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WEEKLY DEVOTION SEPTEMBER 15

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“Every Time I Remember You”

READING: Philippians 1:3-6 – I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

A week ago, Sunday, you folks mostly surprised me with a luncheon and a “roast” commemorating my 30th Anniversary of service to Grace, New Albany. Sometime around the 20th of August in 1990, my family and I arrived at Grace, and I started my learning experience as your vicar. Little did I know that I would still be here, serving as your Senior Pastor, after 30 years. And, little did I realize just how fast those 30 years would go! ZOOM! We’re here!

In my remarks on the 6th I mostly concentrated on thanking the congregation as a whole for their love, support, kindness, and friendship over these years. The whole bunch has become not just parishioners, not just friends, but very truly family. I thank God frequently for calling me to this congregation and giving me the privilege of being their pastor.

Today I want to take a moment to thank and laud individuals who have made this long pastorate possible. See, I don’t do everything around Grace. I am and have been assisted, supported, and challenged by some of the finest staff members any Senior Pastor could ever hope for. I started with Curt Peters as my “assistant” pastor, but he was a lot more than that. He was my mentor and my confessor, and he’s my good friend to this day. His wife, Pam, was our first Music Director and did much to make my life easier.

And then, there’s our secretary, Karen Meredith. She was here when I came, and she has pulled my bacon out of the fire a hundred times by reminding me of deadlines, dates, times, and procedures all with a marvelous sense of humor and tremendous patience and ability. I had a Youth Director second to none in Mitzie Lyon Schmelz. She did youth ministry exactly the way I always knew it should be done, and I’ve never seen anyone do it better. My second Music Director is still my Music Director! Helen Bohannon has so much talent, so much energy, so much love for Godly music, and she has taught me so much I didn’t know before I met her. And, I have some new help on the scene in our Children’s Minister, Sabrina Haug, and our Interim Youth Director, Rose Ebling. Both of them have already demonstrated creativity and a dedication to our young ones from cradle to young adulthood. I can’t wait to see what blessings they will be for Grace. And, not to forget, a treasurer in Bob Alles who has kept us on the straight and narrow while making himself available time and time again.

And, of course, I dare not leave out Pastor Woods. For over 19 years he has been my strong right arm. Not only is he a good, caring, energetic and creative pastor, but he is my good friend, my confidant, and the hammer to my anvil! We are kindred spirits in so many ways, yet complimentary in so many others. Team ministries are often either “made in heaven” or “smoldering in the pits”. I’m most happy to report that ours is decidedly the former!

You might also imagine that there have been individuals in the congregation over my years who have had a big impact on me by their involvement, their wisdom, their humor, and their companionship. Names come to mind like Jeff Olson, George Gebhardt, Ron Dietrich, Ron Jenkins, Frank Appleby, Mildred Lewellen, Erna McIntyre, Frances A, B, and C (Anderson, Borkenheim, and Conrad), Chuck and Elaine Osburn, Roxie Minter, Bob Hunt, and so many, many more. I’ve laid to rest so many of the family here. I look forward to when I can see and visit with them again. Each one left an impression on my heart. I miss them.

And finally, I must also laud my wife, Becky. Had she not given me permission I might never have come this way. Being a pastor’s wife, by its very nature, requires sacrifices of time and presence. She spent a lot of weekday evenings at home alone with the kids and by herself when they were all gone. She has always supported, encouraged, and been my sounding board, and I love her very much. Having mentioned the kids, Andy, Dan, and Christa also receive my thanks. When I attended the Seminary and then came to Grace, they attended three different schools in each of three consecutive years. New homes, new places, new friends and at an age when those transitions can be very hard. They all did well with it and always seemed proud that their dad was a pastor. I love them very much.

So, having started with Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, I understand EXACTLY what he was saying to them. Ministry is a partnership of pastor and parish in living out, proclaiming, and celebrating the Good News of Jesus Christ. Paul thanked God for their faith and their faithfulness. I do the same in my prayers. We have shared much together: births and baptisms, confirmations and weddings, troubles and tragedies, losses, reverses, and frightening diagnoses, and through it all we have kept the faith and trusted in our Heavenly Father through his Son by the work of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know just how many more years I’ll hold this seat, but trusting in His promises, you and I will walk in The Way together. God bless you all. I love you very much. Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S):

Saturday, September 19, 5:00 – we are planning a drive-in worship service in place of the usual Saturday night service. You’ll be able to park in the lot, see the pastors from your car, and tune in to the service on your FM dial. At the end of the service, Holy Communion will be celebrated and distributed as you drive out the exit past the gym. In this way we hope to give those who have stayed out of the building for five months for fear of COVID the opportunity to safely and meaningfully worship AND RECEIVE COMMUNION. More info will be coming, so stay tuned!

We would once again put out a plea for those who are “techies” to consider volunteering to learn from Ryan Dietrich the process by which we broadcast our service on the Internet.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/ldPkQkBFpXM

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDSept15.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION SEPTEMBER 14

Monday, September 14, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“Moving Day”

This last weekend we rearranged the house. My youngest son who is getting married in a month has moved to the basement which has been fixed up as a little apartment. Meanwhile my oldest and his bride have moved upstairs to his old room in anticipation of building a house in the Spring. What does all this mean? Good Lutheran question to ask. It means that we had to do a lot of moving—Saturday was moving day.

If you have ever experienced moving from one house or apartment to another (and most likely you probably have) then you will understand moving day. Tricia and I have had many moving days in twenty-five years. It always begins with a culling of old things—broken toys, forgotten clothes, wedding gifts that we only used once. “Who filled our closets with so much junk?” Must have been the garden Nomes. Moving from our house in Charlestown to an apartment, we quickly discovered that in only five years of living in one house we had accumulated a lot of stuff that we didn’t need to take with us. Then we began to move things to our storage locker. And by the way, in the future, if you have to use a storage locker, I am convinced that you don’t need that stuff either. All but a handful of things we ended up getting rid of anyway. We boxed so much stuff up and then unboxed them.

Our family has moved many times and each time I remember why I don’t like it. It’s always stressful. Something important always seems to get lost—especially screws and bolts for tables and bed frames. And worst of all it doesn’t take long to realize just how used our own dirt we have become. This last weekend was proof that even when we think we have things clean we don’t. We have plenty of dust and dog hair, and dirt that the vacuums miss. One might even be able to knit a whole new dog from the hair that we found this weekend. It’s a little embarrassing. If we had a sign with a phone number and sign that read, “How’s my cleaning?” I might have gotten a few calls this weekend.

The thing about moving day is that it always seems to end one chapter to begin another one. Moving day is a transition day. Old things have to be let go of. Things that were once important are replaced with something new. A home is replaced with another home in another location. This weekend’s move was a transition for both boys. They remain in the same house but not in the same circumstances. Soon both will be married. The oldest and his bride are poised to move into their own place soon. The other is getting married and stabilizing things until his wife finishes Pharmacy school and then they too will make a home together. Before too long the house will get really quiet.

Exodus 12 speaks of moving day for the Israelites. Listen to verses 31-42. 31 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron at night. He said, “Get up and go away from my people, both you and the people of Israel. Go and worship the Lord, as you have said. 32 Take your flocks and your cattle, as you have said, and go. And pray that good will come to me also.”

33 The Egyptians were trying to make the people hurry out of the land. For they said, “We will all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before yeast had been added. They tied their dough pots in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 The people of Israel had done what Moses had said. They had asked the Egyptians for things made of silver and gold and for clothes. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians. So, the Egyptians let them have whatever they asked for. And they took the best things of Egypt.

37 The people of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600,000 men on foot, and also the women and children. 38 And a mixed group of people went with them, and very many flocks and cattle. 39 They made the dough they had brought out of Egypt into loaves of bread without yeast. Yeast was not added to the dough because they had been sent out of Egypt and could not wait. They could not make ready any food for themselves.

40 The people of Israel had lived in Egypt 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all of the Lord’s people left Egypt. 42 It was a night to be remembered for the Lord for having brought them out of the land of Egypt. This night is for the Lord, to be remembered by all the people of Israel for all time.

Passover night was also moving night. By morning the next day, the Israelites were on their way out carrying gold and silver and as much stuff as they could carry with them. Much of that gold and silver would later be material for making the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. But here again one chapter was ending in the history of God’s people and another chapter was beginning. Sadly, this generation would be exiled for forty years in the desert because they did not trust God in spite of all the miracles that God had done for them. However, this moving day would literally shape Israel’s history and its future for the rest of the its existence—even now. Even now Jewish folks celebrate the Passover as a memorial for all that God had done with Moses.

Going to college—moving into dorms and out of dorms for four years—going to seminary—going to vicarage—getting married and moving into an apartment with my bride—moving to our first call and into a rental house—then to our second call and into a parsonage—and then here to Grace and to a house in Charlestown—then to an apartment—and then to our current house. We’ve done a lot of moving. Not nearly as much as others I’m sure but plenty. All of our moving days have been memorable but not defining like it was for the Israelites who left he bondage of Egypt to become a nation. They became the nation of Israel, moved into the Promised Land, and fulfilled the promise to Abraham.

2 Corinthians 5:1 speaks of another move from an earthly tent to a house not built by human hands. The most definitive move anyone of us will make eventually will be when we change our address from this fallen world to the risen one. The new home will be permanent. It will define us because of who lives there namely, our Savior, Jesus. And the old things will disappear and the new things will take hold. We will Passover from death to life. Best of all we won’t need anything from this world and everyone we love who believe in Jesus will be with us in the Lord’s kingdom. This is a moving day unlike any other. One chapter will end and another will begin. That’s our hope in Jesus.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace in Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyDSepT14

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/2GAGlHW0c0Q

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION SEPTEMBER 8

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“SIGNS TO BE SPOKEN AGAINST”

READING: Luke 2:28-35 – Simeon took (Jesus) in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light to reveal you to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

I used to love the color orange. It was one of my favorites in childhood and one of our team colors at Vassar High (“Orange and black, fight! Fight!”). I loved big, sweet Navel oranges, orange Nehi, orange suckers, orange Popsicles, orange jelly slices, orange trucks, orange shirts, orange hunting clothes, etc. etc. No more! I am sick of orange! I don’t want to see anything orange for the next five months! I’m even thinking of buying only white pumpkins for Halloween!

Why, Pastor? you might ask. What has caused you to turn against the color orange? Well, I’ll tell you: orange signs that say, “ROAD CONSTRUCTION AHEAD 2 MILES”!!! I am sick, sick, sick, of orange road construction signs, and while we’re at it, I’m sick of orange barrels, orange cones, orange poles, orange vests, and most everything else associated with construction zones.

Now, I know: all that construction is necessary to keep our streets, roads, and highways safe and drivable. I know that, but with Blackiston Mill under construction and Slate Run under construction and I-265 being repaved and Grant Line earlier this summer, not to mention every single bridge in Indiana along I-69 and the work on I-65 and nearly the entire stretch of I-64 through the state of West Virginia, I AM SICK OF ORANGE SIGNS! I am speaking against those signs, revealing the thoughts of my heart.

Well, now you may have seen where I am headed with this! Simeon was moved to praise God when he held the infant Jesus in his arms. He was moved to bless Joseph and Mary. But he also warned Mary that not everyone would be as joyful at His coming as was Simeon. In fact, he tells her that, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”

This prophecy was fulfilled many, many times during the earthly ministry of Jesus. The Pharisees spoke against him saying, “This man eats with sinners!” The elders spoke against him saying, “He does these things by the power of Beelzebub!” The chief priests spoke against him saying, “By what authority do you do these things?” Caiaphas, the High Priest spoke against him saying, “Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy!” And, the Sanhedrin and their lackeys spoke against him saying, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Even Peter spoke against him saying, “I don’t know the man!”

Jesus was a sign to be spoken against because he didn’t fit their mold. Most of the Jews were looking for a warrior king, a “Son of David” who would reclaim David’s throne, restore the kingdom, and drive out their Roman overseers. Jesus wasn’t remotely interested in such an earthly kingdom. His was a far greater cause, a broader mission: to give himself as the ransom for many and to call to repentance and salvation not only the people of Israel, but the Gentiles as well. This was unacceptable, even unthinkable, for the powerful in Jerusalem, so they spoke against Jesus. They did all within their power to take him down and silence him. And, finally they achieved their ultimate goal by speaking against him before Pilate, who acquiesced to their demands and sent Jesus to the Cross. Little did they know that at that very moment God’s gracious plan for the salvation of the world was being worked out as he had ordained it!

Soon the orange stuff will be stacked and stashed away for the winter season when construction takes a break. For a few months we’ll be able to drive without hinderance and delay. But, when the spring comes and the sun warms up the roads, the “orange flowers” will bloom again, and once more you’ll probably hear me speaking against those orange signs. Thanks be to God that the sign of his love for us, the sign of his justice, the sign of his mercy and grace did not falter nor fail when he was spoken against. Jesus kept his eye on the prize and gained for us forgiveness of our sins and eternal life in his name. That’s a sign that points our way to heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S):

Saturday, September 19, 5:00 – we are planning a drive-in worship service in place of the usual Saturday night service. You’ll be able to park in the lot, see the pastors from your car, and tune in to the service on your FM dial. At the end of the service, Holy Communion will be celebrated and distributed as you drive out the exit past the gym. In this way we hope to give those who have stayed out of the building for five months for fear of COVID the opportunity to safely and meaningfully worship AND RECEIVE COMMUNION. More info will be coming, so stay tuned!

We would once again put out a plea for those who are “techies” to consider volunteering to learn from Ryan Dietrich the process by which we broadcast our service on the Internet. Ryan has been most diligent in being there for two service over and over these last five months. But it’s time we had some people who could spell him. Let us know if you’re interested.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/ZmEPKygMC9k

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDSept8.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION SEPTEMBER 7

Monday, September 7, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“Being Completely Honest About Ourselves”

Sam and his bride, Michelle were driving down the freeway on their way to the store a couple of weeks back. Michelle noticed from the passenger side that the needle was sitting steadily on E. When she made a mention of the gas gauge Sam confidently said, “I do this all the time. We’ll be fine. We’ve got enough to get home.” Famous last words.

Sometime later as they began their trip back home from the store the car began to stop working. Press the gas-nothing happened. Lights on the dash began to light up as the car shut down until finally Sam had to pull the car off to the side of the road.

Sam couldn’t think of what might be wrong. So, the AAA card was called upon and a tow truck was called. The car was hauled 13 miles to their regular mechanic. The next day Sam got a call from the mechanic and Sam and Michelle went over to pick up his car. When asked what happened, the smiling mechanic said, “We couldn’t find anything wrong with the car but we did figure out what happened. It ran out of gas.” Sam smiled and could feel Michelle’s smiling eye-roll without even looking. The mechanic went on saying, “We put a couple of gallons of gas in it. Turned right over. Runs well, but you may want to stop at the gas station on the way home. By the way that two gallons will cost you $38 bucks.” Sam hasn’t let the gas get that low since.

Consider today what James says in James 1:22-25 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

Does the Word of God really shape all of your behavior? Or is there a little influence from somewhere else? Jesus says in Matthew 7 at the end of his Sermon on the Mount that anyone who hears His words and puts them into practice is like a man who built his house on the rock. Hurricane winds and tidal waves could not undo it. Most I know want a faith like that. I can’t think of any Christian that wants to be overcome or who willingly seeks out a weak faith. A misguided faith usually stops paying attention to the gas gauge.

Even as we believe in Jesus, we fool ourselves in sin. We want faith that moves mountains but often we settle for much less because we imagine certain sacrifices as too much. Peter loved Jesus but in Galatians 2 Peter had to be corrected for giving into peer pressure from Jewish converts who believed the Gentiles needed circumcision first. Paul had to remind him that even the smallest step towards the law is syncretistic. Peter as a pillar of the church needed to be corrected. Peter had imagined himself as a man worthy of the right hand or left hand in the kingdom of heaven; a strong man. However, as we know, Peter who loved Jesus, wasn’t really good with pressure from his fellow Jews. Before Galatians 2 Peter famously failed the Lord at the fire barrel in the court of the high priest when pressured to confess himself as a follower of Jesus. He denied Jesus three times, each time with greater intensity. Thankfully, Peter was ready to humble himself and set aside his pride as He returned to the Lord.

We don’t seek to be bad Christians but we tend to wander from the truth. Especially when we don’t actively seek to fellowship with other Christians, physically be present with other Christians, we can easily succumb to false ideas. Worse, we can grow very comfortable in false ideas. The Gospel doesn’t allow us to be half-hearted or lukewarm about Jesus or about Jesus’ way of doing things. Truth is we all could be doing a lot better with our faith then we are actually doing. We don’t run out of gas because we haven’t been warned but because we chose not to pay attention to it.

Have you heard of the Psychology of the modern gas gauge? In an article by Terry Shea for AOL Autos titled “How Does Your Gas Gauge Really Work? Why That First Half-Tank Seems To Last Forever” we learn how the gas gauge has been adjusted to fit our comfort zones. Shea writes:

Have you ever noticed that your gas gauge stays on full for quite a while before the needle even moves and then it moves faster and faster as it approaches empty? And then when it gets to “E” it sort of stays there for a while until the low warning light comes on …?
It turns out it’s partially your fault that gas gauges work that way.

The engineers calibrate them to do that. Why? Because you, the customer, have told them that’s the way you like it. We spoke with Phil Pierron, an engineer at Ford (his title is actually “Technical Expert for Systems Engineering in Core Fuel Systems), who told us, “Our customers really didn’t want to run out of fuel when they hit ‘E.’ Customers do want some amount of fuel when they get to ‘E.’”

Apparently, consumer surveys indicate that people don’t like seeing the needle depart from “F” right away either … . According to Pierron, “Customers want it to say on full for an amount of time.” This gives them the illusion that they are getting better fuel mileage or at least not immediately burning through that expensive tank of petrol they just bought, even if they quite literally are. …

And while customers want there to be a “reserve” of gasoline available when they reach the empty mark … they don’t want too much of a reserve. Otherwise, they will complain that their 20-gallon tank only takes 15 gallons when filling up from empty. Apparently, there is a sweet spot where customers are happy to be fooled by their gas gauges, but not too much. We customers sure are a fickle bunch.

The engineer’s job should be to make things more accurate and efficient, but in this case he has to play psychologist to keep customers happy.

