Youth Group Video for Gathering

Our youth put together a video for "consideration" at the National Youth Gathering in San Antonio.  (At the time of this writing, the Gathering is underway.)  Each Youth group could put together a short video reflecting  something about their hometown. Our youth chose a "Hunger Games" sort of theme to tell their story.  James Prince was the director and Sam Prince was on the camera and did the editing.

For your consideration:

"My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?"

44 Days ago on Ash Wednesday we heard about pride.  And we heard that repentance is the death of pride.  That pride must be forsaken and die.  But, at the same time, the payment for that pride – that sin – must still be made.  To kill it requires death – of course.  Tonight we will hear the story once more of how that took place.  Tonight, all our sinful pride is placed on THE once-for-all, life-and-blood sacrifice for our pride.  Jesus Christ.  Tonight, we rehearse once again how all our sinful pride is placed on the Lamb of God who will die shamefully with that pride.  All your sin and my sin and all the sin of all people of all time is placed on Jesus.  And like all sacrifices, he is left there on the altar – on the cross – to die.  The sacrifice is always left and abandoned by both parties involved – us sinners, and our God who offers payment for us sinners.  Jesus cries out in horror because he has been abandoned, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  These words are not recorded by John – whose account we hear tonight.  They are written in Matthew and Mark’s Gospels.  But these words of Jesus have been considered by the Church to be the 4^th of Jesus’ 7 words from the cross.   

We watch the abandonment happen slowly and viscerally tonight – lights, candles, darkness and abandonment becoming more ominous as we progress.  As we participate and experience it visually and in our hearing, one might ask the question asked by God’s people for millennia.  “Why him and not me?”  “I’m the one who God should abandon.”  “If, in the mystery of the Trinity God could abandon his own Son, maybe he has abandoned me as well?”  The one abandoned and dying on the cross is quoting a psalm – Psalm 22 - of his royal line – King David.  How often have we felt like David felt when he wrote that psalm?  So many times it feels and looks like our God has forsaken us, like there really is no God with me to help and guide me.  He forsook his own Son.  Has he forsaken me too?

            Yet through history, God has given signs to His people that he has not abandoned him.  God provided the sacrifice – a ram – the moment before Abraham was about to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, as instructed by God.  The provided ram pointed to God’s providing his own son in sacrifice.  In Egypt, the night before they were freed, the Israelite families sacrificed and ate a lamb, and painted the lamb’s blood on their doorposts – so that the angel of death would pass over their house.  The blood of the lamb pointed forward to the blood of the Lamb of God given and shed for you and me to forgive us, so that the sting of death might pass over us as well.  In the Tabernacle and later the Temple, sacrifices for sin were made as lambs and bulls and oxen were killed for payment of sin, and left to burn on the altar.  Those sacrifices for sin pointed forward to Jesus - sacrificed for all sin and left to die on the cross.  And on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would lay his hands on a goat and confess the sins of all the people – placing those sins on the goat.  And then that goat was abandoned in the wilderness.  The “scapegoat” pointed forward to Jesus – our scapegoat – abandoned outside of Jerusalem on our Day of Atonement with all our sin placed upon him.

            All these signs and more pointed forward to Jesus.  Jesus physically embodies our sin – becoming sin for us.  The innocent Jesus becomes the greatest sinner in all history.  And because all our pride and sin is on him, he must be forsaken.  He must be abandoned by the most holy God who will not tolerate it.  “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Jesus, you are forsaken because you are sin, and you cannot be accepted, or loved.  You must be abandoned and killed.  And Jesus even does this willingly.  He lays down his life.  Why?  Love for you.  And God is merciful to you and does not forsake you and me, sinners that we are, precisely because he has shown his Son no mercy.  God the Father forsakes and rejects his Son saying, “You are not mine” so that he can say to you through this good, yes, good news on this Good Friday – “You are mine.”

            At the end of tonight’s service, when this Sanctuary is dark and looks abandoned, a single light – the Christ candle returns.  Because the Father does not abandon Jesus forever.  He raises him from the dead.  And precisely because Jesus was forsaken - in the end, the Father does precisely the same for you – raise you from the dead.  So what about you?  What is YOUR sign that God has not forsaken you?  Look at that man - crying out on that cross – the one who yells in horror, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Look to the one risen from the dead 3 days later.  He is your sign.  So when you question if God is really with you like David did, look at the cross – look at what God the Father did to his Son.  Because of Jesus, you are not and will never be forsaken.  

