they have more in common with the sensibilities of Haight and Ashbury than of Wall Street.

Jesus is not telling us to become hippies and live in a van down by the river. Just saying, “Don’t worry, be happy” is law. We can’t do it. We even get anxious and worry about the fact that we are not able to stop worrying. We need the gospel. We need a heavenly Father who cares for us and offers us His righteousness and his kingdom. We need someone who feeds us and clothes us physically and spiritually and makes the idea of worrying about money and pocessions laughable.

Starting in verse 25, Jesus tackles this issue of worry and anxiety. And He teaches his disciples with these great questions; a method that was common with rabbis. I don’t know exactly what first century Galilean humor was like, but it seems like Jesus is being kind of silly here.

Jesus says, “Life is more than food, right?” You can see all the disciples following along and nodding, “Yeah.” “And the body is more than clothing, right?” “Yeah.”

“Have you ever seen a bird driving a tractor?” “No.” “Have you ever seen a bird in overalls gathering crops into a little bird barn?” “No.” “Is there an abundance of farms in the Central Valley owned and operated by birds?” “No.”
“Well, your heavenly father feeds the birds and you’re more valuable than a bird, right?” “Yeah.”

It may be a good time for us to pick up bird watching. In fact, Luther says that we are put to shame by the birds. He calls birds: “theologians,” “little saints,” “our lords in teaching us wisdom.” Luther goes on to say:

A bird does the work for which it was created…and sings to our Lord God a little song for the privilege of doing this. Early in the morning it rises, sits upon a twig and sings a song it has learned, while it knows not where to obtain its food, and yet it is not worried as to where to get its breakfast. Ay, shame on you now, that the little birds are more pious and believing than you; they are happy and sing with joy and know not whether they have anything to eat.

I guess in this case, it’s a good thing to be a bird brain.

In verse 27, Jesus asks, “Can anyone add an hour to their life by worrying?” “No.” The opposite actually, anxiety shortens your life.

Then in verse 28, Jesus turns to the flowers. Look at the craftsmanship that God put into flowers. Yet, as Luther pointed out, cows walk all over them and eat them. “Flowers do not put in a hard day’s work at the office, right?” “No.” “If God clothes something that is burned for fuel and something that that cows walk on, He will clothe you too, right?” “Yeah”

Jesus then reiterates his point in verses 31 and 32: Don’t worry about food and drink and clothing, this is what the Gentiles worry about. God knows what you need.

There are two types or people. God’s people and everybody else. Everybody else does not know God. They are deceived about what is important in life. They worry about…stuff. But we are God’s people. Our lives are to be characterized by calm confidence in Our father. Why? Our Father knows what we need. Jesus had just got done teaching the disciples the Lord’s Prayer. You’ll notice that the language about ‘Our Heavenly Father’ is still quite evident in this passage as well. Our Heavenly Father feeds the birds and Our Heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask.

Needing daily bread was very relevant for the people of Jesus’ day. It rang true everyday. Maybe the need isn’t there in the same way for us, but looking to God as Our Father who daily provides for us, is relevant to people of any age, any nation, any race, any socio-economic standing.. The Lord’s Prayer should always be on our lips. We are able to come to Our heavenly Father as little children come to their Father. How awesome is that?

We all know verse 33. Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” God’s kingdom and His righteousness are ours though the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The one who faced the cross for you will give you the strength to live each day. Christ has redeemed you. He has bought you. He has placed all your worry and anxiety on himself and died for it all on the cross. He has given you his righteousness and the Father has adopted you as his child and heir of his kingdom. Once you have the righteousness of Christ, living as co-heir with Him in the kingdom of God, why sweat the small stuff of life? You don’t need to worry about food or drink or clothing or anything else. You are free. You are released from bondage to worry and anxiety. Our Father knows what you need and he provides for you. You do not provide for yourself. God provides for you physically and spiritually. That is good news.

In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said “man does not live by bread alone.” This is most certainly true. Man does not live by bread alone or bank accounts alone, or investment portfolios alone, or retirement packages alone, or nice cars alone or electronic gadgets alone. What do you live by? You live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

You live by the Word…God’s Word. And here you are fed that Word regularly. Just as at home, you wouldn’t want to miss a meal, why would you want to miss being fed by your Heavenly Father? Missing a weekend at church is like skipping a meal. And today God feeds you with his Word and with his very Body and Blood. God has clothed you with his righteousness in Holy Baptism. Fed and clothed spiritually and physically by our God, we live as the children of God. We are not controlled by money and possessions. Our security and identity and meaning is found in Christ crucified. It’s more than a worry-free philosophy. It the way of life for us as the people of God in our Life Together, united through Christ our Lord.

Epiphany 7A - "You will be Holy"

2011-02-23T13:17:00.000-08:00

Epiphany 7A - "You will be Holy" - Leviticus 19:2 - Matt 5:48 - I Corinthians 3:16-17
(On the occasion of Polly Bloom Guinta's adoption into the holy, catholic and apostolic church through the sacrament of Holy Baptism)
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

The gospel reading this morning is quite a well-known passage from Jesus’ sermon on the mount. You don’t have to be all that biblically literate to be familiar with some of Jesus’ sayings here: “Turn the other cheek,” “Go the extra mile,” “Love your enemies.”
These sayings work better on bumper stickers than some of Jesus’ other sayings earlier in the chapter. Like, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Anybody else find the Sermon on the Mount uncomfortable in places? You kind of wish Jesus would tone it down little a bit. For instance, Jesus is says you think you’re basically a good person because you don’t murder or commit adultery, I tell you that are in danger of hell if you get angry or have a lustful thought. Well, if all this weren’t clear enough, Jesus finally says, “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
How’s that working out for everybody? You all fine with your level of perfection in turning the other cheek and loving your enemy?

If we examine ourselves, we quickly realize that we are indeed not perfect. Actually, we’re pretty lousy. Ever gossiped, gotten angry, had a lustful thought? Ever cared about yourself more than others? It seems that, according to Jesus, we all deserve judgment.

We need something from outside ourselves to intervene. Because if you look to yourself to provide comfort and assurance of your salvation, you will either quickly become very depressed from the glare of your own imperfection staring back at you in the mirror or you’ll become delusional in your efforts to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees

So what do we do with this? Well, it’s helpful to see Jesus’ comment on perfection in a larger context. Jesus is referring back to Leviticus 19:2, which reads, “You shall be holy, because I the Lord, your God am holy.” There were two categories for Israel: Yahweh, the Lord God, was holy; everything else was not. This contrast is all over the Bible: I Samuel 2 says, “There is no one holy like the Lord.” Isaiah calls Israel a worm, a nation of sinful corrupt people. But Yahweh is called the Holy One.

For Israel, only God was the creator and source of holiness. God did not give his people commands for them to generate their own holiness. Israel’s holiness comes from God’s holiness. It is outside of themselves. On their own, the Israelites “did what was right in their own eyes” as it says in the book of Judges. Holiness was by God’s grace alone.

God’s laws presuppose that God makes and keeps his people holy. For the people of Israel, God’s gift of holiness was not something that happened a long long time ago and was in the rear view mirror. God’s holiness was ever before their eyes. It was something they kept on receiving.

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What’s this mean for us?

The church is the new Israel. Like the Israelites, we are called to be holy and share in God’s holiness. Each congregation is, as St Paul says, a community of saints, which means “holy ones.”

How are believers made holy today? St. Paul connects it to when God’s Spirit comes to dwell in us. This is particular importance for us today. Listen to Paul’s words to the church from 1 Corinthians 3:
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?...God’s Temple is holy and you are that temple.

This is awesome. We are not condemned, but rather are are holy.

But, how do you know that the Spirit dwells in you? How do you know that you stand holy and righteous before God? How do you know that you are saved? Think about this. If some one were to ask you, “How do you know that you will be with Christ after you die?” What would you say?

If you became mentally disabled or were in a coma, do you have assurance you would still possess salvation? What if you were physically unable to confess with your mouth that you were a Christian or lost the mental capacity to understand the Christian faith?

What about a baby? What assurance is there for parents that their child has been made holy?

Well, to answer all these questions, St Paul says in Galatians 3:27 – For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.”

God makes us holy through the perfection of his son Jesus. Through baptism we have been clothed with Christ and with his righteousness. When the Father looks at us, he does not see our imperfections and our sin, He sees Christ whose blood shed on the cross atones for the sin of the world. We are God’s temple and the Holy Spirit dwells in us because we have been clothed with Christ at baptism.

Well, this indeed flies in the face of the wisdom of this world. Honestly, water, probably from the faucet, clothes one with Christ? But it’s not just ordinary water. It’s water combined with the command and promise of God’s Word.

What is this command? St Matthew records the words of our Lord in last chapter of his gospel:
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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

This command from our Lord is why many of us are here today. We believe, teach, and confess that when Jesus instructed his followers to make disciples of “all nations” he meant all. Every one, everywhere. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, or age. And how does Jesus tell us to make disciples? By baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He places His holy name on us.

That is the command of our Lord. What are the promises? They are abundant. Believe it or not, baptism actually does something.

St. Mark writes, “Those who believe and are baptized will be saved.” St. Peter says, “Repent and be baptized everyone one of you… for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off.” St Peter also says, “Baptism saves you.” St Paul writes, “God saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Paul calls baptism the washing of regeneration. New birth. Not long ago, Polly was born, but today she will be born again of water and the spirit as our Savior instructs us to do in John 3.

Baptism isn’t merely a profession of faith that you make. It is God adopting you into his church and making you his child. It is physical and tangible and wet. It is an offense to reason that the creator the universe would choose to come to us in such a simple, mundane manner, but this is the foolishness of God for our salvation.

God saves us not because of what we do or think, but because of what he does for us through the Holy Spirit at Baptism. Yet we don’t want to admit that we are helpless children. We like to find our identity, meaning and significance in ourselves.

Are we holy because of our superior reasoning? No, Rather, God works by defying conventional wisdom. He offers his own son as a sacrifice for us in a cruel, shameful death. He entrusts an uneducated band of fisherman with his message of salvation. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man, at the same time. God is 3 in 1. None of this makes sense. It defies the wisdom of this world. So it follows that God’s means of grace defies that wisdom as well.

So, where do you find assurance of salvation? Do you base your salvation on what you do and what you think? If so, you had better make sure you are perfect. And that your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.

How do you know that the Spirit dwells in you? Is it because of your ability to confess the faith or capacity to understand?

Dear Christian, turn your eyes from yourself to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are worms. He is the Holy One.

How do you know you have been made holy; that the Spirit dwells in you? Are you baptized? As we sang in our hymn, “When nothing else revives your soul, your baptism stands and makes you whole and then in death complete you.” God has given you the promise that through baptism you are his disciple. You are clothed with Christ. You are made holy because you have been given the Holy Spirit through the washing of regeneration. You are forgiven from all your sins right now.

You no longer need to be seized by a guilty conscience. You no longer need to be disturbed by sin. You are baptized into Christ. As in, you are currently in a state of baptism.

This is why we make the sign of the cross. This is the sign that will be made over Polly as Christ snatches her from the grip of the devil and proclaims her as His own Child. When we make the sign of the cross when we wake up in the morning and when before we go to bed at night, we daily remember that we have been and daily remain baptized into Christ, whose blood has set us free to be the people of God.

Luther writes in the Large Catechism, “Baptism daily strengthens the new man, always remains until we pass from this present misery to eternal glory. Therefore let everybody regard his Baptism as the daily garment, which he is to wear all the time…As we have once obtained forgiveness of sins in Baptism, so forgiveness remains day by day as long as we live.

“You will be holy, because I the Lord, your God am holy.” That's not a threat. It's a promise.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Fine outward training

2011-02-14T11:05:00.001-08:00

Here's kind of the flipside of what I wrote the other day. It's for our church newsletter.

“Fine Outward Training"
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Around the country, millions of people are beginning to see the end of a long winter…at least those people who are baseball fans. Many of us eagerly counted down the days until players reported to Spring Training, beginning their month-long time of preparation for the new season. I’m sure that many of you are especially excited this year to see if Lincecum, Posey, Wilson and the rest of the boys can lead the Giants to a repeat of their World Series victory.

During spring training, I like to prepare myself for the long season ahead. I usually spend time watching Ken Burns' Baseball documentary, re-reading classic baseball books like "The Glory of Their Times," and watching great games from the past.

This year, baseball’s Spring Training and the Lenten season overlap fairly nicely. Just as Spring Training is a time of preparation for baseball players (and some rabid fans), Lent is a time of Christian preparation often marked by increased attention devoted to almsgiving, fasting, and prayer (rooted in our Lord’s teaching in Matthew 6:1-18). Lent is a 40 day penitential season, allowing us to repent and examine ourselves as the great feast of the Resurrection of our Lord approaches.

Just as baseball players prepare physically in anticipation of Opening Day and the start of a new season, Christians prepare spiritually in anticipation of the annual celebration of new life through the Easter triumph - the Resurrection of Christ.

There are many ways that we can prepare spiritually.

If you have neglected daily devotions, now is a great time to reintroduce that holy habit. Pick up a Portals of Prayer from the church narthex or order “Treasury of Daily Prayer” (www.cph.org/prayer) to help assist you.

Also, you are invited to attend one of our midweek Lenten services Wednesday at 7PM (proceeded by a dinner at 6). The sermons at these services will focus upon interactions between Jesus and Peter and how these reflect upon our own pride, complacency, misunderstanding, discipleship, and denial.

Perhaps you would like to practice the discipline of fasting by eating more simply on certain days. Traditionally, fasting has meant 1/4 meal for breakfast and lunch, with a simple dinner and abstaining from meat and wine on Fridays.

Just by means of a disclaimer, lest you think the Vicar is trying to introduce a “Romanizing” practice, in the Small Catechism Martin Luther says that fasting is "a fine outward training." It’s a Christian’s Spring Training, so to speak.

Also, the LCMS’ website says: “If a Christian wants to give something up for Lent as a way of remembering and personalizing the great sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for our sins, then that Christian is certainly free to do so.”

Amen! We are free in Christ! And if you do indeed chose to exercise your Christian freedom by fasting, you need not simply “give up” something. As Pastor Wil Weedon writes, “By not eating so much, you actually have more money to give to others who have less than you, and by not fixing elaborate meals, you also have more time to spend in the Word and prayer.

Further, by going hungry each day you experience solidarity with those many members of the human race who also go hungry each day. Above all, we teach ourselves that the hunger behind all hungers is the hunger for God Himself.”

I wish you a blessed Spring Training, er, I mean, Lenten season as we joyfully prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming Easter celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.

A season of preparation

2011-02-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

This year we are fortunate that Lent and baseball Spring Training overlap fairly nicely. It seems that with this intersection of the church/mlb year, 2011 provides opportunity for increased bodily and spiritual preparation in light of our annual celebration of new life and the restoration of all things - The Resurrection of Christ and Opening Day.

Lent is a 40 day penitential season allowing us to repent, examine ourselves and prepare for the Great Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord.
Spring training is a month-long (plus 2 weeks for pitchers and catcher) time of preparation for the new season. As Lent is a time of Christian preparation marked by increased attention devoted to fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, I submit that Spring training may also mark for us a period of baseball preparation.

Here are proposals:
-Abstain from watching, reading about, or following any sport except baseball. Avert your eyes from NBA, NFL, NHL, and NCAA news and event. It will help cleanse your mind and help prepare you for the long season ahead.

- Set aside money dedicated to purchasing mlb.tv or a tickets to few games this season.

-Spend time mediating on the testimony of those who have gone before us. Watch Ken Burns' Baseball documentary. Go to itunes and peruse "Baseball's Best Games." I plan on watching Game 5 of the 1984 World Series, perhaps 1991 WS Game 7, or 2001 WS game 7. Read, mark and learn the inspired words of "Ball Four" or "The Glory of Their Times" or "Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract." If you have not inwardly digested these books, examine yourself. Repent. You obviously have not experienced the good news of baseball. It is my fervent desire for all who endure the crush of defeat to be comforted by the pure joy of baseball so that we all believe, teach and confess in one accord.

Street Art

2011-02-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

We had an enjoyable time at SFMOMA the other day. Great stuff there, photo, art things. A 'bible' with all the letters rearranged in alphabetical order. Don't know what I think about that one, but it was interesting. I remembered it. It was better than the naked people stuff. They had a show on wine and art. You got to smell wine. Yum. There was a cool photo show, with photos from all around the world. Reminiscencings and whatnot galore. We then got a bite to eat in the delicious cafe and noticed a guy taking a poop on the sidewalk across the street.

SF day in the park

2011-02-12T12:29:00.000-08:00

I enjoy San Francisco. It's a delightful odd town. We walked around Delores Park the other day after eating some tasty baked goods. It was a sunny day and the park was filled with people lounging on the grass. There was the token drag queenish flamboyant crowd, also a large group of people hula hooping, others walking on a tightrope, other assorted normal folk, fartsniffers, hippies, hipsters, moms and babies. My favorite moment was when a guy that looked like a 19th century ringmaster/snake oil salesman (with top hat, tuxedo, handle bar mustasche and spats) looked at a girl that walked by in some sort of see-through lingerie outfit and rolling his eyes he said, "A bit much, don't you think?"

Epiphany 3 - “Perfect Unity through the Cross of Christ” I Corinthians 1:10-18

2011-01-24T10:55:00.000-08:00

Epiphany 3
I Corinthians 1:10-18
“Perfect Unity through the Cross of Christ”
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

If you think about it, church is a unique place compared to the rest of our society. Where else do a bunch of people get together and sing songs, listen to some one talk to them, and speak the same words out loud together? We say the creed, dozens of us speaking the same thing in unison. Well, then there are those awkward times like when I accidentally start saying the Nicene Creed instead of the Apostles’ Creed. Or I skip a line and sing the wrong stanza of a hymn. I’m sure none of you have ever done that though. I think a couple weeks ago I sang a whole verse before I realized that I was he only one singing those words. Ever notice how, in church, when one person is off, it can throw off the unity of everyone around them? It can even disrupt the unity of the whole group.

In our Epistle reading St. Paul says in verse 10: “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

I. “Speaking the same thing” (I Corinthians 1:10)
Notice the phrase “that all of you agree.” This literally means “that all of you speak the same thing.” When we recite the creed it is a sign that we agree; that we are on the same page, speaking the same thing

A. A Schizo-Phrenic Church (I Corinthians 1:12-13)
Unfortunately, the church in Corinth was not on the same page. Paul appealed to them to be united in the same mind, with no divisions. But they were schismatic or literally schizophrenic: “schizo” meaning split; and “phrenic” meaning mind. They had a split mind. They each claimed to follow a different leader. There were divisions and cliques. It was a divided church body.

B Perfectly- united
It was Paul’s desire that this church - with a split mind - would be united in mind and judgment. The word “united” that Paul uses was, at that time, a household word used to describe completeness from blending different parts into a whole; becoming perfectly united. For example, someone may perfectly unite pieces of cloth by sewing them together, making an article of clothing or a quilt. A cook perfectly unites ingredients in a dish of food by properly blending them to make the dish perfect and tasty to eat. Paul wanted the household of faith to be perfectly united as well.

C. The Number One Answer to Any Question.
Notice in the very beginning of our reading that Paul’s appeals to them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is key. He brings it back to the basics. For those of you who teach Sunday School, what is the number one answer to any question? Jesus. Doesn’t matter what the question is, you gotta know that Jesus is gonna be the answer sooner of later. This has also proved to be true for me in the seminary studies as well.

1. All to the Service of Christ.
No matter was happens in church life, the answer is Jesus. Everything must be to the service of Christ. Whatever the issue: the color of the carpet, the Christmas decorations, the church sign, the coffee and snacks for fellowship, the music, children’s programs, the bulletins, the newsletter, the budget, committees and meetings, whatever it is, it must all be to the service of Christ.

2. Our Own Opinions and Agendas Come Before Christ
But if we truly examine ourselves, it seems that all too often, our own opinions and agendas come before Christ. We are reluctant to serve and strive for unity in our life together as the body of Christ. Instead of “speaking the same thing”, we often resemble the Corinthians, the church with a split mind. We all have the selfish tendency to want ourselves and our ideas to take center stage. We do not all speak the same thing. We do not all perfectly blend as ingredients. With us, it is as if each ingredient of a recipe began telling the cook how to prepare his meal. Needless to say, too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup.

II. The Cross Crucifies Our Pride and the Sinful Desire for Glory (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:4)

A. God’s mercy heals all our bodily disease (physically and congregationally)
But we don’t just spoil the soup. We’ve spoiled everything because of our disease called sin. Our gospel reading mentions the amazing healing ministry of Jesus and we indeed pray for God’s mercy to heal us from our physical sickness and disease, but we should also pray that God may heal our spiritual diseases - division, disunity and the split mind of the body of Christ – internationally, nationally, and locally right here in our own congregation. Each of us is infected with the “me-first” disease. We want everything to be about us, Isn’t it amazing how our sinful mind wants to take the focus off of God and other and place it on ourselves and what we do?

What are our ideas and opinions in comparison to Christ? We honestly sabotage the work of Christ, for what? Self glorification. How easy is it to sit here and think, “Oh yeah, there are a lot of people I know that need to stop thinking of themselves.” Or “It’s too bad that so-and-so isn’t here now to hear this message. It is you. It is me. It is everyone of us. We all need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, what am I doing, or not doing, that is spreading the disease of division and disunity?

B. The Christian life is Christ-centered and cross- focused. (I Corinthians 1:23)
What is the cure for our disease? It’s ok, you can pretend that you are in Sunday school again. What’s the cure for our disease? Jesus! Correct! Jesus! We are Lutherans, and dog gone it, we’ve got to get this right. We preach Christ crucified. Or as they say on my favorite radio program, Issues etc: We are Christ-centered and cross- focused.

1. We’ve got the cure (1 Corinthians 1:18, Isaiah 9:6-7)
We’re got the cure. But Jesus is an different like of doctor than we are used to. You are not healed because of how much we love Jesus. You are not healed because Jesus is your friend. The cure of Christ? Death. He was crucified on a cross and you are crucified with him, your sin is nailed to that cross, nevertheless you live because Christ lives in you. You live by faith in the son of God who loves you and gave His life for you. What if you were sick and a doctor told you, “I got just the perscription. You’re going to die. Then…” Hold up. Excuse me? It sounds foolish.

St Paul says, “The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” We are the ones being saved. We’ve got the medicine that will heal the entire world! We are not like the people sitting in darkness. We want the spotlight to shine on us, but God has a different idea, through the word of the cross, Christ’s wisdom has broken forth in power, shining upon us and it continues to shine upon us. Through the word of the cross, Christ unites all those who wander and walk apart. It is only through Christ and that unity is achieved. Only he can heal our split mind and our me-first disease. Our Old Testament reading reminds us that it is only the Prince of Peace who brings true peace and unity.

2. We have seen the light (Psalm 27:1) (Matthew 4:17)
Often, our path becomes darkened or confused or troubled because Satan works to cause disunity. When this happens, we remember that we are children of the light, and we follow the one true light. Has anyone ever taken your picture with a blinding flash in a dark room? Afterwards, that flash remains in your vision like an imprint upon your retnas. As it says in our Gospel reading, we have seen a great light. The imprint of Christ and his cross is ever before us. We see the world through the eyes of faith, through Jesus-colored glasses.

With Christ and his cross ever before us, we respond to Christ’s call to live lives of repentance. Perfect unity requires repentance; Repentance of our sinful desire to cling to our own personal opinions and agenda. You came here and repented and were forgiven by the pastor who is here as the “Jesus Guy”, in the stead and by the command of Christ, announcing the grace of God to all of you. The pastor delivers Christ’s healing medicine of forgiveness to his church.

C. One Lord, One faith, One Baptism (Eph 4:3-6)
And we are the church. There is one body, one spirit, one hope, one mind. We have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all. This is the gracious reality of Christ’s true church. Thanks be to God that through baptism He has crucified and buried our sinful desires that cause disunity, so that through the Gospel we might rise to new life in perfect unity in Christ. Enlightened by the word of the cross - the life, death and resurrection of Christ - we at West Portal Lutheran Church strive to speak the same thing together, to receive restoration of our split mind, to be healed of our “me-first” disease, and to be perfectly united together in Christ who grants us forgiveness of our sins, salvation, and eternal life together. Amen.

Epiphany of our lord. Matthew 2:1-12

2011-01-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

“God-In-Man Made Manifest” – Matthew 2:1-12 – Epiphany of Our Lord
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. We focus on God’s revelation of himself to the entire world through Christ, “God in man made manifest,” as we sing in one of our hymns. However, to us Christians to whom God has revealed himself, it seems that our God is more hidden and mysterious in this world than ever.

For example, it was not a Happy New Year for Christians in Egypt. There was a bombing at a church in Alexandria that killed 21and injured 90. This is the most recent in a number attacks on Christians throughout the Middle East. Because of this violence there has been a mass exodus of Christians from the area. Is this God in man made manifest? He appears more hidden and mysterious than ever.

Perhaps the idea of a mass exodus of Christians sounds familiar. We do not need to travel to the Middle East to see the evidence of this. Without threat of violence, the church in America has been on a steady decline. If you are in the mood to be depressed, get on your computer and read a few of the recent polls or surveys about Christianity in America. The findings are, well, not so promising. The broad theme is that we are apart of the incredible shrinking church. By the millions, people are electing to declare themselves not bound to Christianity.

