Opening Litany based on Isaiah 11:1-10

Pastor: We live in hope for we know a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse and from these roots a Branch will bear fruit, the Messiah will come.

Congregation: The Spirit of the LORD will rest upon this one and all who follow in his name; the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD, and we will delight in the awesome joy of living in the light of the Lord.

Pastor: For the Lord will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy and with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

Congregation; The Lord will shake the earth with the words of his mouth and those who misuse others for gain will shake in his presence, for righteousness and faithfulness will surround his every move.

Pastor: We light the candle of Peace this day as we celebrate the righteousness and justice of the Lord bringing peace to our lives and to our world

Light the second candle of Peace

Congregation: In a world ruled by the Lord’s view of righteousness and justice the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together.

Pastor: The gentleness and joy of a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

Congregation; In this world of righteousness and peace the infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest and there will be neither harm nor destruction for all of creation will live in peace on the Holy Mountain of the Lord.

Pastor: Then the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Congregation: In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people of the earth and all the nations will live under the peace and righteousness of the Lord our God.

John 1:35-42

St. Andrew Apostle

The Sound Crashed in the heavens
look
the Lamb of God
demanding the response that came
          the response
                    to follow
                     to tell
           your sisters and brothers
of this one
who had come to change the world
behold
                  rang the voice of John
as Andrew followed
           to that somewhere unknown
             where he would find
all that was life
                 and death
in this one
        unknown
                 Lamb of God
God’s voice rang
with Andrews response
as he simply told his brother
         to come
            follow
    this Lamb of God
that takes away the sins of the world
                 come
                 follow

Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Two men walking up a hill
One disappears
One’s left standing still
I wish you had all been ready
You brood of vipers
The kingdom is coming
And already here
The ax is at the root of the tree
And we are not ready for
For
Ready for what?
An end where some are saved
And most condemned?
Leaving this earth in a moment before
Before
The lamb comes to live in the Holy City
With the children of God from every nation?
Bear fruit that is worth repentance
Prepare ye the way of the Lord
Love one another.

to kill an olive tree

Sunday December 5th, Isaiah 11: Something new is coming. Something humanity has not yet experienced. A green Shoot will sprout from the old stump we thought was long dead. The life-giving Spirit of God will cover the land and the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding, the Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, the Spirit that instills knowledge and awe-of-God, will be our joy and delight. It is almost impossible to kill an olive tree. It is like rhubarb for most Alaskans in that respect. Just when you thought it was dead, up from the roots comes something new, something fresh and something alive. This second Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of Peace, peace that comes through working for justice. Humanity has tried to kill the concept over and over again. We talk about it longingly, but it is mainly rhetoric to hide the fact that we would rather put it off for another generation to tackle. Humanity has not really tried living in peace by working for justice in any sustained manner. If half of the military budgets from the nations of the world, or even, just from our nation, were to be spent on justice and building up, would there be a need for the other half of the budget to be spent in the long run? God’s plan from the beginning of time is for all the children created in the image of God to live in peace. So far, a few have found ways of making money through war, and getting power (which is another way of saying making money) through war, and have even been able to talk ourselves into sacrificing our children to do so. But God’s plan is for peace and like all of God’s plans, it will happen with or without our participation, our task is to decide if we will join God’s process or continue hammering away at the age old process of power trips. After all the millennia of trying to kill what is left of the notion of peace, God will have God’s way and a green shoot will sprout from the old stump of peace, will you be there to celebrate it?

All of humanity will pay attention.

Monday December 6th, Isaiah 11: All of humanity will pay attention. A mere breath of the Spirit of God will topple the wicked. Each morning the Spirit will work alongside the children of God to help build righteousness and faithfulness in the land. In this newness we will see things we have never seen before. The wolf will romp with the lamb, the leopard sleep with the kid, Calf and lion will eat from the same trough, and a little child will tend them. I just love the phrase “All of humanity will pay attention.” Peace, God’s plan for all of humanity will prevail because all of humanity will pay attention. The image of wolf and lamb together is the image of peace beyond even the innate desires within us because all humanity will pay attention. As we prepare for the coming of the Christ child, we look forward to the day when the spirit will blow over the land and Peace and Justice will prevail and all of humanity will pay attention. No more will our sons and daughters go fight wars and kill so a few can have the oil rights, the land rights, the power rights, the water rights, and the money that goes with it because all humanity will pay attention to the will of God. The babe whose birth we soon celebrate died at the hands of such power mongers and rose again to put an end to the influence such power has over us, real or perceived. We are called this Advent season to follow where the child will lead us, to God’s vision for our life, God’s vision for our land, God’s vision of and for our adversaries sharing the same trough in peace lead by the little child, Immanuel, God with us and all humanity will pay attention, and live.

