Return to your Baptism…each day.

Posted on July 29, 2014 by theoldadam

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“As your days, so shall your strength be.”  Dueternomy 33:25

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A man once laughingly observed to a friend, “God has extremely high regard for my capacity to endure hardship; for hardship is pretty much all I know!”

As we stand on the threshold of a new and untried day, we do not know what this day will bring. Will it bring good? Will it bring unwelcome misfortune and hardship? Perhaps it will bring both. It’s probably best to not dwell too much on these questions as we make preparation to enter the day. Instead, God invites us to dwell on His promises.

He has promised to give strength for every need. He has promised that no burden is too great for us to bear because we have Him. He has promised to those who belong to Him that He will work all things for our good.

With these promises going before us we may enter the day with gratitude, anticipating the opportunities it brings; the chance to provide daily bread, be with friends, share the love of family, enjoy our interests and serve others where we may.

When hardships come it may be more difficult to see our Lord at work in them. Faith may falter. When this happens we are invited to return to our baptism and kneel at the foot of the Cross, under the steadfast love of the Redeemer who gave Himself for us. There we are reminded that no trial, suffering, discouragement or hardship fall outside the vast perimeter of God’s grace.

Therefore, we may step across the threshold of each day in the sure and certain knowledge that we are held in the baptismal promises of God; and that the story that will be written, even this day, will be the story of God’s faithfulness to us – in all things.

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“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

                          – Pastor Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed under: Baptism, Hardships and joy, Pastor Mark Anderson's blog | 2 Comments »

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

Posted on July 28, 2014 by theoldadam

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He made them up. He made them, ‘over the top’.

Why?

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 Listen to > The Parables of Jesus

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Thank you, Pastor Mark.

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Thanks to WikiArt.org, for the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

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Romans 5:2

Posted on July 27, 2014 by theoldadam

 

“Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.”

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I had given her a book to read which layed out a Lutheran understanding of the Christian faith. She came from a Christian church which placed much emphasis on works, on gaining spiritual ground in this life which would translate into rewards in the next. After finishing the book she came back to see me. Her comment? “You Lutherans have it too easy. Everything depends on grace.”

This young woman is not alone in her assessment. Strange at may seem to those of us who have been nurtured in a church where grace is central, many Christians are suspicious of reliance on grace. One Christian has gone so far as to call the Lutheran Church a “grace cult”.

When Paul wrote the Christians in Rome, whom he had never met, he anticipated their objections to his message of grace when he wrote, “What shall we say? That we sin all the more so grace will abound all the more”? Paul must have run into this question a thousand times.

Paul knew full well that grace seems easy and bland, a cop out, only to those who do not fully appreciate the gravity of sin, who have not seriously tried to meet the demands of God’s law. God does not grade on the curve. Have you tried, really tried to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and you neighbor as yourself? How about striving for righteousnes, purity of heart?

Paul did and so did Martin Luther. And what happened? They pursued a ‘godly life’ with such fervor that it drove them to the wall. They came to see the towering righteousness of God as an impossible mountain to climb.

Now, it is “… through Him that we obtain access to this grace in which we stand.” Grace has not come to us at some bargain basement price. It is not a cheap remedy for a bland illness. Grace has come through Him, through the crucified and risen Jesus. Blood was shed. A death occurred. A funeral took place. Wonderul, beautiful Jesus was cast away like so much unwanted trash. That is the cost of grace.

Those who object to the sufficiency of grace have yet to appreciate the gravity of their sin and the greatness of Christ. But when these two meet, then we can truly rejoice and proclaim from the rooftops, “Everything depends on grace!”

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“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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From Pastor Mark’s daily devotional blog, 2012

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Thank you, Pastor Mark.

 

 

 

 

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Filed under: Grace, Pastor Mark Anderson's blog, Romans | 2 Comments »

“Love”

Posted on July 26, 2014 by theoldadam

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I posted this class a while back, but I was listening to it again yesterday and thought it worthy of reposting:

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 Listen to > “Love”

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Thank you, Pastor Mark.

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Thanks to wehacklife.com, for the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Do NOT miss this discussion of “free-will”

Posted on July 22, 2014 by theoldadam

Thank you, Pastor Mark!

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 Listen to > So-called, “free-will”

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It’s connected to Chapter 10 in Paulson’s book.

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Take a good, long, sober look at the world…and at yourself…

Posted on July 21, 2014 by theoldadam

 

Would you rather squint your eyes at the lights at night and see a make believe wonderland? Or open them wide and see reality as it is?

Reality is what we need to see, as hard as it may be at times.

But there is a greater reality that we can’t see. One that we can hear…and taste…and receive in faith and hope.

