New Beginnings Lutheran Church

When life sucks the joy out of you, it’s tempting to withdraw from the world. When pulling the covers over your head feels preferable to any other option, faith gives a better response.

If anyone had reason to question God because of injustice, it was Jesus. But there is the rub: when you see evil, you assume goodness. And when you see Jesus, you see the crux of the matter when talking about good and evil in our world.

I like to think I’m in control. I like to call the shots. When I lose control, I feel powerless and even afraid. Therefore, depending on others is not what I want—and that includes God. But my picture of the freedom of autonomy is an illusion.

Have you ever heard someone described why they stopped believing in God? Could you hear their failed expectations? Wouldn’t we do well to evaluate our expectations of God as much as we evaluate God’s failure to meet them? What should we expect?

Tell me about the god you don’t believe in. Perhaps I don’t believe in that god either. All of us don’t believe in some gods. Therefore, all of us are atheists in some way. Maybe we need to discuss the unknown god and we’ll find ourselves connecting much better.

Should we really believe something because the Bible told us so? Before the writings of the Old and New Testaments were combined into what we call the Bible, conversations about Jesus centered on an event—not a book. What is the basis of our faith?

Most atheists didn’t choose their outlook on life because atheism is more appealing than theism. Most atheists began their journey to their belief in “no god” because of a dissatisfaction with religion.

We do not need psychology’s input (helpful as it is) to know that thankfulness is a preferred mindset. Gratitude trumps the power of positive thinking. After all, we are blessed by a bird in hand and by two in the bush! This attitude depends on how you count your blessings, but when you give thanks FOR (not IN?) everything, you can count anything!

We cannot stay where we are. Try as we might, God’s will for our future points away from where we are. Want to fast forward to what God has in store? Let’s talk about your future.

Who is your who? Who are you who to? Do you know your who and that you’re one, too? Dr. Seuss has nothing to do with this weekend’s message, but you do!

What is worship? What you say and what I say will probably not match, but I think you’ll agree with me when you hear what I have to say. So don’t miss worship on this day! Ok?

Want to know a very powerful response to hard questions you cannot answer? “I don’t know.” These words are the perfect response when you don’t know. They are authentic and humble. These words show we’re in process, like everyone else. And these words let us speak of Jesus.

Do you have all the answers to people’s questions? Of course not! Who does? In spite of everything we don’t know, we do know a pretty amazing person: Jesus. So, not to be evasive, but to be constructive, let’s point people to the one who does have all the answers and speak of Jesus.

Creation or evolution? Gay or straight? Left or right? It’s funny how much we talk about such things in comparison to speaking of Jesus. We’d all find more answers that we’re looking for if we spent more time on Jesus than the more popular debates of our times.

We’re not in a competition when it comes to faith. We are not supposed to win debates or even “win people.” Most of us prefer to avoid such confrontations. And yet, strangely (wonderfully), most people like Jesus. So, let’s just love people and speak of Jesus.

Do you believe God works all things together for good? When life hurts, “happily ever after” seems like the stuff of fairy tales. Are painful chapters in life redeemable? Does pain in life really serve a purpose?

Have you ever felt all alone in the world? Ever wonder if anyone cares, or ever will? Does your future feel like solitary confinement? To feel this way is one of the worst experiences in life. When everyone else seems to have left, where is God? Why doesn’t God provide?

Have you ever felt unappreciated? What do you do if you give your best and are only taken for granted or even abused in return? How do you keep on going? And for that matter, why isn’t God helping in this situation? You try to do right, but is God doing right by you?

What do you do when life betrays you? You had great dreams, but your present reality proves dismal. Worse: you cannot see any way of reversing your circumstances. When you’re broken, you must wonder where God is in this mess.

Some things are worth repeating. And when we forget, others can echo back what we need to hear—what we need to remember. Nobody can believe for you, but nobody believes alone. God intended faith family to be a means of grace in our lives.

Some things are worth repeating. For example, the words, “I love you,” never grow old. There are other words we also need to hear. We eat them up like starving people and we’re ready to hear them again. We crave their echo in our lives.

Some things are worth repeating—especially when we need assurance. Our feelings cover a spectrum. Where can we gain confidence? Throughout life’s ups-and-downs, God’s promises echo in our hearts to ground us, keep us, and direct us.

Some things are worth repeating. Some things are worth repeating (get it? Ha!). You can hear truth echo from one generation to the next. Despite the fact so much in life changes, we need to know something we can count upon—something that is certain.

Begin with the end in mind. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you’re there? You tend to go where you are looking. So, on what have you set your sights? How you answer that question will determine the direction of your life…and the degree of success you will have in your life mission.

How do you eat an elephant? C’mon. You know the answer. One. Bite. At. A. Time. Jesus sent His church to make disciples of all nations! That is the whole world! Beginning in Jerusalem, the Lord laid out concentric circles to the ends of the earth. How do these apply to you and me?