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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There’s a first time for everything!  I remember some of the firsts in my life.  First time I rode a bike without training wheels – exhilarating.  First day of school – intimidating.  First time I drove a car by myself – freeing.  First time I preached – both a bit nerve wracking and exciting.  It was at Concordia Lutheran Church in St. Louis where the congregation was a mix of Seminary professors and nice families all sitting there … waiting for me to proclaim God’s Word to them. 

In Luke 4 we witness one of Jesus’ firsts as He started His earthly ministry.  Jesus had just left the devil in the dust, fending off Satan’s temptations.  From the wilderness temptations, Jesus made His way back to His hometown Nazareth.  He went to the synagogue to do what He always did … worship His Father in heaven.  But this time was a little different.  Someone gave Him a scroll … with the words of Isaiah on it.  He read,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind...” (Luke 4:18-19)

Then, He gave His first sermon to commence His earthly ministry saying, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21) But, rather than shout “Hosannas!” that the Messiah was with them, His hometown neighbors, who only knew Jesus as Joseph’s son, were aghast!  They’d seen Jesus grow up before their very eyes.  They knew His parents, Joseph and Mary.  Words were fine, but without proof of miracles, signs, and wonders they couldn’t believe Jesus was anything more than the carpenter’s son.  In fact, they were ready to ride Him out of town on the rails and run Him off a cliff.  But Jesus, the Son of God, wouldn’t be deterred.  Ironically, by means of a miracle, He simply passed through the angry crowd intent on murder.  He went on about His business … proclaiming good news to the poor in spirit, freeing people from the captivity of sin, and opening eyes to see that salvation came only through Him.

Jesus not only came to the people of first century Palestine, but also to people across the world and across the ages.  His first sermon was His announcement for everyone that He is the Savior of all mankind.  He is the one His Father sent to free His creation from sin and death, to provide eternal life, and to usher in the new creation – a new heaven and a new earth – that will be just as God intended when He created all things in the first place.

As we hear this gospel with 21^st century ears, we hear that not only did Jesus came to free the people of Nazareth and Capernaum and other places in the ancient Middle East.  He came to free us.  He proclaims His good news and liberty to us through His church.  Our eyes are opened to His Word, heard in our worship services, bible studies and devotions, and our prayers as we listen to Him.  Let us live in His presence each and every day of our lives.

                                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Saints of First Lutheran,

Championship time reminds us, “It’s not how you start … but how you finish.”  In other words, “Save the best for last.”  As a Steelers fan, things were looking good early on.  Now … well the Steelers are golfing, fishing, or healing.  I’m also a Red Sox fan.  They started the year on fire.  Struggled a bit through the middle.  But they saved the best for last and won the World Series.  It’s not how one starts, but how one finishes.

Jesus’ first miracle turned water into wine.  He’s at a wedding enjoying the festivities.  Jesus has been baptized and some heard His Father’s voice, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) He called a few disciples.  But He hadn’t really done much in His ministry.  At this wedding, Mary, His mother, informs Him the party is out of wine.  Jesus says in essence, “So what. What’s that got to do with anything?”  But Jesus listens to His mom’s request and promptly turns six jars filled with water into wine.  When the host tasted the wine Jesus created, he was amazed saying, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.  But you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10) Jesus first miracle looks to save the best for last. 

Throughout His earthly ministry Jesus does many truly miraculous things.  He heals lepers.  He returns sight to the blind.  He restores mobility to the crippled.  He shows His mastery over nature by stilling storms, walking on water, and multiplying fish and bread to feed the hungry.  Jesus even raises people from the dead!  But these miracles pale in comparison to what He saved for last.

Jesus claimed to be God.  He did things only God could do … chief among them, forgiving sins and restoring peace between man and God just as God had promised through His prophets.  Yet, despite these acts, His own people failed to see Jesus for who He truly was … the Son of God.  Instead, they saw Him as one who claimed to be God – a blasphemer who deserved to die.  So, they had Him crucified.  Three days later, Jesus, saving the best for last, showed them He truly was the Son of God.  He rose from the dead to new life.  In doing so, He proved, in the end that He is indeed who He said He was … that He had the authority to claim to be … the Son of God.