I have not crunched the numbers but I do not believe that San Francisco is posed to become a shining beacon for the Christian faith anytime soon.

Is this God in Man made manifest? He appears more hidden and mysterious than ever.

Personally, for each one of us, things don’t appear to get much better. Despite all we’ve been taught, certain questions and mysteries plague us; “Why am I here?,” “Why do I even exist?,” “What is life all about?” No matter who you are, questions and doubts linger.

We desire to know God’s secret will. We want to unmask the mystery. This is the universal human condition. We are aware that there is something bigger than us out there and it makes us feel…insignificant.

I remember the first time that I really felt insignificant. I was just a little kid and I imagined that there was a video camera above me and that I could see myself lying in bed. Then the camera zoomed out to show my entire room, then my house, then my neighborhood, then my town, then the state, then the country, then the world, then the universe and my mind almost exploded! I felt like a tiny nothing speck in the grand scheme of things. I imagine that most of us have felt this way at one time or another. We want meaning and purpose and significance. Otherwise we can feel very troubled, like our head is going to explode. We want the mysteries of life to be revealed.

Some people go on great spiritual quests to Tibet or India. They climb mountains and talk to gurus to solve the mysteries of life as they search for meaning. But you don’t have to climb a mountain to see this, go to a bookstore and check out the self-help and spiritual section. This can even get to us as Christians. Look at the Christian section in a bookstore and you will find book after book about “finding yourself”,” discovering your purpose in life”, tips to help you on your own “personal spiritual journey”.

Spiritual journeys aren’t all that bad, I suppose, depending on what you mean. Our Gospel reading tells about a spiritual journey of sorts involving some pretty mysterious characters who follow a pretty mysterious star which leads them to a pretty mysterious child who they worship as King.

At first glance this appears to be kind of an odd reading for Epiphany, which as I said is when we focus on God’s revelation of himself to the entire world through Christ - God in man made manifest. The God-Man in this story still seems mysterious and hidden in a small child. This King seems hidden to everyone but the Magi.

So we ask ourselves on this celebration of the Epiphany of Our Lord: “Is our God hidden and mysterious or manifest and revealed?”

Look at the gifts that the wise men bring to the Christ Child. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Hidden in these gifts was the revelation of who this child was. -Gold is a fitting gift for a king. Jesus is the king of the universe. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is the King of Kings

-Frankincense is a fitting gift for God. It was burned as a fragrant offering to God in Temple worship. Jesus is indeed God, the Word made flesh.

-Myrrh is a fitting gift for a dead man. It was used to embalm dead bodies. Jesus was born to die. He died so that we may live.

This boy was the King of the Jews, but was born in a stable. This boy was God, but revealed in flesh. This boy was a priest who would not only offer, but would become the sacrifice for all mankind. But he was hidden in plain sight to most people.

Herod and the religious leaders did not recognize what was right in front of them. Can you imagine God in the flesh appearing, yet failing to honor and worship him? It should not be too difficult to imagine because we do it all the time. We have had Christ revealed to us. But we, like Herod, do not like when this King interrupts our plans. We want to rule our own lives. We, like Herod, and the chief priests and scribes know that God reveals himself in his Word, but we prefer to ignore it. We want to reveal the hiddenness of God for our own purposes, yet ignore the mystery that God has revealed in Christ.

It is true; sometimes God appears hidden and mysterious. Why does God allow tragedy? I don’t know. Why is there violence against God’s people? Why is the Church in the Western World shrinking? What is going to happen in each one of our lives? We experience pain and suffering and sorrow. There are lots of questions that we do not have the answers to. And that one question remains: “Is our God hidden and mysterious or manifest and revealed? The answer is: Yes.

Our God is hidden where he needs to be hidden but our God is indeed manifest and revealed where he needs to be revealed. He is revealed in Christ. When God seems hidden and mysterious, look to Christ. When you are plagued by doubts and insignificance, look to the manifest and revealed Son of God.

In the midst of doubts and questions and the mysteries of life, God’s promises are still true. We have THE answer. God-in-man was made manifest in Christ, revealed to the world at the first Epiphany. As St Paul says, the plan of the mystery that was hidden for ages was revealed in Christ.

In Christ, God is revealed to the entire World. The cat has been let out of the bag. God is not found in your personal spiritual quest high on a mountain or within your own consciousness. God is found in the person of Jesus. That God who the Wise men fell down and worshiped is found hanging on a cross for you. That God is found in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper for you, in the water of Baptism for you, in the ink and paper of Holy Scripture for you, in the sound waves of the gospel proclaimed in the absolution and in the sermon for you. Right now, you receive forgiveness

The hidden and mysterious God is revealed and made manifest to you today. Here the greatest mystery of the universe is not just revealed to you but is delivered to you. In the midst of your questions and struggles, the Holy Spirit has enlightened you and guided you like the star that guided the Wise Men. The Spirit has guided you on a spiritual journey from your house to this church to join your brothers and sisters in Christ in life together worshiping our God, the suffering King, just as the Wise men did, and receiving from him amazing gifts: true life, true peace, and true salvation. Have a blessed Epiphany! Amen.

Christmas Eve: Midnight Mass

2010-12-27T20:44:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve: Midnight Mass
“Heaven and Nature Sing”
Luke 2:10-12
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Intro: “Good Grief! Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”
Sometimes we look around at what Christmas has become in our country: sales at the mall, office parties, a man dressed up in a red suit with a red nosed reindeer and we are tempted to cry: “Good Grief! Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” “What about ‘A great joy that will come to all people?’ “What about ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace goodwill, toward men?’” A good cure for the Christmas blues is to remember the message the angels gave to the shepherds in Luke chapter 2. To quote one of my favorite theologian’s comments on Luke 2: “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
I. The Angel’s Message (Luke 2:10-12)
A. The angel preaches the Gospel Good News of great joy. (Luke 2:10)
Linus got it right. In Luke 2, the angels proclaim good news of great joy for all the people. That “all” includes us. That message, given over 2000 years ago, is still “Gospel good news of great joy” for all of you out in the pews keeping watch over your hymnals by night, just as it was Gospel good news for those shepherds sitting in the fields of the Judean countryside so long ago.
1. The Gospel Good News is “for all people”
The angel told the shepherds: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” The Gospel good news of the angel was for all people, of every time and place, of every nation and race, rich and poor, old and young, tall and short. Everyone is included. Even the people you don’t like. Even the people that don’t like you. Even you, with all your hurts and hang-ups with all your problems, even you are included in this Gospel Good News. No matter who you are and what you’ve done, or what you’re still doing; there is good news for you. And there is true joy, pure joy, 200 proof joy that will knock your socks off and is far far better than the passing pleasures of this world.
2. The Gospel Good News means an end to fear. (John 3:16; 1 John 4:18)
The angel then told the shepherds: “Fear not!” Remember the Christmas Carol? “Silent Night! Holy Night! Shepherds quake at the sight” These shepherds had every reason be afraid. The angels are later described as an enormous company of the heavenly army. Think Green Berets, Army Rangers. Navy SEALs. These are imposing creatures. They are not fat babies with wings.
There is nothing more terrifying than being a sinful creature standing before a holy God. Because of our sin, we have every reason to be frightened, but we are covered by God’s love. You see, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear and replaces it with joy.
B. The Angel gives the reason for good news and great joy. (Luke 2:11)
1. The spontaneous eruption of a new reality within history.
The angel then tells the shepherds the reason for the good news and great joy. Something has happened. The angel’s message was no mere tabloid gossip or local news report. It was Gospel Good News - a breaking news flash
Every once in a while there is an event that shakes the nation and you remember where you were when you first heard the news. For me, it was 9/11. I have heard others talk the same way about the day JFK was shot. Perhaps there are personal events in your life that have had the same effect. We remember when we hear terrible news that dramatically affects us. But the angels were announcing wonderful good news that dramatically affects not just us or our nation, but which impacts all creation.
As Dr. Arthur Just says, this news brought with it a “spontaneous eruption of a new reality within history.” The angel is reporting an event that has disrupted the space/time continuum, which has pierced every dimension that will ever be discovered. An event which has rocked the earth to its core, and will cut to the core of every creature on this planet including you and everyone you will ever meet.
2. Heaven confirms for creation the historical fact that the Creator has come as a creature.
This news is a transmission direct from Heaven to earth. It is Heaven confirming for creation the historical fact that the Creator had come as a creature. God is Creator; we are creatures. God is God and we are not. But God became man. What does this mean? We just sang about it: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as Man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel!” “ Mild he lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.” This news means that salvation has come to us.
3. Today (!) salvation has come (Luke 4:21, 19:5-9, 23:43)
The angel told the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day (Today!) in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord.” Every time there is a today, Salvation has come for you. That’s how Jesus works. In Luke 19, Jesus told Zacheeus, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” In Luke 23, Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today, you shall be will me in paradise.” And right now, Jesus tells you, “Today, the Savior comes bringing salvation to your house, so that you may join me in paradise.”
C. The Angel gives a sign. (Luke 2:12)
1. Quite an ordinary sign
After proclaiming the savior’s arrival, the angel gave the shepherds a sign. It was quite an ordinary sign. We might even be tempted to think that it is a boring sign. Moses was given the sign of a burning bush; the children of Israel were given the parting of the Red Sea. The shepherds were given…the sign of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
The medieval theologian the Venerable Bede comments that this is not how we would expect the king, the creator, the savior of the universe to come. Jesus was not wrapped in fine silk, but in rough strips of cloth. He was not lying in an ornate golden bed, but in a manger - a feeding tray for animals.
2. The Great Reversal: Christ became poor that we might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
This is the Great reversal. Jesus did not just take upon himself our lowly humanity, but for our sake took upon himself even the clothing of the poor. As it says in 2 Corinthians 8, “though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor so that by His poverty we might become rich.” The sign is that the Lord of Heaven has descended to earth in such lowliness and humility. The incarnation of God, the real presence of God, in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger is God’s ultimate reversal. It is a sign greater than any that came before.
4. The manger is the mirror of the cross. (Luke 23:53)
As Dr. Just says, this is a sign that pierces the heart and points to the reason this child was born. This baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, would 33 years later, be wrapped in a linen shroud and laid in a tomb. The manger is the mirror of the cross. In the humility of his birth, Christ was already preaching the lesson He would preach on Calvary. The Nativity is the prelude to Good Friday. Christmas points to the Crucifixion. We will sing of this later on in the service: Why lies He in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian fear; for sinners here The silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be bourne for me, for you. Because of Christ’s birth, his life, his death and his resurrection, God and sinner have been reconciled. All your sins - your fears, your selfishness, your trust in wealth and possessions, your neglect of God and his word – have been forgiven. You have been reconciled with God through Christ.
II. Like the Shepherds, we believe and respond (Luke 2:15-20)
Good Grief! This is what Christmas is all about!; the proclamation of the good news of Jesus’ birth and receiving this news in faith. The shepherds saw the angels, people heard their news, and Mary pondered it in her heart. Seeing, hearing and pondering are our responses of faith as well, as we worship God. The Christmas gospel empowers us to share this Good news; it evokes faith, and creates worship of the Christ Child, who is himself the presence of God, the Word made flesh.
Like the shepherds, we receive a divine revelation in faith. Here, in this place, divine gifts are revealed through Word and Sacrament and we respond in faith like the shepherds, glorifying and praising God, proclaiming what He has done. With our eyes, ears, and heart and also with our mouth, our hands and all our being let us join heaven and nature in praising God for his gift of the lowly infant, whose birth promises us peace on earth and eternal glory in heaven. Amen

Advent 4 – “What’s In A Name?” Matthew 1:18-25

2010-12-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

Advent 4 – “What’s In A Name?” Matthew 1:18-25
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Grace, Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Intro: What’s in a name?
Being in charge of naming a living being is a daunting prospect. It’s not all that difficult when choosing a name for a dog or cat, but a child? There’s lot of things to consider:
What if the name is too popular or too trendy or too unusual or too traditional or too difficult to spell or pronounce? What if a family member or friend doesn’t like the name? What about the meaning of the name? What’s in a name anyways? Well, for Mary and Joseph, there was a lot in a name; two names to be exact – Immanuel and Jesus. Included in these names was an amazing promise of hope in a time of fear and doubt.

I. The sign of Immanuel was Good news for Joseph and Mary
A. Joseph and Mary lived in a time of fear and doubt. 1:18-19
As our reading from Matthew begins, we see that times are tough for society in general. Judah is an occupied territory, under Roman rule. And times are tough personally for Joseph and Mary. It was one of those critical moments in life. Joseph and Mary were legally pledged to be married - more than what we would consider an engagement, but less than a full-fledged marriage. Then things got complicated. Mary was pregnant and Joseph knew that the child wasn’t his, so there must have been another man involved, right?
Joseph was a very religious Jew, careful to keep the law. The way he saw it, he had two options: 1) he could really make an example of Mary, charging her with adultery and publicly divorce her. 2) He could keep things quiet and give her a letter of divorce without stating the reason.
Joseph chose number 2, the milder option. Maybe he didn’t want the publicity, maybe he was a nice guy, who knows, but before he had the chance to carry out his plan he decided to sleep on the decision.
This proved to be a very fortuitous nap. Perhaps Joseph was following the age-old advice of getting some rest or even waiting overnight before going through with a decision. Maybe he thought it would bring more clarity, maybe he was weary and worn out from all the stress and anxiety. Whatever it was, he did not anticipate how refreshing his sleep would be.

B. God sent an angel to give Joseph hope 1:20
An Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife! Her baby is from the Holy Spirit.” At just the right time, God intervened. All hope was lost. Joseph’s decision was made. But then God stepped in.

C. God gave Joseph the sign of Immanuel 1:21-23
God sent an angel, but more importantly he gave a sign, included in the child’s name. Joseph and Mary did not have to deliberate over what to name their baby. God left no room for creative license on behalf of the couple. The angel said, "You shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. That’s what “Jesus” means – that name means Yahweh, the Lord, saves. Who this child would be was included in his name. Matthew adds that all this took place to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy: ”Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Immanuel.” “Immanuel.” That name means something too -“God with us.” These two names say it all about the Child - God with us who will save his people from their sins.

D. Joseph believed God 1:24-25
Joseph woke up and believed God. He did as he was commanded. The sign of the name that the angel gave Joseph reassured him not only of Mary’s purity but also of God’s big plan from the beginning of the world that was now coming to fulfillment. Joseph took Mary home to be his wife. For Mary and Joseph, the sign of Immanuel was one of forgiveness and promise.

II. What does the sign of Immanuel mean for you?
A We live in a time of fear and doubt.
What about us? Like Mary and Joseph, we too live in a time of fear and doubt. Times are tough for our world in general. There are still wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among the various other conflicts that rage around the globe. Our economy still leaves much to be desired, many continue to lose homes and jobs. Fear and doubt, sin and decay all around we see.
For many of us, times are personally tough and complicated. Perhaps you have stress and anxiety and fear because you look to the things of this world for security, meaning and significance rather than fearing, loving and trusting in God above all things. Maybe you are weary and worn out from the daily continual temptations of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, anger, envy and pride. You may be at a point where hope is hard to come by.

B. God sent Jesus to give us Hope Matt 28:10, Rev 1:17, Romans 1:7, Mt 1:21)
No matter what it is that causes you to fear and to doubt, all hope is not lost. At just the right time, God intervenes and steps in. Jesus’ words to us provide hope: “Do not be afraid;” “Fear not!” Jesus promises Peace. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace, true peace, is found in Christ.

C. All this God gives to us through Jesus by the sign of Immanuel (matt28:20
1. Jesus – “Yahweh Saves” Matt 1:21
We have peace because, Jesus whose name means, Yahweh, the Lord, saves, came to save his people from their sins. We are God’s people. But we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have missed the mark. We have sinned in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and what we’ve left undone. We have not loved God with all our heart and we have not loved our neighbors as our selves. Because of these sins, we justly deserve God’s temporal and eternal punishment; destruction of body and soul here in time and hereafter in eternity. A frightening proposition indeed.
To be saved from these sins is salvation indeed. We need someone not just able to alleviate the annoying inconveniences we experience in this life but one who is mighty enough to bring eternal, all-encompassing salvation. To Save us. To rescue us from the worst dangers, of sin, death, hell and Satan. We need one who will continue to keep us safe and secure so that nothing may ever harm us. “You ask who this may be? The Lord of Hosts is he. Christ Jesus Mighty Lord; God’s only son adored.”
The only one mighty enough to bring such salvation is he who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate and made man.
The long-expected Jesus, who was born to set his people free, releases you from your fears and sins. They can no longer inflict their deadly damning power on you. On your own, sin will cling to you closer than a shadow and will cling to you forever, but God’s own son Jesus has freed and rescued and saved you.

2. Immanuel – “God with us” (Matt 1:23, Matt 28:20)
Jesus is God in human flesh. Jesus is Immanuel – the name that means, God is with us. By coming in the flesh, God took our fears and our conflicts upon himself. Then that flesh, God with us in the flesh, was killed to take them all away. That flesh, Immanuel, God with us, is still present with us now in the Lord’s Supper, the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is present with us always. Jesus tells us: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst and ‘I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.

So, what’s in a name? A lot, when it is the name of our Lord Jesus, Immanuel, Savior of the Nations. We, like Mary and Joseph and Christians from every time and place, can believe and cling to the promise and forgiveness contained in the name Immanuel: God is with you and he saves you from all your sins.

And may the peace of God with passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Let us Pray: O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend on us we pray. Cast out sin and enter in. Be born in us today. O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel. Amen.

Christmas Chapel message 121610

2010-12-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas Chapel message 121610
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Does anybody here know what a truce is? (When two sides agree to stop fighting). Almost a hundred years ago, there was a terrible war being fought in Europe called the Great War or World War I. During that war, on Christmas Eve of 1914, the soldiers called a truce. They decided to stop fighting for one night, so that there would be peace during Christmas. Nothing quite like that has ever happened before or since. The soldiers, who were enemies, took turn singing Christmas songs, like “Silent Night,” to each other instead of fighting.

Some soldiers even went into “no man’s land” - the area between the two enemy armies where normally no one wants to go because they are afraid of being attacked, they went into this area and exchanged gifts and played soccer with each other. Unfortunately, after Christmas, the war continued for almost 4 more years.

But you know, many many years before World War I, there was another war going on - A war between God and man. We are sinful humans and our sins are like fighting against God. We have no way of winning this war. In fact, we would be lost for sure if we kept fighting God. God could crush us. But guess who called a truce in this war (God). Our Heavenly Father called a truce, He wanted to put an end to the fight. On Christmas, we can see God the Father calling a truce. There are two places we can look.

One is the manger where Jesus was born and the other is the cross, where Jesus died for our sins. Jesus’ coming to earth and dying took away our sin, our fighting with God. It put an end to the war.

Jesus brought a truce between us and God. Or to say it in Christmas language, Jesus made peace with God and man, like it says in our bible reading from Luke 2: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’” On Christmas, we thank God that because of Jesus, he allows us to sleep in heavenly peace. Amen.

Advent 2 Midweek

2010-12-08T13:30:00.001-08:00

120810 Sermon Advent Midweek 2- It’s Time to Wake Up!
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

You know that feeling you get when you wake up and realize you’ve overslept for work or an important meeting? Terror, dread, an adrenaline rush. It’s a terrible feeling when you realize that you’ve overslept, but it’s far worse to be snoozing spiritually, unprepared for Jesus’ second coming. In Romans, St. Paul sounds the alarm clock for us. What time is it? It’s time to wake up.
I The day is dawning
The Bible repeatedly tells us that the day is dawning; the day when Jesus will return in glory to judge both the living and the dead. We live in a critical time.
About 2000 years ago there was a critical time in the history of the world. Galatians 4, reads, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son born of a woman.” When the time was right according to God’s plan and the will of the heavenly Father, He sent his son Jesus into the world.
In our text from Romans 13, St Paul talks about another critical time. He says, “You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”
Today, is a critical time. Right now, salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.” What time is it? It’s time to wake up! Advent is our alarm clock. We see the blue of Advent and we are reminded that Christmas is coming, as we prepare for Jesus’ first coming by way of a manger. But Advent also reminds us to prepare for Jesus’ second coming at the end of the world. Jesus is coming again! Are you ready? It is no time to snooze spiritually.
Matthew tells us, “Stay Awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming…The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Oversleeping can be embarassing, but Spiritual snoozing can have eternal consequences. If you are not prepared to meet God it can result in eternal separation from Him.
The end of the world and the day of judgment can seem pretty remote to us. Let me put it this way. What would you do if you knew you only had one week to live? Suddenly the things you thought were important seem pretty insignificant. Take a moment right now. Imagine that you have only a week to live. Make a mental list of things like people to forgive, or spend time with; sins to repent of; people you need to share the Gospel with; unresolved issues that need to be addressed once and for all.
Got your list? What are you waiting for? You don’t know when your time on this earth will end. Advent is a good alarm clock for each of us. It’s time to wake up! We live in a critical time. The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect.
II We need to be dressed for the occasion
St Paul tells us not only that its time to wake up, but also that we need to be “dressed for the occasion,” the occasion of Jesus’ second coming. Paul says, “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” After you wake up, you need to get dressed. Paul tells us to put on God’s armor light and to cast off the rags of sin, dirty clothes of disobedience and deeds of darkness.
In the Old Testament book of Zechariah chapter 3, we are given a picture of how our filthy clothes of sin are taken off of us and replaced with robes of righteousness. The prophet Zechariah has a vision of a man, who represents each of us, standing before God’s judgment seat. He’s dressed in filthy clothes, the clothes of sin and disobedience. In this heavenly courtroom scene, it’s clear that the man is guilty. Satan, the accuser and prosecuting attorney, calls for the man’s condemnation. All is hopeless. Then, the defense attorney defense speaks. He tells the accuser to shut up and announces that his man has been delivered from judgment. He has the filthy clothes removed and the man is dressed in white robes of righteousness. He is forgiven! He is not condemned! This is how we sinners are made right with our holy God. This is justification. It’s God’s gift. It’s like a new set of clothes that He gives for us. We cannot dress ourselves for the occasion. God, for Jesus’ sake dresses us. These white robes that we wear during service are a reminder of God’s gift of new clothes, his gift of forgiveness. That is also why we have a tradition of clothing babies in a white garment at baptism.
In, Galatians 3, Paul says ‘For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.” This is like the hymn we sang (will sing) “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress.”
Jesus’ death on the cross for our sin and his rising from the grave, gives us victory over sin, death and the devil. He exchanges our sin for his righteousness. He strips off of us our filthy garments and dresses us for the occasion. We are now awake and ready to stand before the eternal judgment throne and declare: “Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to the cross I cling, Naked, come to thee for dress; Helpless look to thee for grace. We are dressed in the righteousness of Jesus our Savior!
III So, dressed for the day, we walk while we wait.
Now, between Jesus’ first and second coming, we live as God’s forgiven, well-dressed, wide-awake children. Dressed in the gift of God’s righteousness, we live a different kind of life than unbelievers. We live not to earn God’s love or impress others, but to thank God and witness to His mercy and forgiveness.
To make you ready for the world’s end and the Day of Judgment, you have been awakened and given a new suit of clothes. You have been dressed in the righteousness and forgiveness of Christ Jesus. You are ready.
This day and everyday in Advent is a wonderful day to wake up and celebrate the love of God freely given to you in Jesus. Amen.

Advent 2 Midweek
Sermon Outline
Romans 13:11-14
“It’s Time to Wake Up!”
I. The day is dawning.
II. We need to be dressed for the occasion.
III. So, dressed for the day, we walk while we wait.

101310 chapel

2010-12-08T13:29:00.001-08:00

101310 Chapel
Vicar Darren Harbaugh
1. Can anybody tell me what this is? (wait) That’s right. It’s a thank you card. What are these cards used for? (wait. We use them to show our appreciation when someone has done something special for us or given us something.)

2. Sometimes people forget to say thank you. You may even think its rude if someone doesn’t thank you when you do something nice for them or when you give them a gift. But we often forget to thank God, who is the giver of all good gifts.

3. In our reading for today, Jesus gave a great gift to 10 lepers. Not leopards, like the big cats with spots on them, but lepers. These are people that had leprosy, one of the worst diseases in Jesus’ time. People who had leprosy were forced to leave their homes and their families and go to places all by where only other people with leprosy lived. They usually stayed there until they died. They hardly ever got better because there was no medicine to heal leprosy. When the 10 lepers in our story saw Jesus, they called out for help, “Jesus, have mercy on us!” We will sing these words later in chapel this morning. We are confessing that we are helpless like those lepers when we cry out “Lord, have mercy!” We have a disease worse than leprosy. We have the disease of sin.

Well, Jesus healed the lepers. It was a miracle. The lepers could finally go back to their families. Jesus also heals us, from our disease of sin by his death on the cross. We are able to join the family of God.

4. All 10 of the lepers in the story were healed but only one went back to thank Jesus. What are some reasons why we don’t say thank you? (forget, don’t appreciate the gift, distracted)

5. Why did the one leper return? Jesus tells him, “Your faith has made you well.” The leper that returned was healed from his sickness and from his sins because of his faith in Jesus.

