for November 3rd, Still, Small Voice, NL.

The following is a 10 minute worship for November 3rd, Still, Small Voice, NL. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Still" by Ed Kilbourne from the CD "The Grateful Ed. Vol. 2" which can be purchased HERE

 

10w for November 3rd, Blessing Seep, P24.

The following is a 10 minute worship for November 3rd, Blessing Seep, P24. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is " Seek Ye First" by Arlen Salte and the Break forth Band from the CD "Break Forth Vol. 2" which can be purchased HERE

 

10w for November 1st, All Saints Day.

The following is a 10 minute worship for November 1st, All Saints Day. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "For All the Saints", by Tom Witt from the CD "Dusting off the Green book" which can be purchased HERE

 

10w for October 31st, Reformation Day.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 31st, Reformation Day. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "A Mighty Fortress" by John Rutter and the Cambridge singers from the CD "Tallis, Sing ye Heavens" which can be purchased HERE

 

Poem based on Luke 6:20-31

Love,

Love that one who hurt you

Pray,

Pray for the one who did you wrong

Focus

on the God in your life

and the love growing there

rather than

the hate

                mistrust

                                fear

                                                hurt

you have been given

                and you wish to give back

Focus

on that which comes from God

on that which brings meaning

on that which brings life

lest

bitterness wins

your heart

your soul

your mind and thoughts and time

and you become

everything

about the other that hurt you

lest you become the one

who brings to others

and yourself

the hate

                mistrust

                                fear

                                                hurt

Pray for others

that you may become whole

pray and live

Sunday November 3^rd, Ephesians 1: 11 God always does what God plans, and that's why God appointed Christ to choose us. God created all of humanity, all that exists, and pronounced it not just good, but very good.  God’s intention is that all of humanity and all of creation is to live in harmony with God and with each other.  We humans have yet to learn that lesson and after all of human history up to this point, we are still busy trying to figure out who is the biggest “big deal.”  Our politics are filled with not with hope and new ideas, but despair and fear.  We spend far more on war than we do on health care and social programs, and now many are trying quite successfully to dismantle the small inroads we have made on those fronts.  I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if our largest export was food and medicine rather than weapons?  But there is still hope, we are created in the image of God, not so much in looks as in heart.  There is still hope that one day we will learn to live as brothers and sisters.  Pray and live and the children of God, there is still hope

holiness

Monday November 4^th, Ephesians 1: 17 I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God.  The spirit is the gift of God within each one of us that points us to God.  It is the gift that allows us to know God and share that essence of love with others.  It is a gift given, not earned.  It is a gift each one of us can tap into or try to ignore.  It is a gift present in others.  It is never under our control.  It is not a gift that allows some to show special skills at the demise of others, but one that points all of humanity to the holiness that is God.  Have you opened your gift today?

light floods

Tuesday November 5^th, Ephesians 1: 18 My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God's people. The saints were as strange and as wonderful as you are.  In their time they brought you the truth of God’s love and God’s knowing.  You can be and are called to be and are gifted to be as Holy as they were.  The saints were those who knew they were called by God and then lived that life.  Now the torch is passed on to you.  Knowing that you have been chosen by God is an awesome feeling.  It is to see yourself as part of a vast community of Christ, to hear the hum of the universe and know it is part of God’s creation called Good.  When light floods your heart, you can see that God created spark within you, and within others.  When the light floods our hearts we can hear the stories of others as the stories of God with them.  It is my prayer that each of you would hear this prayer in your own lives and discover the glorious blessings that are yours together with all of God’s people.  

less busy

Wednesday November 6^th, Luke 6:17-21 Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke: You're blessed when you've lost it all. God's kingdom is there for the finding. You're blessed when you're ravenously hungry. Then you're ready for the Messianic meal.  Our lives become filled with many good things, often it seems to be too many good things.  We can see this problem in others, but rarely in ourselves.  In talking to those listening to him on the hillside by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus touched the longing in their souls for something more than just day to day survival.  The something more he gave them was the ability to begin to see themselves for who they were, the children of God.  They were no longer the down and out, the hungry and tired, the rich and the poor, they were simply the blessed.  We find ourselves sitting, not on a hillside but in parking lot after parking lot waiting for the kids to be finished with this practice or that, sometimes waiting for the store to open and the sale to begin so we can try to fill the empty hole in our souls with the business and the things of this world.  What we are often left with is a bigger hole in our souls and our bank accounts along with a garage full of stuff, and kids who are no more fulfilled than they were before.  God calls us to exchange that hole for the wholeness that comes with balancing our busy lives with a bit less busy and a bit more God.  We and the children among us are called to live our lives knowing we are blessed, seeing ourselves and others as the children of God and hearing the message of God’s love for us in our hearts and minds always.  