The Son of God saves the best for last for us too.  We all have moments of triumph in life.  We experience the joy of achievement.  We might even contribute to the excitement of many victories.  But, we also experience sorrow and suffering.  Then we die.  All along though, we also live in peace, through faith in Christ, knowing that as high as our highs might be … or as low as the lows are … the best will be saved for last.  When our Lord, Jesus Christ returns on the last day, we will join Him in the eternal wedding feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.  The best wine will be ours for eternity.

                                      Your Fellow Saint,

                                                                                                Pastor Jim

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There was a time when I carried six different ID Cards.  I knew who I was, but the Air Force didn’t recognize my Wyoming driver’s license.  The Pentagon didn’t acknowledge either of them.  I worked in a special place that didn’t accept anyone’s identification systems.  I needed special IDs for each place.  Then I needed another ID to access my computer.  And finally, to get books at the county library, I needed a library card.  Again, I knew who I was … but to prove it, I needed a wallet full of 2 1/8 x 3 1/4 inch cards.

In Jesus’ day ID cards didn’t exist.  But, if Jesus were ministering along the banks of the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert County, you can bet He’d need one.  Despite everything written about Him through the ages, if you were to ask people today who Jesus was, you’d get an amazing variety of answers.  Once you got past the “Jesus … He’s a pretty good guy” statement, the field is wide open on His identity.  Some might call Him a great religious teacher or philosopher.  Others might call Him a great leader.  And some might even call Him a mighty prophet, right up there with Moses and Elijah.  Then, some might even say He’s God.

True enough, Jesus didn’t carry a small, wallet-sized ID card identifying who He really is.  But the gospels were “Written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31) 

If I didn’t have the proper ID with me, one of the ways I might be able to gain access to the place I was going would be to have someone with proper credentials vouch for me.  This person, trusted because they had the proper ID, would say they trusted me and would be responsible for me.

St. Luke tells us about Jesus’ baptism.  After John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, the Holy Spirit visibly descends on Jesus and a voice from heaven vouches for Jesus’ true identity saying, “You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) With these words, God the Father vouches for who Jesus truly is … the Son of God.  A great religious teacher – yes.  A great leader – yes.  A mighty prophet – yes.  And so much more – God!  He did things only God can do … forgiving sins and raising people from the dead for starters.  For His claims to be God, He was executed because nobody believed Him.  Nevertheless, Jesus proved His true identity by doing another thing only God can do … defeating the power of death and rising to new life.  Rising from the dead He validates His identity … He is God.  As such His promises to us … the forgiveness of sin and eternal life … are most certainly true. 

In baptism our Father gives us our true identity … sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Christ.  Then the Holy Spirit descends upon us, dwells within us, and gives us faith.  By faith in the Son of God, we believe His promises – forgiveness of sin and admission to eternal life in His new creation.

                                                                                        In Christ,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear First Lutheran,

This week we began Epiphany.  An “epiphany” is “a sudden grasp of reality through a strikingly simple event.”  We’ve heard of “Aha” moments … when the “light bulb suddenly comes on.”  That’s an epiphany … an “Aha” moment.  Today we celebrate the “Aha” moment when we realize Jesus, the Son of God, was born not only to save His own people, the Israelites, but also non-Israelites … Gentiles.

God our Father promised a Messiah to save His people.  However, as the years became decades and decades became centuries, this promise seemed to be for nothing.  But God is faithful to His promises.  Including a Messiah to save His people.  God’s Word tells us about many “Aha” moments leading to Jesus’ birth.  There’s Mary living her life, preparing to become the wife of a man named Joseph.  Suddenly, “Aha!” – the angel Gabriel reveals she’s to become mother of the Messiah.  Then, Joseph, Mary’s husband to be, finds out Mary is pregnant with somebody else’s child.  Suddenly, “Aha!” – an angel of the Lord appears saying, “It’s okay … this child is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send the Messiah to save His people from their sin.”

 Then there’s the Magi, Gentiles who aren’t supposed to know God’s Word.  They’re astronomers who look at stars, God’s creation to bring light into the darkness.  God reveals the birth of the Messiah to them also.  Centuries before, while the Jews were exiled in Babylon, it’s possible these Magi’s distant relatives worked for a Jew named Daniel.  Through Daniel, God exposed them to His Word.  Through this Word and a special star God created another “Aha!” — God led these Gentiles to His Son, who came to save not only the Israelites, but all mankind.

