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We serve the ultimate Commander in Chief Veterans Day observance First St Johns Nov 9, 2014

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Traducción española sigue el Inglés

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know Jesus as the leader of their life said … AMEN
Before I begin the planned sermon, I would like to take a moment to remember our brother, the Rev. Donald Biggs. Pastor Biggs has been a member of our congregation since he retired from the ministry. I have very much appreciated his guidance and support as I started my ministry. We certainly offer our condolences to his wife Mary Lynn our beloved sister and their two sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. We continue to keep Mary Lynn in our prayers as she has been suffering from health problems and we trust in the promises of Jesus that Pastor Don is in the presence of Jesus, now in perfect health and in perfect bliss before the throne of our Lord. (Time for silent prayer)
Today we honor our veterans, men and women who made a commitment to serve, protect and defend. Many of whom were often put into, at least, uncomfortable situations far from home, if not outright dangerous situations. The military teaches leadership right from the very beginning, even the most junior people are put into leadership positions or responsibilities. Beginning in boot camp there is a recruit company commander and other recruits put into leadership positions. Even in day to day situations junior people are often given authority for different tasks. The U.S. Military is unique among any other organizations in the world, often you are expected to follow commands without question, but quite often responsibility is pushed down to the lowest level to make decisions, part of being in the military is to not just be a good follower, but also a good leader. It has been recognized throughout history that quoting Aristotle: “’He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.” Despite the stereotype of those who have served in the military, you usually find people who are much more balanced, much more aware of the need to be an effective leader, much less concerned about their own gratification. There’s a very good reason for that, in politics, in government, in business, science, academia, it’s all about me and how I get ahead. There’s no danger, there’s no sharing, there’s no need to watch out for someone else, unless it’s to your benefit, it’s all about how anything enhances your life, everyone else just has to take care of themselves. Yea, in the military the consideration can be to your benefit, that you don’t get killed. But because you have built that sense of camaraderie with brothers and sisters, you also want to watch their backs. It is also much more about the common good, the good of each individual, when one benefits usually everyone does.
Again, too many times our “leaders” are only about how they are enhanced by being a leader. That’s simply not leadership. Leadership is about that agape love, that selfless love, that love that wants what is truly best for each person God leads you to, that love that Jesus showed to us on the cross and gives to us everyday through His grace, His hope, His promise. Napoleon said “A leader is a dealer in hope.” No doubt Napoleon’s motivation/definition of hope was in a very worldly sense and he wasn’t thinking about Jesus when he said that. But it is certainly true in Jesus, not in a cynical way, but in that true agape love way. The hope that He gives us in His resurrection, in the hope that He gives us for life eternal. Pastor Don liked to tell me how on Easter everyone was kept out of the sanctuary at sunrise, he came out on the roof of a tomb that had been built and with the sun at his back announcing to all who gathered “he is not here, He has risen”. We have that hope of eternal life, “He is risen…[He is risen indeed, hallelujah!]
Imagine a world where you did not have that love/leadership, not knowing that Jesus did step up, as Jesus tells us: “I have overcome the world.” This is so empowering, so comforting, so reassuring. In a recent study it was show that when people were monitored at work their quality and productivity was worse, they were stressed over being constantly watched, versus being enabled to be productive. Business is not a very forgiving environment, there may be ‘love’ when you’re on top, but there sure isn’t any if things aren’t going well. That’s what the world is all about, an old saying: “The world doesn’t want to hear about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby.” The further implication that not just having the baby, but also that the baby better stack up in terms of the expectations of the world, otherwise both mother and child have failed.
We know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are loved, we are inhabited by love and leadership, we have ready access to the forgiveness that is Jesus. He knows when we try for Him, when we demonstrate that sacrificial leadership of discipleship. He encourages us, He strengthens us, He picks us up, He dusts us off, maybe gives us new direction with promise and hope and then puts us on our feet, makes sure we know that we are loved with an everlasting love, squares our shoulders in the direction He wants us to go and then leads us on the path He puts us on. The Law/the world, monitors and checks us and usually intimidates the toughest of us. The Law/the world, never loves, it keeps us in fear and bondage and because of that we suffer, we don’t live to the level that God intends us to live at and when we fail (not if), the world just casts us into the junk heap. True leadership picks us up, equips us, loves us, is always with us “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:20 ESV) The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus always ready and we are always ready in Jesus.
Like the military you can be a new disciple and still be used mightily by the Lord, it is a lot like the military when you can be a junior person and still have responsibility over more senior person. I was in Puerto Rico for Tall Ships in 2001 to do security as coxswain of a 41 foot boat. Ended up doing a lot of taxiing, because it was the biggest most comfortable boat. Had to drive the zone commander from one end of the harbor to the other, going past where all the tall ships were moored. At one point a helicopter roars overhead and the commander tells me to hurry up because the vice commandant of the Coast Guard is on the helicopter. I had about a dozen passengers on board going past a bunch of historic ships and chose to ignore the commanders request. The safety and integrity of other people and boats took priority. He was just going to have to be a little late for the vice commandant. Often we have to ignore the world and rely on what the true CNC tells us, God is always our commander in chief, He wants what is best for us and for us to minister to those around us accordingly. When we are true leaders, true servants of Him, ready to serve and sacrifice as so many who do who are serving or have served in our military, then we are truly doing His will.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

