Pastor’s Notes

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

            As I type this I am thanking God for the free gym membership.  I am enrolled in the “Shoveling Aerobics Class.”  I get to bend my back, twist my body as I throw snow, work on my lung capacity in winter weather and avoid slipping on ice.  So far the instructor says I am doing a good job.  I would like to be in another class!

            I am a planner.  I probably got this from my parents.  In life this sometimes serves me well and at other times not so well.  See I was already planning for my “Shoveling Aerobics Class” back in the fall.  I always make sure I cut the grass short around the driveway and sidewalks so that when it comes time to push the snow that direction it makes the job easier.  Also, with two snowstorms subsequent weekends, my planning was again a gift I got to use.  I made sure the snow and ice were cleared as round two made its way in.  I was out in our driveway moving snow at least every other day as storm #2 approached.  If you do a little, then it saves from having to do a lot.  See, I am learning as I get older.

            So, you can see, planning can be a good thing.  But as I already stated it can also be a not-so-good thing.  When you are planner, and your plans don’t go as you have laid them out, it can be bothersome.  And the complaining comes and the whining and Lord please get me out of winter.  He laughs at us His foolish children.  God is a planner too – I’ve always loved that about Him!  He planned for His Son to burst into the world through a virgin.  He planned for this child to be perfect.  He planned that this human being would come and die for all the other human beings of all time.  He would go to the cross for all the foolish and silly planners.  The disruptions He brought upset a lot of plans.  The plan would continue with a resurrection and a completed plan of salvation.  The plan from the beginning was now being fulfilled.

            I know it would help me to remember this when plans don’t go according to plan.  You too?  Isaiah reminds us “His ways (plans) are not my ways (plans.)”  Thank God for that. 

            Now hand me a shovel, class is about to start again!

In Christ,

Pastor

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

One of the sayings in the church or maybe we should say used to be in the church is this:  “C and E Christians.”  Do you know what this means?  The C stands for Christmas and the E for Easter.  The idea behind the saying is that some Christians only came to worship on Christmas and Easter.  “Why do they always sing ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Jesus Christ is Risen Today’ don’t they know anything else?”

 

In the last 10 years the C and E Christian is becoming extinct.  While not consistently worshipping these souls were at least hearing the Gospel a couple of times a year.  The good news of sins forgiven and an eternity beyond our existence on earth could provide hope for them.  As Scripture says, “How can they believe if they do not hear?”  It is more of a challenge. There are less funeral services where the Law lies in the casket through death but Christ gives peace and comfort.  How many are not hearing this message because of rapid cultural changes?

 

From the very beginning of his life the Savior was someone to see.  “Magi…came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews?  We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’” (Matt. 2:1-2)  Worship Him.  This is what we do with the One who gave His life for us.  It is the faith we carry daily.  It is in our prayers.  It is strengthened in the hearing of His Word and the eating and drinking of His body and blood.

 

Have drifted even farther from your C and E life?  Your Savior longs to see you.  He longs to talk with you.  He longs to provide you His grace and mercy.  He waits for you with open arms.

 

Your church family is praying for you, as am I.  “Come to worship Him.”  See you in His House.

 

 

In Christ’s Love,

 

Pastor Lueck

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We know what a hard place this world is to live in.  We text angry.  We tweet angry.  We drive angry.  We even live and work angry.  The frustration level of the populace is about ready to burst into one huge screaming match.  Or is it there already?

Sometimes in this jumbled mess of a society the Lord gives us a little solace.  I recently went to one of our Senior Living Communities to visit a few of our members.  Not only was it great to visit with our brothers and sisters and talk about their faith, but also it was a pleasure just to walk around.  Everyone in the hallways says, “hello or hi” they may have a walker or a cane but they have joy in their heart and are willing to engage in pleasant conversation.  I rode the elevator and didn’t get stuck!  Even one of the workers’s made me smile when she thought I was one of the resident’s grandsons instead of their son.  Thank you Lord!  It all reminded me of a world we would like to live in.  Like I say some day’s it is hard just to leave the house.

It all was a reminder of what we have when we worship together.  It is a couple hour respite from the “angry” world where we are nurtured and fed and prepared to face another week.  People say things like “good morning” and “Lord be with you” and “I’m praying for you.”  People smile and have joy in the fellowship of fellow believers.  Our worship life is permanent, lasting, and true – something we all need from the 100 – year old parishioner to the newborn baby.

An LCMS Pastor named John Fiene said this, “When we show people that we are grateful to God for the rich theological heritage we have received in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, people are eager and anxious to become part of us.  It is hard to teach doctrinal substance in a short period of time, but the more we stand in contrast to society, the more the Gospel seems to break into people’s consciousness as an ‘other-worldly’ truth.  Through all this formal, theological, sacramental ‘other-worldliness’ people are realizing a peace in their hearts that cannot be easily described or explained.”

Don’t give up this peace and strength and permanence.  I know all of you reading this experience the “hard times” of life.  The Lord is calling to you, speaking to you, come join your brothers and sisters in consistent worship and study of God’s Word.  It is something down deep you know you need.  I pray that the Holy Spirit works this for you.