just say "No"

Tuesday December 7th, Romans 15: 4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. 5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. As we wait for the coming of the Christ Child, we are called to live in complete harmony with each other and we are also called to live in patience. Sometimes we live in a bit too much patience for the injustice that permeates this world. Perhaps if we were a bit more impatient with those who would disturb the harmony of God’s peace and justice in this world we would be better off. Perhaps if we were to say “NO” loudly and firmly to the plans to disrupt that harmony in the world, perhaps if we were to stand up for God’s plan for peace and justice in this world, perhaps if……, we could all, all of God’s children, all of God’s creation, live in harmony. And perhaps if the powers that would have us do otherwise would not only be in the minority, as they are now, but their voices would also be in the minority and not be countries and media empires, commanding armies and commandeering budgets we could live in peace. Perhaps a bit less patience and a bit more acting as the children of God is in order in order to bring about the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Peace and Justice in this world.

Do onto others as God has done onto us.

Wednesday December 8th, Romans 15: 7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Christ accepted us where we were, and where we are at in life . With all the warts that are a part of who we are, with all failings and hidden agendas in our thoughts and prayers, with all the stuff hidden in our personal closets, Christ accepted and accepts us and works with us to be all we were created to be as the children of God starting from right where we are at the moment. We are called only to do the same for others, to love, accept and work with our neighbors (God’s definition) just where they are at. Do onto others as God has done onto us.

from “I” to “We”

Thursday December 9th, Matthew 3: 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” How do we personally and corporately prepare the way? What are the rough places that need to be leveled in our lives personally and in our lives corporately? We often focus on the “I” in needing to make the rough places straight how about the “We” in making the rough places straight? In what ways do we look at what someone else is doing and since it is not what we need to do, judge them? What do “we” need to do to set or to make straight the paths in our lives? Do “we” perhaps make the paths straight by dealing with justice issues like working homeless poor, unemployment, affordable housing, prevention programs that lessen the need for more expensive prisons, the growing gap between haves and have not’s, …………etc, etc, etc? When we focus on the “I” then the righteousness we seek can easily become self-righteousness and even John had enough of that to deal with. God calls us to move our righteous seeking from “I” to “We” and in the process do justice and do the will of God.

"i" "I" "I" "I" You brood of Vipers

Friday December 10th, Matthew 3: 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Who were these Sadducees and Pharisees and why was John so blunt and bitchy with them but not with the masses who flocked to the waters? They were the power and money people. They were the “I” not “We” righteousness people. The masses were the victims of the “I” people. So the question is, who are the victims of today’s “I” people. Things haven’t chanced much and unfortunately, just like in John’s day, the “I” people would claim many who claim to carry the banner of God. It is the suicide bombers and prosecutors of unrighteousness who are the perpetrators of injustice today. They are no different than those who push for war to counter the “them,” they are “I” people all. They go by different names now, but John would still not be impressed. The “I” people will always be the brood of vipers.

Harvest time

Saturday December 11th, Matthew 3: 11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." What is the chaff in your life that needs to be burned off? What is the chaff in our society that needs to be burned off? Call the Holy Spirit into your life daily and clear away the chaff. While you are at it work at clearing away the chaff in the world by working for Justice. Become a child of God day after day and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you to bring Peace into the world through justice. I baptize you with water for repentance, new life begins today.

Opening Litany based on Psalm 122

Pastor: I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Congregation: Our feet rejoiced standing in the gates of the New Jerusalem, and now we are called to be city built on a hill where all the tribes and nations go up to Praise the name of the Lord our God.