Servimos el último comandante en jefe Día de los Veteranos observancia First St Johns 09 de noviembre 2014

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el Nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos los que conocen a Jesús como el líder de su vida dijo … AMEN
Antes de comenzar el sermón planeado, me gustaría tomar un momento para recordar a nuestro hermano, el reverendo Donald Biggs. Pastor Biggs ha sido miembro de nuestra congregación desde que se retiró del ministerio. He apreciado mucho su orientación y apoyo cuando empecé mi ministerio. Ciertamente Ofrecemos nuestras condolencias a su esposa Mary Lynn nuestra querida hermana, y sus dos hijos, hijas-en-ley y nietos. Seguimos mantener Mary Lynn en nuestras oraciones como ella ha estado sufriendo de problemas de salud y confiamos en las promesas de Jesús de que el pastor Don está en la presencia de Jesús, ahora en perfecto estado de salud y en la felicidad perfecta delante del trono de nuestro Señor. (La hora de la oración en silencio)
Hoy honramos a nuestros veteranos, hombres y mujeres que hicieron un compromiso de servir, proteger y defender. Muchos de los cuales fueron a menudo ponen en, al menos, las situaciones incómodas lejos de casa, si no en situaciones francamente peligrosas. El ejército enseña liderazgo adecuado desde el principio, incluso las personas más jóvenes se ponen en posiciones o responsabilidades de liderazgo. Comenzando en el campo de entrenamiento hay un comandante de la compañía recluta y otros reclutas puestos en posiciones de liderazgo. Incluso en el día a día situaciones de las personas jóvenes a menudo se dan autoridad para diferentes tareas. Los EE.UU. Militar es única entre las otras organizaciones en el mundo, a menudo se espera que siga órdenes sin cuestionarlas, pero muy a menudo la responsabilidad es empujado hacia abajo al nivel más bajo para tomar decisiones, parte de estar en el ejército es no sólo ser un buen seguidor, sino también un buen líder. Se ha reconocido a lo largo de la historia que citando a Aristóteles: “.” El que no puede ser un buen seguidor no puede ser un buen líder “A pesar del estereotipo de los que han servido en las fuerzas armadas, que se suele encontrar personas que son mucho más equilibrada, mucho más conscientes de la necesidad de ser un líder eficaz, mucho menos preocupados por su propia gratificación. Hay una muy buena razón para ello, en la política, en el gobierno, en los negocios, la ciencia, la academia, es todo acerca de mí y cómo me pongo por delante. No hay peligro, no hay intercambio, no hay necesidad de mirar hacia fuera para otra persona, a menos que sea para su beneficio, es todo acerca de cómo nada mejora su vida, todos los demás sólo tiene que cuidar de sí mismos. Sí, en el ejército la consideración puede ser para su beneficio, que no te maten. Pero debido a que usted ha construido ese sentido de camaradería con los hermanos y hermanas, que también quiere ver a sus espaldas. También es mucho más sobre el bien común, el bien de cada individuo, cuando uno se beneficia por lo general todo el mundo hace.
Una vez más, muchas veces nuestros “líderes” son sólo sobre la forma en que se ven reforzadas por ser un líder. Eso simplemente no es liderazgo. El liderazgo es acerca de que el amor ágape, el amor desinteresado, ese amor que quiere lo que es realmente mejor para cada persona que Dios te conduce a, de que el amor que Jesús mostró a nosotros en la cruz y nos da todos los días a través de su gracia, su esperanza, su prometer. Napoleón dijo: “Un líder es un distribuidor en la esperanza.” No hay duda de la motivación / definición de Napoleón de esperanza fue en un sentido muy mundana y no estaba pensando acerca de Jesús cuando dijo eso. Pero lo cierto es en Jesús, no de una manera cínica, pero en la que el verdadero camino del amor ágape. La esperanza de que Él nos da en Su resurrección, en la esperanza de que Él nos da la vida eterna. Pastor Don gustaba decirme cómo en Pascua todo el mundo se mantuvo fuera del santuario al amanecer, salió en el techo de una tumba que había sido construido y con el sol a sus espaldas anunciando a todos los que se reunieron “él no está aquí, ha resucitado “. Tenemos la esperanza de la vida eterna, “Él ha resucitado … [Él ha resucitado, aleluya!]
