Dear Friends, I have an older brother and a younger sister. My brother is only 2 years older than I am so we tended to have a lot of “interactions” growing up. Occasionally, one or the other of us would do something that upset or irritated the other one. It might start with a word or a poke or some other perceived injustice. In order to “restore justice,” the “injured” party would do some kind of in-kind or “appropriate” retaliation: a word, a poke, a shove… Of course, the ot

St. Paul writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God— what is good and acceptable and perfect…” Romans 12:2 Dear Friends, If you have been around the church for a while, you have probably heard of some congregations closing. If we’re honest, the membership of the Lutheran Church in Canada has been declining for a few decades. There are lots of explanations for this: changing demo

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24 Dear Friends, Today is Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning of Lent and is called “Ash Wednesday” because the tradition and practice of the church is to have our baptismal cross traced on our foreheads with ashes. The words that accompany this ritual are, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” As such,

“So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…” Deuteronomy 10:12 Dear Friends, This Sunday is our last Sunday of “worshiping in the catacombs.” We have been reminded of the promises of God represented in those 3 rd Century drawings of the early Christians: ·         The Baptism of Jesus – When we are baptized into the d

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25 Dear Friends, On Sunday, I told the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and about how God delivered them from the fiery furnace. It is a story that urges us to stand firm in our faith and to stay focused on worshiping and serving God alone. One of the questions that I raised in my reflection is, Do

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Dear Friends, Last Sunday, I reflected on how Psalm 23 was a “good friend” to my father as he spent his last few days here on earth. I also shared a few of the Scriptures that are my friends  and are ready to ground me or comfort me at any time. For this week’s email update, I thought I’d go ahead and share some of my other Scripture friends

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.   Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.   And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.Colossians 3:12-14 Dear Friends, If you were at worship on Sunday (in person or online), you got to watch me try to deliver a

[ God said to Noah] “I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”  Genesis 9:13-15 Dear Friends,   Sometime in the past few years, I heard about the distinction between soft power  and hard

This congregation confesses the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God, through which God still speaks, and as the only source of the Church's doctrine and the authoritative standard for the faith and life of the Church. [Article II, Section 3 of the FLC Constitution] Dear Friends, We live in a world full of information. It’s not just newspapers and the evening news anymore. It’s 24-7 streaming news, podcasts, internet, AI, social media (Instagra

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,   “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”   This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ ” Matthew 3:1-3 Dear Friends, Back when I was living in Texas, I looked forward to my annual snow skiing trip… and it was a lot more than a two-hour drive down the road! Weeks

Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:19 Dear Friends, Last Sunday, we had our Christmas Play, Who Will Save Us?  For those of you who were able to watch it, you saw how many of the elements of the nativity story we have in Matthew echo or parallel the nativity story of Moses. Though we had wise men, you may have noticed that there were no shepherds or no “room at the inn” (even thou

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator   shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.  Isaiah 58:8-9 Dear Friends, When I was in university in Houston, I was introduced to snow skiing. One year, I decided to put together a trip with some other young folks from our church to drive to Colo

Then [the king] will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ Matthew 25:45 Dear Friends, Each week during our staff meeting, I read the upcoming Sunday’s scripture. So last week we read Jesus’ parable about the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25… we were all convicted by it. Isn’t it the case that there is always more that we can do for those in need? It is easy to go on a guilt or shame trip but I don

This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ ” Matthew 3:3   Dear Friends,   Buckle up! The Christmas Train has left the station!   It seems like every year merchandisers try to get an even earlier jump on marketing their Christmas wares. Christmas decorations are showing up in stores. Streaming channels are loading up with their Christmas time movies. Hol

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 [The Message] Dear Friends, Last Sunday, we celebra

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way.  So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation ;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting t

Then Jesus came to them and said,  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.   Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,  baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:18-20 Dear Friends,   In today’s email, I continue the inquiry and discernment about, What is our purpose?   Any conversation and exploration of Jesus’ purpose has to include reflec

All who believed were together and had all things in common;  they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.  Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Acts 2:44-47 Dear Friends, As most of you are aware,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God....