Audio from This Morning's 'Read the Bible in a Year Discussion' of Deuteronomy 1-21

At Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, we're reading the Bible together in a year's time. During this past week, we've read the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, chapters 1 to 21.

On Wednesdays every week, we have hour-long discussions, one in the morning and another in the evening, of the latest readings. This is the morning discussion from today. I hope that you find it helpful.

Audio from Tonight's 'Read the Bible in a Year' Discussion

We talked about Numbers, chapters 16-36.

For more on the relationship between Numbers 21 and John 3:14, see here.

For more on Asclepius, from which the American Medical Association symbol is more directly derived, see here.

One known mistake is when cited 1 Corinthians 15, when I meant 1 Corinthians 11:29-30.

Be With Us for Good Friday or Easter at Saint Matthew

Tonight at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, 258 East Hunter Street in Logan, Ohio, we'll commemorate Good Friday, remembering the death of Jesus Christ on the cross some two thousand years ago. Jesus, the sinless God-in-the-flesh, took our rightful punishment for sin.

As part of the service, which will begin at 7:00PM, we'll remember the seven last words, or phrases, that Jesus spoke from the cross.

If you will be in southeastern Ohio, home to the beautiful Hocking Hills, we would love to welcome you.

Also, if you're in the area on Sunday, you're invited to join us as we celebrate Christ's resurrection Easter Sunday--that's this Sunday, April 24. We'll have two Easter celebrations: at 8:00AM and 10:15AM.

Audio from Tonight's 'Read the Bible in a Year' Discussion

The people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, the congregation I serve as pastor, is reading the Bible together in a year's time. That's about three chapters each day. Once a week, groups of us get together to discuss the readings of the preceding seven days.

Tonight, we discussed the first fifteen chapters of Numbers.

I made several mistakes during the discussion--like not remembering the derivation of Hannukah and forgetting the exact calendar relationship between Passover and Easter. I drew a complete blank when it came to Hannukah. Here's the background.

I also erroneously said that Greek Orthodox Christians don't accept the Apocrypha as being canonical. They do.

I also said that I hadn't remembered that Moses had children. He did have two sons: Gershom and Eliezer (see Exodus 2:16-22 and Exodus 18:2-4).

What bugs me is that I knew these facts and just plum forgot every one of them. 

Nonetheless, I hope you find this helpful.

From This Evening's Youth Group...and Arena Baseball

The girls wanted me to make a video so that they could show off their new Arena Baseball uniforms.

Stephen (r) and friend Isaac (l) designated themselves as the Fire Extinguishers for tonight's Arena Baseball game. After winning 14-7, they presented themselves with an appropriate trophy. What the far-off gazes are about, I have no idea. We had a smaller group than usual this evening. [Click on pictures to enlarge.]

A still pic of the girls' in their new uniforms.

The boys striking a triumphant pose.

For Ash Wednesday...

...a Franciscan blessing:

May God bless you with discomfort. Discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.

May God bless you with anger. Anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.

May God bless you with tears. Tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. Amen.

May God bless you with foolishness. Enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

And the blessing of God, who creates, redeems and sanctifies, be upon you and all you love and pray for this day, and forever more. Amen.

 Thanks to students at Seattle Pacific University and the folks at the relief organization World Vision, for sharing this.

The work of World Vision inspires lots of people to be the blessings to others these Franciscan benedictions envision. Seven youth and three adults from our congregation, Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, participated in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine on February 25-26.

They gave up food for thirty hours, raised money for world hunger relief, learned about the causes of hunger and what can be done about it, and shared some of their experiences with the congregation during worship on February 27. The youth set a modest goal of raising $150 through the famine and ended up raising $2055.

Our congregation's young people have taught me that we are blessed in order to be blessings to others, a lesson I think anyone--wherever they are spiritually or politically--can embrace.

Please do what you can for the poor, not just during Lent, but all through the year.

For Christians, Jesus makes it clear that when we serve others, we serve Him.

And I promise that it will make you feel good!

The Saint Matthew Youth Group's 30 Hour Famine

This past weekend, nine Saint Matthew youth and three Saint Matthew adults participated in the World Vision 30 Hour Famine. Giving up food for thirty hours, they experienced the hunger that many people around the world experience. They also raised money to be used by World Vision to feed malnourished and starving people.

This was the first year our congregation's youth participated in the Famine. They set a goal of $150, hoping that maybe they could raise $300. But when the contributions were totaled on Saturday evening, they came to $2017!

During the Famine, we spent some time viewing videos about world hunger and efforts to combat it. We prayed that God would use the Famine experience to sensitize us to the needs of others. We prayed that God would help us to love others with the same love He has shown for the world in Christ.

We also made "Plumpy Nut," a concoction that has been described as the most important weapon in fighting famine and malnutrition in the world today. On Sunday morning, our kids shared it with members of the congregation.

We also had a lot of fun with Wii and Xbox games, board games, movies, and Arena Baseball.

Arena Baseball is something I've been playing with the youth of the churches I've served as pastor for the past twenty-five years. It's sort of a combination of baseball, pinball, and chaos. We like to use soft bats and soft, bouncy baseballs. Here are the basics of Arena Baseball:

• All balls that are hit are fair, even those hit behind home plate.
• First base is where third base usually is.
• Second base is where first base usually is.
• Third base is where second base usually is.
• Balls and strikes aren't counted.
• As in kickball, you can throw a person out by throwing the ball at them and hitting them. (That's why soft, bouncy balls are preferred.)
• The game is played indoors and the best rooms in which to play it are ones with lots of hard surfaces and numerous nooks and crannies, the better to cause the ball to bounce and rattle around crazily, creating general chaos and laughter.