Who would have thought the gas gauge would reveal human nature so well. Jesus says the truth will set you free but the truth about our sin is always uncomfortable. No likes to be corrected especially in front of others. It’s humiliating. And yet how much more humiliating was it for Jesus to be paraded naked, spit upon, mocked, beaten, nailed to a cross on full display in the most undignified way as a criminal and then die for sins not His own. Jesus held nothing back which means we don’t have to either. Our sins are disobedience to the Word. If we are ever to experience deep faith one has to stop being disobedient and be completely honest about their sins with Jesus. We can’t just correct the sins that are easy to get rid of like the clothes we send to Good Will. We are to be rid of the ones that are hard to let go of too. You know the kind. The sins that you don’t want others to see. Idols you are afraid of losing most and most likely to protect and be defensive about. The ones that when someone gets too close makes something inside rattle. Jesus already knows them. The gas gauge has been warning you that it can’t stay this way and still make it home. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” But then another truth comes to light in this verse. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).

When our faith gets stranded on the side of the road God’s mercy in Jesus gets us back on the road headed in the right direction. By grace we are called trust in His Word, live that Word, and by that Word learn to give better attention to that fuel gauge of our faith. The Word is the fuel. The Word is our salvation and because of it we will make it all the way home. So, why would any of us just get by on E when Jesus invites us to have life in full?

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace in Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: weeklysept7

Youtube Video. https://youtu.be/dgh8ZfirAW0

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION SEPTEMBER 1

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“TOPPLE-GANGERS”

READING: Psalm 1:1-4 – Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Do you know what I mean by a “stand-alone” basketball goal? You see them in numerous driveways where young Hoosiers shoot hoops and dream of glory in Bloomington. They are basketball backboards mounted on an adjustable pole and attached to a large, plastic tank as its base. The tank is supposed to be filled with water or covered with sandbags to give the goal a solid base and to keep it from toppling over. Notice, I said, “Supposed to…”

My grandson Uri and I took a walk around our neighborhood yesterday. As we went, both of us noticed a number of such basketball goals that were in bad shape. We saw three that had large holes broken out of the backboard. We saw two more that had the rims bent backwards at a steep angle. In fact, we only saw one of those things that wasn’t beat up, and that’s a brand new one that our neighbors downhill from us just bought and set up. I’ll make a prediction right now that that one, too, will be in sad shape before next spring rolls around.

See, the problem with those “stand alone” baskets is their foundation. A good goal is anchored in the ground with about 600 pounds of concrete poured around its base. That kind of goal can withstand the wind and 220 pound, 6-foot-4 young men who like to show off their “hops”. The stand-alone types just don’t have solid footing. A windstorm comes along, catches the backboard like a sail, and over it goes. One of those big young men hangs a moment too long on the rim, and down it comes. Before you know it, the backboard shatters or the rim is bent at a crazy angle, and the thing becomes useless.

So it is with the human being who tries to “stand alone” in this wilderness called “life”. Scripture again and again uses picture language and outright pleas to call people to stand in God’s strength and under his wings. To be grounded in his Word and to set their hopes on his Gospel in Jesus Christ. So many people race through life chasing after their dreams only to find that on their deathbeds, those dreams are just so much dust. Others slouch through life with little joy and with large resentments, always sure that “somebody” has kept them from the ”good life”.

The Psalmist in his very first Psalm lays the groundwork for real joy and genuine hope and a life that truly is meaningful when he urges the reader to “delight in the law of the Lord.” He says that such a person “is like a tree planted by streams of water.” Their roots go deep into the wisdom of the Lord. They are sustained in times of trouble, in times of sorrow, in times of danger by their dependence and assurance in God’s unending love and his eternal promises. Their life choices are dictated not just by their own sinful judgments but by an obedience and an informed conscience that comes from a personal relationship with their Savior.

St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians talks about the foundation that holds us upright and firm against the storms and onslaughts of life when he says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Like those “stand-alone” goals, people who stand in their own strength and achievements will, sooner or later, be toppled and broken. But the ones who stand upon God’s word, rooted in Christ Jesus, and trusting in his promises, will stand against the storm in this life, and stand before the Throne in the next.

You don’t have to take my word for it. See for yourself! Delight in his Word and be grounded in his Gospel. Don’t be a “Topple-ganger”, but the tree that bears fruit in its season and “whose leaf does not wither.” Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S):

Saturday, September 19, 5:00 – we are planning a drive-in worship service in place of the usual Saturday night service. You’ll be able to park in the lot, see the pastors from your car, and tune in to the service on your FM dial. At the end of the service, Holy Communion will be celebrated and distributed as you drive out the exit past the gym. In this way we hope to give those who have stayed out of the building for five months for fear of COVID the opportunity to safely and meaningfully worship AND RECEIVE COMMUNION. More info will be coming, so stay tuned!

A reminder to parents and their seventh and eighth graders! We have our initial meeting tomorrow evening from 6-7:00. Important for you to be there in the Sanctuary.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/tdT3ML0uKxw

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDSept1.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION August 31

Monday, August 31, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“The Blessings of Disappointment”

Shelby was headed for her Senior year of college. She was a hardcore softball player for her college. At that time the college she attended had a huge softball tournament in Orlando Florida which everyone one on the team looked forward to. Of course, to go on the trip required each member of the team to raise money to be able to go. This was a trip that Shelby looked forward to every year and always worked hard to raise what she needed long before the deadline. It was not only a chance to play other college teams around the country but also as everyone knows, Orlando had some fun things to do as well.

But something happened that no one saw coming. On a surprise call from her parents she received news that Shelby will not be able to finish her senior year at that college. A combination of problems had been building and finally collapsed. Her father had just gotten laid off after a string of health problems had finally prevented him from being able to do his job. And a letter had come that Shelby had allowed her grades to slip a little to far for her scholarship to be carried over to the second semester of her senior year. Shelby was devastated in disappointment.

Shelby tried at least to salvage her softball trip to Orlando since her monies had been raised and sent in. But since she was no longer going to be an enrolled student the coach couldn’t convince the powers that be to allow it. So, Shelby went home and eventually finished her senior year at a more affordable college closer to home. It was not the senior year that she had imagined for herself or had planned for.

Disappointment comes in many forms and my guess is that as you watch this today you yourself have felt as Shelby did. Whether it be something simple as a new car that breaks down, or something bigger like a divorce disappointment hurts. But having this experience as we do may actually make us strong enough and wise enough to be kind of person that can help someone like Shelby. Disappointment can lead to a kind of mourning process but it also can lead to blessings. Consider the scene in John 11.

Starting with verse 28: 28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Lazarus has been in the tomb four days. Jesus arrives to a very disappointed group of people, especially Lazarus’ sisters. When Mary runs out to Jesus she falls at his feet acknowledging Jesus as Lord but also in wonders says, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” One can easily hear the sting in that statement. Of course, we know from previous verses what Jesus had planned to do. Even so it should not be lost on us how Jesus handled the moment.

Jesus listened to both Martha and Mary and did not try to fix them. Jesus accepted the disappointment and met them there in that disappointment. Jesus also treated each of the sisters appropriately. With Martha who was practical, “the strong one”, Jesus does a little teaching and review. 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

On other hand Mary, is much more emotionally driven, and reflective. Jesus approaches her a little differently. Jesus effectively has a good cry with Mary. Jesus listens to her and then just joins her tears for a moment. Jesus doesn’t try to fix Mary either. He was deeply moved and loved her. And in Jesus being there He also reminded others of His love for Lazarus and that Jesus felt their heartbreak. And before raising Lazarus Jesus renewed their faith in Jesus being the Messiah and the source of eternal life.

When we meet someone who has been struck with disappointment consider this same path. We may not be able to remove someone’s disappointment or the things that have brought that disappointment to bear. The Lord doesn’t ask us to do that nor should we try to. We are not called to fix people but to love them.

Start by showing up and be present. When Lenard Nemoy died William Shatner decided not to attend his funeral saying he had contractual engagements to fulfill. At the time I thought to be a pretty lame excuse for a guy that Shatner had known and worked with for decades; and who as Captain Kirk and Spock were portrayed as the best of friends. Comforting people works best when we are truly and actually present. When we hurt we remember a friend’s presence much more than we remember what they said.

Be quick to listen and be available. Sometimes this means we learn to be uncomfortable. “Lord if you had only been here…” or “Why is this happening?” may not be question you have an answer for but still feel we should say something. Just listen and be present anyway. Let them express themselves. The best way for disappointment to lose its power over us is tell our story over and over again because as we do, we are processing it, accepting it, and allowing ourselves to mourn. Giving someone the same opportunity to process shrinks the emotional hold that disappointment may carry.

Encourage trust in the Lord. Pray. Talk with the Lord. Turn to the Lord. But then remember the Lord allows us to feel disappointment. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. Sometimes what happens has nothing to do we a specific plan as it did with Lazarus. Sometimes bad things happen. Jesus does not try to protect our feelings. The women were allowed to feel the full sense of loss. What followed were a deep sense of awe after Lazarus had been raised. That is a plan that John 11 spells out. But not everything is so clear or certain. That’s okay too. But we trust in the Lord anyway to turn what hurts into something good. And what is good may not be fully understood.

But disappointment has a way of making us a little tougher to beat and a littler more aware of our need for Jesus. When it comes to the death of a dream, or a marriage, or a brokenness that we were not expecting or something else facing disappointment with faith in Christ is certainly more productive than disappointment without Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not only your own understanding sometimes is the best course to take. In the end walking with the Lord is course that offers grace in corners of our life that we didn’t know we had need of it. “Do you believe this?” Jesus asks Martha. Are you ready to believe in the midst of disappointment? Faith finds a way.

People find out who they are in disappointment. But we also find out who are friends are when disappointment strikes. The blessings of disappointment are found with those who cry with us, listen to us, hold on to us, and help us process. Most of all in Jesus we find a friend who in ways only God can define can turn our hurts into a much deeper faith by His grace. You may be just the person who makes that possible as the Lord works through you.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace in Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyDAug31.PDF

Youtube Video. https://youtu.be/PEjRNP6-IMY

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION AUGUST 25

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“The Perfect Picture of Grace”

READING: Ephesians 2:6-9 – And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

Acts 16:29-34 – The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved – you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God – he and his family.

Last Saturday, a week ago, I had a wonderful experience. Having come home to Richville to perform my nephew Brad’s marriage to his wife, Kayla, I was asked by my nephew, John, to baptize his baby daughter, Hazel Rose, and I was asked by my goddaughter, Alyssa, John’s sister, to baptize her newborn son, Winston Leonard. So, on Saturday evening we gathered at St. Michael’s, my home church, to participate in a double baptism of my great-niece and my great-nephew. That was a new experience and a great joy.

What was not new was my appreciation for the beauty and graciousness of infant baptism. Many of our Protestant brethren do not believe infant baptism is appropriate or Biblical. I disagree. I believe the Christian church rightly baptized babies and children right from the start. Look at the story from Acts above. The words “your household”, “all the others in his house”, “all his family”, and “his family” give you the distinct picture that St. Paul did not single out the youngest children in that house from being baptized. When he baptized Dad, he baptized the “whole household”. In Greek the word is “oikos”, which was a word used in contemporary everyday speech to indicate EVERY PERSON UNDER ONE’S ROOF, old AND young.

More importantly, infant baptism is the most beautiful picture of God’s grace. Those two babies last week could not make any promises, take any vows, “give their hearts to Jesus”, or claim his blessing. They had no idea what was going on. The baptism wasn’t so much about them as it was about their heavenly Father who claimed them and named them to be his children for eternity. In that sacrament, the Father, for Jesus’ sake, declared Hazel and Winston to be HIS children. They didn’t earn that. They didn’t deserve that. They had nothing to do with receiving it. It was God’s grace-filled act of love, of his own accord, because of his love, in the name of Jesus.

Obviously, as they grow and mature, those two will be able to respond to God’s grace and learn to appreciate the great gift that baptism is. But even then, they will not be able to claim that they “chose to believe” or that they “found Jesus”. The passage from Ephesians puts the light on more of God’s grace. It says that even our faith is “the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.” Whether it’s an infant being baptized or an octogenarian, it is God who gives the gift. It is God who lays claim. It is God who makes the promise that stands for all time. Even if we reject that promise or wander from his grace, Scripture makes clear that when we repent and confess our sins, seeking his mercy once again, our heavenly Father rejoices that we have once again sheltered under the grace of our baptism. His promise of eternal life in Christ is still there, open and waiting for us.

Dr. Martin Luther, lying on his deathbed was heard to murmur, “We are all of us beggars.” And, he was right. None of us can claim righteousness of our own apart from Christ. None of us can make a promise, offer a vow, or receive God’s grace by our own strength and conviction. But the Holy Spirit, working through Word and water (and, later, bread and wine) brings us into faith and keeps us in that faith through God’s grace in Christ Jesus. So, keep those babies coming! Every time we baptize one of them, we see the perfect picture of God’s grace and a miracle that transforms a sinful child of man into a forgiven child of God!

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S):
Saturday, September 19, 5:00 – we are planning a drive-in worship service in place of the usual Saturday night service. You’ll be able to park in the lot, see the pastors from your car, and tune in to the service on your FM dial. At the end of the service, Holy Communion will be celebrated and distributed as you drive out the exit past the gym. In this way we hope to give those who have stayed out of the building for five months for fear of COVID the opportunity to safely and meaningfully worship AND RECEIVE COMMUNION. More info will be coming, so stay tuned!

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/IYurAJO_R7Q

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDAug25

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WEEKLY DEVOTION August 24

Monday, August 24, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“Taking Aim”

One of my favorite places to go as a little kid was to my great-grandparents house in Kingston, Michigan. On one occasion I found a sling shot in their garage. So, while grandma was inside I proceeded to shoot rocks across the road into a large garden directly across the road. Back then my grandparents had a half-acre garden and my vague memory of the garden across the road was that it was just as large. I should also add that back then kids were able to go outside and find things to do with constant supervision—although I probably could have used a little supervision on this particular day. Anyway, I knew what sling shots could do. So pulled back hard on that slingshot just to watch the rock sail in a big arch over the road to the garden. At first I aiming for the big tree next to the garden across the road. In truth, I mostly just liked shooting rocks.

Everything was fine until the neighbor lady across the road decided to work out in her garden-the very same garden that I was shooting rocks in. She wandered out in her long, very plain looking, country work dress, wearing tall rain boots. She was a bit heavy set and carried a basket. Did I stop? Not on your life.

When someone should have been yelling; “Get behind me, Satan” my mind was saying “Keep firing.” As this woman bent over to work in her garden I fired over and over. She was a lot more fun to aim at then the tree. The rocks landed all around her. I can remember her looking in the direction of the last rock that landed near her. Then another. Then another. The rocks kept landing near her. She, naturally got suspicious. It took her a while to figure out what that noise was. Finally, she stood up and looked around to see me holding the sling shot in the garage across the street. I remember her yelling out, “Are you shooting rocks? You better not be shooting rocks at me!” She was not very happy with me. I did what any child at that age does, especially a little devil that I was on that day. I denied any guilt. “I mean it!” she said before going back to gardening. Did I stop? Nope. I just took better aim

With the neighbor’s sizeable presence facing in my direction I saw a target I couldn’t refuse. I took careful aim. I pulled back hard and let that rock fly. Zing! The next thing I saw was that woman straighten right up with her hand holding her back left cheek. Bullseye! She marched right on over to straighten me out. I of course ran into the house and let grandma handle it. That poor neighbor didn’t have a chance with Grandma and I knew it. I don’t know what she said but whatever she said took care of it. Grandma was always quick to laugh pretty hard when the story was retold. She always said, “I don’t know how he could miss!” And laugh some more.

Whatever you take aim at is what you will shoot for. And what one aims at may either bring out the little devil in us or a faithful servant. Lord willing what we aim at is something that will bless us, bless others, and not…um…sting. Most of us want to leave our mark, but the right kind of mark on others—Hopefully our actions will leave a Jesus impression on others instead of a welt that wounds someone’s spirit or person. In Philippians 3:4-6 Paul talks about his previous life. It was a life that started with godly intentions but did great damage. It seemed that what he aimed at had great success, at least in a Jewish mind back in Paul’s day. But he later describes in verses 7-11 that meeting Jesus changed what He was aiming for in this world. Consider the passage.

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” Paul was top of his class and well on his way to being a powerful man. But it was bringing out the devil in Paul rather than good. In fact, we first meet Paul as a persecutor of the church. He believed at the time that he was protecting Judaism and honoring Yahweh. But then He meets Jesus on the road to Damascus and all of His priorities changed. He was aiming at the wrong things.

He goes on to say, “7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

Everything we take aim at in life whether it be a good education, a good job, a nice house etc. are truly a blessing when we keep our aim first and foremost on Jesus. Some of us may ask ourselves, “Is the job we are working glorifying Jesus or glorifying ourselves?” “Have we picked a spouse that will enhance a relationship with Jesus or make it harder?” “Have we chosen a lifestyle that is far too busy for Jesus?” “Are the things we are doing making us closer to our family or pulling us apart?” It’s important that if we take aim at something, we know what our target is. Its’ also important to know that if we hit our target, we aren’t going to hurt ourselves or someone else. The last thing we want is a pain in our back fender or to create pain in someone else’s fender. Faith in Jesus when exercised in His grace should produce fruits consistent with Spirit for example. You know those fruits in Galatians 5:23 “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control”.

In order for Paul to become the effective instrument that he ultimately became, Paul had to change what He was aiming at. He called those things that were once so important and sources of pride for Paul, garbage. Compared to knowing Christ crucified and the hope of the resurrection those things meant nothing. More than that, those things Paul held so much pride in were only bringing out the devil in Paul rather than something good.

That’s the interesting thing with Covid. For many it has been a time of reflection and personal evaluation. Many have lost their jobs and many have had to change direction; change what they are aiming at. Covid has forced many into change. But so doing it has offered a rare opportunity to reexamine one’s life and evaluate one’s priorities and to count up what really matters. This much is very true. Evaluating what we are aiming at once in a while to see if its’ what we should be aiming at, is important especially in light of the Christian faith.

So, consider some questions to ask as about our aims. “Is it good?” “Is it necessary?” “Would God approve?” “What do those that we love most say about it?” “Are we ready to refine or altar our aims to avoid becoming that little devil?”

In the end, godly aims should build up others and honor our Lord and by the grace of God they will. So, aim high and let the rock of your Salvation be something you stand on rather than something you slingshot at someone.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace in Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyDAug24

Youtube Videohttps://youtu.be/spCth-19srU

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION AUGUST 18

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“I’m the ‘Old Man’ Now”

READING: Psalm 71:1-9, 12 – In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me.

When Dad died last month, it occurred to me that I couldn’t think of a Kischnick male who is older than I am. My Grandpa Kischnick had three brothers, and they’re all gone. Dad was the oldest of the male cousins, and he had outlived them all. Not one of them had a son older than me, so I am the old man on the Kischnick side of the family.

In my mother’s family, the Mossner’s, I had two male cousins older than me, but sadly both of them are already deceased. When my Uncle Rudy died several years ago, I became the eldest male on that side of the family. (My cousin, Ruth Sullivan, is older than me by several years, so there’s that.)

