Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song And Praise

I love the questions our young people often feel free to ask.  In fact, I wish more adults would feel free to ask similar questions.  Anyway, on multiple occasions, I have received from our youth questions about faith, the life of Jesus, questions about the existence of God, and questions that show they have an element of doubt regarding many aspects of faith.  I truly encourage these questions because that is how we learn, that is how we grow, and that is how we are taken to new places.  Austrian poet and novelist, Rainer Maria Rilke, once said, “Live the questions!”  I truly believe that is the best way we learn.  I also believe that as Christians, when we ask questions, we need to be honest about our doubt.  Far too often the church has discouraged doubt.  However, doubt is really a healthy aspect of faith.  In fact, theologian, Paul Tillich, said doubt is a very necessary element of faith.  And, theologian, Frederick Buechner, writes these words about doubt, “Whether your faith is that there is a God or

As I studied our gospel reading for today, I started thinking about fear. I have been thinking about the way fear moves us to focus on security issues, and the way fear and security play such an important role in our lives, controlling so much of our behavior.  It is fear that drives us to intently focus on and invest in various forms of security.  If we listen to the daily news we will inevitably hear about issues and concerns regarding global security, national security, security within our community, security in our homes and our own personal security.  Security issues have become so important to us they have evolved into big business in our culture.  Security is used as a marketing tool for cars, tires, homes, internet resources, investment banking, politics, travel – the list goes on and on.  Everyone is interested in keeping us safe.  Cell phones, security systems, airport security lines, getting the right medical tests before or after the age of 50 – just about everything can be sold as a way to keep u

This is a special musical performance of Christ is Risen, Alleluia! by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir with Emmet Lewis and Jaylen Hall on trumpet and David O’Donnell and Gracy Tomek on trombone at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Many of us gathered here tonight have spent time sitting at the bedside of a relative or friend who is dying.  Ken and I intimately shared this experience with Dorothy this past October as she faced the end of her life. Such an experience is sacred, and it is a deathwatch.  Quite frankly, this experience will inevitably be part of every human being’s life because none of us can escape death, whether it is the death of a dearly loved relative, a friend, or even our own death.  Being present in a deathwatch is a necessary work and ritual, as we walk with loved ones to the endpoint of life.  Tonight, on this day we call Good Friday, we gather and stand at the foot of the cross to experience a deathwatch.  We stand together in community as we watch our friend, Jesus, draw his last breath, and we experience a form of liturgy.  The word liturgy literally means “the work of the people.”  So, as we come together tonight, we come to experience a necessary form of the work of the people, a liturgical deathw

I am a people watcher. I love watching how people react and respond in various situations and circumstances, and I learn a lot about people and human behavior by doing this people watching. I find it fascinating to watch people’s actions when forced to move beyond their comfort zones.  Quite honestly, when any one of us is forced to move beyond our comfort zone because of changing circumstances, we often react adversely. One can expect that when we step outside of our comfort zone, we usually experience added stress and anxiety.  And, when this happens, people can become quite reactive – often displaying unpleasant behavior.  So, the gospel reading on this night is captivating because we see the disciples having to move way beyond their comfort zones. In biblical times, the washing of feet was a non-religious, ordinary part of everyday life. It was as ordinary as brushing your teeth or washing your hands before a meal. It was a secular practice that routinely took place after entering a dwelling, especi

This is a special musical performance of O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir with a solo on Clarinet by Michael Fox at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

As a hospital chaplain, when family members tell me that they’re “praying for a miracle”, this is usually the miracle they’re referring to   This miracle occurs at the pinnacle of Jesus’ ministry   demonstrating his close connection to, and unity with God   Jesus has been going around performing various miracles   From the wedding at Cana, turning water into wine   To healing many who were sick   To feeding five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and fish   To walking on water and calming the sea   To the miracle we heard just last week of restoring a man’s sight   Today we hear about Jesus performing the ultimate miracle   When Jesus brings Lazarus out of his grave,   Wrapped in cloth   After being dead for four days…   It is truly an incredible story   So incredible, it really messes with the logic and reason side of our brain   We don’t know where to put this story, as we wonder   “Did this really happen?!”       /         /         /   “Did this really happen?” is a fair question   Doubt is not th

This is a special musical performance of Lonesome Valley by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

“I once was lost, but now am found, ‘twas blind, but now I see.” “’Twas blind, but now I see.” These are the words that come from the lips of the blind man who was healed in today’s gospel reading. However, most of you know them best as part of the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” written by John Newton. In his first career John Newton was a sea captain, and a slave trader. During a violent storm he cried out for Christ’s mercy. He was “saved” from the violent storm and his life was transformed. He eventually became a minister of the gospel, and he played an important role in the abolitionist movement in England. It was after that transformational experience that he wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.” “’Twas blind, but now I see.” All of today’s readings connect in some way to blindness and sight.  In the First Reading we have the prophet Samuel who is able to see what David’s father, Jesse, cannot see – that this youngest son of less lofty stature, forgotten and out in the fields, is the chosen one. Jesse’s youngest son,

