Only Jesus can weed out the weeds : from my perspective
St. Paul Lutheran Church
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Welcome!
I welcome your comments regarding our shared ministry at St. Paul.
 If you would rather comment privately please, email me at Prshepherd@westriv.com

"Two are better than one," says Ecclesiastes, 
"because if one falls down, his friend can help him up." 

I deeply desire to bring Christian comfort and the power of prayer to those who are challenged with sickness or circumstances in life. However, in this time of restricted visitation call me and I will attempt to contact them.

Please, assume that if you don’t tell us, we do not know. 
Call me at 301-4956 if surgery or hospital stay is imminent or if a visit could be helpful. 

Pastor Dennis
from my perspective…

    Breaking News, or Headline News, is updated by the hour and minute. The programs are designed to get our attention and to sell advertising. (Big surprise!) On the other hand, the Good News of Jesus Christ was proclaimed and is proclaimed today for an entirely different purpose.

    Mark begins his gospel with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mk 1:1, ESV) It sounds like Mark is reporting, “Breaking news! Pay attention! Something important has happened!” 


    Matthew begins his gospel, “The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.” (Mt. 1:1) It sounds like Matthew is introducing a history lesson whereby we might learn something. Don’t get me wrong – I love history because I believe with George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 


    John begins his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” (Jn. 1:1) This is something totally different. John invites us to lay aside our daily concerns and ponder life’s Big Questions concerning God and “The Word of God.” 


    Each year, we might take a measure of our life on Tax Day, an anniversary, or any number of other milestones. Regardless of the circumstances, we go through a process of reflection, evaluation, and decision-making. We might reflect on the Big Questions of Life, like “Who are we? And “How do I fit in with family and society?” or “What positive difference am I making?” 

    I will grant that the most common daily question is, “Am I happy.” But I believe the Bible teaches us that happiness results from how we think of ourselves and our relationship with others. Therefore, John invites us to ponder anew our relationship with the One God of the Holy Scriptures, as opposed to mental or emotional gods of pleasure, wealth or self-importance. 
In the church year, Lent is the season that encourages us to ponder our relationship with the one and only eternal God and one another or who we desire to become. 

    Join us as we explore Jesus’ great encounters with religious rulers, a disrespected woman from a disrespected people and His disciples. In John, Jesus, the Word of God, invites people to question who we are in God’s eyes and who He desires us to become to live a fulfilling life. (e.g. John 10:10)
As John informs us, Jesus, the true Word of God, comes into the world to save us from ourselves and the destructive temptations brought on by the evil lies of the great Satan. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17, ESV) 

Please join us in our encounter with the Living Word of God, your pastor, Dennis.

« Rise up and Go out | Main | Time is a precious... »

Only Jesus can weed out the weeds

by Pastor Dennis on 07/15/15

Mark 6:7-13

 

Every child and sometime must learn to walk on their own. Jesus sends His disciples with very little of their own stuff, so that they can learn to be dependent upon the power of His Holy Spirit and the hospitality of strangers.

Hospitality was a sacred duty in Palestine as it is in rural America. It was expected that the village would offer a place to stay and eat but when expectations were not found, Jesus gave His disciples clear direction, “…leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” To ‘shake off the dust’ was a clear action that not even the dust on their feet of such a place should be carried along with them.

“So, they went out…” and where they found receptive ears and hearts, they called for repentance. And where they found repentant hearts they “cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” Oh, that today we would find receptive, repentant hearts so that God’s children might be healed of destructive spirits!

 

Let us pray: Lord Jesus you know our burdens. We place our troubles at Your feet. We fall to our knees depending on Your mercy and grace to raise us up and give us rest. Amen (let it be so)

 

Next Sunday we will explore Jesus’ command, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31) We might protest, “But I have so much to do – I can’t take time to rest.” You might have heard how I resist taking vacation but I do not resist taking the life-giving time to be in God’s word in prayer.

 

Let us ponder God’s Word this week: take time each day; imagine how Jesus’ words could affect your life and pray that God, the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of your heart to God’s message for you.

Monday: Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:8-11

Tuesday: Mathew11:28-30

Wednesday: Luke 4:16-19

Thursday: Luke 13:10-20

Friday: John 5:2-17

 Saturday: Share what God has revealed to you with a friend.

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