Your Church Family Loves and Misses You

To those of you who have stepped away from your church family over the years, as well as those brothers and sisters in Christ whom we do not see very often…

We love you. We miss you. We desire nothing less than to have you join us again so that together we may receive Christ’s gracious gifts as a family. We’d love to welcome you back with open arms and great joy.

There are many reasons why someone steps away from a congregation, or makes the receiving of Christ’s gracious gifts in Word and Sacrament a low priority. Life is busy. Schedules are full. Work. Sleep. Family. Sporting events. People said things they shouldn’t have. Feelings were hurt. Was asked to volunteer. Wasn’t asked to volunteer. Don’t like the pastor. Don’t like the service. Don’t like so-and-so or such-and-such. I can be spiritual without going to church. They’re all hypocrites anyway. And so on and so forth.

Whatever your reason(s), we ask you to remember who we are and whose we are.

We are a congregation made up exclusively of sinners. People who have hurt others by our words and actions. People whose hearts have been filled with anger, hatred, resentment, lust, greed, envy, jealousy, selfishness. People who have idolized all sorts of false gods. People who have taken God’s name in vain. People who have despised preaching and the Word. People whose sinful nature too often gets the best of us. There are sinners of every stripe in our midst. Young and old. Extrovert and introvert. We are far from perfect. Never have been. Never will be on this side of death. In fact, we are a family of poor, miserable sinners. We are neither better nor worse than you. Each of us is broken. Each of us is weak and weary. Each of us is in need of God’s grace. We do not have all the answers to life’s questions. Nor can we solve every problem.

But this we do have. A God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. A God who has compassion on us and loves us unconditionally. A God whose love for us moved Him to take on our flesh and blood, walk this sinful earth, breathe this poisoned air, shoulder the entire burden of our sin, and die in our place on a cross so that we would never taste of eternal wages we deserve. A God who grants new life to those dead in trespasses and sins. A God who loves, forgives, and shows mercy without end. A God who creates clean hearts and willing spirits. A God who claims us as His own at the font, fills our ears with His life-giving words and promises, and feeds us the very body and blood of Jesus that unites Him to us and us to Him. A God that gathers His children together into a household—a congregation—wherein He abundantly pours forth His gracious gifts.

It’s easy and convenient in our day and age to want to go it alone. To think that Christianity is simply “me and Jesus.” But God’s Word says otherwise. God the Father—through His Son and in His Spirit—adopts us into a family. His family. As His family, the Lord calls us to gather together in His house around His table for His meal. That’s why the apostles established congregations. Why Saint Paul addressed his letters to congregations. Christians congregate. They meet together. They gather together where the Triune God comes to bless in Word and Sacrament.

By His grace and in His name, on Christ’s terms and not our own, we gather together on the Lord’s Day to hold His Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it, to hear anew the story of our salvation, to eat from His table, to put to death our selfishness, to be transformed by the love of Christ, to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, to pray for the needs of all, to bear one another’s burdens, to encourage one another, to build one another up in the one true faith, and to promote works of love and service to those whom God places in our path.

We love you. We miss you. We will not stop reaching out to you. We desire nothing less than to have you join us again so that together we may receive Christ’s gracious gifts as a family. We’d love to welcome you back with open arms and great joy.

Will you join us?

Graciously,
Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ

God Isn’t Tardy or Absent

It’s that time of year again. The kids are back in school. And that means a whole new round of frenzy over why God is not in our schools any more.

This past week I’ve seen numerous people post a photo of children to Facebook with the caption, “Let’s let God back in our schools!” (together with the obligatory “Share if you agree!”). Such sentiments are put forth by well meaning people. Perhaps they are lamenting the fact that a Christian teacher may no longer ask her students to bow their heads as she offers a prayer. Maybe there are other related reasons as well.

I refuse to jump on this bandwagon. For starters, do you really believe that a school district has the power to kick God out of school? If so, you worship a weak God. Try running away from Him sometime. Jonah tried. Epic fail! God is present everywhere. The psalmist rhetorically asks, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). The answer: Nowhere. God is present everywhere.

But even better than the omnipresence of God is the God who came to dwell among us, full of grace and truth, in Jesus Christ. Jesus is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is God for you. Jesus comes to you in Word and Sacrament that He might dwell in you and you in Him.

In Holy Baptism, the Father named you His beloved child, clothed you in Christ’s perfect righteousness, and gave you His Holy Spirit. Each and every Lord’s Day He feeds and nourishes your baptismal faith in Him through Word and Sacrament. All so that you may go forth into your various vocations in His forgiveness, with His blessing, and as His people. Where you go, Christ goes. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Thus, it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you. And the life you now live in the flesh you live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you (Galatians 2:20).

You are mistaken if you think the Triune God is tardy or absent from your school. For where you are, so is the Triune God whose name you bear. In you, God is present with skin on. Martin Luther wrote, “It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor.” School in one such setting in which your vocation includes being Christ to your neighbor. What a joy!

So your school does not allow your teacher to pray publicly with her students. It cannot stop her from praying privately for her students and fellow teachers. Nor can it stop you from praying for your teachers, your fellow students, and anyone else who needs your prayers.

So your school exclusively teaches the theory of evolution and will not allow any talk of a seven-day creation. It cannot force you to abandon the truth of God’s Word anymore than it can stop you from speaking about it with your friends.

So your school bans or limits “Christian” organizations. It cannot stop you from attending the Divine Service, Bible study, and Sunday School at church, from devotion and prayer at school or home, and from inviting others to join you in growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

Sometimes I wonder why Christians think they can have their Jesus, their Scriptures, their faith without the hatred and persecution that come with it. Since no one can rob you of your faith, your worship, your devotions, or your prayers, why do a secular school’s rules so upset you? Perhaps what upsets you is not their rules, but the fact that you are called to deny yourself, take up your cross, follow Christ, and endure the persecution that comes your way on account of Him. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18).

Jesus said it would be this way. So get out there, go to school, remember who you are as a baptized child of God, and “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9), “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Will you be mocked or ridiculed? Possibly. Laughed at or reviled? Perhaps. In Christ, you already have God’s approval. So why do you seek man’s approval?

God grant you the faith, the strength, and the courage to be the hands and voice of Christ to those whom He places in your path. Especially at school!

True Worship

[1] In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. [2] Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. [3] And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” [4] And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. [5] And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” [6] Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. [7] And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” [Isaiah 6:1-7 ESV]

This beautiful text reveals the following about true worship:

• God is really present in His temple/house (6:1)
• Man is sinful and unworthy to be in God’s presence (6:5)
• Worship is directed to the Triune God (6:3)
• Worship acknowledges God’s holiness (6:3)
• Worship includes a confession of sin (6:5)
• God’s forgiveness is spoken by His servant (6:6-7)
• God’s forgiveness is delivered through means (6:6-7)