like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house

For readers of the 'Prophet, Priest and Pirate' blog and for facebook friends; this is the first weekly installment of this Fall's high school Bible Study at St. John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak, Iowa. We meet every Sunday at 9 AM in room 101 of the church office annex. Anyone from 9th grade through college is welcome to attend. It's free and you're welcome to bring your own coffee or juice for breakfast. Church is at 10 and you're welcome for worship, but you're not obligated.

For St. John Lutheran Youth Fellowship (LYF) members, I'll be posting what we cover each week on my blog http://malloryprayer.blogspot.com/search/label/HSBS. That way if you miss a Sunday, you don't have to miss out on a heaping helping of God's Word.

"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." -1 Peter 2:2

For the next 16 weeks (give or take) our Bible study theme here is going to be based on 1 Peter 2:5," like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house." I encourage you to read all of 1 Peter, Chapter 2 and consider how God wants to use you to build His body up, to make you part of His church. You are special because He created you for this very purpose.

In Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus and His disciples stopped at Caesarea Philippi (see a google map), (now a resort town) on the Southern tip of the Sea of Galilee . This was where Peter confessed that Jesus was the Son of God. Many Roman Catholics believe this is when Peter was set up to be the first Pope, but we Lutherans don't think that Jesus meant Peter as the foundation for His church, but rather Peter's confession- the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, is the foundation for all other Christian teachings. Although, Peter, the name Jesus gave to his disciple (previously known as Simon) or "Petra," does mean "the Rock."

Unfortunately, lots of people seem to think that after Confirmation, they aren't going to bother going to Sunday school anymore- some even don;' want to bother going to church anymore- and lots of times, parents figure that once you've been confirmed you're either old enough to make your own choices or too old to be held accountable anymore.

That's really too bad. I think that's a little like laying a slab of concrete down, but then changing your mind about building a house on it. The slab may be fine for a while, but eventually it will be exposed to the elements and deteriorate to the point where it will no longer be fit to build on anymore.

Read Hebrews 6:1-3, you can think of Sunday School and Confirmation as a great foundation of knowledge. If you remember and somewhat understand God's Word- that's great. But I'd like to help you learn how to apply it, analyze it, use it to evaluate other knowledge and philosophies, and especially to use it to base major decisions and life choices on and build a life with. Teachers call these critical-thinking skills, in the church, we call it "equipping the saints," you being the saints.

In other words, you're very lucky because it was important to your parents and our congregation that you start life out with God's Word in your head- but now, I want to challenge you, I DARE you, to let Him take what's in your head and put it in your heart. Lets move on from "the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity."

I'm challenging you to become active, committed members of God's household, to become the body of Christ like Paul talks about in Ephesians 2:19-22. If you remember your confirmation vows and took them seriously, you promised to do this anyway. Prove it, come to Bible study on Sundays. Be God's people, let Him build you into His temple. Ever since you started Sunday School, we have been teaching you that you are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), now it's time to let yourself be His workmanship, since that's what He created you for (Eph 2:10). Read all of Ephesians 2 to see how 8-10 and 19-22 fit together.

I promise that most weeks my HS Bible Study posts won't be this long- I'm just trying to lay a foundation here (notice a theme here yet?). Bear with me, we're almost done for the week. Over the Fall and Winter I hope to show you some things for building your own character, friendships, work and team relationships, and hopefully success in high school, college and life- but all of them won't be worth more than hollow "self-help" advice unless they're all grounded in Christ. Therefore, this first Bible study is one of the most important.

This week we studied Jesus parable of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7:24-29. One thing that most people miss when they learn this about building on the rock instead of on sand is that this isn't just a separate story, this is the culmination of Jesus' famous "Sermon on the Mount" found in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6.

Here's some questions from the "Serendipity Bible" to help you think through this parable:

• What is the rock? (Remember Matthew 16:13-20, but keep in mind, it's not a person, unless you use the typical Sunday School answer- "Jesus")
  
• What is the sand?
• Why would someone build on the sand?
• What does Jesus promise those who live by His words?
• What kind of storms claim the most victims" Doubt, Moral failures, Relationship conflicts, personal crises, apathy?
• What's the short term forecast for the weather in your life look like?
• To be a "wise builder" at this point in your life, do you think you need to learn more, or just practice what you already know?
• What does the foundation depend on?
• How would you describe your Spiritual foundation so far?

