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

This is a special musical presentation of Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus and sung by Bob Nelson at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

One of the things I just love about scripture is that the stories we read and hear are truly our stories.  They are about us and tell us so much about our identity as human beings.  And, today’s reading is so very enlightening.  In our first reading from Numbers, we find that Moses is truly overwhelmed and weary as he tries to lead this throng of Israelites through the desert.  And, as he complains to God about his heavy workload, we find that God is sympathetic to Moses.  God graciously responds with a proposal that will take some of the burden off Moses by having others share the load.  Wow!  What a concept!  Well, this is a great idea, but when God takes some of the spirit that was on Moses and places it on seventy chosen elders, some of that spirit spills over on two other men, Eldad and Medad.  Then, when these two other men begin to prophesy – oh my! Envy, self-ambition, and jealousy break out among Joshua and the rest of the seventy because these other two men were not part of that chosen inner circle

This is a special musical presentation of 10,000 Reasons sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

St. Thomas Aquinas once said, “Fear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take over within us, it drives compassion right out of our hearts.”  Change, transition, uncertainty, chaos and earth-shattering news all create within us a sense of fear.  Fear has plagued our culture and the world throughout this pandemic, and we have seen how it drives compassion right out of people’s hearts.  So, it is fitting that today’s gospel reading helps us look at this very human emotion.  In today’s gospel passage, Jesus continues to teach the twelve about discipleship.  He again gives them earth-shattering, mind-blowing information, and they are bewildered and afraid!  Today, we hear Jesus again tell the disciples he is going to be killed.  It is the second time he tells them he will soon be betrayed, murdered, and after three days rise from the dead!  Jesus’ words are so explosive the disciples simply cannot wrap their minds around what he says.  They cannot comprehend this news and they are afraid

This is a special musical presentation of Precious Jesus sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

This pandemic has presented anyone in a leadership position with multiple challenges that were unforeseen. There’s no “playbook” for leadership when the stakes are high, and there’s certainly no playbook for what to do in the face of a 21st Century pandemic.  Many of you are leaders in your profession and you have no doubt discovered these challenges. As we look at the various leadership positions many of you hold in the world of education, the world of business, or the life of the church, I know good leadership is something all of us highly value within our community and our culture.  We work hard to develop leadership abilities within our kids because we want them to be leaders. We need good leaders in every aspect of society.  We give awards to people who demonstrate strong leadership ability.  Higher education is a place where we intently focus on developing leaders.  However, the obscure, unspoken message communicated by this emphasis on leadership is that being a follower is for losers.  We do not often

This is a special musical presentation of Sing Out To God sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

It is good to be back with you. I am deeply grateful for the time I spent away.  It was wonderful to let go of all the clutter in life and the clutter in my head.  It was refreshing to let go of work and deadlines, and just play with my grandson.  It was life-giving to spend priceless time with him, my son and daughter-in-law, and simply enjoy being while taking in the beauty of creation.  Time like that makes my imagination and creativity really bubble and thrive. This morning, I would like to ask you to use your imaginations as we try a little exercise.  To begin, I ask you to sit back, close your eyes and let go of the clutter of thoughts that are likely present in each of your heads.  With your eyes still closed, let you’re your imagination start working and begin to picture Jesus.  Take a few seconds to think about the image of Jesus you are seeing in your mind’s eye.  Note what he looks like and what you see him doing.  Now, open your eyes and I am going to ask you a few questions. In your imagined pict

This is a special musical presentation of Good and Simple Gifts sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

Grace to you and Peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Pastor Ellen sent me a sermon that she used a few years ago when we had the Gospel lesson we are using today.  She told me to “make it my own”, so here goes. I suspect that most of you are familiar with Pig-Pen, a major character in the Peanuts comic strip created by Charles Schulz.  Constantly followed by a cloud of dirt, Pig-Pen was simply a dust magnet.  In fact, Charles Schulz once called Pig-Pen a “human soil bank.”   Our son Nate, whom some of you know from the years when he, Laura and the 3 kids attended Faith, was the opposite of Pig-Pen.  He didn't enjoy the fun of swilling in the dirt when he and his brother Ben were young.  In fact, he’d constantly try to keep clean, often licking his hands (demonstrate) to clean away any dirt on him.  It drove us crazy.  Finally, Connie found the cure.  She made a mud pit in the backyard in Lima one mild day in late February when he was 5 ½. She announced that “we’re going to play in the mud.” 

