Reformation Sunday John 8:31-36

It is not a matter of belonging

not a matter of doing

or doing better

Christ has come into this world

and saved us

and called us to be

the children of God

not to be saved

but

because we are

God has loved us

Christ has saved us

we are now called to run

and enjoy

and be

the children of God.

That’s Grace.

Reformation Opening Litany

We were Baptized in Christ Jesus wov 698

Luther explains God’s Commands

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

Congregation: Where we are inspired by God’s Love to Praise, Nurture and Serve

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 of God's Word lightly, but consider it holy, listen to it willingly, and learn it.

Pastor: We will honor those in authority

Congregation: We will not look down on our parents or superiors nor irritate them, but rather we will honor, serve, obey, love and value them.

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.

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, but we will help others improve and protect their property and careers and not ship jobs overseas for short-term gain.

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 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.

All: This is most certainly true.

Worship Song

The Reformation Polka

by Robert Gebel

[Sung to the tune of "Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious"]

Chorus:

Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!

When I was just ein junger Mann I studied canon law;
While Erfurt was a challenge, it was just to please my Pa.
Then came the storm, the lightning struck, I called upon Saint Anne,
I shaved my head, I took my vows, an Augustinian! Oh...

When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St. Peter's profits soared,
I wrote a little notice for the All Saints' Bull'tin board:
"You cannot purchase merits, for we're justified by grace!
Here's 95 more reasons, Brother Tetzel, in your face!" Oh...

They loved my tracts, adored my wit, all were exempleror;
The Pope, however, hauled me up before the Emperor.
"Are these your books? Do you recant?" King Charles did demand,
"I will not change my Diet, Sir, God help me here I stand!" Oh...

Duke Frederick took the Wise approach, responding to my words,
By knighting "George" as hostage in the Kingdom of the Birds.
Use Brother Martin's model if the languages you seek,
Stay locked inside a castle with your Hebrew and your Greek! Oh...

Let's raise our steins and Concord Books while gathered in this place,
And spread the word that 'catholic' is spelled with lower case;
The Word remains unfettered when the Spirit gets his chance,
So come on, Katy, drop your lute, and join us in our dance! Oh...

the Create Team singing the Reformation Polka
the Kingdom come version
Animated version of the Reformation Polka

Luther’s Small Catechism

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
There is only one God.

What does this mean for us?
God should be first and foremost in our lives, more important than anything else. (Exodus 32)

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
Do not swear or misuse God’s name.

What does this mean for us?
We are to respect and love God and not to use the name of God to pump ourselves up, bring others down or practice deceit. We should however call upon God in all aspects of our lives and thank God always for all we have. (Leviticus 24:10-16)

THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Keep Sabbath Time.

What does this mean for us?
We are to live in connection with God and set aside time to be with God. Even when busy lives tear us away from Sunday worship, it is important for your spiritual health to find other ways and times to stay connected to God’s love, God’s word and God’s people. (Luke 10:38-42)

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Show Honor and Respect for parents and those in authority.

What does this mean for us?
We are called to live our lives in such a way that our lives show honor and respect for our parents and those in authority. Even when you disagree be the best God has called you to be in your family and authority relationships and do not let negativity rule the day. (Luke 2:41-2)

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
Do not take another's life from them.

What does this mean for us?
We are called to love all of creation and out of self-giving love, care for others and the environment in which they live. We are called to honor all of life and to offer dignity and respect for all life’s stages. Be creative and loving as you find ways to support all of life’s needs. (Genesis 4:1-16)

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
Show respect for your relationships.

What does this mean for us?
We are to love one another in our prayers, words and deeds, especially those special relationships in our lives in ways that honor those relationships. We are also to work for health, and to help legitimize the relationships of others God has created and called good. (2 Samuel 11)

THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
Do not take what does not belong to you.


What does this mean for us?
We are to respect our Brothers and Sisters in Christ so that we do not take things from them or find ways to rip them off, sell them false junk, deceive or entice them to purchase those things they don’t need. We are also called to help others maintain and protect their jobs and property. (Joshua 7:1)

THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
Do not lie about your friends and neighbors ether in the court or on the street.

What does this mean for us?
We are to show respect for one another so we do not spread false information about them, but rather do our best to put the most positive construction on all we say about one another. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. (Luke 22:54-62)

THE NINTH COMMANDMENT
You should not crave your neighbor’s house.

What does this mean for us?
We are to respect our God and our Neighbor such that we do not try to swindle others out of their house or property, but help them keep it up and in good shape.

THE TENTH COMMANDMENT
You should not lust after your neighbors spouse or family members or any of your neighbors things.

What does this mean for us?
We are to be respectful around our neighbors family and belongings and conduct ourselves in such a way that help them maintain long term loving and healthy relationships and lifestyles.

II.

THE CREED

The First Article

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

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 walks with me in times of danger and guards me from every evil path. God does out of loving and divine goodness and mercy, though I do not always deserve it. Therefore I am called to continually offer thanks and praise and service to God and God’s creation. 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?

I believe that Jesus Christ—true Son of God from all eternity, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary—is my Lord. At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and doomed person. Jesus has freed me from the power of sin, death, and the devil—not with the riches of this world, but with his precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. All this Christ has done that I may have the honor to be called a child of God, live with Christ in the Kingdom here and in the Kingdom to come, and live a life of service and everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. I know that for me and for all humanity 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?

I believe that I all I have is a gift from God and that I cannot even by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him. But through the grace of God the Holy Spirit has called, and continues to call me through the Gospel, enlighten me with grace gifts, and sanctifies me daily and keeps me in a life of faith. In the same way, the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies all creation and the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in faith. In this Christian church day after day the Holy Spirit fully forgives my sins and the sins of all. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and give us the grace gift of eternal life in Christ. This is most certainly true.

III.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen

Our Father, who art in heaven

What does this mean?

Here God encourages us to believe that God is truly rules over all of heaven and all of earth and we truly are God's children. We therefore are to live in a loving relationship and pray to God with all of our life in complete confidence just as children speak to and live in a loving relationship with their family.

THE FIRST PETITION

hallowed be thy name,

What does this mean?

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

When does this happen?

God's name is hallowed whenever God's Word is taught without deceit and we as the children of God live in harmony with God’s word and God’s kingdom. Help us to do this heavenly Lord! But we dishonor God when we live lives contrary to the Word of God. Help us avoid this heavenly Lord!


THE SECOND PETITION

thy kingdom come,

What does this mean?

God's kingdom comes and surrounds us even without our praying for it, but we ask in this prayer that we may live in total awareness that the Kingdom is near.

When does this happen?

God's kingdom comes through the gift of the Holy Spirit and that same Spirit calls us to live life here on earth fully aware that the Kingdom is near and to live longing for the fulfillment of the Kingdome to come in its eternal fullness.

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 a reality even without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it we may live fully aware that God’s will is done among and also through us.

When does this happen?

God's will is done when evil in the world, and in our hearts, is overcome with the love and grace of God. God’s will is done when the Kingdom is announced in word and deed and people hear and live in presence of the Good news. And God’s will is done when God strengthens our faith and keeps us firm in God's Word as long as we live. And God’s will is done when we live as a child of God in loving harmony with all of God’s creation. This is God's gracious good will.

THE FOURTH PETITION

Give us this day our daily bread

What does this mean?

God provides for this world all that is needed every day even without prayer, but we ask in this prayer that God will help us to realize this and to receive that which we need with thanksgiving and work toward a just distribution of God’s gifts in this world.

What is meant by "what we need for today"?

This 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 and a healthy earth.

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 God would not hold our sins, those we are aware of and those we are not, those we commit by doing and those we commit by not doing enough, against us. And we thank God for the gift of grace by which we receive our much needed forgiveness. We also commit to do our part and heartily forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.

THE SIXTH PETITION

and lead us not into temptation

What does this mean?

We ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and help keep us from sliding into the temptation to live self centered and sinful lives. We ask God to help us keep our focus on God and God’s calling in our lives to live as a child of God. And we pray that even though we are often tempted and often fall that God would continue to guide us and help us to live as we are called to live in this world and will be with God forever in the world to come.

THE SEVENTH PETITION

but deliver us from evil.

What does this mean?

We ask in this inclusive prayer that God would keep us from all that would bring harm to our selves or to others in this wonderful creation and in our last hour would take us in the glorious kingdom to be with God forever.

THE DOXOLOGY

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

What does "Amen" mean?

Amen means Yes, Yes, Yes!!! And we say Amen because we live in the certainty of God’s loving grace and know that God is with us, and hears us always.

Opening Litany Psalm 84

Opening Hymn

How Majestic is your name pw 66

Pastor: How lovely is the dwelling place of the LORD Almighty!

Congregation: Yes, how lovely is the dwelling place of the LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD;

Pastor: My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Congregation: Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar.

Pastor: How lovely is the dwelling place of the LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house and whose lives are lived as a praise to you.

Congregation: Blessed are those whose strength is in the Lord and who have set their hearts on a life long journey with our God.

Pastor: As they pass through the Valley of life, make it for them a place of springs where the autumn rains cover it with pools.

Congregation: As we journey with the Lord, let us go from strength to strength till we appear before the lovely dwelling place of the LORD Almighty!

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.

Worship Song

Lord, I Lift Your Name on High pw 90

Luke 18:9-14

In the garden
The tree looked so good
And they saw that the
            Fruit
            (thank you that I am)
             (NOT)
                          (like others)
was pleasant to look at
and that it’s fruit was
          desired
          (thank you that I am)
          (HOLY)
          (in my sight)
to make one wise
and they took and ate of it
and their eyes were opened
          (and off in the distance)
          (he beat his breast and cried)

          (God have mercy on me)
and they saw they were naked
and not gods

but what about Me?

Sunday October 24th, 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?

oops, we did it again

Monday October 25th, 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 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2bju39fTTI&feature=player_embedded). 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, and that may not be a good thing.

what's in your goal?

Tuesday October 26th, 2nd Timothy 4: 6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now 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.

Even the Lions

Wednesday October 27^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? Then and only then, trust the Bible and go for it..  Sometimes, but not always, even the lions are kept away.

What's in your congregation?

Thursday October 28th, Luke 18: 9 To 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. 11 The 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. 12 I 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. 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, 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 sinners.

Sin Boldly

Friday October 29th, 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.

up or down?

Saturday October 30th, 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.

Offering prayer

After all we say and do this is what we think of you.  Amen!

privatization fueled feudalism

Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther and his friend and compatriot Philip Melanchthon in the development of a reformation community established a community chest for the purpose of collecting funds from the businesses and well to do in order to provide for a public education for all children in their town and vicinity. It was seen as carrying out God’s call for the establishment of a just society as well as caring for the least among us. In addition to public education they promoted and helped develop safe drinking water and sanitation, free medical care for all in the community and some of the first environmental laws in Europe. It is inconceivable to me that some five hundred years later people who stand in this tradition of protestant faith could support in any way any candidate whose policies are in direct contrast to these reformation practices of the establishment of a just society, and who in the process seek only to drive us back to an age of privatization fueled feudalism. Whether we call the benefactors of this movement master or lord, CEO or chairman of the board matters little. The goal is the same, the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few and the vassal servant hood, whether through law or economic subjugation, of the majority who serve them.

Opening Litany Psalm 121

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

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 we live out this mission when we Gather to Grow through God’s Grace.

