From dust to dust

For dust you are and to dust you shall return

-Genesis 3:19 

This week we enter a new season in the church calendar. We turn our hearts to the cross, and we remember the journey that Jesus took to Jerusalem. He chose a path of sacrifice in order to share God's Love with the world. In our church, we mark the beginning of this season with Ash Wednesday. We remember our own mortality, and we remember everything that Christ did for us.

Sometimes I find the season of Lent to be difficult. I remember it being a somber time when I was growing up. The days were dark, and the Lenten services felt kind of dark and cold too. Many people chose to give something up. It felt like a time for remorse and sacrifice. Life was already filled with enough things to be concerned about. It became really hard to want to make room for this season. However, Lent is not supposed to be a drag on your life. The word Lent actually means:  Spring. It is the season of new beginnings. It tells us that there is a time for death, and it confirms that we need to accept this. However, if we can let go of those things, our hearts can also be prepared to find rebirth and new life.

I know people who are afraid to let go of the past. They find themselves locked into cycles failure or loss. Some people are held back by addiction. Some are held back by grief or pain. Some people are held back by a story that tells them that they are worthless. 

Lent is a season of renewal. We are to live each day with open hearts and minds. There is something that we all have to let go of this season. I hope we can take time to name these things and let them go so that they no longer control us. Then our prayers can lead us to new life.

Blessings!

Pastor Brian

Finding peace

How much of your day is spent worrying? 

Are you concerned about tomorrow? 

In what ways do fears control you?

Jesus did not want fear and anxiety to rule over us. However, that is easier said than done. We have real problems in our world. There are wars, political fears, and divisions within our nation. Beyond all of this, I speak with people regularly who have just been diagnosed with cancer or other serious diseases. If we put all of our personal and societal fears together, it can easily become too much to bear. 

This morning as I was getting my one year old ready for day care, and it struck me how easily he trusts the people around him. He latches on and trusts us to take care of his needs. Even though he doesn't understand why we take him to the doctor, clean him up, or put him in clothes, he does trust us to solve his problems. This doesn't mean he is always happy about it. (He hates it when we wipe his breakfast out of his hair!) However, he wants to be around us. He believes we will help him... even when he doesn't understand the bigger picture.

Trusting God can feel very similar. Jesus tells us to trust even when we can't see everything that is going to happen. We are told to keep sharing our gifts even if we fall short. God is always here for us. Let's try to open our hearts to that promise!

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Stronger together

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

-Matthew 7:24

Jesus taught us to build our lives on a firm foundation. I wonder if you have ever stopped to reflect on the core values that define you. Are God's words of love living in your heart? Are the burdens of the world controlling you? I have some really good friends who are incredibly smart. They are hard working and very good people, but they have also lost their way. This is sometimes due to drugs or alcohol. Other times the stress of the world can leave them feeling stranded. They have lost sight of their blessings and the wonderful attributes that made them who they are. 

I think we can all lose our way in the world. It's easy to get caught up in the pain, division, and heartbreak. It can also be difficult to stay focused on the blessings that matter most. Jesus can see the potential in each one of us. He knows that we are all gifted in different ways, and he wants us to flourish. Our current sermon series invites us to ask if we are trusting in God's Love or if we have built our foundation on shaky ground.

As I look at our world today, I see a lot of hurting people. Unfortunately we are so divided that we are having a hard time seeing one another as a children of God. Recently, my ten year old son recently found a book about refugees. I think he started reading it because it seemed like a good adventure story, but by the end he was talking about all the different people in the world who were struggling. It opened his eyes to all the real stories of people in the world. It also helped him to see the people right here in our community differently. There are plenty of people who are hurting in our city and they have real lives and real stories. We need to be people who look at one another with love.

Today I hope we can all take a breath and embrace the love that surrounds us. I hope we can all let go of the pain and find a new path forward.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

What matters most...

I love the season of Christmas, but I am always astounded by how quickly it goes by. Just a few weeks ago, we were rushing to set everything up after Thanksgiving. There were Christmas concerts, a children's' pageant, and rehearsals. We prepared worship services and scrambled to buy presents. A few weeks later we took it all down. Life moves fast. I hope you were able to give thanks for the joy you received.

As quickly as the time went, I really loved the moments when I could stop to be present with the people around me. I loved being fully immersed in the Christmas worship services. I loved having my in-laws in town and sharing meals and incredible moments together. Finally, even after the season was over, I loved taking a bit of time to get away as a family for New Years. 

My family has taken a New Year's trip the past few years. It is always a bit stressful, because we really don't have time to plan it. We just pack up and go. This year was no different. There were also a number of things at church we were still dealing with, and we were going to face rainstorms in California. However, we wanted to find the time to make it work.

