COSLC Foodstock Concert

We will have a Foodstock Concert at Christ Our Savior Lutheran on July 20th at 7pm.  Bring cans, Bring cash, Bring friends, Be ready to have fun


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10W for July 4th, the festival of St. Thomas, Apostle

The following is a 10 minute worship for July 4th, the festival of St. Thomas, Apostle. You can either listen on the flash player below or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY or download to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player or download directly to your smartphone by following this link and clicking on "DOWNLOAD"

10W for July 3rd, the 3rd week of Pentecost, Dance with me

The following is a 10 minute worship for July 3rd, the 3rd week of Pentecost, Dance with me. You can either listen on the flash player below or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY or download to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player or download directly to your smartphone by following this link and clicking on "DOWNLOAD"

July 4th, John 14:1-7 St. Thomas, Apostle

I don’t know

                and I’m scared

of what I don’t know

and where I haven’t been

My doubts come

to the surface of my mind

                                and sing in fear

                                of who I am

                and who

I don’t know who I am

Sing

with a trembling voice of humanity

a song of being lost

of not knowing

                and therefore

                                not wishing to find out

                                what this life

                called upon by this one we call

                Messiah              

                                is all about

Thank you

for echoing my fears in this world

for saying that which I feel

in

I don’t know

and leading me

                into new life

full of doubts

full of faith

Matthew 11:16-19,25-30 Rest for the Weary

Dance, dance wherever you may be

For we are the lords of the dance

Said we

Jesus!!

What do you want with us

Jesus!!

We did your bidding

We started the church

We studied all the documents

And found ways to keep the word

Pure

And them

Out

We have accords and charts

Timetables and structures

Committees and boards

(come to me)

Who make division decisions

And keep the righteous wannabes

Happy

(all who are weary)

We even invite them in

Just not as clergy

(and burdened)

After all

(and I will give you rest)

This is our church

Isn’t it?

Opening Litany based on Song of Solomon 2:8-13

Worship Leader: I hear the voice of the one I love. My lover comes from afar, running, jumping and skipping over the land like a gazelle.

Congregation: We remember falling in love, the thrill, the heart pounding anxiety, the joy.

Worship Leader: The one I love, I can see them now, looking at me at every chance.

Congregation: We remember the way our lover looked at us and said, let us go away together, my darling, my loved one.

Worship Leader: There is newness in the air, the darkness of winter and the dreary of spring have given way to the joy of new life.

Congregation; We remember falling in love, we felt like singing, the skies were filled with song.

Worship Leader: the joy of newness is in the air, the smell of sweetness fills my lungs. I remember the joy of falling in love and know that in this way, my Lord loves me.

Congregation: We remember falling in love and we remember the call to follow the one who first loved us.

looking for a wife

Sunday July 3rd, Genesis 24: 42 “So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O LORD, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission. 43 See, I am standing here beside this spring. This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” 44 If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,” let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.’ When looking for a wife for the child of Abraham who was to bring the hope and promise to the world, a promise that had been promised for so long, the servant was looking for someone with hospitality. Not just Miss Manners who knows the proper protocol. I dare say Miss Manners has never to my knowledge written about how to draw water for camels, but someone who, down in their heart, is a kind and hospitable person. What a wonderful trait to look for when considering the mother of the people of promise. Is this a trait, hospitality, that we instill in our children? In our society? In our church? I would hope so, though I fear it is not always the case. Being hospitable is a matter of welcoming the other and considering their contribution to your life as being worthwhile. It is to see the other as a brother or sister in Christ. And hardest of all, it is to accept the fact that once welcomed, things will never be the same in their life or in yours.

before I had finished praying

Monday July 4th, Genesis 24: 45 “Before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ So I drank, and then she watered the camels. I like that “before I had finished praying” line. We often think that God answers prayers, which is a way of putting ourselves in charge. I wonder if perhaps, God sometimes leads us to pray into the answers God has already given. Thus putting God in charge from the beginning. In this text, Rebekah can be seen by some as a poor subservient woman. This vision would take her out of context of time and place in which she lived and put her in 21st century America. She is a person who is hospitable in heart and in manner. And though actions may differ, would today that more children of God could be hospitable of heart. Many of us learn the opposite of hospitality through the years. We learn to take for ourselves and to make sure we take care of old number one, it is how we have learned to get ahead in this world. This is a trait we see every day in politics and in business, which more and more are becoming one in the same. This is not the way of being a follower of Christ however. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and follow, and reminds us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. This is not begrudgingly taking you place stuff, this is happy hospitality stuff. The difference is in the heart.

true power

Tuesday July 5th, Romans 7: 17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. The true power of the law is that it drives us, and eventually all people, to our knees. If we see sin as that which we do, we can hold onto the illusion that at least for a while that we can make it or at least fake it. If we see sin as a part of who we are, we know there is no way to make it on our own. Sin is that which separates us from God, and the sin that most often separates is the sin of believing we are not so bad, and therefore, on some level may pay homage to God but not really need God. That’s the faking it part. It is the law that shines the light on the sin of who we are, and when we try to escape, it shines the light on the doors that are all locked up by sin, leaving no way out except through the cross and Christ. It is there we find life.

A change in western theology

Wednesday July 6th, Romans 7: 25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. A change in western theology from the early 1800’s that has worked its way into American civil religion can be defined as a movement from God and us, to God and I. Rapture theology being latest and most sadistic version of that perversion. For students of culture, one wonders if theological changes reflect our political changes, or if our political changes reflect our theological changes. I think that perhaps they go hand in hand, each one slowly influencing the other. When the young man asked the question of Jesus, “what must ‘I’ do to be saved, Jesus told him the story we call the Good Samaritan, pointing him to a “we” view of life. It is in the “we” that the “I” begins to see Christ in the world. It is in seeing “love God and love others” as one commandment, that the “I” begins to melt into the “we.” That is when we finally drop our shields and see the salvation of Christ that has been there all along. Our task is the church is to help others move from “M”e to “W”e.

wisdom is proved right by her actions

Thursday July 7th, Matthew 11: 16 "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 17 " 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.' 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions." John changed lives. The people flocked to him for baptism and dedicated their lives to living as the children of God. Jesus changed lives. The people flocked to him and received healing, wholeness and forgiveness and the good news that the Kingdom is at hand and they dedicated their lives to living as the children of God. Wisdom is proved by her actions. What do you see? The blind can see, the lame walk and the poor have good news preached to them. Today the new vision seems to be, couples who love each other are banned from marriage, women’s rights are denied and wars are fought in your name. Which is another way of saying that the children are still lured by the marketplace rather than God. When we place God in the center, love wins out. When we place ourselves in the center, love looses and culture wars prevail. In today’s culture wars we can hear them saying, I passed laws for you, I kept them from marrying, I kept women from having choices, I took money away from children’s programs and gave to the rich, and you did not dance. Jesus said, let the little children come onto me and forbid them not, for to such belongs the kingdom of Heaven.

little children

Friday July 8th, Matthew 11: 25 At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. The difference between little children and the wise and learned is that little children know they do not have all the answers. That is not always the case with the wise and learned. However the very wise and very learned tend to once again see they do not have all the answers. True wisdom is expressed more with the ears than with the tongue. True wisdom cares for the least, lost and lonely and learns to share the manna and show mercy.

a song of praise in your heart

Saturday July 9th, Matthew 11: 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Trying to do it on your own is a hard way to go. Getting down on your knees tends to lighten the burden. Following Jesus is accepting the fact that you can’t do it all and you need someone else. That someone else is the Christ who went to the cross for all humanity. Giving up the “I” takes a real load off your shoulders and opens up the vistas of life with Christ that are before you. It puts a song of praise in your heart.

10W for the festival of Peter and Paul, Apostles, June 29th

The following is a 10 minute worship for June 29th, the festival of Peter and Paul, Apostles. You can either listen on the flash player below or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY or download to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player or download directly to your smartphone by following this link and clicking on "DOWNLOAD"

Poem for festival of Peter and Paul Apostles, June 29th

It was OK to follow

schlepping around the Galilean country side

doing what we were told

watching every move Jesus made

feeling the excitement

We had it made in a way

connected to something bigger than ourselves

preparing the way for the kingdom

In our own way we had it made

and then

then he was gone

Oh sure there was the resurrection

and the time spent with us

and the day of Pentecost

and then

then the spotlight went off

the houselights came up

and there we were

Party over

Now what?

Back to the same old

fade into the countryside

disappear

take life easy

and forget about that night

and the rooster crowing

Feed my sheep!

Feed my sheep!

Feed my sheep!

Be made whole again

and go into the whole world

which is not

and never will be

the same again

No longer centre stage

but streets and byways

Find the sheep

and feed them

10W for the 2nd week of Pentecost, June 26th

The following is a 10 minute worship for June 26th, the 2nd week of Pentecost, Give a cup of water. You can either listen on the flash player below or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY or download to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player or download directly to your smartphone or computer by following this link and clicking on "DOWNLOAD"

Matthew 10:40-42 a cup of cold water

Let me take your coat sir
Please sit over here
Is there anything else I can get you
I do hope you will come back again
Kiss, kiss
How lovely to see you
Schmooze
And there is the reward
As we scramble for the highest
Religious
Place
Profit Prophets
Fill the airwaves
And in the alleys outside
Children
Lost
Lonely
Least
Looking only for a little kindness
Love
And maybe a drink of fresh water

we will come back

Sunday June 26th, Genesis 22: 2 The LORD said, "Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar." 3 So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go. 4 Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place. 5 He told his servants, "Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back." Isaac was the progenitor of the Hebrew people who were called to bring the message of God and God’s love to the world. He was the manifestation of God’s promise to Abraham. It starts with Isaac being brought to sacrifice in the land of Moriah. Some think that Moriah has something to do with the temple mount or the foundation of Solomon’s temple, but many dispute this. Human sacrifice in worship was not out of the question at the time in history, and if a god was really God, well then, the price had to be paid to this greatness. So when Abraham is asked to do this, the deed is not really questioned, and Abraham did what a mighty powerful god would ask of his devoted subjects. There are many parallels with the story of the crucifixion of Jesus, the only son, the reference accepted by some of Moriah being in Jerusalem, the ride in on a donkey, the servants staying behind, the early morning and the three days. In both stories, the unexpected happens and instead of the story being life denying, it is life affirming. God is always moving humanity toward life affirming experiences rather than life denying experiences. We on the other hand tend to put our energies into building bombs and other life denying projects. What do you support in this world, life affirming or life denying? As the children of God we are always called toward the life affirming and living on the edge of miracles.

Where is the lamb?

Monday June 27th, Genesis 22: 6 Abraham put the wood on Isaac's shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, 7-8 Isaac said, "Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" "My son," Abraham answered, "God will provide the lamb." We continue with the parallels with Jesus & Isaac with Isaac carrying the wood on his shoulders as he marches toward the sacrifice. Abrahams answer to Isaac’s question about a lamb is that God will provide. And God does provide. Not in the individualistic way of winning a lottery or helping with the math test, but in a way that honors God’s love for all of humanity. God will provide. The move from humanity accepting human sacrifice as a norm to the rejection of it was an important step for humanity to learn to accept the grace of God. This is not a final step, but one of many along the way toward God’s vision for all of humanity that was created in the image of God and called good.

The LORD Will Provide.

Tuesday June 28th, Genesis 22: Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. 10 He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. 11 But the LORD's angel shouted from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am!" he answered. 12 "Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!" the angel said. "Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son." 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son. 14 Abraham named that place "The LORD Will Provide. It is often when we are up against the wall that we see God and God’s hand in our lives. Until then we are often so preoccupied with the way things always have been or the way we think things ought to be that we fail to see the big picture of God’s love. We are always called to ask, how are our traditions, our understanding of the way things should be, blinding us from seeing God’s love and grace in the world? Which direction is God trying to move us in understanding gods love?

