Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I shared with God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church, Portville, NY. It is based on John 3:1-17. God bless you. I don’t know about you, but I can identify with Nicodemus. Like him, I have had ideas about the way things are and how God works. But then God decides to do something that is completely outside the box I had put him in. Nicodemus represents each of us who are seeking God and want to do what’s right.  Ironically, the first words out of Nicodemus’ mouth were “…we know…” Nicodemus came to Jesus with a set of convictions about what was real and what was possible. He heard and perhaps had witnessed the wondrous signs Jesus had done, but Nicodemus didn’t know as much as he thought he did. Here was a man who was devout and learned in the Old Testament scriptures. He was a leader and teacher about God. But even his extensive knowledge of God’s law and the miraculous wasn’t enough to ensure that he understood the workings of God. Nicodemus knew ...

This is the message I preached Sunday for God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church, Portville, NY. Yesterday my daughter Sarah, granddaughter Grace, Ray and I watched one of my favorite Christmas movies, “A Christmas Story.” The movie is about a boy named Ralphie and his obsession with the Red Rider BB gun, which he desperately wants for Christmas. Unfortunately, Ralphie gets the same response from every person he mentions the BB gun to. His parents, teacher, even Santa told him, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” So, Ralphie softened his approach, trying to hint as opposed to outright telling his parents what he really wanted for Christmas. However, one day, his mother asked Ralphie what he wanted for Christmas. Ralphie excitedly blurted out that he wanted the Red Rider BB Gun listing all of its wonderful attributes in one breath. So much for the subtle approach.  Paul is a bit like Ralphie as he waxes eloquent about all the wonderful things God has done for us in Christ. ...