Pastor: As we light this first candle we remember that you have stirred up the power of hope among us as you announced the birth of the messiah.

Light the first Advent Candle

Congregation: We rejoice in the light that brings hope to the world and to our lives as we prepare for the coming of the Lord, let our light shine forth in this world as we live as the children you have called us to be.

Pastor: Pray for the peace of the world and for peace in the Holy Land that all those you live may live secure and without walls.

Congregation: For the sake of our families and friends we will live in the hope of peace as we say to all, “Peace be with, and within you.”

Pastor: For the sake of the house of the LORD our God let us seek a shared prosperity for all the children of God

1st Sunday in Advent

Matthew 24:37-44

Watch
Be ready
            (when???)
for the Son of Man to come
                (when???)
be ready
for you do not know
                     (when???)
and the small child looked into my eyes
and said she saw butterflies
and the clouds were beautiful
and the wind made here giggle
God made a wonder place
She knew
She could see God’s hand at work
And loved God’s creation
In her smile was God’s love
Her words also
Filled those who heard
With the Holy Wonder of God’s love
When did I lose that???
When did I move from the innocence
Of being ready
In God’s love
To getting ready
Wrapped up in me???
Christ is coming
Live once again in the readiness
Of now.

holy mountain

Sunday November 28th, Isaiah 2: There's a day coming when the mountain of God's House will be solid and towering over all mountains. All nations will be drawn to it and people from all over the world set out for it, saying, “Come, let's climb God's Holy Mountain, and go to the House of the Lord. In that day God will show us the way He works so all can live the way they were made." The years of running away from God didn’t erode the mountain for me. It was right there in front of me all the time. The years of running probably helped get rid of some of the rough edges of hypocrisy however; God has a way of using our own abrasiveness to sand away the rough edges over time. That calling to come to the Lord is always there, and will be there for you throughout your life, and the lives of your children. The day is coming when all nations will be drawn to the house of the Lord. Perhaps some of the rough edges we need to hone are the thoughts we have it right and others have it wrong. The house of the Lord has many rooms, and they are not all decorated in a western motif. I was glad when they said to me let us go to the house of the Lord, I was more glad still when I looked around and saw the rainbow of color and hue walking up that mountain with me. What attitudes and ideas need honing and sanding and polishing until you can see the vastness of God’s kingdom on the way to that mountain with you?

but what about me?

Monday November 29th, Isaiah 2: God's Message will come forth and He'll settle things fairly between nations. God will make things right between all peoples and true justice, God’s justice, will prevail. In the realm of power structures in this world, those with the power and money always think they are being more than just, and the powerless and poor always know they are once again getting screwed. The recent citizens united case is a case in point. God’s justice is not like human justice. God’s justice gets at the why, not just the who and in the process the victims and the victors can seem to reverse roles. With God’s justice hope is born for all. God’s justice deals with both sides of the equation and therefore may not look like justice at all for those in power. It is comfort for the afflicted and affliction for the comfortable. The comfortable sometimes have a little trouble seeing that as good news in the beginning. They will, in time. God’s love is for all, it is just that in balancing the scales (God’s justice) one side doesn’t like the way things move and both sides have yet to experience what a God balanced life is like.

war no more

Tuesday November 30th, Isaiah 2: all nations will turn their swords into shovels, their spears into hoes. No more will nation fight nation; nor will they play war anymore. Come all you people let us let's live in the light of God. As we bring the message of Hope this first Advent, one of the things we hope for is a change from the ways the world deals with differences. Throughout history the tendency has been for a little effort to be put toward peace for a while and then a lot of effort and money put toward war. War makes more money for a few people even as it destroys the economy and lives for the many. It is those few, with the right connections, along with the human tendency to seek profit at any cost to someone else that fuels war. War after war after war it is largely our children and the children of others give their lives in battle so that a small number may maintain power and reap profits. None of the justifications for war in the new book decision points will mention that, but in the end it was profit and revenge that was the justification for the loss of over one hundred thousand lives on both sides. What would happen if the nations put as much time, effort, GNP, labor and resources into building up, caring for, and innovation as they do for destruction and death? Would not you be inclined to respond more favorably to someone who saved your children than to someone who killed them? Let us hope that at lease our grandchildren may live to be able to answer that question of what if.

