I always enjoy watching our school ministry students share the Christmas Gospel during our special Advent family worship services. It is amazing how such a profound message of the Son of God becoming also true man, born of the Virgin, can be retold even by the very young who accept the truth without question. They share their lines and sing their songs with great enthusiasm. I will say, however, that there is always one thing that kind of disappoints me. It’s the lack of singing when the adults present are asked to join in singing.

This weekend the third candle of the Advent wreath will be lit along with the first two. On our wreath in the sanctuary, the ribbon below it is pink. Why the different color? The theme for the third week of Advent is: “Rejoice!”

For some young girls participating in Christmas pageants, portraying the Virgin Mary may be a dream role with all the attention on them. But for Mary who is told by an angel that she will go through a pregnancy that will come about in a truly unique fashion and that the Baby to whom she will give birth is the very Son of God… talk about pressure (not to mention all the attention she will get from those who want to know the “real story” behind her being with child).

Have you ever felt guilty for being frustrated by things which, compared to what others are going through, are more of an annoyance than anything else?

Last Saturday, I spent a good portion of the day removing fallen leaves from my yard (a process that will have to be repeated since some trees are stubbornly refusing to drop leaves at the same time as others). While outside, the sounds of leaf blowers and lawnmowers filled the air…

After all the commercials, mailings, calls, texts, and negative rhetoric the presidential election is over. This does not mean that everyone is happy with the results.

As followers of Jesus, we have a destination towards which we are headed: heaven.

We read in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” But when you can’t see how God is working through all things for the good of those who love Him, perhaps you’ve prayed something like this: “Dear Lord, I know that You know what You are doing, but can You help me to see what You’re doing in this situation in my life?” 

This weekend’s Gospel reading tells us about Jesus’ disciples James and John asking that Jesus would grant their request that one would sit at His right and the other at His left in His Kingdom.

When the other disciples heard about it, they were upset.

This weekend’s Gospel reading is about a man who came to Jesus wanting to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. He was encouraged by Jesus to sell everything he had, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. The man went away sad because he had great wealth. The issue for the man was the difficulty in letting go and letting God.

We’ve entered October, and with a new month comes a new Mission of the Month: Lutheran Braille Workers. As stated on their website (lbwloveworks.org), “Lutheran Braille Workers exists to bring the Word of God to the 338 million people throughout the world who are blind or visually impaired …. In over 80 years of ministry, Lutheran Braille Workers has produced and distributed over 15 million volumes of Christian material, in 40 languages, to people in 164 countries. LBW has never charged a recipient to receive these materials as we believe in freely sharing God’s Word!”

This weekend, we’re finishing our series of messages based on sections from James with a message I’m titling “Prayerful Patience.” Patience, or forbearance, as it is sometimes translated, is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed by St. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. I must admit, there are times when that fruit might be very evident in my life, and others not so much. For instance, I find myself becoming increasingly impatient when I am watching my favorite sports teams losing games, sometimes due to mistakes which I feel should not be made.

Ever since the Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970, I have been a fan. There have been more non-playoff years than playoff years, and so now that the Brewers have become the first team this year to win their division and reach the playoffs again, I am very happy.

This weekend’s message will continue our “Membership Has Its Obligations” series based on the epistle of James. Our focus will be on edifying speech. As James points out, none of us is perfect in this regard. But that doesn’t mean we simply say, “Well, I can’t help it.” What we can’t do, God can. “All things are possible for him who believes,” as Jesus points out in this weekend’s Gospel reading. But the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification (making us more and more like Jesus in our attitudes and actions), is a life-long process.

Today (Thursday, August 22) is the first day of our school ministry’s 2024-2025 academic year. Each year, a Bible verse is chosen to be the theme for the year. This year, it’s Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

During our worship services for the next few weekends, we’ll continue to go through the final chapters of Ephesians, focusing on unity. Sometimes we think that unity means everyone must think the same, do the same things, and maybe even look the same. Christianity’s view of unity is much different.