Imagina un mundo donde no tiene que el amor / liderazgo, sin saber que Jesús intensifique, como Jesús nos dice: “. Yo he vencido al mundo” Esto es por lo que empodera, tan reconfortante, tan reconfortante. En un estudio reciente se muestra que cuando las personas se controlaron en el trabajo de su calidad y la productividad era peor, se destacaron por haber sido constantemente vigilado, frente está habilitado para ser productivos. Negocio no es un ambiente muy indulgente, puede haber ‘amor’ cuando estás en la cima, pero no seguro que no es ninguna si las cosas no van bien. Eso es lo que el mundo es todo alrededor, un viejo dicho: “El mundo no quiere oír hablar de los dolores de parto, lo que quieren es ver al bebé.” La implicación, además, que no sólo tenga el bebé, sino también de que el bebé mejor apilan en términos de las expectativas del mundo, de lo contrario la madre y el niño han fallado.
Sabemos que el Espíritu Santo mora en nosotros, somos un templo del Espíritu Santo. Somos amados, que están habitadas por el amor y el liderazgo, tenemos fácil acceso al perdón que es Jesús. Él sabe cuando tratamos de Él, cuando se demuestra que el liderazgo sacrificial de discipulado. Él nos anima, nos fortalece, nos levanta, nos desempolva, tal vez nos da una nueva dirección con la promesa y la esperanza y luego nos pone en pie, se asegura de que sabemos que somos amados con un amor eterno, plazas nuestros hombros en la dirección que quiere que vayamos y luego nos lleva por el camino que Él nos pone. La Ley / el mundo, los monitores y los controles de los Estados Unidos y por lo general intimida el más duro de nosotros. La Ley / el mundo, nunca se ama, que nos mantiene en el miedo y la esclavitud y por eso sufrimos, no viven al nivel que Dios nos tiene la intención de vivir en y cuando fallamos (no si), el mundo sólo nos hace caer en el montón de chatarra. El verdadero liderazgo nos recoge, nos equipa, nos ama, está siempre con nosotros “Y he aquí que yo estoy con vosotros todos los días hasta el fin del mundo.” (Mateo 28:20 NVI) El lema de la Guardia Costera es Semper Paratus siempre listo y estamos siempre listos en Jesús.
Al igual que los militares puede ser un nuevo discípulo y todavía ser usado poderosamente por el Señor, que se parece mucho a los militares cuando se puede ser una persona menor y aún así tener la responsabilidad sobre más persona mayor. Yo estaba en Puerto Rico para la Tall Ships en 2001 para hacer la seguridad como timonel de un barco de 41 pies. Acabé haciendo un montón de rodaje, porque era el mayor barco más cómodo. Tuvimos que conducir el comandante de zona desde un extremo del puerto al otro, más allá de ir a donde estaban amarrados los barcos de altura. En un momento un helicóptero ruge encima de la cabeza y el comandante me dice que se diera prisa porque el vice comandante de la Guardia Costera está en el helicóptero. Tuve una docena de pasajeros a bordo que van más allá de un puñado de barcos históricos y decidió ignorar solicitan los comandantes. La seguridad y la integridad de otras personas y embarcaciones tomaron prioridad. Él sólo iba a tener que ser un poco tarde para el vice comandante. Muchas veces tenemos que ignorar el mundo y confiamos en lo que el verdadero CNC nos dice, Dios es siempre nuestro comandante en jefe, Él quiere lo mejor para nosotros y para nosotros para ministrar a los que nos rodean en consecuencia. Cuando somos líderes verdaderos, verdaderos siervos de Él, dispuestos a servir y sacrificio como tantos que hacen que están sirviendo o han servido en nuestras fuerzas armadas, entonces estamos haciendo realmente su voluntad.
La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Shalom y Amin.