There are lots of things we can thank God for, but the most important is the gift of salvation and faith in Jesus Christ. We don’t need to write God a thank-you note, but we can say thank you to him when we pray to Him and sing to Him and when we continue to call out Lord, have mercy! Let’s thank God for the gifts He has given us.

Father in Heaven, thank you for giving us life, for taking care of us, and most of all for giving your Son Jesus to save us. Thank you for the most precious gift of faith and eternal life in heaven. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

110310 chapel

2010-12-08T13:28:00.001-08:00

110310 chapel
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

I guess there is a big celebration going on today in downtown San Francisco. Does anybody know why? (Giants!)
Why is everybody dressed in black and orange? (colors)
Why are people so excited about the Giants? (long time since they won, they are the best!)

Well, we just read in the Bible about a great victory celebration that all are invited to. At this party everyone will be celebrating, not because of giants but because of a lamb.

The lamb is Jesus. He is the lamb of God who was sacrificed to take away the sins of the World. Every Christian who has ever lived will celebrate Jesus’ final victory over sin, which he earned by his death on the cross.

Do the Giants need to play any more games to prove that they are the champions? (No!) Well, neither Jesus nor you are I need to do anything else to proof that sin and death have been defeated. On the cross, Jesus suffered and died and won victory for us all.

Christians will forever live with God and all the problems we have here on earth will be gone. The bible says that Jesus will wipe every tear from our eye, no more sadness or pain.

Think of a time when you were really happy. Got it? Eternal life with Jesus will be even better for those who have been baptized into His name. That is something to celebrate!

Let’s sing to the Lord.

chapel 111710

2010-12-08T13:27:00.001-08:00

Anybody here like going to the beach? (wait) I like going to the beach. I went last week. The sun was out, it was beautiful,. I looked at the tall cliffs next to the beach. They were amazing. You’d think that they’d last forever, but I learned later that the beach I went to, used to be an official state beach but was closed because waves and storms and earthquakes had caused landslides. Those big cliffs and sand dunes are actually crumbling into the ocean.
The things around us won’t last forever. What big event happened in San Francisco in the year 1906? (wait) There was a great big earthquake and fire that destroyed much of the city. Many huge buildings were destroyed. It was a huge disaster.
There have been many big disaster movies made about the end of the world because of earthquakes or volcanoes or disease or global warming or nuclear war. And it seems like every year somebody new is predicting when the world is going to end. When I was growing up, there was a book called “88 Reasons why the world is going to end in 1988.” Guess what. That book was wrong. Then some people said that in the year 2000 the world is going to end. Guess what they were wrong too. Now some people are saying “2012, that’s the year that the world is going to end.” There was even a big movie made about it.
Well, there’s a good place you go to when you find out about the end of the world. Not the TV or movies but God’s Word - the Bible. Jesus says: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
So someday the world will pass away. But when people say, “Nothing is forever,” that’s not true, there is something that lasts forever. In our reading today, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” God’s word will last forever.
The prophet Isaiah writes “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

God’s Word is forever. In the beginning, God spoke his Word, cutting through the darkness and creating light. 2000 years ago, God Word’s took on human flesh when Jesus was born. Jesus cut through the darkness of sin. Today, God’s Word declares that you and I are righteous and holy because of Jesus’ death on the cross. In eternal life, Christians will praise God forever singing his Word back to him. This is God’s promise to us and we can trust it.

So you don’t have to be afraid when somebody talks about the end of the world. So what?! Even though all around us may pass away, Christians have hope because God’s Word is forever and we have confidence that we too will live forever because of Jesus. Amen.

chapel 120110

2010-12-08T13:26:00.001-08:00

(alarm) Why are alarms important? (wake up, ready for school, events). If you didn’t have an alarm you still might be in bed right now.

We want to be awake for important things like school and meetings, but we especially want to be awake spiritually. Our reading from Romans says, “You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”

We are now in the season of Advent, which is like an alarm clock. We see the blue of the Advent and it’s reminder to wake up and prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ coming as a baby. What do we call that celebration? (Christmas) Advent also reminds us that we are to prepare for Jesus’ second coming at the end of the world. Jesus is coming again! Are you ready? It is no time to take a spiritual nap.

Our reading from Matthew says, “Stay awake, for you do not know what day your Lord is coming…Be ready, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Taking a nap spiritually is not just embarrassing; if you are not prepared to meet God, it can result in being separated from Him forever.

After you wake up, what are some things you do to prepare for the day? (shower, breakfast, dress.) You always want to remember to get dressed.

I brought a bag of my dirty, smelly, laundry. Would it be a good idea to wear these clothes today? (no.) Why not? (not clean. stink) What if I was going to a big special occasion, like a wedding, would it be a good idea to wear these dirty clothes?

Our reading from Romans, not only tells us that it’s time to wake up, but also tells us that we need to get dressed for the big occasion of Jesus’s second coming. Without Jesus, we are clothed in dirty rags of sin. St Paul says, “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” We put on Jesus himself and we throw off the dirty clothes of disobedience and sin.

We are clothed with Christ through Baptism. The Bible says, “As many of You as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” By Jesus’ death on the cross for our sin and His rising from the grave, He gives us victory over sin, death and the devil.

In Baptism, you are dressed and ready for the big occasion of Jesus’ second coming. You have been awakened and given a new set of clothes, in exchange for your dirty laundry of sin. You have been dressed in the righteousness and forgiveness of Jesus, you are ready.

This day, and every day in Advent, is a wonderful day to wake up (set off alarm) and celebrate the love of God freely given to you in Jesus.

“Behold, Your King is Coming to You” Advent 1 Matthew 21:1-11

2010-11-28T20:07:00.001-08:00

“Behold, Your King is Coming to You” Advent 1 Matthew 21:1-11
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Introduction: A Royal Event
While at Cambridge, I saw Queen Elizabeth. Crowds flocked to catch a glimpse of her. It is fascinating to see how the British regard their royalty. The press is speculating that Prince William will have the most extravagant wedding ever. And can’t even imagine what the coronation ceremony for the next monarch will be like, probably a public spectacle unlike any other.

I. A. Jesus’ royal entrance was public
Our gospel reading from Matthew tells of a royal public spectacle; Different from the crowning of a British monarch, but still involving a bit of pomp and circumstance. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. A huge crowd lays cloaks on the road before him along with branches they’ve torn from trees. They shout praises. The event shook the city. It was an incredible act, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. But, we know the rest of the story – A week later, the holy city of Jerusalem ended up murdering its Messiah as it had murdered its prophets who foretold of one who would come to bring salvation. From acclamation and acceptance to condemnation and rejection in the span of a week. Why did this happen?

It is significant that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is public. It would have been possible for Jesus to arrive without drawing attention to himself. But He did not come to slip quietly into the city.
What’s happened to the secretive Jesus? Remember him? Throughout the Gospels Jesus heals somebody then says, “Shhh! Don’t tell anybody.”

Here in Matthew 21, The crowd is screaming, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” But Jesus does not tell the crowd to pipe down.
Hosanna by the way means “Save us now! Indeed, Jesus is now there to save them. The time to be quiet is over. The hour of salvation has come.

B. It was provocative
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem was also provocative. Jesus didn’t normally ride around on donkeys. In the Old Testament, the royal heir rode a donkey. Jesus was presenting himself as the Son of David. His arrival is deliberately dramatic, designed to draw attention and provoke people to think about his claim to be the messiah. It is a challenge for the people to recognize their king, but Jerusalem does not rejoice. Rather, the event shook the city.

C. It was humble
Jesus did not fit their expectation of what a king should be like, because above all, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was humble.

Many expected the Messiah king to come in power and destroy political enemies, but as R.T. France writes: “This meek and peaceful donkey rider is not a potential leader of an anti-Roman insurrection.”
As King, Jesus is victorious, yet meek. He rides a donkey rather than a war horse. His kingdom is one of peace rather than coercion. Mounted on the son of the pack animal, Jesus comes as the meek suffering servant who will take away our weakness and bear out diseases. The messiah king of Israel will rule by virtue of his humble suffering and death. Jesus chose to portray himself in this way as he approached the city. This prepares us for a kingship that will be established without violence and through submitting to the will of enemies.

Jesus says in Matthew 20. “You want to be great? You must become a servant. You want to be first? You must be a slave. The son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

These words cause us to examine ourselves. What is your expectation of what Jesus should be like? It is no secret who Jesus is. Nor is it a secret what his kingdom is like. Do you worship and follow the humble suffering servant? Jesus challenges us to recognize him as king on His terms, a king hidden in the suffering of the cross. Our king chose the path of rejection and pain. Too often, we choose our own path; establish our own kingdom - one of comfort and ease. We fashion the Christian life in our own image. We want God to be our cosmic Sugar Daddy, giving us whatever we want. We ignore God when it is uncomfortable - when we are out of our comfort zone. We are called to serve our neighbors, our friends, our family, but we serve ourselves. We collect possessions and hoard our time. You and I find security, meaning and significance in ourselves, in the kingdoms that we have created for ourselves, and in our processions rather than in Christ alone.

But we are not left on our own. As Richard Lenski writes, “Jesus is a king like none other. His kingdom not of this world. The subjects of other kings come humbly to their king, this king comes humbly to his subjects. Other kings take all that they have from their people. This king gives all that he has to his people
Luther says “Christ is a peculiar king; you do not seek him, he seeks you. You do not find him. He finds you, for the preachers come from him not from you, their preaching comes from him not from you, your faith comes from him not from you, and all that your faith works in you comes from him, not from you.

III. Jesus, our Messiah King, makes his entrance among us now.
Behold, Your king is coming to you. As Jesus rode publicly, provocatively and humbly into Jerusalem. He comes to us this way even now.

A. His coming is public through Word and Worship
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem did the people know that they were shouting a messianic enthronement psalm? Who knows what they had in mind. But it shows the power of God’s Word. That is why we sing God’s words back to him in the liturgy. Even though we pray the liturgy week after week, we will never exhaust the depth of God’s own word sung and spoken back to him. Those pilgrims in Jerusalem sung the Word of God – “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” - as they threw down their coats and tore down branches to line the path of Christ their coming King, who was coming to lay down his own body and shed his own blood on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins.

We, pilgrims in this particular place, sing the same word of God in our Service of the Sacrament Look at pg __ in your service folder. “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” - We sing as our king comes to us, in a way that no less real then when he entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Christ comes to us through His Word and He comes us physically, even now, in his body and his blood.

Jesus, whose name means “The Lord is Salvation”, brought salvation by his suffering and death on the cross. We cry, “Hosanna!” meaning “Save us now!” And he does save us. Look at page ___. “Drink of it all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.” Our sins are forgiven because our Lord came humbly as a child into this world, rode humbly into Jerusalem and continues to come to us in an ordinary and humble fashion. Through the ordinary words of an imperfect human and through the ordinary and humble means of bread and wine. To some, it is a shock and an offense to reason to claim that the God of the universe should reveal himself in such a mundane and ordinary way.

B. His coming is provocative, defying human reason
C. His coming is humble, in ordinary, simple means of Bread and Wine
I’m sure that it was a shock and an offense to reason that a king should come born in a manger, born to humble ordinary people; or that the king should come riding a donkey - a simple, ordinary beast of burden.
This is no offense or shock, but rather this is the greatest comfort. Behold, your king comes to you now, humble and in a simple, ordinary way.

Our king defies expectations. Pain and suffering are bad, right? What king would suffer and die to bring salvation? Ours. Jesus came to earth as a human and bore the burden that we bear every day. He endured temptation. He endured the daily grind and pressures of life. He dealt with rejection and pain and sorrow. He felt all the normal ordinary human emotions.

We all have heavy burdens. But our King who rode a beast of burden, and who bore all our burdens upon the cross promises rest. Behold, your king is coming to you, right now as I speak, offering you blessings of life, salvation and peace. Amen.

“Rescued from the Dominion of Darkness” - Colossians 1:13-20

2010-11-22T13:44:00.001-08:00

“Rescued from the Dominion of Darkness” - Colossians 1:13-20
11.21.10 – Sunday of the Fulfillment
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

A couple weeks ago we “fell back” an hour for daylight saving time. Instead of the sun setting around 6 o’clock, now it sets around 5. We’ve lost almost a half an hour of daylight since setting our clocks back and we’ll lose another half hour of daylight until we hit December 21st, the shortest day of the year.

I’ve never been fond of the dark. Darkness has a certain power, and not necessarily for good. You can get lost in the dark. You are vulnerable and can’t see danger coming. Even physically, humans need light. In those places in the world where it is dark a lot, like in the extreme north, people have to be on guard against depression. Physical darkness has a certain power.

Spiritual darkness indeed has power too. In the world and in our lives, spiritual darkness can seem very powerful, almost as if it controls us and rules us. We know that there is a king of darkness and that he is very powerful. But even though we feel the power of darkness, our reading from Colossians has an incredible promise for us.

In Colossians 1:13, the apostle Paul mentions the “domain of darkness.” That is a very fitting description for Satan’s realm. Satan likes to keep his work hidden and secretive. He deals in deception and fear. Sin would not be so tempting if it was out in the open and exposed to the light. It would look downright hideous, so he likes to keep it under wraps. And in this Spiritual domain of darkness, we are vulnerable to either being trapped by what we can’t see or terrified because we know that something out there is lurking.

All of us, at one point, were part of this domain of darkness, and even now, Sin and Satan still pull at us.
-Sin and Satan pull us with deception. Satan wants us to believe the lie that sin isn’t dangerous. An entire industry is built on gossiping about people, saying mean and hurtful things about others. Rather than speaking about our neighbor in the best possible way, it’s our national pastime to drag her through the mud every change we get. Maybe you hold a grudge against someone and harbor bitterness against her. And think, “What’s the harm?”
Also, our entire economy seems to be fueled by people on desiring what their neighbor has; wanting the next latest and greatest thing to come down the line rather than being content with what God has provided. We ask ourselves, “What’s wrong with wanting nice new things? What’s dangerous about wanting more money, a nicer car, a better house, a bigger TV?”

-Sin and Satan also pull us with temptation, just as with Adam and Eve in the garden; Satan still gets us to ask the question, “Is it really wrong?” Is morality determined by my own personal preference and by society? Or is it determined by God’s Word? Billions of dollars are generated by marking and selling sex via TV and computer to people in the privacy of their own home. Because it’s there, does it make it right? Living together or having sex outside of God’s plan for marriage is accepted by many and we are tempted to think, “Is it really wrong?”

-Sin and Satan also pull us with fear. Maybe you beat yourself up, over sin and the experience of sin past and present. Maybe you think that there is no way that God will forgive you for things you’ve done or accept you because of things you’ve experienced. Maybe you’ve hurt people with your actions. Maybe you have abused drugs and alcohol. Maybe you’ve committed sexual sins. Maybe you’ve destroyed a relationship. Maybe you’ve been destroyed through a relationship. Maybe you’ve had an abortion or pressured someone to get one. Maybe you’ve been the victim of physical or emotional abuse. And because of this, whatever it is, you think: “Forgiveness and acceptance is not for me.”

Maybe you’re just scared. Terrified of being alone, of dying. Paralyzed with fear of the unknown, of things that could happen to you or your family. The pull of sin and Satan can deceive us and lead us into deep discouragement and despair. We turn inward and wonder “What’s wrong with me?” We can get to the point of almost losing hope and losing faith, ready to throw in the towel and to give up trying to live for Christ.

But hold on; let’s go back to Colossians 1:13. What does it say? God has rescued us and placed us under the authority of his Son. We are not under the authority of Sin and Satan’s domain of darkness. For us as Christians, there has been a regime change. There is a new guy in charge; we are under the rule of the Son. He is our king.

Notice that the following actions are in the past tense. ‘The Father has delivered us (past tense) from the domain of darkness and transferred us (past tense) to the kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” God has rescued you. It’s already happened!

It happened because of a specific historical event: redemption by the death of God’s beloved Son. Jesus’ death on the cross paid for ALL our sins and bought us back from Satan’s dominion of darkness.

-Those sins that we toyed with because we thought that they couldn’t hurt us all that much - gossiping about others, harboring bitterness toward others, craving money and possessions; those sins have been forgiven.
-Those sins we tried to rationalize away – lust of the eyes through pornography, lust of the flesh, through sexual sins; those sins have been forgiven.
-Even those sins we knew were wrong and know are deadly and even now are tormenting us with guilt- drug and alcohol abuse, adultery, murder, lies, hurtful behavior; these sins too have been forgiven.
-Also, sins of fear and doubt because of the unknown, because of experiences of abuse and pain; yes, these sins have been forgiven as well.

We have been redeemed! The price the Jesus paid was sufficient and our rescue from the domain of darkness was complete because of who Jesus is.

The Son has the authority to break the power of darkness – Now and forever. Verse 15 says that the Son is the image of the invisible God. Sometimes God may seem far away, but God doesn’t wish to keep us in the dark about his identity or his actions. When we see Christ, we see God. And in Christ, we see that God’s actions are always gracious and loving and forgiving, bringing light to those who sit in darkness.

Verse 16 says that The Son made all things; because of this, Son’s ability to rule has no limit. The Son, not Satan, is the rightful king of the universe. Satan is not equal in power to God. A few weeks ago for Reformation Day, we sang the hymn Luther wrote: “Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no ill; They shall not overpower us. This world’s prince may still Scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him.” What word is that that shatters the darkness? Jesus! The name above all names, “for at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, those on heaven and those on earth and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the Lord of God the Father!” When the Son returns, we will see Him on the throne and Satan cast down.

Verse 17 says that the Son sustains all things. He’s got the whole world in His hands. There is nowhere that His power does not reach. It shines into every dark corner where Satan might lurk. We have nothing to fear – not Satan’s worst in this life, nor hell in eternity.

Jesus rose from the dead and was the firstborn, the cause, of those who rise from the dead. When Jesus returns in bright glory, we too will rise! Jesus is God himself, all the fullness of God dwells in Him. He is 100% God and 100% man, he is therefore the mediator between God and man. Even when you and I don’t feel peaceful, Jesus has established peace between us and the Father – by taking all the hatred and evil of our sins in his own body on the cross.

So when you feel the pull and power of darkness – and every Christian feels it – hold fast to God’s promise. What is that promise? We are no longer under condemnation, we are not slaves to danger and fear because have been buried with Christ by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. God has rescued us out of the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the reign of His Son. One day, that reign will come in glory and we will be united with Christ in His resurrection. In these dark days, this gives us reason to rejoice, for His is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

found this about my family

2010-11-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=brower3231&id=I10771

ID: I10771
Name: Heinrich Habach
Given Name: Heinrich
Surname: Habach
Name: Heinrich Habach
Given Name: Heinrich Habach
Name: Heinrich Harbaugh
Given Name: Heinrich Harbaugh
Name: Henry Habach
Given Name: Henry Habach
Name: Henry Heorbach
Given Name: Henry Heorbach
Sex: M
Birth:
_UID: 4C73D999-E6A1-43DE-BCBA-91DCA9B3EFB5
RIN: MH:IF11670 BET 1755 AND 1764
Death:
_UID: 14374042-28FE-4A2F-B917-5BF551F25445
RIN: MH:IF72265
RIN: MH:I10779
_UID: 1A034A6F-AA59-4274-83BD-056E68933EAA
Note:
He was a Lutheran, and because he seems to have never used the Dutch form Hendrik for his given name, I can assume that any sojourn in Holland was short. He attended a German-language Lutheran church (I so assume because of the early identification of the church with a German name, Gute Hoffnung), overwhelming evidence must assert that he was from a German-speaking country. I cannot ascertain what part of the German-speaking lands he came from.

Whether Henry Harbaugh is related to the Harbaughs of the
"Harbaugh History" by Cora Bell HARBAUGH Cooprider that are not his descendants of himself or other Harbaughs who lived in Fayette County, PA at the time is highly uncertain. I know nothing yet of any ancestors who lived in Germany, Switzerland, or the (then) Germanophone Alsace-Lorraine region of France (family origin is likely in one of those places).

If HABACH is his original surname, then it was pronounced in German as "HAH-bakh", the KH representing a sound that does not exist in English. The strongly accented HAH could have been heard pronounced as "HAR", and the very audible "KH" could have come off as a K or been silent. Apparently it went silent and was spelled Harbaugh".

Several alternative spellings are possible for Harbaugh, but this family chose HARBAUGH

From a transcription of the 1800 US Census in Bullskin Twp., Fayette Co., PA

501 19 HEORBACH Henry 2 . . 1 . . . 1 . . . . .

This name was, of course, suited to sundry variations.

Note: two males under 10, one male between the ages of 26 and 45, and one female between the ages of 16 and 25. It is safely said that Henry was thus born between the
years 1754 and 1774, likely on the late side, and that Elizabeth was born between the years 1775 and 1784, likely on the early side. This household looks like a young couple, in view of the absence of any children over 10.

Here's a likely older brother:

501 18 HEORBACH John 5 1 . 1 . . . . 1 . . . .

Interpretation:

Five sons under 10, one son between 10 and 16, one adult male aged 26 to 45, wife between ages 26 and 45.

Here's a likely father of these two men:

501 17 HEORBACH Frances . . 1 . 1 . . . . 1 . . .

One son between the ages of 16 and 26, one man past age 45, wife past 45.

It is possible that "Frances" is a misrecording of "Francis" -- or "Franz", the German equivalent of "Francis". Nothing here is definitive.

..........

Rupp, in "About 30,000 Names" lists a "Heinrich Herbach" as arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1764, a "Johann Peter Harbach" as arriving in Philadelphia PA in 1772, and a "Michael Harbach" arriving in Philadelphia PA in 1773.

Strassburger, in "Pennsylvania German Pioneers", has a "Jacob Herbach" arriving in Philadelphia PA in 1741, and a Jacob Harbach arriving in Philadelphia in 1764. Those two are almost certainly different persons.

No other similar names, except involving a "Harback" arriving in Georgia at a similar time, is to be found, and the immigration list is extensive and alphabetic. Linguistic evidence suggests that if "HERBACH" is the correct spelling, then it was pronounced "hair-bakh" and slowly became "Harbaw" in pronunciation, as the obvious misspelling HEORBACH (which is bad German, bad English, bad Dutch, and bad anything else) seems to indicate. Paucity of alternatives on immigration lists suggests that the only alternative is to find someone who immigrated illegally, as by jumping ship.

In view of the absence of other evidence, my best guess is that Heinrich Herbach (known under several aliases -- all honorable, so far as I can tell) emigrated to the New World from Germany through Rotterdam and Philadelphia in 1764. Other Herbachs and Harbachs could be related -- but NOBODY seems to have reached America with the surname Harbaugh already formalized in writing.

It is possible that he immigrated as a child and even as an infant, so I have thus chosen to assert that he was born in or before 1764. Frequent changes of the rendering of his name are more typical of a recent immigrant with whose surname gives difficulties of pronunciation and spelling within the community within which he lives. Many French, German, English, and Spanish or Portuguese surnames were changed dramatically within the Dutch colony of New Holland; the lore of name changes of persons immigrating to most northern and western cities in the United States around AD 1900 shows the tendency to a powerful extent. Given names changed first; that is, Heinrich > Henry.

Once in America, Herbachs, Habachs, and Harbachs often became Harbaughs and who knows what else. Maybe even "Harvey" and of course "Harback". In his case the Anglicization went through "Heorbach", and as English speakers had trouble with the final sound that does not exist in English, the final "ch" was muted but transformed into the infamous silent final "gh" ot English.

NOTE TO RESEARCHERS:

Whatever you do, please cite my reasoning on the frequent name changes, which often seem like trial and error, in adaptation of an Anglophone environment. It is not from any book, so cite me to give credit -- or discredit -- where due. Because of the great ambiguity of his name at any given time, one can assume that his given name began as something unquestionably German over a few decades.

Addendum, 2 Dec 2006: a Francis Harbaugh, then between the ages of 70 and 80, appears in Union Twp., Fayette County, PA in the 1830 US Census, but not in 1840. This is consistent with "Frances Heorbach" being in the age group "45+" in 1810. No other persons with such a name are known to have been living in Fayette County between 1830 and 1870.
Change Date: 6 OCT 2008

Marriage 1 Elisabeth b: BET 1774 AND 1784
Children
Abraham Harbaugh b: ABT 1801 in Saltlick Twp., Fayette, Pennsylvania c: in Gute Hoffnung Lutheran Church, Saltlick Twp., Fayette, Pennsylvania

All saints

2010-11-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

All Saints Day (Observed) A Victorious Heavenly Family Reunion Rev 7:9-17

Anybody catch that victory celebration downtown at the Civic Center this week?  I wasn't there personally, but caught it via television.  I can’t imagine being there in the middle of that crowd, but it looked like a great time.

Our reading from Revelation paints a picture similar to that Giants’ World Series celebration.  There are no people hanging off the light poles, but the Apostle John indeed gives us a little slice of heaven.  He describes his vision of a great multitude of people which no one could number. This is our future.  You and I are in the middle of this crowd.  And unlike the celebration here in San Francisco, at the heavenly celebration you won’t need to jockey for position, suffer from dehydration, or wait anxiously in line to use the restroom.  John tells of a magnificent, victorious, heavenly family reunion.  All baptized believers past, present and future are in attendance.  Imagine the family photo!