The Famine began at noon on Friday, February 25. Participants didn't eat again until 6:00PM on Saturday. We broke the fast with a brief service of Holy Communion in the church chapel at 6:00. One of the youth read Jesus' words in Matthew 25:31-40. Two youth distributed the body and blood of our Lord. After the service, the youth and congregational members and friends who had joined us then enjoyed a great potluck dinner!

Throughout the Famine, I took videos on my cell phone and posted them on Facebook. The videos are embedded below.

In the first two videos, the kids rhapsodize about our white, squishy, bouncy baseball! It helps to be a little crazy if you're going to do a lock-in like this. 





As you'll see here, the young women were sometimes hesitant about being videographed while dancing with the Wii dance program.



Our young men were far more sanguine about being videographed. Here they are in their Man Cave playing a video game and listening to country music, courtesy of DJ Jacob.



The kids are gathered in the kitchen for the production of some Plumpy Nut. A report by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes four years ago will give you some background on Plumpy Nut.



















The women's quarters before lights went out on Friday night. Two women from the congregation, both named Sarah. were with the girls throughout. I thank them and Jean, especially for all they did to make the Famine a success! I somehow deleted a couple of videos I had of the guys' quarters on Friday.



The ladies play a game of Pit, the commodities trading game. Stephen and I were taking a break from our game of Cornhole. (He trounced me.)



The two quarters on Saturday morning are shown below. The girls seemed to stir sooner than the boys, although the girls had stayed up later the night before. But the ome of the girls, owing no doubt to being tired as well as hungry, took naps later on Saturday, while the boys didn't.





Arena Baseball is our youth group's national pastime!



In the homestretch, the participants are mostly very quiet...but persevering. None of these kids complained once!





Below, each of the youth who participated reflect on the 30 Hour Famine experience.



















I talk with the kids as they write paragraphs on the Famine.



People gather for the Holy Communion service and the potluck, then I ask the kids how the food tastes.





To learn more about the 30 Hour Famine, go here.

Reading the Bible in a Year: The List of Readings

For those who are interested in joining with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio, as we read through the Bible in a year, starting on March 9, here's the complete list of readings for the coming year.