light

Wednesday December 1st, Romans 13: 12 Night is almost over, and day will soon appear. We must stop behaving as people do in the dark and be ready to live in the light. 13 So behave properly, as people do in the day. In Biblical writing, darkness is a way of indicating chaos, evil and fear. We as the children of God are called to live in hope, we are called to live in the light. We are called to live in a place where things are not hidden, back room deals are not made and full disclosure is the norm. Christ came to offer forgiveness and hope for a world caught in the darkness of despair of our fear filled closets. What’s in your closet? Christ will not only help you clean it out, he will even find a way to make good use of all stuff you feel so ashamed of. Live in hope and let Christ help turn that shame into blessing.

20 years

Thursday December 2nd, Romans 13: 14 Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won't try to satisfy your selfish desires. Twenty years ago today I was ordained, and I have served the same church that full time. Over the years many things have changed besides the color of my hair. The followers of Christ go through stages of belief and practice and so do the institutions. First they discover this loving Christ and are in love. Then they learn about this love of Christ for them and are in awe. Then they get busy being a Christian, studying to be a Christian, discovering what it means to be a Christian and find themselves surrounded with what seems like work. Eventually they ending up not working so hard, studying so hard, trying too hard, and they just fall back in love again. It is then that others discover what a Christian is by watching the way they live, someone who simply wears this Christianity as a part of who they are and are not even aware of the wonderful love they show in the process. They no longer even try to satisfy their selfish desires. My prayer is that as the church moves through these stages, that it too will show the world what it means to be in love.

the rapture is a racket

Friday December 3rd, Matthew 24: 36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. The Rapture is a racket (The Rapture Exposed, Barbara Rossing) and the losers in this racket are the millions of Christians who lose their way and their money on the way to helping others through this rapture maze. It takes little conversation with 20somethings who have abandoned the church to see the damage all that rapture talk did to the children of God in the last ten years. In rejecting it, they have rejected the church as a whole. Matthew tells us that no one knows the time, except the Father. We are called to live in this world as the children of God showing the love of God in our lives and in the way we love one another. All that rapture talk was just about money and control and in the end it was the church that lost. Now is the time for the remnant of the children of God to rebuild that trust in God through the one constant, love for one another acted out in this world.

active or passive

Saturday December 4th, Matthew 24: 42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. There are two different kinds of waiting, active waiting and passive waiting. Passive waiting is the kind where you know the thief or the end times are on their way and so you stockpile your food, get yourself set, and wait. Active waiting can best be expressed by Luther’s statement that if the world were to end tomorrow, he would plant a tree and be about the business God put him on earth to do. There are many sad examples throughout history of passive waiting and I am sure many of you can name someone who did just such a thing. There are also some shining examples of the active waiting, who didn’t care when the end was because they were just living their lives in love. We usually call them saints.

Thanksgiving text poem from John 6

John 6:25-35

Our bellies are full
We are refreshed
Our minds are no longer dulled
By that gnawing ache of hunger
And yet
We long
There was more that took place on that day
Than just the loaves
------------and fishes
what happened was good
--in the way creation was pronounced good
and yet
--we hunger for more
not just the food
that eased our hunger
but there was power in the words that were spoken
power that opened our minds
power that challenged us
and made us see
--a hunger
we had not known
--(Jesus Said)
a hunger from deep within
which now that it has become loosed
will not be bound again
until it is feed
--(I am)
and nourished
as only God
--(the Bread)
as the Creator of all
--(of life)
can do

Litany for Thanksgiving from Psalm 100

Pastor: Let us raise our voices and our lives as a shout for joy for the LORD’s presence in our lives, Let all the earth raise a song of joy.

Congregation: We will worship the LORD with gladness and come before the Lord our God with joyful songs and celebrations. 

Pastor: Know down in your heart, down in your soul that the LORD is God. The Lord our God is the one who made us from the beginning of time.

Congregation: We are the children of God, made in the image of God, cared for as the sheep in the pasture of the good shepherd. 

Pastor: Let us enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving and into the presence of the Lord with praise.

