The Blessings in Life

Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to lead a retreat for the youth and families of Community Lutheran Church. We left on Friday for a whirlwind trip to Camp Lutherwood in Utah. The camp is located just outside of Duck Creek Village in a beautiful location around 7,000 feet. We left on Friday afternoon, and we came home on Sunday. Over those three days, we packed in a ton of wonderful opportunities to explore, worship, and experience the Goodness of God.

We didn't arrive to camp until around 10pm on Friday, but as soon as we got out of the van we were greeted with amazing views of the Milky Way in the night sky. The youth stayed up looking at the stars, laying on the grass, and just cherishing the beauty of our world. 

The next day we spent a lot of time exploring caves and climbing up slot canyons. The kids built new relationships, and they learned to work together. We also took time for worship, fellowship, and laughter.

I find that camp ministry is incredibly important. I grew up going to Green Lake Bible Camp in Minnesota. My wife and I met at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp in Colorado. Today, I still see all kinds of opportunities to grow and experience the blessings of God in the abundance of nature. 

I find that it is so easy to fall into a rut in life. Routines can be a good thing, but I think we have to find times to break free. There is so much more to the world around us. God's blessings are everywhere, and spending time outside can remind us that we have so much to cherish and love everyday.

Today, it is my hope that we can all take a little time to acknowledge God's Gifts in our world. Let us open our hearts to the everything that God is offering!

Blessings!

Pastor Brian

Trusting God

I have learned a lot in my years of ministry, but one of the hardest lessons to grasp is the understanding that I am not in charge. Sure, that should seem obvious. We confess every week that God is the only one who knows what is to come. However, I can still convince myself that I can control my own destiny. If I do everything right, I want to see the results. It doesn’t matter if I am talking about my own personal life or if I am talking about my profession as a pastor. I want to believe that I am in control. 

I had all kinds of plans going into this summer. I thought I knew everything about the mission trips we would be going on with the Youth Group, and I thought I knew what would be the most impactful ministry. I believed I knew the best ways to travel and connect with my family. However, everything was flipped upside down when my family got Covid. I had my plans, but I was forced to change to see how the Spirit was going to work. 

The Youth Group wound up discovering all kinds of new gifts, and we saw new opportunities for mission as we reached out to God’s people in new ways. My family had to change our vacation plans four times to accommodate all the ups and downs of life, but it all worked out. I was not in charge, but God’s Spirit was working. There was all kinds of ministry taking place from the mission trips, Vacation Bible School, and one on one time with family and friends. God is always there for us, but we have to be open to new possibilities.

Today I hope we can trust in the Good News of Christ. I hope we can listen to God’s Word, and I hope we can trust in God throughout this journey of life that we are all on. 

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Trusting the Wisdom of God

Our current sermon series is focusing on the Biblical book of James. This is a fascinating letter filled with wisdom and insight. In fact, it is often considered the only wisdom book in the New Testament. However, the book has been the source of a lot of controversy. James encourages people to live their faith out loud. Faith is not a secret that people can somehow discover and tuck away like a magic key. Faith is about living life, making mistakes, and choosing to grow everyday. James makes it very clear that we are all walking this path of life. At times, we will choose to trust God. At other times, we will fall short and miss out on on the blessings God offers. 

Some of the early leaders of the Protestant Reformation did not fully appreciate everything James said. They had been so badly hurt by the church they found the message of James too harsh. They thought James was telling people what they needed to do to get to heaven, and they couldn't hear the hope James was sharing. The church, at that time, had given people a great burden of fear, and it tainted how they saw God. 

Today, James is still offering wisdom. There is a lot of hope that can be found in living and trusting in God. However, we still have a lot of baggage. Like the people long ago, if we don't understand God's Grace first, we will not be able to fully appreciate James' message. Our fears can make us see God as angry or unhappy, but that is not who God truly is. God is encouraging us to make mistakes and continue to learn. Christ will always be there to pick us up.

Last week, my youngest son turned four years old. He was delighted to play with his friends, eat birthday cake, and generally run around like a crazy man! :) We all had a great time celebrating. Looking back, it is hard for me to believe he is four years old. In many ways, the time has gone way too fast, but it is just as unbelievable to think that four years ago he was a newborn baby. Children are always learning and growing. It is exciting to see my boy climbing and doing the monkey bars, but it is just as amazing to hear him say that he is sorry for hurting someone else. He is not perfect, but he is wants to help others. He is doing the best he can in a messy world to find his own way of sharing God's blessings. 

As an adult, I don't always look for new ways to grow. Instead, I will look for ways to prove that I am right. I hope we can all take a little insight from James. I also want to take some wisdom for children. We all need to be willing to grow. We all have the ability to make an impact, and we are all loved by God. Let's open our hearts to this love today!

Blessings!

Pastor Brian

The Wisdom to Grow

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a 90-year-old member of our congregation. He invited me into his home, and I was blessed to simply chat with him. He didn’t have me over to complain or worry about the world. I was there because he wanted to ask questions and listen to the Spirit. He wanted to ponder the blessings of baptism and he wanted to give thanks for all that the Lord has done. I was astounded by his desire to grow in faith. There are days I know I can become complacent. I stop looking for surprises, and I can become bogged down by the complaints or frustrations of the world. I walked away from our time together inspired. Christ calls us to see the blessings, and I am thankful for the opportunity to share these moments with others.