Be sure to come next week when we'll talk about the good old fashioned Iowa work-ethic, and the Holy Spirit and how we'll need both of them to start building on God's foundation.
See you next week, come hungry!

Remember, YOU are the church!

Random notes

Lutherans like to talk about the fruit of the Spirit, whereas Pentecostals like to spend time talking about Spiritual gifts. Reading about Rick Warren's 'Purpose Driven Church' a few years ago, it occurred to me that Christians need both to be effective. Gifts without fruit are downright dangerous, fruit without gifts are nice, but passive. Of course, as you'll notice from the diagram here, Jesus is really the center, the fulcrum - His direction is what makes the Spirit's fruit and gifts make a real difference.

The Pius Pirate

"Lefty" here, took Jesus maybe a wee bit too literal.

spiritual Habits

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you"

~James 4:8a (Amer Stand Version)

This week we started off the Fall High School Bible Study class at St. John by talking about habits.
They say that it takes just 21 days to make or break a habit, so whether it's bad habits like chewing your nails and picking your nose or good habits like walking for exercise or flossing after meals, stick with it for at least 3 weeks and it should become second-nature.

The first of six good habits we want to adopt is Hang time, specifically hanging out with God. H for HABITS, H for Hang time. How do you start this habit? Simple, by spending some TWAG!

TAWG stands for Time Alone With God. Can you spare 15 minutes a day? If you do, God will use that time to grow you. Less anxiety, deeper, stronger faith, feeling closer to God and little by little your character will become more like His- love, peace patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-controlled (Galatians 5:22-23). Who wouldn't want that?

There's lots of ways to spend TAWG, everybody has their own style. Here are just a few ideas.

• Take Jesus for a walk, instead of listening to your ipod, use exercise time for prayer.
• Portals of Prayer The official LCMS devotion booklet
  
• Or other devotion books or magazines like Our Daily Bread or New Wineskins.
  
• Reading the Bible, You coul djust read any part you like, as much or as little as you can read in the 10 minutes or half hour or whatever you decide to spend. You could follow a plan like the onw provided by the International Bible Society, or buy a Daily Bible or one that you can read through in a year. If you're too intimidated by a KJV, RSV, or even NIV, try a paraphrase like the Living Bible or the Message.
  
• Pray- just talk to God, no special format or training required.
  
• Journal- instead of writing to your diary, write in your diary TO God. Some people just record whatever their prayer requests were for that day.
  
• Sing- challenge yourself, how many praise songs or hymns do you know the lyrics to?
  
• Listen to music together- Can't sing? There is a TON of great Christian music out there, rock , rap, pop, blues, country, and of course "Gospel." Listen for at least 15 minutes a day everyday and see if it doesn't make a difference in your moods and attitudes.
  
• Meditate or "peace-out." I don't mean to sit in the lotus position chanting "ohm," but DO try to find quiet time when you either clear your mind or at least focus your mind on Jesus or some Bible passage. (in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:7).

Next week we'll talk about the big A-

PLEASE COME! 9AM in the Church Basement. The more people who come, the more fun.

Me ka pule,
Ted

Bank of bad habits

By Jimmy Buffett (Barometer Soup, 1995)

The rumors and the stories of my past I can't deny
I'm no Saint Ignatius but again I'm no barfly
The wrong thing is the right thing until you lose control
I've got this bank of bad habits in a corner of my soul

Bank of bad habits
The price of vice fortold
One by one they'll do you in
They're bound to take their toll
The wrong thing is the right thing until you lose control
I've got this bank of bad habits in a corner of my soul

Last night I said goodbye to a dear old friend of mine
Just a throw back shell beach party, nothin' really asinine
Rum and cooked animals and bullshit by the ton
That party lasted way too long and I had too much fun

Bank of bad habits
The price of vice fortold
One by one they'll do you in
They're bound to take their toll
The wrong thing is the right thing until you lose control
I've got this bank of bad habits in a corner of my soul
That bank of bad habits is worth its weight in gold

Time for you to spend that dough
You're the only one you owe
So put away those alibis
You can't fool that Banker in the sky

(Spoken)
Now let me tell you about the 7 Deadly Sins:
1. Pride...Thou shalt not have pride in thy neighbor.
2. Coveting...Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.
3. Lust...Thou shalt not lust after his neighbor's wife.
4. Anger...Do not be angry with your neighbor's wife.
5. Gluttony...Do not eat thy neighbor's wife's ........popcorn.
6. Envy...Do not envy your neighbor's wife.
7. Sloth...Do not be a slob.
And the eighth deadly sin is............PIZZA!

