We are God's IPOD

     This Sunday, a four year old little boy brought the box back for the Children's sermon.  I had visited his house earlier in the week, and I knew he had a lot of cool toys, so I was anxiously awaiting what was in "The Box".  He was the only one under 12 for the Children's sermon (we only had 22 people due to the Blizzard, and the fact that it was the Sunday after Christmas.)  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and found an IPOD.
     After a minute or so of stalling and trying to figure out what to say, (I even went as far as to begin to talk about the Apple on the back of the Ipod - Adam and Eve, first to sin, etc... too much for a four year old)  I finally allowed the Spirit to enter, and it gifted me with this.  We are like God's Ipod. 
     We can put in what we want, and we can listen to the Ipod whenever we want, and that is how God works with us.  God always listens to us and is putting in our gifts and using us for His pleaseure, just like we use an Ipod for our pleasure.
     It was alot of fun, and I cant wait to see what he brings back next week.  (He did get the Box again because he was the only one!)

Be God's Ipod today!! 

Soccer Ball in "The Box"

Greetings to you all... Sunday brought a fun installment of "The Box", our weekly children's sermon fun.  This week there was a rather large stuffed soccer ball.

This gave us an opportunity to talk about stewardship.  We talked about how God gave us our bodies and how we should be good stewards of our bodies and keep them in good health.  One of those ways we can keep them in good shape is by exercising, and playing soccer is a great way to stay in shape.

We had a prayer (see picture) and then we went on our way.  This is one of the high points in each and every service, and I hope that the Spirit will continu to guide my thoughts as we come up with new and exciting things "out of the box." 

Writer's Block

        I am not sure how many of you have the opportunity to write on a weekly basis, but if you do, do you ever get into a funk when nothings seems to make sense or nothing comes into your head that is worth writing down?  That is what I have been dealing with all week.  The gospel text for the week is Luke 3 and it is all about John the Baptist and his exhortation of the crowds in preparation for the coming of Jesus... but while John is led by the Spirit during his proclamation, I dont think the Spirit knows that I have moved to North Dakota and has yet to find me.
       Anyway, this is my attempt to just write and pray and hope that something will trigger my brain to proclaim something worth while for tomorrow's sermon.  But that may just be the problem; it is not really anything that I will say up there, but it is what the Spirit is moving me to say that works on Sunday morning.  So what can I say in the morning then, "Sorry folks, the Spirit gave me nothing to talk about this morning, so we wont have a sermon at all."  How would that work out?  HMMMMM  Actually, I wonder what kind of reaction that would actually garner from the congregation.  After all they trust that the Spirit has guided my words that will be proclaimed in the morning, so what if I dont feel led by the Spirit at all that Week?  What would their reaction be?
       Just some writer's block thinking.  Did it help?  No.  Come Holy Spirit.  I feel like princess Leia ... "Help me Obi one Holy Spirit... your my only hope."

"The Box" - November 1

     This week we had some fun.  "The Box" contained some John Deere tractors and trucks.  We also had some cows and hay bails.  "What does this tell us about God?"  I asked the young ones.  They had a hard time equating toys with God, but we walked through it. 
     Who gave us the earth that all the corn and grain grows in?  - God.  Who gave us the sheep and cows? - God.  Who gave us the intellegence to create machinery like tractors and big rigs? - God.  God has created all that we have and it belongs to God.  We are just using it while we are here on earth, and that is worth giving thanks to God for.

Until next week.... peace and prayers to you.

RBV Matthew 12:22

22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. (NIV)

     Just another story of Jesus healing someone?  Perhaps.  But what got me to thinking this morning is who are our demon possessed people today? Are we the ones who are demon possessed?  What does it mean to be demon possessed?  I know that exocrisms are still being done even in 2009, but let's not take this passage so literally.
     If we look at our lives and all that is in it, I am sure that we can come up with something that possesses us other than the things of God.  Sports, school activities, Wall street, among others are things that we allow to possess us, and when is the last time you talked about Jesus while watching a sporting event, or the stock market (Other than using "Jesus Christ" when a touchdown is called back by a flag.)
     The point is, Jesus Christ has healing powers.  The things that are keeping us in the dark, and stopping us from talking about Jesus can be overcome.  Allowing Jesus Christ to enter into your life and have control is the way to regain our senses.  Our true senses.
     We are all deaf and we are all mute at times when we dont have Jesus Christ in our lives.  But Jesus died and rose for us and for our sins, and that allows us all to see and hear the good news about and from Jesus Christ.
    Let us pray...
O God, we give you thanks for the healing power of Jesus Christ.  Please open our eyes and clean out our ears and help us to look and listen for Jesus in our lives.  We ask that you guide our words that they may proclaim your greatness.  We know that we can be healed and we ask for healing in our lives.  Grant us your mercy through your son Jesus Christ our savior and Lord.  Amen.
Peace and Prayers...

