Spirit Bound Letting Their Light Shine!
Spirit Bound is on their final tour after 24 years of music ministry!
They loaded the buses last Friday night, June 18, to head out to the east coast (Boston) and then back again for their final Homecoming Potluck and Performance on Sunday June 27! Before they got on the buses, each member of Spirit Bound was given a candle and a card to give to someone that they meet on their trip who lets the light of Christ shine in their life.Â
The theme of the drama this year is “Find the Good Way.” It’s a story about change, how God leads and guides us in life, and paying attention to the new challenges, ministries, and work God is inviting us to take on. But it is also about letting the light of Christ shine in our lives through everything we do and say.
It may not surprise you to find out that the members of Spirit Bound have already given out a number of candles to some of the many people they have met.Â
One person was a 90 year old artist, whose son brought her to one of the performances. She was so touched by their music and message, and just the love of Jesus that radiated from the members of Spirit Bound, she invited everyone to come visit her artists studio and shop the next day. Her son told some of the members of Spirit Bound how much their performance impacted his mom.
Another person happened to be following the Spirit Bound bus as they made a wrong turn off of a round about while trying to find Plymouth Rock. They pulled up alongside the bus, knocked on the door, got in and helped them get back on the right roads to get to where they were going. It was just because they recoginzed the bus and decided to see if they needed any help.
The tour is going great! People are keeping their cell phones off while on the bus and are (gasp!) actually talking to one another and having a good time!!! (Sorry to those who have lost their voices!). They are heading toward Boston and more opportunities to let their light shine while taking the “Freedom Trail” visiting the Boston Public Library, or going to see “Toy Story 3″ (really guys?).
Join us as we welcome them home on Sunday afternoon, June 27, around 4:00pm, and then help us serve them a HUGE POTLUCK to show them our support. Their final performance starts at 7:00pm, and I hope everyone can join us to pack the sanctuary to standing room only! And as always, we could use your help setting up and cleaning up, so give me a call (952) 454-6927 or email me at pastor.kent@christusvictor.org.
Graduating from Church?
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE GRADUATES!
It is an exhilarating time of year, when college and high school young adults graduate, and look forward to the next steps in their journey of life. So many possibilities, so many unknowns. The biggest unknown is whether or not these young adults will continue in their journey of faith with Jesus Christ!
According to the latest longitudinal studies and research, approximately 65-75% of baptized and confirmed youth will have stopped participating in the worship and ministries of the church, any church, by the age of 21.  The sad situation is that:Â
- Approximately 10% of baptized children/youth continue in the life of the church and “grow in graceâ€/vocation leadership within the faith community and its mission in the world.
- Of Americans 40 years old and younger: 40% don’t believe in God, 25% say they are spiritual but not religious, and 5% say they are religious but are not committed or connected to any faith community. That’s 70% of young adults in America!
So, my thought and challenge is this: what would happen if every adult in the life of these graduates, starting with mom and dad, their aunts, uncles, and grandparents wrote their graduates a note sharing what their faith in God through Jesus Christ means to them, and why they find being connected to a community of faith (aka “the Church) is meaningful and important to them. In the midst of all the well wishes and congratulations, maybe a word of encouragement to continue on in their Baptismal relationship with Jesus Christ might be needed.
Change and the Future of CV: Praying and Discerning Like Jesus
 “But now, more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But [Jesus] would withdraw to deserted places and pray.†– Luke 5: 15-16Â
“Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles.†– Luke 6: 12-13
           Change is both exciting and frightening.Â
There are good changes… When kids are graduating from high school and college, there is celebration and expectation, as well as fear and worry, on the part of parents and their children together. Marriage brings huge change, not just for the couple, but for the whole system of family and friend relationships. The birth of a child brings a lifetime of changes, sometimes faster than parents can handle.Â
There are bad changes… The diagnosis of cancer or some deadly disease brings unwanted change and dread. Getting laid off from a job brings unforeseen changes that threaten the stability of families, not only financially by emotionally as well. The ending of relationships, whether through divorce, a dating relationship, the break-up of a friendship, or moving to a new community or new church, are full of painful changes and adjustments.  Â
The question about change, “What will happen next,†can be asked with anticipation or anxiety, and often times both.