I teased my brothers and my nephews when we were all together out at the farm. I told them I was now the “pater familias.” I told them that not so many centuries ago they would all have been expected to come visit me and to kiss my ring. They had a whole different take on that idea, and much laughter ensued! They just said I was now the old man with emphasis on “the old.”

As I reflected on my new status, I couldn’t help but be saddened by all the losses this represented: two grandfathers I loved and respected, all the great-uncles whom I saw frequently at church and at family get-togethers, all my uncles, cousins Ralph and Bill, and, of course, Dad. How quickly we go from being one of the kids to being, “the Old Man.”

Psalm 71 shows us King David in his old age. He has lived through countless adventures, survived tremendous dangers, had fame and fortune and power. He has been surrounded by enemies, within and without. He has written soaring and memorable psalms, been a man after God’s own heart, and fallen to low depths a number of times. Now he is an old man with health concerns and a sense that time is catching up with him. He has a collection of sons, and a number of them would like to be his successor. Absalom had even tried to hurry the process along. How quickly the years have passed. He went from fighting giants to being “a portent to many,” a portent of the changes that will come soon: a new king and a new era.

But to his credit David does what David has always done: he turns to his God and relies on God’s strength and protection. He goes to “the rock of refuge” on whom he has relied “since birth.” He trusts that God will walk the rest of the journey with him; that God’s blessing and favor are still with him. He seeks his protection from wicked and cruel men. He makes it his goal to praise and worship the Lord as has been his habit all his life long. “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone,” he pleads. That translates to, “I need you more than ever!”

So, I am “the Old Man” now. That’s ok. I’ll wear the crown for a while. I’ll do what David did and put my trust in the Lord. Our time here is fleeting. When we were children, time seemed to drag. Once Thanksgiving had come, it seemed as though Christmas would NEVER get here. Now when October 1, arrives we think, “It’s almost Christmas!” Everything changes save for one: The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is our Rock of Refuge, our constant hope, and the one who helps us. And, hey, at least none of my youngers is plotting to take my throne! Praise be to the Lord our God. Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S):

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/__MvvbYOs4s

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDAug18.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION August 17

Monday, August 17, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“Remembering and Forgetting”

I don’t know about you but I forget things sometimes. I am singularly focused most of the time. I really only do one thing at a time. I’ll give you an example with my phone. Recently, I was focused on getting a tool from the barn to bring to church. The sudden thought popped into my head while I was loading the car and carrying my cell phone. So, in my haste I (for reasons I cannot understand to this day) I set my cell phone down on the top of the washing machine and then set some mail over the top of it. I hurried to the barn to find the tool I needed. I couldn’t find the tool right away because it wasn’t where it was supposed to be. I eventually found it ran up to my car with the tool in hand and then suddenly remembered another tool that I may need. Flustered with myself for not thinking about it while I was down in the barn, I threw the first tool into the trunk of the car and ran back down to the barn to get the next thing I needed. Finally, I think I got everything I need (with that little voice in my head telling me there may be something else that I was forgetting.) No matter! I hurridly hopped into the car and drove off.

About a mile from the house just as I turn onto Hwy 150, I remembered what I forgot. My phone. Ticked at myself for being such an airhead I found a place in busy traffic to turn around. Ten minutes later I’m back home looking for my cell phone. “But where did I put that thing?” By now I was getting pretty frustrated with myself. It was definitely one of those mornings. By now in my head I could hear my wife saying to me, “Why don’t you make a list?” And I end the conversation in my head with, “Yea, Yea, I probably should have. It would have saved me a lot of this chaos.”

So, I back-tracked my flustered morning retracing my steps. Yet I just couldn’t seem to remember where I put that phone. Worse yet, I couldn’t even call it because no one else was home. Thank goodness it buzzed from a text while I was in kitchen looking in places I had tried twice already. I looked in couch cushions and checked the bedroom. Then it buzzed again—thank goodness for texts. Sure enough, it was on the washing machine under some mail. Oh yea! Some distant memory jogged and it all flooded back. Thirty minutes later I was finally on the road again.

Does the Lord forget things? The good news is that He does. He forgets our sins in the forgiveness of the cross. Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” The verse is very much in tune with Jeremiah 31:34 which states, “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘know the Lord,’ for they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.”

But how do we reconcile this with Matthew 12:36 which says, “People will give an account for every careless word they speak”? The answer is in the faith. Those who are in Christ are a new Creation in Christ—the old is gone and the new has come. Psalm 103:12 reminds us, “as far as the east is the from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Romans 8:1 starts of the chapter making the same point that “there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” And verse 34 repeats the thought when it effectively says, “Who’s left to condemn us since Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us?” Forgiveness in Christ wipes out our record because Jesus declares us righteous in His grace. We are treated just-as-if-I’d (Justified) never sinned—that’s justification in Jesus.

Let’s be clear. If God wanted to remember our sins He could. Jesus doesn’t have memory problems like Pastor Woods. He chooses to forget our sins because of the cross. When the Heavenly Father looks at us, He sees only the righteousness of Jesus which has been covering us since our Baptisms. Galatians 3:27 says as much, “Anyone who is baptized into Christ Jesus has been clothed with Christ.” The Lord forgets our sins.

On the other hand, however, the Lord always remembers His promises. I can still remember the last time I saw my grandma Woods in Michigan. By then she was well into the later stages of Dementia. She lay in her bed staring at my dad and me blankly. I don’t remember her saying anything to us but somewhere deep inside she was trying to connect to us—I’m sure of it. The disease had taken her mind and body away very slowly. It was our long good-bye. The last visit was nothing like the days when she would be made up, beautifully dressed, and always so happy to see us as kids. She wasn’t getting up to make us supper or walk with us on the beach or play in the sand.

On that day, back then, I didn’t know what to say, or how to approach it. I just missed her and she wasn’t even gone yet. I was relieved for her sake when the Lord finally called her home. She could not remember us but somewhere deep down inside a faith was there that had been so strong when she could express herself.

Faith says, the Lord will remember His own. He will not forget us nor let a broken mind prevent His promises from being fulfilled for Grandma Woods. I would only understand this many years later. Jesus is not limited by our limits. In fact, as a friend of mine said, Jesus can speak Alzheimer’s, as well as He speaks English. I take comfort in this for my brother as well who has autism. The Lord speaks Autism as well as he speak English too. God’s communicating to them on a level of grace much more profound than I am capable of comprehending. There is no where we can be that Jesus cannot be there also—Dementia, Autism, Cancer, or any kind of tribulation this world throws at us. That’s what God being with us means. It also means we are with Him. When death comes knocking the resurrection shoves the grave aside and new life comes overrules our grave.

One last thought and encouragement before I wrap this up this morning. You have probably heard me describe how much I love memorizing the Gospel readings for Sunday. I don’t have the greatest memory but I find that doing this helps me meditate on God’s Word. Memorizing takes me deeper than a quick read. Reading the scriptures can be more like a stone skipping across the water. But memorizing the Gospel feels more like a scuba diver discovering all the beautiful, vibrant colors of the deep, seeing all the amazing fish, and experiencing a place of wonder for the first time. Every time I memorize a passage, I am drawn into it and I see things within those words–so much more meaning. I can’t always retain everything I memorize for a Sunday—I’ll be honest. But when I return to those passages that I have memorized it feels like meeting an old friend for a visit. Memorizing scriptures is building within me a much deeper appreciation for just what a gift our salvation is.

So, I for one am glad that even though my memory isn’t that great all the time God’s is perfect. I for one am glad He chooses to forget my sins and remember them no more. Ironically our sins are forgiven and forgotten because the Lord remembers His promises in the cross and in the resurrection. And I hope that you might keep all of this in mind too.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace in Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyDAug17

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/7EroQAtw9K8

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION AUGUST 11

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble!”

READING: John 16:29-33 – Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “You believe at last!” Jesus answered. “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Have you ever had a week in which it seems every single thing you were involved in went south? A week where it seemed that no matter what you tried your hand at, it didn’t go as planned? A week when junk mail, solicitors on the phone, and even companies you trusted told you half truths or outright lies? Well, I had one like that last week, and am I glad that week is history and in the rearview mirror! I wouldn’t live it over even if the Lord offered me 3 bonus weeks of life for doing so! Let me tell you about it!

So, the Robinson family was suddenly bereaved the week before last, and they called me Monday to ask if I would conduct their father’s funeral on Saturday. Certainly, I said, and we began to make plans. But he died in a helicopter crash in Nevada, and Nevada is one of the few states that requires the coroner to complete and sign a death certificate before a body can be shipped out of state. The coroner sent it, but it was incorrectly completed and had to be redone. Then the funeral home taking care of arrangements had four employees go out on quarantine because one of them contracted COVID-19! It took until Friday to get all the kinks worked out of the situation, so the funeral is taking place today.

Then, Thursday we had a Red Cross blood drive at the church. So, since I was there and have been a long-time donor, I went through all the hoops and barrels you have to jump through in order to give a unit of A-. When I laid myself down on the table and met my blood tech, I could tell he was rather new at all of it. He was slow and apologetic, but very nice and talkative. Then, when all the prep work was done, he had trouble spotting a vein. He asked another tech for assistance, and she pointed one out to him. Then he came at me with the needle, tentative and obviously unsure. In went the needle, and immediately he was asking another tech to come because he wasn’t getting much blood. The long and the short of it, he went through my vein, and I developed a rather large hematoma which has now become a big bruise, and because he had collected a little blood in my bag, they couldn’t try the other arm. No nice, fresh A- from Pastor for someone who’s going to need it this week!

Then, Friday morning I had a plumber come to the house to replace the flush valve in the second-floor bathroom. He put in a brand-new valve I had purchased at Ace Hardware that week. It only took him a few minutes and he had it mounted. Then he went down into the basement to check on something else. Uriah, my youngest grandson, and I were playing wiffleball in the living room when I noticed the kitchen table was all wet. I wondered about that until I noticed a steady stream of water running off the light fixture above that table! The brand-new valve was stuck in the open position and had run over the tank, flooded the floor, and drained through the ceiling.

Add to that the notice from The Smithsonian Magazine telling me my subscription would soon be running out when I have only received the first two editions so far. Or, the “Special Offer” from Whirlpool telling me my water filter in the refrigerator is near the end of its life span and offering me new ones for much money when in fact we just bought that refrigerator in April! And, there’s dozens more irritations and troubles that come along on an all-too-regular basis.

But then, I’m not telling you anything you haven’t already experienced yourselves! Some things are small potatoes and hardly worth griping about. Other things are life-changing or even life-threatening. This world is full of trials and troubles, and sometimes we just want to pull out our hair and howl at the moon…and then Jesus speaks to us! “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Oh, how we need his comfort, his strength, his promises, his counsel. How much we need his reassurance that he has overcome every manner of evil, grief, loss, shame, sorrow, and aggravation! How good to know that after this sinful, broken world has served up its share of heartache, there stands Jesus, victorious, risen, and bringing us peace!

It ain’t always gonna be like this! Jesus, our Savior and Lord, has overcome the world! And, he is already preparing a place for us that we may someday be where he is. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S):

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PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDAug11.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION
August 10

Monday, August 10, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“With Friends Like These”

I was watching a show the other day called Dr. Pimple Popper. This woman pulls things out of her patients that would make most people squirm. The episode I watched featured a man named Genner who flew all the way from the Philippines because he suffered from a very large cyst growing on the top of his nose. Of course, Dr. Lee (Her real name) was able to remove it and return the man’s nose to its former shape.

Prior to the surgery Genner spoke about how for fifteen years he had become extremely self-aware of this cyst. He even wore masks just so people wouldn’t stare at it. In the same episode, April, a mom of three had been living with a genetic condition that causes bumps to grow all over her arms. She found that it was genetically passed down from her father and was worried sick that her son may have the same problem along with the stigma that came with the condition. Dr. Lee removed 68 various sized globs of stuff that looked like raw chicken from both arms. Each time I have caught the show I have watch the patients like these express the same thing. They are very conscious of their flaws. In their attempted hiding from the public they become very lonely, guarded, and isolated. Thankfully, those like Genner and April are strongly supported by their families and their friends which makes their suffering slightly tolerable.

One finds out who their friends are when they face a long-term illness. And the best of friends are the ones that are still there when the worst of things come. With this mind I invite you to turn to Mark 2:1-5. “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
One finds out who their friends are when they face a long-term illness. And the best of friends are the ones that are Jesus comes home to Capernaum and folks far and wide crowd the house to overflowing. Verse three starts off with “some men came, bringing to Jesus a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.” Who were these guys? First, look at their devotion to this man. Having had an uncle who was quadriplegic I have some idea of the level of care that is involved.
One finds out who their friends are when they face a long-term illness. And the best of friends are the ones that are From the moment that my uncle woke up he was dependent on a trusted aide or his wife to show up in the morning, get him out bed and into the powered wheel chair, cleaned up, dressed, and fed and later in the day reverse the process. The commitment was total. It was a lot of work for the aide and a lot of concern for the family. He did actually learn to drive again. I’ll share that with you some other time.

These four men were probably late to the party because they, no doubt, had to complete some kind of preparation to get their friend cleaned up, dressed, and out the door. Not only so but the man’s condition probably meant that the mat they carried him on was soiled and stale at best. This is an important fact because these men did not concern themselves with becoming unclean by touching the mat. These four dedicated men didn’t worry about that. They could throw the mat away if they could just get to Jesus. So, each one grabbed a corner and headed down the street.

So, they came carrying the paralytic to the house. Everyone is crowded in to see Jesus; no way those four guys are getting through the crowd and none are eager to make room for this paralytic. In a very real sense this man’s brethren willfully became an obstacle to this man. It’s a small town—everyone probably knows everyone else and everything going on. And remember this was an era where it was believed that if you were sick you or a relative probably sinned and therefore deserved your condition (See John 9). The teachers of the Law definitely believed this man was a sinner because of his condition and many others mostly likely did too. That was the thinking of the day. And it should not be lost on us that the first thing Jesus does for the man is forgive his sins and then He heals him to prove to the critics that the forgiveness has taken hold. This may be partly because the people in the town knew this paralytic and held a belief that the man or his parents had sinned to bring this on.

These four friends thought nothing of the sort. They knew him and they believed Jesus could help him. Their compassion for this man was unstoppable. They cared about the paralytic. They cared that he had their help. They cared and, in their caring, did something about it. And notice the paralytic trusted them to give it a try. All these four determined friends knew was that they just needed to help their paralytic friend. And that meant get him to Jesus at all costs. That is the best kind of friend.

We see the depth of their love, compassion, and their faith that Jesus could heal the man in their determination. They would not wait for Jesus to come out and chance missing Him. And if they couldn’t go through the crowd they would go over it. They muscled the man up to the top of the roof and began to dig. The roof was likely made of dried mud and sticks. They likely had to find tools to hack away at the hard, dried mud and the sticks that the roof was constructed of. And it must have been a bit disturbing for those inside who were no doubt having dust, mud, and stick fragments fall on their heads. They had Jesus’ attention now, totally disrupting Jesus’ teaching. Finding some rope or perhaps using their own robes they lowered the man through the hole right in front of Jesus, who I believe is smiling from ear to ear at their display of faith.

The effort is rewarded in full view of everyone who didn’t make room for this man and his four friends. The paralytic is forgiven and then healed. “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Now who’s carrying the mat? He carries his own mat much to the joy of his four friends and to the shock of the teachers of the Law. After that, every time those in Capernaum saw this man, they didn’t think of a sinner but of a miracle performed by Jesus. He was a witness to Jesus just by walking around.

Thank the Lord for good friends and family. Good friends gladly risk Covid to make a difference. Good friends are loyal in good and in bad. Good friends keep coming around when everyone else has faded back. They are initiators because the paralytic in us tries not to bother them too much. “I’m fine” doesn’t stop them from doing something for us. Good friends are willing to hurt our feelings if necessary and cut through our garbage and occasionally rip us a new one when we need it. Good friends never stop caring. They are supportive and make it a point not to miss important events. Good friends and family are a blessing and I would encourage you to stay close to them. Those like the four men in Mark 2 are the best kind. With these kinds of friends, we will know Jesus much better.

Of course, none is more of a friend then Jesus. Jesus’ death and resurrection go much farther and accomplish much more than we will fully realize on this side of creation. But we will soon enough realize just how good Jesus is to us once we cross over into heaven. No one needs a mat or wheelchair or a Dr. Pimper Popper there. Jesus loves us even with all of our flaws, sins, and problems but in heaven those are all removed because of the cross. He remains with us when all others would abandon us. He is a friend that gives generously. When you call Him, He is ready to listen. His love for us is eternally complete. What a friend we have in Jesus! May the Lord bless us with friends like those in Mark 2. And may the Lord bless us to be that kind of friend to someone who needs us to help carry them a little while too.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyDAug10.PDF

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matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION AUGUST 4

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“Earthquakes”

READING: Psalm 16:1, 2, 7-8 – Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Weather forecasting has made great advances over the last 20-30 years. New technologies and new weather modeling make it possible for big weather events to be forecast with much more accuracy than in times past. They’re not perfect, but much better than before. Take hurricanes, for instance. Satellites allow for meteorologists to spot tropical depressions which morph into tropical storms that can spin up into hurricanes that threaten various places. They can give six, seven, eight days warning that something may be headed your way, and people can evacuate to safer places.

Tornadoes can be forecast with greater accuracy than ever before. Doppler radar allows for spotting “hooks” that can spawn twisters. The weathermen can warn people in its path to go to safer places. Blizzards can also be forecast and warned against. Heavy lightning the same. Big rains, ditto!

But there is one natural phenomenon that to this day has baffled every expert when it comes to predictions and early warning: earthquakes. One minute you are eating your breakfast; the next moment the ceiling falls on your head. There is no early warning. There is no predicting it. One moment, all is well; the next, “…all kinds of shakin’ is going on!”

In thirty years of ministry to people, I find the same is true for all kinds of trouble and affliction that can befall human beings. One moment, everything is fine; the next, someone runs a stop sign and T-bones you. One moment, you feel fine; the next, a terrible pain stabs its way into your consciousness. One moment, all is well; the next, the telephone rings and you learn someone you love has died. One moment things are normal; the next, nothing is ever “normal” again.

These things can’t be predicted or foreseen. They are life-altering events that shake us to our core and change everything. We couldn’t see them coming, but once they hit us, we find ourselves in the center of the storm. What do we hang on to? What helps us withstand the upheaval and its after-effects?