Congregation: For the LORD is good and the love of God endures forever; the faithfulness of the Lord our God continues through all generations.

Advent Conspiracy

Watch the Video

Benediction

I thought I would take verses 9-12 of the Colossians text for this Sunday and write it as the benediction. 

Benediction

Colossians 1:9-12

Be assured that from the first day I heard of you, I haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to God’s will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. I pray that you'll live well for the Master, bringing Joy to our Lord as you work in the mission field God has set before you.  As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn more and more how to do your part. I pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth, but the glory-strength that God gives. It is the strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy in your lives and the lives of the community, joy that lives thanking the Father who makes us all strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that God has for us.  Amen!!

opening litany based on Psalm 46

Pastor: It is God who is our refuge and strength and our ever-present help in times of trouble, therefore we will not live in fear. For even though the earth may give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, even if the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging, we will not fear. Our God is with us, our refuge and strength is ever-present with us.

Congregation: In Revelation there is a river whose streams bring life and joy to the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is within this Holy City, this dwelling place of God with us, and she will not fall.

Pastor: God brings help to us at the break of each new day and though nations may be in uproar and kingdoms may fall God is still with us and ruler of all.

Congregation: The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come one and all and see what the LORD has done in our lives and in the lives of all the people of the earth.

Pastor: The Lord brings wars to an end. The Lord breaks the bow and shatters the spear destroying all the instruments of war, and then says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Congregation: We will exalt the Lord our God among all the nations of the earth, for the LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our strength.

Pastor: Welcome to Worship at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.

Congregation: Where we are Inspired by God’s Love to Praise, Nurture and Serve and where we live out this calling when we Gather to Grow through God’s Grace.

Christ the King

Luke 23:35-43

Even on the cross
with the whole world of power
mocking
laughing
in the folly of our pride
humanity
the creation of God
put up the sign
King of the Jews
King of us all
and in the midst of the mocking
and pain
Christ looked on the one
who turned to him
and pronounced t he blessing
Today
You will be with me in paradise
And in that moment
gave hope
life
to us all

good shepherd

Sunday November 21st, Jeremiah 23: What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the LORD. How often has the word of God been used for control and power rather than good? How often has the word been watered down or changed to fit the political climate? The metaphor of shepherds is used extensively in scripture. A shepherd cares for, nurtures, and does what is best for the sheep. A shepherd also learns that helping and cooperating with other shepherds is a good thing and that if all work together, the sheep are better off. A good shepherd does not scatter the sheep nor does the good shepherd keep them in one place to graze day after day and year after year. Sometimes to be a good shepherd you need to move your sheep to a new pasture. We have been doing church the same for a very long time, centuries. We now find that for the most part we are no longer relevant for the majority of the under 30 set. The pastor is dying from grazing on the same spot for too long. If we were to offer a clean slate to a group of 20’s with no church connection and ask them to design a meaningful spiritual experience I wonder what it would look like? Perhaps for the sake of the gospel we need to find out.

to kill an olive tree

Monday November 22nd, Jeremiah 23: 5 “For the time is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. 6 And this will be his name: ‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. You cannot easily kill an olive tree. If you chop it down, it won’t be long before a shoot will come up out of the dead looking trunk. In our lives too, even when things seem to have hit bottom, a new shoot of life, blessed by God can come forth. God sees in our lives and in our souls that spark of life that was from the dawn of creation and called good. Each and every life, no matter how much it may appear to be just like an old dead stump, can bring forth wonderful new life and an abundance of fruit. Help us to see one another through the eyes of the creator who call all creation good. Help us to see the church in the same way. After years of doing wonderful ministry the church in the US is dying in the eyes of some, in the eyes of God however it is just getting ready for new life.

vision

Tuesday November 23rd, Colossians 1: 9 Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. What a blessing that would be able to have one’s mind attuned to God’s will. Not the will we would like it to be, but the will that is the will of God. Maybe then the preferred vision of God could come to past, the lion and lamb lying down together, swords turned into plow shears and all of creation seeing one another as part of the creation of God that is called good. How can you help bring about that vision in your life today? How can the church help bring about that vision in the world?