"Confirmation Day"

Sunday October 25th was Reformation Day in the Lutheran Church.  It is also a traditional day that we confirm our youth that have gone through a few years of "church instruction."  This year there were three 10th graders that were recommended to be confirmed by the previous pastor at Peace Lutheran Church.
I am not sure if they want their names published and out in the web, so I will give them alias names for their picture.

On the left is Farley, the middle is Renee, and on the right is Spade and of course Pastor Jay in the middle.

It was a great day to celebrate with the parents and families, and it is really too bad it only happens one time a year.  But as important as Confirmation is, it is also just the beginning of their young lives in Jesus Christ.  The following is a letter I gave them the night we met to go over Sunday's procedures.

"Greetings from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ….

So you’re going to be confirmed? What does that mean?
 Honestly, it is just the beginning of your journey as a Christ-filled individual. You may have heard that once you are confirmed, you do not have to come back to church, but that could not be further from the truth. Once you are confirmed, you assume a larger response-ability to the church. You may notice I said response-ability. That means that you now have the basic tools that the church has provided you to talk about your faith, and you have the ability to respond to God better now.

Your faith is a key to who you are as a person. Your faith will ground you as an individual, and it will be there to fall back on if you ever run into life situations that seem too hard or too stressful to handle. Your faith is just beginning to grow. Coming to worship on a Sunday is just a small part of who you are as a professed Christian (which you will do on your confirmation day). You will confess to the church body and to God that you believe in your baptism, and that you renounce the forces of sin, the devil, and all his empty promises. You are making a statement of faith, proclaiming your belief and asking for help from your God.

You assume a response-ability; or, you now have a better ability to respond to the gifts that God has given you, and you give back to God in that ability that you have been given. Coming to worship builds that response-ability each and every time you are in the house of God. It is not our church, it is God’s church; God’s mission, and we come to this building to worship and give thanks to God weekly. When you worship God, you affirm your baptism. You can also do this every day, and I hope you wake up in the morning and give thanks to God for another day. I also hope you give thanks to God for sending Jesus Christ into our world to free us from our sins and provide room for us in eternal life.

Confirmation is more than just three years of your young life spent in a classroom on Wednesday nights. And now that you are done with the “bookwork,” you begin the “lifework.” This is more important that anything you will have done in a book. “Lifework” is how you share with others who God is to you. “Lifework” provides you the ability to respond to God in thanks for all that he has given you. You have the ability to share that gift of life with everyone you encounter, and you are now free to serve the Lord by sharing your faith.

Confirmation is special, but it is just the beginning. I hope and pray that you will continue to share your God with everyone you know, and invite them to worship God with you in church as well.

Although we do not know each other very well, we are linked together in the Christian faith. I was confirmed 26 years ago, and it is the same rite that you will be taking part in, and that links us together because we have affirmed our baptism, and we are children of one eternal God. I offer myself to you in God’s service. If there is ever anything I can do for you, or any question I can help you walk through, or anything you struggle with in your life, I want to be there to help you find God among it.

I will pray for you daily, and I hope you find great comfort and joy in serving your Lord as I have. Don’t ever be ashamed to mention Jesus Christ to anyone. It may be the only time they hear the name of Jesus, and you are helping spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ whenever you mention what he has done for you. (Died, buried, and rose again so you can spend eternal life with him.)

Peace and Prayers,
Pastor Jay Jackson"

That is what it means to me.
 
Peace and Prayers,
J

"The Box" - October 25

This week's episode of "What's in the Box" was another softball.  I was given a red heart to work with for the children's sermon.  It is very cool that these children are taking this "box" to heart. (He He)  Becuase this week was a red heart, we talked about God's love and what a heart means for us.  I might have expounded into a Reformation day schpeel, but the kids dont know the impact of Reformation Day yet, nor should they care yet.  They want to know how a little red heart tells them about God and God's love.
Peace and Prayers...

Look Around You!

     I have often wondered how all things are a part of God's plan, haven't you?  When we are immersed in our everyday lives, we tend to miss the opportunities and events that God lays smack dab in front of us.  Nothing shows this better than a simple little joke about how God actually takes care of us, but we just dont see it.  Enjoy.

A religious man is on top of a roof during a great flood. A man comes by in a boat and says "get in, get in!" The religious man replies, "No I have faith in God, he will grant me a miracle."

Later the water is up to his waist and another boat comes by and the guy tells him to get in again. He responds that he has faith in God and God will give him a miracle. With the water at about chest high, another boat comes to rescue him, but he turns down the offer again: "God will grant me a miracle."


With the water at chin high, a helicopter throws down a ladder and they tell him to get in, mumbling with the water in his mouth, he again turns down the request for help for the faith of God.
He drowns and finds himself heading to heaven. 

He arrives at the gates of heaven with broken faith and says to Peter, I thought God would grant me a miracle and I have been let down." St. Peter chuckles and responds, "I don't know what you're complaining about, we sent you three boats and a helicopter."

      Isn't that all too true?  Today, I invite you to stop and take a look around and see where God is active in your life, and don't just wait for a miracle to happen in your life, acknowledge the little miracles that have already happened.
 
Peace and Prayers...