We piled our camping stuff into the van, hoped we had enough dry socks, and we took off. We stayed on the coast in California's Big Sur. We splashed through creeks to waterfalls, we watched elephant seals, and we explored the coastal redwood trees. It was wet, wild, and super fun. We came home exhausted and with tons on dirty laundry, but we were also rejuvenated as a family. It was wonderful just to spend some time together!

We are entering into a sermon series that is all about getting back to our foundation. We will look at the core teachings of Jesus, and we are taking a look at what matters most. Today I hope you can all find some time to get back to the basics. Don't let the small things drag you down. Let's find hope right where we are!

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Opening our hearts to Joy

We are entering the third week in the season of Advent, and we are lighting the candles of Hope, Peace, and Joy... I wonder if you are taking time in this busy season to experience all of these gifts. I believe we are surrounded by these blessings everyday, but we do not always recognize them. Life either moves too fast, or we are too anxious and frustrated to appreciate the wonder right in front of us. 

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving. I love this holiday. Most of the time we will either travel to be with family in Colorado, or we meet our family here in Las Vegas. However, this year we were not going to have anyone in town. Our neighbors were also busy, so this was going to be one of the first holidays where we wouldn't be including others. We were a little bummed out at first, but my wife decided to ask what else we could do. This world is filled with wonder, and we were going to have a few days off to try something new. After checking the weather, we decided to book a hotel at the Grand Canyon. It was a fantastic experience, and I am so thankful that we all just decided to embrace the moment. I loved seeing my kids walk up to the canyon for the first time and share in a sense of awe and wonder. It was a moment to pause and remember all of the incredible gifts that surround us. More importantly we realized the greatest gift was just being around each other.

The season of Advent is a time to wait patiently for the good gifts of God. Many people in the Biblical Christmas story did not notice the baby that was born and laid in a manger. Many people did not want to listen to the joy of the shepherds. However, the story tells us that the greatest blessings are found in celebrating the small moments. God is here. We are not alone, and we have the opportunity to live in the wonder of all creation. 

Today I hope you can appreciate the gifts that that surround you. It may feel like joy is pretty far off in the chaos of our world. However, the Advent and Christmas story tell us that we can find hope, peace, joy, and love everywhere we go. Let's share this good news with the world.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Hope and Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for?

As I write this, my family is preparing for Thanksgiving.  When I reflect back, I have so many wonderful memories of this season. As a child, my aunt and uncle often hosted the entire family, and we were invited to spend a few days on their farm. From the moment we loaded up the car, I remember feeling a sense of wonder and excitement. I don't remember a number of the logistics, but I do remember spending as much time as I could with the people there. My cousins and I would go outside to build log cabins in the woods. We would take our sleds careening down a hill, and we would always share in a wonderful meal. One could argue that there didn't have to be anything special about all of this. I could have made time for these activities on my own, but the true blessings were found in the relationships. It didn't matter if the turkey was dry or my sled crashed into a tree, the loved ones who surrounded me transformed these moments into beautiful lifelong memories.

I have not been to that farm in Wisconsin in many years, but I will always cherish the memories. More than that, I will continue to live in the hope I found there. I learned that hope is something real. It is something I can trust and put my faith in. I am a changed person, because I feel loved. 

Today, I am building my own Thanksgiving traditions with my family. We are taking time to give thanks for the people that surround us, and we are experiencing the same hope that changed my life. Our traditions look quite a bit different than the ones I grew up with, but we still look for faith, hope, and love.

Let's all try to share in the blessings of this season. Perhaps you are feeling beaten down by the world or exhausted by the road that life has led you on. My prayer is that we could all take a breath. I hope we can all find something to be thankful for and generously share these blessings with the world.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Come and Worship

In the Bible, Jesus invites all people into a deeper relationship with God. He invites the rich and the poor. He invites the young and the old. He also extended this invitation different cultures. Jesus wants all of us to "come and see" what a relationship with God looks like. This is a cornerstone of our scriptures. However, there are quite a few distractions in our world that can prevent us from looking toward Jesus. Personally, I find myself running off to a different activity every single evening. (And people tell me that it only gets busier when my kids get into middle school and high school!) Even when I am working in the church, I can be guilty of losing sight of some of the ways love is transforming the world around me. It's just too easy to get lost in the tiny little frustrations of life...

In our sermon series this this month we are looking at the core values that we have chosen as a congregation. These are gifts that our church has that we can share with the world. This week we are diving into our core value of worship. Following Jesus leads us to all kinds of opportunities. However, worship is a special area of focus. I believe true worship will cut through all of the distractions, and it will allow us to let go of all of the burdens of the world. When we leave time for worship, we open ourselves to a greater experience of what God can do. 

I think the question becomes whether or not we want to leave space for worship. Are we too busy? Would we rather do something else? Would we rather just stay home and watch T.V.? Or is there something valuable in gathering together to surrender ourselves to God. My hope and prayer is that we would all come and see what the Lord is doing in our lives.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian