Friday, June 4, 2010
Pray for Pastor Asmus
This is a simple request for all to pray for Pastor Asmus and his wife Lisa as they travel to Rapid on Sunday. They will be visiting Zion as they consider the call to be the pastor here. We also pray that their time here will be blessed no matter what the final answer is regarding the call.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Congratulations Graduates!
It's June already and many of our Zion youth have graduated and the rest will graduate this coming weekend. Tonight we will be holding a special Baccalaureate/Senior Tribute night which will be a great time to celebrate the past 18 years and to look forward to what God has in store for each of you as you begin down the road of higher education.
We leave you with these words from The Sidewalk Prophets which definately speak to the heart of one parent at Zion whose senior is graduating.
"Three in the morning, And I'm still awake
So I pick up and pen and a page, And I started writing
Just what I'd say, If we were face to face
I'd tell you just what you mean to me, I'd tell you these simple truths"
"Be strong in the Lord and Never give up hope
You're going to do great things, I already know
God's got His hand on you so, don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget but don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray, These are the words I would say"
"Last time we spoke you said you were hurting
And I felt your pain in my heart, I want to tell you
That I keep on praying, Love will find you where you are
I know cause I've already been there, so please hear these simple truths"
"Be strong in the Lord and Never give up hope
You're going to do great things, I already know
God's got His hand on you so, don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget but don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray, These are the words I would say"
"From one simple life to another, I will say
Come find peace in the Father"
"Be strong in the Lord and Never give up hope
You're going to do great things, I already know
God's got His hand on you so, don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget but don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray, Thank God for each day
His love will find a way, These are the words I would say"
We leave you with these words from The Sidewalk Prophets which definately speak to the heart of one parent at Zion whose senior is graduating.
"Three in the morning, And I'm still awake
So I pick up and pen and a page, And I started writing
Just what I'd say, If we were face to face
I'd tell you just what you mean to me, I'd tell you these simple truths"
"Be strong in the Lord and Never give up hope
You're going to do great things, I already know
God's got His hand on you so, don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget but don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray, These are the words I would say"
"Last time we spoke you said you were hurting
And I felt your pain in my heart, I want to tell you
That I keep on praying, Love will find you where you are
I know cause I've already been there, so please hear these simple truths"
"Be strong in the Lord and Never give up hope
You're going to do great things, I already know
God's got His hand on you so, don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget but don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray, These are the words I would say"
"From one simple life to another, I will say
Come find peace in the Father"
"Be strong in the Lord and Never give up hope
You're going to do great things, I already know
God's got His hand on you so, don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget but don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray, Thank God for each day
His love will find a way, These are the words I would say"
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A New Pastor
As you've probably heard Pastor Jeff Anderson will be remaining in Morton, IL serving Bethel Lutheran. As we continue in the call process please pray for our new pastor whoever he is and pray that we at Zion would continue to move forward as a congregation of believers. Also pray for Pastor Jeff as he continues to serve the people of Bethel.
Monday, May 10, 2010
God is Just
Often when we describe God we use words such as loving, caring, giving, forgiving etc. Then when things go poorly we blame God because he doesn't "live up to such terms" at least in our opinion. What we need to remember is that God is Just and being just does not mean that he does exactlyl what we want but what he has ordained for us. When bad things happen it's not because God allowed them it's because God made them happen. This does not mean that God is not loving or caring for us at the time but that his just will is loving and caring for us during our struggle.
Look at Jesus, when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed "Father, take this cup from me but not my will but your will be done." Jesus did not want to have to suffer the trails that awaited him, just like us. Yet, Jesus did it and God did not abandon him through his hours of suffering, God loved him, cared for him and was Just. This is exactly what God does for us during trials he leads us with love, caring for us, giving us what we need including the trial because he is Just. Giving us what he has ordained for us.
Look at Jesus, when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed "Father, take this cup from me but not my will but your will be done." Jesus did not want to have to suffer the trails that awaited him, just like us. Yet, Jesus did it and God did not abandon him through his hours of suffering, God loved him, cared for him and was Just. This is exactly what God does for us during trials he leads us with love, caring for us, giving us what we need including the trial because he is Just. Giving us what he has ordained for us.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
More on Forgiveness
After my ponderings and posting yesterday I thought I would share with you what happened to be a follow up on forgiveness posted on the Desiring God blog.
"Forgiveness of an unrepentant person doesn't look the same as a repentant person. In fact I am not sure that in the Bible the term forgiveness is ever applied to an unrepentant person. Jesus said in Luke 17:3-4 "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying 'I repent', forgive him." So there's a sense in which full forgiveness is only possible in response to repentance.
But even when a person does not repent (cf Matthew 18:17), we are commanded to love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us and do good to those who hate us. (Luke 6:27) The difference is when a person who wronged us does not repent with contrition and confession and conversion (turning from sin to righteousness), he cuts off the full work of forgiveness. We can still lay down our ill will; we can hand our anger over to God; we can seek to do him good; but we cannot carry through reconciliation or intimacy."