Who did you see

Wednesday November 28th, Colossians 1: 15 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. Jesus is for humanity, the manifestation of God. All we can know of God, all we need to know of God, all that is helpful for us to know of God, we see in Jesus. When one thinks of Jesus, what do you see? A Warrior? A Power monger? No, what you see is the empty cross. What we see of God is the totally giving, forgiving bringer of new life. No matter where you are in life, no matter what situation you are in, no matter how much your life may seem like the pits some days, God is interested only in you discovering fully what it means to be created in the image of God and then living it. Part of what that means is to recognize that everyone else is also created in the image of God and treating them accordingly. Perhaps in doing so, we begin to see the God also in ourselves, our neighbors and yes even our enemies. God brings about new life from old wounds and looks for rebirth in you each day.

reflcet new life

Thursday November 24th, Luke 23: 33When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Christ the King Sunday and the text is about the place called the skull? Totally outside of what one would consider Kingly. And, yet, such is the giving nature of God. Can the God who created all and called it good condemn that very creation to the pit? Can the God who so loved the world he gave his only son, condemn anyone, including you, to the pit? That is not where God’s interest lays nor is it where God’s son lays. The place called the skull is the foreshadowing of new life, new hope, new birth and the new creation. Call upon God today that your life may reflect that new life in Christ.

King of the Jews

Friday November 25th, Luke 23: 38There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Jesus was also known as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Son of God, all titles attributed to Caesar whose power Pilot represented. The title “King of the Jews” was almost a way of shrugging off the idea that it was Jesus and not Caesar or Herod or Pilot who was the true Ruler of the world. Little did they know that Jesus was all that and more, ruler of the world, and even ruler of their lives. The question is, is Jesus the king of your life? Well, maybe that is not the question, but rather the answer. The question is, do you know it?

Today you will be with me in paradise

Saturday November 26th, Luke 23: 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." 42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." The other criminal, the one hurling insults, may take a bit longer to convince he is forgiven and usher him into the kingdom of God. I sometimes wonder if that is the one who represents who humanity is, the one who represents you and I. We often take the stance that one made it in and one did not, period. The conclusion therefore is that some will make it in and many will not. This is translated as those who believe like me, which of course is the way God thinks, will make it in and others who believe, worship and belong differently from me will not make it in. Jesus said however that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that includes you and I and the enemy down the street. That is why Jesus came to save us, all of us, we weren’t doing such a great job of getting that message out. Jesus’ gift of life extends to all of creation. Perhaps one of the things we need most to be forgiven for is thinking and treating others as if they might be outside Jesus’ reach. Today you will be with me in paradise, someday, all will be with me in paradise. How would that understanding of the gospel change the way you live today?

Miles Anthony Boland

Miles Anthony Boland was born to Patrick and Rhea Bollerud Boland this morning, Nov. 15 in Bend.  I am grandpa again.

Opening Litany Psalm 98

Pastor: Let us raise our voices and sing to the LORD a new song, for all the marvelous things the Lord has done, for the Lord’s right hand and holy arm have brought about salvation.

People: The LORD has brought this message of salvation before all nations and all peoples remembering the love out of which all things and all people were made.

Pastor: Yes, truly all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God therefore let us shout for joy to the Lord over all the earth.

People: Let us burst into jubilant song with all kinds of music from the people as we sing and shout for joy before the Lord our God.

Pastor: Let all of creation resound with songs of joy; let the sea and everything in it resound, let the world and all who live in it resound; let the rivers and mountains and all who live in them resound with clapping of hands and songs before the Lord our God.

People: for the Lord comes as a just judge for all the earth and will look upon all peoples and all creation with righteousness and equity

Luke 21:5-19

In the name of Christ

We will all be remembered

not because of our greatness

or the size of the stones

or the magnificance of the building

left as an edifice

but because

the little we have done

was in the name of Christ

When all the world comes crashing

down on all sides

even then

they will know

what we did was in the Name of Christ

When great armies come

and take the land

with power and might

they will know

what we did was in the Name of Christ

When all others fall away

and we stay

in love

they will know

what we did was in the Name of Christ

And in the end

Paul looked back

and saw the word of Christ

Spread throughout the land

unbounded by the divisions that power makes

and knew

what was done was in the Name of Christ