The Psalmist has the answer. He says, “I keep the Lord always before me.” To me, that has always meant that I keep the Lord in the very center of my life. I try to see everything that I experience, for good or for ill, through the lens of God’s grace, mercy, and promises. I try to keep the Lord in the center of all I do, not so much that I can reach out and take hold of him when my world shakes, but better that HE can reach out and take hold of me! I need him there, in the middle, as the center-pining of my life, as the support and the guidepost of my living. Then when something rocks my world, I have his assurance that he’s right there where he’s always been, in the center of my life.

The Psalmist goes on to say, “Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” That word, shaken, carries with it the connotation of “being shaken to pieces, being utterly undone” as when a terrier shakes the life out of a rat. The Psalmist says that whatever might come, because the Lord is there with him, he will not be reduced to hopelessness and despair. He will have the strength to deal with the “earthquakes” of life with faith, trust, and confidence in God’s providence.

Just this past week I met with or talked with three families and several individuals who had experienced just such “earthquakes” in their lives. Accidental death, sudden natural death, diagnoses of life-threatening ailments, and other challenges that suddenly appeared in their lives, changing the trajectories of their hopes and expectations. And, in every case my counsel was to keep the Lord at the center of their lives. To trust that even when they could not see the way ahead clearly, that God would be going into their future with them. Together we can say as the Psalmist does, “Keep me safe, O god; for in you I take refuge.” Amen.

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WEEKLY DEVOTION August 3

Monday, August 3, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“Trust is the Hardest Part”

The Christian faith is formed by three main ingredients; knowledge, acceptance, and trust. Knowledge and acceptance, I may talk about another time but for today we will focus on trust because trust is the hardest of the three ingredients for a Christian. For now, let’s just say, we may know Jesus and the Bible. We may accept Jesus as Savior and His Word as truth. But trust requires action and a willingness to put ourselves in the Savior’s hands. All three ingredients are integrated and dependent on the other ingredients for faith to be healthy. All three ingredients are essential to following Jesus and all are directed by the Holy Spirit.

So, what happens when trust is strained or maybe even broken? What do you do then? To consider this question let us turn to Mark 9:14-29.

14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them.

15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

The boy’s father expresses a line I have used myself. “Lord I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” Doubts creep in because trust has been eroded. I believe this father has worked hard to help his son long before we meet him at this scene in Mark 9. Perhaps, as long as this father noticed the boy’s symptoms this father likely has done anything within his means to help his son. Nothing has worked and no solution has come from the religious leaders, the teachers of the Law, who only wanted to argue about the sinfulness that must have brought this about (See John 9). The disciples prove nothing either because they couldn’t drive out the demon. Everything seems to have flopped. This father is full of doubts and Jesus literally becomes his last hope.

“Help my unbelief” comes usually after many disappointments, some of them self-inflicted—imagined outcomes like I shared last week only to be punctured by the reality. Who could blame us for doubting? What do we actually trust in the news, especially in the realm of politics? Will science really flatten the fear of Covid? We hear about solutions to Covid but how many vaccines have cured a cold or flu? Or on a normal day how many unknown numbers pop up on our phones that we actually answer or trust? How many things that promise us better health actually want to help us or are we just getting another false advertisement? Recently I have been hearing about Johnson and Johnson being sued because their baby powder causes cancer. Baby powder? What!? That’s been on our shelf since I was a baby. Good grief! Can anything be trusted? Thankfully Jesus is not just anything.

As I share this with you, I have been given the sad news that my old Ford F150 has ended its 215,000-mile career as my faithful workhorse. That means we are looking for a different car. As I begin my search for a different vehicle (someday another truck) I am left with the same feeling I get every time I seek to buy a car. I wonder if the vehicle I end up buying will actually perform or will I just inherit someone else’s problems. Research always finds the horror stories and they plague my mind like peanut butter on the roof of a dog’s mouth. I can’t afford to be one of them. But here we go again. Doubt. My old truck was a trusted vehicle. I knew its problems. I was familiar with its issues and knew how to deal with them until I couldn’t anymore. A newer car is fun but also for me filled with uncertainty until I have driven the thing for long enough to feel it has proven itself.

The father of the boy has most likely made an investment of money and time to help his son to no avail much like the woman in Matthew 9. (Consider the woman with the bleeding issue. She went broke trying to get better. Matthew 9:20–22, Mark 5:25–34, Luke 8:43–48).

Ironically, the disciples couldn’t heal the boy either it seems for the same reason. Jesus seems frustrated by it when He says, “You unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” The disciples seem to doubt too. And when Jesus says, “only with prayer” we get a little inside scoop. The disciples may have relied too much on their own skills and their own authority to cast out the demon. We believe in Jesus but a little extra money won’t hurt. We believe in Jesus but more exercise will make me healthier. We believe in God’s Word but certain passages don’t really fit our lifestyle. We believe in Jesus but my future feels more certain with a good 401k. I believe in Jesus but working hard to be a “good person” will ensure I have a place with Him. We believe in Jesus but often try to subsidize our faith, help God help us, as Abraham once did with Hagar. In the end trust is a hard thing to have. But let us remember after the resurrection trust in Jesus was unshakable for those same disciples.

So, what’s the key to trust? It’s not a secret. Trust is built on relationships and reputation. The depth of our relationship with Jesus has the greatest effect on trust. While everything else that lets us down is of this world and flawed Jesus is not of the world and neither is the kingdom He is offering us. Jesus never tries to sell us anything nor force His will upon anyone. He simply invites us to follow Him and makes and hides nothing about the cost of being His disciple. Yet Jesus says, “Trust in me” to His disciples and to all His followers in John 14. The actions of Jesus on the cross and in the way He loved people of all angles of life reveals a person who wants us to trust in Him. His reputation is a 2000 year old message of love. The grace of God is unique from all messages or religions of the world. Jesus came to give His life for our sin that we might also come to know the resurrection. There is nothing like it.

After almost 25 years of marriage one of the most defining parts of the relationship I have with my wife is one of trust. She has demonstrated nothing but faithfulness to the care of her family, her devotion to me, and in the way she strives to expend her energy for all of our sakes. I watch the way she handles crisis and frustration and see the character of a godly wife. She is lovingly sacrificial and naturally puts us before herself. If I am to brag, I brag about her. I strive to do the same for her but she makes me feel like I am always getting the better end of the deal. I am literally the man I am today because of the relationship I have with her. She has chosen to trust in me and I in her. Love is certainly a big component to our marriage but trust is essential. Trust has been built through a life together.

Like a marriage, a life together with Jesus is what builds trust; built on the thick and the thin and in the better days and the worse. It’s the milestones and the epic falls. If you want to trust the Lord consider leaning in more than you have. The closer you get to the Lord the better the chance to overcome our unbelief. Start with prayer and be as honest and open as you want to be in those prayers. Start with the way you love others; try something sacrificial, something that is generous. And perhaps stop trying to define how God is supposed to behave and Let Jesus do what Jesus does. Let Him lead for a while and let the Word of God have a voice in the way we follow Jesus. Remember the disciples trusted Jesus with their lives and they went through a lot worse than most of us in the way they suffered for Jesus and died for the Gospel. They literally depended entirely on the Lord for the things they needed and received the kingdom of heaven. They trusted in God and so can we. So, if your trust has waived in Jesus I invite you to please try again. In Jesus. Amen.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: weeklydAug3.PDF

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/PbOsbms1O1c

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 28

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“Military Honors”

READING: Luke 7:6b-10 – He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

My father received military honors at his committal service. There was a sergeant and a corporal from the local recruitment office who folded the flag and presented it to me on behalf of the family. (That flag will fly on Grace’s flagpole sometime next year.) There were also five Legionnaires and a commander who fired a fifteen-gun salute. Becky was sitting next to me with our youngest grandson, Uri, (age 4) seated on her lap. I warned him they were about to shoot, but nevertheless, when the guns went off, he nearly jumped off her lap!

Then “Taps” was played. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the gathering. That song nearly always brings tears to my eyes, no matter how many veterans’ committals I have done. It indicates that someone who gave the country two or three years, at least, of his or her life, and in many cases put that life in jeopardy, is now at ease and at rest until the Lord gives his command to “Come out!”

Having been in the Army, Dad knew all about orders. Orders were given and orders were obeyed. When the commander said, “Go,” he went. When his officer said, “Come,” he came. Dad served as a medic in Korea during 1952 and 1953. He saved a couple of lives, he was shot at “only one time,” and he did a lot of tedious but necessary health and wellness procedures. Since he was assigned to an artillery company headquarters unit about four miles back from the DMZ, things were usually pretty relaxed. But when his Captain gave him an order, he hopped to it. And when the Colonel dropped by, it was spit and polish, stomach in and chest out! That was REAL authority!

In our text, Jewish elders have come to Jesus on behalf of a Roman centurion who has a very sick servant whom he values highly. They assure Jesus that this man is different than most of the other Roman soldiers and officers. They tell him he “deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” This was most unusual, to say the least. And Jesus agrees to come. But then, the centurion proves himself to be a surprising man once again by telling Jesus not to bother with coming to the home. He displays faith that Jesus can certainly say the word and his servant will be healed. He believes that Jesus has that kind of authority and that kind of power. He believes this without ever having met Jesus or even seen him in person. He believes on the power of the word alone; the word he has heard that describes Jesus. That word gives him all the confidence in the world that Jesus can do for his servant what is needed. Just the word. And Jesus marvels at him. “I have not found such faith even in Israel!” he exclaims.

Would that you and I might display such faith! We have only the Word, the Word of God contained in the Scriptures which assures us of the power of Jesus to do just what we need. It is only the Word. We have no videos. We have not seen with our own eyes. We were not present for the acts and actions described for us. But that Word is life for it convicts us of our sins, leads us to confess before God who and what we are. It points to Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. And, it assures us that by believing in him, we already have eternal life. Just the Word, but, oh, what a Word!

Winston Churchill was a soldier, a commander, and a leader of his nation at the most dangerous time in her history. He was a Christian with many questions and a poor hold on doctrine. But at his funeral, which he himself designed and planned, when his casket was placed into its final resting place in St. Paul’s Cathedral, high up in the great dome, a bugle was heard playing “Taps” as a fitting end to his military honors. But, just as the last note was fading away, the bugle was heard once again. This time it was playing “Reveille” – as Churchill’s final affirmation of his hope in the Resurrection.

Someday my mom and dad will both hear that “Reveille” call when the trumpet call of God is sounded, the shout of the Archangel is heard, and the dead in Christ rise to eternal life. You and I will hear that call, too! Military experience or no, we will salute the One who sits on the Throne and the Lamb with shouts of victory, praise, and thanksgiving. Oh, come, Lord Jesus, come soon! Amen.

PRAYER:

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PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDJuly28.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 27

Monday, July 27, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“When Nothing Changes No Matter How Hard I Try…”

For today I’m going to start with reading from1 Kings 19. I would suggest you go back and read the whole chapter but for today I am going to read verse 9-18.

And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Elijah felt beaten. Ever pour yourself into something or someone only to discover nothing has really changed? I have…many times. In the first few months of my first call I met a member named Donna. She was a thirty-something widow of a husband who was old enough to be her grandfather. Donna was certainly no beauty queen and not that smart. Yet, he was faithful to her and managed to father two children with her and left her the house. She was pretty lost without him. So, it only made sense that she had a live-in boyfriend when I met them. By the time I came along her kids were 10 and 8 and the house was pretty run down. I figured if I could get them a little help this would jump start them back to a financial stability.

In the next three months much of my energy went toward helping her and her kids. We cleaned up her yard, got her some resources, fixed whatever seemed broken, helped with groceries. We even called in favors and helped her live-in boyfriend get a job. I even drove him to work each morning—got him a lunch. I was mentally and emotionally all in. I was determined to love this family with all of me.

The job lasted only four days—each day with a new excuse why he couldn’t work the whole shift. When I found out he quit the job I confronted him. He was polite, grateful, and respectful but what he said to me I’ve never forgotten. “Pastor, I really don’t want any of that. That’s not for me.” I was shocked. I was crushed. “How can you not want to escape the way you are living?!” I had been very zealous but he didn’t want to work or change the way things were. Sadly, Donna didn’t want to risk losing him so things ultimately never changed. They continued to live in poverty getting help from us when they got real desperate. Since then I have helped some others to the same degree most of the time with the same results.

This is Elijah. He had poured himself out for the Lord. He believed that beating Ahab’s false prophets would surely bring the king to repentance. It didn’t. “So, why keep working so hard for little or no results? Isn’t that how the devil whispers in our ear.”

In Chapter 18 Elijah at had a great win over the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel on their home turf in the battle of the two sacrifices. Elijah thought that would be decisive. The King and a large group of Israelites witnessed how God sent fire down to devour the water-logged sacrifice, the rocks, the dirt and all the water in the trench around the sacrifice. The crowd that witnessed the whole thing bowed down and cried out, “The Lord—He is our God!” And then they helped kill the prophets of Baal. King Ahab was among the witnesses. Elijah was so confident in that victory that he ran empowered in the Spirit in front of Ahab’s chariot all the way back to the palace– I guess expecting repentance, something to change. Instead Elijah was met with more anger and determination from Queen Jezebel to kill Elijah in her hatred for the prophet and for the Lord. And so, verse 3 tells us Elijah ran for his life in fear probably thinking, “What in God’s name am I actually accomplishing?!” And so, with a mixture of fear, deep disappointment, and frustration, Elijah ends up in a conversation with the Lord at the mouth of a cave.

If you have stood next to Elijah, (metaphorically speaking) then please consider what comes next. The Lord is very patient with Elijah. If anyone has been working hard to save humanity it is the Lord. And yet at His cross Jerusalem turned on the Lord and crucified Him with the same venom that their forefathers poured out on the prophets they killed. The Lord is patient with us.
He understands that sometimes we just need to step back. Twice God asks, “What are you doing here Elijah?” (19:9, 19:13). Remember Elijah ran, afraid for his life but under the broom tree he prays to God just to take his life. “Elijah, what are you actually doing here?” I’ll bet Elijah came to that broom tree the same way many have, not sure why we are here, but we are emotionally spent, and at our wits end. We need a reboot of some kind.

And why not? Rest was integrated into creation—The first full day humanity in Genesis 1 was spent hanging out with the Lord. The Sabbath (Literally seventh for the seventh day of creation) was created for a day to be refreshed in the Lord. When we don’t get rest we become like Elijah, spiritually burned out. Sometimes we just need to step back from the people (family members or not) that are so resistant to us. And sometimes that means someone else may have to help them instead of us. In 1 Kings 20:13 God sends another prophet to Ahab to carry the message. In truth, someone else may relate better to those we desperately want to love and save than we can. A family member or a friend may just tune us out while someone else may be in a better position to tune in. Pray for that and remember we are just the prophet not the Savior.

Forty days of hanging out with the Lord at the luxurious Mt. Sinai cave in the desert refreshes his Elijah’s spirit. Then God speaks and gives us the second element to remember.

What does God tell Elijah? Elijah still serves the living God and He’s Got this. He is still at work even when what we are doing isn’t working. “So, go back Elijah the way you came. Anoint Hazael, Elisha, and Jehu—two kings and prophet. Under them none of your enemies will escape, not even Jezebel. And take note, I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” Your work is not in vain and you are far from being alone. The Lord redirects Elijah to the faithful.

Hanging out with the faithful will continue to refresh Elijah. Not only so but God is preparing for Elijah’s retirement by anointing Elisha who will replace Elijah. It is possible that even Elijah does not fully bounce back from this with the same energy he had at Mt. Carmel. But that’s a discussion for another devotion perhaps.

Just turn on the news however, and one may wonder “Is the church doing any good?” “Lord, your people ignore Your Word. Some have seemingly lost their minds and are burning down their own neighborhoods. Some have died unjustly. Authority seems to be broken. And Covid just seems to linger—more than linger—cause serious trouble to people’s health, to jeopardize people’s livelihoods, and no one knows for sure what we are actually supposed to do with our schools. We have been trying Lord, really trying to be faithful and consistent but nothing seems to be getting better!” Like Elijah we may not stop any of these things. We are not called to necessarily. We are called to be faithful. Sometimes faithfulness is the best we can offer. However, faithfulness is all the Lord is asking of us. “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev 2:10).

Most important the Lord is still active as much in our day as it was in Noah’s day, or Martin Luther’s Day. The world seemed to be going to hell in a hand basket but the Lord was moving in the hearts of humble people who God reserved to carry on God’s plan. The followers of Jesus probably felt hopeless on Good Friday. But even dead Jesus was doing something for His people. The point is this: Even when Elijah seems to be failing he wasn’t because He was very faithful. Even when failure is all his actions seemed to produce it didn’t. Elijah was the message to 7000 people, those like Elisha and Jehu, who’s knees had not bowed down to idols. Elijah’s boldness, and faithfulness, and the news from Mt. Carmel would no doubt inspire them just the same. God is still working even when the world is falling apart. Keep in mind that the world will be at its worst when Jesus returns. Even now in heaven Jesus is still working for us. So hang in there and hold on. Pray to the Lord. Maybe take a break. But don’t give up. Your Lord hasn’t.

And Now the Lord bless you and Keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with his favor and give you His peace. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: DevotionJuly27.PDF

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/BJsyfYzZpjs

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 21

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“Bitter Roots”

READING: Hebrews 12: 14-17, 28 – Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears…Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

My nephew, John, bought Dad’s farm some years ago, and he is now growing organic crops of beans and corn. It’s sort of a kick for me, because when I was just a boy, we pretty much were doing organic farming and didn’t know it! We fertilized with manure and did weed control with cultivation and manual hoes. ( If you had told me then that farmers would someday pay hundreds of dollars per ton for manure, I would have laughed out loud and told you that you were nuts!)

Because John is farming organically, weeds cannot be controlled with chemical herbicides, so weeds are a problem. When we were out at the farm at the time of Dad’s funeral, the soybean field west of the house had a redroot problem. Redroots are a prolific weed that can get 3-4 feet tall, with a very deep tap root, and the ability to drink up water and nutrients at an alarming rate. And, were they ever thick! John had hired migrant workers from Texas to hoe that field, and all of us “older folks” felt sorry for them out in that field because we all remembered all too well doing that job in just that kind of heat and with just that many redroots on that sandy rise in that field.

We also commented on the hope that not only were they hoeing out those redroots, but that they were also chopping them into pieces! By long experience we knew that if you just pulled a redroot out or hoed it out with some of its roots intact, those dad-burned things would drive their roots back into the soil and keep right on growing and going to seed. They might be lying on their sides, but that would not keep them from continuing to cause trouble and spreading their seeds to plague the farmer the next spring, too. They have to be chopped into four or five pieces, especially the root ends. If you don’t eradicate them, they come right back.

