Tag Archives: Courage

The ability to believe and trust in our faith when doubt is asailing us.

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 26, 2015
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Ch – Ch – Ch – Ch – Changes — Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 26, 2015

“Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:35ff

“If Luther himself, the excellent man, reappeared, without being recognized, and began to teach in many places as he once taught in the Symbolical Books, in his Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, he would be denounced as a Pietist and Enthusiast and chased to his fellows in hell. It seems as if the world does not wish to have anything to do with the whole of true Christianity; it wants either godliness without change of heart and faith, or faith without preceding change of heart…” Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711 – 1787) “For All The Saints” volume IV (p. 14-15)

It is my opinion that we have many concerns within Christianity today. The first would be, as Henry Melchior Muhlenberg states, people call themselves Christians but they have not been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel, the good news of Jesus must transform how we live, act, and love before we can say, truly, that we are Christians. Attending a church once in a while is not being a Christian. Always saying “I am too busy” to requests to be involved in ministry, or “I need my Sundays to sleep in” or “Those people must learn to help themselves” is not being transformed by the gospel, or having Christ abide in your heart.

Second, being transformed by the gospel does not mean saying one thing and doing something different. In 1 John 2:9 and 1 John 2:4, the writer says “Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness” and “Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist”. In other words, if you are going to be a true disciple of Jesus, you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Actions speak louder than words. How we live, the decisions we make, the use of our time, the amount of time we spend in studying and praying on G*d’s word states whether we are living in the light of Jesus and obeying his commandments. It begins by being transformed by the Gospel – having our hearts changed to the point where it changes our actions, our thoughts, and our very lives.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 15, 2015
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Unity – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 15, 2015 – “U” is for Unity

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:20 – 24

One of the most difficult tasks of any Christian Community is to maintain the “unity” of the faithful. This is the prayer of Jesus in John 17 – it should be called “The Lord’s Prayer” and what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” should be called “The Disciple’s Prayer”, because it is the disciples who ask Jesus “How should we pray?” From the beginning of Christianity we have wondered how to pray. Jesus models the attempt of an active prayer life by getting away (which always proves so difficult for him) so he can be in prayer. Jesus prays for the unity of the believers for all time and place in this 17th chapter of John. He realizes that “being in the world but not of the world” is going to be a struggle. He knows that ego and power and coveting will always get in the way of relationships.

Since the time of the Reformation, we have seen the Christian church fragment in many different denominations. I believe these divisions, the fact that we identify more with what denomination we belong to rather than to the fact that we are all Christians has been to the detriment of the church. It has certainly not helped us find unity. We have to work very hard at finding ways to be united as Christians, while still being able to celebrate our individual traditions, theologies, and worship practices. But the divisions are not just between churches — they also thrive within each church. When the church, or a club, or any human endeavor is filled with people, there is the chance for divisiveness. We all do not think alike, plan alike, and see ministry the same (neither did the apostles of the early church — read the first 10 chapters of Acts if you don’t believe me). And it is when we become more invested in “keeping things the same”, or “rejecting other ideas because they do not fit our view of ministry”, then we are in danger of driving a wedge between rather than finding unity with our brothers and sisters in the congregation.

Christ prayed for us to be united – we need to continue that prayer so we can work united as Christians, inside the church and in the church universal.

Pastor Dave