St. Matthew Lutheran Church- Rocklin, California

The One You Can Follow by St Matthew Rocklin

The Sixth Word From the Cross (Relationship Context: The Adulteress) by St Matthew Rocklin

Have you ever dissected a heart or a cow’s eye or a frog in a Biology class? While you learn a lot, you also fail to see what it looks like/how it works when it is alive, interfacing with all the “moving parts!” (Just google a film of a working heart to see my point!) Today, we synthesize everything we have focused on in the past month. In “the alive,” “pumping heart,” living out of our human cond...

Have you ever been “blown away” by how much someone is “for” you? When I was in college, I drove an old VW Bug. When the transmission went out, it took the guy 5 tries to fix it. You know who I called all five times to tow me even though he worked 6 ten-hour days? My dad. And he was always there. And he was always nothing but supportive and even full of joy that he could help me. Even as a college...

Where do you live afraid?...especially of those things “beyond your control?” How do you try to cope? Does it work for you? Many times we just stuff things until we have to face them – as many do, I believe, with death. We live our lives in fear trying to cope in ways that, finally, cannot possibly give us victory over what we fear. Our fears dictate our lives!...and no, it doesn’t work very well....

Do you ever ask “why?”….especially when stuff happens that you just don’t understand? One of my sons went through a great disappointment in his life because of an injury he suffered. He asked me, “Dad, if God didn’t want me to have this ability, why did He give it to me in the first place and then just take it away? I told him I didn’t know….all I knew was that God loved him and we could trust him...

Intersect (In the Face of Shame, The Cross) by St Matthew Rocklin

This last Summer I was trying to find someone to help my sister in Southern California with a kitchen remodel. In desperation I contacted a dear friend of mine….whom I hadn’t talked to in probably 30 years. But even after 30 years or more I trusted him without question and yes, he was there for me. Do you have some relationships like that? Jesus did. And I think He still does…maybe even with you.

Ok. Have you ever carried the burden of guilt?...a foul up you can’t make right? You can’t make excuses/justify yourself – it was wrong and there is no good excuse! You can’t make up for it – it is too late for that and anything you could do or any “payment” you might make would fall short! You did wrong. The only way out is to be forgiven…to get out from underneath the burden of a debt you can’t...

We like to make sure the cake is “cut right down the middle” so we get what we deserve, what’s rightfully ours. It absolutely has to be “fair.” But have you ever noticed that in the closest of relationships it just doesn’t work (at least very well) this way?...like, say..in a marriage? The kingdom of God is not fair. All one has to do is to look at the cross to see it. And thank God it’s not. This...

Have you ever seen the musical, “The Music Man?” The opening scene is a bunch of con-artists (“flim-flam men”) on a train talking about the next town they want to fleece. They are all excited at the prospect, but one guy keeps standing up and yelling a word of caution: “But you’ve got to know the territory!” Have you ever had someone say to you, “You just don’t get it” when you were trying to unde...

Have you ever fouled up – I mean really fouled up – and all that you could do was ask for forgiveness? Was it given?...And if so, what difference did it make?...On this Ash Wednesday, we focus on the first Word from the cross spoken into our human context. We should not be surprised that it is a word of forgiveness. For finally, it makes all the difference.

What causes you to pause in awe? Is it a sunset in the Sierras or over the ocean? Is it the power of a storm or the crash of a 20 foot wave as it hits the shore? Is it an athletic feat or a musical performance? Is it the mystery of life or even our existence? Today God would reveal just a bit the glory and power of Jesus face to face! He wants us to know Him better so that we can live brand knew i...

Living in His Love by St Matthew Rocklin

A paradigm is a way of looking at life. A new paradigm is a way of seeing things differently. Today, Jesus would give us a shocking new way to see reality…and where we fit into it as one who follows Him. Today, we come to know Jesus - and the lens through which He sees life – better. What might this mean for you?

Sorry. I use this word “paradigm too much. But I couldn’t help it. A paradigm is a way of looking at life. Jesus would give us the gift of a foundational, startling new beginning in how we see ourselves in the life we live. He said it best, “when you lose your life, you find it.” Today, as we come to know Jesus better, He would work this new beginning in each of us. What might this mean for you?

Who do you call if you have a plumbing problem? Or your car won’t work? Or you have a financial decision to make? Most of us look for an authority we can trust – right? And when we find them we go back again and again – right? How about you? Today we see and know better the authority of Jesus. What might this mean in your life as He works the gift of new growth?

Lee Genter. He was a good friend of mine in the seminary with whom I would have long talks about theology. Looking back (and don’t ever tell him – I don’t want him to get a “big head!”) God worked through that relationship and those conversations to grow me as a person and pastor. But that’s the way it works – right? You could state the above exponentially with my wife…or my children (don’t tell t...

When I got my first real job (in a grocery store) the people I worked with became almost a second family. And when I met Jane and got married her family became my family – and vice versa. To know Jesus better is to understand what new connections He would bring into our lives; to understand life in a whole new sense of family. What might this mean for you?

New Connections Part 1 by St Matthew Rocklin

How do you see yourself before the face of God? And how does this color how you see others? Today, God would rock our world with a picture of how God sees us…and others. God wants you to know Jesus better. He wants you to have a new heart. What might this mean for you?

Where do you need a new beginning in your life? God wants you to know Jesus better. He wants you to know Him as the One who brings and gives new beginnings! What might this mean for you?

The Appearance by St Matthew Rocklin

Not Alone- God Wants You to Know by St Matthew Rocklin

Do you remember the story of Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol?” Once the “spirit of Christmas” touched his heart, he could not contain his joy! He was so filled with joy it had to be released! Today we focus on stories of Christmas joy released…and how it can be released in our lives as well! JOY to the world!