In our text for today the writer to the Hebrews says essentially the same thing about immorality, ungodliness, and a lax appreciation for the grace of God. He says, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God, and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” He is well aware how sin sinks its roots into the souls of people and leads to all manner of defilement. Just like those redroots in John’s fields, sin is something that has to be mastered and removed, roots and all, or it continually reestablishes itself and continues to grow and spread its poison. That job is continuous, and one that we cannot rely on our own “goodness” to complete. It is a job that requires the Word of God, the Sacraments, and the work of the Holy Spirit to accomplish. Every day you and I confess our sinfulness before God. Every day we come to him in prayer and ask for his resources. And, every day he forgives us and aids us in striving for godliness. It’s an on-going effort, but one that produces the fruits of the Spirit that we and others might live in blessedness and thanksgiving.

Here’s the sad news for John: that field is going to look pretty nice for a time. The weeds will be gone, and with the rains they received last week, those soybeans will shoot skyward. But my experience tells me that before too long, something other than beans will start to show itself in that field. It’ll be redroots! Some of them will have been missed by the hoers, and some of them will have re-rooted themselves and made a comeback. He’ll probably have to hire those folks again to go back and hit them a second time. That’s the nature of weeds on the farm, and that’s also the nature of sin in our lives. We can never be complacent. We can never say, “I am holy.” We can never say, “What a good boy or girl I am!” Always, confession. Always, repentance. And always, leaning upon God’s grace through Jesus Christ, our Lord. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S): Pastor Ron Richeson, retired and former pastor at Faith, Louisville, will be leading the worship at this Saturday’s service. Becky and I will be heading back from a week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I asked Pastor Richeson to cover for me so I didn’t have to be back on Saturday by a set time. One just never knows what the weather or road will bring. I’ll have the services on Sunday. Pastor Woods will be gone for two weeks on his summer vacation. God bless you all.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/sIYB-lrWDd8

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDJuly 21.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 20

Monday, July 20, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“The Scent of the Saved—Do You Pass the Smell Test?”

On a visit to the hospital recently I was reminded that wearing a mask may stop my spit from getting out but it didn’t stop the smell of my surroundings from getting in. How important is it to smell good? It’s amazing to me how much we do our best not to smell like a human being. The odors that are actually human are not exactly pleasant. I could always tell when the boys had taken their shoes off their feet when we road in the car. It was amazing how sweating feet could engulf the car with so much potency. And BO? Being next to me after I’ve been working outside is not that pleasant. I once picked up a homeless person to take him across town. Let’s just say there was an unmistakable musk that lingered for a week—something of burnt coffee and BO. And let’s face it the smells that come from the attic and the especially the basement of our bodies aren’t exactly a bed or roses.

Ever consider this? We spend a lot of time trying not to smell like a human being. All one has to do is walk through a store and we are quickly reminded that smelling like a human being is not very welcome. Isles are filled with vast amounts of deodorants, body sprays, perfumes, scented shampoos, body washes, conditioners, hair products, by the hundreds of choices they all communicate that you stink without those things. I always get a kick out of my wife when we are picking out shampoos and such. The first thing she does is pop the top and take a sniff. I don’t blame her. If I’m going to where a smell it better be one, I like. It’s not just our bodies but it is also where our humanity may linger. We use our scented laundered clothes, our fabric soften sheets, our febreezed homes; our fresh towels, our scented candled kitchens, our baking soda carpets, all to keep the smell of our humanity to a minimum.

It’s not just our bodies that smell but our souls also have a scent. Consider our Bible passage from Mark 14:3-9. 3 While he (Jesus) was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

John 12 tells us who this woman was; Mary, Lazarus’ sister who only days before witnessed the raising of her brother after being dead four days in the tomb. I wish I wrote down the reference but I recently learned that Mary’s gesture was more than adoration but a total expression of her commitment to Jesus. Mary’s gift was equivalent to a whole year’s salary, apparently some scholars believe this was likely Mary’s dowry. Her hope for marriage … her hope for a future. She put her future into the hands of Jesus. Mary gave Jesus the most precious and valuable thing she owned, with no hope of any return in this life. The smell that wafted over Jesus must have filled the room and would certainly lingered with Jesus perhaps all the way to the cross. In a very real sense, the perfume that came out of that container was very representative of the smell of the divine working within Mary. The smell of faith was much more potent than her sacrifice. If heaven has scent Mary certainly passes the smell test.

Smells evoke connection. My Nana used to wear Nina Ricci Perfume. She’s been gone for many years but if I catch that scent my mind immediately remembers Nana.

It is well-known that when you walk down Disney World’s Main Street and smell freshly baked cookies or catch the scent of seawater by Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s not your imagination. Disney has “Smellitizers” all around to enhance the guest experience. It’s not just limited to the parks, either. Scents are used in hotel lobbies to make one feel at home.

The smell of the divine is also meant to evoke a longing for home; a longing for Jesus, a connection. Offerings in the Old Testament were routinely connected to Sacrifices for the sins of the people and often described as “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Numbers 15:3). Eventually, the people stopped caring and only went through the motions with their sacrifices and forgot that repentance was what made the sacrifice pleasing to God. It got to a point that God was more offended by the burnt offering then glad for them. Isaiah 1:11-13 speaks to Israelites of this. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams. . . . Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me”. Their offering simply didn’t pass the smell test. The people were not really connecting to the Lord. Instead of smelling like divine repentance the Israelites remained smelling like fallen humanity, and death.

With Jesus that’s all different. Ephesians 5:1-2 expresses it this way. 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Jesus’ sacrifice was a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God for our sins. In Jesus we no longer smell like sin, which saturates us down into our DNA, but like the divine. What Mary did lingers to this day. Jesus said she will be remembered. He remembers her. He will not forget us.

The divine aroma permeates our souls. And it has an effect on what is going on around us. In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 Paul charges Christians to spread “the fragrance of the knowledge of [Jesus Christ] everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.” What we do gives off a scent of the divine whenever we act in repentance, when we forgive, when our prayers rise to God as incense (Psalm 141:2), when we love, when we use gracious speech, when we don’t compromise the truth, when we act sacrificially, whenever we remain faithful to Jesus. For the godly it is a welcome reminder and connection to heaven but to the unbeliever it is an offensive odor—noted by Judas reaction to the waste of the expensive perfume.

The smell of the Saved is distinct from this world. And that’s good news. The smell of the divine is the absence of death and sin. Imagine a place incapable of smelling bad.

And that’s another thought. Ever wonder what heaven smells like? We hear a lot about singing. We hear about what is seen in Revelation. But nothing that I can remember talks about the smell of heaven which is interesting considering the Old Testament Temple was a place with incense, and burning of animals. But what does that matter really? In heaven the important part is that Jesus remembers us as He did Mary. In Jesus believers carry the scent of the Divine whatever that may be—Tell you when I get there.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace. In Jesus. Amen

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WDJuly20.PDF

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/EyshTwppif0

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 14

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“The Verse for Bob”

READING: Psalm 26:6-8 – I wash my hands in innocence, and go about thy altar, O Lord, singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all thy wondrous deeds. O Lord, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where your glory dwells.

We buried Dad last Monday. He died peacefully in his sleep early on July 1st, 90 years, 11 months, and 18 days of age. That was after a busy day of telephone calls, orders for shrimp scampi for supper, and a game or two of Euchre! He was ready for the Lord’s call, and he had asked all of us to pray for just that summons. The last month was very difficult for him, and all of us can just give thanks for his release. We cannot say, “We lost our dad,” because we know just where he is, thanks be to Jesus!

At the funeral, Pastor Wes Gillaspie read the Old Testament lesson which is our text for today. It was Dad’s confirmation verse in 1942. As he read it, I took a pen out of my shirt pocket and underlined this portion, “I love the habitation of thy house…” I thought immediately that it reflected Dad’s attitude about worship for all the years I knew him. He seldom missed church on Sunday. Even as the years made it more difficult for him to take that long walk down the aisle at St. Michael’s, Richville, he was there. The Sunday after Mom, the love of his life, had died, Dad was there. Even when the walk required a walker, he was there. And, finally, when it took an Amigo electric wheelchair to make his way down front, he was there.

Pastor Gillaspie began his sermon by saying that in 32 years of ministry he had heard many excuses for missing worship, then he recited a number of them. Then he said, “I never heard any of those excuses from Bob,” and I began to cry. Yup! Pastor knew my dad well. I thanked him after the committal for thinking on the same wavelength as me. That verse fit Dad’s joy of worship so very well. It was where he wanted to be, needed to be, and aimed to be if at all possible.

Then Pastor Gillaspie surprised me by revealing again how well he knew Dad – he referred to verse 7, which reads, “…singing aloud a song of thanksgiving.” He said, “Bob loved to sing…loudly!” We all laughed because he did! Dad was a good singer, and he loved to belt out those hymns and the liturgy. Some of my favorite memories from childhood to my adulthood and right up into my grandparenthood were the times I sat next to Dad in church and we belted out those hymns together. Dad bequeathed to me a love for the Lord’s house, for the liturgies and hymnody of the Church, and the simple desire to trust and love the Lord for all the gifts He has given me. That’s part of Dad’s legacy, and every one of his children and his grandchildren know and love the Lord as well. That didn’t happen by accident. Dad led us to that grand House!

How about you? Is your love for the “habitation” of God’s house a strong and urgent desire within you, or something you sort of take for granted? Do you go often to his house, or now and again when it suits you? Do you children and grandchildren see its importance in your life, or are they learning that worship is something optional? These are things to ponder. The results of your habits may not be immediately clear, but eyes are watching you. Your legacy may not play itself out in your lifetime, but it may have its effect later in the lives of your family and even your friends. Singing loudly is not a requirement, but your constancy and faithfulness in worship are your very clear witness to the world about where your heart lies. If He is really your Father, you’ll want to be in his presence in his house often.

Dad was “just” a farmer. He had an eighth-grade education (He took eighth grade twice, but that’s a story for another time!) and became an Army medic in Korea at Uncle Sam’s behest. He raised five children who loved and respected him. He had 10 grandchildren who thought he hung the moon. And, his wife of 64 years seldom had cause to chastise him. He was a jack-of-all-trades, a problem solver, a self-starter and a hard worker. But, best of all, he “loved the habitation of (the Lord’s) house,” and now sees face-to-face the “place where (God’s) glory dwells.” And, I bet he’s singing those songs with the heavenly choir…loudly!
Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S): I want to personally thank all of you for your prayers, kindness, love, and cards during this difficult time in my life and the life of my family. For those who made Memorial gifts to Grace or St. Michael’s, again, thank you. Some of you had the chance to meet my Old Man when he and Mom were still able to visit us. He told me more than once how blessed I was to be pastor of such a great bunch of people. I always agreed with him, and never more than at a time when I need your comfort and your support. Thank you, and God bless you all. Yesterday would have been Dad’s 91st birthday, but he had already counted it done. He said, “I did the math. I already existed 91 years ago for nine months before July 13, so I’m counting it!” Couldn’t argue with the man there! He was good at math!

Today also marks my son, Andy’s, birthday, so “HAPPY 43rd BIRTHDAY, ANDY!” He was our birthday gift to Dad back in ’77.

And, today also marks the 29th Anniversary of my ordination into the pastoral ministry here at Grace. My! How the time does fly! Dad was pretty proud of his eldest that day, but always marveled how he could have produced a pastor in his family. He never fully realized how important his example was to me. But I sure do!

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pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDJuly14

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 13

Monday, July 13, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“A Life With Definition”

In the fourth grade I had a teacher, Mr. Rathburg, who was famous for his punishment if you acted out of line. He loved to have students write out of the dictionary the definition of whatever misbehavior we were accused of. For example, if you got caught fighting you would have to copy down by hand the definition of fighting during recess instead of going out for recess. If the definition was short, we had to write it out many times as necessary to satisfy Mr. Rathburg. In my case, I got caught running in the room during a couple of rained out recesses where we had to spend our time in the classroom playing games inside. So, I received the maximum sentence for a fourth grader’s capital offence. The definition of ‘run’ went on for a half-a-dozen pages or something like that. This was also Mr. Rathburg’s favorite definition to assign because it was very long. So, I got stuck writing through that thing for two recesses and never finished copying the whole thing because of its length. I managed about a page and a half of copying the small print that was in that dictionary. The punishment was effective.

A fourth grader’s world needs definition. It needs boundaries to be set, understood, and enforced if the fourth grader is to develop respect for others. Mr. Rathburg was up front and very clear about his expectations. Likewise, dictionaries tell us what words mean and what is intended.

As an adult I find that definition allows us to communicate and understand one another. Definition puts clarity on things like property lines and contracts. Definition teaches how to respect others and builds a common ground. Definition is critical if a person is to thrive and succeed. However, the absence of definition may create misunderstanding. An absence of understanding can lead to inaccurate information or to conclusions that are not true. Most of all a lack of definition brings confusion about self and having a sense of meaning—I’ve see this a lot in kids headed to college with no sense of direction. The need for definition is essential for an individual and a community to thrive. Definition enables a person to find meaning and purpose and understanding about oneself.

The Christian life is defined by God’s Word and is perpendicular to the nature of an undefined culture. Consider 2 Timothy 3:14-17. “14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In effect the Word of God is defining for those who are thoroughly acquainted with it. The reason for this is that the Word of God and Jesus are inseparable in their purpose and truth. To know one is to know the other. To distance ourselves from the Word then is what leads to things looking undefined and becoming seeming less relevant. Being away from the Word also leaves us feeling distant from the church, from other Christians, and from the Lord.

Here’s what I mean. Consider for a moment Genesis 1:26-27. “26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Much is expressed in this passage.

Humanity is fundamentally for bearing the image of our Creator. Humanity is designed to be as God is. He has a God given authority to rule over the created things of this world. Humanity is set apart in this image. I have recently discovered that when Jesus says, “follow me” to Peter in John 21:19 Jesus is literally saying, “Be as I am.” Be as Jesus and therefore made wise unto salvation. This is the call for all Christians to be as Jesus, to look like our Savior in the way we love our families, care for our neighbor, express our faith, even our obedience to the Heavenly Father. To be Christian is to cling to the image that sin had lost but Jesus returns. Also, it shouldn’t be lost on us how Jesus returns our divine image by taking on the image of sinful man and dying on the cross in the image of sinful man only to rise again in the image of a victorious Savior.

What we are up against is the notion that Evolutionists have been promoting—which is not a redefinition but in reality, a total absence of definition. Evolution, communicates humanity as an accident. It says we bear no image of anything or anyone and are only an organic wonder. Often humanity is reduced to an animal existence or less. An Evolutionist advice for solutions–we are told not to look beyond the self to the Lord or to His Word but within self. On the other hand, God expresses humanity in very specific terms, as image bearers.

One should also notice that the written Word is very specific about the binary nature of gender. God created them male and female. There are not endless classifications for gender in the written word. In Genesis 2:24 it is very specific in defining marriage as a binary union of a man and woman. Jesus repeats this formula in Matthew 19:5, “‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’”. This formula also defines what God intends a family to look like as well. Today such things are said to be ‘redefined’. However, I argue that in fact everything defined by the Word, most notably, marriage, sexuality, family, and humanity are much more undefined then ever as worldly wisdom is more and more taught and accepted even by many Christians.

It has always been the strategy of the Devil since the garden . He cannot destroy God’s Word or undo what God has done. So, the idea is to muddy the waters, distort the picture. You remember the words that the devil used in Genesis three. “Did God really say that?” If enough doubt, confusion, and broken wisdom can be thrown in then clarity may be lost.
For Christians the Word of God is meant to be the primary source of faith, wisdom, and connection to Jesus. What is written is the primary source that leads us to salvation and holy living. This Word is in contradiction to man-made notions of humanity, sexuality, and marriage just to name a few things. One may not accept the Biblical definition of these things but a lack of acceptance does not erase or undo that it is Written. In fact, it is also written that Jesus declared in Matthew 24:35 while talking of the end times that, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Faithfulness to the Word of God is what defined the Old Testament prophets even when all but 7000 bowed down to Baal during Elijah’s time.

A fascinating artist William. Utermohlen, an American who lived in Britain was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1995 and passed away in 2007. His last works from 1990-2000 are fascinating because he literally illustrated the inner decay of his mind. (Please look him up). He composed many self-portraits over that time period and over the years they became more and more undefined until his painting held no resemblance to him or even a person. This is such a great illustration of what happens when humanity forgets more and more how God defines humanity, family, marriage, gender, and much more. (http://boicosfinearts.com/exhibitions/william-utermohlen-a-persistence.html)

I see the same signs in so many Christians, particularly those in high school and college who have been told that the church, Christianity, and their parents have lied to them. Emotions grow stagnant, no joy or excitement or even sadness; no sense of fulfillment no matter how much is accomplished; everything as Solomon wrote is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Also, is a sense that feels like grass is greener somewhere else. One is restless and uncertain but just needs something else, but not feeling like one is getting anywhere. Too many, have no sense of purpose or direction. It’s as if they have no definition to their life—because they often don’t. The result is to look for purpose in causes, movements, ideas, to do something is better than feeling nothing. In the Old Testament people turned to idols. Today, people still turned to idols which are often undefining. To get angry—for what really? To Drift apart from a spouse—to drift where? To find happiness—just not where I’m standing? To make a difference—for whom exactly? For myself or someone else? A lack of definition always steals a person’s identity and leaves one feeling empty. And consider the Word of God then becomes harder when one is sifting through so much.

But consider something else that is defined very clearly in the Word of God. Salvation. The center-piece of Scripture is Jesus, His death on the cross and His resurrection. Many try to redefine all of those things including salvation. However, if you take Jesus at His Word one discovers how wonderfully invested Jesus is in saving Humanity from its sin. Most famous, of course, its John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him.” The Word defines our salvation in Jesus. It also defines heaven as one that is to be with Jesus such as John 14:1-7. Revelations 7 also describes Jesus as the centerpiece of heaven and defines heaven as filled with joy because of it. Granted there is much about heaven we don’t know but the Word clearly brings a believer to understand heaven to be filled with eternal life, with Jesus. It promises that those who believe will be found there because of Christ as new creations. And such a defined promise is meant to instill hope that propels us through this nebulous life, hard times or good. Countless passages are designed for us to know Jesus more fully in and through the way Jesus would define our lives and therefore fill us with hope. This is designed to be good news for humanity.

The contrast is stark really. The Word of God is defining in a very undefined world. Such a contrast is offensive to the wisdom of the world. Its almost madding that such an irrationality is built up against the Word. But this is the nature of sin and what evil does and how evil is defined itself.