Have you ever been so passionate and intent about something that you forgot to eat?   Maybe you were so into a project, or having so much fun, time flew right past lunch?   Sometimes when we get into something really great it seems time loses its meaning   Time can stand still or fly by   Without us being conscious of it   Losing our sense of time can be a sign that we’re into something incredible,   Tapping into something both within and outside of ourselves   Perhaps on the threshold of transformation   Some call these liminal spaces Richard Rohr describes this space as, “where we are betwixt and between the familiar and the completely unknown. There alone is our old world left behind, while we are not yet sure of the new existence. That’s a good space where genuine newness can begin.” Newness… creativity… passion… transformation These are also words we use to describe encounters with the divine /         /         / I invited you to identify with one of the characters in the gospel story today

This is a special musical performance by the Chancel Choir of Saved By Grace today at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Mother Teresa once said, “The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.”  I believe Mother Teresa’s words are very insightful.  I, too, believe there is a deep yearning and spiritual hunger for God in our country and in our world, a hunger that simply seems to increase with the passing of time. Today’s gospel reading tells the story of a man who has such a deep hunger for God.  In this story, Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness, and he is hungry.  He comes to Jesus during the night, and he has a spiritual hunger that is gnawing away at his very soul.  He has a hunger deep within, a hunger he cannot fully identify. Now, Nicodemus is a Pharisee, so he comes during the night when he will not be seen.  Yet, he comes wanting to find out more about Jesus and what Jesus is teaching.  Spiritually hungry Nicodemus does not understand the things Jesus has been tel

This is a special musical performance by the Chancel Choir of Thy Will Be Done with soloist Ryan Thompson today at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Four days ago, on Ash Wednesday, I sent you a sermon about God creating earth creature Adam from the dust of the ground and breathing God’s breath into Adam to give life.  And how God’s breath, God’s Spirit, connects with each one of us Today we pick up the story of Adam in the garden of Eden with his partner, the woman, and face the first question of evil and suffering in the bible.  We then hear about Jesus in the wilderness and the temptation he faced These stories take us to the heart of an age-old question about human suffering. The questions I struggle most with as a hospital chaplain are Why do people suffer, and where is God in the midst of suffering? First, I think it’s important that we explore the meaning of suffering Suffering requires endurance or tolerance It is usually not a one-time experience But something that is persistently unpleasant, or even painful Suffering can be imposed by oneself, or by another Today, and throughout this season of Lent, we explore the reality of suffering as part of

This is a special musical presentation of Minuet by Charles Lloyd with Michael Fox on Clarinet at Faith Lutheran Church.

Matthew 17:1-9; Transfiguration A; 2/19/23            Pastor Ellen Schoepf As we gather this morning, I am sure most of us are feeling the trauma of this past week and we are grieving. As I have been reflecting on the tragedy at MSU, I have also been thinking about the ways in which moments of grief, anger, injustice, etc., sometimes become windows into the divine and then, in those moments, we become changed.  That is what the cross is about and this week we will begin to focus more intently on the cross as we move into Lent.  As we begin our Lenten journey this Wednesday, the inevitability of the cross looms before us, and there is nothing we can do to change the fate of our Lord. Yet, as we face the cross, and as we face those moments in life when grief is so present, as we face the horror of this past week, it can become a window into the divine. I know this happens because I have experienced it. As a pastor, I have the privilege of being with you and walking with you during some of the most difficul

This is a special musical presentation of The Servant Song by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church.

This past week was a challenging one for some of us.  The incident at Okemos High School this past Tuesday created some real trauma within our community.  So, I am ready for some good news!  But, as I read today’s gospel, we receive words that do not appear to present us with the good news we seek.  I don’t know about you, but today I don’t really like to hear Jesus’ words. Jesus is on a tirade, and he seems to be having an outburst of some kind.  Jesus is not messing around and, quite frankly, he seems to have done an about face.  He is still preaching his Sermon on the Mount which began with the Beatitudes – those beautiful words of promise and blessing.  Then, last week he told us we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  And now we get this diatribe of seeming vitriol.  What has happened?  Why the dramatic change?  One could almost think he is having some sort of meltdown as he quickly jumped from telling us that we are salt and light, to this message we hear today.  Suddenly Jesus hits us

This is a special musical presentation of This Little Light of Mine by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church.

I still vividly remember the time fifty plus years ago when I first came to Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos. I was in High School, and I came with my mother to Faith Lutheran Church for a gathering of the Michigan District ALCW (the American Lutheran Church Women).  I clearly remember that day because Evelyn Frost was the speaker. I am sure some of you who are long time members remember her.  Evelyn’s remarks on that day made a huge impression on my young, formidable mind.  The gospel passage on which she spoke was the gospel reading we have today.  I remember being fascinated as she talked about salt, the many properties and varieties of salt, and the multiple ways in which salt is used.  As I studied today’s gospel reading, that experience of roughly fifty years ago came to mind. Salt and light.  Today, Jesus tells us we are the salt of the earth, and we bring light to the world.  Last week we heard Jesus launch his ministry by beginning his inaugural address, the message we now call the Sermon on the Mount