A popular theme in comedy is a drawing of aliens watching human activity, things that they have never seen us do.  And they don't understand what and why we are doing all kinds of things.
    So what would aliens say when they first saw a congregation at a worship service?
     Think about it:  everyone sitting in rows, facing a big box, with candles, a cross, and a person standing in front of them, often with a robe and a colorful strip of cloth around her/his neck, as they talk to one another, with a 10-15 minute speech somewhere in the middle.   And then the people stand, and then sit back down, and then stand, etc.  And they talk while they close their eyes, sometimes bowing their heads, or raising their heads, and maybe even their hands, and singing!  What is that?  Why?  And to whom and why are they doing all of this?     
      A favorite Christian comedian of mine is Tim Hawkins.  And he has a funny piece on people raising hands during a worship service.  Check it out some time!
     What are we doing, and why are we doing what we do in a worship service?
I have books explaining each part of a worship service.  And what each action and symbol in a sanctuary means.  But of course the books I have mostly are all about Lutheran worship.  Believe it or not, there are other ways to worship, in other churches (like 40,000 different denominations!)
     And I'm not going to criticize any of them.  Rather, let's look again at the words of the Psalm:  "Sing with joy to God our strength and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob"
   However you can or want to do so!  And don't give me the excuse, "I can't sing".  In Psalm 100:1 it says, "Make a joyful noise".  Whatever that means for you!
   God is our strength!  He is the God of Jacob, the God of History, of all of God's people.  And He gives us joy!  Joy in the salvation that God freely gives by His grace and love in Jesus our Savior!
   So who cares what aliens think!  Or anyone else.  As we worship and praise and thank God for all He is and all He has given to us!  However you or I or anyone else does it.  God sees, and God hears, and God loves us all.

Blessings,
​Pastor Steve

​   A while ago I was talking with one of our members at Resurrection after a Sunday service, as we stood in the sanctuary.  And the topic came up of reckless driving and crashes with innocent people harmed and killed.  And we were talking about how to solve this problem.  Heavier fines?  More jail time?  And I think I said something like, "But I don't know if that will really help.  So what can we do about it?!"  And the response came back without words, just a look around the sanctuary, and hands open to that space of worship and gathering of God's people at RLC.  In other words:  WE are the answer.  As God works in and through us.   As we worship and pray and respond as God's people in love and service and all that each of us can say and do.
    No, it didn't mean that that is ALL we can do.  As I just said in last Sunday's sermon:  prayer is the first thing we can do.  But it always will lead to actions.
   So let us gather for our services and meetings and fellowship at RLC.  And may it lead us to whatever we can do to help our communities and nation and world.
   As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness."
   So I look forward to joining you in prayer and love and service, and so be a blessing to our community and world!  And certainly the brightest light we can share with others is the light of God our Savior, and the peace and hope that the crucified and risen Christ can bring to all!
 
God Bless,
 
Pastor Steve

    In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus is praying for His disciples, and in John 17:20, He includes "those who will believe in Me" (that's you and me).  And one of the petitions that He prays is "to protect" us.  As we read in verse 15, He prays that our Father in heaven will protect us "from the evil one".
   The evil one, the devil, is working in all kinds of ways to harm us.  In the context of this prayer in John 17, Jesus is primarily asking that we be protected from losing faith in Him and being separated from Him.  And as He says in John 17:12, "not one of them was lost".  
   We can find a wonderful comfort and strength in these words.  Jesus is not going to let us get lost.  He is not going to let us be separated from Him.  
   As we read in Luke 15, Jesus the Shepherd, "searches for the lost sheep until he finds them"  God never gives up on us!
   This Thursday, the Christian Church celebrates the Ascension of our Lord.   But this doesn't mean that Christ has left us.  Instead it means that now the Risen and Glorified Christ is "at the right hand of God, which is where God is, who is everywhere!  And as Romans 8:34 promises, "Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us."
    To use the language of insurance, God has each of us on a "lifetime policy".  He's working on us, with us, in us, around us, all through our lives.  And God's grace and love showering upon us will not end!  It will continue all through our lives and into eternity!
   That's the kind of protection God gives us:  a lifetime of protection, an eternal life of protection that He gives through faith in Jesus, our Savior and Lord!
   
Pastor Steve