Faith vs Religion

August 26, 2007 13th Sunday After Pentecost

Hebrews 12:29 For indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Fire raining down from heaven is a fire of terror and awe. Last week we talked about Jesus' fire is kindled here on earth and that we see at Pentecost how the kindled fire works in us. Jesus fire is the fire of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. God is not a terrorist, although there is a lot of confusion among Christians and Islams a like that God is indeed a terrorist. These are only our own internal feelings of fear and hatred being reflected onto God. Jesus is revealed as the one who gives us peace and love, not fear and hatred. So, here again in Hebrews is the fire connected to God. "God is a consuming fire." What God consumes is the darkness and deadwood that lies within us, that is our sin, and what is left is purified. God's consuming fire is a purifying fire.

Luke 13: 10-17

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

God appeared and acted at the Synagogue that day and the Synagogue leader tried to throw him out. In fact, it appears that he was trying to drive everyone away. He is angered by what God had done that day saying over and over again that there are six days on which work was t0 be done. In other words, religion is happening here at the Synagogue not God.

The reason we have the religion that we do as Lutherans, that is, the liturgy and music is not to get more Lutherans just like us to worship with us. If we only reach out to Lutherans just like us we won't grow. What we do here we do for God and for God's people. Jesus is acting right here and right now among us. God did not rest; He is still at work. The Living Lord Jesus Christ is present. He was present at the Synagogue two thousand years ago and He is present here among us at His Table.

We gather together every Sunday because Jesus is here. The crippled woman came to the Synagogue that day because Jesus/God was there.

Our message to the community around us ought to be, "O come and see and taste and hear! Jesus is here.

Jesus' Fire

Luke 12:49-56

Jesus the Cause of Division

"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son

and son against father,

mother against daughter

and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

We used to put red ropes in the back pews so that more people will sit toward the front. I am glad to see that we willing sit toward the front of the sanctuary. You may have noticed that I was quoted in the Grand Rapids Press this weekend. Newspapers have asked for my opinions in the past. The last time was quite comical it was when I was in North Dakota. I won't take up service time to talk about it now. It concerned Elvis.

The fire Jesus speaks of is already kindled. Not too long ago we heard fire mentioned in Luke before in chapter 9: When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

Jesus sends a group ahead to tell them that he was coming. The message that the big guy was on his way went unheeded. James and John thought this was a good opportunity for Jesus to show God's Judgment in the manner of Elijah and rain fire on the Samaritans. Jesus strongly rebuked them.

The word that Jesus uses to rebuke them is a strong statement that implies rebuking with conviction. The fire that they want is a fire of terror that the Samaritans would see coming at them and then it would consume them. This is the understanding of an angry god.

The fire that Jesus wants to kindle is kindled in Luke's second book, Acts. When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

The fire did not descend from heaven but appeared. The fire is here among us, and this fire does not consume but enlightens. This fire is the Holy Spirit, and it burns in each of us. We are not "little Christs" as the publishers of Luther's Works misused Luther's words. We have become such little Christs that we aren't even noticed. We are like Plankton on Sponge bob Square pants small and deluded. We are deluded when we think of ourselves as being so small we need to see how Jesus is here with us and we are giants.

This fire makes us quite alive. God is not angry, although seeing Him that way makes sense to a nation that has weapons that can rain fire down on their enemies. The burning we do is with fossil fuels. Burning oil and coal has certainly given us a quality of living unprecedented in human history. This has caused global warming and has caused the polar ice caps to melt faster than the most pessimistic model has predicted. The reaction has been to claim the gold and minerals under the Artic Ice Cap. We humans will have to find a method of making energy without burning fossil fuels. Let's remember that before electricity we got energy from eating.

Jesus' fire does not consume but enlightens, causing us to be the lights of Peace, Wisdom and Life, not Death, Destruction and Consumption. Our age needs this Spiritual Fire.There is no shock and awe value in Luke's writing. This fire is Life not death.

The Power of the Penis

Mary Magdalene, Apostle

John 20: 1-2, 11-18

In the Gospel text we see a woman is given divine authority to speak. Mary Magdalene is the apostle to the apostles. The apostle Paul doesn't mention this at all. Paul talks about the resurrected Jesus appearing to Peter and John, the 12, the 500 and then himself. The Gospels agree that Mary is the first one to whom Jesus appeared. Jesus commissioned Mary Magdalene to proclaim his resurrection to the male disciples, the brothers.

