Today was another great Sunday. Tim, the fourth year at my field work church, and I went to church together. James, the second year at our church, is in Nebraska for his Grandpa's funeral. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. Since it was communion Sunday, I read the readings. Pastor gave a great sermon on the Old Testament Reading, about how God gives us double pay back for all of our sins. However, the point is the double pay back is not negative or revenge, but double blessings that we don't deserve for all our sins which should condemn us. The Gospel is always so good to hear each week.
Then after church, the Sunday School was preparing for their Christmas service so we just sat back and watched. The ladies group of the church did stop us after church and give us an early and very generous Christmas present. They told us they truly appreciate having us as a part of their church, which is always nice to hear. I really have been blessed by being assigned to Hope Lutheran.
Then after church, the Sunday School was preparing for their Christmas service so we just sat back and watched. The ladies group of the church did stop us after church and give us an early and very generous Christmas present. They told us they truly appreciate having us as a part of their church, which is always nice to hear. I really have been blessed by being assigned to Hope Lutheran.
Then we had lunch with Pastor like always. We began discussing one kid who comes to Youth group over lunch. He has had a rough home life, and now lives with his Grandma who is his legal guardian. She does not come to church, however, she does fortunately bring him for church on Sundays he is an acolyte or for youth group other Sundays. Pastor was telling us how the youth group were working on the Ten Commandments. They were specifically looking at the last few commandments by the end of the session. Pastor was explaining how according to these commandments even our thoughts can be sins. This boy looked at Pastor and said, "Wow, Jesus really did A LOT for us when He died for us didn't He." It hit a soft spot in me for a second as I silently gave thanks for this boy understanding the Gospel. We all agreed that as Pastors it is always nice to have those moments when you see the light bulb turn on and someone really gets all that unfolds with the Gospel. Here is this teenage boy who only comes once in awhile, is really just now working on his faith since he was never given the chance as a younger child, and the light bulb clicked on for him. He understood that Jesus died for ALL of our sins. Even a single bad thought that crosses our minds, even if we never once speak it or tell anyone else, it is still a sin that should make us imperfect and send us straight to our death and to Hell. However, the Gospel lets us know that Jesus died for every sin, no matter how small or how big, they all fell on Jesus' shoulders as He hung there nailed to that cross. That is definitely A LOT Jesus died for. Thanks be to Him who makes us 100% pure and blameless, and because of His victory over the sin even our thoughts are forgiven and forgotten by Him.
After church and lunch, I came back, changed, and Chris and I went to the gym. We played three games of one-on-one basketball. I beat him the first game, but then he went on a hot three pointers streak and beat me the next two games. We played some pool and ping pong on the stage which is the temporary game room to cool off. Just as we finished ping pong, two other guys showed up so we decided to play them in two-on-two basketball. Tennis Thursday, racquetball and tennis Saturday, and now basketball Sunday, I am exercising more this quarter than I have the last year. I also plan to play basketball for Inter-murals every Tuesday and volleyball for IM's every Thursday. So hopefully, just maybe, I can actually start losing some weight and be in a little better shape for once.
Tonight I am working on a bunch of Thank You's, these posts, some reading and homework, and then hopefully a good night sleep after playing so much basketball.
My other thought I wanted to include is an issue I have been thinking about a lot lately. As I sit in class and look around the room, or when I am eating at the cafeteria and I scan across the faces, or even the other night at the faculty party as I watched the many professors all mingle together, I realized a huge fact. Even though we are all here to worship one God, even though we are all taking the same classes, even though we graduate with the same degree, we are all our own individual self. There are roughly six hundred students attending the seminary here in St. Louis, and several hundred more at Fort Wayne. And yet, every pastor at every church is still his own unique self. We use the same liturgy every Sunday, and we preach on the same text each Sunday, and yet no two services are exactly the same neither are any two sermons exactly the same. God has given us each our own gifts and talents to use to be our selves as pastors. So yes it is true, pastors are humans. They have their strengths and weaknesses just like anyone else. However, that is a pretty amazing thing in my view. The fact that six hundred different people, who have had different back grounds and different up bringings, can all come together and work together to all serve one God. I really appreciated it as I began mentally listing each professor's strengths. They are all such amazing, intelligent, faithful men and yet each have their own gifts in teaching us. Each class is its own class, offering its own education partly because each class is taught by a different man who uses his gifts to best teach us students. Just as pastors use the gifts God has given them to best serve and guide the faith of their congregation. Church would be pretty boring if each pastor came out of this institution a robot trained and programmed to say the same thing. It is the personality and humanity of pastors that allows them to make personal relationships with their congregants which makes the Gospel personal and more meaningful. If a robot tells you the Lord loves you and forgives you, or a pastor who has known you for years, knows your whole family on first name basis, and has watched your children grow up, been there in times of death or times of celebrations like weddings and baptisms tells you the same thing, which one will actually make you feel loved and forgiven? I think it is pretty awesome the Lord can use thousands of individuals to make up one body of believers. All Praise be to Him that He loves us each enough to make us a special individual child of His.
Tonight I am working on a bunch of Thank You's, these posts, some reading and homework, and then hopefully a good night sleep after playing so much basketball.
My other thought I wanted to include is an issue I have been thinking about a lot lately. As I sit in class and look around the room, or when I am eating at the cafeteria and I scan across the faces, or even the other night at the faculty party as I watched the many professors all mingle together, I realized a huge fact. Even though we are all here to worship one God, even though we are all taking the same classes, even though we graduate with the same degree, we are all our own individual self. There are roughly six hundred students attending the seminary here in St. Louis, and several hundred more at Fort Wayne. And yet, every pastor at every church is still his own unique self. We use the same liturgy every Sunday, and we preach on the same text each Sunday, and yet no two services are exactly the same neither are any two sermons exactly the same. God has given us each our own gifts and talents to use to be our selves as pastors. So yes it is true, pastors are humans. They have their strengths and weaknesses just like anyone else. However, that is a pretty amazing thing in my view. The fact that six hundred different people, who have had different back grounds and different up bringings, can all come together and work together to all serve one God. I really appreciated it as I began mentally listing each professor's strengths. They are all such amazing, intelligent, faithful men and yet each have their own gifts in teaching us. Each class is its own class, offering its own education partly because each class is taught by a different man who uses his gifts to best teach us students. Just as pastors use the gifts God has given them to best serve and guide the faith of their congregation. Church would be pretty boring if each pastor came out of this institution a robot trained and programmed to say the same thing. It is the personality and humanity of pastors that allows them to make personal relationships with their congregants which makes the Gospel personal and more meaningful. If a robot tells you the Lord loves you and forgives you, or a pastor who has known you for years, knows your whole family on first name basis, and has watched your children grow up, been there in times of death or times of celebrations like weddings and baptisms tells you the same thing, which one will actually make you feel loved and forgiven? I think it is pretty awesome the Lord can use thousands of individuals to make up one body of believers. All Praise be to Him that He loves us each enough to make us a special individual child of His.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You created every animal, bird, fish, and plant by your Word. You created Adam and Eve with Your hands and breath and made them in Your image. Thank you for also making us Your special children in Your image. Please never let us forget who our loving Father that provides for and sustains us is, never let us forget ALL that our Savior, Your Son did for us as He died and rose again to forgive ALL of our sins, and keep Your Spirit with us always, that we may remain strong in the one true faith. In Jesus name, who we worship with You and Your Spirit forever and always. Amen.
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