Worship Song

click link below to view song

I Lift my eyes, by Hans Peterson, 2002 Dakota Road Music

St. Luke Evangelists, Luke 1:1-4, 24:44-53

Dear Lord into your hands
we give all that we have
gifts from You
to do your will in this world
help us with the healing
of the pain felt
and the pain caused
help us to feed those
our sisters and brothers in this world
help us to see the Gospel in the radical light
you have given
help us to have faith
in the lowest of times
help us to have faith
in the greatest of times
help us to have faith
when we are sitting with all the advantages
this world can offer
and see
our sisters
our brothers
our children
our elderly
our planet
dying
and feel free to give
our advantage
our wealth
our time
our idols
that we may live free
that we may live healed
that we may be
those who hear
and do
and praise
and live
in your name

Poem, 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

God comes down

Sunday October 17th, 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 messenger of God that comes 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 the scoundrel in each of us becomes a saint.

God Wrestler

Monday October 18th, 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. 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, 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.

rapture racket is about “me.”

Tuesday October 19th, 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 God completely. 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!

junk food

Wednesday October 20th, 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 is epitomized in the series, “Left Behind ” as well as the new rights genre of god, guns and ammunition as well as a free market gift to the already rich and powerful. Looks like scripture, sounds like scripture, may even taste like scripture, but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth 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.

listen

Thursday October 21st, 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.

all right, all right I give in

Friday October 22nd, 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.

raging anger ok

Saturday October 23rd, 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!!

The Secret Big-Money Takeover of America by Robert Reich

Not only is income and wealth in America more concentrated in fewer hands than it's been in 80 years, but those hands are buying our democracy as never before -- and they're doing it behind closed doors.

Hundreds of millions of secret dollars are pouring into congressional and state races in this election cycle. The Koch brothers (whose personal fortunes grew by $5 billion last year) appear to be behind some of it, Karl Rove has rounded up other multimillionaires to fund right-wing candidates, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is funneling corporate dollars from around the world into congressional races, and Rupert Murdoch is evidently spending heavily.

No one knows for sure where this flood of money is coming from because it's all secret.

But you can safely assume its purpose is not to help America's stranded middle class, working class, and poor. It's to pad the nests of the rich, stop all reform, and deregulate big corporations and Wall Street -- already more powerful than since the late 19th century when the lackeys of robber barons literally deposited sacks of cash on the desks of friendly legislators.

Credit the Supreme Court's grotesque decision in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, which opened the floodgates. (Even though 8 of 9 members of the Court also held disclosure laws constitutional, the decision invited the creation of shadowy "nonprofits" that don't have to reveal anything.)

According to FEC data, only 32 percent of groups paying for election ads are disclosing the names of their donors. By comparison, in the 2006 midterm, 97 percent disclosed; in 2008, almost half disclosed.

Last week, when the Senate considered a bill to force such disclosure, every single Republican voted against it -- thereby revealing the GOP's true colors, and presumed benefactors. (To understand how far the GOP has come, nearly ten years ago campaign disclosure was supported by 48 of 54 Republican senators.)

Maybe the Disclose Bill can get passed in lame-duck session. Maybe the IRS will make sure Karl Rove's and other supposed nonprofits aren't sham political units. Maybe pigs will learn to fly.

In the meantime we face an election that marks an even sharper turn toward plutocratic capitalism than before -- a government by and for the rich and big corporations -- and away from democratic capitalism.

As income and wealth has moved to the top, so has political power. That's why, for example, it's been impossible to close the absurd tax loophole that allows hedge-fund and private-equity managers to treat much of their income as capital gains, subject to a 15 percent tax (even though they're earning tens or hundreds of millions a year, and the top 15 hedge-fund managers earned an average of $1 billion last year). Why it proved impossible to fund expanded health care by limiting the tax deductions of the very rich. Why it's so difficult even to extend George Bush's tax cuts for the bottom 98 percent of Americans without also extending them for the top 2 percent - even though the top won't spend the money and create jobs, but will blow a $36 billion hole in the federal budget next year.

The good news is average Americans are beginning to understand that when the rich secretly flood our democracy with money, the rest of us drown. Wall Street executives and top CEOs get bailed out while under-water homeowners and jobless workers sink.

A Quinnipiac poll earlier this year found overwhelming support for a millionaire tax.