Jesus tells her not to hold on to him, or cling to him, and this is important. All too often men hold on to Jesus and use His authority to hold on to the Church. The papacy is a good example of how Jesus' authority is used to control others...who can commune and who can't. When the Pope was "crowned" he presided at a communion service outside St.Peter's Basilica and standing next to him was a Patriarch from the Orthodox Church...they have penises. The message there is that that the Orthodox Christians are "OK;" they are really Christians. The rest of us are baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but that is as far as the connection goes.

Seizing hold of Jesus sandals and all is taking the authority of Jesus and using it as a stick to beat other people with it. This is all about control and controlling the Means of Grace and can mostly be seen in communion. When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper He took the bread and passed it and did the same with the wine, he passed it and the disciples passed it to each other. It is seen that I and the assisting minister are the ones in control of the consecrated elements, but in reality we are just the hands that are passing them.

This is about the trusting the Gospel. The power of the message, the Word is to be trusted and if we don't trust it then we create legalistic power to control others.Communion is and individual experience with Jesus. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians he excommunicates someone in his letter exercising his apostolic authority. When it came to communion practices he told them that they would receive it to their own condemnation, but he did not exercise his authority to tell them directly what they should do or not do.

The painting of Jesus in the Book of Revelation have it wrong when they depict Jesus with a sword in his mouth like a pirate. The image is that the Word of the Lord is mightier than a sword. It is the power and authority, the sword of rule. Trusting in the Gospel is to trust in the authority and power of the Word Made Flesh and not to hold on to it.

John The Baptist

Luke: 1

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: 68‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. 69He has raised up a mighty saviour* for us in the house of his servant David, 70as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, 73the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,might serve him without fear, 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon* us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ There are some calender events I want to talk about today. June 25 is called the Little Christmas. It is six months before Christmas and is John the Baptists Birthday. According to Luke's Gospel, Elizabeth is six months pregnant when the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she is going to give birth to Jesus. June 21, the first day of summer, we commemorate Onesimus Nesib, translator and evangelist in Ethiopia. Onesimos was the name of the slave in Paul's letter to Philemon. Philemon became a Christian but did not baptize and free Onesimus so he ran away to Paul. Paul baptised him and Onesimus returned with Paul's letter that was going to be read in the assembly where Paul speaks of hoping to visit there and requests a place to stay. Onesimus of Ethopia was also a slave and a missionary paid for him and freed him. He learned the Holy Scriptures and later translated them and became a leader in the Ethiopian Christian Church. Terror: phobia, an irrational fear, devoid of reasoning. It seizes us and takes control of our minds and makes us act unreasonably. The government tells us to be afraid and gives us color code that never reaches green to tell us how afraid we are supposed to be. There are four steps to peace that take away all fear: knowledge of salvation to the people; the forgiveness of sins; to give light to those who sit in darkness; and to guide our feet into the way of peace...then we can serve God without fear. The color scale seems to have replaced the doomsday clock of yesteryear. We were told after the events of Sept. 11, 2001 to go shopping. It was the governments call to victory through shopping. This is not a Christian or Christ like arrangement. What does the angel say? "Fear not! only believe." This is a spiritual solution set apart from our worldly superiors. The government wants us to depend on the state to make us feel safe and free from terror. The clock is ticking on the powers that be. Today as we commemorate St. John the Baptist, we understand that the the time is up on fear. Jesus makes us free.

Holy Trinity

Romans 5:1-5 5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 5:3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 5:4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5:5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

What is our relationship with God like? A better translation of verse one would be, "Let us have peace with God." In Genesis it is clear that all of humanity is jealous of God, we want to be like him and will risk death to achieve it. When all done, the blame game began and Adam accused God because He gave him the woman, Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent.

Paul is saying let us have peace with God, since God already justified us through Jesus Christ. When you suffer, have hope and boast in it. Do not blame God nor be jealous of God. Be at peace with God.

Last year at a college reunion I was talking with a former college mate of mine who gave up his pursuit of a PHD to become a lawyer. I told him that I was going to preach to about the Holy Trinity. I did that; didn't I? He shook his head and said that there is a lot that goes into that. There is a lot of foundation to laid and a framework to be built to teach the Holy Trinity--or is there?

In the Holy Trinity we see a completeness of sharing--a turning outside of God's whole self to share in all things. When we see the Holy Trinity as a unity of sharing and that we are a part of that through Jesus Christ then we should have pity on God who has to deal with us. We don't share and we don't have a unity in all we do. Yet, God continues to love us and continues to hold us dear to Him.