An innumerable crowd.  Kind of reminds you of that promise God gave to Abraham, that his descendants would be like the sand on the seashore.  But we are not a part of this celebration because of our ethnic connection to Abraham but rather because of faith, on account of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God upon the cross.  The precious blood of the Lamb bought you and I and has made it possible for us to celebrate with baptized believers, from every tongue, tribe, and nation.  Every skin tone and language will be represented.  And though we may look different and sound different, we will all be united by the sacrifice of Christ, standing before the throne, worshipping the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  You can take comfort that this "Lamb who sits on the throne" does not hold his position by means of electoral or popular vote.  He rules because He is God not because he was appointed by the populous.

What a great celebration that will be.  All the saints, the ones made holy by Christ, will be there.  My great Grandpa Orlo and my great, great, great great grandpa Henry, also Martin Luther, the Apostle Paul, Peter, James and John, Abraham, David.  You name the saint and they are in attendance.

Also, those saints who have died more recently: Bill Silvera, Brigitte Wiel, Irene Kruger, and just this past Wednesday Rosemarie Arenz. They too will be clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.  Remember Palm branches in the Bible?  Palm Sunday!  They were used in Jesus’ victory parade before he laid down his life upon the cross.  Palm branches are a sign of victory - like wearing the orange and black around here now of days – an indication that the battle has been won.  In life everlasting, the home team wears white – robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.  Christ’s blood cleanses and washes us.

What do we need to be washed and cleansed from?  The sin that so easily entangles as it says in Hebrews 12.  Let’s leave this heavenly image for a second and descend back to earth.  In the book of Revelation, we are given an heavenly vision, but our lives seem very right here and right now.  Very earthy, some times too much so.  What do we, now, have in common with this heavenly vision?  Our earthly family picture is often not as pretty as the heavenly family photo.  We bicker and fight.  We have hurt feelings and we hurt feelings.  We hear harsh words and we speak harsh words.  We think evil thoughts.  We suffer broken relationships, broken hearts.  We have lost loved ones.  The experience of sin in our lives can point us toward losing hope or losing faith.

Acts 14:22 says “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Pastor and professor Dr Louis Brighton says “Some tribulations and sufferings will be so piercing and poignant that the very faith and foundation of the believer’s hope will be severely tried, almost to the point of despair and defeat.  For that Christian at that moment, his sufferings and trials are his great tribulation and every Christian will experience tribulation.”

Often tribulations, and the tears that result, are a part of our experience as the faithful people of God while on this earth.
-we shed tears over our own sins and over the sins of others
- we shed tears over the ruin and sufferings experienced by others
- we shed tears over our own afflictions
- we shed tears when we are confronted with God’s anger
- we shed tears when we are alone and in sorrow

“In this life, the shedding of tears is as much – at times even more- our experience as Christians as are joy and laughter.  It is our nature as the people of God to weep and lament, but it is the gift of God’s grace to turn our weeping and sorrow into joy.  This picture of eternal glory in Rev 7:14 (quote) is for our comfort and for the comfort of all Christians of all times as we experience whatever tribulations test our faith”. It is a complete and final fulfillment of this God's promise.

“We Christian's do not have immunity from severe suffering, rather in our ‘tribulations’ we experience such sufferings and fears and threats to life and faith that the depth of our very souls will be scorched in fiery trial. We must acknowledge that loss of faith and damnation to hell are real possibilities.” But the Word of God can strengthen our faith so that, despite such a fiery trial, our faith will hold out, and we will come through victorious, perhaps even stronger.”

So we cry, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” as we cling to our baptism and to the Word of God.  But also, we know that our heads are not in the clouds and our minds are not on the sweet by and by, but rather we are in the here and now and you are in a particular place, the right place, mind you.  God’s place.  In life everlasting, we will serve God in His temple.  Now, we worship Him in His holy house here on earth.

In life everlasting, God will tabernacle with us, sheltering us with His presence, dwelling with us.  We also know that in the person of Jesus, Heaven and earth meet -  God became man, dwelling with us in human flesh.  He also comes to us now in the flesh, in His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

You see, the church is not just a place to sing some songs and see friends and have some words spoken at you.  Here, right now, is where heaven and earth meet.  No less.  Accept nothing less.  There are a lot better clubs you can join if that what you're looking for.  But in this place, the Word you hear is the Word of Christ, His gospel for the forgiveness of your sins.  You are forgiven!  And the people next to you, to your right and to your left, in front of you and behind you are holy saints, sealed by the Spirit in the living waters of Baptism. They are no mere mortals, but were created by God for eternity.

And those songs we sing.  It’s not just our voices singing but the whole heavenly host joins in.  Angels and Archangels.  David, Abraham, Paul Peter James and John, Bill, Irene, Brigitte Rose Marie and all Christians throughout the ages.  We join our voices together.

One day we will all be joined together - one big happy family.  The troubles of this life will be but a shadow, tears and pain a distant memory.  Savor this slice of heaven.  In fact, come to the altar and have a taste.  The heavenly feast awaits.  You are invited to the feast.  Enjoy the victory celebration. Amen

july 4th 2005

2010-10-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

dontstopthejam

2010-10-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

things to do.

2010-10-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

going to bodega bay for lsf retreat. then going to benson, az for english dist conference. then ref day. then i preach all saints. mom visits and i preach. then bec's fam comes and thanksgiving. then i preach first sun of advent, preach midweek service a bit later. then preach 4th sun of advent and preach midnight mass christmas eve. then comes christ's mass, new year. epiphany, lent, our baby is born and baptized and easter.

The Three Solas

2010-10-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Happy almost Refomation Day.

The Three Solas

Sola Gratia. Grace Alone. Only by Grace.

Ps 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

At the heart of what we believe is the conviction that salvation is the free gift of God's grace (undeserved mercy) for Christ's sake alone. "Since the fall of Adam all men who are born according to the course of nature are conceived and born in sin" (Augsburg Confession II, 1), the Lutherans confessed before Emperor Charles V in Augsburg, Germany, in 1530. This "inborn sickness and hereditary sin" makes it utterly impossible for people to earn forgiveness. If salvation were dependent on human initiative, there would be no hope for anyone. But God forgives our sins, says Luther in his Large Catechism (1529), "altogether freely, out of pure grace" (LC III, 96).

The basis for the grace of God that alone gives hope to sinners is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe, as Luther put it in his explanation to the second article of the Apostles' Creed, "that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person . . . not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. . . ." (Luther's Small Catechism with Explanations, p.14).

Romans 3:20-24 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Sola Fide. Faith Alone. Only by Faith.
Eph 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Luther had learned from Augustine that only the grace of God could save him. But Luther's rediscovery of the Gospel in all its clarity took place when he came to see that he did not first have to do something to merit God's saving grace. Philip Melanchthon, Luther's colleague at the University of Wittenberg, writes in the Augsburg Confession: "Our churches also teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake through faith when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven on account of Christ, who by his death made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in his sight (Rom. 3,4)" (AC IV, 1-3).

The implications of salvation "through faith alone" permeate everything we Lutherans believe and teach. For example, we believe that the conversion of sinners is a gift of God and not the result of any human effort or decision. Lutherans therefore confess in the words of Luther's explanation to the third article of the Apostle's Creed: "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel." (Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation, p. 15).

Sola Scriptura. Scripture Alone. Only by Scripture.
2 Tim 3:14-17 - 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

While maintaining a deep appreciation for the church catholic, Lutherans believe that Scripture alone -- not Scripture and tradition, Scripture and the church, Scripture and human reason, or Scripture and experience -- stands as the final standard of what the Gospel is.

Luke 24:45-47 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

But we also believe that confidence in the reliability of the Bible is not possible apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Christians believe what the Scriptures teach because they first believe in Jesus Christ. Christ is the object of faith, not the Bible. The Bible remains a dark book apart from faith in Christ, for He is its true content. But when sinners are brought to faith in Him, Christ points them back to the writings of the prophets and apostles as the sole authoritative source for all the church believes, teaches and confesses.

The key to understanding Scripture properly, we believe, is the careful distinction between the Law and the Gospel. The Law tells what God demands of sinners if they are to be saved. The Gospel reveals what God has already done for our salvation. The chief purpose of the Law is to show us our sin and our need for a Savior. The Gospel offers the free gift of God's salvation in Christ. The whole Bible can be divided into these two chief teachings. It is in the proper distinction between Law and Gospel that the purity of the Gospel is preserved and the three solas of "grace alone," "faith alone" and "Scripture alone" are united.

Info via “An Introduction to the Lutheran Church -- Missouri Synod,” CPH, 2009

2010-10-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

coming in April

LSF Bible Study notes100610

2010-10-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

The Parable of the Unrighteous Judge and the Persistent Widow

The Long Suffering God who vindicates quickly wants his elect to pray constantly and confidently
Luke 18:1-8
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Verse 1
What does “always pray” mean?
-not every second, continuously. (ie uninteruppeted) Continually – regualarly consistently and with perserverence

What does “not lose heart” mean?
-other translations say, “give up, faint” I like faint. Don’t become discouraged or give up with prayers are not anwswered immediately

Verse 2
It would be very odd for someone not to “fear God” or “respect man” in Jesus’ culture, but society was very centered around God and also shame/honor among other people. Do you think the judge would fit well into our culture today? Does he remind you of anybody?
-Yes. Everyone.

Verse 3
The widow, one of the most helpless people in Jesus’ society, is asking for protection and defense against her adversary/opponent/enemy. Who is helpless and defenseless in our society?
-poor people. She and the judge are both outside the norms of their society. Shouted at him. No shame.

Who else does scripture mention is our “adversary”?
-1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
-court of law Jesus is our defense attorney. Satan is the prosecution accusing us before God
antidikos - an adversary or opponent in a lawsuit, any enemy or accuser (from, ἀντί (anti 473), against, and δίκη (dikē 1349), a cause or suit at law.

Verse 5
Why does the judge give the widow justice?
She is annoying. He doesn’t want a “beat down”
on account/because (emphasis) she gives me trouble/bothers/PESTERS!
inorder not to the end – continually, perpetpually she comes to - give one a black eye!, bruise, batter down, wear out me
- to strike/give a blow under the eyes, hit and beat the face black and blue/to cause bruises, make give in through being beaten “hit someone in the face so that he receives brown and blue marks under the eyes”
pieper – daily repentance

boxing language paul 1 cor 9:27
reputation? end up giving me a black eye
annoying – us, God – heathen judge. See if you can annoy God.

Verses 6 and 7
How do you know you are one of God’s elect?
-Baptism, Lord’s supper – outside yourself, not your own faith. What about when you are asleep, in a coma, mentally handicapped, sick.
Chosen at Baptism.

What does “cry to him day and night” mean in light of verse 1?
Regular pattern of prayer. The psalms mention this pattern. Jesus followed it, Morning and evening, meals. Kind of time DEVOTIONS!!!!
Ps 88:1 O LORD, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.
Ps 222O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

Verse 8
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. What will soon take place by which Jesus will ultimately “vindicate his elect?”
– Jesus’ death and resurrection. God will vindicate Jesus in resurrection by way of a cross Jerusalem is the revelation of God’s final justification

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” What is the point of this question?
-Rhetorical question to urge faithfulness?
The principle character is God, not us The long suffering God who vindicates quickly wants his elect to pray constantly and confidently.

Good news – God is merciful and long suffering and will deliver the elect in Christ.

Our Sin: Our perception of God as a callous judge and just that.
-Our "poor widow" attitude: we accept our plight, we give up our hope, we live complacent lives as if the Son of -Man would never come again.
The Good news: God will eventually vindicate His people.
-Recieve the gift of faith which issues in continual pleading before God's throne: "Thy kingdom come!"
-The privilege of crying out: "Give me justice and defend me against my enemy!"

The church is not complacently waiting for the return of Christ; she "wrestles" with God in prayer

bible study notes. What is the truth about eternity?

2010-10-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Eternity. Life after death.
Our culture is obsessed with it: ghost, vampire, zombies, time travelers, superheroes, spirit guides – symbols of our desire for life without end.
-products that promise to last forever (unbreakable, lifetime guarantee)
-to keep us from aging
-give us a new life
Even those who don’t believe in God or of an after life speak about people who “passed away” “went to a better place.” We all want eternal life.

There is Fear. In everyone

where does it come from? We were designed to live forever. Adam and Eve. They rebelled, sinned, but we all long for eternal life

Ecc 3;11. God set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Jesus became flesh and over came death and our rebellion and sin. We have new life now and for eternity.

Immortal God, thank you fro sending your Son in a mortal body to win for us immortality through his death and resurrection. Send your spirit to help us grasp the value of this gift. Through Jesus’ name Amen.

What lasts forever?
Eternity is forever.
We have no experience of forever.
a year in school seems to take an eternity, until you reach the end.
WE pledge to love someone always, or we at least think it. But do you know anybody has broken up with someone they love? Even the best marriage relationship ends when death parts us.
Have you ever heard the statement “this has forever changed the course of human history.?”
But everyone agrees (scientists and religious people) that the universe will end one day, human history will cease. Is there anything that lasts forever?

yeah, lets check it out.
each read one – write next to the verse what is eternal.
-
immortality imagined
Ecc 3:11
Brainstorm movies that depict eternal life or an alternate immortal life.

Left – immortality (what form – ghosts, elves, appearing after death
Right – imagination (how is this different from eternal life as we know it in God’s Word? Met a ghost? Elves?)

Why is immortality so popular in movies and books?

Who has eternal life?
Why doesn’t everyone get it?
(via cph Truth series)

chapel101310

2010-10-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Chapel 101310
Vicar Darren Harbaugh
Can anybody tell me what this is? That’s right. It’s a thank you card. What are these cards used for? Right. We use them to show our appreciation when someone has done something special for us or given us something.

Sometimes people forget to say thank you. You may even think its rude if someone doesn’t thank you when you do something nice for them or when you give them a gift. But we often forget to thank God, who is the giver of all good gifts.

In our reading for today, Jesus gave a great gift to 10 lepers. Not leopards, like the big cats with spots on them, but lepers. These are people that had leprosy, one of the worst diseases in Jesus’ time. People who had leprosy were forced to leave their homes and their families and go to places all by where only other people with leprosy lived. They usually stayed there until they died. They hardly ever got better because there was no medicine to heal leprosy. When the 10 lepers in our story saw Jesus, they called out for help, “Jesus, have mercy on us!” We will sing these words later in chapel this morning. We are confessing that we are helpless like those lepers when we cry out “Lord, have mercy!” We have a disease worse than leprosy. We have the disease of sin.

Well, Jesus healed the lepers. It was a miracle. The lepers could finally go back to their families. Jesus also heals us, from our disease of sin by his death on the cross. We are able to join the family of God.

All 10 of the lepers in the story were healed but only one went back to thank Jesus. What are some reasons why we don’t say thank you? Yeah, we forget, don’t appreciate the gift, get distracted

Why did the one leper return? Jesus tells him, “Your faith has made you well.” The leper that returned was healed from his sickness and from his sins because of his faith in Jesus.

There are lots of things we can thank God for, but the most important is the gift of salvation and faith in Jesus Christ. We don’t need to write God a thank-you note, but we can say thank you to him when we pray to Him and sing to Him and when we continue to call out Lord, have mercy! Let’s thank God for the gifts He has given us.

Father in Heaven, thank you for giving us life, for taking care of us, and most of all for giving your Son Jesus to save us. Thank you for the most precious gift of faith and eternal life in heaven. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Pentecost 21 - Constant, Confident Prayer – Luke 18:1-8

2010-10-15T17:03:00.001-07:00

Pentecost 21 - Constant, Confident Prayer – Luke 18:1-8
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Imagine you’re the parent of a 2 or 3 year old child, (this may be easier for some to imagine than others). How would you feel if that child did not communicate with you for a week? Not only that, but imagine that the child tries to do everything for himself: tries to make all his own meals, wash his own clothes, clip his own finger nails, do his own grocery shopping. This behavior would vary from humorous to downright dangerous.
It’s because small children are helpless. We all know this. It may be hard to believe, but everyone in here was a small child once. When we were children, we relied on our parents for everything. If left by ourselves, we would not have survived. When we needed something, we cried out and our parent took care of us. Our parents knew what we needed even more than we did.
Though we have grown up, we are still helpless little children. We are God’s children and are as dependant upon God for every need now as we were dependant upon our parents so long ago. But instead of calling out to our Father and receiving from Him, we often go a long time without even communicating with Him. We do not pray. And as absurd as it may be, we try to do everything for ourselves.
Why don’t we pray?
As we journey through life, we are like the kids in the back seat who constantly ask, “Are we there yet?” We don’t like God’s time schedule. We’re impatient. We’d like to be the one who’s driving, even though our feet can’t even reach the petals.
When you’re a kid in the backseat, it’s hard to see where you are going and it’s difficult to realize that any progress is being made in the journey. It is also hard to see the effect of prayer. Our prayers may not get answered in the way we would like them to be. We don’t understand. Sometimes God may appear to be indifferent, unresponsive, and unhelpful, like those parents in the front seat appear to be.
Sometimes we don’t acknowledge that we are simply helpless children. We live our lives like practical atheists, who sit in a pew on Sunday, but behave the rest of the week as if God did not exist. Other things take precedent over God.
All this can produce guilt for not praying, causing us to lose heart. Praying can feel like a chore, something to check off the to-do list. If we forget to pray, we may feel guilty and see God as a cruel judge out to punish us, rather than seeing God as our Father and ourselves as his children.
We are children, dysfunctional children, but children nonetheless. Imagine being a child again (again this may be easier for some to imagine than others). Sometimes I think it might not be half bad: no work, a free place to stay, someone cooks all your meals, does all your laundry. Kids have a good setup. Why? Because they can’t take care of themselves. They are helpless. Their parents take care of them. In the same way, Our Father takes care of us.
It’s good to see yourself as a child, in fact, Jesus said “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." We are helpless. We need our Father’s provision and guidance.
In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus told his disciples a parable about a helpless widow. She was alone with no one to provide for her and had an adversary bringing suit against her. But she recognized that she was helpless and knew where to turn for help. Day and night she pleaded to an unrighteous judge, pestering him until he showed her justice against her adversary. Jesus points out that if this is what an unrighteous judge does, how much more will God give justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night?
We Christians are helpless, like children, like this widow, but we too know where to turn for help. Our Father in heaven is not an unrighteous judge. How much more will He protect and defend us, his Children?
The courtroom imagery Jesus uses works for our situation as well. The helpless widow had an adversary, bringing suit against her. We too have an adversary, the devil, who is like a roaring lion, walking around seeing who He can devour. Satan acts as the prosecution against us, accusing us before God. He reminds us of our sin. He loads us down with guilt for all our failures, like our failure to pray and not lose heart.
If we were alone in pleading our case, we’d be sunk. In fact, we have no case. We are indeed guilty as sin. We, like the widow, are helpless. Our sin confronts us and Satan accuses us. We have nothing to do but confess and repent, falling on the mercy of the court. Because of our sin, the verdict is that we are condemned sinners.
But it’s not case closed. We, like the widow, know where to turn for help. We have a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He has more forgiveness than we have sin. And we have an amazing defense attorney, an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
Jesus says that God will give justice speedily to us, the elect and chosen children of God. Our justice comes through Jesus, our advocate, who offers a guilty plea in our place for our crimes against God. He gives us his innocence, his righteousness and takes our death sentence upon himself by his sacrifice on the cross.
Because of Christ, we have every reason for confidence and hope. Because of Jesus, we strive to always pray and not lose heart, as he encourages us in our Gospel reading.
Always pray? How is that possible? “Always pray” does not mean you must do nothing in life except pray every minute. It means to pray consistently and regularly, like sitting down and having a chat with your family at the dinner table. Dinner time conversation is a routine that families have. It is the same with us and our Heavenly Father. We pray consistently and confidently, day and night by developing holy habits and routines.
We all have good habits and routines in our lives like brushing our teeth and washing our face. How did you develop that habit? You did it day after day. It became a routine. It is the same with prayer. Daily prayer is like the rhythm of life. It is like breathing. It is like waking up and going to bed. It is like eating a meal.
The Bible mentions that Jesus set aside time for prayer in the morning and evening and at meals. That is a good routine for us to develop as well. The disciples recognized Jesus’ holy habit of prayer and said to Him, “Teach us how to pray.” Jesus gave them the words to say; what we call the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is not an obligation, but an invitation to join Jesus in prayer to ‘Our’ Father.
We are invited to join in the pattern of Christ. In the morning, just after you wake up, join in prayer with our Savior to Our Father. In the evening, just before you go to bed, join in prayer. When you sit down for a meal, join in prayer.
If you don’t have a copy of Portals of Prayer (hold up), pick one up as you leave. They are in the back and are provided by your church to aid in your prayer and devotional life. It gives you words to say: Luther’s Morning and Evening and Table Prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer for the beginning and end of each day.
This is one of many tools you may use to help develop a prayer routine. But remember, there is no law or obligation in how you pray. Prayer is a gift, not a burden. In prayer, we receive from God, we do not perform a work for Him. No need to beat yourself up over how little you pray, or be weighed down by guilt because you don’t pray as much as you’d like. If you forget to pray, You are forgiven! Repent, turn to God in prayer and receive from Him. Nobody prays enough, nobody does anything enough. Except Jesus.
In every circumstance of life, Jesus prayed. In the book of Luke, we are told that Jesus prayed at his baptism and before he went out to preach. Jesus prayed before he chose his 12 apostles and before his transfiguration. Jesus prayed in lonely places by himself and in private with his disciples. Jesus prayed before he fed the 5,000, before the Last Supper, and before his meal in Emmaus. Jesus prayed for the Father’s will to be done, in the garden before his crucifixion. Jesus prayed for the Father to forgive those who crucified him, as he hung on the cross. Jesus prayed to commit his Spirit to his Father as He died.
Right now, Jesus is still praying and he invites us to join Him. Through Jesus’ intercession we are able to confidently approach God’s throne of grace. We pray as if it means something, because it does. We pray as if we are talking to God, because we are. We pray as if the one we are talking to has redeemed the entire world and us, because He has. We pray as if our life depends on it, because it does. We pray like the helpless children that we are, relying entirely upon our Father, constantly approaching him day and night, confident that He will hear us on account of Christ our Lord.

What is fellowship?

2010-10-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

I used to think that a good church had: good fellowship, good music and a good sermon. I stopped going to church when I realized that I had better fellowship with my friends at a bar, I heard better music on my ipod, and could download a better sermon online.
Why go to church?

Fellowship is indeed a good reason, but what is it? It may not mean what you think it means.

Some churches have said, "We've lost any idea of community," and responded by promoting that they are all about "fellowship." This seems to involve hanging out with other Christians. It's probably a good idea to define what fellowship is. The Bible is a good place to look.

The New Testament speaks of koinōnia - "sharing" or "participation in a common thing" Christian fellowship has a earthly but also a heavenly dimension.

We have fellowship (share/participate) with Christ - 1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called unto the fellowship (koinōnia)of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

We have fellowship (share/participate) in the body and blood of Christ - I Cor 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation (koinōnia) in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation (koinōnia)in the body of Christ?

We fellowship (share/participate) as we serve (diakonia) others - 2 cor 8:3-4 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part (koinōnia) in the relief of the saints

We fellowship (share/participate) with the Holy Spirit - 2 cor 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship (koinōnia) of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

We fellowship (share/participate) in the sufferings of Christ - Phil 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share (koinōnia) his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Our God actually comes to us in his body and blood, fellowshiping with us in an awesome, mysterious way and we fellowship with him in our journey through the Christian life in an awesome mysterious way. I like hanging out with people, but fellowship with God - our creator, redeemer and sanctifier beats coffee hour any day.

p.s. All this is not to downplay the communion of the saints (where 2 or 3 are gathered, there I am in the midst of you) Also, When we sing to God, we join our voices with angels and archangels, all the saints and the whole host of heaven, magnifying and glorifying God. That is also awesome fellowship, but I think that's a whole other aspect of this "fellowship" topic to be addressed.)

Money Hungry? Jesus fills the hungry wth good things

2010-09-28T09:55:00.001-07:00

Chapel message 092910
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Money Hungry? God fills the hungry with good things.

Have you ever heard your stomach growl because you were hungry? Why does your stomach growl? [because you need food]

Sometimes we just crave food. Does anybody here have a favorite food that they want all the time? I always want pizza, sometimes I just think about it and I get hungry. Like right now.

There is another kind of hungry. Money hungry. It is a craving, like food.
Has their ever been something you really, really wanted and you just had to have it; you couldn’t live without it? When I was your age: it was a Video game system, now it’s the iphone.

Some people are so hungry for things and $money$, that they walk away from God. $money$ and things become so important that they are all you can think about. Things become more important to us than God sometimes.

God loves us gives us all that we need. He gives us these gifts and we can be content and thankful for what he provides. The Bible says that God “fills the hungry with good things.” God gives us not just food, but everything we need.