I urge you to take courage. The most significant element that is part of the Lord returning for His people is that our enemies all fail to overcome the truth of God’s Word. Another significant element is that Jesus’ greatest desire is for all prodigals to come home with Him to heaven. He is eager for any and all human beings to be a part of His kingdom. Jesus’ forgives. Jesus loves. Jesus judges. Jesus saves. Jesus lives. Jesus will keep His Word. Therein lies a very defining good news for all who believe and love the Word of God.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on You with His favor and grant you His peace in Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYDJuly13

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/9RLHRqOjX8k

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 7

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“Noodle Soup from Krysiak’s”

READING: Matthew 20:20-28 – Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

My dad’s days lately have been all over the place. Some days he’s been very weary and uninterested in the regular things of life like food, T.V., or phone calls. Then there are the other days, where the “Old Bob” shows himself with a definite will and an obvious thought process. For instance, I talked to him last Friday a week ago about 4:30 in the afternoon. We talked until his arm ached from holding the phone. About 6:30, I received a call from my nephew, Brad. He said, “Grandpa just called me and wanted your cell number. He says he can’t find it on his phone, and he wants to talk to you.” While I was on the phone with him, my sister called the house and told Becky that Dad had just called her and wanted to talk to me. So, I called him. He obviously didn’t remember our earlier conversation, but he definitely had a purpose for getting hold of me. He said, “I want a quart of chicken noodle soup from Krysiak’s!”

Now Krysiak’s is a Polish restaurant in Bay City, MI. Fortunately, I have several times visited that establishment with Dad, so I knew immediately what he was talking about. I laughed and said, “Pa, you know I’m a very long way away from Krysiak’s.” He said, “Yeah, I know.” Then he went on to tell me that for dinner that evening they had given him a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. The soup had disappointed him and made him think with longing for the noodle soup at Krysiak’s. I told him I was sorry I couldn’t deliver on his wants, and he was okay for the time being. The whole thing made me a little sad, but it also makes me laugh. Dad’s always been good at giving orders.

I always have to chuckle at the lesson for today. James and John bring in the heavy artillery – MOM! She kneels before Jesus and asks a special favor of him, places of honor and prestige for her boys when Jesus establishes his “kingdom”. They’re thinking an earthly, hereditary “Throne of David” that would mean they would be King Jesus’ prime and second ministers. High stuff for the sons of Zebedee! Jesus says pointedly, “You have no idea what you’re asking. There is a bitter cup that comes with your request.” They want to be important. They want to be able to give orders. They want to be right near the top of the heap. Who doesn’t? It’s always heady stuff to give orders and have them obeyed.

Just think what these two asked for and did NOT receive: According to John, Jesus was enthroned the moment he was crucified. That means that the “one of your right and the other on your left” were the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. There places were those prepared by the Father, and they were decidedly NOT places of honor and authority.

When the other disciples heard about this conversation, they were indignant. “How dare those two make such a request!” they harrumphed. (“Why didn’t I think of that?” they probably thought.) But Jesus uses the moment as an opportunity to teach them all something most important about the Kingdom: The world seeks power and status, but the followers of Jesus walk in HIS way. Humility, service, and love are the true Way that follows in the Master’s footsteps. We are called to be servants, of God and of each other.

This past week Dad had one of those “Old Bob” days. He called my brother, Larry, and my sister and said he needed a clevis and a length of rope. “Whatever for?” they asked. He said he had the idea to affix the clevis to the end of his bed and then use the rope to pull himself up to a sitting position in his bed! Then, later that same day he called Sally to say he wanted shrimp scampi from Red Lobster for supper. He did not get the clevis and rope, but they managed to tag-team and got him the scampi! He’s Dad and he’s old; he can give orders and we try our best to fulfill them because we love him. But Jesus makes clear that in our everyday walk, humility and self-sacrifice are the mark of the disciple; servants and slaves of one another. Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S): Saturday services and the regular Communion schedule have resumed. And, remember that both Sunday services will be live broadcast on the Internet regularly from now on.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/3hlgDMTkA3Y

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYJuly7.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JULY 6

Monday, July 6, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“Can’t Win Without Rules”

Consider a basketball game. I see that the NBA is coming back to finish its season this July when we would normally be paying attention to the baseball season. Why not… I guess. Most of us know the game of basketball. You have to dribble the ball to move. You can’t foul. The coach earns a technical foul if he gets on the court. If you make a basket it worth two points or if its outside the three-point line its three points and so on. In fact, today its almost annoying how meticulous calls by the referees have become especially in the world of college basketball. It seems like the game is stopped a lot more these days to watch a replay on the sideline just to see if the player’s foot touches the line; or shot the ball before the shot-clock ran out.

Imagine, not following the rules of the game. A player might think he deserves extra points for how stylish his slam dunk looked. Maybe they could tackle the opponent with the basketball. Maybe a player could have points taken away for mouthing off to the referees. The fact is without the rules no one knows where the boundaries of the court are; how much a basket counts for; what a foul is; how tall the basket should be off the floor; or anything. Without those rules no one can understand the game or win it.

The same can be said of God’s Law. If you want to win the Law is necessary. In Matthew 5:17-20 at the beginning of Jesus Sermon on the Mount Jesus say, 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Rules are not only essential for games and for a society to exist but also to win spiritually. Let’s understand what I mean. First, we Lutherans often talk about the three uses of the Law. The first is the Mirror, which shows our sins. Romans 3:20 says, “We become conscious of our sin through the Law.” We look into God’s Law and as sinners we realize that we cannot fulfill its demands for perfection. We cannot be saved by it because we can’t keep it. In and through the Law we realize our sin and therefore our need for Jesus.

Second, is the Curb or fence. Years back when Josh was just starting to walk, we lived on a busy street corner. Every time we went outside, he would run towards the road thinking it was fun to get us to chase after him. He had no idea of the dangers of the road. So, we put up a fence to keep him safe. The Law does something similar when God says for example, “You Shall not Covet Your neighbor’s house, wife, workers, or animals.” If David, whom God loved, didn’t covet Bathsheba all his other sins could have been avoided. The idea is to protect what is loved and treasured. In the case of the Law we are God’s beloved children that he wants to keep safe.

Finally, we know the Law to be a guide. It tells us what to do and what not to do. On our recent trip to Gatlinburg we did a lot of hiking on Mt. Le Conte. It was beautiful. Before hitting the trails, we made it a point to stop at the park office and consult someone who knew the trails so we knew what to expect. In the same way the Lord knows better than we do the terrain of life.

The Lord has seen it all and has given His people a guide in His Word to follow. “Your word is light unto my path and a lamp unto my feet” (Psalm 119:105). Those who follow His Word are called wise. In fact, as Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount, He is effectively teaching how to traverse this world under the Law. He also says, whoever hears Jesus’ words and puts them into practice is like a man who builds his house on the rock.” In the sermon on the Mount Jesus demonstrates how to follow the Law properly and not in a way that the Pharisees had been demonstrating.

The basics of sin is to replace God’s Law for another—usually with our own set of rules. You can almost hear the words of Satan in Genesis 3 each time this happens. “Did God really say…?” Adam and Eve knew what God said, but as soon as it was decided that the fruit was desirable for gaining wisdom, they ate it. Suddenly the Law was broken. The results were banishment from the Garden and death.

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were very creative in their rule breaking. They tried to do so while claiming that they were keeping the Law. In Mark 7 Jesus confronts them about the commandment to honor one’s parents. Jesus reveals that they deliberately break this law in a tradition called, “Corban”. Instead of using their money to help with the folks and care for them as was prescribed by the Law they declared their income corban or holy, something belonging to God and could not be used for personal interests. Therefore, they were off the hook to help. Except they had no problem buying themselves fine clothing and nice homes. What’s more in Matthew 22:15-22 when the Pharisees challenge Jesus with whether its is Lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not Jesus exposes their hypocrisy. The money they were carrying around not only wasn’t corban but it had Caesar’s image on it. “Give back to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God’s.” One set of rules for the people another for the Elites.

Without a willingness to keep the Law regardless of who is breaking them, no Law will ever work no matter how many are written. If a person will not humble themselves to submit to a Law because they do not believe in God, or if one hates Caesar they are a danger to everyone.

But Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law. The Law of God is not the problem, sin is. And not one least stroke of the pen will be erased from it. The Law is simply impossible for us to keep perfectly. So, Jesus comes into our world and does what Israel could not. Jesus keeps the Law perfectly. He plays by His Father’s rules and humbles Himself even to a cross. And when it is all finished Jesus is not just a keeper of the Law but the full expression of it. Jesus is the Passover Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. 2 Cor 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus won the game dying under God’s rules that someone must pay for our sins. Those sins were laid on Jesus on the cross. The game was won and the resurrection is promised.

The Law establishes what is expected and why Jesus had to die on the cross. Without the Law we have no knowledge of sin. We also have no sense of the holiness of God. We have no sense of order and nothing works. We cannot win without the Law—that is because Jesus fulfills the Law just as He says. The Law by itself doesn’t work for us. But in Christ the Law becomes a way to identify ourselves with the image of God. All because Jesus has fulfilled the Law we are saved by faith through grace as a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). In Jesus we win.

Let us not forget love is the centerpiece of God’s Law. Love is also the driving force of our salvation in Jesus—for God so loved the world that He gave. Imagine how much better things would actually be if we loved the Lord our God with all of our being and then loved our neighbor as ourselves. Just think how different our neighborhoods would look.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyDJuly6.PDF

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matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 30

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“The Windmill Farm”

READING: John 16:5-13 – Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.

While I was in Michigan two weeks ago to visit my father, my daughter, Christa, and her two youngest children stayed with me at my sister, Sally’s, house. About two miles northeast of her home is the start of one of the largest windmill farms in the state. It stretches over fifteen miles along the Lake Huron shoreline. Hundreds of towers some 90 feet tall, with huge rotors that turn in the slightest breeze to turn a generator that produces electrical current at the cost of the tower and some connecting cables. The wind is free…when it blows.

That Tuesday afternoon we took Eva and Uri to Port Crescent State Park so they could experience a beautiful sandy beach and the big lake. As we headed toward Caseville, there was no wind at all. All those huge windmills sat absolutely still. Without a wind, there was no movement, and without any movement, there was no power. They just sat there in the sunlight, waiting.

In our text, Jesus tells his disciples that unless he leaves (after the Cross, the Resurrection, and the Ascension), the Counselor will not come. And, until the Counselor comes, they will just sit around, waiting for Jesus to do something, but making no movement themselves. And, without movement on their part, there will be no power to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. Jesus promised that when he had left them, the Holy Spirit would come to them and power them up!

I do not much believe in coincidences. That’s why I am always assured of God’s actions on our behalf. For instance, in the Old Testament the Hebrew word “ruah” can mean “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context. In the New Testament the Greek word “pneuma” can mean “wind” or “spirit” depending on the context. How marvelous that the two words that describe the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures should also describe the wind. Because when the Holy Spirit goes to work, you cannot see him, but you sure can see his works. Think about the first Pentecost Sunday! These disciples, a motley crew, prone to argue and strut and run away and hide out in fear, suddenly become effective preachers and teachers, fearless and focused and faithful. Why? Because the Holy Spirit blew in, quite literally, and sharpened their memories and organized their thoughts. He came and guided them “into all truth”, and they were never the same again. They became dynamos! They were powered up, and the Church grew in leaps and bounds because they were moved to action. And, the Spirit still does his work on and in us. Every time we are moved to some Godly work or Godly word, it is the Spirit “blowing” through us and moving us to action that the Father’s will might be done and the love of Christ might be given.

When we came home at the end of that wonderful excursion, the wind had picked up dramatically. And, every single one of those scores of windmills was cranking out the voltage and sending power through those connectors to homes and businesses far and wide. The wind blew, the rotors were moved, and power resulted. That’s how that works. And, that’s how the Holy Spirit works, too. He “blows” through us and within us, and we are moved to action, powered up by his gifts to accomplish God’s purposes in our lives. We’re moved by the “ruah”, by the “pneuma”, by the Counselor Jesus promised to send to ALL his disciples, you and me included! Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S): Saturday services and the regular Communion schedule have resumed. And, remember that both Sunday services will be live broadcast on the Internet regularly from now on. This coming Saturday and Sunday we will give thanks for the gifts God has given to America, and through it, to its citizens and the world. Join us in church or online.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/9cT8PG0uiuw

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYJune30.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 29

Monday, June 29, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“A Welcome Worthy of Our Savior”

Sometime during my first year of seminary I was driving home back to Michigan from St. Louis. The car I was driving, had been very faithful. Ultimately I drove that car from high school all the way through my first year of marriage—just about a decade. My trusty little Dodge Aries had gotten me to California and back, and taken me on numerous trips back and forth to Seminary in St. Louis but this trip something happened. Besides being what my mother-in-law called an “unfortunate color” the gold, “little car that could” also had a hard knock in it. For years that knock had gotten so noticeable that most people thought I was driving a diesel. “No, it just does that…” I would tell them.

About forty miles from Fort Wayne, the knock stopped and the car lost power then quit. I was still rolling so I threw it into neutral and tried starting it up and eventually learning to keep pushing on the gas to keep it running. By the top of the exit ramp I barely limped along turning into the only gas station at that exit at the time. I crawled into a parking spot, as if to grasp on last breath and then died. I would later find out from the guy that replaced the engine that one of the pistons broke inside.

Strange thing was I don’t remember feeling anxious about being stranded but perfectly at peace. I called home—on a pay phone—didn’t have cell phones back then. Before I knew it my former youth director back home called her best friend who happened to live on the south side of Fort Wayne. Within hours she and her brother showed up with a trailer and we were on the road again to their place in Fort Wayne. They were wonderful—perfect strangers to me but any friend of my youth director was a friend of theirs. They drove me and my car to their home, gave me a place to sleep for the night, place to clean up in the morning, and when I offered them some money, they refused it. Their hospitality made the whole event into a blessing. By the next morning my cousin showed up with her truck, my mom in the passenger seat—a four-hour drive down and then back with a car dolly—me and my unfortunate gold car made it home. It was trip filled with grace—and it’s the grace of many and their hospitality that makes me remember it so fondly.

Jesus says in Matthew 10: 40 “He who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

In the context of battle and division between father and sons, mothers and daughters comes this discussion of hospitality. You remember back a few years when young Rifqa Bary, Muslim teenage girl from Pakistan, living in Ohio came to faith in Jesus her father and family rejected her, even threatened her life. She became famous for going to court to escape her parents. The sword, that is the Gospel will have this effect. And yet Rifqa found welcome among other Christians who in their welcome fostered a greater faith in Jesus and the courage to choose Jesus over her family. Here in this context of division Jesus talks of welcome in verses 40-42.

But this welcome is to share more than food or water. Perhaps a welcome in Christ is to share in faith’s rewards…and even its consequences. Those who receive a Muslim girl who converts to Christianity may also share and receive the same threats and burdens—a prophets reward. If one was to harbor a prophet in the time of Jezebel, who sought to end all prophets, especially Elijah, you as one who welcomed Elijah to your home back then could have suffered her wrath for doing so. The same can be said of a righteous man’s reward. But Jesus says, he receives you will receive Jesus. And whoever receives Jesus receives the One who sent Him, namely the Heavenly Father.

If I was the parent of a child who was stranded, but helped by a stranger, that stranger also gives help to me as a grateful parent. By welcoming my child you have welcomed me. To give a child of Jesus a cup of cool water is to receive Jesus in the same way because you shared in their circumstances and assumed a role in their life.

Scripture says a lot about hospitality. 1 Peter 4:9 says, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Leviticus 19:34 even goes so far as to say to love a stranger is to love yourself—interesting because we hear the same language in the context of Marriage in Ephesians 5 when it says for the husband to love his wife as if he takes care of himself. But probably the most interesting verse is in Hebrews 13:2 which says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so some have unknowingly entertained angels.”

Hospitality is fundamentally an act of kindness; Offering a cup of coffee with a friend; A place to stay when someone gets stranded or lending your skills and talents to help; a ride to work when their car is busted; or just some time getting to know them.
When my car finally got home it was hauled over to a friend and member of our church back home—to his house where he had a garage out back. He was a car guy and worked at the factory where my car was made. Seeing an opportunity to help he voluntarily found a slightly used engine for a very low cost and helped replace my old one. My only price for his labor was a piece of advice—“Matt, you let me work on your car and I’ll promise not to get into the pulpit.” He used his skills and connections to help a young seminary student get back on the road—gave my car several more years. I am still grateful to him for that.

With the fourth of July coming up this week consider the story of a very young 17 year old Lucy Floocker who left her family to marry Major Henry Knox. She left behind her family who remained faithful to the British during the revolutionary war—more like they disowned her. Lucy married young Henry, a soldier in the continental army. When the British surrounded Boston she and her husband escaped the city. It is said that Lucy concealed Henry’s sword that he wore through the war, by having it quilted within the lining of her coat. If caught they would never have suspected her of having it.

Lucy loved Henry Knox and stayed as close to Henry as possible when he was camped but often during the war they were separated for many months at a time. Henry Knox eventually became a General and close friend of General George Washington who recognized his skills as a tactition. After the war Henry Knox became the first secretary of war for the United States. Lucy in that time became a leader within social circles and a friend of Mrs. Washington—the first lady at the time. Knox would also go one to found the first veterans association.

Eventually the Knox’s retired to the estate once owned by her family and build mansion called the Montpellier in Maine at the head of the St. George River. They had ten children and enjoyed retirement. It was here that Henry’s hospitality became legendary to his friends and even to squatters. Some of the letters of the time speak of the hospitality of Knox at his superb mansion. It was not unusual for him in summer, when visited by great numbers of his friends, to kill an ox and twenty sheep every Monday morning, and to have a hundred beds made up daily in the house. He kept for his own use and that of his friends, twenty saddle horses and several pairs of carriage horses in his stables. This expensive style of living encroached greatly on his means. But Madam Knox, as she was called, held it all together with her usual powers of conversation, a great memory of people and details, and an instinct for society. She was described as a woman with much tact, quick and ready for sympathy, and good judgment, combined with great good-nature and a love for fun.” After her husband died, she remained charitable and continued her hospitality in spite of debt and the disrepair of the house in her 18 years of widowhood until she died in 1824.

What we learn from Lucy is her ability to meet and relate to people and make them feel welcome. In so doing people were naturally encouraged to return frequently. Yes, the generosity did help, but long after the noble days of war, long after the splender faded, she kept up a spirit of welcome and remained consistent and is well-remembered because of her nature in this regard. The ones that make us feel most welcome are those who stand out most. By God’s grace may we be good hosts, make people feel welcome, and by our time together encourage a stranger to know Jesus in the way we love them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyJune29.PDF

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/PokLKtb1n3E

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

Live Video Broadcast Sunday Morning
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matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

A WEEK IN REVIEW

 

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/UTTzh9h3t_U

 

pastork@glcna.com — (812) 949-9014

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 23

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“The Ditches of Quanicassee”

READING: Isaiah 35: 1-2, 8-10 – The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God…And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it. They will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

I went home to Michigan early last week to visit with my father who had been hospitalized for the second time in two weeks. My daughter, Christa, and her two youngest children accompanied me. He was doing better when I left him on Wednesday. The frustrating thing was that the hospital was maintaining a policy of one visitor per patient PER DAY. That meant only one of us could see him on any given day. Not adequate, but the fear of COVID continues to show itself in many ways.

