St. Matthew Lutheran Church- Rocklin, California

So, bottom line, where is the place of power when it comes to living our lives – and what is the place of weakness? And how do these flesh out in our lives? The bottom line is grace. In grace is power to live a better –the best - way. Today, we explore what this means and what it looks like with Jesus as our guide. For He came so we could have life more abundantly!

Vitamins. Supplements. Protein powder. Regimens. New diets. It seems everyone has an idea about healthy living. Today, Jesus would show us what it means to live healthy –in trust, not fear. Interested?

I was talking with a friend of mine a couple of years ago concerning the death of his father. It was during WWII. His father was not in the military because he worked on the farm. One day his father suffered an appendicitis attack. They took him to the one hospital that was near them, but it was now on an Army Base which was on a routine lockdown. They refused to allow his father on the base. By t...

“I can relate.” Have you ever heard this phrase? Have you ever said it? When you think about it, the one place we can all relate is in the things that don’t seem to go right…in our common brokenness. In fact, is it not when we self-righteously deny our brokenness – or at least say and believe that we are better than the other guy - that we lose relationship? What is the conversation stopper – to c...

In the home I grew up in, we always helped with everything. Yardwork. Dishes. Clothes. Housework. It didn’t matter. We always did it together. But I remember, as the years went by and Jane and I would come home for a visit, how I would jump up after dinner to do the dishes and mom just said, “Just leave them. Let’s go sit in the patio and talk.” There is a difference between “being” and “having to...

When Sarah, our oldest, began to crawl, we immediately moved the things we had on shelves on all the furniture in the house up a little higher…and then a little higher…and then a little higher. We also put those plugs in the electrical outlets and those baby locks on the cabinet doors. Why? We knew what kids do. It’s just who they are. But what we had to get used to was seeing all the amazing thin...

Ok. Be honest now. What gets you offended? How about when another driver does something down right inconsiderate – or even stupid? How about when things don’t go your way at work or school or on vacation? Or maybe when the mechanic doesn’t get your car fixed? Or maybe when your spouse does that thing again?..or maybe when your children do what they do? Or maybe because of all the stuff that is jus...

What am I supposed to do with my life? Where do I fit in? What makes me unique? And how am I to use it? Humankind has asked these questions since the beginning of time. And our children – and us - continue to ask them. That’s what this movie is about…finding our way and our unique place. Did you know that God, in His love, has something to say about this as well? Again, His story intersects with o...

We all want to be happy – right? But given how we are put together, with all the conflicting emotions that make up who we are, what is the key to being happy? This is what the story is about in this wonderfully creative movie! And as we explore the wisdom in this movie, it cannot help but point us to the wisdom of God in Jesus! do you want to be happy! This is the day for you! Come and see!...and...

Ok. Have you seen the movie? Music is great. Colors are wonderful. Set in the beautiful ocean. Characters are delightful! But what does this movie reveal about  ourselves and our stories….and how God’s story connects with our stories? What does this movie say of the ancient questions we are asking that are embedded in the stories we tell over and over again? What are we trying to explain? What are...

A picture is worth a thousand words. Today, the picture is one finding such a great and awesome treasure that he would give up everything to acquire it. Through this picture, Jesus teaches us something about the eternal, hidden, kingdom of God. Interested?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Today the picture is of what a plant grows into from a mustard seed…and how yeast causes bread to grow. Through these pictures, Jesus teaches us something about the eternal, hidden, kingdom of God. Interested?

The Kingdom of God is Like A Farmer Planting Seed! by St Matthew Rocklin

It happens every year in graduation ceremonies across the nation. People are “sent out” to use what they have learned and who they have become to “make a difference in the world!” But finally, it is only Jesus who can make a lasting difference – an eternal change – in our lives and in our world. In one sense, He has already done it as He cries from the cross, “It is finished!” But in another sense...

I had a roommate in college who decided to become an electrician. He went through a two year apprenticeship program, working side by side with an electrician during the day and going to electrician classes at night, again taught by people who were already electricians. This is what it means to be an “apprentice.” It’s kind of like “on the job training,” working with someone who is already a “maste...

Jane and I moved to Indiana to attend the seminary. It was in the Summer and it was 90 degrees and about 90% humidity. The day after I moved us into our apartment, I was on the Seminary grounds and met another guy who with his family was moving into a third floor apartment that day. Lee and I sweat all afternoon together and we got him and his family moved in. But something else happened. We conne...

This is a weekend to celebrate freedom. All across our nation and even overseas where Americans gather, we will celebrate the freedom we enjoy as Americans…the freedom “of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” But have you ever noticed that even though we live in such a wonderfully free land, how often people end up in slavery to so many things?....maybe even you and me in some ways? Today...

When my dad invited you, you knew you were welcome. Do you know what I mean? Some people are just like that. What comes through is their genuine care and even love for you and their sincere desire that you respond “yes” to the invitation. Sometimes with my dad, it was just a sincere desire to have a conversation with one of my friends, who would later tell me how “cool” my dad was. Other times, it...

Today we celebrate dads. We celebrate families. We celebrate love. We celebrate dads who in great love lay down their lives for their wives and their children. We recognize their service and their importance to their families. And we praise God, celebrating this gift of God to us wherever it is found! And it is my heart felt hope and prayer that each of you has great joy in this gift. Yet, we also...

I am not sure how a dictionary would define the word, “snapshot.” For me, it is a photograph that catches a significant moment in time, revealing an abundance of knowledge concerning the people in the photograph and what their lives were about in that moment. A snapshot is a record of the moment – the where, and how and what and when! It shows a situation. It shows the emotions. It puts life to th...

“I’m tired.” When is the last time you have said this?...or thought it? And what kind of “tired” was it? Physical? (Not enough sleep tiredness… or muscle tiredness?...or?) Emotional? (some situation just draining you?) Mental? (I have to think it through but I can’t find the answer!) Psychological? (I need to get away!) Spiritual? (It seems that I am like a zombie with my relationship with God!) W...

God has a great sense of the dramatic. I think He would have been a great script writer…oops, I mean He is! Today, it is like He is saying, “Drum roll please” as he is building up the anticipation for a climax of grace that will crash on the world like a giant wave! It’s like that song…”An-ti-ci-pa-a-tion!” It is what happens next in the story of the living Jesus and how His story entwines with ou...

My dad retired, due to health reasons, about two years before my mom. But even when she went to work, it was like they were never apart. Once he recovered somewhat from the surgery, they would sit down every night and put together a “to do” list for my dad for each day…things that they wanted to accomplish together but that he could get done when she was at work. And while he was accomplishing the...

“In All Things, A Love That Trumps All” Mother’s Day Celebration! by St Matthew Rocklin

My brother and I shared a room and slept in bunkbeds growing up. He was four years older than me and we were always close, every night talking in the dark after the lights were out. One night when I was maybe in the third grade, I must have been struggling with some things because in the dark after the lights were out I said something like, “Steve, what if this God-stuff isn’t true?” To which –aft...