Find solace in the arms of Jesus.  See you in church!

In Christ,

Pastor

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As human beings we are a funny and confusing people.  When we are kids we want to mature to be able to do things that adults can do.  When we reach a certain age as adults we want to be kids again.

When I was a young man I was always striving to “play with the big boys.”  One of my uncles is 12 years older than I am.  When we would be at my grandma’s he had a group of friends that would play basketball at the local LCMS School.  I remember this from a young age and still recall when my uncle asked if I wanted to play.  I thought I had made the “big time.”  I had matured to the point where I could compete with fellas older than I was.

The other instance was on the other side of my family.  When we got together on Christmas Eve it was eating, gift opening and then the adults played cards.  Being the oldest cousin I was put in charge of the other cousins.  A nice, mature responsibility to be sure, but I wanted at that card table.  I finally made it and all of this played into my maturity, responsibility, and independence.

Paul writes this to the Colossians, “Him (Jesus) we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”  This is what we strive for.  To have a faith that trusts in our Savior.  We don’t want to be that infant crying when things don’t go our way.  We want a faith that stands tall, that doesn’t break down when the valleys come.  A certain maturity that comes with experience.

At the same time we don’t want to lose the “child-like” faith that Scripture talks about.  This is the danger because as adults we see so much, we deal with so much, we can become cynical and jaded and our trust can erode.  The beauty is that the Holy Spirit can lead us down a path of a child-like faith with maturity.  Our faith plays with “the big boys” and we have a seat at the table.

Prayerfully we are always growing which lasts a lifetime.  Just look at what the Lord has taught you in just the last year.  By virtue of our Baptism into Christ we can be what the Lord wants us to be – mature Christians with wisdom proclaiming Christ and Him crucified.

In Christ,

Pastor Lueck

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Adult Bible Class recently concluded a study entitled, “A Matter of the Heart:  Comfort From God’s Word in Hard Times.”  I began the class by asking everyone what they equate with “hard times.”  Some of the answers were:  financial challenges or loss, marital problems, the misbehavior of children, job loss or job unhappiness, a faith crisis, physical ailments that don’t seem to get better, death of a loved one, and a family relationship that has gone sour.  What would you add to the list?  How would you define a “hard time” in your life?

Did Jesus have hard times?  Many people would say no because after all He is God and He knows and controls everything.  That misses who Jesus was.  Yes, he was divine, but he was also human.  He had friends die.  He was dismissed by his hometown.  His closest allies ran as fast as they could away from him when it looked like they would be associated with him.  His teachings were always being disputed.  He stated, “the Son of Man had nowhere to lay his head.”  Yes, Jesus had times when things did not go his way.  He can relate to you and I.

This Son of Man came “to seek and save the lost.”  This Son of Man came “to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Jesus is there in all of our times not just our “hard times.”  He hears our prayers and answers according to His Will.  He is always there as a caring, loving Savior.

I pray that your “hard times” strengthen your faith and draw you closer to your Savior.

In Christ,

Pastor

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is always a blessing to be able to celebrate milestones.  It reminds us how our Lord has been good to us and how His grace and mercy and love pervade our lives.  We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and baptisms and retirements and graduations.

This month we are giving thanks to God for half of our church building paid for.  Is this something to celebrate knowing that we still have $1 million left on our mortgage?  I believe it is.  For those of you who have been around since we built what were your thoughts when you saw a $1.8 million building with cost overruns of $200,000?  Did you freak out at $2 million?  Did you quietly ponder the enormity of it with the size of our congregation?  Did you have faith in our Lord and His gracious hand to provide?  A combination of all of these?

If you have been an adult for any length of time you know debt.  College debt.  Mortgage debt.  Car loans.  Credit cards.  You know I don’t like debt.  Unfortunately to live in the world it is almost unavoidable.  On the other hand I know the blessings the Lord provides.  A vehicle to get around in.  A home with a hot shower (most of the time!).  A future for our boys because of college.  We could look at this upcoming year two ways:  2 kids in college –yikes! Or we can see how the Lord has provided for one and how He will lead us with two.  We just studied this recently in a family gathering and we can move forward with trust in our gracious Lord.

That is what Good Shepherd did in 2000.  We moved forward with trust in our gracious Lord.  It hasn’t always been easy or without some minor challenges but I hope we all see the bigger picture here.  It takes time and patience to pay down debt.  This is the beauty of Jesus.  He is patient with us.  He could have demanded something from us, but He didn’t.  He took all of our debt of lack of trust and other sins and paid for it with his bloodied body on the cross.  He then promises an eternal future with no more payments of any kind.  The eternal home is ours – debt free and for eternity!

I’ve said this in a sermon before, but what I want on my headstone is this:  “He never paid a finance charge.”  Not just financially but theologically as well.  The Lord paid it all for me.  He paid it all for us.

What about the $1 million left?  We can look forward to that celebration.  The Lord knows – oh, He knows.  His plans are greater than ours.  Trust that.

In Christ,

Pastor