This is definatley giving me more to ponder and I hope it does the same for you.
"Forgiveness of an unrepentant person doesn't look the same as a repentant person. In fact I am not sure that in the Bible the term forgiveness is ever applied to an unrepentant person. Jesus said in Luke 17:3-4 "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying 'I repent', forgive him." So there's a sense in which full forgiveness is only possible in response to repentance.
But even when a person does not repent (cf Matthew 18:17), we are commanded to love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us and do good to those who hate us. (Luke 6:27) The difference is when a person who wronged us does not repent with contrition and confession and conversion (turning from sin to righteousness), he cuts off the full work of forgiveness. We can still lay down our ill will; we can hand our anger over to God; we can seek to do him good; but we cannot carry through reconciliation or intimacy."
This is definatley giving me more to ponder and I hope it does the same for you.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Desiring God
About 6 weeks ago I found a blog titled "Desiring God" the contributors are pastors at Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis. Some of their posts are informational about work their church or projects they are connected with are working on and others are truly thought provoking as they reflect on the Bible. Yes, sometimes I disagree with their theology but I overall the blog is well worth my time and is helping me grow in my faith.
The angle they approach some topics with makes me stop, look and think about the Bible in ways I have never done before. My thinking and beliefs are challenged and for this I am thankful as it causes me to learn and grow. Yesterday, Tyler Kenney posted on Forgiveness and Forgiving. It was actually a post that was an extension of a previous post. I was entrigued by this excert:
"If we tell others "I forgive your sin" even though they refuse to acknowledge their sin, we remove the very incentive the gospel places upon them to confess their sins and to seek forgiveness. If we take preemptive action by granting forgiveness of sin to those who do not repent, on what basis could the church ever follow the procedures of Matthew 18:15-17?"
This excert truly spoke to me as I have had several conversations with people where I talk about feeling wronged by another person and the response I receive is "you need to forgive them". While I do not deny the need to forgive them I tend to respond with "why should I forgive them if they've never asked for forgiveness? Aren't I telling them what they did was ok if they never had to say they're sorry?" For this reason the post made me feel a little better about my reaction to people when they tell me I need to simply forgive the other person. But it also causes me to reflect on the fact that the real missing element may be my lack of going to the person, calling them on their sin and seeing if they will repent so that I can offer forgiveness. That is the scary thought because it forces me to action when I feel wronged. It also puts me in a vulnerable position of making a situation worse.
So ultimately what do I take away. 1) that we should openly confess our wrong doings to people, say we're sorry and ask people for forgiveness 2) that we should offer forgiveness to people when they ask for it 3) we should follow the words of Matthew 18:15-17 by confronting people when they have wronged us in the hope that they will see what their actions have done to us and through that they can ask for forgiveness, we can give forgiveness and our relationship will be repaired and improved and our relationship with God will probably be even better too!
The angle they approach some topics with makes me stop, look and think about the Bible in ways I have never done before. My thinking and beliefs are challenged and for this I am thankful as it causes me to learn and grow. Yesterday, Tyler Kenney posted on Forgiveness and Forgiving. It was actually a post that was an extension of a previous post. I was entrigued by this excert:
"If we tell others "I forgive your sin" even though they refuse to acknowledge their sin, we remove the very incentive the gospel places upon them to confess their sins and to seek forgiveness. If we take preemptive action by granting forgiveness of sin to those who do not repent, on what basis could the church ever follow the procedures of Matthew 18:15-17?"
This excert truly spoke to me as I have had several conversations with people where I talk about feeling wronged by another person and the response I receive is "you need to forgive them". While I do not deny the need to forgive them I tend to respond with "why should I forgive them if they've never asked for forgiveness? Aren't I telling them what they did was ok if they never had to say they're sorry?" For this reason the post made me feel a little better about my reaction to people when they tell me I need to simply forgive the other person. But it also causes me to reflect on the fact that the real missing element may be my lack of going to the person, calling them on their sin and seeing if they will repent so that I can offer forgiveness. That is the scary thought because it forces me to action when I feel wronged. It also puts me in a vulnerable position of making a situation worse.
So ultimately what do I take away. 1) that we should openly confess our wrong doings to people, say we're sorry and ask people for forgiveness 2) that we should offer forgiveness to people when they ask for it 3) we should follow the words of Matthew 18:15-17 by confronting people when they have wronged us in the hope that they will see what their actions have done to us and through that they can ask for forgiveness, we can give forgiveness and our relationship will be repaired and improved and our relationship with God will probably be even better too!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Prayer Requests
We had our call meeting today and now we must pray even more for Zion that our hearts would be seeking the will of God. We must also pray for Bethel Lutheran as they face the call process with their pastor and we must pray for Pastor Jeff that he may follow the will of God in his life and ministry.
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