We confess that God gives us all we need every time we say the Lord’s Prayer. In what part of the Lord’s Prayer do we confess that God provides our needs, like food? [God gives us Our daily bread.] When we are hungry, God feeds us, but he gives us more than just food in our “daily bread”
Read together "What is our Daily Bread" in Small Catechism– AGPS 42 or LSB 324
What is one of the gifts that Our Father who art in heaven gives us? [food, clothing, etc]

But the best gift that God has given us is his Son Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for you. He gives you the free gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He continues to satisfy our hungry souls as he feeds us with His Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper. And he will raise our bodies to be with Him.

Don’t be money-hungry. God gives us good gifts, let’s take hold of them and be content, giving thanks to Him.

Our Hope is Not in Worldly Riches

2010-09-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

18th Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 16:19-31
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

‘I don’t think that means what you think it means.”
Have you ever come to the realization that something you always thought to be true did not, in fact, mean what you thought it meant? For example, you know the thing you eat – two pieces of bread with meat in the middle? I always thought that was a “Sand Witch”, as in an evil, magic wizard woman that lived near a lot of dirt. I never knew why such a lady and a meal were associated, but that’s what I thought. This happens to me all the time. Maybe it’s the spelling or meaning of a word, maybe it’s somebody’s name. Maybe it’s something bigger. For the disciples and the Pharisees, it was something bigger; something way bigger.

At this point in Luke’s Gospel - which we just read - Jesus has told a series of increasingly absurd parables that seem to flip his listeners’ worldview upside down. With the coming of Jesus, there is a Great Reversal. Things are not as they seem. “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” Jesus is blowing his disciples’ minds. They think, “If the elite, who have been blessed with riches, aren’t first on the guest list, then what hope do I have?”

But not only are Jesus’ disciples listening to these parables, but also the Pharisees, the movers and shakers of the time. And what do they think of Jesus’ parables and the Great Reversal? Well, they think it all stinks. They know that they are directly in Jesus’ crosshairs, and they grumble and ridicule the Word of God spoken through Jesus.

Then, Jesus tells another story; this time about a rich man and Lazarus, a poor beggar. The two men could not be more different. It’s like comparing a guy staying in the Presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton to a homeless man sleeping on the street in the Tenderloin.
The rich man was clothed with fine linen and purple – the Armani suit of his day. The poor man was covered with sores.
The rich man feasted sumptuously everyday – constant lobster tail dinners and Dom Perignon. The poor man? He dreamed of scrounging scraps from the table after the dogs had eaten their fill. His life was filled with suffering, struggle and survival.

But then, the great equalizer, both men died and we find that our characters are no longer on earth, but in the hereafter. There is still a feast going on, but the Rich man is no longer the master of ceremonies. Rather, God has indeed helped Lazarus, whose name means “he whom God helps.” The angels have carried Lazarus to Abraham’s side, which if you grew up reading the old King James Version, you will remember that it reads – Abraham’s “bosom.” This is a phrase to describe a guest sitting in a place of honor at a first century Palestinian banquet. Just as the beloved disciple John reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, here Lazarus is reclining next to Abraham, participating with him in a feast which has no end. This is the feast of victory that we too will enjoy when we “recline at table in the kingdom of God,” as we read a couple weeks ago. This is the feast that we anticipate in our Service of the Sacrament as we are fed and comforted by the presence of our Lord in his body and blood.

Lazarus, that poor beggar in the story is now comforted. The last is indeed first. In the Beatitudes in Luke 6, Jesus said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.” Here is a fulfillment of that promise for Lazarus. He is being comforted, filled, satisfied.

But also see in our story that not only are the last first, but the first are last. Just after the Beatitudes in Luke 6, follow the Woes. Jesus says “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.” Here is fulfillment of that curse for the Rich Man who is in Hades – a place of eternal torment.

Why is the rich man in torment? Because he was rich? No, of course not. But because he did not fear, love and trust in God with all his heart, rather he feared, loved and trusted in money with all his heart. That is where all his security lay. He was selfish and unrepentant on earth and he was selfish and unrepentant in hell, ordering Lazarus around to do his bidding. And if you haven’t put 2 and 2 together by now, the Pharisees who were listening to Jesus surely had. The Pharisees who were lovers of money - selfish and unrepentant- who ridiculed the Word of Christ, and who grumbled that Jesus associated with sinners (Sinners, mind you!) could look forward to the same eternal fate as the Rich man.

I suppose that the story could end here and wouldn’t be half bad. The underdog winds up on top; the bad guy gets what he deserves. But it seems at this point in the story it’s time to consider the question: “Who are you? The good guy or the bad guy? The Rich Man or Lazarus? Do you overlook the down-trodden and outcasts? Do you find your security in your wealth and processions? Do you ignore God’s Word? Remember we confessed at the beginning of the service that we “cling to the things of this world for meaning” and that we “crave things that are physical and ignore the eternal and the needs of those around us.” That sounds an awful lot like the rich man. It sounds like the selfish and unrepentant Pharisees. We deserve what the Rich man got.

But there’s more to the story. Jesus tells his hearers - the Pharisees, the disciples and us - how we can end up like Lazarus, beggars enjoying the riches of the eternal kingdom. How does this happen? Let’s look at the rest of the story.

The Rich man wants his family to be saved and he asks that Lazarus be sent back from the dead to warn them. Abraham replies, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets – the Word of God. They must listen to Scripture.” That didn’t fly with the Rich man who responds with an emphatic “No!” NO WAY! The Rich Man disagrees with his father Abraham. For the Rich Man, the Word of God is not enough. God is not capable of working through His Word to save people by sending His Holy Spirit to produce faith. There must be some other way!

Abraham responds,” If they don’t listen to the Word that they have, they won’t believe even if some one rises from the dead.” Bingo. Sound familiar? When Jesus did actually rise from the dead, he went to his disciples and opened their minds to understand the Word. Jesus told them that Moses and the Prophets said, “that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

God as given us Himself and His Word - The Gospel. This indeed is true riches. Paul writes: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty you might become rich.” Christ “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He was the first and he became last for us. He was the “firstborn of all creation,” “the exalted one, but he became “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows” Christ took all our sin, our false trust in wealth, our neglect of others, our despising of God’s word and he bore it all as he suffered upon the cross that we might obtain an eternal inheritance. Your treasure is not material wealth or worldly possessions, but the free gift of Christ crucified and His Holy Word.

Because of the saving grace of Christ, your story does not end like the Rich man’s. The Rich man, and the Pharisees rejected the Word of God, but you, like a poor beggar, have received the Christ’s word of absolution spoken by the pastor. Your sins are forgiven. Everything we have in this life is a gift of God, especially God’s forgiveness. Listen to that Word of forgiveness. Cling to that Word of forgiveness; the Word of the one who was humiliated and despised for you, who rose from the dead for you and continues to be present with you through his Word and through the Sacrament.

You want to be in attendance at the feast Lazarus enjoyed? You’re in the right place. There is still a feast going on and there is no last call. The food is still fresh and the champagne is still on ice. We have a foretaste of the feast to come available for you today at the altar. Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is present to offer you life and forgiveness and rescue from sin, death and the devil. Join in the feast with Abraham, Issac and Jacob and all the poor beggars who have gone before us. The riches of Christ’s word and sacrament empower you hold fast to Him and to His gifts and enable you to show His mercy to those whose lives are filled with suffering, struggle and survival.

Come to the feast and dine sumptuously as we enjoy the presence of our Savior as His heavenly banquet invades this earthly space.

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Lutheran Student Fellowship

2010-08-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

Lutheran Student Fellowship at San Francisco State University

Who are we?
The purpose of San Francisco’s Lutheran campus ministry is to enable college students in San Francisco to grow in Christ through service and love to all people in the power of the Gospel. The local chapter of Lutheran Student Fellowship (also a chapter of Christ on Campus) at San Francisco State University fosters spiritual growth, provides an opportunity for Christian fellowship, and serves the campus and local community around SFSU with a focus on outreach and loving service in response to God’s love and service to us in Christ.

What are Lutherans?
The Lutheran Church is church body reaching back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. We take our name from one of our founding leaders and a principle reformer of the Church: Martin Luther. His emphasis that God saves us by grace alone, through faith alone on account of Christ’s sacrificial death for the forgiveness of sins, is perhaps the most distinctive doctrine of the Lutheran Church. And while we confess this Reformation message, we do not hesitate to show our continuity with the Christian Church from all times and places.

Clinging to our Savior Jesus Christ, we receive His gifts of grace in Holy Baptism and His Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper. Through these gifts we are strengthened in faith toward God and in love and service to our neighbor.

Chapel message 090110

2010-08-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

Chapel Message 091011
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” – That is our verse today. Can you say it with me?

Do you think you can remember that. I might check to see later on.

I bought this t-shirt as a present for my friend’s baby, but I kind of think I would like to keep it for myself. Do you think that I would fit into this shirt? (wait for answer) Why not? (wait for answer).

There’s no way I will fit into this. I grew out of it. Each of you wore a shirt the same size once, but now none of you would fit into this shirt. Has anyone here had to get new clothes because you grew out of your old ones? (wait for hands) I’ll bet that there are a lot of you that grew taller over the summer.

We change because that’s what our bodies are designed to do. But that’s not the only change that happens in our life. What about here at school? Things change here too. This year there are new students. Some students have left. There are new things to learn.

We have lots of changes in life. Some changes are good – like we go on vacation to a fun place or we get a cool present for our birthday. But other changes are not so good – sometimes there are changes in life that can make us sad or angry, things we can’t control - like when people we love get sick or when they die or when married people become separated and divorced.

But you know what? Despite all these changes, there is good news for you.
Does anybody remember our verse for today? (volunteer). Great. I have some motions to help you remember.
Jesus – nail print in each hand
Yesterday – double thumb over back
Today – double index finger down
Forever – double finger twirl
Every time I say one of those words, you do the motion.
Let’s all say it together again. ”Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

Do you believe that? (wait) I hope you do. It is an amazing promise for you. It means that no matter how much you change, no matter how much people around you change, no matter how much things in school change. Jesus is always the same, in past, in the present and in the future.

YESTERDAY - Jesus is the same yesterday. Can anyone tell me what day it was yesterday? (wait for answer) Well, Jesus is the same not just yesterday, as in the day before today- but as in every day that’s happened before today. The Jesus who existed at the creation of world is the same Jesus who was one born in a manger 2000 years ago.
The Jesus who died on a cross for our sins is the same Jesus who through Holy Baptism saved my Great, great great grandfather Abraham Harbaugh in 1799 is the same Jesus who saved me 20 some years ago and the same Jesus who saves you.

TODAY – Jesus is the same today. What day is it today? (wait for answer). Jesus is the same not just on this day, but every time it is today for you, Jesus is the same. He is present for you. He is here for you, really here. You could add Him to your classroom attendance sheet. Jesus is no less real today when he comes to you in his Word or in the Lord’s Supper than he was when he walked on the earth. He is the same Jesus!

FOREVER – Jesus is the same forever. When you get old and have your own children, and when they have children and grandchildren – Jesus will still be the same. And when Jesus comes again to raise our bodies from the dead, he is the same Jesus.

Past, present and future, Jesus is the same. So no matter what things change, Jesus is always the same and you can trust in him. He is really here for you now. That is an awesome promise.

Who remembers our bible verse for today? (volunteer). Great! Let’s all repeat it again. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” I might see if you can remember that verse next time I come for chapel. Do you think you can? (wait). Great.

Let’s pray.

Jesus, You are the same yesterday, today and forever. Amid all the changes going on around us, help us to trust in you as you are present with us in your Word and in your Body and Blood. We pray this in your name. Amen.

LSF bible Study 090110

2010-08-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

LSF bible Study 090110
Vicar Darren Harbaugh
(Thank you Lutheran Study Bible)

How do we read and Study the Bible? - God’s Two Ways

Is the God of the Old Testament a mean, vengeful God?

Is Richard Dawkins right when he says, “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

How do we make sense of some of those difficult Old (and New) Testament passages?

Continuing with the theme: “How do you read and study the Bible?,” Let’s examine “God’s 2 ways: Law and Gospel.”

Law and Gospel
…or “Commands and Promises” (Gen 12:1-3), or “the Lord’s Two Ways” (Ex 34:6-7), or “Repentance and Forgiveness” (Mk 1:14-15, Lk 24:45-47), or “Twofold power” (Deut 32:39, 2 Cor 3:6) or, “Law and Grace," "Sin and Grace," "Spirit and Letter," "Ministry of death/condemnation" and "Ministry of the Spirit/righteousness” (2 cor 3:6-9), or…

Passages that command good works or threaten punishment for sin are passages of God’s Law. This is one way of how God works with people. The law cannot save, but it shows us our sin and drives us to repentance. It serves the central message of the Bible, the Gospel, by which God saves us.

Passages that declare God’s forgiveness, life, and salvation in Christ are passages of the Gospel. You see this in the Old and New Testament. It is fulfilled in Christ’s work on the Cross.

The Law: commands and condemns (Shows Our Sin – curb, mirror, rule)
The Gospel: forgives and saves

Alien Work Isaiah 28:21-22
For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim;
as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
…for I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land.

Proper work (and Alien work)
Ex 34:4-7
So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

(See also Ps 118:18; 119:28, I Sam 2:6)

It’s important to realize this about God–something probably only knowable through His revelation in the Incarnate Son–that His deepest nature is life-giving, expressed in the Gospel, and that His wrath, while very real, being a function of His holiness, is somehow alien to His nature, though something He uses to bring us to Himself. – Gene Veith

Jonah bible study 083110

2010-08-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

(thank you Dr, Lessing)

SCENE 1 - Jonah 1:1-3
VERSE 1
“and the word of the Lord…”
The story actually begins in 2 Kings 14:25 – grounded historically in 8th century BC

Dove
Gen 8:8-12, Hosea 7:11 – silly, brainless, flying from place to place, confused and frightened bird. Jonah = dove = Israel AND Jonah = dove = the new Israel (the church/ You and me)

VERSE 2
Nineveh - The chief of sinners
Nineveh fell in 612BC. Nahum’s prophecy 3:1-4 shows its state.
Known for bloody, inhuman warfare – Ashurbanapal’s account

One gospel, even for Nineveh? Jonah: “Get lost, God! I like my job here in the palace just fine.”

VERSE 3
Jonah doesn’t protest, he just runs away.
See other prophets’ reaction (Moses ex 4:10, Jer 1:6, Is 6:5)
Against tradition, satire begins, not a hero. Opposite of Moses - Ex 21:11-14., Num 11:1-3, 14:10-28, 21:4-9; Samuel - 1 Sam 7:7-9, and Hezekiah 2 kings 19:14-19.

Downward spiral – “This is not really living poorly, it is dying slowly”
Down to Joppa (1:3)
Down to the ship (1:5)
Down to the innermost parts of the ship (1:5)
Thrown down into the depths of the sea (1:15, 2:3, 5)
Descends to the realm of death or Sheol (2:2,6)
Down: the destination for those who seek to avoid the mission of the church
In the OT down indicates death Ps. 88:3-7, Prov 5:5

Fare
Does not mean - “buy a ticket”
“Innermost recesses” (1:5) makes sense if owned the boat
Hesitation to throw Jonah overboard (1:12-14). He was their boss.
Wasn’t until Roman times that there was a word meaning - “a charge for space on a journey”

God’s presence: 2 kinds
God’s Presence emphasized (2x in v3, v10)
In the OT: at in Israel’s life worship and in the world as a whole.
Now: in the Word and Sacrament and also present in a general way.

Luther on Jonah and God’s Presence:
“It is therefore possible to flee from God in the sense that we may run off to a place where there is neither Word, faith, and Spirit nor the knowledge of God. In that way Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord, that is, he ran away from the people and the land of Judah, in which God’s Word and Spirit and faith and knowledge were present. He fled to the sea among the Gentiles, where there was no faith, Word and Spirit of God.”

Jonah’s flight and us
- Jonah was not trying to cut himself off from God (see 1:9), he knows that’s not possible.
- Jonah severs his connection with where God’s Word is made known: Israel
- Jonah is running, not from the Lord, but from the Word of the Lord – His one Gospel.
- For us: If I am not in the Word and receiving the sacraments – I miss the one Gospel and will not be empowered toward many nations.

Tarshish
Spain? Hometown of St Paul Acts 22:3
Context: Boarding a Tarshish ship in the OT is like boarding the Titanic (Ps 48:4-8, Is 3:12-19)

SCENE 2 - Jonah 1:4-17

VERSE 4
No talk, physical means
God does not talk to Jonah, that happens in Chap 4, but he is at work – wind, storm, lots of the sailors, commands fish to swallow Jonah, then to vomit him out.
He uses “sacramental” means “in, with and under” the creation, God is at work.

No fear?
The sailors fear disaster, the captain of the ship fears disaster, “the ship had a mind to break up.” The only character –animate or inanimate – that has no fear is Jonah

VERSE 5
Sailors:
Go from terror, to awe of being in God’s presence, to trust, belief and worship of God

Reason is unable to identify God properly; it cannot ascribe the Godhead to the One who is entitled to it exclusively. It knows that there is a God, but it does not know who or which is the true God…Reason never finds the true God, but it finds the devil or its own concept of God, ruled by the devil. So there is a vast difference between knowing that there is a God and knowing who or what God is, Nature knows the former – it is inscribed in everybody’s heart; the latter is taught only by the Holy Spirit.
-Luther on Jonah 1:5

Hurling cargo - Acts 27:18, 19, 38. Paul

“deep sleep”
first indication that Jonah seeks to die (4:3)?
Does NOT mean a “willingness to share the joy” (Judges 4:21) the “sleep of death” – Luther Ps 88:4-6 “there he lies and snores in his sins.” Trance-like state? (Dan 8:8, 18; 10:9)
Like Peter, James and John (Matt 26:40, 43), the divinely chosen prophet Jonah is sound asleep.
VERSE 6
Arise - (v2, 3:2)

“perish”
life and death themes throughout Jonah. Seeks Yahweh’s mercy like the king of Nineveh (3:9).

“Perhaps”
Major theme (1:14, 3:9) The LORD will act as he pleases, which may or may not conform to human patterns.
Humble awareness of the 2 foundational truths to human enlightenment: 1) there is a God. 2) You are not him.

VERSE 7
“they cast lots”
throwing of an inanimate object to discern the divine will. A well-known practice (Prov 16:33). Controlled by God (Josh 14:2)

VERSE 8
Jonah is “stormed” by the men, rapid fire questions

VERSE 9
STRUCTURE
Jonah 1:4-16 (Scene II) is built according to a concentric or chiastic pattern:
A The LORD hurls the storm (1:4)
B The sailors pray, act (1:5ab)
C Jonah acts (lies down, sleeps – 1:5c)
D The captain and sailors question Jonah (1:6-8)
E Jonah speaks (1:9)
D’ The sailors question Jonah (1:10-11)
C’ Jonah speaks (1:12)
B’ The sailors act, pray (1:13-14)
A’ The sailors hurl Jonah and the storm ends (1:15)
Conclusion – 1:16

Midpoint/climax of chiastic structure
Jonah’s words in 1:9, a confession of faith, have been carefully placed at the midpoint of this chiastic structure. There are 94 words in the Hebrew text from the scene’s beginning in 1:4 to the beginning of the speech in 1:9 and 94 words in 1:10-15. Verse 16 stands outside the pattern as a conclusion. Both the chiastic structure and the exact balance of number of words serve to place the focus for this section on the confession in 1:9.

Hebrew rhetoric
Not linear, but organized around a keystone; concentric construction.
1:9 – numerical center of scene 2 and first time Jonah speaks. – crucial for entire chapter, book.

Jonah’s confession
Like 3:4 – both accomplish the salvation of unbelievers
His intention? In practice: brief, but accomplish salvation of unbelieving Gentile by prompting them to repentance and faith in the one true God
The Word - Means of grace to bring sailors to faith.
Power of the one gospel – rom 1:16, Is 55:10-11

Just as the one true God welcomes sinners who repent and turn to Him in faith, we too should welcome all repentant believers in Jesus, “the one greater than Jonah” (Mt 12:41). See also Eph 2 and 3 for peoples from all nations as the family of God.

VERSE 10
The outsiders get it, the insider doesn’t
Sailors act like Israelites rather than unbelievers. They show God respect.

Verse 11
Only Jonah know how to respond.

Verse 12
Jonah continues to refuse responsibility for his prophetic role and his life
Not a self-less act
Storm is meant to prompt Jonah to carry out his assignment, not to kill anyone
Jonah shows contempt for his life, he would rather die than speak the one gospel to many nations.

Jonah is the only character that cheapens life and values death
-4:3,8 “death is better than life
sailors; do all they can to preserve life
captain and king; do not want to perish (1:6, 3:9)
jonah willingly offers to be thrown over board.

High School Group 082910

2010-08-31T16:47:00.000-07:00

The truth is out there and it matters-mysteries, but exist outside ourselves.
-Revealed through Jesus. we read gospels “good news” which tell about Jesus
-you are not alone – Spirit. John 16:13

Prayer: O, Word made flesh, be present with us as we seek your truth. Give us your Spirit and fill us with your grace. Amen.

Deception detectives: 2 truths, 1 lie. Tell. Vote. Most surprising truth, conviceing lie. How did you tell? We want to focus on discovering the truth from The gospel of John about Jesus.

Pilate said, “What is truth?”
-Is there more than one truth? Several? Objective truth or personal, subjective, truth?
-what you ate for breakfast. Truth: hide it, not know it, forget it, different perspectives. But 1 truth.
-viewpoint, perceptions, complete truth is hard to figure out: like in a court case. Accuracy?
-john claims to tell the whole truth. Close friend, eye witness
-not everything, but enough to find life in him John 20:30-31 He is trust worthy 21:24
-But the Spirit is the true revealer of the Truth of jesus - 14:16-17, 15:26-27

Facility facts: 5 minutes. 2 different perspectives. Study building. The rest come up with q’s: How many windows? Where are the doors? What is the shape of the roof? What color is it? How many chimneys, what kind of plants?
Accurate about the entire building? What if we added them all together? Archetect/ building plans?
John claims to reveal the truth about Jesus, not just because john was an eyewitness and agreed with other eyewitnesses, but because John was informed by God – the architect and builder of the story.

What does John Claim?
-Who do people say Jesus is? Teacher, prophet…Messiah?
-Son of God in human flesh, creator, savior, ruler of all, the only way!
Read 1:1-18 – verse each? – write down the claims John makes about Jesus. Discuss
14- things Word, with/was God, life light of men, darkness not understood/overcome, john testified, own did not receive, those who believed/children, became flesh and dwelt, glory/one and only, was before me, grace/blessings, law/grace truth, father’s side.

Blind Box: guess what’s inside. Change guesses after each turn.
What made it difficult to guess before the envelope was opened?
Why is it more difficult to know the truth about God before the coming of “the Word”- revealed.
Why are people still unware of the truth now that Jesus has come?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for making the truth known to us and your grace available to us through the gift of your son, Jesus. Thank you for adopting us as Children when we were slaves to sin, for declaring us innocent when we were guilty and for giving us eternal life when we deserved eternal destruction. Help us to remember how much your truth matters. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Thank you CPH)

The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

2010-08-31T16:45:00.000-07:00

The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
“John and Jesus”
Mark 6:14-29
Vicar Darren Harbaugh

Sermon Outline
Intro: A morbid, Christless, irrelevant story? Hardly!
A. Why is such a gruesome tale in the Bible?
B. Where is Jesus in this story?
C. What does this story mean for us?