Since we could spend only small periods of time with Dad, we decided to take the kids to the beaches around Caseville, on the shores of Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. On the way there we drove through the little village of Quanicassee. It’s there that several very large drainage ditches empty into the Bay. See, all the farmland for hundreds of square miles in that part of Michigan is flat as a pancake. My Dad’s farm is like that. At one point, way back it was all under the lake, and when it receded, it became swamp and wetland. To farm its rich soil, the farmers had to drain the land with underground drainage tiles that empty into ditches that empty into deeper ditches that empty into really huge drainage ditches that wind up emptying into the Bay at Quanicassee.

There is one road in particular that runs through that countryside and is bordered on BOTH sides by some of the deepest, widest drainage ditches you’ll ever see. They are 12-15 feet deep and 10-12 feet across. They’re big enough that every so often someone will accidentally drive off that road and the car will be swallowed up by that huge ditch. It’s happened several times that a car has gone undiscovered for two or three days before someone notices the tire marks going into the ditch and finds a car at the end of those tracks. When driving on that road it is imperative that the driver keep his car going straight down that road. To veer to the left leads to destruction. To veer to the right invites the same. There is no room for foolishness or a lack of focus. Going off the road means death.

In our reading today Isaiah describes such a road: it is called the “Way of Holiness”. Note that No unclean people, no wicked fools, no lions or ferocious beasts can go up on it. Only the Redeemed may walk its path. Only the Ransomed of the LORD may follow its path to joy. When Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus replied, “I am The Way…” Jesus was making a direct reference to this passage in Isaiah. How can any of us be redeemed? How can any of us be ransomed? Only by faith in Christ Jesus. Only by trusting in his righteousness, his redemption, and his promises. There is only one Way, and it is a straight and narrow path that leads to salvation.

There are people who doubt the truth of the whole of Scripture. They want to pick and choose which passages have meaning and which ones can be ignored. There are others who try to gain their salvation by earning it through works righteousness and a strict adherence to all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. Both of those paths veer dangerously, one to the left, the other to the right. Neither stays the course with eyes and faith fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Want to avoid those huge ditches in Quanicassee? You have to aim right down the middle. Want to avoid errors that lead us away from salvation and to a reliance on ourselves? Fix your eyes on Jesus and run straight to him you whole life long. He will lead you safely home. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S): Join us on Saturday for the Weekly Review. Saturday services and the regular Communion schedule have resumed. And, remember that both Sunday services will be live broadcast on the Internet regularly from now on.

MORE NEWS!! We have decided to celebrate EASTER on this weekend in all the services including Communion. We missed out in April. We held off in May. We’ll wait until this weekend, and then we’ll sing his praises together in his house. Join us. We’ve also started up “Thursday’s Saints” Bible Class on Thursdays at 10:30. We’re meeting in the Fireside Room. Come join us there, too!

P.S. On a personal note, Becky and I have a master bath in need of a remodel. If you have had a contractor you felt did a fair and competent job of such a project for you, I’d appreciate your sharing the name with me. Thanks!

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/2Hwf9Ocj0t0

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYJune23.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 22

Monday, June 22, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“A Lot is Happening Behind the Scenes”

Ever watch Survivor? Even if you don’t, I think you will appreciate the reality behind the show. I caught an article recently from Living Magazine that talked about all the behind the curtain stuff for making Survivor. It was really quite interesting. For example. If you want to do an Internship for Survivor, part of the “dream team”–well talk about a dream job.
‘The Dream Team’ is a group of young college students who score an internship by spending the summer testing out upcoming Survivor challenges. The purpose is to perfect the challenges and tweak any problems that may come up when the actual contestants perform them. There are multiple stages of filming a challenge. First, the interns do dry runs of the challenges to block out the action for the cameras. Then they run a dress rehearsal, and producers run through the footage afterward to make decisions. Lastly, the interns run the challenge themselves. The internships take place on site such as on the islands like Fiji, to give you an idea. The interns also help out around the set with prop making and production preparation.

Fun right. There’s more. Every contestant gets paid–$2500 if a contestant is voted off first, five figures for making it to the jury and ten thousand for showing up to the live reunion episode. Of course, one million dollars for winning.
Even though you never see them there are tons of film crews all over with the goal of filming in a way that it appears that the contestants are alone on the island. Every contestant has a camera person on them 24/7, during monsoons and whatever mother nature throws at them. A medical crew is also always on hand. The crew is huge and has their own accommodations, along with those who construct the sets, produce music, sound, lighting, catering, and all the stuff that goes along with filming. In season 16 some of the contestants found the place and broke in and stole some Gatorades and peanut butter. Since then all contestants are closely watched and limited to certain places.

Contestants are blindfolded when they travel to other parts of the island so they do not see challenges or other camps or any other place. Meanwhile the contestants are truly limited to rice and whatever they can catch so the hunger at least is real. And if you make it to the jury you spend your time at the Ponderosa, where they eat and drink as much as they want and get pampered the rest of the time. Wardrobes are preapproved before the show begins and contestants are given “certain essentials” like birth control, feminine hygiene products, vital medication, sunscreen, and insect repellent but no hair brush, tooth brush, or deodorant. Although, a couple times some have managed to smuggle stuff in to the game.

Finally, the tribal council is a lot longer than ten minutes. Its been said to last up to three hours. Afterward producers sift through the footage to get rid of all the boring parts and keep the best “quote-worthy” lines. In the end what goes on behind the scenes is all very deliberate and controlled so that what we see is a polished, entertaining result.

Consider all that goes on behind the scenes in our game of life as Christians. Ephesians 6:10-12 tells us, 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Behind the scenes is a spiritual battle and every day we must arm ourselves with the Spiritual gifts.

No where is this more revealing then on Good Friday. Outwardly Jesus was being crucified, mocked, and brutalized. Behind the scenes we see a spiritual battle. On the one hand, just listen to the way in which Jesus is mocked. Matthew 27:40; “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” This is the devil speaking through those jeers. We remember Matthew 4. “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” Be lest we forget God was also at work. Jesus died on the cross but in His death our sin was forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). Darkness covered the land but sin was destroyed along with death itself. The cross was the culmination of the Lord working out a plan that started all the way back in Genesis 3. The Spiritual battles continue to rage around us. Keep in mind however, that the outcome is settled. Satan is destroyed and heaven reigns. In the end Philippians 2 promises every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Let us also keep in mind other important elements at work behind the scenes because of the cross, faith and hope. Romans 8:18-19, 23-25 Paul talks about life in the spirit. “18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. …23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Hope is a behind the scenes element that dwells in our faith in Jesus. By faith we hope in much more than our physical world. We wait for a new creation knowing that its not just a wish but something that is coming and just as real. 2 Corinthians 4 says the cross and resurrection of Jesus are a treasure in jars of clay. And at the end of the chapter Paul says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.” Behind the scenes God is working for the good of those who love Him. In so many places we see God is with His people but also our faith and hope at work too clinging to the Lord.

Behind the scenes we also see within ourselves in a spiritual battle. I know Christian parents who put on a good face, a strong face, but inside they are tortured with guilt about working too much rather than being with their kids more. They wonder if they are doing a good job raising their kids. I know Christian teens who don’t know who they are supposed to be, don’t feel worthy of love, don’t know what their purpose is; are they pretty enough, good enough, athletic enough, just hoping they won’t screw up and make life worse somehow.

I know Christians who struggle with addiction wondering how they might fit into a sober world and use their defensiveness to protect themselves. I know Lutheran pastors that are insecure about themselves and wonder if they are doing enough, creative enough, good enough. Christians struggle with all the same things non-Christians do. Likewise, Christians are good at producing a happy smile; and edited version of themselves for others to see on most days. But inside a whole different battle is too often raging in Christian hearts. And it is often a very guarded thing. It’s our own personal reality show; edited and produced.

But the Lord already knows the real you (Psalm 139). He knows the hidden things about us. He knows our hearts. And still He wants to know you and love you. His desire is for you to know Him and gladly calls us friends (John 15:15). His love for you is an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). And He wants you to live with Him in the Father’s House forever (John 14). The Lord is not producing a reality show but a new reality just for you and me. He is creating a new heaven and new earth and a new you. The old order of things will pass away. And He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. We won’t have to compete for it. Jesus will not vote out any believer.

Actually, since Jesus is for us nothing can stand against us. We will never go hungry or thirsty again—not in heaven. We can’t see heaven yet but it is already a certain fact, a reality that is being built as we speak. It will premier on the day that we leave this world. And death will be swallowed up in victory. And we will receive the grand prize of eternal life.

A lot is happening behind the scenes. Such things shape what is going on for others to see. The fruits of the Spirit on display in our life demonstrate God is at work in us. Some see life as a game of Survivor, survival of the fittest, etc. Not Jesus. His is the way of Savior. He knows the truth of our sin and our secrets; He forgives and loves us. And faith in Jesus is our immunity necklace that promises we will get to the winner’s circle in the realm of eternal life.

And now, May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with his favor and give you His peace. Amen.

https://www.livingmgz.com/glamour/if-youre-a-fan-of-survivor-youll-wanna-know-this/?utm_source=ya&utm_campaign=390731480-dtm-us-hd-ya&utm_medium=c&utm_sid=390731480&utm_term=&utm_content=1&utm_siteID=&utm_referrer=HOMEPAGE_US_yahoo.com&utm_eid=HOMEPAGE_US&utm_ad_id=35489686215&fps=ya&campaign_name=Survivor05_CRS_GeCPA10cents_DESK_accliv16_06-09&cust_1=liv16

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyJune22.PDF

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/7FABvlIaCbM

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

Live Video Broadcast Sunday Morning
8:00AM and 10:30AM

Click on the Links Provided Below:
Note: If one fails try another link. They will be active on Sunday.
 

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PRINTABLE PDF Pastor WOODS Sermon Notes: PASTOR Woods Sermon Notes
 

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matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

A WEEK IN REVIEW

 

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/J8VVD9jbypg

 

pastork@glcna.com — (812) 949-9014

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 16

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“ROOTED IN LOVE”

READING: Ephesians 3:14-21 – For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Forty-six years ago today a petite seventeen-year-old bride walked down the aisle at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Richville, Michigan. Waiting for her at the end of that aisle was a sweating, nervous nineteen-year-old groom. They had only the vaguest idea of what they were getting into. They had no real idea how they were going to support themselves AND go to college. They could not see into the future very far at all. What they did know was that they loved each other and could not countenance another year of being separated by 600 miles of Michigan highway and the Mackinac Bridge.

As those two stood before Pastor Victor Spiekerman and their assembled families, he led them through their vows. They promised to “…love, comfort, honor, and keep…” one another “…for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…until death part(ed) them.” It was fairly easy to speak those words at an age where high blood pressure, gout, deafness, diabetes, etc. were way off in the future. They were young and strong and bullet-proof, like most young couples before and after them. “Yes! Yes, we will!”

That young couple back in 1973 was, of course, Becky and me. Today is our 47th Anniversary! We are still loving, comforting, honoring, and keeping one another after all these years, not perfectly, but constantly. Looking back, we could not have guessed the directions our lives would take or the places we would live or the people we would come to know and love. There was only a distant hope of children, and at that age, no thought at all of grandchildren! We worked our way through four years of college. Then it was off to St. Louis, then Detroit, then Evansville, then Fort Wayne, and then to a place called New Albany. We had a child in Chicago, another in St. Louis, and a third in Detroit. Back in those days money was always tight, unexpected expenses were scary, and we made do whether it was old cars, old shoes, or old carpets. And, all along the way, God blessed us and cared for us and saw to our needs.

In the text for today, St. Paul speaks a “heart prayer” for the people at Ephesus. He asks that God would give to them all the spiritual blessings they could ever need. He doesn’t really ask for material blessings. He knew these were important, but St. Paul also knew that if they were at peace with God and supplied with the power and love of God, they would be patient, thankful, and content with their daily circumstances in ways that the world was not.

St. Paul prays that the Christians in Ephesus would be “rooted and established in love”. To be rooted and established is to delve deeply in the things of God: to celebrate the mighty works of God through the ages; to remember the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus and all that these have won for us; and to make full and diligent use of his gifts in Baptism, Communion, and the hearing and study of his Word. It is Paul’s prayer that Christians would love the way God has already and continues to love us: with an agape love, that is, a love that comes as much from the head and as from the heart. It’s a love that is fully focused on the good of the one being loved without counting the cost for the one who is doing the loving. It is a determined and sacrificial love. It’s really the only kind of love that comforts, honors, and keeps the loved one whatever the circumstances of life may bring.

Becky and I have been richly blessed in so many ways. It hasn’t always been easy, and there are still days when one or the other of us doesn’t deserve to be loved. We’re sinners, after all. But it is especially in those moments when we fall back on God’s agape love, knowing he continues to love us even on our worst days. Knowing that is how he loves us, we can and continue to love each other in that way to the best of our ability. Rooted in HIS love, we have the resources and power to love each other day by day.

So, my bride of 47 years: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I LOVE YOU!

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S): Join us on Saturday for the Weekly Review. Saturday services and the regular Communion schedule have resumed. A HAPPY FATHERS DAY in advance to all the dads and granddads out there. And, remember that both Sunday services will be live broadcast on the Internet regularly from now on.

MORE NEWS!! We have decided to celebrate EASTER on the last weekend of this month in all the services including Communion. We missed out in April. We held off in May. We’ll wait until the last weekend, and then we’ll sing his praises together in his house. Join us.

P.S. On a personal note, Becky and I have a master bath in need of a remodel. If you have had a contractor you felt did a fair and competent job of such a project for you, I’d appreciate your sharing the name with me. Thanks!

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/kt_-EXI7WLA

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYJune16.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 15

Monday, June 15, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

Valuing human beings

Hello again. Today I want to talk about valuing human beings. I touched on this point yesterday in the message. Yesterday I mentioned a video by Penn Jillette made back in 2009 or 10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=6md638smQd8&feature=emb_logo He is an avid atheist and firm unbeliever. He makes that clear. I still find what he said something to be respected and noted by all Christians. He talked about a fan who after the show met Penn looked Penn in the eye with a sincere love and took the time to give him a Gideon’s Bible. He respected the gesture enough to take a minute to make a video about the moment. It makes enough of an impact that he believed the man to be a “good man.” But he also says that if you believe in something you should be proselytizing it—sharing it. If you believe in something and believe that something has good in it, social awkwardness is no excuse to avoid sharing it.

He said in his video response, “If you believe that there is a heaven and hell and people may not get eternal life and it’s not worth telling him this because you feel socially awkward or something, how much do you have to hate someone not to tell them about the Gospel. How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them?”
Effectively, if I’ve got a cure for cancer and choose not to share it for any reason then what kind of Christian am I? And eternal life is much more important.

The point is valid and important. This is why I am emphasizing it today. The mere discussion of certain lives mattering while others do not is not the message of the Gospel and assumes that some are not as valuable as others. Valuing all human beings (for God so loved the world) is what Jesus does in His cross. He doesn’t distinguish who He dies for. Jesus died for all people, including Penn Jillette even though not all people believe in Him.

But notice Matthew 27:54—”When the centurion and those with him guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Roman soldiers who had seen too many crucifixions saw something different in the way Jesus died. Lord willing people will see all kinds of people but they will detect something different about us in God’s grace. At the very least Jesus’ crucifixion left an impact on them. They saw the depth of Jesus’ suffering, as well as his concern for others, and the grace that filled that terrible day. It left an impact on hardened soldiers who had no love for Jews, made it their business to crucify Jesus efficiently, making sure he died there. Jesus succeeded in dying for our sins even if everyone didn’t receive what He was offering. And here’s a noted result of the cross. Hardened soldiers at least respected Jesus’ passion even if they didn’t believe in Him as Savior of the world or understand Him. He gained respect by the way He died on the cross. Lord willing the same can be said of us; perhaps we may gain respect by how we live in Christ.

In the early days of Christianity plagues in Rome swept through and the church went to work. Christians did things that gained so much respect from the community that non-Christians started asking about Jesus and many came to believe. Christians loved Christians and non-Christians who had plague and gave freely what they had been given. They took their que from Jesus who hung out with people labeled as one thing or another but was never embarrassed by anyone nor wrote them off because of the broken nature of their lives. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 makes it a point to encourage Christians to love each other in Christ “11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders…”

Consider also Matthew 18:1-6. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Children are not always valued by adults. Yet Jesus points to them and says they get it better than adults.

Come on. The disciples are asking the wrong question of Jesus. It’s not a game where one disciple is more important than another, one person more than another. “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Have you ever watched little children play with one another? Our preschoolers at Grace School are wonderous creatures. They don’t care what kind of home the other kids come from, or their color, or that they have something different about them then themselves. It’s amazing the level of acceptance that is on display in those kids. They can still have little attitudes once in a while—welcome to humanity. But those preschoolers think nothing at all of unconditionally hugging another kid and being their buddy.

So, let’s come back to where we started. How do we value other human beings? We offer them dignity by communicating they are worthy of our time and our effort.

Assume nothing. Do not judge a book by its cover. I have had some of the most intense conversations about faith with people who struggle with sexuality issues, with faith issues, with self-respect issues, with pride issues, and some who just have issues. I have been so grateful for those opportunities and some of them I am proud to call my friends today. I often don’t know if I have done any good but I have learned to work through my “social awkwardness” enough to discover some great people out there.

And here’s a secret. I’ve been a pastor long enough to discover that we are more same than different. Many of us struggle with some kind of issues at some level in our lives. I’ve also learned that the obvious things bring the most respect out of people; hard work, showing up and helping out if needed, being respectful and honest, and patient gentleness. These things often give me a chance to talk with others. Of course, if I can show what Christ looks like and build respect doing so–all the better. Such things become powerful when someone knows you are doing such things for them. Again, you communicate their value when you do.

Bottom line take a risk. You are, after all, the one who carries the faith in Jesus and has something worth sharing. Show someone they are valued and loved in Jesus. Step up; give a conversation a chance even when it is socially awkward for you. You might discover someone really interesting. You might also at least leave an impression about Christians that is respected and memorable. As we mentioned above that has value too even if one hasn’t (yet) come to faith in Jesus. Who knows, maybe what you do will lead to faith in Jesus…eventually. Give it a shot this week. Show someone they matter.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyJune15

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/Owc4vuhfnq0

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

Live Video Broadcast Sunday Morning
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Click on the Links Provided Below:
Note: If one fails try another link. They will be active on Sunday.
 

