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

On this Maundy Thursday, listen and reflect as we prepare for Jesus' death and resurrection. 

Today, join us for Palm Sunday service as we prepare for Easter. 

This is a special musical performance of Lenten Love Song by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

…Beyond the sacred page, I seek you Lord; my spirit waits for you, O living Word.  ELW 515    I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19   A Way in the Wilderness   It is hard to get out of my mind the pictures of crushed and burned out apartment buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine ...or the bodies, both Ukrainian and Russian, lying in the streets or on the roads of that war-torn country.   In this fifth week of the Russian invasion, it is hard for me to see how this beleaguered nation could soon, if ever, be restored….so many people dying, so many hungry and thirsty and cold and homeless.      All I have, all we have, is faith in a faithful God who will abandon neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian people, whether in life or death, whether in victory or defeat.  Only faith in a faithful God can see God, can see Jesus, can see the Holy Spirit at work in the trouble minds, frightened souls, bitter and hardene

This is a special musical performance of Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days by the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Jesus Walked this Lonesome Valley/ Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen by the Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos Michigan Chancel Choir.

When something turns out to be the opposite of what we expect, we face a form of reversal. Reversals are like big reveals because they change our understanding of everything, and our expectations are turned upside down. When this happens, we suddenly see things in a new light and reality changes in an instant. Such forms of reversal are threaded throughout Luke’s telling of the Jesus story. Luke’s gospel assures us that the kingdom of God, in its fullness, will confound our expectations and overturn our understanding of life experiences. Things will seemingly be turned upside down. This is especially true when it comes to power, privilege, wealth, merits, and rewards. Luke assures us time and again that in God’s kingdom those who struggle in life now – those who are at the bottom or on the fringes of society – will suddenly find themselves at the top and in the center. Beginning with Mary’s astounding, prophetic Magnificat, then throughout the entirety of Luke’s telling of the Jesus story, this great reversal

This is a special musical presentation of Come to the Water by the Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos Michigan Chancel Choir.

“Hey there, all who are thirsty, come to the waters!  Are you penniless? Come anyway – buy and eat! Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk. Buy without money – everything’s free!”  In our first reading today, the prophet Isaiah speaks these words to the people of Israel as they experience chasmic dislocation, sorrow, desolation, grief, emptiness, and enormous loss, as they ask the often-unanswerable question, “Why?” The people are in exile, in Babylon.  In 587 BCE, Jerusalem had been burned and the temple destroyed.  The king was exiled, the leading citizens were deported, and the life they had known all had come to an end.  It is into this context that Isaiah speaks words of consolation and hope saying, “Hey there, all who are thirsty, come to the waters!’  Imagine hearing these words, “come, buy and eat, even though you have no money, it is free.”  The prophet addresses the void, the emptiness, the nothingness compared to what once was.  He addresses the dislocation and the sorrow in the lives of the peop

As I have been watching what is happening in Ukraine, my heart feels ripped apart. Watching such massive suffering, misery and grief ruthlessly and needlessly imposed upon the people of that country, is heart wrenching.  The Ukrainian people are so vulnerable as Russian forces invade and destroy their lives. However, in that vulnerability, they are showing exemplary courage.  Their example reminds me of the words of social scientist, and research professor, Brene Brown, when she writes, “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” What the Ukrainians are experiencing is horrific and, as they vulnerably defend their nation while professing the truth of their identity and the fact that they want to be a democracy, they are showing remarkable courage and strength. Vulnerability, truth, and courage are characteristics we find in our readings for today. In fact, we discover these are facets of God’s very being. Today, we are give

This is a special musical presentation of Al Shlosha D’Varim by the Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos Michigan Chancel Choir.

This is a special musical performance of My Jesus Walked by Tammy Heilman and Deb Borton at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

In his book, Everything Belongs, Richard Rohr writes:   We seldom go freely into the belly of the beast. … As a culture, we have to be taught the language of descent. That is the language of religion. It teaches us to enter willingly, trustingly into the dark period of life. These dark periods are good teachers. Religious energy is in the dark questions, seldom in the answers. Answers are the way out, but … when we look at the questions, we look for the opening to transformation.   It feels to me that we are truly in the “dark period of life.” In many ways, these past two years have been like living in the “belly of the beast.”  And now, as we watch a needless, evil, ruthless, devastating war in Ukraine, it feels as though the belly of the beast just seems to grow wider and deeper.  We are living in one of those dark times, a dark period we would not have freely entered. But, as Rohr says, dark times are good teachers.  And, as we come to Ash Wednesday, this first day of Lent, just maybe our Lenten journey is

There is an increasing focus in our culture on what some call mindfulness.  Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are, aware of what we are doing, and not be overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.  It really is a form of self-discipline. I think mindfulness requires an element of intentionality in which one is directly focused on some object or situation.  As we begin this Lenten season, we are invited into a forty-day journey of mindfulness, to be mindful of where Jesus is leading us, and to embrace an intentional way of living and being in this world.   If given a choice, most of us are not going to be intentional about choosing a path in life that is filled with difficulty.  However, I must say that spiritual depth and growth happen as we mindfully respond to the trials, troubles, temptations, testing, and fear that arise in life.  For many of us, it is in those times of challenge that we truly learn dependence on God.  In such times we find tha