Scent of Faith

Sunday, March 25, 2007 The Scent John 12:1

(NRSV) Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Beth'any, the home of Laz'arus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Laz'arus was one of those at the table with him. 3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscar'iot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" 6 (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7 Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Oh the scent of fragrant perfume! The pound of perfume could have been sold for 300 denarii, which is about a years salary. A years salary in the 49424 Zip Code is $72,000. No one here makes THAT much do they? Perhaps all of us are closer to the national average of $36,000 a year. I did a Google search and found the most expensive perfume in the world. It is from the Clive Christian Collection, called Number One (pictured above) and sells for $2,350 per ounce. Yes, Number One, much better than Chanel Number 5 In November of 2005, Harrods sold an exclusive version of this perfume. The bottle contained a half litre of perfume and was made of cut glass topped off with a large diamond and collar of 18 karat gold. It sold for about $215,000 or 170,000 British Pounds.

Nard: a Himalayan flowering plant and the fragrant oil derived from its root (possibly a citrus aroma)

There weren't a lot of ways to save money in the First Century. One way was to bury in the ground and find it later. Much later, people have found coins buried in the ground and old coins aren't very rare for that reason. Another method was to buy something of value and keep it your house and sell it later in hard times. Apparently the jar of pure oil of nard was Mary's savings and she broke it open and poured it on Jesus. She literally poured out her life savings. There were two types of giving 1) Alms giving to the poor--money is handed out in small increments on a as needed basis. We saw this a lot in Madagascar. The poor would come into the shops daily and receive a few small coins, less than a penny in value. Shoppers would bump shoulders with them as made their way in and out of the place. We do something similar with the Silent Needs Fund. We give a little of our budget to help people as needed. Judas was saying that the perfume should have been just that, a small act, not an act of love. 2) Act of Love--Making a dent in our income so that we feel it and it hurts. We should feel it. Cynthia's father, a Presbyterian Minister stepped up to tithing. After about three years he met another pastor at a conference who was talking about tithing. He said to him, "I tithe and I don't even feel it." The other pastor responded, "then you should give 20 per cent" The point it is that giving out love should be felt.

Jesus smells good and is ready for his crucifixion. He will smell good for the rest of the week. He is going to the cross for the joy of it. Medieval teachings make it clear that we should feel sorry for Jesus--sorry that he died. Feeling sorry for Jesus makes us feel sorry for our sins. Jesus calls his death his moment of glory. His crucifixion is his glorification, a true moment of great joy.

Paul talks of another scent or smell; Philippians 3:8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. The translators wanted to use pretty words rather than the real ones. They used the prettier word rubbish and he Greek word here is skubala, which is a four lettered word in English, dung. Our earthly things do not smell as sweet as the act of giving from Love.

Prodigal

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source prod·i·gal /ˈprɒdɪgəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[prod-i-guhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective 1. wastefully or recklessly extravagant: prodigal expenditure. 2. giving or yielding profusely; lavish (usually fol. by of or with): prodigal of smiles; prodigal with money. 3. lavishly abundant; profuse: nature's prodigal resources. –noun 4. a person who spends, or has spent, his or her money or substance with wasteful extravagance; spendthrift. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Origin: 1500–10; back formation from prodigality] —Related forms prod·i·gal·ly, adverb —Synonyms 1. profligate. See lavish. 2, 3. copious, bounteous. 4. waster, wastrel. —Antonyms 1. cautious, provident. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source prod·i·gal (prŏd'ĭ-gəl) Pronunciation Key adj. Rashly or wastefully extravagant: prodigal expenditures on unneeded weaponry; a prodigal life. Giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse: prodigal praise. See Synonyms at profuse. n. One who is given to wasteful luxury or extravagance. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 15:2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." 15:3 So he told them this parable: 15:11b "There was a man who had two sons. 15:12 The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. 15:13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 15:14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15:15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 15:16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 15:17 But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 15:18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' 15:20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 15:21 Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 15:22 But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 15:23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 15:24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate. 15:25 "Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 15:26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 15:27 He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' 15:28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 15:29 But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' 15:31 Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 15:32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'" ............ When he came to himself, that is a key phrase of this parable. The son wished his father dead so he could have his share in the inheirtance. By doing this the son became dead to his family, his father and his brother. Not only was the son dead to his family but he became dead to himself. He lived without boundaries and without control. Only in the depths of hungry and despair does he come to himself and realize the foolishness of his choice. He would rather have material wealth that he could call his own rather than to live in his father's house. Jesus is illustrating how the established church should treat those live outside of the Church when they return. Jesus is living as the father in his own parable, eating in the homes of who the established Church of his time called sinners.

