Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
Let's set the scene: Jesus is on his way to heal a daughter of a leader of the local synagogue who is very sick. On his way he hears people from the leaders house say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" (Mark 5:35) This instance has occurred many times over in our churches. Upon reaching confirmation less and less kids seem to make it to church. Maybe you've heard the reasons: busy, AAU, too tired to make it, parents don't require it, or there isn't anything here for them. I can assure you the list gets longer and longer. Our youth programs may seem "dead" or inactive. Some churches decide it is not worth the time and effort to keep youth programs going. While playing the blame game for who is at fault I think it is important to witness to what God is doing and can do through our youth. This week the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will undergo its National Youth Gathering. Over 30,000 people will head to Houston to praise God and serve those in need. These National Youth Gathering mark a true apex for any high school student and their church experience. People will be fed and clothed, houses will be repaired, and relationships will be built on in the name of Jesus Christ. So how do we connect this as a church to Sunday service? What can the church do to make itself relevant for a 16 year old all year round rather than once every three years? "Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."" (Mark 5:36) Jesus does not give up on the girl even when it seems she is dead. Instead Jesus wakes her from her deep slumber and gives her a new life. We must not give up on our youth. We must also understand that for any church to reach out to youth of our congregation we must meet them where they are. If we truly proclaim that Jesus love changes everything (the theme for this year's gathering) then it is important to see how the church's view and treatment of youth must change too. What does that look like? That is a point worth pondering not only this week, but also this summer as we gear up for Sunday School in the fall. P.S. I hope to give updates on my Facebook page of our time at the Youth Gathering.
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In case you didn’t know, did not see on Facebook or other social media outlets, or slept straight through the past few days, last Sunday was Father’s Day. (I will admit I was a day late on giving my dad the ‘Happy Father’s Day!’ call. In honor of Father’s Day I want to give a shout out to the non-biological fathers out there by talking about Joseph, the stepfather of Christ. Joseph played a very vital role in at least the early life of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew starts out by listing Jesus’ genealogy. Guess who connects him to David? “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham…and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born.” – Matthew 1:1…1:16 (NRSV) The promised Messiah was meant to fulfill the promise given to King David that someone from his lineage will establish the throne forever (2 Sam 7). Jesus fulfills that criterion, but only through his stepfather Joseph. Joseph also seeks to protect his new born stepson and wife. Herod, out of fear of being overthrown, ordered all newborn males to be slaughtered in and around Bethlehem. Thanks to an angel’s warning to Joseph, he flees with Mary and Jesus to Egypt where they stay until King Herod’s death. (Matt 2:12-18) Upon returning to Israel Joseph, with an angel’s prompt, chooses to go to Galilee to once again keep his family safe from the current ruler who might also want his stepson, Jesus, to die (Matthew 2:19-23) As father of the house Joseph would have also been in charge of providing for his family. How amazing that God would choose this carpenter for such a job. He was not able to show his stepson Jesus a life of luxury and palaces, but instead would probably only have him interacting with lower class people (the type of people whom Jesus seemed to teach and tend to the most). Being a stepdad is not an easy job. There are plenty of people who have made a bad name for all stepdads, but there have also been a lot of great ones in history and today. What I am willing to stake for certain is that Joseph was a loving and protective father to Jesus. Jesus’ biological Father could never be topped, but Joseph did what he had to in order to nurture and protect a child without his DNA. Here’s to the great fathers out there! Here’s to the great stepdads! God blessings be to all who seek to be a father figure to the young minds of today! Points to Ponder:
Two things I disliked the most about going to church as a kid was long intercessory prayers and sermons. I did not like either because in my mind they were both extremely long and dragged on the church service which was getting in the way of me getting to go home and play video games or golf. I do not want to talk about prayers today (why mess up a possible future rambling?!), but I do want to talk about the importance of sermons to be listened to and to be listenable. Preaching is the spoken Word of God which is meant to inform, inspire, and guide followers to follow Christ and to reflect on where God might be calling them in their own lives. Preaching is not merely a speech, but rather an act of the Holy Spirit to make what the preacher speaks into something that instills faith. If you have ever felt inspired by a good sermon it is not the preacher who did this. Instead, it is the Holy Spirit working through them and through you that has brought on this spark. Last week’s rambling was focused on 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. While researching that same text I came upon this quote from The Interpreter’s Bible: “The preacher cannot do [their] work effectively unless [they are] given to serious study of the implications of the gospel in the life of the times, and is bent on making it as effective as [they] can in its impact on [their] fellow [humans]…and preaching misses its mark if it not relevant both to the content of the gospel and to the trends of the times, either as an inspiration or challenge or both.”[i] This quotation is very clear that sermons must be relevant unless one plans on missing the mark. A sermon must be informed by Scripture, but it cannot exist in a vacuum as if our daily lives and all its problems and joys do not exist. Karl Barth puts it this way: “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.” So where is the Holy Spirit in a boring sermon or an irrelevant sermon? This is a question that really began to bother me as I witnessed a church I love unable to take away anything from the pastor’s sermons. The big theological answer is simple: The Holy Spirit is everywhere. This answer is all in good but it still does not answer the question of why no one feels the Holy Spirit stirring inside them as they fall asleep through another boring sermon. Here is my take: God works through all things, but it won’t be noticed if you do not pay attention. The summer before my freshman year of college the pastor at my church got up in the pulpit and delivered a powerful sermon which I could no longer ignore. Through his sermon the Holy Spirit grabbed and inspired me to live out my faith. (It also was the first time I ever thought about becoming a pastor.) Since then I have had more open ears to those preaching. I follow better even when a preacher may be lobbing up a really boring and irrelevant dud. The point I am getting to is that God’s work through the spoken word must be tended to by both the preacher and the listener. The pastor must take their job seriously and interpret Scripture into today’s contexts, because (shocker!) the Bible is actually relevant! Also, the listener in the pew must not bury their head in their hands, watch the clock tick by, or tip their head back for a good snooze. Listen to God’s word and witness to Christ walking through the aisles of the church as the sermon is being preached. God is in our churches. God (should) be in the sermon. This is a call for both pastors and parishioners too seek it. Points to Ponder:
[i] The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 10, Pg. 106. I have made the language gender inclusive for this quote.
I have been running a lot lately which had my mind wonder to this passage from Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians: “ Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” (1 Cor. 9:24-27) Now this kind of passage could lead someone right down a hole where we “earn” God’s grace. Instead, I feel this text has a theme of keeping your eyes on the prize. What is the prize? In the Christian arena the imperishable prize we receive freely from God is Jesus Christ who died for us so that we may be forgiven and have eternal life. That is the prize that enlightens, uplifts, and shows us the truth that we are a forgiven people because of what God did for us. So what do I mean when I say keep your eyes on the prize? Keep your eyes on that grace of God (prize) which has been bestowed upon every human being. It is that prize which drives us to share it and share in it. That means we spread this message of grace through word and deed by praising God and loving those God uplifts (the poor, orphan, alien, stranger, widow). When you keep your eyes on the prize you may find people in your life both far and near who need help. That help is an opportunity for you to share God’s love with another human being. Paul also wrote this to the Philippians: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14) Our primary and imperishable prize is Jesus Christ. When we do not take our eye off that prize we might stumble upon another secondary prize: an opportunity to help someone. God’s love is real and it is very easy to share. My plea this week is that all of us KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE! Points to ponder:
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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