But what the public wants means nothing if our democracy is secretly corrupted by big money.

Right now we're headed for a perfect storm: An unprecedented concentration of income and wealth at the top, a record amount of secret money flooding our democracy, and a public in the aftershock of the Great Recession becoming increasingly angry and cynical about government. The three are obviously related.

We must act. We need a movement to take back our democracy. (If tea partiers were true to their principles, they'd join it.) As Martin Luther King once said, the greatest tragedy is "not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."

What can you do?

1. Read Justice Steven's dissent in the Citizens United case, so you're fully informed about the majority's pernicious illogic.

2. Use every opportunity to speak out against this decision, and embarrass and condemn the right-wing Justices who supported it.

3. In this and subsequent elections, back candidates for congress and president who vow to put Justices on the Court who will reverse it.

4. Demand that the IRS enforce the law and pull the plug on Karl Rove and other sham nonprofits.

5. If you have a Republican senator, insist that he or she support the Disclose Act. If they won't, campaign against them.

6. Support public financing of elections.

7. Join an organization like Common Cause, that's committed to doing all this and getting big money out of politics. (Personal note: I'm so outraged at what's happening that I just became chairman of Common Cause.)

8. Send this post to your friends (including any tea partiers you may know).

Robert Reich is the author of Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, now in bookstores.
This post is at RobertReich.org.

October 11th, Canadian Day of Thanksgiving, 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

Opening Litany Psalm 111

Pastor: Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the presence of all the gathered saints.

Congregation: Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them, deeds glorious and majestic.

Pastor: The Lord’s righteousness endures forever for the Lord has caused his wonders to be remembered by all people.

Congregation: the LORD is gracious and compassionate providing food and remembering the covenant forever.

Pastor: The Lord has shown the people God the power of mighty works and has given them lands to work, enjoy and live on.

Congregation: The works of God’s hands are faithful and just and the Lord’s precepts are trustworthy and steadfast for ever and ever,

Pastor: In faithfulness and uprightness the Lord provided redemption for all people and ordained the covenant forever – Holy and Awesome is the name of the Lord.

Congregation: Walking in the ways of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and all who follow the ways of the Lord have good understanding. To the Lord our God alone belongs eternal praise.

Luke 17:11-19 Master heal us, almost

Jesus, Master, have mercy on us
Heal us and forget us
A bit show
For all to see
Something we can tell our friends
And it will give you a few points in the process
Jesus
Almost master
Heal us
So we can go about out way
Doing what we want
With no thought of you
(your faith)
Except the story of the day
When you healed us
Except for that one
Outsider
That Samaritan
Who broke ranks
(has healed)
It was a good thing to do and all that
But really
Has he no self
Self
Self Respect
To go groveling like that
All Jesus did was say go to the priests
Show yourselves
(you)
Nothing new here
Same ol’ same ol’
Does he really want us to worship
Thank
Him
For doing nothing?
Thank Him
(and saved)
For our religion?
(you)

speak up

Sunday October 10th, 2 Kings 5: 2 Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." The young slave girl simply spoke up and told a part of her story. She was not in a great position in life having been taken as a slave. She could have spent her time and energy focus on her plight and on how it really wasn’t fair or just. Instead her focus is on the power and love of the God she serves. Her response sends the heads of power into motion. In this world she had no power that anyone could see, she was a young slave girl, and yet her voice carried wisdom and touched the seed already planted by God. How often do we keep silent because we don’t feel we have the wisdom or power to speak or do anything? In keeping silent, perhaps what we are succeeding in doing is keeping dormant the seeds that God has already planted. We are not the ones that cause faith to grow, we simply direct it to a little sunlight and watch what happens.