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YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vn4JFP_IQP8JQ3f8QwADQ
 
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PRINTABLE PDF SERVICE PROGRAM FOR SERVICE: SERVICE PROGRAM
 

PRINTABLE PDF Pastor WOODS Sermon Notes: PASTOR Woods Sermon Notes
 

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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PEOPLE GET THESE TWO PASTORS A CALENDAR!

THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT DAY OR MONTH THEY ARE IN!
 

A WEEK IN REVIEW

 

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/Nqm2l6xJKY0

 

pastork@glcna.com — (812) 949-9014

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 9

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“ME AND MY COMPASS”

READING: Psalm 53:1-6 – The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Will the evildoers never learn – those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on God? There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them. Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Many years ago, I went deer hunting in Michigan with my father, brother Alan, and good friend Jeff. (We were hunting near the village of Luther, which always made me laugh to think that any deer I saw was a Lutheran deer!) We decided that the three of us young guys would walk through a large section of forest while my dad watched for any escaping deer on the road that ran along its west side. We started in on the east side, with me in the middle. Now it was a big piece of woods about 2 miles long and a mile wide with lots of trees and a long walk.

I figured I was about three quarters of the way across when I decided to take a compass reading. I was quite sure I knew where due west was, but I decided to try out my new compass just for verification. I leaned my shotgun against a tree, aware that iron or steel can cause a compass to misread if the metal is close by. I laid my compass on a nearby stump and let the needle steady up. Hhhmmm! The needle said due north was behind my right shoulder. I thought, “That can’t be right!” That meant due west was quartering away from me to the right while I was convinced due west was straight ahead of me. I jiggled the compass, then laid it once more on the stump. It gave the very same reading. “That thing can’t be right! West is straight ahead. I came straight in from the east side, so I know due west must be straight ahead. Stupid thing must be broken or something.”

So, instead of following the compass reading, I stubbornly marched straight ahead. When I finally came to the road Dad was posted at, I discovered I had drifted nearly half a mile to the south of where I had expected to exit the woods. The compass had been right! When I told Dad what I had done, he laughed and said, “Rookie mistake! Always trust your compass!” It’s a lesson I took to heart.

In our reading today, the Lord “…looks down upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.” God had created man, put his law on their hearts, revealed himself through both nature and by his word spoken by the prophets. He gave to mankind the right direction. He pointed out to them the right course. But, did they listen? Did they follow his directions? Did they obey his call and walk in his paths? No, no, and no!
They foolishly and stubbornly went their own way, certain they knew better, certain they could find their own way forward. “God? There is no God!”

Sadly, nothing much has changed. We still see so many walking their own way, deciding for themselves what is good and right. They make their own laws, their own version of morality, their own rules for what is acceptable, or unacceptable. “God?” they sniff, “There is no God!” They can’t be bothered with the Bible. To them that’s an antiquated old book written by a bunch of old geezers in a whole different place and a much less enlightened time. “We know better now. We’re not bound to the old ways. We know the way forward.”

King David’s cry at the end of the Psalm was heeded by God, “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!” That’s exactly what happened when Jesus carried his cross outside the walls of Jerusalem to that ugly little hill called Golgotha. Salvation came to Israel and to the world through his death and the Resurrection that followed three days later. Now anyone can know the way forward because Jesus is “THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life.” Better and more trustworthy than any compass, Jesus shows us the way forward to salvation and eternal life. Don’t be misled. Should the whole world be pointing in one direction while Jesus points in another, follow his Way, and you’ll arrive right where you hope to be. God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

PRAYER:

GRADUATING SENIORS in both high school and college are invited and urged to attend our late service on Sunday, June 14, so we can recognize and congratulate you in the service and at the reception that will immediately follow the service.

BREAKING NEWS!! We have decided to celebrate EASTER on the last Sunday of this month in all the services, with a special emphasis on the Sunday services. We missed out in April. We held off in May. We’ll wait until the last Sunday, and then we’ll sing his praises together in his house. Join us.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/WNtGuW5iFKE

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYJun9

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 8

Monday, June 8, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“It’s the Little Things”

Last fall we had a little mouse that got into our garage. We found this out in an a very unusual way. Turns out we had to take Tricia’s car in for some work and low and behold the mechanic found a newspaper nest built into the engine compartment. I had just changed the oil in the car myself just a few days before—(And no Bill my work wasn’t the reason we had to take the car in. It was already scheduled to go in.) So, that little critter had build a nest using newspaper we had in a box. We use the newspaper to start fires in the fireplace which sat on to of our freezer. So that little thing went all the way up to the top of the freezer, climbed into the box, nibbled off a piece of newspaper, and carried it all the way to the engine of my wife’s car and built a nest. It must have taken many trips. Really quite impressive. Well, the mechanic told us about the nest and shared with us that it was a good thing it was found because such things can lead to fires.

Later that week I decided to change the oil in my car. And you know what I found. In the time my wife’s car was in the shop (two days) I found out that that little mouse had build a nest in my engine compartment. I should probably hire this thing to help me with VBS each year. It’s truly impressive. However, because he was a mouse he had to go. My wife is deathly afraid of mice, stand on the table- afraid of them. So, we made it our mission to evict our little tenant. We eventually managed to catch the mouse in a trap and put it outside a long way from the house. What an impressive little worker that thing was.
It’s the little things. Are the little things really all that little? Consider what a colony of ants can do, or termites. Ever notice the little things aren’t really that insignificant at all?

Consider Psalm 139 with some selected verses—I won’t read all of the Psalm but listen to all the little things.
1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

Did you notice the little things in this one passage? Your thoughts—the Lord knows them. Your thoughts matter. How you think about others, yourself all matters. For out of the heart come the things that make one clean or unclean. As you think so you go.
Your Words matter. Countless passages refer to the power of your words to bring life or death. Are your words colorful? Are your words uplifting? Are your words thoughtful and wise?

How important is our inmost being? What’s our hearts desire? How important is the way we treat our own bodies by what we eat, exercise, and so on? God knows us down to the cellular level even when those RNA/DNA patterns were woven together in our mother’s womb. Give thanks for eyes that can see and ears that can hear and legs that can walk. Recent days remind us that our inmost being needs to be healthy.

The Lord discerns my going out and my lying down—the Lord gets us. But the Lord also knows what our habits are, what our secret things are, and what it is that makes us really tick. If the Psalmist could count the times that God thinks of us, it says those thoughts would be so vast they would outnumber the grains of sands on the planet. The things in us that the Lord is paying attention to are not trivial nor really all that small. Those little things do a lot to identify us; the way we carry ourselves, the phrases we use, the unique mannerisms. Those things are usually subtle but often trigger a memory of the people we associate with those little things.

Consider the little, seemingly, unimportant things in scripture. Jesus says the hairs on our heads are all numbered in Luke 12:7. Makes sense considering what we just heard in Psalm 139. How about the faith as small as a humble mustard seed? We know from Matthew 10:29-31 that his eye is on the little sparrow and we are worth more than many sparrows. We see the love Jesus has for little Zaccheus, who climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus in Luke 19:1-10. How about the widow’s offering of two pennies in Mark 12:41. Jesus said that widow gave more than all the others because she was willing to give all she had. And how powerful was a little boy’s lunch in the hands of Jesus at the feeding of the 5000 in John 6. Five small loaves, and two fish, from a little boy who was willing to give what he had to make a difference. The small things are not insignificant.

Consider marriage. It’s the little details that can irritate or bless. A majority of marriage counseling that I do often revolves around little things like not picking up after himself, or not helping out with the kids, not communicating because one or both prefers to use mindreading, not watching the budget—“Do we really need all this stuff?” Marriage can become brittle with hundreds of little chicken pecks that finally build up and explode. But yet they are often fixable things. Same can apply to friendships. Same can apply to relationships with coworkers. I think you understand what I am getting at.

The good news is that little things are not insignificant. Why do you suppose the Gospels record the words of Jesus saying, “Father forgive them,” or “Today you will be with me in paradise?” The crowds didn’t catch them. They were too busy mocking Jesus. But the Gospel writers caught them and shared them. We see in those little sentences words that show us the heart of Jesus as He goes to the cross. These are little “I love you” phrases. And yes, how powerful are those three little words “I love you” from a parent, from a spouse, or from the Church. How important are those little things that we do to bring a little more unity to a divided country; a little more constructiveness in a time when things are broken, and a little more of Jesus to a time that needs Him.

It’s the little things. The little word of encouragement, the little act of love, offering the little extra time and effort, a little more kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. The little things can often become the biggest difference. May the Lord bless the little things we do to be fruitful, helpful, and good so that a little more Jesus gets into our world. In the name of Jesus.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with His favor and give you His peace. Amen

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyJune8

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/BqMadISCpmw

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

Live Video Broadcast Sunday Morning
8:00AM and 10:30AM

Click on the Links Provided Below:
Note: If one fails try another link. They will be active on Sunday.
 

Https://glcna.online.church
 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vn4JFP_IQP8JQ3f8QwADQ
 
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PRINTABLE PDF SERVICE PROGRAM FOR SERVICE: SERVICE PROGRAM
 

PRINTABLE PDF Pastor K Sermon Notes: SERMON66-7.pdf
 

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

A WEEK IN REVIEW

 

Youtube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBDGvd8Q3Js

 

pastork@glcna.com — (812) 949-9014

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 2

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN

“WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?”

READING: Psalm 90:1-6, 14-17 – Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn men back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.” For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning – though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered…Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all of our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands.

Willow is 14. Willow is my eldest grandchild, and during this past week she turned fourteen and she was confirmed. Where does the time go?!! It was just yesterday that Becky and I first laid our eyes upon the most beautiful child we’d ever seen! There she was in her mother’s arms, all pudgy cheeks and pink toes, and we fell deeply in love with her right there. Now she’s fourteen, confirmed, and headed for high school sometime this fall. How did that happen? Where does the time go?

Less than two weeks after she was born, we moved into the house we currently inhabit. It was Memorial Day weekend, and we found out Friday afternoon that we could move in on Monday and the people who bought the Clarksville place wanted to take possession on Tuesday! What to do? How ae we going to get all of this done? Then, on Sunday morning I told the congregation that while I knew Monday was a holiday, we were in a bind and could use some help moving. The next morning at the appointed time, cars, pickups, and trailers filled the street. That house was emptied in record time. I still say the whole scene reminded me of vultures descending on a zebra carcass in the Serengeti! That was fourteen years ago last week. Where does the time go?

I’m more conscious of the passing of time now than ever before in my life. When I was younger, with a young family, I was too busy to notice as much. I had lots of years ahead of me; all the time in the world it seemed. But now, I see time as my most precious commodity. It goes TOO fast. I’m aware that around August 20, I’ll have been at Grace 30 years. Becky and I will celebrate our 47th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks. We have eight grandchildren, and not one of them is a baby anymore. Where does the time go?

Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses himself. Here was a man of God who had spent 40 years learning all about Egypt. Then He spent another 40 years learning all about the desert. Then another 40 years leading a motley, disorderly, stiff-necked people through the wilderness right up to the Promised Land. I’m sure he often reflected upon his life and then wondered, “Where does the time go?” You see that thought reflected in the Psalm. “Throughout all generations…” – Think of how many generations of Hebrews Moses saw in 120 years! “You turn men back to dust…” – How many friends, family, and Israelites had Moses seen buried in their desert sojourn? “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by…” – Moses’ 120 years are like a blink in God’s eternal calendar. “Like the new grass…” – Here today; gone tomorrow! Where does the time go?

As Moses concludes the Psalm, he turns once more to the only One who is above time, the Creator of time, the Master of time: The Lord our God. He asks that God would grant to him and to Israel His unfailing love, His joy and gladness, His presence and His splendor, and His never-ending favor. Do you realize that the things Moses requests of God are the very things that will bless us in this life…and in the life to come? Since God is eternal, his gifts are eternal. Because of our Savior’s sacrifice and resurrection, we already have God’s promise of life in his heavenly mansions. So, while the clock keeps ticking here, our home with God has no clocks, no calendars, and no end!

Yes, I’m getting older! I am regularly reminded of that fact by what I see in the mirror, what my creaky joints and sore muscles tell me, and by every passing birthday of my children and grandchildren. I am often chagrinned at how fast a year goes by, to say nothing of a week! But my God is eternal; his mercies never fail. I can sing with real meaning verses 5 and 6 of “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, soon bears us all away; we fly forgotten as a dream dies at the op’ning day. O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be Thou our guard while troubles last and our eternal home!” Where does the time go? Well, when we spend it loving both God and others, it’s certainly not wasted. And, in heaven, there’s a LOT MORE where that came from! Thanks be to God! Amen.

PRAYER:

ANNOUNCEMENT(S): Join us on Saturday for the Weekly Review. Saturday services and the regular Communion schedule will resume this coming weekend. Communion in early service the first and third Sundays of the month. Communion in late service the second and fourth Sundays. And Communion in the second and third Saturday evening services at 5:00.

CONFIRMANDS: Congratulations to our eighth grade Confirmands! They were truly a joy to teach and to learn from. God bless: Kaleb Korner, Willow Kischnick, Caroline Hadley, Lillian Nierman, Emily Garber, Aden Olson, Karson Evans, Leah Walden, Mary Alexander, and Rachel Wilcox.

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/S-YrR0j37t0

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

PRINTABLE PDF: WEEKLYJune2.PDF

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WEEKLY DEVOTION JUNE 1

Monday, June 1, 2020

Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana

“I Don’t Have the Words But I Can’t Stay Silent”

These are the words that were posted on Instagram by our friend, Bob Lenz up in Wisconsin. Images of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis have brought about a wide range of emotions all over the country. I just don’t have the words to define what I see in the death of George Floyd nor do I have the words to define the destruction that has followed by angry protestors. To be honest I have been thinking about this a lot in the last few days. It is heart-breaking to see the loss of life and the damage that has come as a result. No matter what angle this has all has been looked at I can’t seem to find anything constructive about any of it. Once again when I am faced with what I don’t know I turn to what I do know—that which is written in the Word of God. This is what I offer for us today.

God Values All Human Life and Does Not Show Favoritism

First, God values all human life and does not distinguish human beings the way that the sinful nature does. God so loved the world means that if you are human being on this planet God loves you in Jesus. We all remember Acts 10. Peter is sent to a Gentile man named Cornelius. Normally, Jews would not associate with Gentiles but the Lord commanded Peter to go. In the end Peter learns from the Lord an important truth about people different then ourselves and therefore makes a very bold statement for his day in Acts 10:34. “Now I truly understand that God does not show favoritism.” Favoritism takes many forms but God forbids them all.

James 2 is very clear that favoritism is inconsistent with God’s character, inconsistent with the Gospel, and completely out of line with our faith in Jesus. Verse 8-9 tells us, 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” To show favoritism is to oppose the Lord and commit sin. Any act of favoritism means someone is going to mistreated. Any act of favoritism places self above God. Favoritism is opposed to grace, makes forgiveness much harder, and sows division.

In contrast Jesus encourages us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus encourages us to use our authority and our God-given gifts for the benefit of others—to those much has been given much will be expected (Luke 12:48). We are to speak up for the weak and remain humble. This is in fact what Jesus does for us on the cross. Jesus Himself prayed for the Gentile Roman soldiers even as they were nailing Him to the cross when He prayed, “Father, Forgiven them.”

What’s more we have a view of heaven in John’s vision in Revelation 7 that should inspire us to remember we are all welcome into the kingdom. Remember what John saw.

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” Not only are there countless people but we are still culturally different and welcomed that way for all eternity. The People in heaven retain their cultural diversity. God loves all the variety. Heaven is not monochrome.

In Your Anger Do Not Sin

Secondly, Ephesians 4:25-27 to speak truthfully. But it also says, “26 ‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.” Recent days, remind me that sinful human beings cannot handle anger. Anger too quickly turns to rage like a spark in a dry forest. I can’t see anything positive in anger. Too much anger ruins relationships, erodes trust, wears people out, and is, as we have seen in the riots very destructive. Anger comes too easy to the sinful nature.

The hard work for Christians is spelled out in Ephesians 4:31-32: “31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

In and through angry frustration a man has died unnecessarily and people’s lives are being ruined by destruction of property and theft in protest. Perhaps the destruction of property and theft are simply opportunistic. If that is true then I am even more sad at the loss of George Floyd. In any case one does not correct the other. Jesus did not come to destroy people or property but to save us and redeem His creation in the cross and the Resurrection. The grace of God in fact destroyed Jesus on the cross for our sin. His life was lost so that we may have life in full measure.

Slow Down

Finally, I go back to James 1:19. “19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

James encourages us to slow down. Be slow to speak—you might put your foot in your mouth and have to wash it down in humility. You may cause someone to be angry unnecessarily by your lack of understanding. I know I have. I have had others try to talk to me before and I was so riled up that I just wouldn’t listen only later to find out that I really didn’t understand what was really going on? Be slow to speak. Listen first to all that is going on. Also, be slow to become angry. As we already have said anger usually doesn’t take us anywhere positive. Slowing things down within ourselves allows our pulse to slow, our tempers to calm, and gives our thinking time to catch up to our emotions. When we are calmed down then an intelligent conversation has a better chance.

Use Your Words to Build Up

Lastly, use your words very carefully. Again James 3 reminds us that our words are very powerful. Proverbs 18:21 tell us that the “tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eats is fruit.” If we are to be salt and light our words should be flavored with grace. It is wise to watch what we say. Words are best when they build up and encourage. If the Gospel is upon our lips then all the troubles that plague our culture with division have a greater chance at finding healing as well as wise justice. I certainly pray for such things. May the Lord bless us in and through the Holy Spirit to be wise, listening, impartial, and loving in a time when all we hear is anger, division, and destruction. I can’t think of a better moment to be the Church or to apply God’s love.

And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you. The Lord look on You with His Favor and give you His peace. Amen.

Pastor Woods — John 3:30

PRINTABLE PDF: WeeklyJune1

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/H6NHhhFd458

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

Live Video Broadcast Sunday Morning
8:00AM and 10:30AM

Click on the Links Provided Below:
Note: If one fails try another link. They will be active on Sunday.
 

Https://glcna.online.church
 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Vn4JFP_IQP8JQ3f8QwADQ
 
Faceboook: https://www.facebook.com/GraceLutheranChurchNA 
 

PRINTABLE PDF SERVICE PROGRAM FOR SERVICE: SERVICE PROGRAM
 

PRINTABLE PDF Pastor Woods Sermon Notes: SERMON NOTES PAGE.PDF
 

pastork@glcna.com — (502) 797-7407
 

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327

*************************************

A WEEK IN REVIEW

 

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/vkT9HX-lFvA

 

pastork@glcna.com — (812) 949-9014

matt.woods@glcna.com — (502) 523-9327