St. Matthew Lutheran Church- Rocklin, California

Plastic Donuts? What’s that all about? It’s what we talk about today. It’s the heart of everything. It’s about our relationship with God. This honestly is from a perspective you perhaps have never thought of before. It’s worth taking a look.

Do you remember the line from the song? “Number one is the loneliest number…” It’s true. We were not made to do life alone. Yet, at times, we feel so alone. It’s why Jesus came with the message of the cross.

Have you ever heard of a “mid-life crises?” What happens is that a person makes all kinds of (sometimes) crazy changes in their life because they are hit with their own mortality, that the time of their death is perhaps now closer than the years they have already lived. They are hit with the truth that everyday spent is one they will never get back….and they begin to wonder if what they are living...

It’s called the “search for significance.” Simply put, we all want to make a difference. Knowing that we are is really a key to “living our best life.” This is the focus of Jesus today. It may not be what you think.

Multi-tasking. Did you know it’s a myth? Studies have now shown conclusively that a person can only do one thing at a time. And when we try to do more, these same studies show that our performance actually suffers and we do nothing well. So, what does this mean with respect to living our best life? It’s what we look at today.

What is that saying, “Perception is in the eye of the beholder?” So, if you want to perceive clearly, you first have to see clearly. Today we focus on how we see ourselves and others. It is a key to living our best life. The insight is given to us by Jesus.

The truth of the analogy here is striking. Like a car when the gas gauge is on the beg “E,” when one is on empty they won’t get far. Where are you on empty? Living your best life can only happen when you are “filled up.” It’s what we talk about today.

I took my daughter to school on the first day of her freshman year in High School. She was so excited as she shared with me everything she wanted to do and be involved in that year. Being concerned that she was setting herself up for disappointment, I gently suggested she would perhaps have to make some choices because it would be hard to do everything she wanted to do. I will never forget her ans...

Do you ever feel like you hit a “dead end” in your life? Or perhaps you see it in the lives of those around you?...or even beyond as you see the hurt and hopelessness in our world? It’s not true. Living your best life is knowing this and living in it.

Two things here. 1.They say it is insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. 2. Have you ever noticed how one just gives up after disappointment upon disappointment upon disappointment? Jesus came so we could “Live our best life.” He brings a new way. It is different from all the ways that have failed us. It is the one we can trust.

The Sign of the Star by St Matthew Rocklin

Permanence. It seems that at most it is simply an illusion. But tonight is different. Tonight, we remember the ONE who NEVER changes, the ONE who is a LIGHT that no darkness can overcome. What darkness do you carry? His Light is greater!

I never thought it was so special and maybe it’s not: When my children were in high school (and anytime, really) the commitment I made to them was that if they were in a situation they didn’t like and they called me, I would come and get them, no questions asked. Recently, one of my (now grown) children has become friends with a Christian Counselor. He shared with me how his friend told him that m...

A friend of mine in college was in a play entitled, “Whatever Happened on the Way to the Forum.” In this play is the phrase, “Have a happy!” Do you ever feel – especially during this time of the year – that people just want you to “have a happy” and put on a smiling face? And if so, how is that working for you? (It sure doesn’t work for me!) Christmas joy is about a “happy” that touches us down in...

I once had a young mother come and see me who had inoperable cancer who had been given 6 weeks to live. She forcefully told me that she was sure she was going to be ok because her positive attitude would cure her. She died in 6 weeks. There are many times and situations in our lives when, no matter what, it seems that it will never get better and the struggle will never go away. I think in some wa...

I never seem to have it all together. As most of you know, I do have a hair or two out of place…in more ways than one. And when you add all the extra things of Christmas to it, I REALLY have a few hairs out of place. How about you? Today we look at how we can “have it all together.” It is called Christmas peace. It is at the heart of Christmas and it is a gift to each of us. For finally, none of u...

Three Strands are not Easily Broken- Thanksgiving Celebration by St Matthew Rocklin

In the last movie in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Elrond, an elf, smells the sea breeze and says, “the sea is calling us home.” Where – or what – is home for you? Does the sea breeze call you to the ocean? Do the Mountain winds beckon? Or perhaps another place tied to sights, scenes, smells, and places of your life? But when we go to these places, are they the answer? Are we truly home? Or doe...

My brother and I were once caught in a blizzard (that had not been forecast) on a backpacking trip. We soon got out the maps and determined the quickest and safest way out. Maybe thirty minutes down the trail we met a couple who refused to come out with us even though we showed them on the map that what they were planning was not wise. But they refused to listen. They refused to admit they were lo...

I love this insight into the story. It is awesome! It brings everything together! We’re going to talk about it this weekend. I can’t wait!

When we lived in Indiana, the natives there called themselves “Hoosiers.” But did you know that no one knows what a “Hoosier” is? When my son James and His wife Kayla, began their work as campus missionaries on the Chico State campus for CRU (Campus Crusade for Chirst), no one on their team at Chico State had ever heard of a “Lutheran” and, in fact, were kind of fearful at first that they were par...

Everyone is looking to be happy. How is that working out for you? And could it be that the very ways we look to be happy is at the root of our problem?.... always looking but never finding? Today we look at the two ways all of humankind tend to try to find happiness….And just maybe a third way will be revealed to us that will finally give us what we seek.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “the rest of the story?” Many years ago there was an announcer on the radio – his name was Paul Harvey – who made this phrase famous. After doing the regular Newscast, he did a bit he called “the rest of the story” in which he would take one of the stories in the news and elaborate on it, giving the listener a much more in depth – and amusing – angle on it. It made...

Many have compared this story Jesus told to a Two Act play. So today, we are setting the scene, giving the context, describing the audience, revealing the characters, and in all this finding where we fit in the action. If it’s true that this story is a microcosm of the whole Bible, this is all kind of important, don’t you think?...especially where we fit into it all?

Following Jesus is never just about “Jesus and me.” It is always looking beyond “me “to the other that I can bless as I grow him/her as a disciple of Jesus. It is living in the heart of God who “loved the WORLD so much that He sent Jesus.” Disciple being and making is the way Jesus chose to bring His life to the whole world. We are always both following Jesus in relationship and connecting with ot...