take a bath

Monday October 11th, 2 Kings 5: 13 Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. Naaman was a great king and was not about to do some silly common thing like washing in a river, and a foreign river at that, to be cleansed. How often do our preconceived ideas get in the way of the greater good of God’s grace in our lives, and in the lives of others. Naaman’s servants knew the ways of grace. Slaves operated and survived in the realm of grace give to them by others. Their masters had power over them to do anything they wanted. Sometimes accepting grace requires humility, that’s a little tough for someone who thinks they are in charge. But sometimes it is the ego that most overshadows the light from above. When has your concept of self power kept you from action? When was the last time you showed your deepest humanity and cried in front of others?

now what

Tuesday October 12th, 2 Timothy 2: 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. If we die in Christ we will live eternally in Christ, it is the promise of the resurrection to all of humanity. If we disown Christ we will be disowned, not because Christ will disown us, but because our free will allows us only two options, to accept God’s grace or to reject God’s grace. Having said that, I am not sure we even have the option to accept God’s grace, but perhaps only to actively reject it. Having said that, I am not sure even rejecting it is a permanent thing, but perhaps something only for this life because even if we are faithless, Christ remains faithful, because that is who Christ is. Our calling is not to get to heaven, it is to live here and now knowing that is where are going to be in the loving arms of Jesus along with all the brothers and sisters who will be just as surprised as us. Now that you are saved, how are you going to live your life?

words

Wednesday October 13th, 2 Timothy 2: 14 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. In the realm of faith, we argue over words. We argue over land. We argue over who is “part of the kingdom” and who is not “part of the kingdom.” Jews, Christians, Muslims are all the children of Abraham to whom was given the promise that he would be the father of a great multitude, like the sands of the desert. Most of human history has been arguing over whether this pile of sand is better than that pile of sand and which pile of sand does God love best. It is a routine best left to old Smothers Brothers reruns. Over the centuries the religious bickering has produced a few products, the death of millions of God’s children and observing that, billions of God’s children not wanting anything to do with the God who created them and loves them. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over hoping for different results. Perhaps we should try that old loving God with all our heart and loving neighbor as ourselves thing for a change.

put asunder that which God has joined together

Thursday October 14th, Luke 17: 11-13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." What! Show themselves to the priest!?! And the voices of humanity raise, they have never done anything to deserve being healed, we’ve tried that before and it didn’t work, I don’t believe in the priests’ authority and feel I can find God out in nature or out fishing, I believe in God and all that but……….. I don’t put much stock in organized religion, and on and on and on………………… Humans have a tendency to feel that God should intervene in their lives in a special and personal and convenient way. Then they have something to compare with others. I can hear it now, “my personal intervention is better than your personal intervention” sort of childishness and a new reason to fight and divide ourselves. God has given us the gift of religion, and many different religions and faiths, so we all have an opportunity to connect with God in a way that is culturally relevant to us. It is the human condition that turns these blessed differences into things like intifada’s, jihad’s, and born again rapture or evangelical theology that says my way or the highway. Then again perhaps it is our human condition with a little nudge from Screwtape or Satan or some such. Isn’t the essence of human brokenness after all, to put asunder that which God has joined together?

thank you

Friday October 15th, Luke 17: They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus' feet, so grateful. He couldn't thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan. Luke likes to use the Samaritan’s as examples of those who “get it” in order to help those who consider themselves to be insiders “get it.” God’s grace extends to all. Our act of receiving this grace with gratitude helps us “get it.” In your prayers, how much is “give me,” and how much is “thank you?” Perhaps a bit more on the “thank you” side of things would be more helpful, not only to say it, but to live it. Go live a “thank you” life and count your blessings.

saved for

Saturday October 16th, Luke 17: 17-19 Jesus said, "Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?" Then he said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you." When we think saved, our mind tends to go towards saved from. All ten were saved from the scourge of leprosy. Only one turned and praise God for the healing and perhaps realized the real gift is when we are saved for. Perhaps this outsider was saved for the purpose of showing the way to the insiders. Perhaps this outsider was saved for the purpose of showing the way to other outsiders. When we turn to give thanks, we open ourselves a bit more to what God wants to do in our lives. It is then we begin to understand the blessings of being saved for.

