Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope you are all having a very blessed week. Today I am wondering how your holiday traditions have changed. This past year has brought a number of challenges, and many of us still seem to be longing for the ability to get back to normal. 

The Bible teaches us that God is with us. There are blessings surrounding us every day, but at times we can ignore God’s presence. I tend to dream about the perfect Thanksgiving. It is easy to wish everything was just like it used to be, but that is not the way of the world. Life moves forward. Life takes unexpected twists and turns, and it never gives you exactly what you want. If you want the perfect holiday, it is already here. We just have to open our hearts and discover the Holy Spirit.

This year my family is having a small gathering with one of my wife’s sisters for Thanksgiving. It has been a long time since we have seen each other, and we have had to talk about what needs to happen for the holiday. How many traditions do we try to bring back? What needs to change? In spite of my concerns, my two little boys are just excited about the day. They are already talking about how wonderful everything is. They love the food, the preparation, and the excitement that comes with visitors in town. They aren’t trying to match this Thanksgiving with previous years. They are in the moment, and they are LOVING it! 

Today I hope we can all enjoy the moment we are in. Life is never going to be exactly like it was. However, God is here, and Christ is always going to make something new. Let’s celebrate the Holy Spirit today, and let’s live with hope in the new creation!

Blessing!

Brian

Our Values

What values do you live by?

Last week we started a brand new sermon series at CLC. We are taking a look at the core values of our church. It is fascinating to think about the kind of community that we are, and it is really important to understand how the Holy Spirit is working among us. This week we will take a look at what it means to be a people of worship, growth, and learning. 

What are the values that are guiding your life? 

We all have principles that lead us, but we do not always take time to name them. If we aren’t careful, I think it is very possible for us to find things like anger, fear, and animosity at the center of our lives.

A week ago my wife was checking the school calendar for our child in 1st grade. She discovered he did not have school the following Thursday and Friday for Veteran’s Day. At first this sent us scrambling to figure out day care, but we realized that we had plenty of remaining vacation time. It was time for a trip! We decided to go to Prescott, Arizona to visit my wife’s sister, and to see a new part of the country. The trip was unexpected, and it is always crazy going camping with the family. However, I find the time allows me to connect with my family on a deeper level. We probably looked rather chaotic as we struggled to make the long drive and camp in the cold nights, but we enjoyed every moment. We were reminded of the love that binds everything together. We also stopped by the Veteran’s Day parade in Prescott, and I was reminded of all the family members and people in my life who have served. I have so much to be grateful for, and I love keeping these things at my core.

This week I hope you can find ways to let love guide you. As we worship and grow together, I hope we can all experience God’s grace in our lives.

Blessings,

Brian

Being open to the Spirit

This is a super exciting time in my house. My first grader can’t wait for all the Halloween parties, and my preschooler is loving the idea of Trick or Treating. They are both finding new costumes to dress up in every day, and they cannot contain their joy. 

When were you last that excited? 

Adults seem to find a number of reasons not to show emotion. We have to keep things under control. We don’t want surprises, and we can even dismiss beautiful moments of joy. Perhaps we have learned that if you feel great joy, then you will also feel great pain. (This is certainly true of the kids in my house… We can go from the best day ever to the worst day possible!) It may just be easier to close our hearts off to the world. 

Five hundred years ago a German monk named Martin Luther opened himself to new possibilities. He opened his heart to the possibility of being surprised, overwhelmed, and delighted. This monk opened his heart to God’s Spirit, and this led him on a journey with many twists and turns. He faced a number of dark valleys, but he also found a joy that surpassed all understanding. 

Today I hope we can tap into the joy of the Spirit. This means that we will also experience moments of darkness and fear. However, God promises to always be with us. Following the Spirit can lead us to some wild places, but we will always be surrounded by God’s grace!

Blessings!

Brian 

You are called

Have you ever felt called by God? 

Is there a person that you feel called to reach out to and share God’s love with? 

There are times I do not feel adequate as a messenger for Christ. I can find reasons to dismiss any gifts that I may have. There are people who seem uninterested in the Good News, and I don’t feel like my words are very helpful. Other times people have interpreted my words and actions as careless or even harmful. I may have a wonderful opportunity to serve others, but one angry critique can fill me with doubt. As human beings, many of us lose sight of our callings due to fear, resentment, and uncertainty.

We all experience doubt, but God calls each of us. It is our duty as followers of Christ to believe in the gifts we have and share these gifts with the world. Christ did not come into our lives to blame us or shame us. Jesus came to create a church that would give the world new life. We are a part of this church today. God believes in us. Christ has faith in us. We simply need to open our hearts and follow the Holy Spirit.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

Jonah 2:1-2

In our sermon series, we are reading through the book of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet who did not believe in his ability to serve. He also struggled to decide where he was called to serve. God had to call him multiple times to the people of Nineveh. Jonah wanted to love his own people, but he hated the idea of reaching out to his enemies. 