forgive

Thursday November 7^th, Luke 6:  22-23 "Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don't like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this. The grace of Christ is always counter-cultural.  In a world of play to win and what’s in it for me, we are called to love our enemies and pray for them, forgive those who offend us, hurt when others are hurting and seek what is best for all, not just the self, or the self’s tribe.  To be true to the message of God’s grace is to open one’s self to ridicule, to hear the names and see the looks of disdain and more.  Christ felt the ultimate that disdain could bring, and he cried from the cross, “Father, forgive them.”  All too often today, it is the voices of religion that speak the loudest words of disdain, hate and fear, Father forgive them for they know not what they do.  All too often it is the religious fanatics that see the world through an “our tribe vs. their tribe” frame of mind, Father forgive them for they know not what they do.  All too often, religion is used as a cover for those who wish to grab wealth and power; Father, forgive them, even if they do know what they are doing, they still don’t get it and they know not what they do.  All too often, it is the children of God who have learned to keep silent rather than bringing forth the message in word and deed, Father, forgive them.  If you are one of the silent ones, know you are forgiven, and called once again to speak the life giving words of Christ, Father, forgive them.  

downstream

Friday November 8^th, Luke 6:  27-30 "To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. A few years ago I was at the Sea of Galilee at the spot that is purported to be where Jesus spoke these words.  Not far from there, on the south end of the Sea of Galilee where the Jordan flows out toward Palestinian territory and down to the Dead Sea, there is a damn.  It controls the water so less of it flows through the Palestinian territory.  So much for love your enemies.  Hatred blooms on both sides.  When you read these words of Jesus, remember how easily humanity can slip into tribalism and hatred, even at the very heart of where Jesus said to love your enemy, no more tit-for-tat stuff.  Pray for peace and justice that begins in your heart and unlike the Jordan River, flows freely to those with whom you differ.  Downstream there is another sea, it is the Dead Sea.  What makes it dead is not what flows into it, but that nothing flows out of it.  So it is with our hearts.  

Holy Hatred

Saturday November 9^th, Luke 6:  31-34 "Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. The Holocaust museum in Jerusalem is wonderfully put together and does a remarkable job of walking you through the rise of Nazism and how, step by step, human rights were denied, resources controlled, the Jewish people were segregated in to closed areas and on and on until the horrific murder of more than six million children of God.  Not far from the Holocaust museum is the birth place of Jesus, Bethlehem, which is segregated with a 25 foot high cement wall topped with concertina wire (paid for by the US) and surrounded by armed guards.  Olive orchards have been taken away as the wall was placed between land owner and the land.  The water is controlled and turned on for 2 hours a week, sometimes, and not always at the same time and there is no schedule, in addition there are laws in place to make it illegal for any Palestinian to dig a well, thereby leaving them totally at the whim of the controlling Israeli government.  Voting rights are denied in the Palestinian territory and there is 65% unemployment and people not allowed to pass to get to work on a regular basis, and needless to say, hatred continues brewing day in and day out.  How do you want to be treated?  Grab the initiative and go out and do it for others.  

10w for October 28th, Simon & Jude, Apostles.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 28th, Simon & Jude, Apostles. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Peace Train", by Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) from the CD "Majikat"  which can be purchased HERE

10w for October 27th, Temple, NL.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 27th, Temple, NL. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Make a Difference" by Rachel Kurtz from the CD "Broken and Lowdown" which can be purchased HERE
 

10w for October 27th, Mercy, P23.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 27th, Mercy, P23. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Be Merciful" by Nate Houge from the CD "Becoming Liturgy" which can be purchased HERE
 

Poem for Reformation Day John 8:31-36

The little child cried

Looking at the father

And the spilt milk

--one

----more

------time

cried for fear that she had again offended

simply by being

--the

----little

------child

and the fathers arms went around her

and held her

and loved her

loving not the spilt milk

but cleaning the mess

and drying the tears

in love

you are my child because of who you are

and who I am

and in trying not to spill the milk

you live out what my child is

and does

soar my child

soar with the freedom

that comes with knowing who you are

soar with the freedom

to spill milk

and know who you are

soar to the freedom of love

that together

we may soar

Opening Litany based on Luther's small catechism

Pastor: We will serve no other gods

Congregation: we will fear, love, and trust God more than anything else.

Pastor: We will not misuse God’s Name.

Congregation: We will use God’s name to call upon God in prayer, praise and thanksgiving.

Pastor: We will honor sacred time

Congregation: We will not take the preaching and the studying of God's Word lightly, but consider it holy, participate in Holy time willingly, and learn and study the word of God.

Pastor: We will honor those in authority

Congregation: We will not look down on our parents, superiors or elected officials, but rather we will honor, serve, obey, love and value them and participate in making the system better.

Pastor: We will honor life

Congregation: We will neither harm nor hurt others, but rather, help them and care for them when they are ill and honor and respect their life decisions.

Pastor: We will honor our relationships

Congregation: In matters of sex our actions and words will be clean and respectful toward others and we will do all we can to encourage long term loving relationships.

Pastor: We will not steal.

Congregation: We will neither take another’s money or property, nor acquire them by fraud or by selling them poorly made products or by working the system to our advantage, but to the disadvantage of others.  Rather we will help others improve and protect their property and careers and support decent wage and benefits for all.   

Pastor: We will not tell lies about others.

Congregation: We will not deceive by lying, betraying, slandering or ruining our neighbor's reputation, but will defend others, say good things about them, and see and speak about the best side of everything they do.

Pastor: We will not desire anything that is someone else’s.

Congregation: We will not use trickery or stealth to try to get anything that belongs to someone else, rather we will work for the betterment of the community and help our neighbors keep and improve all they have individually and as a community.

All: This is most certainly true.

Opening Litany based on Psalm 46

Psalm 46

Worship Leader: 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. 

Worship Leader: 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. 

Worship Leader: 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.

This is most certainly true

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

 

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
You shall have no other gods.
  
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear, love and trust God above everything else.
 
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
 
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not use God's name superstitiously, or use it to curse, swear or lie, or deceive, but to call on God in prayer, praise and thanksgiving.
   
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
  
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God, so that we do not neglect God's Word and the preaching of it, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.
   
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Honor your father and your mother.
 
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God, so that we do not despise or anger our parents and others in authority, but respect, obey, love and serve them.
  
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not kill.
 
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not hurt our neighbor in any way, but help them in all their physical needs.
   
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not commit adultery.
   
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that in matters of sex our words and conduct are pure and honorable, and husband and wife love and respect each other.
 
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not steal.
 
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or property, or get them in any dishonest way, but help them improve and protect their property and means of making a living.
  
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
 
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our neighbor, but defend them, speak well of them, and explain their actions in the kindest way.
     
THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
   
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not desire to get our neighbor's possessions by scheming, or by pretending to have a right to them, but always help them keep what is theirs.
   
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's spouse, or their manservant, or their maidservant, or their cattle or anything that is your neighbor's.
 
What does this mean for us?
We are to fear and love God so that we do not tempt or coax our neighbor's spouse or workers, but encourage them to remain loyal.

II.
THE CREED

__________

The First Article
  
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
  
What does this mean?
  
Answer: I believe that God has created me and all that exists. God has given me and still preserves my body and soul with all their powers. God provides me with food and clothing, home and family, daily work, and all I need from day to day. God also protects me in time of danger and guards me from every evil. All this God does out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, though I do not deserve it. Therefore I surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey God. This is most certainly true.
  
The Second Article
  
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?

Answer: I believe that Jesus Christ—true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary—is my Lord. At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person. Jesus has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil—not with silver or gold, but with his precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. All this Christ has done that I may be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as Christ is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.
   
The Third Article
  
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
   
What does this mean?
 
Answer: I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in true faith. In the same way, the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church day after day the Holy Spirit fully forgives my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.

III.
THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven.

What does this mean?

Here God encourages us to believe that God is truly our Father and we are God's children. We therefore are to pray to God with complete confidence just as children speak to their loving father.

THE FIRST PETITION
 
Hallowed be thy name.
 
What does this mean?

God's name certainly holy in itself, but we ask in this prayer that we may keep it holy.

When does this happen?