The saints of Jesus, those who live with authenticity First Saint Johns, November 2, 2014

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Traducción española sigue el texto Inglés

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We make our beginning in the name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and inthe Name of God the Holy Spirit. I’m going to say good morning saints of York and you’re going to say good morning Saint Jim, Good morning saints of York…

And all God’s people said AMEN! We celebrate All Saints Day today, which is also the same day as Reformation Day which we will observe in this afternoon’s worship, the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses.
Halloween, which was observed on Friday, has its roots in a Gaelic pagan holiday called Samhain [pronounced sawin] which is when it was thought that spirits and fairies could more easily move into the physical world. The souls of the dead would visit the places where they lived. Halloween is the second most observed celebration after Christmas. For those in the secular world who love to think of how pragmatic and reality driven they are, one writer observed that “Halloween is he ultimate holiday of pretending… we dress up and ‘pretend’ to be someone or something other than ourselves…” In other words it simply emphasizes the phoniness of the world that we live in. A world that denies the reality of a loving, Creator God and tries to make itself into something much better that it’s not. The world loves to concern its self with the phoney aspect of “spirituality” which many people today readily buy into and deny the true spirituality that is Jesus Christ. I keep searching, but I can find no where that explains what people really think that kind of spirituality will do, except that it gives them the feeling of being in control, but never really how that control is realized. How it works in terms of eternity? No one seems to be the least bit interested. The world talks a good game about being “genuine”, of authenticity, but you rarely see it, it’s only in terms of their deluded perception of a world without God and then they wonder why they always feel lost, frightened and alone. There is only one source of authenticity and that is in Jesus. When we are a saint in Jesus are we truly authentic, part of which is being humble, that is when we trust the Lord to live the life that He has saved us for. To be sure being a Christian is much more than the Beatitudes, our reading today, but we certainly model authenticity when we do our best to live that life through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Beatitudes are not our works, they are the fruit of the Holy Spirit who is working through us. We still sin, the world thinks that we should live in perfection. No, the saints will always be fallible people, the old man lives in each of the saints, but the Holy Spirit moves us again and again to live up to the Beatitudes. The world tries to live its own virtues, but it is very clear that those virtues are only to enhance their own life and the fruit of their own spirit, the spirit of the world and not of the Holy Spirit. Roy Lloyd tells the following: “…a man who arrived in 1953 at the Chicago railroad station to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. As he stepped off the train… as the cameras flashed and city officials approached … he thanked them politely. Then he asked to be excused for a moment. He walked through the crowd to the side of an elderly black woman struggling with two large suitcases. He picked them up, smiled and escorted her to the bus, helped her get on and wished her a safe journey. Then Albert Schweitzer turned to the crowd and apologized for keeping them waiting. It is reported that one member of the reception committee told a reporter, ‘That’s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking.’” Schweitzer was a German theologian, a Lutheran, an organist who studied Bach, a physician, a medical missionary to Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of “Reverence for Life”, evidenced in his founding of a hospital in Gabon around the turn of the twentieth century. It is interesting how a saint of Christ who produced so much fruit as a Christian disciple, so accomplished and yet in a huge crowd, was the only one who noticed an elderly lady who needed help, then and there, to make her next connection for her trip. A simple act from a man who served our Lord in such magnificent ways, a great saint of Christ.