A picture's worth a thousand words just ask a cameraman
And it's no sin to stop and look, I do it when I can
But you have to purge that urge to merge
You have to keep your head
Or trouble is what you will find inside some stranger's bed

Bank of bad habits
The price of vice foretold
One by one they'll do you in
They're bound to take their toll
The wrong thing is the right thing until you lose control
I've got this bank of bad habits
It's worth it's weight in gold

(Spoken)
Yeah, we're talkin' Krugerands......dubloons
I was wonderin', um, do you think they have an ATM machine for bad habits?
Hmm.
I think I'll apply for that card.

"Sunday School House" Dedicated

Our old Lutheran School Building is pretty dilapidated, so to tide us over while we have a study done and eventually perhaps a building project, we purchased the neighbor's house so that our kids are safe and warm. They won't even have to cross the street anymore!

High School Bible Study will be in the church basement at 8:45! Feel free to bring your own breakfast!

Free Christian Concert

Great mission event at Mission Central on Sunday, August 31!

Many exciting activities and presentations.

Free Christian Concert

Free food

Come early and help build a large storage shed for Mission Central.

This was originally scheduled for June 8 but the weather shut it down.

Check out http://www.idwlcms.org/district_news/information/message_sent.pdf for all the details.

Spread the word at your church.

See you at Mission Central on Sunday, August 31.

Register with sue.light@idwlcms.org

Questions? Contact me at 515-386-8420 or ellie.menz@idwlcms.org

Ellie Menz

It isn't easy, but this is how Christians are called to respond

When reviled, we bless;
when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we speak kindly.
- 1 Corinthians 4:12

Get fired up!

Come join my FaceBook Faith Group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15053305462&ref=share

New Prayer Request

Please pray for June Folk, Malcom and Aaron's mom- and of course for Macolm and Aaron. June was in a car accident this week. I don't have any details but the second-hand information that I have is that she is in critical condition with a lot of bone damage.

Please pray for her speedy recovery and for her family's peace, calm, and faith through this trying time.

Philippians 3:12-20

Pressing on Toward the Goal

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

My HS Bible study class has actually already studied this a long time ago. My life has been a little crazy and it's been difficult to sit down and blog on this. You might say that this is a great verse for me to review. Paul is like a great coach or team mate on the sidelines during a race at a spring track meet. He reminds us to follow his example, and use what we've learned from him. He admits that he's not "all that" or anything, but that he just hangs in there and keeps chugging along.

Here's what may just be the most important part- just keep going. Don' t look back, don't look down, keep your eyes on the prize. I think that that means that we shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves. We shouldn't become paralyzed by dwelling on our past mistakes, our sins, or problems, what we think is wrong with us- instead, we should keep our heads up and keep focusing on Jesus, and keep moving forward.

As one of my favorite cartoon characters, Dory, from "Finding Nemo" likes to say:

Hey Mr Grump Gills
You know what you gotta do when life gets you down?
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming swimming swimming
What do we do we swim, swim, swim
OH HO HO How I love to swim
When you WAAAAAANNTTT to swim you want to swim
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming swimming swimming
What do we do we swim, swim, swim

You're invited!

Snow lesson like an object lesson

Here is a somewhat embarrassing story that God used to teach me something (including humility). A couple of weeks ago I bought a snowblower. I couldn't believe I could get one so nice and so new for such a great deal. The previous owner was an older man who had undergone surgery for a broken neck. His top three vertebrae had to be fused and his surgeon told him that he had to get an electric starter, because pulling on the pull-start chord could literally kill him.

Now, as tight as things are, my wife and I both agreed that this was a good investment for us because I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and I struggle with chronic sinus infections and mild bronchial asthma. Every time I shovel snow, I end up in a coughing attack and sometimes even have to throw up. So I was excited.

But two snow storms came and went and for the life of me I couldn't get the stupid thing started! I'd try to be patient with it, I'd try to be violent with it. I tried every combination I could adjusting the choke and the throttle. I pushed the little pump to prime the fuel line. I checked the gas, the oil and the spark plug. I couldn't believe how inept I could be. Why was it so easy for all my neighbors to get their snow blower's started? Was it just because I'm from Arizona? Is it because I'm so unhandy? Unmanly?

I pulled and I pulled, I yanked and I yanked. I exerted as much energy and strained my arms and back more than if I had simply shoveled the snow. Not to mention my blood pressure raising from the anger and frustration.

