New Beginnings Lutheran Church

The wedding invitations have been sent. Are you on the invite list? Have you RSVP'd? Will you be in attendance?

Are you sitting in your proper place? Do you know your place? “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Stories are caught as much as taught. A dark power in some stories spreads fast and leads to division and distrust. But our storytelling can also be harnessed as a narrative force for good.

A story-war has been waged--since before history began--to control your mind. Big-businesses and governments can only dream of the narrative Deathstar seeking to grip your imagination and rob you of you.

Who are you? How you answer that question depends on the stories you tell yourself. Stories frame our sense of self. Inside our heads, the self-talk storifies our lives, but knowing our backstory will save the plot!

Got a boat? If so, too bad for you! Everyone who heads to the lake this weekend is going to miss-out. Sure, you may be able to stream the content later, but it won’t be the same.

Want a better perspective on Jesus? Climb a tree! Sounds like a bad joke, but when you become a follower of Jesus, you’ll do anything to see Him more! And your life will invite others to see Him too!

Need a miracle? Pray. Hungry? Pray. Sick? Pray. Need help? Pray. And learn that God provides through bakers, dentists, doctors, educators, and even politicians! That’s just a partial list of all the miracles God provides for us.

Here is one of my favorite movie quotes: a woman says, “I don’t believe in the devil.” a man replies, “Well, you should. He believes in you.” We'll be reading from different sections of the gospel of Mark to stretch our grasp of unseen realities also under Jesus’ dominion.

What are you most afraid of? To quote an old children’s show: “God is bigger than the boogie man!” Jesus rose up, larger than the disciples’ greatest fear—greater than the windswept sea—and showed who He is.

Most people know the story of the prodigal son. And for Jesus followers, most of us identify with the prodigal son. But that wasn’t the association Jesus was seeking in His story. Jesus had another goal in mind, and it’s important that we get it … for our own good.

Is there any relationship between sickness and sin? How would you feel if you were sick and someone indicated it was a result of disobedience in your life? I wouldn’t be surprised if you punched that person in the nose! But what if that person was Jesus?

If we had to guess whom Jesus would commend, we’d probably look for spiritually superior people; Jesus chose the “poor in spirit.” We’d identify people who rejoiced in the midst of losses; Jesus chose those who mourn.

Fishing is boring. Now catching! That’s fabulous! We fish in order to catch, if you think about it. Some fish are harder than others to net, but not for Jesus. Jesus loves catching and there’s just one kind of fish He wants to catch.

Doesn’t it shock you that the disciples abandon everything to follow Jesus? They left their livelihoods and families to become homeless followers of a vagrant, Jewish rabbi.

Why would anyone reject Jesus? Those who thought they knew him best wouldn’t have him. Why would you reject Jesus? Are you rejecting Jesus or just some version of him in your head that is far from true?

Are you a doubter, a cynic, a skeptic? Are you a seeker, a believer, a follower? Wherever you think yourself in the universe vis-à-vis Jesus, the vagrant rabbi who left the world unable to forget Him, we’re going to revisit the historical records and see Him for the first time again. We begin with the event when Jesus went public.

Who stood before the cross of Jesus? A Roman officer, the religious leaders of the day, the mob, a smattering of Jesus’ followers, and you and me. We were there when they crucified our Lord. We will hear from seven, modern witnesses of the death of Jesus. There is no Easter without Good Friday.

Denial. Anger. Bartering. Depression. Acceptance. “Stages” of grief don’t follow chronological rules. Neither does death. Is loss of a parent normal, but loss of a child not? What about a spouse? When someone dies, it's always a LIFEQUAKE.

Revenge and justice seem closely related, but are they? When we’ve been violated in violent ways, what is the proper response? The aftershock of a LIFEQUAKE can either add insult to injury or initiate healing. Which would you prefer?

Ever experienced unrequited love? How about infidelity? Which one would be worse to you? The answer is, yes! Imagine if both happened? That would shake anyone to the core. That is a LIFEQUAKE! How can someone ever be ok again?

Betrayal and even hostility are not what you should expect from those closest to you, but it happens! How would you feel if you found your identity was stolen? The economic and personal costs would take years to recover. That’s a LIFEQUAKE!

Ever felt part of a family full of conflict, or misbehavior, or maybe neglect or abuse--even all of the above? Welcome to the biblical family. When you are hurt by those who should love you, that’s a LIFEQUAKE! It often takes years to heal.

“Remember your death (memento mori) for dust you are and to dust you shall return.” These timeless words remind us how to really live. We died with Jesus, and so we are given resurrection power to live new lives!

Though challenging, survival is best done as a group. Banding together goes back before the first campfire. Mutual aid groups (MAGs) are intentional communities and when the meltdown happens, you’ll want to be an active member.