Where God is calling you today? 

Perhaps you need to find God among those that make you feel uncomfortable. Perhaps you need to see God in yourself?

God loves us, calls us, and God has made us his own. We are all the church. It is my hope that we might believe in our callings and reach out to the world in love.

Blessings,

Brian

Are you listening for God's Grace?

This week we are beginning a new sermon series on the book of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah is filled with some pretty wild stories and unbelievable moments. There are people who use the book to say that the Bible is just a made-up tale. How could a man be swallowed by a great fish and live in its belly for three days? How could the great and terrible city of Nineveh repent like the story describes? (They feel so remorseful they even put their animals in sackcloth!) 

I think it is easy to get lost in all the details… We can be so consumed by our questions that we miss the beauty of this little book. 

Every few weeks one of my kids will pull our Children’s Bible off the shelf, and they will want to hear the story of Jonah. This ancient tale is still incredibly meaningful today, and even toddlers can be inspired by its grace. 

The book tells the story of a man who runs away from God’s calling. He doesn’t want God’s gift of grace to show up for his enemies. However, God works through Jonah and miracles happen! As unbelievable as this story may be, there is something timeless and true about it. Today I wonder if miracles are happening in our lives that we are choosing not to see. Are we so tangled up in a web of hatred and fear that we are missing out on God’s Love? 

Let’s open our eyes to the miracles around us. God is doing incredible things… I hope we can enjoy every second of it!

Blessings!

Brian

Love is here...

Psalm 8:3-5

When I consider your heavens,

    the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

    which you have set in place,

what is humankind that you are mindful of them,

   mortals that you care for them?

Do you take time to consider the heavens or the beauty of creation? Our world has inspired people for centuries. I love to imagine the individuals living long ago, whose lives were so different, but they still felt a sense of wonder and awe when regarding the world around them. Today I believe we still need to take time to breathe in everything that God is offering. 

Last week my family took a quick vacation to Pine Valley, Utah. It was a wonderful time for the kids to play in the forest, splash in the creek, and watch the deer and other animals run by. I have always loved camping, but these trips really help me to be mindful of the blessings I have. I need to get away from the heat and smog and realize there is so much more to the life we are living.

Long ago the ancient psalmist looked to the heavens and wondered where human beings fit in. The poet answers the question as follows:

what is humankind that you are mindful of them,

   mortals that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels

    and crowned them with glory and honor.

God has given us glory and honor on par with the angels. I hope we can all take a little time to be mindful of the love that surrounds us. Let us not simply plow through the next day, week, or year. Let's open our hearts to what God is doing. We don’t want to miss the love God is sharing!

Blessings!

Brian

Trusting the Holy Spirit

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in God, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

-Romans 15:13

Are you feeling the Hope of the Spirit?

This season of Covid-19 hasn’t been easy. People are facing uncertainty in careers, finances, and the overall economy. Nobody is sure of what is coming next, and I know I am ready to get back to normal.

Life is always going to have its ups and downs, but I like to convince myself that I am in control. I want to be able to handle any situation that arises. However, that’s not the way life works. It is always good to plan ahead, but I believe it is a mistake to think that we can control the world around us. Life is filled with uncertainty - even when we aren’t dealing with Covid-19. There are plenty of times we have to open our hearts, let go of our need for control and trust in God.

A couple weeks ago I had my own little moment of letting go. My six-year-old started public school. He finished Kindergarten last year, but this was his first experience walking onto a public school campus. It turned out to be a pretty moving experience for my wife and me as we dropped him off at the fence. (Parents weren’t allowed to take their kids to class because of the virus protocols.) We watched him walk off with a friend he made in kindergarten carrying his oversized backpack and new school supplies. The two of them wandered around to a couple different doors trying to figure out where to go. I wanted to run over there and help him, but I couldn’t. Eventually, the two of them made their way to the right door and slipped inside. A few hours later, we picked him up. It turns out he was just fine. He didn't need me to check on him every step of the way. In fact, he grew a lot. Sometimes we need to have faith.

There are so many people, myself included, who want to rescue others any way we can. However, sometimes the best thing for us to do is offer a bit of love and then trust that they will find their own way. Today I hope we can all believe in God's bigger plan for us. I hope we take time to feel the Holy Spirit moving among us. God is guiding us toward grace, and I hope we can all take a breath and follow that lead.

Blessings,

Brian