“What will happen next,†has been a big question for a lot of people as Spirit Bound heads out on their farewell tour after 24 years of music ministry. When people ask me, with anticipation and anxiety, “what will happen next,†I have to say I have no idea what will happen next.Â
 But, I do know that whatever new ministries will arise here at CV will only come after people take time to pray and discern God’s Leading and Calling. Just like Jesus, all of us need to take a little time every day to get away from all of the distractions and demanding voices to pray, to be in God’s Presence, and let the Holy Spirit guide us and bring us together to discern what God wants to happen next.
As we celebrate 24 wonderful years of Spirit Bound’s ministry, I thank God that Anne Nyquist and Deb Archer listened to God, in their own unique way, and started Spirit Bound. God showed them a very real need for a ministry for senior high youth at CV. They looked at the gifts God had given them, namely a passion for music. They shared their idea and passion with a few other supportive people and then got going, even in the face of resistance and at times a lack of support. It has taken a lot of energy, a huge commitment of time and resources, and a lot of love to keep this ministry going over these 24 years. Through the many ups and downs of Christus Victor’s ministry, Spirit Bound has been a central and consistent ministry that has kept CV going through thick and thin. Spirit Bound has not only touched the faith and lives of hundreds of people at CV, but also many thousands of people from the 30 states and 4 Canadian Provinces to whom Spirit Bound has brought their musical Gospel message.
What happens next at CV will come from Prayer, Passion, and Committed People using their gifts, talents, time, and treasure to serve God and make a difference in the world and in the lives of other people for the sake of Jesus Christ.
I invite you to join me in celebrating 24 years of Spirit Bound’s ministry at their homecoming concert on Sunday, June 27, at 7:00pm! Let’s make their homecoming potluck and concert a big celebration, and show our thanks and appreciation for all that Spirit Bound has meant to the life and ministry of Christus Victor!
Where is the Spirit? It’s in you!
Remember Easter? We shouted for joy on Easter morning: “Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!†There was energy and excitement as we celebrated Christ’s victory over sin and death!  We sang songs of praise for Christ’s glorious Resurrection and the hope that is ours through Him. The Spirit was palpable in our worship on Easter Sunday. But by the next Sunday, when the lily cross and most of the flowers were gone, the brass players took their instruments home, and the crowds had gone away, I overheard some little kids saying, “This isn’t as fun as last week.â€
They could just have easily asked, “Where is the Spirit at church?â€Â I wish I would have stopped them so I could have told them, “The Spirit is in you!â€Â In other words, the “funâ€, the joy and excitement of Easter has been given to you!
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…†– Acts 2: 4
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?â€Â – 1 Corinthians 3: 16
           On a Wednesday night during Lent, I met a visiting older couple right before the evening worship service. Both JIFY and Confirmation had let out, and kids were running through the halls as parents and adults milled around in the hallway, and I apologetically said, “It’s a little crazy around here on Wednesday nights.â€Â With a twinkle in his eye, the visitor replied, “Oh no, this church is alive!â€Â Â
 “I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.† – Ephesians 3: 16&17
           A newer member of CV came into my office recently to talk about some new ideas he had, having a deep desire to contribute his many talents to grow the ministries of the church. “People need to know that God has given them gifts and talents to share with others and contribute to the church,†he said. And before he left, he came up with a great idea for a New Small Group that will start next fall (so stay tuned). That man has the Spirit in him, and instead of bottling it up, he’s going to share his talents that the Spirit has put in him!
           So, the next time you come to church, instead of waiting for someone else to show a little energy and enthusiasm for their faith in Christ Jesus, maybe you are the one who needs to open up and share the Spirit that is in you! Let a little Spirit into your singing and praying. Show a little Spirit on your face as you greet people around you, and talk with people before and after church. Look for ways that God will provide you to share the Spirit in you and use your God given talents and gifts!
           Where is the Spirit at church? The Spirit of Christ is in you!
Praying Like Jesus – Part 3
I’ve been praying a lot lately.  Prayer is part of the rhythmn of my every day life and ministry.   It’s just that there have been so many things going on that I’ve been drawn to pray more often.
The massive oil spill in the Gulf.
Car bomb in New York city.
Endless war and conflict in the Middle East, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Police Officer murdered in Maplewood.
Church members, family members, and friends struggling with pain, diseases, addictions, unemployment, under-umployment, and the hard realities of being mortal creatures. And so I pray.Â
And we, whether we are directly related and connected, or not, are led wonder, “God, where are you? Why do bad things happen to good people?” These are not questions of unbelief and doubt, but deep questions of faith and life. And not only questions, but they can be our prayer of lament and our prayer for help and guidance.