Who's Afraid of Death?

(The Congregation chuckled in joy as Pastor Mark taught them about St. Patrick and concluded the sermon with this prayer:)

I bind to myself today

The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:

I believe the Trinity in the Unity

The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,

The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,

The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,

The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today

The virtue of the love of seraphim,

In the obedience of angels,

In the hope of resurrection unto reward,

In prayers of Patriarchs,

In predictions of Prophets,

In preaching of Apostles,

In faith of Confessors,

In purity of holy Virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today

The power of Heaven,

The light of the sun,

The brightness of the moon,

The splendour of fire,

The flashing of lightning,

The swiftness of wind,

The depth of sea,

The stability of earth,

The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today

God's Power to guide me,

God's Might to uphold me,

God's Wisdom to teach me,

God's Eye to watch over me,

God's Ear to hear me,

God's Word to give me speech,

God's Hand to guide me,

God's Way to lie before me,

God's Shield to shelter me,

God's Host to secure me,

Against the snares of demons,

Against the seductions of vices,

Against the lusts of nature,

Against everyone who meditates injury to me,

Whether far or near,

Whether few or with many.

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I invoke today all these virtues

Against every hostile merciless power

Which may assail my body and my soul,

Against the incantations of false prophets,

Against the black laws of heathenism,

Against the false laws of heresy,

Against the deceits of idolatry,

Against the spells of women,

and smiths, and druids,

Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today

Against every poison,

against burning,

Against drowning,

against death-wound,

That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,Christ behind me, Christ within me,Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,Christ at my right, Christ at my left,

Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]Christ in the chariot seat,

[i.e., travelling by land]Christ in the poop. [i.e., travelling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,Christ in every ear that hears me.

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I bind to myself today

The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,

I believe the Trinity in the Unity The Creator of the Universe.

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St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer is really a prayer for all us and is a true Missionary Prayer. As we come to see ourselves as Evangelistic Missionaries we will study this prayer thoroughly.

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Now for a more fun topic: Fear of Death!

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In this part of Luke's Gospel people around Jesus are trying to convince him that he should be afraid because he acts with no fear whatsoever. Particularly, Jesus should be afraid of death as we heard in the Gospel reading:

Luke 13:1-9

13:1 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 13:2 He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 13:3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 13:5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." 13:6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 13:7 So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 13:8 He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 13:9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'

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The historical facts of these two events, the killing of the Galileans and the tower of Siloam, is unclear. It seems that they have something to do with a power struggle with Pilate in that they somehow threatened Pilate's command. The reaction to their deaths reflects the understanding of Torah, is filled with a list of curses, in that they were cursed for their sins.

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Turn on the Television sometime and you can hear how people have died because they are cursed. The Hurricanes and flooding and tsunami's are because the people were sinful.

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According to these so-called Evangelists the quarters in New Orleans were destroyed because the people who lived there were homosexuals. I guess everyone who lived there was a sinful homosexual and that is way their homes were destroyed. According to these Evangelists, it had nothing to do with weak levies and global warming. These guys must be right--right?

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There is a big problem with that type of thinking. These people see God as targeting sinners, and to see God in this way means that God has really bad aim. He targets and destroys sinners but takes out the wrong people. It is absurd to think that everyone who died in New Orleans or in Indonesia was a terrible sinner suitable for destruction by God's vengeful hand. To see God in this way is to see God as a god of vengeance with really bad aim.

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Jesus is pointing this out to everyone and showing how absurd this thinking this. People then just like today see that dieing for a bad reason is a reason nonetheless. People die unexpectedly because of a sudden illness or accident and they see it as a punishment from God. To die for a bad reason gives meaning to their death. Without it there is no reason at all and life is meaningless. It is better for them to think: Death is a punishment from God for doing something wrong.

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Jesus is fearless and does not see it this way at all.

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God is a judge, an impartial judge, who does not want to mentally and spiritually get us. God is a good judge who is not predisposed on one side. God is not a Jihads Judge that we have to fear.

Jesus displaces that view and that mind set. Jesus replaces Fear with Love. In Luther's Catechism we read the words of Martin Luther's explanation to the 1o Commandments, "We should fear and love God that we..." We have to look closely at the word fear and see how it is connected to Love. We do not fear God for fear of punishment. We fear God out of respect for the unending Love which he bestows upon us. We should not be afraid.