I. John is a “type” of Christ
A. The Bible is filled with “types.” (i.e. Issac)
B. This story points to Christ

II. John and Jesus – similarities.
A. Seized and led away (v. 17; Mk 14:44-46)
B. Recognized as “righteous and holy” men (v. 20; 15:14)
C. “Greatly perplexed” authorities (v. 20; 15:4-5)
D. Authorities gave into pressure (vv. 26-27; 15:15)
E. Disciples laid body in a tomb (v. 29; 15:42-46)

III. John and You
A. John is a “type” of Jesus but also of all believers. (vv. 7-12, 30)
B. Peril, toil, and pain. (AKA: the junk of life.)
C. That’s not the end of the story (Mark 16:5-6)

IV. Jesus and You
A. You are wearing your Jesus Coat – Baptism (Gal 3:27; Rom. 6:3)
B. You are united in His Death (Rom. 6:4-5
C. You are united in His Resurrection (Rom 6:4-5)

V. Where is Jesus in your story? He is your story!

-

Intro
"I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
Yikes! What a morbid story! Why is such a gruesome tale in the Bible? This week’s gospel reading definitely fits into that “not-quite-PG-rated” category of Bible stories. For instance, I think it would be hard to find any children’s storybooks or flannel graph lessons that deal with this reading.
You know what else is hard to find in this story? Jesus. Where is Jesus? I was taught at Seminary that all Scripture points to and bears witness of Jesus and his redemptive work on the cross. Or to put it another way, as Lutherans, we are Christ-centered and Cross-focused just as the Holy Scriptures are Christ-centered and Cross-focused.
However, this reading from the “Gospel” –the good news about Jesus - is quite unusual in that it appears to leave Jesus behind. The reading begins talking about Jesus, but then Saint Mark - the author of this book - seems to go on a tangent about the death of John the Baptist. Jesus’ name doesn’t even appear for 13 verses. How do we make sense of this gory story? How do we see Christ in it? And what does this story mean for us - you and I who do not seem to be in danger of having our respective heads winding up on a platter? On first glance, it almost appears that today’s Gospel reading is morbid, Christ-less, and irrelevant. Is that the case? Hardly!
I to begin, let’s go back to that question: “Where is Jesus?” - that’s always a good question to ask - it turns out that Jesus is the center of this story all along. You can see this when you look at John and how he is portrayed, comparing his story to that of Jesus. You see, Saint Mark, portrays John as a “type” of Christ. The Bible is actually filled with “types.” For example, Abraham was willing to shed the blood of his only-begotten son Issac as a sacrifice. Issac is a “type” that points to Christ.
We can also see John as a type that points to Christ. Mark deliberately includes details in this account to connect the stories of John and Jesus, showing that what happened to John was what also lay in store for Jesus and by extension what lay in store for all believers in Christ. We all share in the stories of John and Jesus.
II So, where is Jesus? Even though Jesus’ name is not mentioned, our Gospel reading is very much about Him. Let’s look at 5 details in the last hours of John the Baptist and how they point to the sufferings of our Lord as recorded in Mark 14 and 15.
Pointer #1 - Both John and Jesus were seized and led away. Our reading says “Herod seized John and bound him in prison.” This points to Jesus’ capture and imprisonment. Mark 14 reads, “The men seized Jesus and arrested him.
Pointer #2 - Both John and Jesus were recognized as innocent by the men who executed them. Our reading says that Herod knew John was a “righteous and holy man.” This points to Jesus in Mark 15, when Pilate asks, "What evil has he done?"
Pointer #3 - Both John and Jesus “greatly perplexed” the authorities. Those are the exact words to describe Herod when he heard John. This points to the way, Jesus perplexed Pilate. Mark 15 says, “Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.”
Pointer # 4 - Both John and Jesus were killed after the authorities gave into pressure. Herod didn’t want to kill John. Our reading says “the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word.” This points to Mark 15, where Pilate, just like Herod, wished “to satisfy the crowd,” resulting in Jesus’ execution
Pointer # 5 - Both John and Jesus had their bodies laid in a tomb by their disciples. Verse 29 of our reading mentions this concerning John, pointing to Joseph of Arimathea laying the body of Jesus in a tomb.
III These pointers from John to Jesus show the connection that St Mark was making in this Gospel. As it was with John, so will it be for Jesus. But, John is not just a type of Jesus, pointing to his suffering as death on a cross. John is also a type of all believers – you and I. As it was for John, so will it be for us.
If you were to read all of Mark chapter 6, you would notice that this story of John is sandwiched in between a story about Jesus’ disciples. Just before our reading we are told about Jesus sending out the disciples. Then just after our reading we are told that the disciples return. This is a deliberate move by St Mark to sandwich the story of John’s beheading in-between the story of the disciples. It points to what lay in store for Christ’s disciples, who are so greatly described in our opening Hymn - “The Son of God goes Forth to War.” These disciples “mocked cross and flame, met the tyrant’s brandished steel, the lion’s gory mane…bowed their necks their death to feel.”
The hymn mentions saints who endured “peril, toil, and pain” and it offers the prayer “Oh, God to us may grace be given to follow in their train.” Though it may not seem it, you and I have much in common with John and Christians throughout the ages.
We too endure peril, toil, and pain. No, you may not be in danger of being feed to the lions or being burnt at the stake, but honestly, our lives are sometimes not very pretty – they are filled with gory details. We get in car crashes, endure manmade and natural disasters, suffer divorce, broken relationships, physical, mental and emotional turmoil. Ourselves, our friends and our loved ones become sick and die. Tragedy exists. We all can recall those moments when we get news that just makes our heart sink - much like how the disciples of John and Jesus must have felt when they received their awful gruesome news.
Besides, big tragic events, there is the normal day-to-day grind – what one of my seminary professors calls “the junk of life.” “The junk of life” consists of all the seemingly mundane goings-on that weigh us down day-after-day. As Pastor Arnold mentioned recently, the Christian endures an “on-going life-long struggle.” Maybe your life seems mundane. Sometimes, we don’t even try to find Jesus in the midst of our busy lives. Often, He doesn’t even cross our mind. Think about those repetitive responsibilities, obligations, the little things that go wrong - the frustration of driving in traffic, the printer that doesn’t work. We live in a world of sin so it should not be surprising that all these little things accumulate and produce anxiety and anger in us.
Thankfully, we are not left to tread water. The stories of John and Jesus do not end with their bodies lying in a tomb. Where is Jesus? He is risen from the dead for you, that’s where he is! You are not left alone. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, John - and all of us who believe in Christ - will have our bodies raised from the dead to be with him. We have a future glory which outweighs all the junk around us. We are not men and women without hope!
IV Whether you are in the midst of “peril, toil, and pain” or whether you are living a normal, everyday, hum-drum life, it can be easy to lose sight Jesus. We look around and wonder “Where is Jesus?” But the fact is, you are wearing Him. Galatians 3:27 says, ‘For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, have been clothed with Christ.” Everyday you are clothed with your “Jesus coat”. Baptism is not just a one-time thing that happened to you a long time ago. It is actually like something you wear. Your Father has clothed you with a daily garment so when that daily grind gets you down, your Baptism - your Jesus Coat - reminds you that you are daily united with Him.
In your baptism, you are united with Christ in His death. You participate in Christ’s suffering - the gory details, the daily grind, the “junk of life” - but you are also united with Him in His resurrection. You are given the promise that you will be raised with him. Your sins are forgiven. You have died to sin and live to Christ.
V Cling to your Jesus coat. It is an all-weather garment. When the storms of peril, toil and pain get you down, take comfort that Christians throughout the ages have endured by looking to Christ, who bore all our pain on the cross. Where is Jesus in your story? He is your story. He is THE story. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
A morbid, Christless, irrelevant story? Hardly! We know the end of the story – life everlasting in the world to come. Amen!

2010-08-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

All statues of British monarchs like Queen Victoria and King George remain.Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport.Major English-language science and technology magazines. In the 1970s-1980s, the Soviet Union heavily relied on fossil fuel exports to earn hard currency. One of the first major promoters of American theater was impresario P. One of the communities annexed to Fredericton in 1973, Marysville has a unique and distinctive history of its own. Accumulated citrate can be transported from the mitochondria into the cytosol of hepatocytes, converted to acetyl CoA by citrate lyase and directed toward fatty acid synthesis.McClaren sacked as England coach BBC Sport. Million
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this funds will go down the drains (remix)

2010-08-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

FROM THE DESK OF MR.MOHAMED ISSAKA.

this funds will go down the drains,
They will confiscate
The question now is who is the government?
These are human beings like you and I.

No other person knows about this any thing concerning it
I am only contacting you, as a foreigner
with believe in god that you will never let me down

in strict confidence and trust according to my instructions and advice for our mutual benefit because this opportunity will never come again in our life.

my physical arrival in your country for sharing and investment.

I will also use my position and influence.

Yours Friendly,
MR.MOHAMED ISSAKA.

when i prayed to God or Allah about you.

2010-08-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

-----Original Message-----
From: Dr.Malik Ali [mailto:dr.malik_ali@one.co.il]
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 3:08 PM
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: HOW CAN I TRUST YOU?

From The Desk Of .Dr.Malik Ali. Bill And Exchange Manager.BANK OF AFRICA (B.O.A)Ouagadougou Burkina-Faso. West Africa.For More Information Please Contact Me On My Private Number:+226 79189503 And Email Address: dr.malik_ali101@voila.fr

PLANE CRASH WEB SITE
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/index.html
( "REMITTANCE OF $ 7 SEVEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS U.S.A
CONFIDENTIAL IS THE CASE")

Compliment Of The Season,

When i was searching for a foreign partner i assured of your capability and reliability to champion this businees opportunity when i prayed to God or Allah about you.In my department we discovered an abandoned sum of $ 7 million U.S.A dollars ( SEVEN MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS U.S.A dollars Only) . In an account that belongs to one of our foreign customer MR SALLA KHATIF who died along with his entire family on (friday december 25TH,2003)in a plane crash. Since we got information about his death,

We have been expecting his next of kin to come over and claim his money because we cannot release it unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased as indicated in our banking guidelines, but unfortunately we learnt that all his supposed next of kin or relation died alongside with him at the plane crash leaving nobody behind for the claim. It is therefore upon this discovery that I and one official in my department now decided to make this businness proposal to you and release the money to you as the next of kin or relation to the deceased for safety and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for it and we dont want this money to go into the bank treasury as unclaimed bill. The Banking law and guideline here stipulates that if such money remained unclamed after five years, the money will be transfered into the Bank treasury as unclaimed fund.

The request of foreigner as next of kin in this business is occasioned by thefact that the customer was a foreigner, and a Burkinabe cannot stand as next of kin to a foreigner. We agree that 40% of this money will be for you as foreign partner, in respect to the provision of a foreign account, 10 % will be set aside for expenses incured during the business and 50 % would be for me, Therefore after I and my family will visit you in your country for disbursement according to the percentages indicated.

Therefore to enable the immediate trnansfer of this fund to you as arranged, you must apply first to the bank as relations or next of kin of the deceased indicating your bank name, your bank account number, your private telephone and fax number for easy and effective communication and location where the money will be remitted.Upon receipt of your reply, I will send to you by fax or email the text of the application I will not fail to bring to your notice that this transaction is hitch free and that you should not entertain any atom of fear as all required arrangements have been made for the transfer.

Your Full Name..........................?
Your Sex................................?
Your Age................................?
Your Country............................?
Your Occupation.........................?
Your Personal Mobile/ Fax N°............?

You should contact me on my number:+226 79189503 immediately with those informations i need from you,for me to process the text of application for you to apply to the bank. for more Information Please contact me on my private Email Address: dr.malik_ali101@voila.fr
Yours faithfully,
Dr.Malik Ali.

DEAR FRIEND, I AM MR.DAN DONKO. (DAN JOHN?)

2010-08-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

From: dan [mailto:tinto003@yahoo.com.au]
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 3:15 PM
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: I WAITING FOR YOUR URGENT REPLY

DEAR FRIEND, I AM MR.DAN JOHN.
THE BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER.

I WORK IN THE AUDITING/ACCOUNTING SECTION OF THE BANK OF AFRICA (BOA),OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO. I HAVE A BUSINESS DEAL WHICH WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO THE BOTH OF US.

THE AMOUNT OF MONEY INVOLVED IS EIGHTEEN MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND USA DOLLARS ($18.5 MILLION US DOLLARS) ,WHICH I WANT TO TRANSFER OUT OF THE COUNTRY TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, ALL TO MY FINANCIAL BENEFIT AND YOURS TOO.

AND ALSO TO TAKE MY WIFE TO USA FOR TREATMENT OF LIVER DAMAGE. THIS MONEY WAS OWNED BY ONE OF THE CUSTOMERS IN OUR BANK.THE MAN'S NAME IS CALLED ANDREAS SCHRANNER FROM MUNICH,GERMANY.HE WAS INTO PROPERTIES AS HIS BUSINESS IN GERMANYAND BUSINESS COMMERCIALIST IN WEST-AFRICAN REGIONS.

HE HAS BEEN DEAD SINCE EIGHT YEARS AGO ON 25TH JULY,2000 CONCORDE PLANE CRASH[Flight AF4590 ] WITH THE WHOLE PASSENGERS ABOARD . N.B.IN OTHER FOR YOU TO BELIEVE ME HONESTLY GO THROUGH THIS (website) BEFORE YOU START WITH ME. BELOW IS THE WEBSITE: ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi /world/europe/859479.stm) AND SINCE THEN,NO CLAIM HAS BEEN PLACED IN HIS BANK ACCOUNT BALANCE.

I WANT TO TRANSFER THIS MONEY OUT OF THE COUNTRY BUT SUCH FUND CAN NOT BE TRANSFERRED WITHOUT A NEXT OF KIN ATTACHED TO THE FUND. THE FUND COULD BE TRANSFERRED IN THESE WAY;YOU SHALL PRESENT YOURSELF AS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO THE DECEASED PERSON[ANDREAS SCHRANNER] OR AS THE ONLY SURVIVING NEXT OF KIN,AS DETAILS SHALL BE THAT YOU ARE THE CARE-TAKER BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO MR.ANDREAS SCHRANNER AND HIS PROPERTIES. I SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE TO YOU MATERIALS AND INFORMATIONS WITH WHICH A SUCCESSFUL CLAIM SHALL BE PLACED ON THE FUND. I SHALL BE YOUR GUIDIANCE AND INSTRUCTOR THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THIS TRANSACTION SO AS TO ENSURE A SWIFT AND SURE TRANSFER OF THE FUND TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.

AS TO YOUR BENEFITS, YOU SHALL BE ENTITLED TO 40% OF THIS FUND FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION IN THIS TRANSACTION WHILE 5% WILL BE SET ASIDE FOR EXPENCES BOTH OF US MIGHT INCURE DURING THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION. SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, SEND A REPLY TO ME IMMEDIATELY AND IN YOUR REPLY PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR [PRIVATE PHONE AND YOUR FAX NUMBERS] URGENCY HAS TO BE IMPLIED AND THIS BUSINESS MUST STRICTLY BE A DEAL BETWEEN BOTH OF US.

BEST REGARDS, MR.DAN DONKO. Bill & Exchange Manager(BOA)
DEAR FRIEND, I AM MR.DAN DONKO.
THE BILL AND EXCHANGE MANAGER.

I WORK IN THE AUDITING/ACCOUNTING SECTION OF THE BANK OF AFRICA (BOA),OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO. I HAVE A BUSINESS DEAL WHICH WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO THE BOTH OF US.

THE AMOUNT OF MONEY INVOLVED IS EIGHTEEN MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND USA DOLLARS ($18.5 MILLION US DOLLARS) ,WHICH I WANT TO TRANSFER OUT OF THE COUNTRY TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, ALL TO MY FINANCIAL BENEFIT AND YOURS TOO.

AND ALSO TO TAKE MY WIFE TO USA FOR TREATMENT OF LIVER DAMAGE. THIS MONEY WAS OWNED BY ONE OF THE CUSTOMERS IN OUR BANK.THE MAN'S NAME IS CALLED ANDREAS SCHRANNER FROM MUNICH,GERMANY.HE WAS INTO PROPERTIES AS HIS BUSINESS IN GERMANYAND BUSINESS COMMERCIALIST IN WEST-AFRICAN REGIONS.

HE HAS BEEN DEAD SINCE EIGHT YEARS AGO ON 25TH JULY,2000 CONCORDE PLANE CRASH[Flight AF4590 ] WITH THE WHOLE PASSENGERS ABOARD . N.B.IN OTHER FOR YOU TO BELIEVE ME HONESTLY GO THROUGH THIS (website) BEFORE YOU START WITH ME. BELOW IS THE WEBSITE: ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi /world/europe/859479.stm) AND SINCE THEN,NO CLAIM HAS BEEN PLACED IN HIS BANK ACCOUNT BALANCE.

I WANT TO TRANSFER THIS MONEY OUT OF THE COUNTRY BUT SUCH FUND CAN NOT BE TRANSFERRED WITHOUT A NEXT OF KIN ATTACHED TO THE FUND. THE FUND COULD BE TRANSFERRED IN THESE WAY;YOU SHALL PRESENT YOURSELF AS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO THE DECEASED PERSON[ANDREAS SCHRANNER] OR AS THE ONLY SURVIVING NEXT OF KIN,AS DETAILS SHALL BE THAT YOU ARE THE CARE-TAKER BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO MR.ANDREAS SCHRANNER AND HIS PROPERTIES. I SHALL MAKE AVAILABLE TO YOU MATERIALS AND INFORMATIONS WITH WHICH A SUCCESSFUL CLAIM SHALL BE PLACED ON THE FUND. I SHALL BE YOUR GUIDIANCE AND INSTRUCTOR THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THIS TRANSACTION SO AS TO ENSURE A SWIFT AND SURE TRANSFER OF THE FUND TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.

AS TO YOUR BENEFITS, YOU SHALL BE ENTITLED TO 40% OF THIS FUND FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION IN THIS TRANSACTION WHILE 5% WILL BE SET ASIDE FOR EXPENCES BOTH OF US MIGHT INCURE DURING THE COURSE OF THIS TRANSACTION. SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, SEND A REPLY TO ME IMMEDIATELY AND IN YOUR REPLY PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR [PRIVATE PHONE AND YOUR FAX NUMBERS] URGENCY HAS TO BE IMPLIED AND THIS BUSINESS MUST STRICTLY BE A DEAL BETWEEN BOTH OF US.

BEST REGARDS,
MR.DAN JOHN.
Bill & Exchange Manager(BOA)

apply through this medium

2010-08-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

From: Elena Luke [mailto:eleluk2@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 5:32 PM
To: vicar@westportallutheran.org
Subject: Elena Luke

Greetings,
I would like you to permit me to apply through this medium for your co-operation and to secure an opportunity to invest with you.I have a substantial concealed capital; honorably inherited from my late father, which I intend investing in any business venture of your chioce,for the mutual benefits of both of us. I shall be glad to reserve this respect and opportunity for you, if you so desire, I want you to be rest assured that everything is in order and legitimate.I will give you all information's needed as soon as I receive your response.
Best Regards,
Elena Luke.

2010-08-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

My fingertips are getting ready to dance. Dance like the folks from Riverdance, if I'm correct. As an idea travels from my head to my hands, my wrists tap tap on the desk like a maestro before the show.
Hello, ideas. Thank you for recycling. Compost is a valuable commodity now of days.

2010-07-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

I got married 3 years ago. My wife and I drove our car around to celebrate. We found a place to pet tigers, but when we got back in the car it wouldn't start. After eating at Denny's, our car was fixed. I noticed a lot of storage units - aluminum siding and a fee to put your stuff in them - amongst the trees. I don't like having to put stuff somewhere. I would rather have a someone and a somewhere than stuff.

A while ago a bunch of volcanoes blew up (who knew?!) In one of them now resides a blue lake which I ate chips and a sandwich next to.

I have information anxiety. Can you read a book? They make me nervous.

I used to be really bummed because I didn't have a cause.

I don't know what my motive was in writing that.

2010-07-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

hot times and the NL won this time around.
My beard grows exponentially.
air conditioning is a foreign sensation.

2010-07-12T21:22:00.001-07:00

the homerun derby is over. Big Papi won. Good for him.

I hope to some day be in a derby. I would even settle for the hat or soapbox version. One does not have the opportunity to participate in many derbys in ones live. If one should present itself, take full advantage.

or become a lawyer.

2010-07-09T03:07:00.001-07:00

we are going home

The real and tangible new Jerusalem

2010-05-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Rev 21:9-14, 21-27
Seminarian Darren Harbaugh

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I read the Bible and think, “I have no idea what this is talking about.” That happens to me like everyday. I suppose that’s not what you want to hear from a future pastor, but it’s true nonetheless.

Honestly, the Bible really stumps me sometimes. Take the lesson from Revelation that was just read a moment ago. It talks about the “Holy City,” New Jerusalem and its walls and gates and foundations. I know this is supposed to tell me something about everlasting life, but what exactly? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone really knows for sure. I have to confess; at first glance it doesn’t seem all that real and tangible.

I) I really want to have hope in the life to come, but sometimes its not all that easy. Look around. Everything seems to be broken. I’m sure that everyone here has experienced some sort of broken relationship and you know many other people who have as well.
Our bodies themselves are broken. We get sick. Those we love get sick. They die.
The world certainly seems broken: Oil spills and volcanoes. Earthquakes and Tsunamis. Terrorist plots and Warfare. Violent crime and abortion. Financial and political disarray.
These things seem real and tangible and in your face.

2) Then there is the church. I know that the church is the place that should provide hope and comfort, but it often seems like the church is the mouse in the corner sometimes. There was a time when the church was significant in the eyes of society, but that time has passed. That is until some Christian or clergy member says or does something stupid. In that case it will make the front page of the paper, but outside of being a whipping boy for pop culture, the church seems to have little significance in society today.

3) Besides the world in general, and the church specifically, it can be difficult personally even to pray sometimes. I get jealous of the 12 apostles who could walk and talk with Jesus face to face. I think that if I could experience that, just once, it would make the faith more real, more tangible.

I started off by saying that there was a lot that I didn’t know about the lesson from Revelation and then expanded that statement to include the many things that I don’t know about life in general

Thankfully I got this book that is real and true and tangible and it has something for you today. And we will use it to help us better understand what is going on in Revelation. It just so happeneds that the three worries I brought up about the brokenness of the world, the seeming insignificance of the church and the seeming distance between God and man are all addressed in our lesson from Revelation 21. Imagine that. So let’s take a look and see what this book has to say about these issues.

1) First, yes, the church does seem insignificant. But look at this picture from our lesson; it gives us the promise that the church will endure forever. This Holy city, this New Jerusalem is described, as a bride. We know that the apostle Paul in Ephesians 5speaks of the church as the Bride of Christ. This lesson is describing the church glorified in everlasting life. It is describing us because we are all part of the church. How do you know it? How can this idea be real and tangible? Were you baptized? Then you are apart of the church, the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem and this morning we are talking about your future.

But we must look to the past first. You sit here in Resurrection Lutheran church. The Lutheran church is built on nothing more than the teaching of the apostles as ordained by Christ. Look at the 12 foundations of the New Jerusalem, inscribed with the names of the apostles. This is describing us! Paul writes in Ephesians 2: “You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”

We do not need to doubt the stability of the church. We know that Jesus is the cornerstone of the church and he said in Matthew 16 that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We have the promise from Christ. In other words, the church ain’t goin nowhere.

The “reality” presented to you about the church by the news and by Richard Dawkins and friends is not the reality of the church. Let’s talk about reality. There was a time once when Greece was the ruler of pretty much the entire world. Now, well, I suppose the situation is a bit different. It just goes to show that what the world takes as a sure thing may indeed turn out to be otherwise.
But the Word of Christ is true and real and tangible. You can splash around in it and eat it and drink it.

2) Secondly, well, what about the world? It’s broken. Don’t need to look in here (Bible) to figure that one out. Truth be told, I don’t see it getting better anytime soon. But let’s pause for a second. Think about what the world would be like without all its problems – a perfect world. Can you imagine it? It’s hard. But God doesn’t have to imagine. He remembers what that is like - The Garden of Eden.
The holy City, New Jerusalem here in Revelation 21 is pictured as a New Eden. In the beginning, God said, “let there be light” and there was light from God before the creation of the sun or moon. Here in Revelation 21 it says that there is no sun or moon, but rather that God the Father and Jesus the lamb are the Light. John 1 says that Jesus is “the true light who enlightens every man”. In 1st John 1 we learn that “God is light and in him is no darkness at all”. This is recreation, Eden restored. Everything that is broken will be fixed, no more death or pain. As it was in the beginning, it will be that way forever and ever.

In Revelation 21, we are told that an angel guards each gate of New Jerusalem, just as an angel with a fiery sword blocked the way to Eden from sinful Adam and Eve. Nothing broken or damaged or unclean will be allowed to enter the gates but rather must remain outside the city walls.

The good news is that in the book of Hebrews we read that Christ suffered and died outside the city walls of Old Jerusalem so that people from every nation may freely enter the New Jerusalem, the New Eden. All are invited from the North, and from the South and from the East and from the West to enter the gates that will never close.
But how do you know that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life? How do you know that you will pass through those pearly gates of New Jerusalem? As we have seen, New Jerusalem is the church, and how do you enter the church (You heard this one before)? Remember your real and tangible (with wet water) baptism.

3) Finally, the best, best, best thing about our lesson from Revelation, in my humble opinion is the relationship it describes that we will have with God, just like Adam and Eve experienced in the garden of Eden where the walked and talked with God face to face. Just like the 12 apostles walked and talked with Jesus face to face. So also we will see God face to face. Revelation 21 tells us that there is no temple in the city but that God and Jesus the Lamb would be the Temple.

Imagine how that sounded to the people of the early church. No temple? The temple was everything to the life of Israel. When it was destroyed in 70 AD, it was and still is devastating for the Jewish people.

But in Revelation, we see that no temple is a good thing. There is no need for a tabernacle or pillar of fire or anything else to mediate God’s presence. In the New Eden, we will communicate with God more fully than we can ever imagine.

There is much that is confusing about Scripture and about life here on earth. But we can be sure that the Word of Christ and his church will endure forever. You don’t need to fear. Christ himself said, “Fear not the world, for I have overcome the world.” The world will pass away, but the church, the bride of Christ will endure forever and will be glorified as the new Eden, the new Creation for you and I to enjoy for life everlasting. How is that real and true and tangible? Right now God who gives you this promise, this hope, this future is present in his Word. This God is present in the bread and the wine for you his new creation as we await his New Eden.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Vertigo

2010-01-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

"Imagine a sheer, steep crag, with a projecting edge at the top. Now imagine what a person would probably feel if he put his foot on the edge of this precipice and, looking down into the chasm below, saw no solid footing nor anything to hold on to. This is what I think the soul experiences when it goes beyond its footing in material things, in its quest for that which has no dimension and which exists from all eternity. For here there is nothing it can take hold of, neither place nor time, neither measure nor anything else; our minds cannot approach it. And thus the soul, slipping at every point from what cannot be grasped, becomes dizzy and perplexed and returns once again to what is connatural to it, content now to know merely this about the Transcendent, that it is completely different from the nature of the things that the soul knows."