Yet I am finding that often when I can’t find my own words to pray, or my words seem so small and incapable of containing the feelings of my soul, I just pray the prayer Jesus gave us to pray. Not once or twice, but over and over again in my head, while I’m in the car, at church, or at home. These words both come forth from deep within me and penetrate the darkest parts of my soul, and give me the peace that passes all understanding.Â
Within this prayer, Jesus gave us words to pray regarding the evil and sinfulness of the world. Many of us have been praying these words since we were young.  But to add a little depth to your prayer, and a reminder (for those who have been through Confirmation), I share with you these added explanations from an old pastor named Martin, for you to ponder while you pray these seemingly simple word from our Lord and Savior.
Lead us not into temptation! “What does this mean? God tempts no one to sin, but we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins. And we pray that though we are so tempted we may still win the final victory.”
Deliver us from evil! “We ask in this inclusive prayer that our heavenly Father would save us from every evil to body and soul, and at our last hour would mercifully take us from the troubles of this world to himself in heaven.”
When you can’t seem to find the words to pray, perhaps it is best to go back to the basics, to pray like Jesus taught us to pray.
Praying Like Jesus – part 2
The following are some observations, insights, and discoveries from “Praying Like Jesus – part 1.”
- Jesus needed and made time to pray alone
- Jesus needed to connect with his Father – refresh, re-energize
- Focus on presence/time with God, not on the words
- Jesus prayed out in nature – mountains, on a boat on the lake
- Jesus prayed early in the morning, during the night, after performing a healing or miracle, or before a big decision and his own passion
- Jesus prayed for his own needs and fears, but also prayed for God’s will to be done
- Jesus prayed for others
- Jesus prayed both from the heart/gut, and from the head/spirit
In part 2 we focused on what Jesus taught his disciples and the crowd about prayer. Take a look at the following Bible passages, and for each passage pay attention to Jesus’ teaching on How to pray, Why to pray, and lastly What to pray?Â
- Matthew 6: 5-8
- Matthew 6: 9-15
- Matthew 21: 12-14
- Mark 11: 20-25
- Luke 11: 1-13
- Luke 18: 1-14
Did anything surprise you, unsettle you, or awaken in you a new understanding and desire for a fuller prayer life? From what Jesus taught his disciples about How, Why, and What to pray, what needs to change in your own prayer practices and/or attitude toward praying to/with God?
Praying Like Jesus – part 1
I’ve been reading a lot of books about prayer and praying. They’ve given me helpful insights and practices to incorporate into my own prayer life with God. But I noticed that while a lot of these books quoted various scriptures to illuminate a particular point or highlight a particular aspect of prayer, I noticed that there wasn’t a lot of focus on how Jesus actually prayed: on his own, with others, for himself, and for others. I invite you to read the following Bible passages (and, yes, you should read them in context), and write down any insights these texts give you in learning to pray like Jesus.
On his own: Mark 1: 35, Mark 6: 46, Luke 5: 16, Matthew 14: 23
With others: Luke 6: 12-13, Luke 9: 28
For himself: Matthew 26: 39-44, John 17: 1-5
For others: Matthew 19: 13, Luke 22: 31-33, John 17: 6-26
What did you notice? Anything surprising?
What is one new, or different prayer practice of Jesus you can follow in the coming week? Then reflect on how it went and what you experienced? Then keep going.Â
More thoughts and questions on prayer coming next week after I prepare for part 2 for Sunday.
A Day for waiting, for people who hate to wait.
“The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” Luke 23: 55-56)
This Holy Saturday is a day of waiting and a day of preparation. We have to wait, which is something we don’t do very well, especially in our world of instant gratification, instant food, instant run-off elections, and 3G networks.
But it is in the waiting that things happen. The yeast has to do it’s work for the bread to rise. The plants have to work to break through the earth before they can grow and bloom. Babies, whether chicks, bunnies, or humans, require waiting by their parents and family before they are born.Â
We have to wait as well for the resurrection. We have to wait for new life. We have to wait for God’s timing of things. Waiting puts us in our place, for there is nothing we can do to hurry the process along, for resurrection isn’t something we do, it is what God has done, is doing, and will do for all who believe. And so we wait, expectantly, eagerly for the dawn of the third day, the first day, the end of the beginning – Easter!
Following a Loser?