God's name is hallowed whenever God's Word is taught in its truth and purity and we as children of God live in harmony with it.
  Help us to do this heavenly Father!
   But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to the Word of God dishonors God's name among us.
  Keep us from doing this, heavenly Father!
 
THE SECOND PETITION
 
Thy kingdom come.
   
What does this mean?
 
God's kingdom comes indeed without our praying for it, but we ask in this prayer that it may   come also to us.
  
When does this happen?

God's kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us the Holy Spirit, so that by God's grace we believe God's holy Word and live a godly life on earth now and in heaven forever.

THE THIRD PETITION
 
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
 
What does this mean?

The good and gracious will of God is surely done without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may be done also among us.

When does this happen?

God's will is done when God hinders and defeats every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful self, which would prevent us from keeping God's name holy and would oppose the coming of God's kingdom. And God's will is done when God strengthens our faith and keeps us firm in God's Word as long as we live.

This is God's gracious good will.

THE FOURTH PETITION
 
Give us this day our daily bread.
 
What does this mean?

God gives daily bread, even without prayer, to all people, though sinful, but we ask in this prayer that God will help us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanks.

What is meant by "daily bread"?

Daily bread includes everything needed for this life, such as food and clothing, home and property, work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors.

THE FIFTH PETITION
 
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
 
What does this mean?

We ask in this prayer that our Father in heaven would not hold our sins against us and because of them refuse to hear our prayer.
And we pray that God would give us everything by grace, for we sin every day and deserve nothing but punishment.
  So we on our part will heartily forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.

and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

THE SIXTH PETITION

And lead us not into temptation.

What does this mean?

God tempts no one to sin, but we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins.
And we pray that even though we are so tempted we may still win the final victory.

THE SEVENTH PETITION

But deliver us from evil.

What does this mean?

We ask in this inclusive prayer that our heavenly Father would save us from every evil to body and soul, and at our last hour would mercifully take us from the troubles of this world to heaven.

THE DOXOLOGY

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

What does "Amen" mean?

Amen means Yes, it shall be so.
We say Amen because we are certain that such petitions are pleasing to God in heaven and are heard by God.
For God has commanded us to pray in this way and has promised to hear us.

IV.
HOLY BAPTISM

__________

1. What is Baptism?

Baptism is not water only, but it is water used together with God's Word and by God's command.

What is this Word?

In Matthew 28 our Lord Jesus Christ says: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

2. What benefits does God give in Baptism?

In Baptism God forgives sin, delivers from death and the devil, and gives everlasting salvation to all who believe what God has promised.

What is God's promise?

In Mark 16 our Lord Jesus Christ says: "They who believe and are baptized will be saved; but they who do not believe will be condemned."

3. How can water do such great things?

It is not water that does these things, but God's Word with the water and our trust in this Word. Water by itself is only water, but with the Word of God it is a life-giving water which by grace gives the new birth through the Holy Spirit.

St. Paul writes in Titus 3: "God saved us...in virtue of God's own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by God's grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. The saying is sure."

4. What does Baptism mean for daily living?

It means that our sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.

St. Paul writes in Romans 6: "We were buried therefore with Christ by Baptism into death, so that as Christ was from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

V. Holy Communion

1. What is Holy Communion?

Holy Communion is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ given with bread and wine, instituted by Christ himself for us to eat and drink.

Where do the Scriptures say this?

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul say: Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take eat, this is my body, which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me."

After the same manner also he took the cup after supper, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins; this do, as often as you drink of it, in remembrance of me."

2. What benefits do we receive from this sacrament?

The benefits of this sacrament are pointed out by the words, given and shed for you for the remission of sins. These words assure us that in the sacrament we receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

3. How can eating and drinking do all this?

It is not eating and drinking that does this, but the words, given and shed for you for the remission of sins. These words, along with eating and drinking, are the main thing in the sacrament. And whoever believes these words has exactly what they say, forgiveness of sins.