This weekend we will be continuing our sermon series on the Book of James in the Bible. James is a wisdom book, and wisdom has a special place in our scriptures and in our lives. We are taught to learn from our experiences and grow from our mistakes. Biblical Wisdom does not shame us for our failures, but it does call us to grow. We are taught to listen to the voice of God, and we are told to incorporate God’s love into our lives. 

Are you at a place where you can listen to God? Are you open to receiving the gifts of the Spirit? God calls each of us, whether we are 2 years old or 92 years old, to grow. Christ wants us to learn lessons from the world around us, and we are taught to believe that the Love of God surrounds us in all we do. Today it is my prayer that we would all open our hearts to these gifts. If we realize that our hearts are heavy, may we give those burdens to Christ? There are new blessings for us each day. Let us cherish all that we have. 

In Christ,

Brian Ward

A Monumental Week!

We are celebrating Vacation Bible School at CLC, and this has been a Monumental week! VBS is a time to welcome kids from the neighborhood into a time of ministry and grace. There is fun, excitement, and a lot of God's Love. I remember going to VBS when I was a child. I made all kinds of new relationships, and I experienced God's Blessings in all kinds of new ways. As I got older, Vacation Bible School offered opportunities to serve, and I still love sharing the Good News in the midst of this exciting week. 

I meet regularly meet people who believe God is irrelevant to our world. What could God possibly have to offer me in my life? However, I also read that things like loneliness, anxiety, and depression are becoming more and more prevalent, and I also understand that many people feel like they are falling out of control. 

I believe the church has always offered hope to the world. There is joy in the community here. Sure, there is also brokenness. There are moments of failure, defeat, and even death. However, the church is a community that says we believe in hope over death. We believe that we can always stand with Love. We believe that God Loves us so we can love each other. 

This week we are beginning a new sermon series on the Book of James in the Bible. James is know for being a book all about putting faith in action. It is important to share the Good News of Grace, but we are also told to go out and live with God's Love in our hearts. This should not be a burden. It should be exciting to share the blessings.  

Personally, I feel Vacation Bible School offers this love to the world. It is an opportunity to show how God feels about us. Today I hope we can all take a little time to experience God's Grace. I hope we can believe God loves us, and I hope we can put our faith into action!

Blessings!

Pastor Brian

Finding Unity

How do you feel about your neighbors? 

How do you feel about the strangers you meet?

There are so many reasons we find to ignore, dismiss, or even detest our neighbors. For some reason, it is easy to notice all the differences between us. It doesn't take long before we start to dehumanize those around us. 

God looks at the world differently. God does not see wickedness or evil in another human's eyes. God does not see you as wicked or evil. We are all created, loved, and called children of God. The Bible speaks of the potential we hold when we  come together. Jesus called all of his followers friends, and he spoke of the power that we have when we live united as the body of Christ. 

Last week, my family went out of town for a few days as we were recovering from Covid. We did not have any severe symptoms, but we did have to change a few plans. In the end, we were blessed to take a quick trip to Sequoia National Park, where we camped for four nights. Before we left, we heard a few news stories about some of the worst parts of humanity. This was contrasted with our arrival at our campsite. It didn't take long for our kids to meet another family with four children. They were all about the same age, and they loved making new friends. They splashed in the stream. They made mud pies, and our youngest spent a lot of time helping another three year old find the perfect place for her camp chair. These kids naturally saw each other as friends. It was beautiful!

I wonder what is holding so many of us back from seeing with the eyes of a child. We all need friendships. We all need love. Yet, we find so many reasons to push others away. I hope we can open our hearts up a little bit today. I hope we can bless those around us by seeing as God sees. We are all God's children! This world is full of ups and downs, but we can do this together.

Blessings!

Brian

Living in the Spirit

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel with Community Lutheran Church's Youth Group on a mission trip. It is hard to believe that this was our first mission trip in three years! There is so much that goes into the preparation for these experiences, and in the end, there are always things we can't control. However, we had a wonderful week! I always find meaning in these trips, and this year was no exception. I was reminded of the need we all have for reconnecting with others and experiencing God's Love!

Our primary service site was located in Long Beach, CA. We served a population of people who were experiencing homelessness, and we worked with an organization called Christian Outreach in Action. This was the first time our church worked with this agency, so we didn't really know what to expect. However, when we walked in, they immediately put our team to work, and it was wonderful to see the youth of our church jump right in. They hauled provisions back and forth, organized clothes, and handed out all kinds of food and supplies. 

I love seeing the willingness to serve, but I really cherished the moments when our youth went out of their way to build relationships with the people they met on the streets. They listened to their stories. They learned people's names. They brought a lot of laughter and joy, and they were willing to open their eyes to new perspectives. 

God is present in the world around us. Sometimes we dismiss other people. We want to believe we are better than they are, or we want to believe our story is more important than theirs. However, God is equally present in all our lives. It is my prayer that we all would open our hearts to see God's grace and share God's love in all that we do. 

Blessings,

Brian Ward

Here's a few photos from the trip! :)