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People who are afraid are easily lead in the promise that they will be safer. Fear does not make people better. Fear hurts our physical and emotional health. Living in Fear can make us psychotic. Fear shuts down logical reasoning and fills us with anxiety so that we can not see any new possibilities. As it is written, "See, I am doing something new." Our society is living in fear and is attaching that fear to God. Living this way makes it almost impossible to see the New Thing that God is doing, Jesus.

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Jesus addresses all this fear and anxiety with his parable. "One more year," Jesus says. That one year is the last part of his ministry. Jesus is going to be the fruit hanging from the tree. That is the true "new thing."

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The "new thing" God is doing in Jesus is the removal and reversal of all the curses in Torah. That is difficult for us, because we like the curses. We like to use the curses as a stick to bash each other with when things go wrong for other people.

Jesus brings God to us.

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How do we view Holy Communion? We tend to think of it as a thing, a sacrament. Holy Communion is a joining with God. In Holy Communion we met Jesus and the curses of Torah are

removed and reversed.

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Feel, Taste, and Hear how Jesus brings God to us

Mixed Up Politics

Second Sunday in Lent

Today I am going to focus on the lesson from Philippians. By now you know that I am preach strange sermons about politics. Well, the politics of the world are truly mixed up and Jesus shows us how to set politics right.

In The Gospel message today (Luke 13: 31-35) we see Herod the Fox who uses fear and violence, the world's politics, threatening Jesus the Mother Hen, who uses the politics of Love. These are two separate political worlds which are diametrical opposed to one another. Jesus is not afraid; he is like the hen who gathers her chicks under her wings and confronts the fox.

Philippians 3: 17-4:1

3:17 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 3:18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 3:19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 3:21 He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. 4:1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

The ancient world was very good at imitating, in fact, ancient idolatry and worship was just that. Idolatry encouraged the examples of living set by the gods and goddesses. Notice that Paul does not say to the Philippians, "be yourself," rather he tells them and us to follow the example of Jesus. All those around them were following the example of the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses and were living toward their own destruction. Their gods and goddesses were their belly, that is their stomachs and the area south.

An economist, Victor Lebow, wrote in 1955 that our economics of consumption, the buying and selling will be converted into our spiritual rituals.

Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing rate. - Victor Lebow, 1955

He predicted accurately. Every month it seems that the stores have a special reason to buy something. Shopping has become a religion. In Feb we have St. Valentine's Day, March it's St. Patrick's Day,. April it's Easter; our culture commemorates Jesus' Resurrection with chocolate, bunnies and eggs, in May it's Mother's Day and June it's Father's Day. The biggest shopping rite of course is at Christmas.

What Lebow was saying in 1955 has come to pass. Consumption is the way of life in our society. The goal of all of this, that is, where this all ends is destruction. We see the results of this destruction already in Global Warming, pollution and wars. We always have war and we can't seem to figure out how to stop them. Not just our current war in Iraq but throughout world history

.

This is how it ends up. It doesn't have to end this way with war, pollution and Global Warming. With the help of God we can turn all of this around. Remember there are two Kings of Power: Fear and Love. Gandhi said it this way, " if God who is undefinable can be defined it is to say God is Truth attained through Love." Gandhi did not learn this on his own; he learned it through the teachings of Jesus Christ. In 1776 John Adams wrote: "Love and not Fear will be the source of the people's obedience." As you can see the Truth is known we have to live it.

Fear and Love are two kinds of power. As Paul wrote, "But our citizenship is in heaven." A better translation of this would be, "But our commonwealth is in heaven." The Emperor rule the Empire with Fear and Violence as opposed to a Commonwealth where everything is equal. The people of the Empire will do whatever the Emperor says to do and in fact they will worship the Empire so they won't be killed.

In a Commonwealth the people act on the love based on the concern for all, not what benefits them directly. It is similar to raising children with love. We do what is for their own good and not ours. The Empire is all about destruction and consumption. What the world needs now is a Commonwealth of love. As Burt Bacharach said, "what the world needs now is Love Sweet Love."

Brother's and Sister's we have to understand that the politics of Jesus must be adhered to, right now. Right now we are in danger of destroying nature through which God provides for us.

The Son of God and the Devil

First Sunday In Lent

Luke 4: 1-13

The Devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’ If you are the Son of God, the Devil said. The title "Son of God" means Emperor, and the title "Son of Man" means anti-emperor, or no one important. In Luke's Gospel we find a reverse genealogy which ends with Jesus as the Son of Adam and Son of God. Jesus in fact is the real Emperor, who unlike Tiberius Cesar walks every everywhere he goes, does not carry a sword, loves his enemies and dies shamefully on a cross.