Jesus lived, suffered, died, and rose from the dead to pay the price required by sin … death … and to give all who believe new life in Him.  Yet, despite this miraculous turn of events, many still didn’t believe.  One day a man named Saul was traveling to Damascus to persecute those who did believe.  Suddenly he was blinded by the light of Christ.  In yet another “Aha!” – God selected Saul, who we know as Paul, to be His messenger to the Gentiles.  Paul tells us, “Though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God.” (Ephesians 3:8-9) Through Paul, Gentiles, as well as Jews, received the “Aha!” that all, through faith in Christ, are part of God’s family.

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths our Father goes to deliver His promises to His people.  God uses His Word, proclaimed through many surprising people and events to ensure all can be saved by His grace and mercy through His Son.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive His gift of “Aha!” – faith in God’s promises and belief in His Word that we’re saved from the eternal effects of sin.  We’re forgiven.  We receive His gift of eternal life.  What a glorious epiphany this realization of the truth of God’s promise is for each of us.

                                                                                        In Christ,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

Dear Saints of First Lutheran,

At this time of year, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, we often reflect on the old year while awaiting the new.  As we reflect on the year just past … we also hopefully await what the new year has in store for us.  I have some plans for the coming year … a trip to Michigan for the annual “Manchester Chicken Broil.”  A vacation to Maine, one of our favorite places to get away from it all.  These are my plans … we’ll see what happens though.  As 2018 passes and 2019 approaches, the only thing truly certain is the promises God makes to us.

God promised Israel that He would lead them into “The Promised Land.”  The Book of Numbers begins as the Israelite’s stay at Sinai is coming to an end.  The journey to the Promised Land is beginning.  God tells Moses to tell Aaron to bless His people.  As they set out on their journey, God makes sure His people know that He is with them wherever they go.  The well known “Aaronic Blessing” reminds Israel that God will be with them … He will shine on them and help them through their difficulties … and He will give them His peace (Numbers 6:24-26).  By God’s authority, Aaron is given permission to bestow God’s blessing on His people as they go into the world.  They aren’t certain exactly what lies ahead … only that they are on the way to the place God promises to them.  Regardless, they go with God’s blessing.

As we depart our worship each week, we have plans for the week ahead.  We generally know appointments we might have.  We know what work and school assignments are going to be due.  And, as we think further, we might even know what vacation and other plans we have for the year coming up … graduations, births, weddings, and anniversaries.  We generally know where we’re headed.   The words God spoke to Moses are also familiar to us.  We close each worship as, by God’s authority, confer His blessing on each of us as we head out into the world.  “The Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord make His face shine upon you can be gracious to you.  The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26).  With these words, we depart with God’s blessing into the world to be His light in a dark world.

God doesn’t promise us our plans will always go as we hope.  He also doesn’t promise us everything will be good.  But, God does promise us this … He will keep us safe from eternal harm.  He will forgive us by His grace when we slip up on our journey.  And whether things are going smoothly, or the road gets bumpy, He will lift us up by giving us strength to endure in faith and live in His peace no matter what.  As we leave worship each week … and as we leave 2018 and journey into 2019 … by the power of the Holy Spirit may you live secure in your faith in the Father’s promises to you through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

                                                                                        Happy New Year!

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

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Dear Fellow Saints,

The end of our Advent journey is near.  If I was on a car trip to visit relatives in Michigan, I’d be turning on to SR-52.  I’d see the sign, “Manchester 5 miles.”  Almost there.  Almost to my cousin’s house … and the warm embraces.  I’ve passed many signs … the PA and Ohio Turnpikes … construction zones … and the Michigan State Line.  Almost there.  But I’ve got a couple miles remaining …

The end of our Advent journey is in sight.  We’ve passed mileposts along the way … Hope … Peace … and Joy.  Today we light the final candle, the “Love Candle.”  This week I read a devotion from Rev. Bill Harmon, a pastor in Williamsburg VA.  He recalled his boyhood experience with Advent.  He grew more excited each Sunday as the candles on the Advent Wreath were lit.  Like many, his excitement grew in part because of the spiritual journey he was on; but truth be told … mostly because with each newly lit candle, he knew Christmas Day and the gifts he was to receive were that much closer. 

