Tag Archives: Faith

Faith in Jesus Christ which comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on June 15, 2015
Tags: Faith, ,   

Christ Has Given us Bragging Rights — Rev. David J. Schreffler

June 15, 2015

“I thank Christ Jesus who has given me strength for this, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service…” 1 Timothy 1:12

“You join the ranks of thousands of men and women who for the most part have said with St. Paul: “I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, Who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” In the discharge of their debt of love to G*d and man, a host of them have already gone down into the grave, by men unpraised, by the world unknown. While others filled the world with the breath of their name, they counted it their honor to fill thrones in heaven. They thought it far better to part with gold than with G*d, to bear the heaviest cross than miss a heavenly crown.” Martin Luther Koehneke (1916-1995) (Addressing the graduates of Concordia Teachers College in 1955) “For All the Saints”, volume IV (p. 73)

Of course many of us know the back story of St. Paul — having been self-appointed to persecute followers of Jesus, Christ “converted” him to being chief of Apostles. And though this calling was not an easy road, he followed that road to his death. And even in the midst of his own persecution and troubles, he says “Thank you — Lord — for you have appointed me to this calling — you have found me faithful enough, even in my weaknesses.”

If we go into this calling to be good and faithful servants of Christ expecting riches and prosperity, we go into this calling with hearts that are not set right. No, I am not saying that the rich cannot enter into the kingdom of G*d. I am saying that I agree with Martin Koehneke — that there are greater rewards than money, riches, etc. for being called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. And to this calling Paul boasted. Martin Luther writes: “When I was only a young theologian and doctor, I thought it was imprudent of Paul in his epistle to boast of his call so often. But I did not understand his purpose, for I did not know that the ministry of the Word of G*d was so weighty a matter. When we boast…we are not looking for prestige in the world or praise from men or money… The reason for our proud boasting is that we are in a divine calling and in G*d’s own work…”

So, if you find yourself “bragging” about your church, think of it as good evangelism – because, like Paul, Christ has judged us to be the kind of people he wants “in his service”. If there is something going on in your church that you are excited about, tell people. We have so many ways of sharing news today — through all of the social media outlets that are at our fingertips.

What are you excited about that you can tell someone today, or this week or this year, about what is happening at your church — or even in your faith life?

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on June 14, 2015
Tags: Faith, , , ,   

The Weed You Cannot Control — Rev. David J. Schreffler

June 14, 2015
Sunday

“He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32

“What if the key to reading the parable of the mustard seed were to understand what a peculiar seed it actually is? The things about mustard seeds, you see, is that while some varieties were used as spice and others medicinally, in general they were considered at the very least pesky and often somewhat dangerous. Why? Because wild mustard is incredibly hard to control, and once it takes root it can take over a whole planting area. That’s why mustard would only occasionally be found in a garden in the ancient world; more likely you would look for it overtaking the side of an open hill or abandoned field. Looked at this way, Jesus’ parable is a little darker, even ominous. As John Dominic Crossan puts it:

The point, in other words, is not just that the mustard plant starts as a proverbially small seed and grows into a shrub of three or four feet, or even higher, it is that it tends to take over where it is not wanted, that it tends to get out of control, and that it tends to attract birds within cultivated areas where they are not particularly desired. And that, said Jesus, was what the Kingdom was like: not like the mighty cedar of Lebanon and not quite like a common weed, [more] like a pungent shrub with dangerous takeover properties. Something you would want in only small and carefully controlled doses — if you could control it (The Historical Jesus, pp. 278-279). Mission Possible, David Lose, June 10, 2012 (DearWorkingPreacher)

We spend so much time in the church trying to control everything. We want to control the service: the noise and the temperature and the time and the length of it all. We want to control the ministry: the places, the people, the frequency, and the cost. And here we are trying to control everything while Jesus says that the Kingdom of G*d is like something that cannot be controlled, will spread to places no on wants it, and that it will attract people we do not necessarily want. The question becomes, then what are we to do about it?

The answer sounds simple enough, but it is not easy to implement — and that answer, at least in my opinion is “trust the Spirit”. “So, Pastor Dave”, you may ask, “What is so difficult about that?” Well, the Spirit is unpredictable, uncontrollable, unexpected, and unbelievable — and yet it is the Spirit that builds faith, and drives ministry and worship. And, building faith, and doing ministry is not always simple. We have tried and tested models through which many are still trying to build faith (like traditional bible studies and Christian Education models) that don’t seem to be working anymore. Perhaps the Spirit is trying to tell us that we need to step out of our box of understanding and trust the Spirit to try some new models. This would also apply to doing ministry.

Trust the Spirit. How can you Trust G*d today to allow you to step out of the box and try something new?

Pastor Dave