Living in the freedom of God means life

Wednesday June 29th, Romans 6: 12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. Sin in America is often defined what you do. To ask people on the street you would get an answer relating to breaking of one of the ten commandments, though for most Americans it would have to have something to do with sex. When some public figure breaks one of the ten commandments, what the “self-proclaimed righteous” often do is find loopholes to condemn a public figure they don’t agree with and loopholes to let themselves off the hook. Sin however is that which separates us from God. It can be one thing for one person and quiet another for someone else. Living in the freedom of God means we are free from the game playing of finding loopholes whether they be for condemning others or freeing ourselves. Using a loophole to feel free simply means you have moved the loophole noose from your ankle to your neck. Living in the freedom of God means that we sometimes “sin.” Sometimes it is in the eyes of others, and sometimes in the eyes of God, but we know we also are forgiven. Sometimes we even sin in the process of working for justice, which God calls us to do. Living in the freedom of God means we keep our eye on God and God’s calling and if we fall along the way, which we do all the time, we also know God will pick up us and dust off our knees and send us on our way again. Living in the freedom of God means in the words of Luther, to sin boldly, but rejoice more boldly still. Living in the freedom of God means life.

freedom never quits

Thursday June 30th, Romans 6: 15-18 So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. The problem with God’s grace is human immaturity. Saved by Grace? Great, that means I can go and do whatever I want and God will still forgive me!?! Well, yes, but not exactly. Turning our focus from God to us is a great way to let sin set the hook in our lives. What is lost is not God’s love, or God’s forgiveness, but rather our freedom to live in that love and forgiveness. We are free to smoke crack and forgiven if we do, but we still lose our teeth, health, friends, respect and eventually life. We don’t all smoke crack of course, but we often do what is life denying rather than life affirming. What do we do that is outside of God’s plan for our lives? The freedom to offer yourself to sin is the freedom to give up your freedom.

we have seen God

Friday July 1st, Matthew 10: 40 "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. We can speculate all we want about God up in heaven and all we have is speculation. What we can know of God up in heaven is what God has shown us in the life and teachings of Jesus here on earth. It might not be all of God, but it is all we need to know of God. And what we know is the call to love and forgive and care enough to work for God’s justice in this world.

a cup of water

Saturday July 2nd, Matthew 10: 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." A cup of water may not seem like much, but to someone who is thirsty, it is an act of grace and renewed life. We are not so much called to do great acts as much as we are all called to act out of the greatness of God, and the cumulative effect is greater than anything any one, ten or a hundred people can do. It is being motivated by the love of God to act out the Grace we have been given in our relationships with others. Everything you think, do and say is a prayer to God. We need simply to ask ourselves if what we are thinking, doing and saying now is a prayer we want to be praying?

Luke 1:57-80 John the Baptist

The child would lead them

Blessed by the heavens

Lead them to the one promised

from days of old

Lead them

to the one who would bring life

Lead then

to the light of the world

This small child

beyond the hopes of the people

beyond the dreams of the people

This small child

would lead the way to turn nations

powers

and the expectations of what should be

upside down

Named not to follow the foot steps

but to lead

and show the world

the way to light.

10W for the festival of John the Baptist on June 24th

The following is a 10 minute worship for June 24th, the festival of John the Baptist. You can either listen on the flash player below or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY or download to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player or download directly to your smartphone or computer by following this link and clicking on "DOWNLOAD"

The Holy Trinity Matthew 28:16-20

Go into the world

And teach them to love

Teach them the commands

To

---- love the Lord

---- with all their heart

-------- soul

------------ mind

---- and their neighbor

-------- as themselves

---- and to love themselves

---- while they are at it

Baptize all who will hear

In the name of the one who

---- Created

-------- Redeemed

------------ and Sanctified the world

in the name of the one who loves

as a parent loves their children

in the midst of the horseplay

---- and bickering and fighting

Go spread the word

---- invite

-------- Baptize

------------ and forgive

the uninvited

---- unbaptized

-------- and unforgivable

tell them the news that the battle is over

the victory is won

---- come to the waters and hear

---- come to the waters and see

---- come to the waters and be feed

---- O my children

Come.