Jesus has an issue with these false emperors.

The Devil, Satan, the accuser, is the real spiritual power behind the Emperors and all Empires. Think of the Empires of the present and the past and see how they possess the power to compel belief--that power comes from Satan. Empires like the Third Reich, The British Empire, and the Soviet Union.

In order to make it clear to this Emperor Candidate, who stands before him, how things really work, The Devil tests Jesus. It was believed at the time, and even into present day, like in North Korea, that Kings and Emperors possess magical powers. The would weave gold threads into their clothing and wear golden crowns or laurel leaves dipped in gold. When they rode about in their chariots or on their horses in their golden attire they would glow and everyone would gaze upon them in amazement.

The Devil wants Jesus to make a command, and turn the stone into bread. Why take advice from the Devil? Jesus never says, "I command you..." Jesus says "Follow me." He doesn't add blessing and cursing to the end of everything he says, like it does in the Torah. Jesus doesn't compel or corerse people into following him by using fear. Jesus uses the Truth and says, "Follow me." We follow Jesus because he is right. His Empire endures forever because it is based on the power of Truth and Love and not on fear and coresion.

With no more power than the power of the Truth Jesus stands against the Devil who is filled with the power of Fear.

Jesus is Lord over all of us, not with threatening power or fear, but with Truth and Love.

It is possible to be a church based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone, without the need of fear or scape goating. The world needs it so much.

How Deeply We Should Repent

ASH WEDNESDAY

Genesis 2: 4b-9, 15-17

In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up--for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; 6but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground-- 7then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground,a and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. 8And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." 18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." 19So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are justified in your sentence,

and blameless when you pass judgment.

5 Indeed, I was born guilty,

a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being;

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and put a new and right spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from your presence,

and do not take your holy spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,

O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;

if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

19 then you will delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Romans 8: 18-25

18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For In hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

John 9: 1-7

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, 7saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Wednesday Nights are education nights at Peace Lutheran. Over the past few weeks the Adult Education Class has been studying the Al Gore documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Pastor Mark began the sermon with a handout, a graph showing the amount of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere in parts per million (ppm) over the past 400, 0oo years and projected into the year 2100. The carbon dioxide research was conducted by drilling core samples of the Antarctica Ice.

Currently the CO2 level of our atmosphere is above 350,000 ppm, the highest ever recorded in the last 4o0,000 years. Remember that the human race, homosapien, first appeared on the earth 150,000 years ago. We are seeing the disappearance of the ice field over Greenland, Antarctica is losing Ice Shelves. The planet is already changing and we scarcely know what kind of planet we will have.

If the ice shelves melt we will lose populated coast lands, we will experience higher temperatures. The oceans will change; the will lose their salinity and aquatic life will die. If the Gulf Stream cools down most of Europe will freeze. The Oceans will become more acidic and shell fish won't be able to form shells; they will die, and so will the plankton. In short there will be a mass extinction.

The last time this planet endured a mass extinction, the dinosaurs died off. Paleontologists and Geologists tell us that this was a good thing in the fact that it paved the way for us. It took the planet 10,000,000 years to recover from the last mass extinction.

We are creating a very different world for our children and grandchildren. They will be able to watch movies about what kind of Eden this world once was and then suffer through it for 10 million years. God commanded us to take care of this world and to be good stewards of it. Certainly this is something to repent of. Repent means to turn around. Rather than focusing on our individual sins and really turn around and begin to take care of this planet.

What can we start doing right now? Recycle paper, buy recycled paper, and do these things in our own home and not just here at Peace Lutheran. We can car pool, have meetings during daylight hours. We can eat local produce and produce that is in season. Your meal travels 1,500 miles to land on your plate.

In the Gospel tonight we heard of man who was born blind and he was healed, literally, he was created blind and re-created with sight. The image in the Old Testament is that God created the earth and then rested from creation and now we can do what we want with the earth. In the New Testament it is clear that God's creating power never ceases. God's power to create is still happening. If we see God as the Father, the head of household, the head of the Universe, then we will see that we are setting God's house on on fire. This is truly what stewardship is; to take care of God's house.

Senator John McCain from Arizona started a bill a few years ago to address the enviromental issues. It was a basic bill, nothing too dramatic, but he received a lot of resistance from lobyists and the bill was killed in the Senate. McCain said he heard the voices of the Special Interest Groups and his fellow Senators, but he never heard the voices of the people. We all like sheep have gone astray, each gone his own way.