4. When is a person rightly prepared to receive this sacrament?

Fasting and other outward preparations serve a good purpose. However, that person is well prepared and worthy who believes these words, given and shed for you for the remission of sins. But anyone who does not believe these words, or doubts them, is neither prepared nor worthy, for the words for you required simply a believing heart.

holiness

Sunday October 27^th, Sirach 35: 12-13  Give to the Most High as he has given to you, and as generously as you can afford.  For the Lord is the one who repays, and he will repay you sevenfold.  We live in a world where many of our actions are governed by the “what’s in it for me” philosophy.  The movements are filled with tax caps, no new taxes and the like which in the end are all giveaways to the rich at the expense of everyone else.  But what if we gave as the Lord has given to us?  What have you received from God?  We need only look to Luther’s explanation of the first article of the Apostles Creed which we say every Sunday.  I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and What does this mean?  I believe that God has created me and all that exists. God has given me and still preserves my body and soul with all their powers. God provides me with food and clothing, home and family, daily work, and all I need from day to day. God also protects me in time of danger and guards me from every evil. All this God does out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, though I do not deserve it. Therefore I surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey God. This is most certainly true.  If your motivation is self-interest, you can get no more self-interest than being repaid seven-fold.  In Hebrew numerology seven equals holiness.  What you receive in return is your life made Holy.  Could you ask for anything more?

improve

Monday October 28^th, Sirach 35: 14-17  Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice; for the Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. He will not show partiality to the poor; but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged. He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan, or the widow when she pours out her complaint.  From this list one could also assume that the Lord will listen to the one who has fallen behind on their mortgage, the one who was sold the pipe dream of a too big house and an interest only, or five year arm mortgage.  Seriously, did anyone ever think these were good things save the ones making a killing on the scam, and the ones scammed?  One need only to look at the recent scam of big banks buying up local tax debts in order to foreclose on properties which they can then sell at a profit (many of the same banks that came begging for bail-out money for their last failed scheme of derivative sales on bundled sub-prime mortgages) leaving homeowners with huge handling fees which force them into foreclosure.  And the dream of the wealthy rip-offs continues in the pipe dream of the TEA party. The Lord might not listen to the supplication of the poor over anyone else, but those made poor (Oscar Romero) are of special concern.  Those who make profit off those made poor just may get a little extra special attention from that Lord, which may not be a good thing.  The recent attempt at government shutdown may have hurt everyone, but Cruz made a bundle in contributions.  Perhaps it is time to restore our society to a world in which we care about the concerns of God, a world in which we care for the least, lost and lonely.  The commandments call us not to steal.  As Luther defines this, we are to fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or property, or get them in any dishonest way, but help them improve and protect their property and means of making a living.

above

Tuesday October 29^th, 2^nd Timothy 4:  ⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.  So what is your goal in life?  To die with the most toys, the most hours logged in driving your kids to the next thing they “need to do” in Jr. High, a bigger number in your bank account balance than your parents?  Or is it a life well lived?  Thoreau went to the woods and said, ““I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”  Henry had the right idea but missed it just a bit.  Don’t wait to the end of your life to discover you have not lived it, rather live as a child of God now, living to the last drop of marrow all that God has given you to experience, do and love.  Don’t let the demon of meritocracy draw you to the sidelines, but discover all the blessings God has given you and live them to the fullest. The first step is to fear, love and trust God above everything else.

kind

Wednesday October 30^th, 2^nd Timothy 4:  ¹⁶At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Do you ever feel sometimes like you are all alone?  Well you are not alone, Paul was right there with you.  Sometimes, even when you are doing the right thing, you can feel pretty out there and alone, most of your “friends” having taken the easy road more traveled.  If you are doing the right thing however (right thing in God’s eyes, not just your justification) you are not alone.  God has promised to be with you just as God was with Paul.  So, step one, check with your friends and the Bible, and if your friends and the Bible do not agree, check again but lean toward the Bible.  Step two, check the Bible with the Bible, don’t depend on a phrase or two but how does that work out for caring for the least, lost and lonely, and loving the Lord with all your heart soul and mind and your neighbor (God’s definition of neighbor) as yourself?  When you feel all alone, remember that we are called to be there for others and to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our neighbor, but defend them, speak well of them, and explain their actions in the kindest way. 

respect

Thursday October 31^st, Luke 18:  ⁹To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'   Most of us would love to have a congregation full of Pharisees.  They are well behaved, well dressed, educated, enthusiastic, involved and give a tenth of their income to the church.  The only thing missing is the heart.  Pharisees believed in the resurrection, Jesus was a Pharisee by definition, but Jesus calls us to invite the others into our midst.  The ones who don’t know Luther’s small catechism, or the proper way to serve communion, or which apron to wear for what occasion.  Pharisees would be great for doing “church.”  Pharisees would be a lousy way to do mission.  Pharisees are aware of others peoples sins, the people in Jesus’ church is amazed at the forgiveness of their sin.  Do you want a highly successful motivated church?  Support the Pharisees in your community.  Do you want an active alive church?  Support the adulterers and others sinners who are called to fear and love God so that in matters of sex our words and conduct are pure and honorable, and husband and wife love and respect each other.

