Admin, Author at Zion Lutheran Church

What Does It Mean to Be Human? Part II

February 12, 2019 by Admin Leave a Comment

Nature and Will

Ever since the first humans, Adam and Eve, committed the sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind is by nature fallen. Every human being born from Cain to the present day is born into this sinful condition. King David confesses this in perhaps his most famous psalm, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (Ps. 51:5).

This is an extremely unpopular teaching of the Christian faith because it credits our human nature with absolutely nothing in the sight of God. Many even from different Christian traditions believe that human beings are born basically good or at worst morally neutral, able to choose between good or evil when they mature. This is not what the Scriptures teach. God warned Adam and Eve that sin brings with it the curse of death (Gen. 2:17). The fact that infants, even infants in the womb, can die proves that by nature we are all corrupted with the stain of sin.

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What Keeps Us From Giving to Others?

February 12, 2019 by Admin Leave a Comment

Did you know that of all the miracles Jesus ever did, besides the Resurrection itself, there is only one that was important enough to appear in all four Gospels? More important than healing miracles, more important than raising other people from the dead, the only miracle to show up in all four of the Gospel accounts is the feeding of the five thousand.

Why is that?

In John 6:1-15, we see that it’s time for the Passover. Jesus and His disciples are up on a mountain, and a large crowd has formed around them. “Testing” Philip, Jesus asked him “where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” Philip seems astounded by the problem. He scans the crowd and realizes how big this problem is. “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

Two hundred denarii, by the way, is about two-thirds of a year of wages. And for a single meal! Andrew offers that “there is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish…” but even he understands that it’s a pointless thought. There’s too many people!

Think of these disciples. Philip, staring with gaping mouths at the vast crowd, overcome by the impossible need. And Andrew, shaking his head over the meager resources in his hands.

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What Does It Mean to be Human? Part I

December 5, 2018 by Admin Leave a Comment

In our present age, there is a great deal of confusion. The social fabric of our society and culture is being torn apart thread by thread, resulting in a whole host of challenges to long-held beliefs about what it means to live together in a society, what is the nature and limitation of personal freedom, and what it means to be a Christian in today’s world.

A common thread running through all of these issues is the current confusion over what it means to be a human being. As human beings, we all have a vision of what it means to be human and to live a fulfilling life. We often take it for granted that others share our assumptions of what it means to be human and what is the purpose of human life. Sadly, it’s a faulty assumption that everyone else shares our understanding of what it means to be human. [Read more…]

Consumed by “What” Sometimes We Forget “Why”

December 5, 2018 by Admin Leave a Comment

The angels announced the “good news of great joy” to those terrified shepherds in the field. And still today, the Church proclaims that same “good news of great joy” into our world as well. Thankfully, we don’t receive that news with “terror!” But we do celebrate it with a lot of busyness and stress.

December, after all, is a busy time! Holiday parties, concerts, celebrations, family, food, presents, and more. It’s a time of great joy! It’s also a time of great stress. With all the rushing and buying and traveling and singing, it’s easy to be so consumed by what we need to do that we forget why we are doing it.

Maybe you’ve heard Zion is not having a children’s Christmas Program this year. [Read more…]

When to Call the Pastors

October 29, 2018 by Admin Leave a Comment

One of the things I notice as a pastor is that many people don’t know when to contact their pastor or are afraid that he might be too busy and they would be bothering him. Thankfully, the members at Zion are pretty good at contacting us when they need pastoral care. However, once in a while we like to print this list as a reminder of what sorts of things your pastors would like to know about, so we can pray and offer spiritual guidance. Here are some examples of things we would love for you to call us about:

When …you receive life-threatening news

…you want to talk about major problems (marriage, substance abuse, family, etc.)

…there is a restoration in the family after major problem [Read more…]

Jesus Thought It Was A Big Deal…

October 25, 2018 by Admin Leave a Comment

As a pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, I have been told not to talk about it. And believe me, I don’t want to. But when Jesus mentions it in 15% of His parables (11 out of 39), it seems foolish to skip it entirely. He may have talked about it more than anything else. Some even say the Scriptures refer to it more than 2,300 times, but I haven’t personally counted them. What could it be? And why would I be warned to steer clear of it?

It’s not the 6th commandment, though the Bible says a lot about that which we don’t want to hear.

It’s not about going to Church on Sunday, though we have much to learn about that as well.

The topic is money. Wealth. Possessions. I’ve heard it said that if you show me what you spend your money on, I’ll show you your God. But don’t take my word for it, check out Matthew 6:19-24.
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