We have to pay attention in the year 2007, because the earth doesn't have time to wait. The leadership, if you can call it that, in Washington doesn't care. It is time for repentance. It is time for us to lead. We should start a parade for the enviroment and then let the people in the Beltway take the lead.

The Reality of Christ

Transfiguration Sunday

Feburary 18, 2007

Luke 9: 28-36 [37-43]

What is real? How do we know what is real? Physical things are real to us because we see them and touch them. Thanks to Sir Francis Bacon the physical world is more to us than the invisible world. To the ancients the invisible world was real. Light is real because of the light we preceive the physical world.

There is something more real--even more real than light--and that something is the Glory of God. Once you have seen the Glory of God the the average everyday level is dissappointing and shabby. The Glory of God is inexplainably, astoundingly joyous and real. The disciple reaction to seeing the Glory of God is not a possitive one. They are terrified and they tried to make meaning of what they were seeing. We like, like they, want to deterimine for ourselves what is important to understand. We do this a lot in religion. We tell God that we will make you into our religion we will build you shrines (tents/dwellings) for God. The Glory of God as seen in the Transfiguration is so real that that it does not need our meanings, our shrine, nor our worship.

Peter wants the "good old time religion" and make it up themselves. Peter, James and John confronted a reality so clear and large that it enveloped them. They could not make it up, they could not confine it and give it meaning. God inclosed them into His Glory and then gave them a message. This is my Son, the Chosen, listen to him. Listen or hear in the Greek means "Obey!" Jesus is the reality that is beyond the Law and the Prophets.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians that the law is fine but it does not reveal the Glory of God.

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that of what as being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16 -->but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

If we are a Gospel based church, even if we dare to say it, it will be not because we say it is so, but because it comes from God. The veil is lifted and the Truth is revealed.

The stuff we humans do to make meaning of the Truth is religion. It is not a religion that determines Truth from falseness, because of what we Christians do has the question of truth and falseness. The standard of Truth is the Glory of God shining through Jesus Christ. It deeply impacts us in ways that makes us tell stories.

My friend and fellow missionary who is a pastor in Chicago was driving in the dark in the third world. His daughter, about the age 9, was sleeping next to him when suddenly he heard a voice say "Stop!" He answered what? Again the voice said, "Stop!" not in a angry or loud voice, just clear and authoritative. He stopped the car only to discover that the bridge he was about to drive over was gone. Don't think this story is made up. Call him and he will tell you. He will also tell you that it wasn't for his sake that God told him to stop but for his daughter's.

This is a reality that is more real than the physical world that we can see and touch. Paul says in Romans that Faith comes from hearing. We hear the Truth of God's Glory through Jesus Christ.

Blessings and Shame

Sixth Sunday After Epiphany

Pastor Mark's sermon

Luke 6:17-26

There wasn't church last Sunday because of the bad weather. The sermons were backing up in my head and they had to come out somehow. I know, I thought, I will preach two sermons. What is better than one sermon? Two sermons. But then I remembered that we are having the congregational meeting right after the service so I could preach another sermon there.

Let's recapitulate all that has happened. Two Sunday's ago we heard how Jesus was kicked out of the Synagogue because the Galileans did not like the message they heard. Jesus' ministry got off to a bad start. Then from the Gospel from last Sunday as we heard in the children's sermon,

Jesus' ministry had a good second start with the great catch of fish. The fish represent people, all kinds of people, all who are in the reign of darkness or death are caught and brought into the kingdom of light.

Now Jesus is preaching a sermon similar to the sermon on the mount, but he is not on a mountain, but a level place. He preaches about blessings/honors and woe/shame.

Blessings and Woes Then he looked up at his disciples and said:‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. ‘But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. ‘Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.‘Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

There are many references to money, riches and food. Is there a theme here? If we are counting on material possessions for identity then that is all we will be. Money will comfort us. The poor have nothing else but God to rely on for comfort and hope--God is all you have if you are poor.

I have heard something called the Gospel of wealth. It is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When Jesus arrives the lies give away, the lies of materialistic wealth and power--mammon. The lies of being possessed by possessions of being unable to share what the gifts God has given them.

1 Corinthians 15

Then comes the end,when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.

The word destroyed seems very harsh to us. We think of cities being leveled with bombs and weapons. Another way to translate this is canceled out or deposed. The authorities of this world are canceled/deposed when Christ's authority moves in. The Roman emperor was the Son of god, Jesus is the true Son of God. The state becomes the god in this world. Look at the preamble to the Constitution, it seems that the state is to serve. The real reason Paul was a threat to the Roman Empire is that he was preaching that the true Son of God was not the son of god, the emperor. The real Son of God is who the Empire crucified, the Roman Emperor is the impostor.

The Emperor thinks he is God. He brings death and destruction with his power. When a state believes it is God there will be destruction in the name of the State/God. The real God gives life in the presence of death and includes all those who are excluded. We have to be able to identify when the State has become a god.

When I was in Chicago I went to a Chiropractor and she was able to see what was wrong with a person just by the way he or she walked or how much energy he or she had. She knew just were to press the persons back to correct the problem. We too should be able to see through the Gospel's eyes what is wrong with the world--where the lies are.

Jesus is Lord! This demands that we become aware of the all the false gods and we will be alert to where the real God is. We will be able to see the real God.

Fishing story

Church was canceled today

Because I didn't hear a sermon today, I thought I would try writting one myself.

The text:Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

The gender inclusive language misses out on the play on words that Luke uses. Rather than being fishing men, you will be fishing for men. Men here means people. Of course today even that language invokes images that miss the point as well. Today we still use idioms of fishing for dating. Not what Jesus had in mind at all.

Jesus wants them to draw humanity in toward Jesus. To live lives that make people wonder and will follow them to Jesus.

They caught more fish that day than they could manage. Too many to pickle, too many to sell, too many for their nets, too many for their boats. There was profit with Jesus around. But they left all of that to follow Jesus.

Jesus calls us to follow him everyday. This is a scary message. Are we to leave our work places and follow him? Well, they never stop fishing. We see later in the Gospels that they still fished. The image that really grabs me here is leaving their drenched boats, torn nets and caught fish to walk with Jesus.

"Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." Isn't that the truth! We see Jesus' greatness and our own weakness and we are ashamed. Jesus doesn't care about all that we have done wrong or anything that we are ashamed of. He wants us to follow him; He wants us near him--Grace defined.

Jesus may ask us to do things that seem futile at first, but then we will be surprised at how well it worked out. Many times we too do not want Jesus near us, but Jesus is always calling us to move toward him and in turn lead others to him.

Kicking Jesus out of the Church

Pastor Mark's Sermon

The Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany was Luke chapter 4:21-30. The Galileans kicked Jesus out of their synagogue, can you imagine kicking Jesus out of the church? Well of course not here! Not at this church! Some churches do kick Jesus of the their churches, others like to keep Jesus quiet and in back of the church and only bring him out when they need a healing or other help. They don't want Jesus to lead them. Jesus is leading here. We have the ability to be 100 per cent based on the Gospel of Jesus. We should be praying and working to be a Gospel based congregation. Already we are changing toward that goal, and we are not doing so because we are so wonderful, but because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the leadership retreat yesterday we discussed what are values are. That is what about here at Peace Lutheran do we value. We came up with a short list: Acceptance, Love, Non-Judging, Hard Working, Grace Filled Living, and Educating. From where do these values come? They come from Jesus and the Gospel, that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On the non-judging topic it was asked if Jesus did indeed judge. I told them that Jesus was only judgmental of those who were judgmental of others. He accepted everyone expect those who unaccepted others. I did not know that it was possible to have a church 100 per cent based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ until I did my internship 20 years ago in Milwaukee in a church that was in The Core of Milwaukee. This church started out as a white German LCMS congregation and then went into the AELCA and then into the ELCA. Their church had burned down, and they were offered property in the suburbs. They decided to stay in the inner city because it was there that the Gospel was needed. By the time I got there it had become 80 per cent African American and 20 per cent white. It was clear while I was there that they were wholly committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is all sufficient for all they need. Today we hear of more Bible Based Churches rather than Gospel Based Churches. Bible based means they want the Gospel plus something more; they want other things that are not Gospel related. They preach a non-Gospel message or a Gospel-mixed message. If you want to hear what they are like tune in a cable station sometime and I am sure you will hear it. It is rare to have a church like the one in Milwaukee that is is not offended or unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the force behind all that we do. It is my agenda, my theological and spiritual agenda to make us a Gospel based congregation. It is what we should be all about, and it is something that is already here at Peace Lutheran. We live in a culture that elevates rudeness and arrogance. The Gospel is transforming. I want people to notice that there is something extraordinary here--the Gospel