2011
March 9: Genesis 1-3
March 10: Genesis 4-6
March 11: Genesis 7-9
March 12: Genesis 10-12
March 13: Genesis 13-15
March 14: Genesis 16-18
March 15: Genesis 19-21
March 16: Genesis 22-24
March 17: Genesis 25-27
March 18: Genesis 28-30
March 19: Genesis 31-33
March 20: Genesis 34-36
March 21: Genesis 37-39
March 22: Genesis 40-42
March 23: Genesis 43-46
March 24: Genesis 47-50
March 25: Exodus 1-3
March 26: Exodus 4-6
March 27: Exodus 7-9
March 28: Exodus 10-12
March 29: Exodus 13-15
March 30: Exodus 16-18
March 31: Exodus 19-21
April 1: Exodus 22-24
April 2: Exodus 25-27
April 3: Exodus 28-30
April 4: Exodus 31-33
April 5: Exodus 34-36
April 6: Exodus 37-40
April 7: Leviticus 1-3
April 8: Leviticus 4-6
April 9: Leviticus 7-9
April 10: Leviticus 10-12
April 11: Leviticus 13-15
April 12: Leviticus 16-18
April 13: Leviticus 19-21
April 14: Leviticus 22-24
April 15: Leviticus 25-27
April 16: Numbers 1-3
April 17: Numbers 4-6
April 18: Numbers 7-9
April 19: Numbers 10-12
April 20: Numbers 13-15
April 21: Numbers 16-18
April 22: Numbers 19-21
April 23: Numbers 22-24
April 24: Numbers 25-27
April 25: Numbers 28-30
April 26: Numbers 31-33
April 27: Numbers 34-36
April 28: Deuteronomy 1-3
April 29: Deuteronomy 4-6
April 30: Deuteronomy 7-9
May 1: Deuteronomy 10-12
May 2: Deuteronomy 13-15
May 3: Deuteronomy 16-18
May 4: Deuteronomy 19-21
May 5: Deuteronomy 22-24
May 6: Deuteronomy 25-27
May 7: Deuteronomy 28-30
May 8: Deuteronomy 31-34
May 9: Joshua 1-3
May 10: Joshua 4-6
May 11: Joshua 7-9
May 12: Joshua 10-12
May 13: Joshua 13-15
May 14: Joshua 16-18
May 15: Joshua 19-21
May 16: Joshua 22-24
May 17: Judges 1-3
May 18: Judges 4-6
May 19: Judges 7-9
May 20: Judges 10-12
May 21: Judges 13-15
May 22: Judges 16-18
May 23: Judges 19-21
May 24: Ruth 1-4
May 25: 1 Samuel 1-3
May 26: 1 Samuel 4-6
May 27: 1 Samuel 7-9
May 28: 1 Samuel 10-12
May 29: 1 Samuel 13-15
May 30: 1 Samuel 16-18
May 31: 1 Samuel 19-21
June 1: 1 Samuel 22-24
June 2: 1 Samuel 25-27
June 3: 1 Samuel 28-31
June 4: 2 Samuel 1-3
June 5: 2 Samuel 4-6
June 6: 2 Samuel 7-9
June 7: 2 Samuel 10-12
June 8: 2 Samuel 13-15
June 9: 2 Samuel 16-18
June 10: 2 Samuel 19-21
June 11: 2 Samuel 22-24
June 12: 1 Kings 1-3
June 13: 1 Kings 4-6
June 14: 1 Kings 7-9
June 15: 1 Kings 10-12
June 16: 1 Kings 13-15
June 17: 1 Kings 16-18
June 18: 1 Kings 19-22
June 19: 2 Kings 1-3
June 20: 2 Kings 4-6
June 21: 2 Kings 7-9
June 22: 2 Kings 10-12
June 23: 2 Kings 13-15
June 24: 2 Kings 16-18
June 25: 2 Kings 19-21
June 26: 2 Kings 22-25
June 27: 1 Chronicles 1-6
June 28: 1 Chronicles 7-9
June 29: 1 Chronicles 10-12
June 30: 1 Chronicles 13-15
July 1: 1 Chronicles 16-18
July 2: 1 Chronicles 19-21
July 3: 1 Chronicles 22-25
July 4: 1 Chronicles 26-29
July 5: 2 Chronicles 1-3
July 6: 2 Chronicles 4-6
July 7: 2 Chronicles 7-9
July 8: 2 Chronicles 10-12
July 9: 2 Chronicles 13-15
July 10: 2 Chronicles 16-18
July 11: 2 Chronicles 19-21
July 12: 2 Chronicles 22-24
July 13: 2 Chronicles 25-27
July 14: 2 Chronicles 28-30
July 15: 2 Chronicles 31-33
July 16: 2 Chronicles 34-36
July 17: Ezra 1-3
July 18: Ezra 4-6
July 19: Ezra 7-10
July 20: Nehemiah 1-3
July 21: Nehemiah 4-6
July 22: Nehemiah 7-9
July 23: Nehemiah 10-13
July 24: Esther 1-3
July 25: Esther 4-6
July 26: Esther 7-10
July 27: Job 1-3
July 28: Job 4-6
July 29: Job 7-9
July 30: Job 10-12
July 31: Job 13-15
August 1: Job 16-18
August 2: Job 19-21
August 3: Job 22-24
August 4: Job 25-27
August 5: Job 28-30
August 6: Job 31-33
August 7: Job 34-36
August 8: Job 37-39
August 9: Job 40-42
August 10: Psalms 1-5
August 11: Psalms 6-10
August 12: Psalms 11-15
August 13: Psalms 16-20
August 14: Psalms 21-25
August 15: Psalms 26-30
August 16: Psalms 31-35
August 17: Psalms 36-40
August 18: Psalms 41-45
August 19: Psalms 46-50
August 20: Psalms 51-55
August 21: Psalms 56-60
August 22: Psalms 61-65
August 23: Psalms 66-70
August 24: Psalms 71-75
August 25: Psalms 76-80
August 26: Psalms 81-85
August 27: Psalms 86-90
August 28: Psalms 91-95
August 29: Psalms 96-100
August 30: Psalms 101-105
August 31: Psalms 106-110
September 1: Psalms 111-115
September 2: Psalms 116-120
September 3: Psalms 121-125
September 4: Psalms 126-130
September 5: Psalms 131-135
September 6: Psalms 136-140
September 7: Psalms 141-145
September 8: Psalms 146-150
September 9: Proverbs 1-3
September 10: Proverbs 4-6
September 11: Proverbs 7-9
September 12: Proverbs 10-12
September 13: Proverbs 13-15
September 14: Proverbs 16-18
September 15: Proverbs 19-21
September 16: Proverbs 22-24
September 17: Proverbs 25-27
September 18: Proverbs 28-31
September 19: Ecclesiastes 1-3
September 20: Ecclesiastes 4-6
September 21: Ecclesiastes 7-9
September 22: Ecclesiastes 10-12
September 23: Song of Songs 1-4
September 24: Song of Songs 5-8
September 25: Isaiah 1-3
September 26: Isaiah 4-6
September 27: Isaiah 7-9
September 28: Isaiah 10-12
September 29: Isaiah 13-15
September 30: Isaiah 16-18
October 1: Isaiah 19-21
October 2: Isaiah 22-24
October 3: Isaiah 25-27
October 4: Isaiah 28-30
October 5: Isaiah 31-33
October 6: Isaiah 34-36
October 7: Isaiah 37-39
October 8: Isaiah 40-42
October 9: Isaiah 43-45
October 10: Isaiah 46-48
October 11: Isaiah 49-51
October 12: Isaiah 52-54
October 13: Isaiah 55-57
October 14: Isaiah 58-60
October 15: Isaiah 61-63
October 16: Isaiah 64-66
October 17: Jeremiah 1-3
October 18: Jeremiah 4-6
October 19: Jeremiah 7-9
October 20: Jeremiah 10-12
October 21: Jeremiah 13-15
October 22: Jeremiah 16-18
October 23: Jeremiah 19-21
October 24: Jeremiah 22-24
October 25: Jeremiah 25-27
October 26: Jeremiah 28-30
October 27: Jeremiah 31-33
October 28: Jeremiah 34-36
October 29: Jeremiah 37-39
October 30: Jeremiah 40-42
October 31: Jeremiah 43-45
November 1: Jeremiah 46-48
November 2: Jeremiah 49-52
November 3: Lamentations 1-3
November 4: Lamentations 4-5
November 5: Ezekiel 1-3
November 6: Ezekiel 4-6
November 7: Ezekiel 7-9
November 8: Ezekiel 10-12
November 9: Ezekiel 13-15
November 10: Ezekiel 16-18
November 11: Ezekiel 19-21
November 12: Ezekiel 22-24
November 13: Ezekiel 25-27
November 14: Ezekiel 28-30
November 15: Ezekiel 31-33
November 16: Ezekiel 34-36
November 17: Ezekiel 37-40
November 18: Ezekiel 41-44
November 19: Ezekiel 45-48
November 20: Daniel 1-3
November 21: Daniel 4-6
November 22: Daniel 7-9
November 23: Daniel 10-12
November 24: Hosea 1-3
November 25: Hosea 4-6
November 26: Hosea 7-10
November 27: Hosea 11-14
November 28: Joel 1-3
November 29: Amos 1-3
November 30: Amos 4-6
December 1: Amos 7-9
December 2: Obadiah
December 3: Jonah 1-4
December 4: Micah 1-3
December 5: Micah 4-7
December 6: Nahum 1-3
December 7: Habakkuk 1-3
December 8: Zephaniah 1-3
December 9: Haggai 1-2
December 10: Zechariah 1-3
December 11: Zechariah 4-6
December 12: Zechariah 7-10
December 13: Zechariah 11-14
December 14: Malachi 1-2
December 15: Malachi 3-4
December 16: Matthew 1-3
December 17: Matthew 4-6
December 18: Matthew 7-9
December 19: Matthew 10-12
December 20: Matthew 13-15
December 21: Matthew 16-18
December 22: Matthew 19-21
December 23: Matthew 22-24
December 24: Matthew 25-28
December 25: Mark 1-3
December 26: Mark 4-6
December 27: Mark 7-9
December 28: Mark 10-12
December 29: Mark 13-16
December 30: Luke 1-3
December 31: Luke 4-6