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Pastor Mark’s sermon for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost:

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 Listen to > The Bad…and Good of Reality in this World

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Thank you, Pastor Mark.

 

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Thanks to nicolearnoldphoto.com, for the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

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“The State of the Promise”

Posted on July 17, 2014 by theoldadam

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Pastor Mark teaches in Steven Paulson’s book, “Lutheran Theology”, … Chapter 10, ‘The State of the Promise ‘.

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Another heavy dose of the radical gospel and  the Theology of the Cross:

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 Listen > The State of the Promise – Chapter 10

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Thank you, Pastor Mark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed under: Pastor Mark Anderson, Pastor's class, Steven Paulson's new book, The Promises of God - Chapter 10 | Leave a comment »

The Sermon on the Mount

Posted on July 11, 2014 by theoldadam

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The sixth chapter of Matthew’s gospel contains a portion of what has been called “the Sermon on the Mount”. In that chapter there are three verses in which Jesus speaks of praying, fasting and almsgiving in secret. So far, so good. The King James translation, however, adds a word to the end of these verses. That word is ‘openly’. The formula in which the word appears can be represented by verse 4; “…and thy Father which seest in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Modern translations do not contain the word ‘openly’. In fact the earliest manuscripts, from the second, third and fourth centuries upon which modern translations are based, do not contain the word openly. It was added at a later date. Why?

I believe it has something to do with the perpetual need to resolve the tension between hiddenness and openness in the Christian life. Consider this. Our society was profoundly shaped by what has been termed the ‘ Protestant ethic’. The Protestant ethic states simply, to use Matthew’s words, if I pray, give alms and fast (as sincere acts of Christian piety) I will be rewarded with prosperity. Therefore you can tell who the serious Christians are by how prosperous their lives are. This is simple but it makes the point. God openly rewards the sincerely pious. This permeates the churches like ink in the water. It’s everywhere.

But a careful reading of the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7 in Matthew) reveals that openness and hiddenness are in constant tension. And this tension is reflective of the very nature of the Incarnation. Jesus was visible. He walked and talked, ate lunch, did miracles and so forth. Some saw Him and confessed, “He is the Son of God!” Others took a look and dismissed Him as another cheap street magician. The divine presence was not obvious.

So in the sacraments we have very visible elements; water, bread and wine. You can feel them, touch them and taste them. But hidden within them are the Holy Spirit, the body and blood of Jesus Christ. And if you talk about the sacraments as invisible you’ve missed it. At the same time if you talk about the sacraments as obviously proving the presence of God you’ve also missed it.

What all this means for me is that the Christian has no reason to expect that our living of the Christian life is going to be any more obvious than was Jesus’ own life. For the world is not going to look at the Church and exclaim, ‘My you are so absolutely gorgeous, I must sign up. Count me in.’ Among the many implications of this awareness is one that stands apart. If the Church is going to bear witness to the faith, then it must speak the name of Jesus Christ and tell the story of what He has done for a sinful world. Attempts to resolve the tension within the Christian life only result in taking the focus off Jesus and placing it on ourselves.  This we cannot and must not do. _

 

“May the peace of god that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”     –  ____________________________________________________________________________________ –

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From Pastor Mark Anderson’s daily devotional blog, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 Corinthians 6

Posted on July 11, 2014 by theoldadam

 

“We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

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We live in a world that is uncertain and unstable and this critical situation can become defining of everything. But neither the challenging world or our broken lives are the last reality. We do not have to spend ourselves in endless efforts to remain in control. Jesus tried hard to impress this on His hearers. He still does.

When Jesus reduced all the commandments to the simple and concrete love of God and the neighbor, He pointed us to a Kingdom within the darkened world, the light of which addresses universally the true hopes and aspirations of all people. The Kingdom of God, therefore, most passionately proclaimed through the Cross of Jesus, appeals to us to live in the freedom which creates the capacity to live within the sobriety of God’s kingdom – the kingdom for others – a kingdom at odds with the world, superior to it and destined to prevail.

If you find the Christian life perplexing, unsatisfying or even boring, the solution may not be as difficult to come by as you think. For, the Christian life is not about self protectionism, lived primarily inwardly. The Christian life is lived outwardly (for the sake of others). This is the great freedom of the Christian: that we may live without any self-consciousness, trusting in God’s grace alone, expecting nothing, yet having everything.

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“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

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From Pastor Mark Anderson’s daily devotional blog, 2013.

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Thanks to wooderice.com, for the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jesus speaks out against religion

Posted on July 7, 2014 by theoldadam

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Pastor Mark’s sermon for the 4th Sunday after Pentecost:

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 Listen to > Jesus speaks against “religion”

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Thank you, Pastor Mark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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