Rev. Harmon admitted his youthful excitement may have diverted his attention off the deeper meaning of Christmas.  To be sure, it’s truly good this time of year to be excited about not only the gifts we’ll receive on Christmas Day, but also the many gifts we’ve received throughout the year.  These gifts are signs of the love from those around us.  For some expressing love with words is hard … so they might express love through actions … like giving a gift.  Each gift we receive, no matter how small or large, can be thought of as an expression of love.  Some also find it hard to express thanks and gratitude with words.  But using the gifts received, treating them well … these actions express thanks.

The toys, clothes, gift cards, noodlecraft art, and homemade fruitcake all express love from those around us.  But they don’t compare to the ultimate expression of love we celebrate each Christmas.  The baby, Jesus Christ, wrapped in His Bethlehem manger is the ultimate expression of our Father’s love for us.  However, like any gift, if it remains wrapped up and doesn’t fulfill its purpose, it’s worthless.  Jesus unwrapped and used Himself for us.  He showed His love for us by living His life to perfection, dying on the Cross for our sins, and rising to new life on Easter Sunday. 

Our Father’s given us His gift of love … forgiving our sins, defeating the power of death over us … and waits to embrace us when He brings us into eternal life in Him.  We thank Him by using this and all the gifts He’s given us to show His love to the world around us.  Through our love for others, in words and actions, we also thank God for His love for us.  And … through us, God gives His love all who haven’t received His love and His warm, eternal embrace.

I pray you find time in these last days of Advent to remember the gift of God’s love we’ve already received and thank Him for the hope, peace, joy, and love we have in Him through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

                                                                      Merry Christmas,

                                                                      Pastor Jim

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This time of year is filled with joy.  I witnessed joy last weekend watching “The Holiday Fantastic,” a spectacular afternoon of dancing and music put on by some of Calvert County’s very talented young people, including some of First Lutheran’s own!  I saw joy in the smiles and the energy displayed by the performers.  I saw joy in friends and family who came together to watch.  Soon more joy will occur as reunions take place in homes other locations.  Events like “The Holiday Fantastic” and in our reunions with those we love and care about bring joy!  In the church, we celebrate “joy” this Sunday, the third Sunday in Advent, in our music, readings, and the lighting of the Joy Candle.  However, for many, the pressure to be joyous can actually lead to the opposite … despair.

But St. Paul tells us to “Rejoice … always” (Philippians 4:4a).   So, what are we to make of this if we’re not feeling particularly joyful?  What about those of us who’ve lost jobs?  Or come home from school with failing grades?  Or lost loved ones during the past year?  Or are struggling with a terrible illness or injury?  How can we be joyful in those times? 

It’s important to realize that Paul wrote these words as he suffered through imprisonment for his faith … not because he committed a crime of any type.  He’s telling us to base our joy, not on things in this world, but elsewhere.  Though we should be joyful as a sign of thanks when things are going well, the key to Paul’s urging to be “joyful always” is the object of the joy … “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) How can we always be joyful, even when things in our earthly lives are downright horrible?  Though we don’t find joy in the painful, unpleasantries of our lives in the world … we do find joy in God’s steadfast presence in our lives.  He’s present in the happy and good times … we rejoice!  He’s present in our challenging, difficult, and downright crummy times … we rejoice!  We can rejoice, in spite of our hardships, because ultimately, we know that these hardships will pass away … and because of our faith in Jesus, we will one day dwell in a place where there will be no hardships. (Revelation 21:1-4)  This is our cause to “rejoice always in the Lord.” (Philippians 4:4)

We never rejoice that pain and suffering exist anywhere in this world, whether in our lives or the lives of others.  But we do rejoice always because God loves us so much … that He came to dwell in the midst of our sin-filled suffering and pain.  He couldn’t stand to see us be separated from Him.  He desires nothing short of a joyous reunion with all those He created in His image.  This joy-filled reunion is only possible because of the birth of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate each Christmas.  We celebrate the birth of a baby who became the perfect sacrifice to redeem His Father’s creation.  The perfect sacrifice that enables us to experience the joyful reunion, with all who believe, for all eternity.

                                                                                        May you rejoice in the Lord always,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim