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