David Kinneman was the speaker at the conference in North Carolina I attended. One thing he returned to over and over in his presentation was that today’s younger generations and, I submit most people in the world, are looking for, is authenticty, genuinness. They know and we who are in Christ know that the world is not genuine. All the institutions of the world fail repeatedly and yet try to convince of their authority and authenticity even while they impose on our society and repeatedly fail. All of us can relate to how we can see through the thin veil of hypocrisy around us. The church is often accused of hypocrisy and often for good reason. We try to convince the world that we are perfect saints in Jesus and yet our attempt is shattered when we look at the true saints. Paul called himself the chief of all sinners. He didn’t say that in an attempt to appear to be pious, he knew of the sins he had committed against Jesus and His church and he acknowledged them and continued to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Not as some kind of way to atone for His sins. Why? His sins had been paid for at the Cross, Paul knew there was nothing he could add to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Jesus paid for our sins through His suffering and sacrifice. We, as His saints, are saved in His sacrifice, but as His saints we faithfully follow the leading, encouragement, promise and hope of the Holy Spirit which is the only way we can live out the Beatitudes. We acknowledge our failings, our sin. When we try to convince the world that we are perfect and above all the evil of the world, the world can see right through us. But when we acknowledge that the only way that we are perfect is through Jesus and only through His grace and forgiveness, that we still struggle and still fail in sin, then the world may know salvation through Jesus.
We are valuable, we are His creation and are saved by Him through Christ. We have to remember how valuable we are to God. John writes: “See what kind of love [that is the agape love} the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him… but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,..” We shall be His saints and we will be perfect, not in ourselves, but in Him who died for us, and because of that we are valuable to the Father and He loves His children with the highest expression of love.
Dr Luther wrote: ‘Tomorrow I have to lecture on the drunkenness of Noah [Gen 9: 20-27]; so I should drink enough this evening to be able to talk about that wickedness as one who knows by experience.” Luther was authentic, I’m not telling you to imitate authenticity to that degree, but it is to acknowledge that we are tempted and occasionally fail.
Since the elders, the saints in Christ will be gathered around the throne of God in heaven as we read in Revelation 7:12, the saints praising God and worshiping Him, let’s pull out the lyrics inserted in your bulletin and let’s praise Him here and now: I love you Lord, lyrics by Petra…
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el nombre de Dios Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el Nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo. Yo voy a decir buenas santos de la mañana de York y vas a dar los buenos días en Saint Jim, buenos santos de la mañana de York …
Y todo el pueblo de Dios dijo AMEN! Celebramos hoy el Día de Todos los Santos, que es también el mismo día como Día de la Reforma que observaremos en el culto de esta tarde, el día en que Martín Lutero clavó sus 95 tesis.
Halloween, que se observó el viernes, tiene sus raíces en un día de fiesta pagano gaélico llamado Samhain [Sawin pronunciado], que es cuando se pensaba que los espíritus y hadas podían moverse con mayor facilidad en el mundo físico. Las almas de los muertos visitaban los lugares donde vivían. Halloween es la segunda fiesta más observado después de la Navidad. Para aquellos en el mundo secular que les gusta pensar en cómo pragmático y la realidad que son impulsados, un escritor señaló que “Halloween es él último día de fiesta de fingir … nos vestimos y ‘pretender’ ser alguien o algo distinto de nosotros mismos. .. “En otras palabras, simplemente pone de relieve la falsedad del mundo en que vivimos. un mundo que niega la realidad de un cariño, Dios Creador y trata de hacer en algo mucho mejor que no lo es. El mundo ama a preocuparse de su auto con el aspecto falso de “espiritualidad” que muchas personas hoy en día comprar fácilmente en y negar la verdadera espiritualidad que es Jesucristo. Sigo buscando, pero no encuentro donde explica que lo que la gente realmente piensa que tipo de espiritualidad va a hacer, excepto que les da la sensación de estar en control, pero nunca realmente cómo se realiza ese control. ¿Cómo funciona en términos de la eternidad? Nadie parece ser el más mínimo interés. El mundo habla un buen juego de ser “auténtico”, de autenticidad, pero que rara vez se ve, es sólo en términos de su percepción ilusoria de un mundo sin Dios y luego se preguntan por qué siempre se siente perdida, asustada y sola. Sólo hay una fuente de autenticidad y que está en Jesús. Cuando estamos a un santo en Jesús son verdaderamente auténtico, parte de la cual está siendo humilde, que es cuando confiamos en el Señor para vivir la vida que Él nos ha salvado para. Para estar seguro de ser cristiano es mucho más que las Bienaventuranzas, nuestra lectura de hoy, pero sin duda modelar autenticidad cuando hacemos nuestro mejor esfuerzo para vivir esa vida a través del poder del Espíritu Santo. Las Bienaventuranzas no son nuestras obras, que son el fruto del Espíritu Santo que está trabajando a través de nosotros. Todavía el pecado, el mundo piensa que debemos vivir en la perfección. No, los santos siempre serán personas falibles, el anciano vive en cada