2012
January 1: Luke 7-9
January 2: Luke 10-12
January 3: Luke 13-15
January 4: Luke 16-18
January 5: Luke 19-21
January 6: Luke 22-24
January 7: John 1-3
January 8: John 4-6
January 9: John 7-9
January 10: John 10-12
January 11: John 13-15
January 12: John 16-18
January 13: John 19-21
January 14: Acts 1-3
January 15: Acts 4-6
January 16: Acts 7-9
January 17: Acts 10-12
January 18: Acts 13-15
January 19: Acts 16-18
January 20: Acts 19-21
January 21: Acts 22-24
January 22: Acts 25-28
January 23: Romans 1-3
January 24: Romans 4-6
January 25: Romans 7-9
January 26: Romans 10-12
January 27: Romans 13-16
January 28: 1 Corinthians 1-3
January 29: 1 Corinthians 4-6
January 30: 1 Corinthians 7-9
January 31: 1 Corinthians 10-12
February 1: 1 Corinthians 13-16
February 2: 2 Corinthians 1-3
February 3: 2 Corinthians 4-6
February 4: 2 Corinthians 7-9
February 5: 2 Corinthians 10-13
February 6: Galatians 1-3
February 7: Galatians 4-6
February 8: Ephesians 1-3
February 9: Ephesians 4-6
February 10: Philippians 1-4
February 11: Colossians 1-4
February 12: 1 Thessalonians 1-5
February 13: 2 Thessalonians 1-3
February 14: 1 Timothy 1-3
February 15: 1 Timothy 4-6
February 16: 2 Timothy 1-4
February 17: Titus 1-3
February 18: Philemon
February 19: Hebrews 1-3
February 20: Hebrews 4-6
February 21: Hebrews 7-9
February 22: Hebrews 10-13
February 23: James 1-3
February 24: James 4-5
February 25: 1 Peter 1-5
February 26: 2 Peter 1-3
February 27: 1 John 1-3
February 28: 1 John 4-5
February 29: 2 John, 3 John, and Jude
March 1: Revelation 1-3
March 2: Revelation 4-6
March 3: Revelation 7-9
March 4: Revelation 10-12
March 5: Revelation 13-15
March 6: Revelation 16-18
March 7: Revelation 19-22

Reading the Bible in a Year

This is an announcement recently shared with the members of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio. If you'd like to join us in reading the Bible in a year, I'll be putting the reading list on the blog as well.

THIS COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER! Beginning on Wednesday, March 9, every member of Saint Matthew is invited to join in on the journey of READING THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR. Starting with Genesis 1 (on Ash Wednesday) and ending with Revelation 22 one year later, you’ll have the support and encouragement of the entire Saint Matthew family as you follow through on that resolution you’ve found so difficult to keep in the past. You’ll be acquiring a more intimate relationship with the God made known to all the world in Jesus Christ.

Here’s how it will work:

(1)    On Sunday, March 6, you’ll receive a list of the complete daily readings as we read the Bible in one year together. The entire Bible can be read all the way through by reading an average of three to four chapters per day. (Note from Pastor: My great-grandmother used this method to read the Bible completely through nine different times in her life.)

