St. Matthew Lutheran Church- Rocklin, California

Not long ago I had a cataract removed from my left eye. It was really quite amazing to go from seeing hardly anything out of that eye at all to 20-20 vision. But the thing that I wasn’t prepared for was how all the colors were so crisp and clean and vivid! It was amazing to see like that again! This kind of transformation gift is what God gives us as people who see themselves as SENT just as Jesus...

Have you ever “learned by doing?” It really is the only way to truly learn how to do something. I mean, you can talk about it, diagram it, understand it, see someone else doing it, but until YOU do it, you will not truly learn how to do it and get better at it. (If you have ever been on a football team and remember the first scrimmage of the year you know exactly what I mean!) Jesus taught His dis...

Have you ever heard the phrase, “learning by osmosis.” Basically what it means is that just as when you throw salt in a glass of water and over a few seconds it spreads through the entire solution, so too when we spend enough time doing life together with someone, they tend to “rub off” on us. So, God wants to do life with us so He can rub off on us…but He also wants us to do life with each other,...

Have you ever seen the movie “Chariots of Fire?” It is a movie about the English men’s track and field team at the 1924 Olympics. There is a character in the movie who is a Christian and says, “I was made to run. When I run I feel God’s pleasure.” Do you have that one thing –or perhaps a couple of things – that you know you were just “made to do?” In truth, God has put each of us together special...

Have you ever sung a version of the song “On Top of Old Smokey?” Most of them talk about someone being all alone on top of a mountain without….something they desperately need. God, in His love, NEVER leaves us “on top of Old Smokey.” He NEVER says, “Your on your own now!” No, in His love He stays connected….and He would empower us to live this same way toward others.

The first day Jane and I got to the Seminary, I went to the Administration Office, got squared away, and then was immediately asked if I would help move in another student and his family who had just gotten there. So I worked with Lee all afternoon and got him and his family moved in. But the thing I remember about that day? We each offered the other one the hand of friendship in ways too numerous...

When I would bring friends home, my dad had a way of making them feel welcome...as if they belonged with us!...and he firmly believed they did! His concern and care for them expressed in genuine hospitality was transparent and real! I remember when my dad died Ernie Perez, a close friend of mine from High School that I had not seen in 20 years came to his funeral…that’s how connected he felt to my...

Have you ever driven cross country in the Midwest and as you are approaching some restaurant or museum there are huge signs –one after another over a number of miles perhaps even on the sides of huge, old truck trailers – advertising the attraction or eatery? They really don’t want you to miss their invitation! Did you know God, in His great love for you that doesn’t want you to miss the invitatio...

“Ontogeny recapitulates philogeny.” It is something I had to learn in detail in an advanced Biology class in college where, just as we finished the final, we were told that it was no longer thought to be true…Did you ever have to learn something in school that you knew would NEVER be relevant in your life? God’s invitation to you – from His heart to yours – will never be irrelevant. It is a gift t...

When my oldest son was in the 4th or 5th grade a number of kids in his class asked him personally if he would play on their little league baseball team. It’s nice to be wanted. Even though it was a longer drive, we let him do it. Did you know you are personally wanted by God?...That He would touch your heart with His heart-feIt invitation? It’s nice to be wanted….And it’s a gift to have such a hea...

When I was 8 years old my older brother and I walked to the falls at Yosemite National Park from where my family was camped in the meadows. It was a long walk for an 8 year old. (I even remember the grass being over my head in the meadows when we began and the switchback trails looking as wide to me as a highway lane does today.) But I knew my place. I followed my older brother and I was content....

Where are you chasing after success in your Monday through Friday life?....and how’s that working for you? And where, in the struggle to achieve, do you feel disconnected and alone? Today we focus on the success and connectedness that the Resurrected One would give us; not just on Saturday and Sunday but also in our Monday through Friday life. Where do you need this Easter gift in your Monday thro...

Sometimes we would be shooting hoops in the driveway when my dad got home from work. I can still remember him saying again and again - wanting to make one shot before he went in the house to see mom - “one more,” “one more,” “one more,” until he made it. Where do you need “one more” – a second chance? This is our Easter focus today. And this second chance is not just for Saturday and Sunday; it is...

Peace: How are you doing with that?...not just on the weekends but Monday through Friday? And purpose…does the Monday through Friday grind sometimes feel pointless? Today we focus on a peace that is relevant not only on Saturday and Sunday but on Monday through Friday as well. And we focus on a purpose that is not only for the Sunday moment but also transcends the Monday through Friday grind. Wher...

Easter will be awesome! Great crowds of God’s people connecting with God and one another in worship…and then over breakfast and conversation as we share our lives. And the worship!...Exciting, joy-filled, worship with great music and song! And the reality of the victory of the Savior… “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”…But this morning, it is on the above theme that we especially focus. Biblical h...

The words of a dying man carry more weight. Perhaps this is why “death-bed” confessions are so powerful. I mean, who would lie when they are breathing their last? And who would talk about anything but the most important things in their lives – the things they cared the most about? Tonight, we look at the 7 last words of a dying Jesus. They too carry great weight. He too focused on that which was m...

Where do you feel alone? Tonight, we are reminded that we are Never Alone…and are empowered to live like it!

Do you remember the first “Karate Kid” movie? The patience of a young man, who has come to an old Karate Master to learn Karate, is sorely tried as he is told to do such things as paint a fence and wax old cars. Finally, he loses his trust and with it his patience, calling out the older man….who then shows him that the movements he was doing over and over again in the work was training him in the...

The certainty of God’s Kingdom, Power, and glory seen in the cross. What does this mean for our prayers?

The Search by St Matthew Rocklin

The gift of victory over all our enemies – received and lived in! What does this mean for our prayers?

When we were in Denver, a large water pipe ruptured across the street from the church. They had it fixed in a couple of days, strongly telling us that the water was fine. Yet, for days afterward, when we turned on the water, it came out brown and fresh and healthy!...so we can be healthy. Today, we focus on the “water” we drink for our soul. How healthy has it left you? Did you know Jesus is calle...

Forgiven: the gift of a state of being received and a way of life to live in. What does this mean for our prayers?

Hats. A cowboy wears one type of hat. A ship’s captain another. And a common sailer another. And a king another! In a sense, the kind of hat we wear determines how we see things…and how we live in our world. How do you see things? What hat are you wearing? And how is that working for you? Did you know that Jesus came to give us a “new hat?”….a new way of seeing things? And did you know that it was...

See the depth and brilliance of Jesus as He simply yet powerfully teaches us to pray for “bread.” What does this mean for us in our prayers?