-Gregory of Nyssa

And that is where Jesus comes in.

14/01/10 – evening

2010-01-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

Prayed.
Chanted psalms.
Laid on floor next to heater and fell asleep.
Ate candy.
Worked a bit on Infant Baptism paper.
Becca came home.
Read papers (Guardian, the Times).
Made dinner - Apple burgers (from farm store), fries, salad (spinach, tomato, cucumber, oil), Achel trappist ale. Crosant and nutella.
Ate with Looses and Burkes.
My tooth hurt.
Watched Brit quiz show, QI.
Listened to jazz.
Read part of “Art of Hebrew Poetry.”
Worked on Infant Baptism paper.
Wrote about Portugal trip.

(university library, raindrops on glasses)

14/01/10

2010-01-14T07:51:00.000-08:00

Today I woke and:
Searched for 10 pound note I misplaced (found in the afternoon in a pair of jeans).
Read about dry bones (Ezekiel)
Ate a toast.
Drank a tea.
Led Morning Prayer.
Ate a granola.
Drank a tea.
Met with Tutor Humann about my Genesis Paper topic (Gen 1:28, or Intertestamental views of creation, or theme of recreation)
Wet ride to Divinity of Faculty.
No lecturer for my Gen 1-4 translation class.
Sat through Islam lecture (cannot pronounce topic)
Sat through early church lecture (Athanasius).
Went to Tyndale House for Textual Critical class.
Got lost.
Arrived at Tyndale. Prof sick, no class.
Had coffee with classmates.
Rode back to Westfield.
Ate Naan, garlic crackers, Stilton cheese with Blueberries, and cheddar.
went on internets.

Wet wet

2010-01-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

I feel like a drowned cat (is it rat?) after riding to class today. Cold and wet feet. Cold and wet backside. Cold and wet head. I must invest in Gore-Tex. Or maybe I'll just wear the gear that I neglected this morning.

It was fun getting done with our Portugal, Spain, Morocco trip and realizing that once the trip was over we got to go back to England instead of real home. Wee.

Lots to do this term. It's a good thing I am on the internets.

Flashback New Year 06/07

2009-12-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, January 03, 2007
woof
ok. so i'm back at work, but I'm not teaching. it's confusing, I know. I am off-track so I don't teach until March. I have picked up extra work. I scan documents and compile resources, lesson plans, work sheets that other English teachers can use.

Yeah, snooze. I know. It's super flex though. Reminds me of the Hollywood Athletic Club days.

I'm going to watch Rocky Balboa at Highland Theater and drink wine and eat Italian food at Fallerio's tonight for those interested.

I'm applying to another seminary, Concordia St. Louis. There is much to do and it makes me nervous.

Ugh, coming back to work after vacation gets me grumpy.
Posted by dmh at 10:47 AM

Flashback New Year 05/06

2009-12-28T12:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 01, 2006
Happy 2006. For you! I will now make resolutions:
-Fart.
-eat steak.
-cut someone.
-do not eat Punjabi.
-avoid permanant markers.
-practice dice throwing.
-research California Raisins/campaign for induction into Rock n Roll HOF
-meet Twista
-invent new language
Posted by dmh at 7:26 PM

Flash back 04/05

2009-12-28T04:56:00.000-08:00

Friday, December 31, 2004

It was almost 60 degrees today. As you may remember, I went skiing less than a week ago and was going to go ice fishing. Two days ago there was a half a foot of snow on the ground (yesterday I hit my mom with a snowball and she yelled at me), but today I went for a long walk and played catch with my dad.

...Such weird weather. It's like gnomes are controlling it or something....

This whole thing reminds me of my last trip to Darkest Asia with Buddy Dynamo. We had just left "87 Eddie's Rum Emporium Inc." Buddy was supremely inebriated on virgin Tibetian goat's blood and I had just snorted about 2 gallons of licorce-flavored turpentine when Buddy says, "Hey, Dupre--"
That's what they called me in those days "Dupre Infinity."
So Buddy says, "Hey, Dupre, what the hell did that Baroquian son of llama's nephew say to us?!"
Well, Buddy had called Eddie a So-and-so of the nth degree. The pot needed no further stirring, so I tried to divert his anger.
"Nothing, he said nothing, my fine feathered friend," I said.
"You lying sack of Mamet! I know beyond a shadow of a hammock that I had my intelligence, my purity, and my...something else insulted," Dynamo raved.
I motioned for Buddy to have a lean against a cockroach vendor's cart. It was no use. I must tell him.
"Mr. Dynamo, you are missing the point. The point is not that you were insulted, but that the moment of insulation occured during the emotional climax of the Aerosmith opus 'Dream on,'"I said.
Dynamo hugged me.
"There has never been a truer statement proclaimed in audible sound waves, O Sage of Sages," uttered The Dynamo.
"I know," said me.
"Then what ever shall we do to rectify this blasphamous tragedy which has never equalled even by The Bard himself?!" stated Dynamo.
To make a long story short, we ended up aquiring a battalion's weight in marshiano cherries dipped in 12-year old asbestos. I woke up the next day alone in an abandoned KFC knee deep in Minnie Mouse stationary. I haven't seen Dynamo since.
Posted by dmh at 6:17 PM

--

Monday, January 03, 2005
dmh realizations upon the new year (as gleaned from recent emails)

Target areas for the next 5 years, in order of priority: screenwriter, film director, comedic guitar player, author, sketch comedy performer, TV writer (late night, sitcom), actor.
I will do practical things to achieve each.
In order to succeed, everything I do must direct me toward these goals.
-
I really want to retain my optimism. At times I can be...cynical...When you buy into that, it all goes downhill.
I gave up when I became a sportswriter and moved to the desert. I didn't really want to be a sportswriter. I want to be an entertainer. I need to at least try. Geez, talk about lame. I'm 50 years old sitting on my porch "Yeah, I didn't try. I didn't think I'd succeed."
Yeah, no crap. I'm destined to fail if I think I'm going to. But screw that, God is the only one that's going to stop me.
Posted by dmh at 1:40 AM

Flashback 03/04

2009-12-28T04:44:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be amusing(?) to post some of my new years reflections from years past to wrap up the 00's properly.

First up 2003/4

Tuesday, December 09, 2003
I'm going to Baja soon. Awesome! Billy, Dan, Keith and I are going down the 19th-24th. That's the plan for now. Merry Baja Christmas. Fish tacos, here we come! I love it down there. Time for relaxation.
Posted by dmh at 3:40 PM

Wednesday, January 07, 2004
WHERE HAVE YOU GONE...?

...I recently finished a screenplay with my good friend Jesse Gloyd. It's 93 pages, not a small feat, my friend...

...The script is called "Of Mascots and Men," Though that will probably be changed. I'll elaborate more on the script once we get it registered with the Screenwriters' Guild. Word...

...Things are lining up for this next year. Next writing project will be for an independant piece that Trevor will direct up in Seattle. We want to make our way ourselves. None of us feel up for grad school. Anyway, the consensus seems to be that if you take your money and invest it in a indie film rather than grad school, it goes to better use....

...Met with the i.tv people again. Trevor had an interview. They seem to like me, I'm just waiting to see what comes of it. They way they talk. it's hard not to have delusions of grandeur.

I must say that this has been one of the best end of the year that I've ever had. Got a car, a job, an apartment. Trevor came down from Seattle and we hung out. Drew got married. I went to 4 parties at the end/begining of the year. Halfway House Affirmation Night (Tradition among my group of friends where we hike up Tarantula Hill with some Bud and affirm one another), New Year's Eve, Drew's last night in the Bayou (House in Whittier) Party, and Drew's wedding reception. All these parties were stellar, top-notch.
Posted by dmh at 6:51 PM

Song: THE CHRISTMAS MASSACRE OF CHARLIE BROWN

2009-12-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

My favorite Christmas song this year.

By DJ John

I pity the santa

2009-12-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

O Little Town: Video

2009-12-24T09:23:00.001-08:00

Song/Quote:Christmas

2009-12-24T03:00:00.001-08:00

I like this song and I like this quote. The song is from Cowboy Copas, a guy killed in a plane crash with Patsy Cline. The quote is from CFW Walther an old Lutheran guy from the 1800's. They both put Christmas in the right perspective.

What happened in Bethlehem was the fulfillment of that eternal decree of the heavenly Father. As soon as His Son become man, the unbearable burden of all humanity's sin was laid upon Him. And so, as Christ, God's sacrificial lamb for the sins of the whole world, lay in a hard crib in a dark stable, the eyes of God looked into the future to see His Son already dying on the cross. Therefore, this atonement for sins, by which God's offended holiness and righteousness were satisfied and men were reconciled to Him, was already as good as accomplished.

VIDEO: The Prodigal

2009-12-18T10:04:00.001-08:00

This is from the dusty old files, but here is a song I made and the sweet music video I made for it.

Video: An oldie but a goodie

2009-12-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

The Advent Song

VIDEO: little dmh in Cambridge

2009-12-18T09:59:00.001-08:00

Doomsday: SongFreeWrite

2009-12-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

"Doomsday" - Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Oh, it’s like Herb Albert and the Tijuana brass band! Horns. If horns were a currency, this intro would be one rich fool.
Where is my sombrero? I need a fiesta and a siesta. Simultaneously. RIGHT NOW!

YIP! more yips please. me gusta mucho.

Drums! Hello!
Bass, hello!
Hi again, Trumpet. Nice to hear you again.

I am tapping my foot in glee and joyous joy.

Oh, bummer, a whiney white dude voice.
Its ok. I’m white too I think.

This song is like a friendly giant hopping. Like if the giant from Jack and the beanstalk was friendly and not a murdering fellow. If he was nice, he would be this song. Also if he liked to hop.

No, dude, I do not let doomsay bother me!

Tambourines are fun. I would like to put a tambourine around the neck of a chicken and let it run around. Then, I would give a fox a drum and set it loose in the chicken coop. Then I would draw a picture of a monster and bring it to life though magic and hope it wouldn't eat me. Then I would give it a guitar of course. Then I would go on Conan with my band. And would rule.

This song would be good with a Dos Equis and lime.
Then a Pacifico then salsa and chips
Then the beach and a hammock.
Then a piñata.
Then carne asada
Then carnitas.
Then more fiestas.

Hooray, another yip!

Oh, cool. More people are in the song. And they are FIESTA-ING!
I want to be in this song now. They sound like they are having a la la la happy time with their cervezas!

Where the Wild Things Are: Musings

2009-12-13T05:03:00.000-08:00

Where the Wild Things Are was finally released in the UK Friday. I guess it evens out because we got to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox earlier than America.

[[[Spoiler alert.]]] I guess, if you haven't read the book.

Going into the film, I thought that it would be difficult for it to live up to the joyous Arcade Fire-driven trailer. And it happens that the song "Wake up" was not in the film. Sad.

The film was a wild rumpus. I could relate to Max. I built a snow fort from a big pile of snow left by a plow. I didn't have it crash on my head. But the snow-on-face crying happened once or twice at the end of a nasty sled run before.

Also, like Max, I liked to built forts in my room out of blankets. In college, I slept in a tent in my bedroom. I also like to run around and scream and shout and make animal noises and hit things. So, all in all, Max and I are kindred spirits.

The monsters, by Jim Henson's workshop, looked cool (see fact at end). They were depressing though. I guess because they seemed quite like normal people. Their interactions with each other were not fairy tale-esque. That's what I liked and disliked at the same time. They were at times depressing monsters. But we are at times depressing people I suppose.

I would like to wear a crown and a fox costume. That would be fun. I think that will be a big Halloween costume next year.

I think it would be fun to live on that monster island for a day. I was genuine sad when max left and Carol and the other monsters were howling. I hope they worked things out amongst themselves. I think they could use a counselor. Or, dare I say, a pastor? Maybe I will go there in a couple of years and live in their big fort and listen to their individual private confessions and absolve them.

By the way, maybe its because I'm a divinity student and look at much Christologically, but I think this had the makings of a(n) (anti-)Messiah film.
A being (Max), wearing skin similar to theirs (but is not quite like them) comes into the world of the Wild Things. They crown him their king. They believe that he can solve all their problems. But later they reject him and the cloud of death hangs over him because they have killed all the others that came to them whom they also rejected.

(Then the anti part) Max can't bring true happiness. He admits that he is not really a king, he is really a fraud. Just a kid in a costume. He says that The Wild Things don't need a king, they need a mom. Max leaves, the Wild Things howl in despair. Why? Who knows. Do they resolve things? Who knows? Max goes home to his mom.

Whether intentional of not, where there's smoke, there's a meta-narrative.

Fun Fact:

In July 2006, less than six weeks before the start of shooting, the Henson-built monster suits arrived at the Melbourne soundstage where Spike Jonze and his crew had set up their offices. The actors climbed inside and began moving around. Right away, Jonze could see that the heads were absurdly heavy. Only one of the actors appeared able to walk in a straight line. A few of them called out from within their costumes that they felt like they were going to tip over. Jonze and the production crew had no choice but to tell the Henson people to tear apart the 50-pound heads and remove the remote-controlled mechanical eyeballs. This meant that all the facial expressions would have to be generated in post-production, using computers.

Song Free Write

2009-12-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to a new feature on dmhblog called SongFreeWrite where I listen to a song and write my thoughts, observations, and whatnot in real time. First up on this maiden voyage is Be Calm by fun.

Violin and accordion. Where is the dancing monkey? Am I in Italy? Who is singing? Then chacha cha guitar. Then lala and some strings and another voice and a harmony.

He sounds sad like a baby.

“Why?” You say? Like a bird? It is singing and it is nice. It’s like a carnival. And a whistling bird. What a nice whistle.
Slow guitar. To emotional and smoothing. I can see musical notes in the air.

Tambourine! But now it its snappy and cranky! Like a nut cracker or one of those big wretches that a plumber has. Then there is a girl. Then two guys singing like they mean it. Lots of people!

Oh! He said Baptized. Neat.
Now it is like a carnival and a parade and a circus and there is a trumpet and dancing bears and an anthem and a triumph! LOTS OF NOISES AND STOMP STOMP! BELLS! CRASH CRASH!

It is a jam, like faux metal rock and roll, head banging, and channeling Queen or something. la la la jam jam! A Tour de force, sing/yelling and fist pumping. I want to jump in the air and float there for a few seconds.

I think he really wants me to be calm. I will consider it. Whoa! That sounds like a beepy space ship. I want to fly to krypton in it.

Oh, it’s back to a buzzing, slow-downy thing. Is it ending? I think so. It is winding down. Sllooowwwwww. It stopped.

-
That song caused me to rejoice. It had lots of neat noises. The dude’s voice was a bit polished, but it added a bit of glam to it all. I felt like I was in a parade. I wish that there were animals to bark and meow as I was listening to that song.

Life Reimagined

2009-12-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

I walked down to the store and picked up a loaf of bread, 6 six eggs, a liter of OJ, a liter of apple juice (for wassail) and a half liter of Newcastle (out of Old Peculiar).
but this is how it when down in my mind.
-
Day 139 of Arctic Sea Otter Expedition 1500 hours
The days are growing shorter. My igloo base camp is holding up. The whale blubber and seal skins have proved solid insulation. Today I plan to brave the elements and attempt to observe the creatures in their native habitat to learn their secret beer making techniques.
-
Day 139 cont. 1603 hours
Though a short survey, I met will great success. Shielded from the fierce winds and swirling snow flakes by my electronic parka, I strained against the gale drudging toward my observation point. On the way, suddenly, what appeared to be a spaceship similar to that owned by George Jetson in the 1960 American Prime time cartoon program, buzzed down and opened its bubble like operating hatch. I stepped in, the hatch closed and whisked me up to a height of approximately 15 metres.
Below the craft a marching band appeared. I strained to see it between the breaks in the whiteout conditions.

I spied a button on the console labeled "White Out Away." I pushed it and the sun came out. The bubble hatch opened and I Could hear the band playing "Louie, Louie" transitioning into "Twist and Shout."

Though I was unable to document the habits of the sea otter, this afternoon has spurred me on toward anticipating success in future queries.

Hot chocolate for everyone! Pass the cookies!

Thoughts On a Friday in December

2009-12-12T01:53:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed teaching bible study the past few Sunday mornings. The focus was on Piety (religious devotion) in the form of prayer, personal/family devotional time, fasting. I also tossed in a little Advent theme in the last session.

On aspect I emphasized was the practice of speaking out loud during your reading and prayer time. I have found it to be helpful. It was a bit awkward at first I guess because I was so used to reading and praying silently. I’ve found it a helpful practice. I tend to get more out of the prayers and readings when I speak them. When I read to myself, I have the tendency to zoom through the material. Speaking the words causes me to slow down. Hearing the words in my ear also adds another sense (i.e. hearing) for me to absorb the words.

Scripture is filled with out loudness. “Oh, Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise. Until recently, speaking prayers and scripture was nothing I had considered before, but it seems to have been the practice of the church from early on.

It’s not like there is anything magical about it. I have enjoyed it though. It’s like I’m actually taking to somebody (God, perhaps?). It kind of opens the doors of your personal worship. Instead of talking to yourself, pretend somebody might be listening.

I sometimes take it an extra step and sing the words. That’s what I love about the liturgy is that much of it is sung. I am able to sing the psalms with a simple chant tone. Also any of the collects (a specific type of prayer, usually ancient) and the Lord’s Prayer. I’ve been learning a few different Advent Hymns. They are great. “Lo, he comes with clouds descending,” “Savior of the nations, Come” Singing in your devotions is fun. It adds a bit of variety. It is cool to be singing words written and sung by Christians throughout the ages from around the world. Our hymnal is remarkable catholic (little c) as in universal in scope. Sure, it may be a bit German and Lutheran heavy. Obviously. But there is a wealth of treasures from the entire church. Hymns from the early centuries of the church, from the past century. From America, Africa, Asia, Europe. Translated from Latin, Greek, French, Spanish. It is cool to look down at the bottom of the page and see that I am singing a hymn written by St Patrick, or St Benedict. Along with that info, there are always references to the scriptures quoted or alluded to in the hymn. Some of the tunes can be a bit hairy to learn, but it seriously beats 3 chord, one verse choruses that I feasted on in the past. As one of my profs put it. Those songs are not terrible, just as potato chips are not terrible, in moderation. If you want to eat chips, do it every once in a while. Don’t make it your primary sustenance for every meal.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve been using “The Treasury of Daily Prayer” for devotions and it has been amazing. If you are looking for a devotional aid, it would be difficult to find a better tool. It has a psalm, O and NT reading for each day, along with a verse of a hymn, a collect, and a reading from one of the church fathers or someone cool like Luther. It also has simple orders of service for personal and family use for morning, noon, evening and night. It also has cool sung orders like matins, vespers, morning and evening prayer and Compline. It is the bizzlebomb.

Becca and I are enjoying Advent. We have a little advent wreath we light. I found info for making a Jesse Tree. You have a picture with scripture for everyday of advent leading you though the OT on the way to Christmas. (Creation, the fall, the flood, Abe and Issac, moses, etc). And it makes a tree. It’s pretty cool. I think I may adjust it in the future so the readings point more specifically to Christ, because he is everywhere in the OT:
Gen 1: God speaking THE WORD and “Let US make man in our own image”
Gen 3: crushing the heel of the serpent.
More Gen: Issac being sacrificed, Joseph in the pit
Ex: burning bush
Josh: angel of the lord before Jericho
Isaiah’s suffering servant
Daniel: fourth man in the furnace.
Etc etc.

We also have a little advent calendar with verses behind the windows from the Christmas story from Luke and Matt.

It is cool.

Word.

I am a milkcarton: Video

2009-12-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

I was listening to this song as I rode the London. I love this video.

stuff i do; Life Update

2009-12-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Recently.

Reading:
mlbtraderumors.com
Luther's Large Catechism
Isaiah
1 John
Sasse, Hermann. We Confess
Bradshaw, Paul. Early Christian Worship.
Jeremias Joachim. Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries
Jeremias, Joachim. The Origins of Infant Baptism
Aland, Kurt. Did the Early Church Baptize Infants?
Scaer, David. Baptism.

Listening: BBC3 (classical), Islands, Port O'Brien, The Very Best, Julian Casablancas, Dan Deacon.

Watching:
Pingu!, the Flinstones, Bogart films: Dark Passage, The Maltese Falcon. BBC news

eating: pastrami, toad in a hole, tacos, digestives

drinking: South African wine, PG Tips (tea), Christmas porter.

Halfway House: Thoughts

2009-12-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

I am now about halfway through my seminary studies. 2 1/2 years down. 2 1/2 years to go.
Time has gone sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly. I want to learn more and I want to be in the parish at the same time.

In purely academic terms the amount of time I am studying is pretty foolish. People can get a master's degree in 1 year rather than 5. It was explained to me thusly and I like it; medical doctors get a lot of training and patients are greatful for it. Likewise, it is good for a Soul Doctor (Seelsorge - German word for pastor) to be well trained.

There are still many things up in the air - where I will go for Vicarage, Where I will go for my call to the parish - but whatever, its all good. I've learned a lot. Becca and I have had good times.

There is much apparent stupidness about what I am doing though (1 cor 1:18-31). That is all too apparent here in the UK. We are indeed a post-Christian culture in America. Clergy tend not so much to be respected as pitied or loathed. Also being a Lutheran is apparently pretty stupid. Sectarian, divisive, etc. Love it or loathe it, I will be walking the lonely road between Protestantism and Catholicism until Rome repents or the good Lord decides to take me home. What a beautiful place to be. Nowhere else I'd rather find myself.

Before too long, I'll be walking around with a collar around my neck as the soul doctor on call, with some book learning under my belt and clearly much more to learn in the school of experience about life and death, the great cycle that is played out in the church year (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost) and in the church body (Birth, Baptism, Catechesis, Communion, Death and Burial) and daily in the life of the believer (take up the cross, die, rise again, remembering your baptism).

I think I'll always be halfway (saint and sinner) as long as I'm on this earth. Halfway between Christ's coming and Christ's coming.

Winston's hiccup: Quote - wiki

2009-12-08T05:19:00.001-08:00

Funny.

Winston's Hiccup or Churchill's Hiccup is the huge zigzag in Jordan's eastern border with Saudi Arabia, supposedly because Winston Churchill drew the boundary of Transjordan after a generous and lengthy lunch.

Churchill, then British Colonial Secretary, boasted that he had "created Transjordan with the stroke of a pen on a Sunday afternoon in Cairo."[1] A story subsequently arose that, after enjoying an overly liquid lunch that day, he had hiccuped while attempting to draw the border and had refused to allow it to be corrected. Thus the zigzag, with the Saudi town of Kaf near its apex[2] has been written into history as "Winston's hiccup".

Baptism:Quote

2009-12-08T05:08:00.000-08:00

I came across this today. I thought it was quite good and interesting as I am currently studying the practice of infant baptism in the Early Church.

Why I Baptized Our Babies
Monday, December 7th, 2009

I have been involved in a number of conversations recently concerning infant Baptism. This kind of thing is a never ending cycle on the internet and instead of rehashing everything on several different forums, I thought it might be helpful to put down in writing a defense of infant Baptism addressing several points that proponents of adult believer’s baptism bring up.

The two things that I hear most often are:

1. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward work or action. Its main purpose is as a testimony.

2. Infants can’t have faith and/or repent, therefore they cannot be baptized.

Many refutations of these two points often fail, not because they are not true, but because they resort to a kind of theological shorthand that leaves out several important distinctions and foundational assumptions and results in the two sides talking past each other.

Proponents of believers-only baptism usually argue from the Book of Acts and the Gospels, taking their cues from how they see baptism being used in the Scriptures.

This is correct insofar as it goes. However, in the view of those who champion infant baptism, it does not go far enough.

The Lutherans and other paedobaptists (those who baptize their infants) go further. They look to see what the scriptures say baptism is and does. This is a huge difference. Think about it for a moment.

Our believers-only baptism friends rightly point out that the majority of people people baptized in the Bible have believed and repented before they were baptized. (We would say that the believing centurion and the Philippian jailer probably had children that were baptized with the household.) This is then set in stone as it were, and considered to be the final word on the subject.

The Lutheran way is to ask “What is baptism and what does it do?” and consequently “Given what the scriptures say, how is it properly used and on whom is it used?”

Let’s take a quick tour of the pertinent passages and what they say.

Romans 6:3-5 Baptism into Christ’s death and burial with Him. Unites us to His death and resurrection.

Colossians 2:11-12 Putting off of the sinful nature by the circumcision done by Christ through baptism.

Ephesian 5:26 What else is a “washing with water through word” but baptism?

1 Peter 3:21 Baptism now saves us… Cut it any way you like, but baptism somehow saves.

Because this is what the scriptures say baptism is, then how then is it properly used?

Matthew 28:18-29 Make disciples by baptizing and teaching. (We baptize our infants into teaching and teach adults into baptism.)

See the various instances in the Book of Acts. Note especially the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:33) whose whole household was baptized.

This is what baptism is and what it does. The crux of the paedobaptist arguments lie primarily in the substance of baptism as scripture defines it, and only secondarily in the examples of its application we see in the Book of Acts. That is why we so often are talking past each other.

So then if baptism joins us to Christ, what about our children, how do we bring them to Jesus? Is it proper to do so?