“In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.”

Invitation Into Holy Week

All the many worship services of Holy Week are not just an odd collection of old liturgies.  They are a series of opportunities for the follower of Jesus to be incorporated into the narrative of Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection.  And each one is dependent upon the other. 

Palm Sunday sets the stage as we carry palms like they did in Jerusalem and welcome Jesus as our King.  On Maundy Thursday, we participate with Jesus in his new testament to his people - He is to be the sacrifice for our sins and we receive the benefits of his sacrifice tasting Christ himself in the meal he offers as both host and meal.  Good Friday we slowly hear the account of what Christ has done as darkness increases - a reenactment of that terrible, but most blessed day.  During the Easter Vigil, all the history of God's mercy for his people come together along with darkness and light, fire and water as we viscerally dive into the narrative.  And Easter morning we hear the cosmos-shattering, life-changing news: "Christ is Risen!"  And we ourselves are changed in the hearing of those amazing words after a whole week of incorporation into the story.
The Church will rehearse this story again and again every year until Christ returns and all things come to fruition and fulfillment.  So I invite you to dive into this story together with God's people and be forever blessed in your hearing and eating and drinking and mourning and rejoicing once again.   

Why Your Kids Should Go to Church and Be in Worship

In last month's Lutheran Witness, Rev. Matt Harrison, President of the LC-MS wrote a piece that was a letter to his two sons.  But I think it is a letter to all our children.  I strongly encourage you to read and reflect upon it. 

Click here to read it.

What the Other Guy is Thinking

The following is an article from thechristianpost.com written by Thom S. Rainer detailing the results of a survey of the seven most-common comments about Christians by non-Christians.

Just read it and think about it.

One of my greatest joys in research is talking to and listening to those who clearly identify themselves as non-Christians. Don't get me wrong. I'm not celebrating their absence of faith in Christ. My joy comes from listening to those who don't believe as I do, so that I might be better equipped to witness to them.

Over the past several years, my research teams and I have interviewed thousands of unchurched non-Christians. Among the more interesting insights I gleaned were those where the interviewees shared with me their perspectives of Christians.
In this article, I group the seven most common types of comments in order of frequency. I then follow that representative statement with a direct quote from a non-Christian. Read these comments and see if you learn some of the lessons I learned.

1. Christians are against more things than they are for.
"It just seems to me that Christians are mad at the world and mad at each other. They are so negative that they seem unhappy. I have no desire to be like them and stay upset all the time."

2. I would like to develop a friendship with a Christian.
 "I'm really interested in what they believe and how they carry out their beliefs. I wish I could find a Christian that would be willing to spend some time with me."

3. I would like to learn about the Bible from a Christian.
"The Bible really fascinates me, but I don't want to go to a stuffy and legalistic church to learn about it. I would be nice if a Christian invited me to study the Bible in his home or at a place like Starbucks."


4. I don't see much difference in the way Christians live compared to others.
 "I really can't tell what a Christian believes because he doesn't seem much different than other people I know. The only exception would be Mormons. They really seem to take their beliefs seriously."

5. I wish I could learn to be a better husband, wife, dad, mom, etc., from a Christian.
"My wife is threatening to divorce me, and I think she means it this time. My neighbor is a Christian, and he seems to have it together. I am swallowing my pride and asking him to help me."

6. Some Christians try to act like they have no problems.
"Harriett works in my department. She is one of those Christians who seem to have a mask on. I would respect her more if she didn't put on such an act. I know better."

7. I wish a Christian would take me to his or her church.
"I really would like to visit a church, but I'm not particularly comfortable going by myself. What is weird is that I am 32-years old, and I've never had a Christian invite me to church in my entire life."

Do you see the pattern? Non-Christians want to interact with Christians. They want to see Christians' actions match their beliefs. They want Christians to be real.
In one study we conducted, we found that only five percent of non-Christians are antagonistic toward Christians. It's time to stop believing the lies we have been told. Jesus said it clearly: "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest" (Luke10:2, HCSB).

Satan is the author of excuses. There is no reason to wait to reach those who don't know Jesus Christ. We must go now. The harvest is waiting. And the Lord of the harvest has prepared the way.

Music for the Season

You've heard the same Christmas music over and over again on the popular radio stations since Thanksgiving.  How about something new?  In fact, how about something very old, yet music that proclaims the heart of Christmas - the Christ.  Tune in to Lutheran Public Radio via the internet.

Here is a promo video: