October 11 - Pentecost

Psalm 121 - This is a beautiful psalm to start the week with. "From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth." The word "keep" (can also be translated "guard") shows up six times in this psalm. The same God who created heaven and earth guards your life and keeps watch over you. This is our prayer. As God's people we pray this in the midst of turmoil and even when things appear to be going well.

October 4 - Pentecost

Luke 24:36-48 - Jesus appears to his disciples after rising from the grave. He shows his hands and feet and asks for some food.

1 Corinthians 15:12-25 - Paul discusses the importance of Jesus' resurrection and his impact on the resurrection we will receive.

Sunday in Worship we discussed our confession, "I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting." In light of our Scripture readings and our discussion Sunday, I'm encouraging you to ask follow-up questions throughout this week. Today I'll highlight the first question we discussed: What does resurrection mean? You can feel free to continue the conversation via the blog site, or through e-mail, or in small groups.

September 22 - Pentecost

Genesis 6:5-22 - The story of Noah and the flood is probably one of the best known stories of the Bible. It's especially popular for children. The animals must be the reason why, because when we look at the story, we realize the movie rating would not make it appropriate for children. It is a story of God's judgment on a sinful world. It presents a picture of God that we aren't very comfortable with. God destroys the whole earth and spares Noah and his family. This is justice and God has every right to do it. How amazing then that God sent his Son. The earth after Noah didn't get much better. All have fallen short. God in His mercy reverses this by judging Jesus that the whole earth may be spared.

September 20 - Pentecost

Genesis 4 - In the first part of chapter 4 we see the first brothers and the first murder. Cain and Abel bring an offering to the Lord but Abel gives in faith and sacrifice. God is pleased with Abel's offering and Cain, in his jealousy, kills his brother. If there was any doubt about the seriousness of Adam and Eve's fall, it should be dissipated. In Hebrews and in 1 John the story of Cain and Abel is dealt with. In Hebrews we see things from the perspective of Abel, who had faith in God's care. In 1 John we see things from the perspective of Cain as he is contrasted with Christ. As chapter 4 continues we see the paradox of humanity, created in God's image and using skills for development and creativity, yet fallen and increasing in depravity. To imagine the beauty of creation and culture without sin is now beyond our comprehension, but Jesus begins to change all of that.

September 10 - Pentecost

Genesis 3:1 - "Did God really say?" Satan's first work at driving a wedge between God and His creation is for us to doubt God's word. God gave some very clear instructions to Adam and Eve, but Satan asks the highly philosophical question, "Did he?" From that moment on all our attempts to speak for God leave us flat on our face, and our effort gets us no closer to the truth. So God sends His Word again. In the midst of our rebellion and doubt, Jesus comes and says, "You have heard... but I tell you." Jesus says, "I am the truth." And Jesus takes it even farther. He speaks not only to us, but also on our behalf. We still struggle with knowing God's word, staying connected to Him, so Jesus serves as our advocate. As God's perfect Word Jesus restores that which was broken.

September 6 - Pentecost

Genesis 2:7-15 - It's fitting that our reading for this Labor Day would center us on Adam and Eve's care of the garden. All too often we see work as a burden that is only necessary to earn a living, yet the Genesis picture shows a meaningful collaboration with God. God plants the garden, he provides nature, and Adam and Eve are to work it, care for it, and benefit from it. Luther often talked about this with the term Vocation. He wasn't speaking about ITT, but about all of the callings in this life where God encourages us to work for the sake of the neighbor and creation itself. These vocations include our "jobs", but they also include our relationships as family and neighbor, co-worker and friend. Through all of these God invites us to work alongside Him for the sake of others. This not only makes all of our work a privilege, but puts into perspective the importance of the work others do on our behalf. God saw all that He had made and it was indeed good.

September 3 - Pentecost

Genesis 2:1-3 - Does God really need rest? At the end of the creation account God rests from all His work and sets aside the 7th day as a day of rest and worship for His creation. With each day God saw that His creation was good and the day of rest is no different in this respect. It is also good for us as God's creation to worship and rest. It is too easy for us to forget this. Our culture with its need to get ahead strips us of rest. At the same time we are too often encouraged to see rest only as the result of that "getting ahead", as acquiring things or taking the best vacations. That type of rest is often just a continuation of the work. God's rest is truly restful. It is completion. It is good. Do we really need rest? Absolutely. And this is Jesus' invitation to us. All who are weary come and find your rest. See the completion of God's work in Jesus as the firstborn of the new creation. Our life begins with rest in and worship of Him.