Mark 10:13-16 Jesus rebukes the disciples who were preventing parents from bringing their infants to Him.

Baptism is the way we bring our children to Him. The New Testament says nothing about infant dedication. Neither does the early Church.

The Scriptures never speak of baptism as a testimony to others. The Ethiopian eunuch and the Philippian jailer and his household were in situations in which there weren’t many witnesses to testify. The scriptures also never speak of baptism as an outward sign of an inward work.

It seems a bit ironic to us that groups that assign to baptism a symbolic or signatory value often become hyper-literal concerning the mode of baptism. So baptism is for them an outward sign of an inward work, and a testimony to others about your relationship with the Lord, but unless you are entirely immersed in the water the baptism is not valid. If the water does nothing, then why is it important to immerse rather than sprinkle?

The second objection we often hear is “Infants can’t have faith and/or repent, therefore they cannot be baptized.”

This second objection makes ‘understanding’ as we define it the one necessary work on our part to be saved. If they are unable to comprehend then the Lord is incapable of granting that infant (or mentally handicapped adult for that matter) the gift of faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that faith is a gift given by the Lord. We are loathe to say that the Lord cannot do something; especially when it comes to granting someone saving faith. You end up with a situation in which God is unable to communicate with some part of His creation.

In the book of Jonah, God commands a fish and a vine to do his bidding. In Genesis 9:5 there is that strange passage where the Lord says he will demand an accounting for our lifeblood from every animal that kills a human. So God will hold animals morally accountable for killing humans. There seem to be a lot of things going on behind the scenes between God and His creation that we are not privy to. If He can communicate with fish and vines and hold animals accountable for killing us, I think He is capable of granting the gift of faith to my children through the appointed means of baptism. It is His action towards us.

When someone is baptized, it is not the Pastor that buries someone into the death of Christ and raises them to new life in Christ, but God Himself makes the baptism efficacious. I brought my children to the baptismal font so that they could be buried in Christ’s death and raised to new life in Him. I am confident that God is faithful to His word.

So here, briefly, I have summed up a couple of quick points that I hope will shed some light on why those of us who baptize our children believe that it is scriptural and right.

Honestly...

2009-12-08T04:33:00.000-08:00

If the Tigers are indeed going to trade both Granderson and Jackson they had better make it worth my while.

quote

2009-12-06T13:43:00.002-08:00

39] There would also be overthrown and taken from us the foundation that the Holy Ghost wishes certainly to be present with the Word preached, heard, considered, and to be efficacious and operate through it. Therefore the meaning is not at all the one referred to above, namely, that the elect are to be such [among the elect are to be numbered such] as even despise the Word of God, thrust it from them, blaspheme and persecute it, Matt. 22:6; Acts 13:46; or, when they hear it, harden their hearts, Heb. 4:2. 7; resist the Holy Ghost, Acts 7:51; without repentance persevere in sins, Luke 14:18; do not truly believe in Christ, Mark 16:16; only make [godliness] an outward show, Matt. 7:22; 22:12; or seek other ways to righteousness and salvation outside of Christ, Rom. 9:31. 40] Moreover, even as God has ordained in His [eternal] counsel that the Holy Ghost should call, enlighten, and convert the elect through the Word, and that He will justify and save all those who by true faith receive Christ, so He also determined in His counsel that He will harden, reprobate, and condemn those who are called through the Word, if they reject the Word and resist the Holy Ghost, who wishes to be efficacious and to work in them through the Word and persevere therein. And in this manner many are called, but few are chosen.

41] For few receive the Word and follow it; the greatest number despise the Word, and will not come to the wedding, Matt. 22:3ff The cause for this contempt for the Word is not God's foreknowledge [or predestination], but the perverse will of man, which rejects or perverts the means and instrument of the Holy Ghost, which God offers him through the call, and resists the Holy Ghost, who wishes to be efficacious, and works through the Word, as Christ says: How often would I have gathered you together, and ye would not! Matt. 23:37.

42] Thus many receive the Word with joy, but afterwards fall away again, Luke 8:13. But the cause is not as though God were unwilling to grant grace for perseverance to those in whom He has begun the good work, for that is contrary to St. Paul, Phil. 1:6; but the cause is that they wilfully turn away again from the holy commandment [of God], grieve and embitter the Holy Ghost, implicate themselves again in the filth of the world, and garnish again the habitation of the heart for the devil. With them the last state is worse than the first, 2 Pet. 2:10. 20; Eph. 4:30; Heb. 10:26; Luke 11:25.
SD XI 39-42

good words

2009-12-06T13:43:00.001-08:00

12. Thus far a Christian should occupy himself [in meditation] with the article concerning the eternal election of God, as it has been revealed in God's Word, which presents to us Christ as the Book of Life, which He opens and reveals to us by the preaching of the holy Gospel, as it is written Rom. 8:30: Whom He did predestinate, them He also called. In Him we are to seek the eternal election of the Father, who has determined in His eternal divine counsel that He would save no one except those who know His Son Christ and truly believe on Him. Other thoughts are to be [entirely] banished [from the minds of the godly], as they proceed not from God, but from the suggestion of the Evil Foe, whereby he attempts to weaken or entirely to remove from us the glorious consolation which we have in this salutary doctrine, namely, that we know [assuredly] that out of pure grace, without any merit of our own, we have been elected in Christ to eternal life, and that no one can pluck us out of His hand; as He has not only promised this gracious election with mere words, but has also certified it with an oath and sealed it with the holy Sacraments, which we can [ought to] call to mind in our most severe temptations, and take comfort in them, and therewith quench the fiery darts of the devil.

13. Besides, we should use the greatest diligence to live according to the will of God, and, as St. Peter admonishes, 2 Pet. 1:10, make our calling sure, and especially adhere to [not recede a finger's breadth from] the revealed Word: that can and will not fail us.

Epitome of the Formula of Concord XI

Life Update

2009-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

Went to an accordian concert. Went to the Fitzwilliam Museum and looked at pictures of Jesus.
I came across this artist the other day, Nikolaj Nikolajewitsch. I like the pictures he made about Jesus. Here are some:

Gethsemane

Judas

My jams

2009-12-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

My jams at the moment ere "Perfect Fit" by Clues.
"Caterpillar Playground" by Nurses.
and "Doomsday" by Elvis Perkins in Dearland.

Sermon: Advent 1

2009-12-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

Advent 1 - Romans 13:11-14
Seminarian Darren Harbaugh

Today we had 8 hours and 2 minutes and 25 seconds of daylight, tomorrow we will have 5 seconds less and the day after that 5 fewer seconds. As we creep closer and closer to the official beginning of winter on the 21st of this month, we know that it is waiting eagerly on the doorstep. We are reminded of its presence by the sight of our breath, the chill of the piercing wind and those frigid temperatures but we especially know that winter is upon us by the ever-shortening day.

The sun set at 3:50 PM today. It gets dark so early that sometimes I want to go to bed at 5pm because it feels more like 11 to me. This part of the year makes it much more difficult to know what time it is just by looking around you. I don’t wear a watch and I don’t carry a cell phone so I am always searching for a clock or having to ask somebody, “What time is it?”
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“What time is it.” This is an important question for the apostle Paul in our reading tonight. St. Paul proposes a new way of ordering time, a new way for Christians that is. Time is ordered by salvation. And Paul encourages the Roman Christians and us with the words, “ Salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed.” This is still true for us, 2000 years down the pike from Paul’s day. It is even more true for us. Yes, Paul was closer to that main event in human history, Christ’s first advent and his death and resurrection. But we are closer to Christ Second Advent, where he will return for both the living and the dead. What time is it? We are in the “In-between” time. Between salvation and salvation. Between Advent and Advent.

We know what time it is. Not by looking at a watch or the fading sun in the sky, but by the light shone on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We have been given supernatural time-sensing abilities. We have been given new eyes of faith to see what appears to be foolishness to the world. When the world sees darkness, we see light. We perceive day, when the world sees night.

What time is it? “The night is almost gone and the day is near.” That sounds like an “in-between” time to me. It’s daybreak. The sun has pierced darkness. But for us it is both night and day, at the same time. It is both darkness and light at the same time. And we are both sinner and saint at the same time.
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Even though we know the time, we like to stay asleep in the deeds of darkness. The Son has shone in our hearts indeed, but we often feel quite comfortable and cozy in the warm bed we have made for ourselves and are content to keep hitting the snooze button, thank you very much.

When you are asleep, you are not aware of anything. You have no idea what time it is. You are unconcerned about what’s going on around you, about your duties and responsibilities. Your eyes are closed; you can’t even see what is right in front of you. When Christians fall asleep, we become unconcerned about eternal matters. Oh, we’re very active about earthly matters. Our lives are filled with all kinds of concerns and pressing matters that consume our thoughts as we snore away in spiritual sleep.

This is always the struggle though. You remember in the Garden, Jesus asked the disciples to watch and pray. Jesus always knew what time it was. He said ‘The Hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” But the disciples couldn’t even stay awake. They grew weary. They gave into temptation and fell asleep when they should have been watching, praying and aware of what time it was. Sound familiar?

What time is it? It is the hour for us to awaken from our sleep. This can go one of two ways. Imagine your alarm goes off and you are late for an important meeting. Terror. Dread. Adrenaline. Now imagine your alarm goes off and it is the first day of your holiday and you are headed out to some exotic locale. Or the feeling you got as a child when you woke up and it was finally your birthday or Christmas. Excitement. Anticipation. Exhilaration.

That is our hope. We do not awake to dread, we have died to judgement through Christ. We awake to life and salvation. We are THE morning people. To know God’s hour is to be awake. We walk in the light as he is in the light. Our salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Let us cast off from ourselves those ugly deeds of darkness – drunkenness, sexual immorality, jealously, and their other nefarious friends who cater to the flesh and its lusts.
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We know what time it is and we know who we are. We are the ones who are clothed in the armor of the light, that is, clothed in Christ himself at our baptism. Though we remain both sinner and saint, we have our Jesus Coat on. When the father sees us, He sees us completely covered by the shining brilliance of His Son, who died and rose again for our sins. In baptism, we participated with Christ in His death and resurrection. It is our daily dress, our daily attire. This grace that washed over us at our baptism continues to keep us in the Lord Jesus Christ as we await his Second coming. It is continual, daily. Yet we see that the Christian life doesn’t come without a battle.

What time is it? It is time for a fight, between sinner and saint. Between darkness and light, between day and night. We have put on this mysterious battle gear, the armor of light (Eph 6) – which is righteousness, salvation, faith, the Spirit – as we daily clash with the forces of darkness. We also have fellow soldiers and the church. Our only hope, our only lifeline, is provided through the church.

Look around. Outside it is dark, but in here, the church, the light is shining. We, who are in the church, have been enlightened and armored by Christ. Our faith appears to be foolishness to the world, but it is the very gift of God given to us by the Spirit. In Christ, we live and move and have our being. We know that the battle has been won.

But appearances can be deceiving. We know that on that first Easter morning, the Son broke into the horizon, to vanquish the darkness, but from our perspective, there is still darkness around us. That is why this community of new creations, right here, is the most important place for you to be in the world.

We know that without a doubt, Christ is really present. Right here. Christ said, “Where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of you.” Christ comes to you through his Word. Know that right now, at this very time and at this very hour, Christ is present for you. Know that your sins are forgiven. And know that Christ is present through His Spirit in that forgiveness.

As soldiers of the light, we march through the valley of the shadow of death but we fear no evil. We know that despite appearances, we are in the light and we battle the darkness as we wait for the full revelation of God’s glory on the last day.
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So we keep pressing on to that day. Luther says “to advance is always a matter of beginning anew.” We new creations are always beginning anew. Don’t sweat the struggle. That will always be there. We live in that struggle. When you need to worry is when there is no struggle. That is a sure sign of someone who is asleep. We, however walk wide-awake in the light. Christ dwells in us and daily conforms us to his will. We let the power of the Gospel have its way.
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You know what time it is. Daylight seems to be in short supply, but really now is the day of victory. And you know who you are. You may at times look like a snoring sinner, but know that you are Christ’s own, clothed in the gift of his armor of light. And you know your hope. It is nothing that this world provides, but is seen only though holy eyes. Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. A day is coming better than any holiday or birthday. Every day brings us closer to the return of Christ when our struggle against the works darkness will be no more.
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Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Church marks 750th year with beer

2009-11-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

Awesome.

Friday, November 27, 2009, 23:00

CELEBRATIONS to mark an East Devon church's 750th birthday will take place next week.

Ottery St Mary Parish Church will celebrate 750 years on Friday, December 4, with a candlelit service led by the Bishop of Exeter, the Right Rev Michael Langrish.

The service, which begins at 7.30pm, will reflect on the church's past, celebrate its present role and look to the next 750 years.

The church choir will be joined by choirs from other local churches at this communion service.

After the service, there will be refreshments available including a beer, The Bronescombe Ale, brewed for the occasion by O'Hanlon's Brewery, Whimple.

The beer has been named after Bishop Walter Bronescombe who, on the feast of St Andrew in 1259, arrived in Ottery St Mary and dedicated the Church of Sancte Marie de Otery.

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also this is cool:

Church ales were events, not drinks, fundraising happenings designed to raise money for the parish: similar fundraisers by newly married couples were called “bride ales”, from which, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, our modern word “bridal” is derived.

”Bridal”, now an adjective, was originally a noun, “bride ale”, meaning “wedding feast”, with “ale”, the drink word, taking on the extended meaning of “celebration”. The same semantic extension is seen in the Irish expression for feasting, “coirm agus ceol”, which literally means “ale and song” (well, what else does a celebration consist of?).

2009-11-24T07:21:00.000-08:00

England is flooding. We are planning for our trip to Portugal, Spain, and Morrocco.
Rain, rain, and tea drinking. Sermon writing, scripture reading, music and bike riding, chips, and classical music, evensong, train, bus and all that.

Saw the film "The white Ribbon." I don't really know what I think about it. I'm glad I wasn't a Lutheran in Germany in the 19teens.

Holy habits: or Hooray for Piety!

2009-11-22T14:52:00.001-08:00

Bible study #2. This is is a compilation (thievery) of resources from Revs Bachman, Weedon, Peperkorn and Egret and my own study and the Treasury of Daily Prayer.
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Intro: try to list as many things that you can think of that you do everyday. Habits, routines.

What are Holy habits?
Praying is for the Christian is like breathing is for the rest of humanity.

But before the daily routines, let’s see the big picture: Church year (advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter..), the week (Sunday to Sunday), the day (sunup to sundown, the hours).

Meditation during the week flows from and towards the Divine Service, wherein we receive those other tangible gifts: the Sacraments of Absolution and Holy Communion.

Cycles:

PRAYER

Jesus:
40 days in wilderness
Sought a quiet place to pray
He taught his disciples to pray
After the Last Supper, sung a hymn, prayed in Gethsemane
Prayed from the cross.
He intercedes for us now.

Matthew 6:6-7
6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Is prayer an option?
“'when' you pray" from Matt 6

How do we pray?
The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and He gave them a set prayer to use: the Lord’s Prayer
“Pray then like this…” (Matt 6:9).

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise” (Ps 51:15).

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How often should we pray?
The OT set out a pattern of evening and morning prayers at the tabernacle, and the Jews who could not attend would pray at the same hours, with set prayers.

From the Psalms, we see certain patterns:
“O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.” (Ps. 88.2)
“I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your Word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your Word.” (Ps. 119.147-148)
“Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.” (Ps. 119.164)

ELSEWHERE IN SCRIPTURE
Acts 2:42 - 4And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and THE prayers.
In Acts 2.42, the Early Church devoted themselves to “THE Prayers,” implying a set order of prayer.

“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour” (Acts 3:1).
Rom 12:12 - Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
I thess 5:17 - pray without ceasing
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Benefits?
-Prayer is to the Christian what breathing is to a human.
-keep in communication with God
-grounds us in faith

Traditional prayer
-No need to “reinvent the wheel”
-No need to be a brilliant writer or speaker
-No need for “Wejustwanna” prayers
-Is grounded in God’s Word
-Is meditative
-Praying with the Church as a whole
-Go beyond “O Lord, woncha buy me…”

Monks
Liturgy of the Hours
Matins/Lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, vespers, compline
Monks and nuns prayed/chanted all 150 Psalms each week
Continuous readings from Scripture, the fathers of the Church, and hymns
Use of a Breviary
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Reformation-era daily prayer
Matins (Morning Prayer)
Vespers (Evening Prayer)
Compline (was reintroduced later)
Catechism Prayers - Morning, evening, at meals

Also now, the short orders for individuals and families, etc.,

IMPORTANCE OF DAILY PRAYER LIFE
Luther
Small Cat: Daily prayers p 30 (APPENDIX B)

STRUCTURE
Cross self – When we make the sign of the cross, what we are doing is A) remembering our Baptism; B) Remembering Jesus’ death for our sins; C) Confessing to the world that I am not ashamed to be known as a disciple of Jesus; and D) Holding up the cross of Christ as the central core of my identity.
Read scripture –Daily lectionary (in LSB) LOOK AT IT
Luther’s prayers in Small Cat Daily Prayer
Weedon’s prayers. HAND OUT (Appendix A)
(Are written prayers ok? - Mostly straight from Scripture. "it is far better to pray from the riches of God’s grace than from the poverty of our hearts." - Bonhoeffer.)

**Make a list (index card or scrap paper will do) of people you want to pray for. Family members, pastor, church, godchildren, the nation and leaders, the sick, suffering, mourning; finally, your own struggles and needs.

-The Jesus Prayer."Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me [literally!] THE sinner." I use this prayer often, especially when driving. But as I pray it over and over again, I see the faces of the different people I am praying for and I pray that prayer as one with them.

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The greatest challenge is not to lose sight of the objectivity of the Word.
Christian meditation, Christian spirituality is oral and tangible.
We do not experience God in the silence of our hearts; and while we can marvel at the power of God and discern His glory from creation, we cannot know His will from beholding a sunset, mountain, or ocean.
We only know His will from His Word.

SPEAKING OUT LOUD
So when you are meditating on the Word, speak the Psalms, Readings, and prayers out loud. When you are praying by yourself, you simply say (or sing) all the parts yourself. Nothing else changes. Still speak out loud, unless it would not be acceptable. In those cases, even if you can move your mouth and whisper very quietly, do that.
This does several things:

-It compels you to slow down so that you are not flying through things without really praying and listening.

-Through engaging not just the mind but the mouth and the ear, more of the body becomes engaged and thus the Word becomes more memorable.

-Pray as though someone were listening; God just might be!

-The Word of God, and especially the Name of JESUS, drives the demons away and causes angels to rejoice. Name the Name of JESUS wherever you are; at the Name of JESUS every knee must bow.

-Luther: “You should meditate [on the Scriptures], that is, not only in your heart, but also externally, by repeating the written words externally and rubbing them (like a herb for its flavor), reading and rereading them with diligent attention and reflection, so that you may see what the Holy Spirit means by them.”

“Spiritual” does not mean intangible; in Christian thinking, it is not the opposite of physical. That which is Spiritual is that which is of and from the Holy Spirit. So for something to be Spiritual, it is something done in, by, or for us by the Holy Spirit. And the HS works through the means of Word and Sacrament. So don’t look for “spirituality” in an inward meditation of mind-clearing, deprivation, or silence. Look for spirituality where the HS is: in the Word (and in the Sacraments)
The HS is our Teacher, and He teaches us about Christ through His Word. Not mental guidance or immediate illumination, but faith and guidance through the Scriptures, which are external to ourselves.

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Setting the Stage:

* Make a commitment to daily prayer
* Schedule a time or times, either by the clock or by daily landmarks (e.g., after you get up, after breakfast, before lunch, 10pm, before bed)
* Communicate with others in your family what time you want to pray as a group
* There will be days when you miss it because life intruded, you were lazy, sinful, sick, etc. Don’t worry or let that cause total failure. Simply start again at the right place. No need to obsess about "catching up." Don't sweat it; the goal is to be faithful in praying, not to "keep score."

* Don’t try to do too much – better to do something, however small, than to set yourself up for failure and guilt. Luther’s advises to on start simply instead of trying to do too much.

Additionally:
* If you can, find a quiet place and quiet time.
-feel free to light a candle, or set up an area with a crucifix or icon.
* Turn off TV, radio
* Close doors if noise might distract you
* Turn off cell phone, email notifications
* Agree that you will not answer the phone. Let it go to voicemail. It can wait.
Don’t rush.
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Prayer is difficult
“Devotion” is so called because it requires devotion, dedication, discipline. The cares of the world, distractions, and sometimes the sinful thoughts that it doesn’t really matter or that nothing really changes can make us give up quickly.

The Fathers spoke of the “exercise of piety,” and like bodily exercise, playing an instrument, mathematics or foreign languages, if we do not keep on exercising, practicing, reviewing, we will lose what we had, and so the last state is worse than the first.
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APPENDIX A

Daily Intercessions
O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely upon Your holy will. In every hour of the day reveal Your will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that come to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that your will governs all. In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by You. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will, teach me to pray, and You yourself pray in me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son , and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen
O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, in Your mercies and lovingkindness You regard the humble prayers of all who call upon You with their whole heart; incline Your ear and hear now my prayer, offered to You in humility:

Be Mindful, O Lord, of Your Holy, Christian and Apostolic Church; confirm and strengthen her, increase her and keep her in peace, and preserve her unconquerable forever.

Be mindful, O Lord, of my pastor, (your pastor's name), and of all the clergy of the Church, which You have established to feed the flock on Your word; and by their prayers have mercy upon me and save me, a sinner.

Be mindful, O Lord, of all civil authorities, of our armed forces, of this place in which we reside, and of every city and the countryside; grant them peaceful times, that we, in their tranquility, may lead a calm and peaceful life in all godliness and sanctity.

Be mindful, O Lord, of my parents,(their names), of my brothers and sisters,(their names), of relatives,(their names), and of my friends,(their names); grant that they may have mercy, life, peace, health, salvation and visitation, pardon and remission of their sins; that they may ever praise and glorify Your Holy Name.

Be mindful, O Lord, of those who travel by land, by sea, and by air; of the old and young, the sick, the suffering, the sorrowing, the afflicted, the captives, the needy and the poor; and upon them all send forth Your mercies, for You are the Giver of all good things.

Be mindful, O Lord, of me, Your humble servant; grant me Your grace, that I may be diligent and faithful, avoiding evil company and influence, resisting temptation; that I may lead a godly and righteous life, blameless and peaceful, ever serving You; and grant me at last the grace of entering the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.

For a spouse - My bountiful God, I beseech You, listen to my humble prayer, that I may ever feel that the married state is holy and that I must keep it holy. Grant Your grace that I may never sin against the faithfulness and love of this marriage. Foster between “Name” and me the spirit of understanding and of peace, that no strife, quarrel or misunderstanding, may arise between us. Grant us health and our daily bread, whereby we may serve You more. Amen.

For children - O God, our heavenly Father, You love mankind, and are most merciful and compassionate, have mercy upon our children, Your servants, (their names), for whom I humbly pray You, and commend them to Your gracious protection. Be, O God, their guide and guardian in all their endeavors; lead them in the path of Your truth, and draw them near to You, that they may lead a godly and righteous life in Your love and fear; doing Your will in all matters. Give them grace that they may be temperate, industrious, diligent, devout and charitable. Defend them against the assaults of the enemy, and grant them wisdom and strength to resist all temptation and corruption of this life; and direct them in the way of salvation, for the merits of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
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APPENDIX B

Daily Prayers

How the head of the family should teach his household to pray morning and evening
Morning Prayer.

1] In the morning, when you rise, you shall bless yourself with the holy cross and say:
In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

2] Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. If you choose, you may, in addition, say this little prayer:

I thank Thee, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray Thee to keep me this day also from sin and all evil, that all my doings and life may please Thee. For into Thy hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Thy holy angel be with me, that the Wicked Foe may have no power over me. Amen.

3] Then go to your work with joy, singing a hymn, as the Ten Commandments, or what your devotion may suggest.

Evening Prayer.

4] In the evening, when you go to bed, you shall bless yourself with the holy cross and say: In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

5] Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. If you choose, you may, in addition, say this little prayer:

I thank Thee, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy dear Son, that Thou hast graciously kept me this day, and I pray Thee to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Thy hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Thy holy angel be with me, that the Wicked Foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Then go to sleep promptly and cheerfully.

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Sources:
http://lutheranlogomaniac.com/?p=584#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-do-we-make-the-sign-of-the-cross
http://cyberbrethren.com/2009/05/08/daily-prayers-you-may-find-helpful/
http://esgetology.com/2009/05/26/treasury-of-daily-prayer-workshop/
http://cyberbrethren.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/divine_office.pdf

beep beep

2009-11-18T09:16:00.003-08:00

Anybody have any music recommendations? I like music that goes: wee woo wee ooo KKKKKKKKZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRR beep beep boo nee nu nee nu WOW WOW DUP DUP DUP. etc.

Cambridge people are smart. I like the ones that are Christians. It is odd to have theology profs that do not believe. The Bible is not just Shakespeare. For the most part lectures are good. Balance and all that. I really enjoy the study. I don't think Academia is my schtick though. It will be good to be a pastor someday.

I am working on a bible study. I will post it.