uno de los santos, pero el Espíritu Santo nos mueve una y otra vez a la altura de las Bienaventuranzas. El mundo trata de vivir sus propias virtudes, pero es muy claro que esas virtudes son sólo para mejorar su propia vida y el fruto de su propio espíritu, el espíritu del mundo y no del Espíritu Santo. Roy Lloyd dice lo siguiente: “… un hombre que llegó en 1953 en la estación de ferrocarril de Chicago para recibir el Premio Nobel de la Paz. Como él bajó del tren … como las cámaras destellaron y funcionarios de la ciudad se acercaron … él les dio las gracias cortésmente. Entonces él pidió ser excusado por un momento. Caminó a través de la multitud hacia el lado de una mujer de negro anciano que lucha con dos grandes maletas. Él los recogió, sonrió y la escoltó hasta el autobús, la ayudó a subir y le deseó un buen viaje. Luego Albert Schweitzer se volvió hacia la multitud y se disculpó por mantenerlos esperando. Se ha informado de que un miembro del comité de recepción le dijo a un reportero, “Esa es la primera vez que vi un pie sermón. ‘” Schweitzer fue un teólogo alemán, luterano, un organista que estudió Bach, un médico, un médico misionero a África. Fue galardonado con el Premio Nobel de la Paz por su filosofía de “Reverencia por la Vida”, se evidencia en su fundación de un hospital en Gabón alrededor de la vuelta del siglo XX. Es interesante cómo un santo de Cristo, que produce tanta fruta como un discípulo cristiano, por lo realizado y aún en una gran multitud, era el único que se dio cuenta de una anciana que necesitaba ayuda, entonces y allí, para hacer su próxima conexión para su viaje. Un simple acto de un hombre que sirvió a nuestro Señor de una manera tan magníficas, un gran santo de Cristo.
David Kinneman fue el orador en la conferencia en Carolina del Norte que asistí. Una cosa que él regresó a una y otra vez en su presentación fue que las generaciones más jóvenes de hoy en día y, a mi juicio la mayoría de la gente en el mundo, están buscando, es authenticty, genuinness. Ellos saben y nosotros, los que están en Cristo saben que el mundo no es genuino. Todas las instituciones del mundo fallan en repetidas ocasiones y, sin embargo tratar de convencer de su autoridad y autenticidad, incluso mientras ellos imponen en nuestra sociedad y en repetidas ocasiones fallan. Todos nosotros podemos relacionar con la forma en que podemos ver a través del fino velo de la hipocresía que nos rodea. La iglesia es a menudo acusado de hipocresía y, a menudo por una buena razón. Tratamos de convencer al mundo de que somos santos perfectos en Jesús y sin embargo nuestro intento se hizo añicos cuando nos fijamos en los santos verdaderos. Pablo llamó a sí mismo el jefe de todos los pecadores. Él no dijo que en un intento de que parecen ser piadoso, él sabía de los pecados que había cometido en contra de Jesús y su iglesia y él los reconoció y continuó a producir el fruto del Espíritu Santo. No es como una especie de forma de expiar sus pecados. ¿Por qué? Sus pecados han sido pagados a la Cruz, Pablo sabía que no había nada que pudiera añadir a sacrificio de Jesús por nosotros. Jesús pagó por nuestros pecados a través de Su sufrimiento y sacrificio. Nosotros, como sus santos, somos salvos en Su sacrificio, sino como sus santos que fielmente seguimos el liderazgo, ánimo, esperanza y promesa del Espíritu Santo, que es la única manera en que podemos vivir las Bienaventuranzas. Reconocemos nuestras faltas, nuestros pecados. Cuando tratamos de convencer al mundo de que somos perfectos, y sobre todo el mal del mundo, el mundo puede ver a través de nosotros. Pero cuando reconocemos que la única manera de que somos perfectos es a través de Jesús y sólo a través de su gracia y el perdón, que todavía luchamos y todavía fallamos en el pecado, entonces el mundo conozca la salvación a través de Jesús.
Estamos valioso, nosotros somos su creación y somos salvos por Él a través de Cristo. Tenemos que recordar lo valioso que somos para Dios. Juan escribe: “ver qué tipo de amor [que es el amor ágape} el Padre nos ha dado: que seamos llamados hijos de Dios; y así estamos. La razón por la cual el mundo no sabe de nosotros es que no lo conocía … pero sabemos que cuando él se manifieste, seremos semejantes a él, .. “Vamos a ser sus santos y vamos a ser perfecto, no en nosotros mismos, sino en Aquel que murió por nosotros, y debido a que somos valiosos para el Padre y Él ama a sus hijos con la expresión más alta del amor.
Dr. Lutero escribió: “Mañana tengo que dar una conferencia sobre la embriaguez de Noé [Génesis 9: 20-27]; así que deben beber suficiente esta noche para poder hablar de que la maldad como alguien que sabe por experiencia. “Lutero era auténtica, no te estoy diciendo que imitar autenticidad a ese grado, pero es reconocer que somos tentados y ocasionalmente fallar.
Dado que los ancianos, los santos en Cristo se reunieron alrededor del trono de Dios en el cielo, como leemos en Apocalipsis 07:12, los santos alabando a Dios y lo adoran, vamos a tirar hacia fuera las letras insertadas en su boletín y Alabemosle aquí y ahora: Te amo Señor, letra de Petra …
La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Shalom y Amin.

