Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! 

I love this season. I had so much fun on Easter watching my two older boys help our one-year-old son look for Easter eggs. It was a blast to watch the kids share this excitement. My wife and I usually try to limit the sugar intake, but we couldn't resist laughing when we caught the older two sneaking their younger brother his first jelly beans. (He really liked them!) We experienced so much joy together. The entire season felt like it flew by so fast. I am glad we had a bit of time to enjoy together.

Are you celebrating the joy of the Easter season? It can be difficult to do. There is a lot of bad news in the world. To truly celebrate Easter, I think we have to look at more than jelly beans and Easter eggs. Easter doesn't happen without reflecting on death. Last week, we took time to remember Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. We spent time looking back at the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples. We gathered around the cross to meditate on what Jesus did for us. I do not think our society is great at reflecting on imperfections. No one wants to admit their mistakes. I see young kids doubling down when they get in trouble, and I see leaders all around the world doing the same thing. People do not want to confess to any imperfections. We are also surrounded by social media that doesn't seem to help much. I can find a new study every week that describes people being harmed online. Anxiety and depression are on the rise and bad news seems to be everywhere in the world. 

What does it mean to be a people of the resurrection in the midst of all of this? We share the Good News that Jesus Christ is risen, but sometimes we may not feel Christ's presence.

I firmly believe Jesus is here. We do not have to pretend that we are something that we are not. I want my kids to always feel the kind of joy and love they felt on Easter. However, to feel real joy they have to know they can make mistakes, and they have to trust that God still loves them. This is the world I hope we can all share with each other. We don't have to put on a facade. We can admit we are broken, and we can find the truth of the resurrection as we love one another.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Christ on the Journey

Next Sunday we will remember Holy Week, and we will take a closer look at the journey Jesus took into the city of Jerusalem. To be clear, the journey did not begin when Jesus entered the city. Jesus began to follow the path to the cross long before. The entire Gospel story shows that Jesus moved intentionally toward the cross with everything he did. He did not come to this world to offer a miracle here or there like a magician. Jesus represents much more than this. He came to the world to walk with us on the journey of life.

Today I wonder what your journey looks like. Are you listening for Christ's invitation to walk with him? Personally, I know when times get tough, I can be guilty of ignoring God's call. Last week, I was blessed to attend the wedding of wife's sister. My entire family was going to be involved in the ceremony in some way, and we were all excited. However, while we were driving to Colorado, all three of my kids started to get sick. I kept hoping we would get a miracle. Perhaps the boys would all feel better at once, but we did not have that kind of luck. The night before the wedding things spiraled out of control. We dealt with an ER visit, a sleepless night, and even car trouble.

Sometimes life doesn't go exactly as we plan it. However, in the end everyone was okay, and that is really what matters. My middle son was able to be a ring bearer, and this thrilled him. My one year old son helped my wife and I officiate the service😀, and my oldest started to feel better the next day. Life is a wild journey, and when I was in the thick of it, I just wanted a miracle. However, God calls us to open our hearts in every moment. The journey is not always easy, but we are never alone. 

The journey does not belong to us. We all have to surrender. Today I hope we can all let go and trust what God is doing. We don't always have the full picture, but we can learn to trust the one who loves us.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

In the wilderness...

There are a lot of concerns in our world today. There is war in the middle east and divisions in our own country. Beyond all of this, everyone is dealing with their own personal pain. Perhaps you have lost someone you love, or maybe you are just feeling broken down by the world. Often times we try to suffer through this pain on our own. We don't share what we are going through, and we assume everyone else is too busy to care about our problems. 

We have been journeying through the book of Exodus during this Lenten season. This book tells the story of a people who were broken down by years of slavery. God heard them calling out, but they still didn't believe anyone cared about them. They thought they were worthless. God had to do more than set these people free. God had to teach them that they were valuable. 

As I was reading through the narrative, it struck me that the Israelites were tested in the wilderness 10 times. This is a call back to the 10 plagues where God tested the Pharaoh in Egypt. Pharaoh failed these tests. He was not willing to believe in God. However, when the Israelites were tested, they don't do much better. Time and time again they seem to fail, but while Pharaoh's heart became harder, the Israelites slowly opened theirs. 

Now, I really don't like the idea of God testing the people, but I don't think God wanted to punish the Israelites. God was waiting for the people to open their hearts. It didn't matter that they failed the tests. If they opened their hearts in a small way, God would be able to offer hope.

Today there are a number of reasons why people can be discouraged. There are a number of reasons why we might feel like we are failing a test. However, God doesn't care if we mess up. God wants us to live with a heart that can be open to love.

I hope all of you know that it is okay to make mistakes. We simply have to open our hearts to the one who is always willing to save us.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

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