(2)    If there are days when you can’t get to the three or four chapters of the Bible to be read then, don’t worry. Just pick up the next day and keep on truckin’. Remember that the idea behind this isn’t to face a grim daily appointment, but to get to know the God Who loves you better, through His Word.

(3)    Along the way, usually on Sunday mornings, you’ll also receive brief overviews of each of the Bible’s 66 books to help you better understand what you’re reading.

(4)    On Wednesdays throughout the year, the pastor will offer two different weekly opportunities to gather with him and discuss any issues or questions you’ve encountered in the readings for the preceding week. One weekly session will happen on Wednesday mornings at 11AM; the other will happen on Wednesday evenings at 7PM. If you want to go to the morning session one day and the evening session the next, that’s fine; whatever works with your schedule is great. If you can’t make it every Wednesday, that’s great too. The idea is to keep reading to keep getting to know the God better, in the same day-to-day you build any relationship.

(5)    Don’t be intimidated. Nobody knows the Bible thoroughly. Everybody has questions about the Bible. Reading the Bible together is a way we all learn and grow in our faith together.

Just a few additional notes: We will have our usual Ash Wednesday service on March 9. But we won’t have our usual midweek Lenten or Advent services over the coming year. Our Wednesdays will be focused on discussing what we’ve read in the Bible.

Some will wonder what translation of the Bible to read. The answer is that you should read the one with which you are most comfortable. The translation in the Celebrate inserts that we use on Sunday mornings is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). It’s accurate and accessible while retaining the majesty of some of the older translations. Our pew Bibles are the New King James Version (NKJV), which is also very good.

Other really fine, accessible translations include The New International Version (TNIV), very similar to the NRSV; The Message, a beautiful modern rendering written by Old Testament scholar, longtime pastor, and poet Eugene Peterson; or The Good News Bible, also known as Today’s English Version (TEV), pitched to a sixth grade reading level. Yet another one, which you can often find at Half Price Books, is The Bible for All People, also known as the Contemporary English Version (CEV).

It’s advisable to have a Bible that includes maps, topical indexes in the back, and overviews at the beginnings of each Biblical book. The gold standard of such editions of the Bible is The New Oxford Annotated Bible, but it tends to be a bit pricey. The Life Application Bible is excellent, as is the outstanding Study Bible, co-edited by the Christian writer and journalist Philip Yancey.

If you would like help in selecting a new Bible for this venture, just let Pastor Mark know. He will be happy to help you.

As we prepare for this venture, please pray that God will use it to strengthen our faith in Christ and our witness for Him in our daily lives.

Seeing Jesus at Panera

On Thursday night, my wife Ann and I ate at Panera in Lancaster. Through their rewards program, we'd accumulated enough credits to order a free drink. Ann only wanted a water and told me to pick something out. I was in the mood for a smoothie and ordered one flavor, only to change my mind about the flavor a nanosecond or two later. We payed for our order and took a table.

Not long after, the manager came to us with two smoothies. "I heard you order the one smoothie and had already started making it when you changed your mind. You can have the second one on us!"

Now think about that. The first one was free and the second one was on the restaurant. How often does a deal like that come along?

I was sliding one of the smoothies across the table to Ann when she pointed to the most adorable little girl, sitting with her parents at a table nearby, and said, "You could give it to her."

Ann had overheard the little girl's mom say that she was going back up to the cashier to order a smoothie for her daughter as a dessert. I offered my free gift to them and then, for the next fifteen minutes or so, enjoyed watching this twenty-one-month old sip and pour and thoroughly enjoy her smoothie, freezer headaches and all.

If Ann hadn't noticed this family sitting not more than five feet away, we wouldn't have experienced any of that joy or the brief discussion we had with this young couple.

How much joy do we miss out on in life because we're so wrapped up in our little cocoons of routine and selfishness that we don't see others? Speaking for myself, it happens a lot.

Yet, I believe that we are blessed to be blessings. The love of God in us grows the more we attend to others and give away His love.

That was underscored for me when the dad told us, "That was such a blessing to us. Thanks." When he said that, I thanked God for arranging this little rendezvous and for inspiring Ann to keep her antenna attuned to others even when I'm blind to those around me.

There's a praise song we've sung both at my former parish, Friendship in the Cincinnati area and here at Saint Matthew in Logan. It goes like this:

Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus
To reach out and touch Him
And say that we love Him
Open our ears, Lord
And help us to listen
Open our eyes, Lord
We want to see Jesus

Jesus says that we see Him in those around us, in those we serve. Maybe one reason I don't see Jesus as often as I could is that I don't serve others as often as I should. 

I'm thankful that Ann opened my eyes on Thursday night. I got to see Jesus again in a Panera! How cool is that?

Celebrate Good Times!

This picture of my wife Ann and me, flanking Blanche, a member of the Saint Matthew congregation, on her ninetieth birthday, was sent to us by Blanche's son, Bill, today. Blanche is an incredibly special person of deep faith, resilience, and great humor. It's a privilege knowing her!

[Click on image to enlarge.]

What Do You Do with a Shoe Box?

[This skit was presented by five of our Saint Matthew young people during worship this morning. I hope it encourages everyone, wherever you are, to get involved with Operation Christmas Child!]

What Do You Do with a Shoe Box?

Stephen: Hey, you know what I’ve been thinking about lately?

Kirsten: What have you been thinking about lately?

Stephen: I’ve been thinking about what exactly I could do with this shoe box.

Laikyn: Why have you been thinking about that?

Grace: Oh, the answer to that’s easy. Geometrically speaking, a box is a solid with three sets of surfaces, each set paired in their dimensions. One of those surfaces though, is a lid. And when you pull the lid off the top of the box, there’s a big empty space where new shoes used to be.

Stephen: Exactly. Everything you said was on the tip of my tongue.

Jacob: So, the question isn’t so much what to do with a shoe box…

ALL: But what to do with the empty space inside the shoe box.

Kirsten: Right!

Laikyn: Well, why not just toss the shoe box into the trash? Then you wouldn’t have to answer any question. Problem solved.

Grace: That’s true. But it would be a shame to ruin a perfectly useful shoe box.

Jacob: (grabs shoe box and puts it on head) I think it would make a great hat.

Stephen: Hmm. I don’t know.

Kirsten: (grabs shoe box, sets it on the altar, and pulls out toy BP oil tanker) I think it would make a great garage for my BP oil truck.

Laikyn: Nah, it might spring a leak and ruin the shoe box.

Grace: (grabs shoe box) That’s true. But you know what? I’ve got a great collection of belly button lint. It’s getting too big for the re-sealable Glad bags I’ve been using. [Looks at the box as though inspired.] Just think, this box could be the start of the International Belly Button Lint Museum.

Stephen: Uh, that’s a great idea and all. But, somehow belly button lint and a shoe box don’t seem to go together.

Kirsten: That’s true. But what about a toe jam museum?

Laikyn: Maybe we should forget about the whole museum-in-a-shoe box thing.

Jacob: Hey, I know. Operation Christmas Child!

Grace: Operation what?

All: OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD!

Stephen: That’s a great idea!

Grace: What’s Operation Christmas Child?

Kirsten: Operation Christmas Child? You have been spending too much time with that belly button lint!

Laikyn: Operation Christmas Child will let all the people of Saint Matthew fill shoe boxes (or plastic boxes like them that they can buy at places like WalMart, Target, Meijer, and other stores) and fill them with Christmas gifts for children in Third World settings.

Jacob: But most important of all, once they reach distribution centers around the country, their boxes will also be filled with a comic book in the languages of the children who receive them. In words and pictures, it will tell them about Jesus. That will be the best Christmas gift of all: The good news that God so loved them that He gave His only Son so that all who believe in Him will live with God forever.

Stephen: That’s a great thing to put into this shoe box.

Grace: [turning to congregation] So, watch next Sunday’s bulletin and your emails this week for instructions on how to fill your shoe box with the good news and love of Jesus!

Stephen: [also talking to congregation] And then, on Sunday, November 14, bring your shoe boxes filled with gifts for some of the world’s neediest children. We’ll have a wrapping party after our luncheon.

All: What can you do with a shoe box? 

'Napoleon Dynamite' Movie Night

We had a Napoleon Dynamite Movie Night at the Saint Matthew youth group meeting this evening. If you've never seen it, it's a film so stupid that it's funny.

But, in many ways, it rings true to life in its portrayal of "in" people and those on the outs, the line between whose coolness and nerdiness, respectively, isn't as clear as the in-crowd may think. The movie, with its lovably quirky characters, really does say a lot about friendship.

After we watched the movie, there were two quick points I made with the kids who were able to be there this evening.

First: Judging others based on outward appearances may prevent us from befriending some really neat people, people who could be loyal friends. The Bible says, "...The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). We need to ask God to help us see others as God sees them.

Second: Even when we feel friendless, we aren't. For one thing, we probably do have friends--trusted people with whom we can talk--even when we don't feel like we do. Proverbs 18:24 says, "Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family." The truest Friend we have is Jesus, Who says that all who believe in Him are His friends. Jesus is available to speak with us every moment, every day.

We took a short intermission to enjoy pizza. Yum!

Everyone was encouraged to dress as one of the characters in the film. Here are some pictures.

We had a Napoleon, a Rex Kwondo, two Debs, two Kips, and, playing Lyle, my wife Ann.

Here are two Kips (Isaac and me) waiting for LaFaunduh.

Local Mission "Trip": Day 5

We crossed the finish line strong on the fifth and final day of the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church local mission "trip."

We divided into two groups.

One prepared the church's fellowship hall for tomorrow's Italian Dinner, the proceeds from which will help to support the servanthood and youth ministries--like the mission trip--of the congregation.

Another group put stain onto the two decks of Betty's house. The latter job, which, at first we thought would take about a half-hour, ended up being a two-and-a-half hour task, but looked great when completed. The sun not only seemed to dry the stain in a hurry, but did a fairly good job of baking us, too!

Our morning devotional period was built around 1 Timothy 6:11-12. 1 Timothy is one of two letters written by the apostle Paul to a young pastor. Paul gives all sorts of good advice to Timothy in these letters. Earlier in this particular letter, Paul talks about some the wrong paths that churches and Christians can go down--spiritual conceit, envy, argumentativeness, slander, suspiciousness, and believing that having more money means that one is better than others. Then, Paul writes:

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 

"Fight the good fight" were words that one of my mentors and spiritual heroes, Pastor Bruce Schein, lived by. He wrote them on his messages to my fellow students and me when we were studying to become pastors at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus.

But these were more than mere words to Pastor Schein. They reflected his own commitment to living completely for Jesus, as well as being an exhortation to all who bear Jesus' Name through their Baptism to do the same.