Take a look at this picture. From left to right, you can see the choke, the throttle, the spark plug and the button for priming the fuel pump, and the gas cap. All there in plain sight to anyone standing proudly in front, ready to drive, ready to lead and command the machine. So what was my problem?

Finally, one day I got home before my wife and kids so the garage was empty. It was a relatively warm day in the 30's with no new snow and even some melting. I thought to myself, okay, I have some time and some room, and no pressure- so I'm going to take a look at this thing one last time before I give up and try to sell it and hopefully recoup some of my losses. If I could get it to work, thank God, if not, then crap- I'd have to give up.

I'm not even sure why I decided to do this, but I got down on my knees to look around the rest of the engine to see if I could see if something was wrong- as if I was some macho mechanic.

Lo and behold, down on my knees, from a different, decidedly more humble point of view, something was revealed to me that I had overlooked.

A little switch. A valve that the manufacturer had no doubt, included to prevent gas from freezing in the lines. All I had to do was to turn it to the clearly marked "On" position and guess what- voilà! it started on the very first tug. Didn't even have to tug that hard.

The lesson? Sometimes the only way God can show us something is when we're on our knees. Prayer & Humility, submission to Him. These may be difficult, but you won't believe how much less work and grief they involve.

Thank you Jesus for teaching me, even when I have to learn things the hard way.

Get a job, get a haircut.

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.

They talked about so many things and various subjects.When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.'

'Why do you say that?' asked the customer.

'Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.

Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children?
If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.'

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.

He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:

'You know what? Barbers do not exist.'

'How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber.

'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!'

'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.'

'Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me.'

'Exactly!' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!

That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.'

Prayer requests

• Please pray for Audrey, who's sister Joy is struggling with leukemia
  
• Please pray for John , who's dropped out of school. The principal said that he's going to pursue a GED, but I'm fearful that his court case didn't go well and he may be in jail
• Please pray for all of the families of the victims of yesterday's storms especially the tornadoes
• Please pray for our leaders and the environment- meteorologists note that we usually average 80 tornadoes per year, and we're already at 45 this year and spring is a long way away- global climate change is frightening
• That more kids will start coming to our HS Bible study at St. John- but thank you, Lord for the two that have been coming
  

Philippians 3:2-11

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

Who is Paul angry at here? Some of the "old-school" Christians at the time were trying to convince the new believers in Philippi (a Roman colony in Northern Greece, practically Turkey) that you couldn't be a Christian or be saved unless you fist became a Jew. That meant undergoing circumcision! Talk about demanding good works to be saved!

This really made Paul angry- see what he wrote about them in another letter?
Galatians 5:12 "As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!"

Paul wants us to understand that being circumcised isn't what saves us. Nothing we can do ourselves can make us right with God. Then he goes on to explain that if anyone was ever good enough to claim to be a good Jew, it was him. He thought that he loved God so much that he defended the faith against this new "cult" of Jesus-followers called Christians. Before his conversion, Paul was named Saul and he was out to "ethnically cleanse," to eradicate the Christians. ( See Acts 7:54-57)

Incidentally, here's a really scary/gross story about circumcision from the Old Testament: Dinah and the Shechemites in Genesis 34: "All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised....Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male."

7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

But that was Paul's old life. Now the MOST important thing to him is knowing Jesus personally.

The bad news is in, God told us- Leviticus 11:45 "I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy." No one can be with God or even near God unless they're perfect. Bummer.



But the good news that Paul's talking about in Philippians 3:9 is the same thing he talks about in Romans 3: 21-23 "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

In other words, because Jesus loves us enough to die for us on the cross, we can have HIS righteousness, His right-ness. It makes us holy so we can be in a right relationship with God the Father. And Paul would give up everything else in life, so long as he has that.

Amen, thank you for making it possible for us to know you and be in a real relationship with you , Jesus!

Don't be afraid to just knock

I wrote this for my Feb. 7 column in the Mapleton PRESS:
(And I painted the portrait a couple of years ago)

Last month, I started re-reading a book of sermons by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called “Strength to Love,” from 1963. Many people would be surprised by what a Biblical teacher King was because we tend to take him for granted as a cultural icon or a Black leader or a political activist.

One chapter in particular struck me as something that we could all use these days. Let’s face it, this is a time of high anxiety and stress for many of us. Governor Culver recently tried to reassure Iowans that we’re in better shape than the nation as a whole to face the coming recession. But come on, things have been getting hard for all of us for a long time.