keep

Friday November 1^st, Luke 18:   ¹³"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'  I have a beer mug from www.oldlutheran.com that says, “Sin Boldly Lager.”  It doesn’t make the beer taste any better but I still like using it.  Luther said we are at the same time saint and sinner.  Saint by the blood of Christ and sinner by our own doing.  As saints we are forgiven sinners called to answer the question, “now that you don’t have to do anything, what are you going to do?”  Most of us don’t answer the question and thereby answer it by saying, “we are going to par—tay!!!!!  The answer God was looking for was “we are going to forgive others and thereby build a better world!!!!”  The best thing the tax collector had to offer was the honesty of who he was.  It would be our best response also.  Sometimes we just want.  We want all the things we see on TV and in our neighbors yard, it is then we should remember that we are to fear and love God so that we do not desire to get our neighbor's possessions by scheming, or by pretending to have a right to them, but always help them keep what is theirs.

true

Saturday November 2^nd, Luke 18:  ¹⁴"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  It is your choice, pump yourself up just to be smacked down, or take an honest look in order to be raised up.  The first one is all about you.  The second is all about God.  When we live a life all about God we live out a life that shows that we believe that God has created us and all that exists. God has given us and still preserves our bodies and souls with all their powers. God provides us with food and clothing, home and family, daily work, and all we need from day to day. God also protects us in time of danger and guards us from every evil. All this God does out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, though we do not deserve it. Therefore we surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey God. This is most certainly true.

10w for October 20th, the Call of David, NL.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 20th, the Call of David, NL. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "We are Called" from the CD, "On a Wing and a Prayer, Vol. 2" which can be purchased HERE

 

10w for October 20th, Persistence, P22.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 20th, Persistence, P22. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "The Prayer" by Andrea Brocelli and Celine Dion from the CD "The Best of Andrea Brocelli" which can be purchased HERE

 

10w for October 18th, The festival of St. Luke.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 18th, The festival of St. Luke. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Reign of Healing" by Dakota Road from the CD "All Are Welcome" which can be purchased HERE

the sabotage of Democracy

Poem for 22nd Sunday after Pentecost Luke 18:1-8

Why does this happen to me

I tell my children what I want

And they don’t listen

Last week I told them

Keep their room clean

And now look

I told them once

Once

To enter into a relationship

Is more than once

Is more than telling

More than holy brevity

It is the now

The then

The when

The ongoing chatter

Rather than the occasional thought

Pray constantly Christ says

Live in a relationship

Not always holy

Except it be blessed

By God

Opening Litany based on Psalm 121

Pastor: I lift up my eyes to the mountains, I search and wonder where does my help come from?

Congregation; Our help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth who will not let our foot slip and watches over us day and night

Pastor: Indeed the LORD watches over us and will be the shade at our right hand

Congregation: The sun will not harm us by day nor the moon by night for the LORD will keep us from all harm and will watch over our lives.

Pastor: The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Congregation: Where does our help come from?  Our help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth who will not let our foot slip and watches over us day and night 

Jabbok

Sunday October 20^th, Genesis 32:  22-23 But during the night he got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He got them safely across the brook along with all his possessions. 24-25 But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn't get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob's hip out of joint. Jacob was a scoundrel; he manipulated his brother to get the inheritance and blessing and then had to run for his life.  In crossing the ford of the Jabbok, he was entering into unknown territory.  His belief and the belief of others of the day was that God was regional and venturing beyond the Jabbok meant you were venturing beyond the reach of the God of Abraham.  Most of us remember the song of climbing Jacobs ladder, but in the story what we find is that Jacob stays on the ground, it is the messengers of God, the Angels, that come down the latter, Down.  God always comes down.  God came down in creation, down to Abraham, down to the scoundrel Jacob and in Christ and in the last days of the New Jerusalem, God continues the grace and comes down.  In our lives too, God comes down, to us, even when we are scoundrels and even when we are not.  When God comes down, we too find our lives changed and the scoundrel in each of us becomes a saint.  

