"Not a big enough job . . ."

This past Sunday we got to dive into one of my favorite mission passages in the Bible- Isaiah 49:6. Basically, God invites us to think big when it comes to His mission. He invites us to avoid the distractions and temptations that so easily prevent us from seeing His grander mission and purpose for our lives.

I even work in the church, and it's easy for me to lose focus and get caught in the day-to-day tasks of life. But I pray Sunday was an opportunity to recalibrate and realign with God's mission, and just think bigger than your own . . .

Blessings on your journey, and see you Sunday as we wrap up One.

Chene St.

This Saturday, October 20th, will be another opportunity to put our faith into action. We'll depart from the youth house at 11 am and head down to Chene St. in Detroit. Outside of Peacemakers International, we'll hold an Oktoberfest, complete with a dinner, entertainment, games for the kids, and clothes distribution. Seriously, I can't wait, it should be an awesome day. The altar areas in both venues were overflowing with new socks and underwear and winter clothes that we get to give away. God is good.

It's not to late to be a part of this. Send me an email or call the church office and let us know you'd like to come. If you can't make it, would you hold us up in prayer? Pray that we might be the hands and feet of the Lord. (And that He would provide us with some beautiful weather).

One

We are two weeks into our month-long series titled One. This year marks 125 years of ministry as St. Peter Lutheran Church, and we're focusing this month on how the message of St. Peter remains unchanged- we are one people, worshipping one Savior, sharing one common mission. And while I've missed being with you, I've heard from many of you how much you enjoyed having Pastor Kapser and Pastor Ken among us. This past week we narrowed the focus to the scandal of exclusivity, how Jesus identifies himself as THE way, THE truth, and THE life. No room for others. Tough words to say in our pluralistic culture.

What is your response to Jesus' claim of exclusivity, that He is indeed the ONLY way? Do these words bring scandal, or comfort?

Bringing Others Home

I think the clip from Planes, Trains and Automobiles was a powerful illustration of the God-planted urge within us to bring others home, home to a place of hope, security and relationship with the Lord.

But at the same time, we have to get beyond those attitudes that plague us, attitudes of resentment and haughtiness so prevalent in the older brother from Luke 15. What would it take for us to always look upon others with the eyes of our merciful father? When is it most difficult for you to look with compassion?

Next week we'll begin our new series, One. Check here later for more details . . .

The Merciful Father

Nikki, great thoughts on "being" rather than "doing". Let's keep those comments challenging us.

Hopefully, by taking a look at the parable of the prodigal son this morning highlights for us that no matter what we are "doing" or have "done" we simply "are" God's children. We are His forgiven, loved, sought after offspring. The story really isn't about the prodigal son, but the Merciful Father and his capacity for love and forgiveness.

Two thoughts.....
One, how does this love and forgiveness change us as we go through our week?
Two, how might we as Christians in our own lives, within our own families, and through our own experiences be able to pass on the traits of the merciful father?

What a blessing to be one of God's own, and what a blessing to have His presence and everyone's energy in worship this morning.

The Longing Within

Great to be with you again in worship. Our focus was The Longing Within, the deep-rooted desire within us all to be connected with the Lord. We used the metaphor of thirst to give us an image of what this longing is like.

So let me throw out the question to you all: what are some ways you see our culture evidencing this longing, this searching, for something deeper? You heard me share my experience at Babies R Us, and our desire to quench the longing with material blessings, but what about you? What do you see?
Look forward to you thoughts, and see you on Sunday . . .

Atmospheric Changes

Have you ever felt the energy in the air before a big storm? That is how I was feeling this Sunday for our first service of amplified. So many people have given so much to putting this service together, we just had to wait and see how it went. Well, it went great! To me one of the things that stood out this morning was the energy everyone brought to worship. It certainly was amplified! From the greetings in the beginning, to the different parts of the service, to the fellowship at the end there was energy in Kaiser hall, and it was great to be a part of. My prayer is that God would continue to bring that energy to worship in that space and he would use that energy to bring us and others closer to Him.
As part of a desire to keep that energy with us through the week and not leave it in Kaiser hall on Sundays, I hope you take the time to check out our blog and maybe even add a comment from time to time. Your comment could be a thought that came to you on the sermon topic during the service or throughout the week. Maybe it will be an applicable story you have or something you saw in your life.
This week's topic was part of our four-week sermon series on coming home and being right with God. Hopefully, we all saw the Genesis creation story in a little different light and understand the severity of not being in rhythm with God, but also the vast forgiveness God so generously gives in bringing us back to Him. You heard my thoughts, what are yours?
Looking forward to your comments to hold me over until next week...