The Scope of Ministry.
This past week, while friend and associate Phil was attending the Best Practices conference for LCMS congregations in Arizona, the pastoral responsibilities were solely mine. And in that week, as I shared with the Bible class, yesterday, we ran the gambit of pastoral ministry.
There were two baptisms this weekend: a little boy on Saturday and a little girl on Sunday. Both were wonderful celebrations as family members from near and far (Wisconsin and Kentucky) gathered and God’s grace was extended. God bless Clayton and Derby with strong faith and long life!
There were also times to attend to matters at the end of life. During a hospital visit I was able to share the service of the Commendation of the Dying with a husband and wife as she was facing the last days of her life among us. Also, on this past Saturday there was a visitation for a family mourning the death of a son in his early 20s. Sad events, without doubt, but events in which the news of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting is essential.
These latter events, above, necessitated the former. It was the advent of sin in this world that led to the inevitability of death, the wages of sin. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men[a] because all sinned.Romans 5:12.
Thankfully, our God did not leave us in our misery, but addressed our need for salvation with His own sacrifice and resurrection. Because of that, the former events mentioned above bring us hope and comfort amidst events like the latter. 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.Romans 6:3-4.
God’s blessings to you as you walk in that newness of life, today. And God bring you comfort as you remember your baptism and how, in that, God has promised you life as His child in the kingdom new and glorious upon Christ Jesus’ return.
It's good to be home...
I missed last week’s deadline due to a trip out to Colorado. Please pardon the blog’s absence.
It’s become a regular practice for me to travel to my parents’ home in the mountains each February, before lent. I travel there to celebrate dad’s birthday. It’s good to be with my mom and dad. Their home is not the one in which I grew and the schedule is quite different from my upbringing. But it’s a blessing to be with them and to be able to help around the cabin – moving firewood up on the deck, sometimes blocking and splitting it as well, and taking part in cooking meals and cleaning up after them.
After that trip, I can say with equal fervor, it’s good to be home here. It’s good to be back with my wife, Jami. This is not the house in which we have raised our family and our schedule since moving here, which is quite different, has been tweaked a time or two. But it’s a blessing to be with her and to be back at the tasks as we find our weekly pattern rounding out.
It’s also good to be home, here, writing thoughts I want to share with you. For a number of you this has always been your church home. Others are transplants. And some of our schedules are a bit in flux – especially after the weekends continually subject to snows and cold temperatures! But it’s good to be here taking part in the life of the church, together: sharing in tasks that warm our hearts and feed our faith.
It’s good to be home…
Fallout From the Polar Vortex
I am ever so thankful to God for some of the things I learned through the experience of last week’s polar vortex. Our house is well insulated. Our furnace is running well. Our car batteries are strong. These are good things to know!
But the opportunity to stay indoors, to work on things in the study, led to learning yet more things through my reading and my encounters with media, both social and news. While these things are good, even necessary to know, my initial reaction was not thankfulness.
The drama playing out in Virginia over a bill sponsored by a few of their delegates probably caught your attention, too. It did not make it out of committee, but the governor, a pediatric neurologist, was inclined to sign it should it have passed. This bill would not only allow for a child to be aborted at 40 weeks, but it would also have allowed for a child surviving the abortion to be put to death anyway, outside of the womb, after consultation between the mother and the physician. This possibility, previously labeled infanticide, but now becoming known as a fourth trimester abortion, followed on the heels of the joyous celebration in New York when their governor signed a similar bill. It allowed the same late term abortions which could be performed by people other than physicians and for any health reason (mental, physical, emotional, et al). Lord, have mercy.
In a periodical I read, in almost an aside, of the casualness of sexual intercourse on college campuses across the nation. It is so commonplace in what used to be known as dating that it has become the expectation.
And finally, in another periodical I read of the serious mental health issues and the instances of violence that appear to be connected with the use of marijuana, especially among the adolescent. Whereas Senator Cory Booker has said that “states [that have legalized marijuana] are seeing decreases in violent crime,” the states of Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon have, since the legalizing of marijuana for recreational use, seen a 37% increase in murders and a 25% increase for aggravated assault. These numbers are far greater than the national increase, even after accounting for difference in population.
However, in the midst of these dire items, there is still reason for thankfulness. Our God is still in control, and He is known for being at work through all things ( And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28).
We are called to be faithful in serving Him and trusting in Him. His Spirit will keep us as we bear witness for God and the truth (God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.1 Corinthians 10:3). These things, even more so, are good to know!