Pastor Schein had a doctorate in New Testament from Yale University. But faith was more than head-knowledge for him. As a young man, he learned that he was suffering from Parkinson's Disease. He decided not to marry, but to use his considerable gifts as both a scholar and a pastor in total service to God and others. For twelve years, he served as pastor of a Lutheran congregation in Jerusalem, where most of his parishioners were Palestinians. It was a challenging ministry that, each day, called him to renew his commitment to service in Jesus' Name. At the same time, he would hike all over the Near Eastern countryside, introducing students from Saint Olaf College and other institutions to the geography, history, culture, and archeology of the Old and New Testaments. Later, he was called stateside to serve as professor at Trinity.

He was a challenging professor, expecting us to come to class each day prepared, ready to answer questions and to be pulled and stretched in our faith. Once, aware that others were critical of his interrogative style of teaching, I told him that I appreciated it, feeling as though all my faith muscles were being challenged by the process over which he presided. "Mr. Daniels," he told me, "we're out to make spiritual Charles Atlases of all of you!"

Shortly after I graduated from seminary and had taken my first call as a pastor, Pastor Schein became seriously ill, nearly dying. I spoke with him later. "I was in the throne room, Mr. Daniels," he said. "I put in a good word for you." He was still fighting the good fight of faith in Jesus until the end. He died several months later, at the age of 42, offering more service in Jesus' Name than most of us are likely to offer in lifetimes twice as long.

The idea behind Christian service such as we've rendered during this week's mission trip, isn't to call attention to ourselves, but to glorify the One Who gives everlasting life to all who believe in Him, Who empowers us to live in love for God and neighbor, and Who gives us the great privilege of being His ambassadors in the world.

To all our young people and adults who served this week, I pray that we all will keep fighting the good fight...keep serving and loving in Jesus' Name! Our Savior is worthy of all our honor, effort, sweat, and sacrifice and can use it to bring His love, goodness, and everlasting kingdom to the people we serve each day.
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Throughout the week, I've been thanking our dedicated young people and our adult supervisors, and I thank them again. But today, I also want to thank those who allowed us to serve.

We human beings can sometimes be too proud to ask for help, interpreting such requests as a sign of weakness or personal inadequacy. Often, such reticence exemplifies our sinful natures trumping God's intentions for us as human beings. God made us, after all, to live in relationships of mutual dependence and accountability. The Ten Commandments demonstrate that God's will for humanity is that we live in relationships of love that include love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus later summarized these two tables of the Ten Commandments into what's known as the Great Commandment: to love God and to love others.

It's our failure to love that we typically confess each Sunday when we worship together, and it's for the power of the Holy Spirit to live in such love that we pray. But loving others isn't only impeded by our tendency to turn in on ourselves. In Galatians 6, Christians are told, "Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

The only way that can happen is when we are willing to make ourselves vulnerable enough to admit, "I could use some help." When the community of love is activated in this way and Jesus' servants act, not for themselves, but to the glory of Jesus, then something blessed and special happens. So, thank you to all those who allowed our young people to serve them this week!

Local Mission "Trip": Day 4

There was a lot of hammering, prying, leveraging, lifting, and lugging today on the fourth day of the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church local mission "trip."

We spent virtually our entire day at Cyndy's place, removing the siding from an old--undetermined age--tractor barn. Some of our group also helped remove and sort items from another storage barn.

Our young people worked hard and we were blessed to have great adult supervision from members of the Saint Matthew family.

The day brought the week's first mishaps. One of our young people obviously reacted adversely to something in the barn and was developing allergy symptoms when we sent him home. There were a few other bumps and bruises. But all in all, people were careful and we got a lot done.

We also made a short stop on the way back to the church building in the afternoon, back to the home of Michele, whose deck we treated yesterday. There were potted plants that needed re-placing. It was fun seeing the deck because it looked so good...our young people had done a great job!

The Scripture passages on which this morning's devotional time was based were from 2 Thessalonians, the second of two New Testament books written by the the first century evangelist, Paul, to Christians in the Greek city of Thessalonica:

...we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. ¹²Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. ¹³Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. (2 Thessalonians 3:11-13)

Originally, Paul wrote these words to a confused church. Some of the Thessalonian Christians, knowing that the risen and ascended Jesus would come back to earth one day to fully establish his kingdom, had stopped working. They argued that it wasn't necessary to work since Jesus would come back soon. These lazy church members became a drain on the members who continued at their jobs, becoming dependent on them for food. They also became "busybodies," their days filled with gossip instead of productivity. Paul tells these idling Christians to get back to their work.

Above all, he says, "Do not grow weary in doing right." Loving and serving our neighbors as we've been doing this week is part of the "right" life that Jesus Christ sets us free to live. Christians who sit around on their "blessed assurance," can become busybodies, gossips, irksome pieces of furniture, rather than joyful people using their gifts and their opportunities to glorify God, share Jesus, and serve others.

By this time in a mission trip week, it's easy to be weary with doing what's right. But may God use this week to teach us all that, whether during a mission trip or everyday lives, it's always the right time to do God's will. May God also teach us this lesson from the Old Testament:

Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; ³¹but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31)

Tomorrow, we plan to stain Betty's deck and then help prepare the Saint Matthew fellowship hall to host an Italian Dinner on Saturday. (You didn't know that German Lutherans are great at Italian cuisine?) Proceeds from the dinner will support youth and servanthood ministries--like this week's mission trip--at Saint Matthew.