What's in "The Box"?

     About a year or two ago, a classmate and I at Trinity Lutheran Seminary  were discussing the possibility of letting the children guide the children's sermons on a given Sunday, and I had it in my head that once I became the pastor at a church, I would come up with an idea to stimulate conversation among the youth. 
That time is now, and I came up with "The Box."

     "The Box" is a teaching tool.  It is a way to interact with the youth and let them see how everyday items are given to us by God, and we use them to find out where God is working in our lives.
     "The Box" is nothing glamorous, it is a simple black shoe box (from Payless no doubt) and every Sunday, "The Box" goes home with one of the children for the week.  I do not get the pleasure of seeing what is in "The Box" until it makes its way forward for the youth sermon.
     There are only two (2) stipulations for "The Box."
1.  "The Box" must come back next week.
2.  The item that the children's sermon will be about must fit in "The Box."

Week 1 - There was an apple.  We celebrated Johnny Appleseed and talked about how God scatters seeds through us, and we watch them grow.
Week 2 - We had a football blanket.  We talked about how God wraps his arms around us and keeps us safe.
Week 3 - A Puzzle. - We are all a piece of God's plan, and we need each other to be a complete puzzle.
Week 4 - A Banana - We talked about how we are all bananas, and when Jesus died on the cross for us, he peeled the sin off of us and threw it away.
Week 5 - A pair of sunglasses - We talked about how Jesus helps protect us from the things that can harm us like UV rays.

     That is it, so far "The Box" has been back every Sunday, and this has been a blast.  The kids have created an excitement level, and are running up to the front to see what is in "The Box" this week.  They want to be a part of the church service, because they are the ones who lead the discussion.
     It is exciting to see what happens when we let God out of "The Box" and it is sheer joy to watch the eyes light up of children who want to learn more about God.

Peace and prayers,
J

RBV - Zechariah 10:1

Zechariah 10:1 - 1 Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, who gives showers of rain to you, the vegetation in the field to everyone.

It is truly incredible when the Lord works. I was bored, watching the first of four Harry Potter movies on ABC Family. I thought I might just check out my blog and add a post. Rather than ramble on about nothing, I thought I might do an RBV. So I decided to open my Bible and write on the first verse that I opened to, and it was Zechariah 10. My bible (NRSV) captions the first two verses of Z10 as "The Lord of The Rains." (I wonder if this is where JRR Tolkien got the inspiration for "The Lord of the Rings". )

This "Rain" passage may not have meant much any other time, but it just so happens that we are in the middle of a rain storm which we really needed. How often do you open your bible (very often ...I'm sure) and something that you read applies directly to your life at that time? Try it. It is amazing how God works.

Don't just let God be the Lord of the Rains, but let God be the Lord of your Life as well!!
Peace to you this day...J

RBV - Psalm 54:3

Psalm 54:3 - (NIV) Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life— men without regard for God.

An interesting verse isn't it? How many times have we felt overwhelmed and wonder why we are being attacked. Road Rage, TV, Video Games, abusive relationships, these are just a few things that are attacking us on a daily basis. Now, I am not against TV or Video Games, but they have the potential to corrupt our minds if not used with care, as many things in this life can.

We don't always look at our neighbors or others as people without regard for God, because that would be judgemental on our part. We are a very judgemental people however. We all have a bit of disregard for God at times. It is called sin! We sin on a daily basis, and that is why we rejoice in the gift of eternal life that Jesus Christ gave us in his death and resurrection.

I invite you to read the rest of Psalm 54. It is only 7 verses, and it proclaims the greatness of God in times of trouble. We could all use the greatness of God in our lives.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...One God, now and forever. Amen.

Happy Father's Day

I have been give the honor and joy of being a father to three incredibly wonderful children.
They all have their own style, their own character, and their own favorite "guitar hero" songs. These three kids are the joy of my life and my wife and I are trying to allow them their own identies yet keep them connected through the Jackson family name.
As I reflect upon the joy of being a father. I reflect on Jesus Christ who provided us the "abba father" imagery in the gospels. I thank God for giving me the joy of children, and while I know some men have not been gifted the ability to experince this joy, and while I also know some men don't appreciate the joy of being a father, none the less, being a father is a gift from the one who we call the Father in the Trinity.
So to you men who have been given the gift of fatherhood, stop and thank God. Even when it is hard, trying, challenging, frustrating... (add synonym here) our children are a blessing from God and will always be a blessing. So, I thank you God for what you have given me in my children.
Happy Father's Day.

RBV - Random Bible Verse

If you are one who attends a traditional mainline denomination that uses the Revised Common Lectionary, good for you! However, unless you are reading your Bible at home (but of course you are...) you may be missing out on some interesting and challenging biblical themes, stories and verses.

RBV's are Random Bible Verses that are not found in the lectionary cycle. They are not going to be posted daily or weekly, but as I continue to read walk through my bible, I will post RBV's that are unique. I may post two in a day, or two in a month, but they will be random, and lots of fun.

If you have any RBV's that you would like to talk about please feel free to post them.