Wars, stagnant wages, increasing costs of living especially gas, food, heating fuel and health insurance, talk of climate change, cultural change, and global competition have all left us a little frazzled. Perhaps you’re finding that just the challenges of daily life, let alone personal tragedies and crises are wearing you down.

Rev. King talked about Jesus’ parable of the man who knocks on his neighbor’s door at midnight asking for bread found in Luke 11:5-8.

“The traveler asks for three loaves of bread,” Dr. King wrote. The three things we need most are faith, hope and love.

“In a generation of so many colossal disappointments, men have lost faith in God, faith in man, and faith in the future…in the midst of staggering disillusionment, many cry for the bread of faith.”

“There is also a deep longing for the bread of hope.” Dr. King continued, “In the early years of this century many people did not hunger for this bread. The days of the first telephones, automobiles, and airplanes gave them a radiant optimism. They worshiped at the shrine of inevitable progress. They believed that every new scientific achievement lifted man to higher levels of perfection.”

But as we all know, came WWI and WWII and the Cold War. We realized that technology won’t produce a futuristic utopia. We may have more than enough food to eradicate world hunger, but greed and corruption prevent us from ever being able to get the food to who needs it. The twentieth century left mankind wounded and disillusioned.

King lamented that “the light of hope went out, and they roamed wearily in the dark chambers of pessimism. Many concluded that life has no meaning… But even in the inevitable moments when all seems hopeless, men know that without hope they cannot really live, and in agonizing desperation they cry for the bread of hope.”

If anything, we’ve learned too well that life is not fair. Some people don’t even see the point in trying anymore.

Finally, MLK pointed out what we are most starved for.

“There is the deep longing,” King wrote, “for the bread of love. Everybody wishes to love and to be loved. He who feels that he is not loved feels that he does not count. Much has happened in the modern world to make men feel that they do not belong. Living in a world which has become oppressively impersonal, many of us have come to feel that we are little more than numbers.”

We all need to find ways to get out of bed in the middle of the night and come to our neighbor’s aid. We all need to try to feed others in anyway we can but we should also remember where to turn when times get worst.

Luke 11: 5-8 has a man asking to borrow bread from a neighbor, but in Luke 11:1-4, Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer and in 11:9-13, He urges us to pray and ask God’s help for anything we need. If we need faith, hope, or love, all we have to do as ask, seek, or knock.

Shining like Stars

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

~Philippians 2:12-18

Boy, it's been a long time since any kids have shown up for Bible Study, we might never get through Philippians. Guess I just have to call all of them every Saturday night. Post cards and emails aren't enough.

Anyway, let's break this passage down to it's core basics. Think of Paul like he's talking to you like a Coach.

• Character is who you are when no one's watching. You should play the way I taught you even when I'm not around.
• Let God use you, He's the one who works through you.
• Quit your belly achin', we want winners, not whiners!
  
• Don't complain and don't argue- just do your job. Stay focused.
• Keep your nose clean and you'll stand out- especially in this day and age.
• Make me proud.

I think that once again, Paul is trying to encourage us to keep going. Like a coach (or a Drill Sergeant) , he's running along side us trying his best to spur us on.

Take that first part of the passage: "continue to work out your salvation."
Lutheran churches are really careful about always reminding their members that there's absolutely nothing we can do to be saved- Jesus did that for us by dying on the cross and rising again on Easter morning, so don't make the mistake that Paul is telling the Philippians to work hard so they can get to Heaven. Think of it this way, "Workout" your salvation- don't let it get flabby, use it or lose it. So how do you workout your salvation?

The instructions might just be earlier in the chapter, go back and re-read Chapter 2, verses 1-4 and make yourself a list. It might look something like this-

• unity with Christ,
• comforted from his love,
• with the Holy Spirit,
• be tender and compassionate
• like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
  
• Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
• humility consider others and look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Of course, verses 5-11 show us what Jesus' nature is like, selfless, caring, loving, hard working. It is a hard list. Workouts are never easy, that's why they're called "work." Sound like a coach or a drill sergeant again?

Well, in class this morning we focused mostly on the "being united with Christ" part from verse one. The more time you spend with a friend or loved one, the more alike you tend to become- even sharing mannerisms, behaviors, and speech patterns. Of course, if you never spend any time together, you'll soon grow apart. The same is true with our relationship with God.

How can we spend time with God so that He can teach us, influence us, and so that we can become more and more like Him? To the point that we begin to be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose? There are at least three simple but powerful ways:

1. Read the Bible
2. Pray
3. Spend time with other Christians talking about what God reveals to you in prayer and his word, working together to serve others or worshiping Him together (this 3rd one is called "Fellowship").
   

Sure, you can get all three once a week at church, but you can do it one on one with a support partner or a mentor, or you can do it in a small group- prayer group, Bible study group, support group- heck, I bet you could even do it online (for instance, in our Facebook group).

The more you do these three things, the more contact you have with Jesus, the more like Jesus you will become. Amen to that, we need more people like Him in this world.

Specific people to pray for

• Please pray for me and my family. After some plumbing disasters, we've had to take on some major home repair. It's been disruptive and anxiety producing. Please pray that the Lord will continue to hold us in His hands, provide for us, and grant us the faith to trust in Him and endure these hassles.
• Please pray for John. He gave his life to the Lord just a month or two ago, but he is facing some pretty serious problems left over from his "old life." Please pray that he would find the courage, faith, and support that he needs in prayer, Scripture, and fellowship. Pray that God will guide and direct him in his new life in Christ.
  
• Please pray for Cody who continues his battle with cancer, but meanwhile also has all the challenges and adventures of adolescence that any teenager has to cope with.
• Please pray for Brian and Alisha (and Daniel too, I think) because the lost their mom to cancer this week. I can't imagine lonely, sad, frightened, or hurt they must be, so be in middle school, high school or just starting college and to lose a parent. Pray for their comfort and healing.
• Pray that kids in my church will start coming to Bible Study on Sunday mornings so I don't have to just sit there, picking my nose, all alone in the kitchen in the church basement.
  
• Pray for peace
• Pray for economic stability
• Pray for social, legal, political, and economic justice for the weak, the poor, and the abused.
• Pray that America will some day live up to it's promise
• And pray that Christians will some day truly be "little imitators of Christ," the meaning of their name, "Christian."
• In Jesus Name, Amen (let it be so)
  

12 principles that ALL Christians would do well to practice

I’m a big one on lists. I’ll have a list of things I need to get done during the course of the week and then another list for things to do that particular day. Sometimes I’ll have one list for work and another for home.

There’s a list that most of us never learn that has helped millions of people recover who suffer from a debilitating disease that not only destroys their own lives, but sometimes irrevocably damages the quality of lives of the people around them.

The list is the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the disease is addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, or even things like gambling, pornography, shopping and over-eating.

I was blown away once at a Bible study by a man who revealed that he felt more spiritually connected to and more able to be open and honest with his AA brothers than with anyone at our church, even in small group Bible studies, men’s prayer breakfasts or Promise Keepers.

That got me thinking, so I researched the steps. While AA members identities are protected, I don’t believe that the 12 steps are any mystic secret like some kind of Masonic rite. What I do believe is no matter what your faith these steps could help us all.

I don’t care who you are, we all do and say things that hurt people. We all have things that damage our relationships with others and prevent us from having a healthier relationship with God. And, we all make choices that are against our own best interests out of fear, greed, or impatience.

Consider these steps and I think you’ll agree, our churches and civic organizations would be drastically different places- intimate communities; if they taught and encouraged their members to all follow these steps. Family members may be more genuine with each other, partners would allow themselves to be more vulnerable with each other. Businesses and governments would be more ethical and transparent if their members practiced these steps.

1. Admit we are powerless over our addiction and that our lives have become unmanageable. Usually we’re all too proud to admit that we aren’t totally in control.

2. Come to believe that only a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him. C.S. Lewis believed that we’re all born with a “God-shaped hole” that only He can fill. Someone else once said, “if God is your co-pilot, you’re in the wrong seat.”

4. Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Don’t you wish that some of those corporate CEOs at the oil companies and sub-prime mortgage lenders would do this? How about our politicians?

5. Admit to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Be ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Ask Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Make a list of all the people we’ve hurt and be willing to make amends to them.

9. Make direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continue to take personal inventory and when we are wrong, promptly admit it. It’s not a one time deal, it’s a continual, life-long process. “One day at a time” as people in recovery say. Martin Luther thought that people had to “die to sin,” and ask God to renew them every day.

11. Seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out. Now me, I’d rather pray only for my own comfort, or maybe to win the lottery without buying a ticket- but as I understand His will for us, it’s more about looking out for others than myself.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we try to share the message with others and practice these principles in all our affairs. Amen. How about we ALL try this, rather than just leaving it to the addicts?