Last Sunday we moved swiftly in worship from waving Palms and shouting Hosannas to the “king who comes in the name of the Lord,” to shouting, “Crucify! Crucify him!” In my sermon I tried to juxtapose our desire for winners over losers in contemporary America, with the reversal of the people in Jesus’ day who turned on their hoped for Messiah, when he didn’t match up with their expectations of a “winning” Messiah. The following scriptures highlight the juxtapostion…
Palm Sunday – “As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’” – Luke 19: 37-38
Passion Sunday – “Then they all shouted together, ‘Away with this fellow! Release Barabass for us!’ (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to releace Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify him!‘” – Luke 23: 18-20
I still struggle with the paradoxical nature of following a “loser,” who showed us that the only way to truly “win” in the Kingdom of God, is to die to yourself, take up your cross and follow Him.   It means loving not only those who love you, but those who hate you as well.  I much more prefer the Golden Rule, “love your neighbor as yourself” (as long as I get to choose my neighbors), to Jesus’ New Commandment (coming your way this Maundy Thursday!), to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15: 12). But I believe, as  Dietrich Bonhoeffer did, that when Jesus says, “Follow me,” that means we are called to die just like Jesus did. Die to our old self, our false self, and rise to the new self, the True Self revealed in Jesus Christ. God’s love revealed to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection was more costly than we can comprehend. Yet, this Holy Week, we are invited to reflect again on God’s love revealed to us in the Cross of Christ, that we may be drawn more deeply into the life of faith, hope, and love now revealed in us through compassionate service and a life of forgiveness.
Confession and Forgiveness – a taste of Easter
21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.†22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.†– John 20: 21-23
I thought I understood what Confession and Forgiveness was all about, after all I have been a Lutheran my whole life, and every Sunday in worship we begin our worship with the Confession and Absolution. I can almost say the words from the LBW in my sleep, “I confess that I am in bondage to sin and cannot free myself. I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; by what I have done and by what I have not done…â€Â As a kid, those 10 seconds of silence for self-examination seemed to last forever, as I tried to tell God the worst sins of the week that I could remember, mostly having to do with squabbles between my sister and I, or conflicts with my friends. Then the pastor would announce that we were forgiven by Jesus Christ, and sometimes I’d “feel better†but other times the words went in one ear and out the other. But, aside from asking forgiveness directly from people I’ve hurt or wronged in some way, I have never confessed my sins in front of another person, let alone a whole group of people. Until last summer…
As part of the men’s retreat I attended last summer, we were to spend a couple of hours alone in the woods, reflecting on and writing down the things (sins) of our lives that were a burden and barrier to our life and faith with God. That was hard and painful enough, but to find out that we would then be sharing our list of sins, failures, and brokenness in front of a group of men, that was almost too much to handle. Yet after the tears of pain, frustration, guilt, shame, and deep hurt of my sins came out, these men all laid hands on me and prayed for me and in Jesus’ name forgave my sins! The power and presence of the Holy Spirit flowed through those men as they prayed for me and forgave me my sins! How can I describe the cleansing, healing, and joy from that experience of God’s grace? Singing “Amazing Grace†barely touches the reality of the healing power of God’s forgiveness. It was for me, a real taste of Easter, the new-life given to us through faith in the resurrected Christ.
Yet this taste of Easter, this Amazing Grace is the command and power that Jesus gives to us by the Holy Spirit, to forgive sins!  We forgiven sinners get to be bearers of the Good News of Easter, that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and through faith in Him we have the forgiveness of our sins, the hope of the resurrection to eternal life, and the salvation of our souls.   We get to forgive people in Jesus’ name, who are hurting and burdened by the sin in their lives! What an amazing gift we have been given, but not to keep for ourselves, but to give it away to a hurting world!Â
In his Large Catechism, Martin Luther wrote this about confession: “Thus we teach what a wonderful, precious, and comforting thing confession is, and we urge that such a precious blessing should not be despised…Therefore, when I urge you to go to confession, I am simply urging you to be a Christian. Those who really want to be good Christians, free from their sins, and happy in their conscience, already have the true hunger and thirst†(LC, pg. 104).
If you hunger and thirst for the forgiveness that comes from the gift of confession, to go a step deeper than the Corporate Confession and Forgiveness in Sunday morning worship, I invite you to call me to set up a time for a Individual Confession and Forgiveness. We will walk together through a process to prepare you for this sacred rite of the Church. And let us all receive and share this powerful gift given to us by Jesus Christ!