This is a special musical presentation of Bread of the World sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost August 22, 2021 Faith, Okemos Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18, Psalm 34:15-22, Ephesians 6:10-20, John 6:56-69   The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed.                                                                                                             Psalm 34:18 Who of us who has seen this week the pictures of those on the tarmac, some even clinging to a departing plane at the airport in Kabul, who of us has not felt the great anguish of those desperate to flee their Afghan homeland?  Who of us who witnessed the tears of the Haitian people following the devastating earthquake compounded by torrents of rain from tropical storm Grace, who of us has not wondered how it could be any worse for a country still scarred by the earthquake of 2010 in which thousands died and by the recent assassination of its president?  And who of us who week after week see the grieving faces of those whose homes and even whole towns have been reduced to ashes

This is a special musical presentation of They Shall Soar Like Eagles sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

When my kids were young and I was home with them there was a period of time when I baked all of our bread Yeast bread is not difficult to make It requires just a few staple ingredients But it does take time It is a process that requires revisiting the dough many times It is a process that cannot be rushed It is a process that is dependent upon the temperature of the room It is a process that is physical When beginning yeast bread, the yeast must be activated Yeast is an incredible thing If the water is too hot you can kill it, too cold it will remain dormant Once the flour and other ingredients are added, the dough must be kneaded This was always one of my favorite parts of bread making Really using the muscles in my hands, arms, and shoulders Massaging the ingredients together into a satiny, firm, dough Kneading requires strength and purpose Integrating all of the parts into the dough Then the dough must rise in a warm place, around 100 degrees Fahrenheit It has to sit, rest, and grow in this place Then, for

Sometimes Jesus is so annoying We are in the midst of the Gospel of John’s discourse on the Bread of Life It began a couple of weeks ago when Pastor Ellen read about the miracle of the loaves and fish feeding 5,000 people Everyone is in awe of witnessing this incredible miracle Jesus has them in a really good place He captured their attention in a big way They suspect something incredible is going on They seek him out, track him down, and really are curious They engage him, wanting to understand what’s going on And then he blows it He rambles on and on for three weeks in the lectionary about being living bread from heaven I’m with the Jews on this one They are feeling confused, frustrated, and they begin to complain “Hey, we know you – we know your mom, we know your dad – what do you mean ‘You came down from heaven’?!” And then Jesus doubles down on being annoying First, by telling them not to complain And then by talking way over their heads about learning from the Father, coming to Jesus, hearing from the F

I find it interesting the way words change meaning and morph over time.  For example, at one time when we used the word text to tell of our Sunday morning gospel, we could count on the fact that people would interpret it as a passage from one of the gospels.  However, the meaning of the word text has changed remarkably with the invention of iPhones and droids and the myriad of communication devices we now have available for our use.  In fact, the word text has morphed from a noun to a verb as we talk about texting our friends and family members.  Another word that has morphed in meaning over decades is the word consumption.   For most of us, consumption refers to consuming food and “stuff.”  This word comes from Latin and means “using up” or “wasting.”  In fact, at one point in time it became a word used to describe the horrible disease known as tuberculosis, a disease that had no cure, devoured the body and was usually fatal.  However, over the past century, the word consumption has morphed and is now a univ

I am sure many of you are familiar with the movie Forrest Gump.  If you know the story, you will remember the part where Forrest begins running.  As he runs and runs and runs, a crowd begins to follow him, and the people cannot seem to get enough of what they see as they watch him continue to run.  Then, at one point, Forrest simply decides he is done running and it is time to stop and go home.  When that happens, one person in the perplexed crowd asks, “What will we do?  What will we do?” What will we do?  This is the question we find in today’s gospel reading.  Today’s gospel passage, the feeding of the 5,000, is the only miracle story found in all four of the gospels.  And, it is found twice in two of the gospels.  So. that means it is quite important and this question is significant.  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, when faced with the perplexing problem of feeding so many people, the disciples are the ones to ask Jesus the question, “What will we do?”  But, as we read John’s version of this story, we discove

In June of 1990, I had the privilege of traveling throughout Europe while performing in several countries.  I accompanied the Mona Shores Choir, directed the Handbell Choir, and gave organ recitals in St. Petersburg, in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and The Netherlands.  It was a remarkable experience for which I am deeply grateful. At one point during that tour, we took the ferry from Denmark to what was then East Germany. It was just days before the borders came down. We made our way to Berlin and, while we were in Berlin, the borders that had divided East from West did come down.  During our stay in Berlin, we were also able to chop down our own piece of the infamous Berlin Wall.  My own little chunk of that memorable, insidious, dividing wall now sits on a bookshelf in my kitchen as a reminder of that trip and our historic experience.  When I look at my piece of the Berlin Wall, it reminds me that walls of hostility, whether concrete or metaphoric, are created because of fear and they ultimately divi

This is special music from the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran church as they sing "I've Got Peace Like a River."

This is a special presentation of Down to the river to pray by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.