119. Refraction

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Apple Hill Cottage's avatarthe circle of life

Refraction —

the change of direction
of a ray of light
or sound,
in passing obliquely
from one medium into another
in which
wave velocity
is
different.
IMG_4684.JPG
I pray for refraction.

God’s light shining through
the curtains,
IMG_4560.JPG
the leaves,
fall leaves
the shadows,
Porch shadows
the water,
icicles

the air I breathe in —
Ruah
–passing obliquely
from one medium through another.

Change my wave velocity,
refract
remake
redeem me
to reflect Christ.
IMG_3864.JPG

This was inspired by the word for the weekly photo challenge — Refraction.

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Faits sur l’Ebola

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It’s in French, talking about the U.S. CDC, but it does question what the CDC is saying, that you might want to be a little more cautious and it might be more infectious then what is being said.

dr anto youssef's avatarBlogue dentaire du Dr Anto Youssef

Les centres pour le contrôle et la prévention des maladies aux États-Unis (CDC) a créé cette fiche d’information pour informer la population de comment on peut s’infecter par le virus.

facts-ebola-cdc

On ne peut pas s’infecter par le virus d’Ebola :

  • à travers l’air;
  • à travers l’eau;
  • à travers les aliments.

On peut s’y infecter seulement :

  • en touchant le sang ou les fluides corporels d’une personne qui est malade qui est morte de l’Ebola;
  • en touchant des objets contaminés comme des seringues;
  • en touchant des animaux infectés, leur sang ou fluides corporels, ou leur viandes.

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Random thoughts, quick comments

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Player with brain tumor fulfills basketball dream

I wish sometimes that I could be more gracious about some things, more “understanding”, yea I get it, people have different opinions. Why is it that simply because one random person has a “different” opinion and it all of a sudden becomes valid? Just watching NBC news. A commentator makes the observation in terms of “assisted suicide”, that Dr Jack Kevorkian scared people, but now they have a spokesman who is young, attractive, articulate and as of today dead. Brittany Maynard had brain cancer and chose to commit suicide and she chose to do it in the public spotlight to raise the discussion on “assisted suicide”. It’s as if it’s OK, it’s an act to be applauded, one thing’s for sure Ms Maynard is no longer the spokesperson. How does someone put someone on a pedestal has affirmed quitting, death doesn’t accomplish a thing, except to make a martyr. How do you make a martyr out of someone who chose death rather than have it imposed on them? Ms Maynard was used by a group of people with a death agenda, who are still otherwise alive and planning the next step of their agenda.

Lauren Hill has a brain tumor. Lauren is a freshman at Ohio State University and just played her first NCAA basketball game. God bless her, she’s still out there trying, she’s still living. She’s young, attractive, probably articulate, but yea, she’s not getting the kind of press from the culture of death that Ms Maynard got. I readily found the information on Ms Maynard, took a lot more work on Ms Hill. Ya some people will try to shut me up by saying that you don’t know. I have to say one thing, I hope I will be as tough as a nineteen year old woman. I have given it some thought and I feel very strongly that while I had time to live there is so much that could be done. Death was never God’s will, we were not made to die, we were made to live. It’s only through our sin and selfishness that we bring on death. Why compound the sin and waste what time God has given men? While we live we have the opportunity to live for God and our fellow man, to do good works and reach those who the Holy Spirit moves us to reach. Death is never the answer, only in life can we make a difference. Ms Hill will be an inspiration for many playing basketball. Ms Maynard will be an inspiration being dead?

Pastor Jim Driskell, Lutheran Church's avatarPastor Jim Driskell

October 18, 2014

Couple of milestones, first I neglected to observe my 3,000th view, I know for a lot of “real” bloggers, you get that in a month. Took me a year, but I really appreciate the support of those who check out my blogs.

Second, my first reader from the Russian Federation, that is sooooo cool, it’s great to see you, it would be great to hear from you. God bless and please let me know what you think, which of course goes for anyone who checks out my blogs. Good, bad or indifferent, I really do appreciate the time some folks take to read and comment and it really does help me.

God bless and I hope we can be great blog buddies.

Ciao bella Italia. I just had a reader from Italy. I never really thought about it, but since I started doing this blog, I’ve had…

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Celebration, Feasting, Drinking, because we are His and that’s something to celebrate Isaiah 25: 6-9, Matthew 22: 1-14 First St Johns October 12, 2014

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For the audio of this sermon please click on the play button