Letteth these be two signs unto thee...

Come unto the Saint Matthew Lutheran Church Italian Dinner! (Click on the images to enlarge them.)

The fellowship hall of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, 258 East Hunter Street, in Logan, will be the site of an Italian Dinner on Saturday, June 19, from Noon to 6:00pm. The cost of the dinner will be $6.50 per person.

Each dinner will include a salad, diner’s choice of spaghetti or lasagna, bread, a beverage, and a dessert.

Proceeds from the dinner will support the servanthood and youth ministries of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church.

Saint Matthew is known as the church with Noah’s Ark in the yard.

For more information, call the church office at 740 385 2272.

Pictures from Day 3 of the Saint Matthew Local Mission "Trip"

Thanks to Beth for snapping these pictures today!

(Mike, Jacob, Stephen, and Critter prepare to take a copier that has been long lying in state to be recycled.)

(Jean and Grace strike a pose while scrubbing the walls.)

(Brady and the old Lutheran in his clergy cap were part of a crew that scrubbed pews. By the end of the day, Brady concluded, "Gum is disgusting!")

(Laikyn taking care of some of the details of cleaning.)

(Kayla and Sarah scrubbing toys in the nursery.)

Local Mission "Trip": Day 3

In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.  (1 John 3:16)

These two verses were the passages around which the devotional time for Morning 3 of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church's local mission "trip" was built today.

These verses remind us of several important truths:

• First: Love isn't about affection. (Though only those who truly love show true affection for others.) Love is self-sacrificing commitment to the good of others.
• Second: Love isn't something we can generate on our own. It doesn't come from inside of us. It comes from God, the author of love, Whose greatest expression of love was the gift of the Son, Jesus. His death is the "atoning sacrifice for our sins." (The word atoning is a form of the word atone, a compound of "at" and "one." Jesus' death on the cross makes it possible for those who repent and believe in Jesus to be "at one," or reconciled, to God, a free gift from the author of love!)
• Third: When, by faith in the grace of God given in Jesus, we're "at one" with God, God's love lives inside of us. It empowers us and motivates us to live like real human beings--the way God intended human beings to live--in relationships of love for God and others. We don't always feel love, but when Jesus is living inside of us, we can always live God's love...and be given forgiveness and renewal when we fail to love God or others.

This week's mission trip is an opportunity and a reminder to live God's love by serving others every day.

Today was, by far, the best day of the local mission "trip," so far. Pouring rains last night once more cast a shadow over our plans. But, we learned that when you can't serve in one way, there are still opportunities to serve in other ways.

AND...by the end of the day, we ended up getting a lot of what we had wanted to accomplish done anyway!

After devotions, prayer, and a delicious breakfast, we decided to get to work giving the Saint Matthew building facilities a major cleaning. Here's some of what got done:

• The Luther Room dusted and Pine-Sol cleaned. The curtains were laundered, pressed, and re-hung. Two beautiful pieces of handmade furniture--bookcases--that were originally in the room were put back in there, making a great home for the new Bibles recently purchased by the Saint Matthew women's group.
• The nursery was similarly scrubbed and dusted from top to bottom. All toys, books, and furniture were cleaned and anesthetized. Carpeting got a thorough sweeping.
• Walls, windows, and ledges in the Fellowship Hall were thoroughly scrubbed. More of this will be done tomorrow.
• The enormous east stairwell in the educational unit was meticulously cleaned, as was the hallway on that side of the building.
• Office equipment and old curriculum materials were taken from the "library" to be recycled.
• The altar rail in the sanctuary and every pew was scrubbed with Murphy's Oil Soap. One of our mission trippers even set to work to remove gum from the underside of the pews. At last report, every pew but one on the lectern side had at least one glob of gum stuck to it. That was less the case on the pulpit side. (Hmmm, maybe potential offenders have been concerned that Saint Matthew pastors over the past fifty years could spot them from the pulpit.) The whole sanctuary was then thoroughly swept, both with brooms and the vacuum cleaner.
• The sewing supply closet was cleaned.

Once again today, we had troubles with the power washer and so made little progress prepping our church's Noah's Ark for repainting.

But, after all that productivity, with the reduced humidity and nice breezes we've had today, we were able to complete the treatment of two decks that several of our crews had power washed on Monday.

The first one, that of Tony, a Logan neighbor, was the largest of the decks we tackled this week. One of our adult supervisors told me today that he'd expected it to take all afternoon to get Tony's deck treated. But we took all of our youth to Tony's house. Two of our young people used sprayers; everybody else wielded rollers and paintbrushes. The job was beautifully done in about a half-hour!

Michele's smaller deck was done with a smaller crew in about the same amount of time.

Tomorrow, we hope to:

• Go back to Michele's to place her potted plants back on the finished deck.
• Stain Betty's two decks.
• Take the siding off of Cyndy's tractor barn.
• Do some additional cleaning at the church building.

Our young people have been fantastic!

Our adult help has been great!

The breakfasts and lunches have been wonderful!

And hopefully, in it all, the God of love we know in Jesus has been glorified!

Go here and here to see information about the first two days of our "trip."

By the way: The best thing about doing a local mission trip? Being able to get a shower every day! (Posts 1 and 2 about our Nashville mission trip of 2009, will explain what I'm talking about.)