Central Lutheran

The celebration for the collection of the first fruits harvest. Celebrating the feeling of fulfillment and finding the colors of God's promise.

As disciples we are called not to make a difference in the world. But to make a different world in its entirety.

Can we be a church that welcomes the broken. Can we be a church that is filled with real people, who are not putting on a disguise that everything is alright. But can we gather with our cries "but we had hoped," and be real about it.

Bearing witness is nothing more than saying where you think God is at work in your life and the world. We bear witness all the time; we're just not used to thinking about doing it in terms of our faith.

What are you running from? Better yet, what are you running TO? When we follow Jesus, when we trust in his promise that love is stronger than death, we can be surprised. You might you're running to a tomb, but you're running to so much more.

Everything changed on that night of a meal and washing feet. Jesus upsets EVERYTHING by changing what we think is power and love by SHOWING us what power and love truly looks like.

Now it is time for us, who live in this love that defies, it's time we start thinking about being a church that needs to defie expectations. If we are going to grow, it's not going to be with the perfect, but with the broken. May we be a church that defies the world. Who loves radically. May we be a church that defies expectations.

Love is simple. It pulls the rest of the law behind it. Wouldn't it be great if the only kind of love that's asked of us is to love the people like us? It would be easy to love our friends and stop there. But the kind of love that Jesus shows us isn't easy. Love is simple. But it isn't easy.

It's about the One Thing! When our lives are ruled but the tyranny of the urgent, we can miss what's important. Jesus is here, right in front of us - let's sit at his feet, walk with him and choose what matters, rather than what's urgent. What's your one thing?

We need to have the faith of the children or else we are going to miss the kingdom. We need to be amazed at the work of God. Knowing full well that we are made as children to create and shape the people and the world around us. We need to throw out the instructions or else we are going to miss!

Do we try to get God to do what we want God to do? Are there steps that we must take to get God to do something? What is the pattern that we must follow? Or maybe Jesus's healing shows us and reveals to us God's glory and gives us a glimpse of the Kingdom that is here and now and yet to come.

Jesus's teaching in radical. Jesus's teaching gives a whole new way of looking at our neighbor and looking at God. His teachings are about radical mercy and grace and a radical relationship with God, our FATHER!

To follow Jesus you have to "let go," you have to know that God is calling you - the sinner, the one who is not perfect, and it means that we get to do this TOGETHER!

The time is NOW, the Kingdom of God is at Hand, return and believe in the Good News.

You think you know God? Well, God is even bigger than that. Be surprised when God is actively at work in your life!

What we can give back to Jesus….what we get to give back to God is our gift of song. We too lift our voices up WITH the angels at the good news of Christ's birth.

God's promise is for men and women, for all nations, and for saints and sinners. God has been working His covenant through just that..through the love for all people and all nations.

Love. Love. Love. Micah reminds us that God doesn't care about the stuff (rams, 10,000 rivers of oil, offerings, etc) but requires us to "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."

God calls us and tells us to GO! Where is God leading us, Central Lutheran, today? Connect our community to grow disciples of Christ through God's grace!

God's Kingdom begins on a cornerstone of a rock that was rejected by the builders! Don't trust in gold, silver, bronze, or even iron. Trust in a rock, a rejected rock.

Who and where are the Ninevah's in your life? Those who need to hear that they are loved by God. or maybe it's you who needs to hear that, that you are loved by God and are claimed by God!

We live out our faith by preaching the Gospel through what we do. But we are also called to preach the Gospel by using our WORDS to talk about God and God's promise for us.

We may look in the mirror and think we are kings and queens. But God looks at us and says, "You, my child. You my kid."

King David - the one anointed by God - but the one who would mess up a lot as well. We too, get it wrong. We too are sinners AND saints. But we come to the table, bearing all our good and all our bad but are reminded that God loves us either way.

Ever think about YOUR story. We have to tell our story. We have to pass the story onto the new generation. Better yet, we have to pass the FAITH on to the next generations.