October

October is filled with images of hot cider, harvest meals, Oktoberfest brews and a bit of snow on the peaks around Anchorage. It is also the time when we celebrate the Reformation. The Refor..what you say?

Reformation, it is based on the word to reform. Martin Luther was a monk who felt there were some things that needed to be reformed in the church. When he listed a few of them, ninety five to be precise, and put them up on the town bulletin board (which happened to be a church door and he was out of tacks so he used a hammer and a nail) as a call for public debate, well things got a little out of hand. There was this new invention that some people were just waiting for an opportunity to show what it could do; it was called the printing press. The printing press people saw these ninety five debate points nailed up to the church door and thought, cool, this would be a nice test run to see how this printing press thing works. Well.. it worked.

The next think you know Luther’s ideas were floating all around the area and everyone was talking about them. They brought up ideas like human rights and democracy and questioned the authority of the church, which together with a few kings, princes, priests and emperors ran things. Luther also questioned the church’s ability to sell “Get out of Hell Free” cards called indulgences. Since the sale of these “Get out of Hell Free” cards was a fundraiser the Pope was using to raise money to build a nice new church called St. Peter’s Basilica, and worked much better than selling cookies, he became angry and thought about making Luther eat worms, but instead made him come to a meeting (called a Diet) in the city of Worms.

At this Diet, or meeting, Luther was asked to recant (which is like officially saying, oops, I was just kidding) but instead Luther took a stand and said I can’t recant and was officially declared a criminal with a price on his head and was to be given a head start before they came after him. On his way home some masked men grabbed him and the story went out that they strung him up for the reward, but in reality they worked for a wise prince called Fredrick who was on Luther’s side. Fredrick hid Luther in a castle in the Wartburg city of Eisenach. It was here he dressed up like a knight, translated New Testament in the Bible from Latin and Greek into German and threw ink at the wall in his room.

Luther’s idea of reforming the church wasn’t working out so well and the church had a price on his head where he was wanted dead or alive so he decided being a priest was no longer a good career choice. His writings also had started a revolution so he started a new church. He didn’t like the name but others started calling it a Lutheran church.

He never liked the idea of priests not being allowed to marry so he arranged something fishy for the priests who followed him into this new church. There were some nuns who had been reading some of his books and they wanted to join this new church. One day a merchant delivered several large wooden barrels of pickled herring to the convent and while there he picked up the old empty barrels and several of the nuns hid inside the barrels and snuck out. Luther arranged for all of the nuns to marry these new Lutheran priests and was successful in all but one case. A feisty young lady named Katie just wouldn’t go for it. After she turned down all the men Luther found for her, Luther got mad at her and yelled, “Well then who are you going to marry???!!!!!” She looked at him and said ….. YOU!! Luther knew when to stop arguing so he got married instead.

They set up a large home in Wittenberg where Luther sat around and drank beer and taught classes, wrote songs, organized a new church structure, wrote several books and started a reformation that changed the whole world. In the mean time, Katie had six children, got up at 4am (earning her the nickname of Morning Star) and ran a farm and a brewery to help fund the reformation and feed all the people Martin kept inviting home for dinner who would sometimes stay for months.

Some things that came about because of Luther and his friend Philip Melanchthon were:
• Lots of new songs for the church including several that were pop tunes of the day with new words written for them
• Two sacraments, communion and baptism, for the church instead of seven.
• Free medical care for the towns people
• Free education for all the towns children
• A sanitation system and fresh clean water for all the towns people
• One of the first environmental laws passed (allowing Katie to draw clean water from the river to make beer)
• The small catechism for families to use to teach their children in their homes all about God’s grace.
• A whole new movement in faith with the focus on salvation coming from God because God loves us the way a parent loves a child, he called it grace.
• A new political idea based on the church’s new bottom up idea of how each of us stands before God, it became known as democracy.
• A revolution that changed and continues to change the whole world.
• And a whole bunch of other good things.

So, Join us this month as we get ready to celebrate this wonderful event called the Reformation and remember that God loves you.