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and God’s children celebrated and said AMEN
Feasting, that is really about? … Celebrating! Absolutely! Many churches have banquets to celebrate the year, and the ministry God leads them to perform, to recognize those who serve their church and in a festive way God’s love and delight in us. I’m told that the men here at First St Johns used to bring a keg of beer into the meeting room in the school building. I’m not encouraging the idea, but hey we’re not Baptists! Martin Luther certainly did nothing to discourage drinking of beer. In our reading in Isaiah, the Hebrew word that is used for banquet is hT,v.mi ((mishtah) which means “feast, drink, banquet”. I’m not saying “hey, let’s go get a keg”, I’m not saying no, just no stupid. The ancient Israelites would have readily understood that part of what Isaiah is describing as a banquet would be drinking, probably wine. We live in a world where fear is so prevailing. Yea, we celebrate, but it’s always with sort of detachment, at arm’s length with each other. We get to celebrate once a week! Too many people see it as a chore, an obligation to be fulfilled. We get to be in His presence every Sunday morning and that is a celebration. I hope it comes across to you, that when I lead worship I’m doing it in a way that is enthusiastic, excited, I get to be here, I get to lead worship in this magnificent place, I get to tell everyone how great God our Father is and what His Son Jesus Christ has done for us. If that’s not worthy of celebration, well what is? We can get into a discussion about how we worship. Many people would claim that liturgical worship isn’t “celebration”, that it’s just a rote way of doing the same thing. We’ve let the world tell us how to “celebrate”, we forget what celebration is in the worship of Jesus.
A “Satanic Black Mass” was held recently in Oklahoma City. Fox News noted that “dozens” participated in the mass, while those who stood opposed to the “mass” far outnumbered the participants. Kudos to the Roman Catholic Archbishop who held Holy Mass at a local church, that was attended by over 1200 people, almost a hundred times those who attended the Satanic Mass. The Archbishop’s message was something to truly celebrate in the face of the world’s depraved observance: “as Christians “we know that Christ conquered Satan. The war has been won, Christ has conquered, though skirmishes will continue until Christ comes to reign forever.”1
Notice how the world mocks Christianity? They mock the mass, the liturgy, worship like we Lutherans conduct. You never see them mock worship like those of, let’s just say those who are all happy-clappy, telling you that it’s all about you and being “happy” and being entertainment versus what we do, which is worship. I truly think of our worship as a time of joy, there should be exuberance and celebration, I feel joyful and enthusiastic when I lead worship and I hope you will tell me if I’m not being joyful or it’s not coming across. I don’t see worship as a chore, I see it as a couple who are members here told me, “I get to come to church and worship”. The rest of the world holds back in fear and worry, they are afraid that they will be criticized or that their dignity will be affected. We get to celebrate every week and as I greet people as they leave worship I see joy, I see enthusiasm. But then they go back into the world, they let the world’s agenda dampen their joy and enthusiasm. They let the world’s message beat them down, “that wasn’t ‘fun’, that was boring, rote ritual”. No it’s not! We get to remember all that has been done for us, all that we have to be joyful and thankful for. Why do we let the world impose on us with its cynical and depressing attitude?
It’s often because we really believe the world’s message, that it’s a scary, fearful, ratrace, and now that you’re back in that world, you have to put aside that church stuff and realize how scary it really is.
It’s not! Unless you let it be. We have the promises, grace and love of Christ in our lives. There’s nothing to be afraid of! Jesus tells His disciples in John 16: 33, just before He is to be crucified, that yes, difficult times are ahead; “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” The world can’t harm you, the world’s opinion doesn’t matter, I have overcome the world and since I am in you and you are in me and I have overcome the world, you have what I have given you, what I have promised you, joy, confidence, the knowledge that this world is not the real thing, it is not genuine. What the world says and does is phoney, only what I say, the Lord and Savior of your life is genuine, what you receive here in worship is genuine and you should celebrate that and take that attitude back into the world. We need to push back against the world. We are all so afraid of rejection, “oh here comes that crazy Bible thumper”. Heavens, that takes away our dignity. At last week’s conference someone made the comment that there is always push back against our message in Jesus. D’uh! Of course there is, how could it be otherwise? Jesus told us there would be. The conference was centered on our ministry to younger generations, that these people have left the church. Why? I submit because there is a serious lack of genuineness in the church. Why believe something that no one really stands up for and asserts that this is what is really important. No one is going to buy something that they feel is not genuine in its claims.
We don’t celebrate our faith and our worship, we don’t show what it means to be genuine in our discipleship and then we wonder why no one is buying. Those in the world know how phoney and irrelevant the world’s institutions are. They are looking for the genuine and we have it right here and we get to celebrate it in worship every week. I submit to you that instead of this sanctuary and building being so empty the rest of the week, that we come for other worship, Matins, confession, prayer, other small groups. What else can we do to make our worship more genuine, every day, not just on Sunday? Let’s spend more time in prayer, studying Scripture, sharing our faith with brothers and sisters and those in the world. That’s what the younger generations wants and they know, that when it’s done right, not the phoney stuff the world tries to convince us is “church”, that it does produce joy, peace, comfort and assurance that God is with us, that He loves us 24/7, that He wants what is best for us. That’s why Satanists mock what we have and not the phoney worship. But we take it for granted, we let the world drive us down, instead of us going out and showing the world what true joy and love is.
Isaiah is telling the Israelites, this is what’s going to happen. It’s not some vague metaphor, it is genuine, true, giving hope and assurance. When you really let it become part of you, realize what God is promising, you should be at least this high off the ground (holding your fingers at least two inches apart). God is going to provide us a feast of rich food of well aged wine. He’s telling this to a people who often live hand to mouth, we get plenty of food, they never had enough, God is telling them ‘you will have a gift far beyond your imagination, you will have joy and all you could want.’ Jesus is telling us that we are not worthy of His great wedding feast, but you know what? He wants us to have it, He wants us to have a time of joy and plenty beyond anything we’ve ever seen. Even now we are so blessed, provided with so much, and yet we have no joy. Please remember what we’ve been given, share it with others, the joy grows only when you share it with others and then you see the effect of their joy and how it builds yours in Christ our Savior. Spend some time journaling on all that you have to be joyful for.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.