Luke 9:28-43; Transfiguration C; 2/27/22              Pastor Ellen Schoepf I love this little story Rev. Dr. Robert Sims shares about a little boy and his wagon.  Sims writes: A little boy was riding his wagon along the sidewalk. Suddenly, one of the wheels fell off the wagon.  The little boy jumped out of the wagon and said, “I’ll be damned!”  A minister happened to be walking by, and he said, “Son, you ought not use words like that!  That’s a bad word.  When something happens, just say, ‘Praise the Lord,’ and everything will be all right.”  So, the little boy grumbled, put the wheel back on the wagon and started on down the sidewalk. About ten yards farther, the wheel fell off again.  The little boy said, “Praise the Lord!”  Suddenly, the wheel jumped up off the ground and put itself right back on the wagon.  The minister saw it all and exclaimed, “I’ll be damned.” Sims goes on to say, “We are a lot like that minister.  We believe in God’s miraculous, glorious, transformative power; we just don’t expect it

There have been times in my life when I have truly struggled with forgiveness.  And, when I take time to do some real introspection and self-examination, I realize there are still times when I struggle with forgiveness, maybe even daily.  So, as I studied today’s readings, they tend to bite a bit because they address what it means to forgive. Our Old Testament reading tells us about Joseph.  Now, anytime I hear this section of the Joseph saga, I cannot help but remember the scene in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when Joseph reveals to his brothers who he really is. It becomes a powerful scene of forgiveness and ultimately reconciliation. Anyway, if you remember the story, Joseph’s brothers horrifically sell him into slavery. Once in Egypt, he faces false accusation and imprisonment. Then, years later he astonishingly forgives his brothers.  He forgives them for sending him into years of hardship and says, “Do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me

Three weeks ago, we heard about Jesus preaching his first sermon in his hometown synagogue. On that day as he addressed the congregation, Jesus claimed these words as his Mission Statement, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” And, from that point on, his ministry was about living into those words. Today, Jesus speaks to his followers, those who have made a real commitment to follow him, and he lays out his Vision Statement.   As Jesus comes down from the mountain to the plain to speak, it is clear the writer of Luke’s gospel wants us to know that Jesus’ words today are spoken to the disciples, to the church, to us, to all who follow him. Jesus looks out on the followers who stand before him and sees the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the women, and the slaves, and he begins preaching a radical sermon proclaiming the promise of a new society. In this promise, he is not talking about some ideal utopia. This sermon is a call to a radical life of disciple

When I was young, I did not have a very good sense of self.  That poor sense of self led me to make some poor choices in life and it also kept me from making some wise decisions.  You see, I often thought I was not good enough to achieve a specific goal.  From the time I was quite young, I also had a desire to go into ministry and sensed God’s call in my life.  However, I kept telling myself, “I am not good enough to do this. I am not worthy of doing this.”  I felt pursuing such a goal was an exercise in futility. I could easily think of every possible reason to not respond to God’s call.  As time went on, God just kept working on me and drawing me ever more deeply into the waters of God’s grace. God kept gently and graciously challenging me until I said, “Yes.” And, ultimately, my faith journey and the ministry I live into has been all about the way God graciously and lovingly works through the broken, imperfect person that I am. It really is all about a gracious, loving God who holds me in grace, the loving

Grace to you and peace from God our parent, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.   Today I want to talk about the nature of God. So first a disclaimer, I have not studied this, I have not taken classes on this, this is what I’ve pieced together and have learned over the years as I’ve grown as a person and as a Christian. It is what I have learned from many sermons from many great pastors, especially Pastor Ellen. And mostly from what I have grown to feel deeply within myself as to who God really is. While I certainly enjoy hearing and learning about the historical and academic details behind Bible passages, sometimes it helps to go with what speaks to my heart and soul instead of just what speaks to my brain.   If you would have asked me years ago the question “Who is God?” I would have probably answered that He is the creator of all, and if asked to describe Him I would have said an old white guy with white hair and a beard.  You know, like God is often depicted in movies and art, at least in our Ame

“It will not be possible to make me shut up.  I will not stop talking, proclaiming, or preaching…. I will not pause.  I will not rest, for the sake of the precious city God loved and left, and I will keep this up until every nation and king can see that Jerusalem has been declared innocent and lifted up to a place of glory and honor.”  (Working Preacher, Anathea Portier-Young)   It will not be possible to make me shut up!  These are the prophet Isaiah’s words as he boldly acts as intercessor for Jerusalem.  Following the exile, when the Jewish people returned to their land, it was decimated, and it seemed to them like a desert.  The restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem met countless obstacles and delays. The Jewish people had been full of hope but, upon return to their homeland, they were battling deteriorating morale caused by broken dreams and crumbling faith.  They felt God had turned away in indifference.           So, Isaiah laments and boldly protests, interceding on the people’s behalf, and he holds