honest

Monday October 21^st, Genesis 32:  26 The man said, "Let me go; it's daybreak." Jacob said, "I'm not letting you go 'til you bless me." 27 The man said, "What's your name?" He answered, "Jacob."  28 The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it's Israel (God-Wrestler); you've wrestled with God and you've come through." Have you ever wrestled with God?  In a long dark night of the soul, have you wrestled with God?  Have you ever come before God in prayer time after time after time after time?  Wrestling with God is prayer, real prayer, deep prayer.  All too often our prayers are gimme, gimme, gimme.  Sometimes they are filled with eloquent, but often empty, words of praise.  Think of a relationship with a significant other.  If all the conversation is “give me” or false praise, the relationship will soon be seen for what it is, shallow, and will most likely end.  The good conversations with a loved one involve a bit of wrestling, and a whole lot of honesty.  When our prayers are wrestling with God, they are honest, they are from the heart, and the words count little.  Wrestle with God today and know that today, tomorrow and the next day, God will always come down to where you are at in this world, wrestle with you a bit, and love you.   

amo

Tuesday October 22^nd, 2 Timothy 3:  14-17 But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. Every part of scripture being God-breathed is not the same as every word being infallible.  God-breathed scripture means that when you immerse yourself in the word, you find God in every turn of phrase and nuance.  When you find yourself immersed in the word, every turn of life is a glorious moment where you find God.  Most don’t immerse themselves in the word and are therefore open to being sucked in and ripped off by the rapture racket which they then either embrace with their whole heart and empty mind, or they reject completely along with the God who comes down.  The Gospels tell us to love God and love others; it is a difficult task that consumes you whole life.  The rapture racket tells you that you can leave this place and those who don’t see things your way can go to hell, literally.  The Gospel tells us to love our enemies and pray for them, the rapture racket tells us to convert or kill them.  The rapture racket is about going up to heaven, the Gospel is about God coming down.  The Gospel is about us, the rapture racket is about “me.”  “ME” is what original sin and every everyday sin is all about.  The task God has before you is about love.  Amo Ergo Sum!

love

Wednesday October 23^rd, 2 Timothy 3:  3-5 You're going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They'll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant. Spiritual junk food was epitomized in the series, “Left Behind.”  That is old hat these days and the new push is a genre of god, guns and get rid of government so the rich and powerful can become more rich and powerful.  Looks like scripture, sounds like scripture, may even taste like scripture, but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth, a sour society and a sour soul in your very being.  It is easy to get all caught up in the “me” theology.  Adam and Eve record the first instance of me theology with that tree thing.  The hard job of scripture is the call to love others, because let’s face it; it is often the case that those others are not always so lovable.  That is when it is good to remember that you don’t have to like someone to be loving toward them.  Loving them is not about them or how they respond, it is about you and how you respond to the call to love God and love others.    

down

Thursday October 24^th, Luke 18:  1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him.  There are many old sappy movies about the unjust power person and the powerless coming and coming and coming until they finally get justice.  Sometimes the process changes the unjust person, sometimes the powerless figure is changed, but often change happens.  Jesus is teaching about prayer.  It is in the persistence of the seeker that change happens, at least to the person praying, if not to all involved.  When we pray unceasingly, perhaps it is God’s way of getting our attention until ultimately we can start to listen.  That is when we see God coming down. 

powerless

Friday October 25^th, Luke 18: there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'  4 "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'  Justice is God’s intention for all humanity.  Power and money get in the way.  The ones on top for the most part think they are being just.  The ones on the bottom know inside and out every nuance of injustice perpetrated upon them.  The power people just don’t get powerlessness.  God gets powerlessness. Christ came as a babe in a manger and died on the cross.  God gets powerlessness and helps us turn that into the Kingdom of God for all through prayer.  

again

Saturday October 26^th, Luke 18:  6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"  So pray unceasingly. Come before God and wrestle with God.  Don’t worry about the words, or posture, or process, or eloquence, or proper order of things; just come with your heart open.  Come with fierce determination, or raging anger, or awed disbelief, or faith riddled with doubts, just come, again and again and again.  And things will change, maybe even you!! 

10w for October 13th, Is the Lord ever finished with me? NL.

The following is a 10 minute worship for October 13th, Is the Lord ever finished with me? NL. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Here I Am, Lord (Workout Remix)" by iSweat. You can find this single on http://www.amazon.com/, by searching for the Here I am, Lord Workout Remix.