Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

This is a special musical presentation of The Lord's Prayer with Tammy Heilman, Bob Nelson, and Deb Borton-McDonough at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

The crowds are following Jesus, but Jesus is throwing them for a loop again. Jesus is saying he is the bread of life that has come down from heaven. This can't be as he is the son of Joseph, and they know his father and mother. Now he is claiming to be God? The Judeans say that they know the truth.

They seem to be so closed minded. This idea that this Jesus who they knew as a child and knew his family could not be God. This was contrary to scripture. It was blowing their mind. They had been following him to eat physical and spiritual food, but this was too much.

Jesus doesn't argue with them, he tells them that God drew them to him. I would think that really confounded them. When their ancestors ate manna in the wilderness they died. God had sent the manna day by day to meet their needs, and still they complained. Now Jesus is saying that he himself is the bread from heaven and connecting with him will give them eternal life.

Jesus says that he will give his life for the world and his flesh is the work he did on the cross. For John feasting on the bread of life is about being in relationship with Jesus. This looks different for everyone. The closer that we get in any relationship means that there will be changes, it means that we will be called to pivot in grace. The only thing that stays the same with Jesus is Jesus' love for us.

Without the willingness to pivot in grace, relationships do not grow and may end. Jesus will not give up on us, but there are times that we may give up on Jesus. To be church today means pivoting in grace. Churches that are not willing to pivot in grace will likely die.

I would like us to think about what pivoting in grace means. It means not doing things the way that they have been done before. That can be a hard pill to swallow, but it is the truth. The church as we knew it even a few years ago is not the same because our world is not the same.

When we hear ourselves saying, we've always done it that way, it is time to examine that way. If the world has changed and people have changed, the approach to many things needs to change. Hiring a new staff person may not grow a program. It takes looking at different approaches and being willing to pivot in grace and look at different options.

What things looked like in the past will never look that way again.

That is a hard truth. It is much easier to try and recreate what we used to have, but since the world has changed, that does not work. People are at different places, thus the approach must be different.

Jesus was pivoting in grace all of the time. His message stayed the same, but people were always presenting him with different ideas, challenging him with their fears and anxieties. As I have said, Jesus did not argue with the crowd, the Judeans. He was challenging them to change their way of thinking, their way of viewing and identifying him.

In our individual lives, there are many times that we are called to pivot in grace. Some of them are not easy and some we would rather not have to, but in order to move forward they are necessary. Yesterday, I heard dripping in the basement. Of course I was getting ready to go to our ecumenical pride service. I didn't fully know what was wrong, but I called Bob and asked him, who do I call.

The plumbers were able to get to my place later in the afternoon. Unfortunately, after trying to unplug the pipes, it did not work They are coming back Monday to put in a cleanout in to run the unclogger out to the street and back in the house from outside.

No useable plumbing, thus I cannot stay at my house until they fix it. Thus, I had to find a place to stay. I just happened to have enough Wyndam points to stay 2 nights at the Ramada Inn with a free breakfast. I was still able to go to the Pride event. I'm not able to go to Saugatuck as planned after church, but that is okay. It is not always easy, but I believe God works things out for us. Thankfully, we believe as Christians, we are not left alone to do these pivots in grace. We are promised that God will never leave us nor forsake us.

God does amazing things, and we are called to trust and believe. This is where feasting on the bread of life, Jesus, comes in. Often, the difficulty in pivoting in grace comes from our unwillingness to do it. It can be scary, and it often brings out fears and anxieties. Jesus, the bread of life, comes to us and says, open yourself up to me and I will give you what you need when you need it.

For me this is what it means to not be hungry and thirsty. To look at what and who I have and realize that they are all gifts from God and be thankful This is what helps me to make pivot in grace. If I try and make pivots by myself or not at all, it will be more of a struggle. This is where I am challenged to trust God in Jesus Christ, to have faith that God knows what God is doing.

This is not easy as it means letting go of old ways of thinking and of doing things. Those things that brought security, we are often challenged to let go of in order for a pivot in grace to happen. This is what John says, faith is believing and trusting in Jesus and what is required to be in relationship with Jesus. This is what the Judeans struggled with and so do we.

As we move forward here at Faith, be prepared to pivot in grace, to look at things in a broader spectrum. I do not believe that Jesus says keep doing things the way that you have been. We are called to look at what we have learned about who we are and who are neighbors are. How can we connect with them directly is the challenge?

This does not mean that we wait until the next pastor comes. Jesus the bread of life calls us to do this work now. We have developed 3 goals:

1. Increase participation in Youth and Education programs.
2. Restructure system (time, money and resources) to support the goals for ministry.
3. Continue to develop strategies to connect with our community to better understand and celebrate our diversity and inclusion in the community.

These goals have come from our times together this past year. We are strengthened through the bread of life to carry out these goals. Throughout the fall the council will be figuring out how to carry out these goals.

I believe Faith Lutheran Church has what is needed, from what God has already blessed us with. The question becomes are we ready to do new and exciting things? We will be called to pivot in grace, to find new ways of doing things. This is when we are called to trust and believe in God in Jesus Christ.

Jesus the bread of life first of all strengthens us to do the work we are called to do, but then we become bearers of the bread of life as we carry out this ministry. This is when we also carry out Paul's challenge:

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Come feast on Jesus the bread of life, be strengthened to pivot in grace and carry out the goals set before us. May we be imitators of God's love and share the bread of life with others.

Let us pray: Gracious God, you give us all that we need and more to do the ministry that you have called us to do. May your Holy Spirit help us further define how to carry out the goals that you set before us. AS we feed on Jesus the bread of life, give us the strength and wisdom to pivot in grace as share your love, share Jesus, the bread of life. Amen

This is a special musical presentation of Thee We Adore, O Savior with Elaine Harrison, Kay Hillberg, Brenda Kopf and Ann Mayer on handbells at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Fairest Lord Jesus by Megan Nyquist and Addie Thompson on handbells at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

It has been an exciting time here at the Son Games 2024 VBS program. We have had a great group of kids, a wonderful staff, and we not only partnered with St. Paul's Lutheran Church, but had people from other churches, too. This is what church is about.

You heard our mottos, Join In, Team Up, Get Strong, Keep On, and Celebrate. This is all in the back drop of the Olympics. When we think of Olympics, they are competitions made up of diversity. This is from every country. All colors, cultures, orientations, almost everyone is represented.

Paul talks about this in his letter to the Ephesians. He tells us that unity consists of one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. It is not about everyone looking the same or thinking the same or doing things the same way. I believe unity happens when we can celebrate diversity.

It is not necessarily how something gets done. Each one of us may do something different. The challenge is to affirm the person regardless of how it gets done. Celebrating diversity is still very difficult for many people. Instead of being able to celebrate it, there are many who fear it. As a result, those who are different from a person often get rejected and told they are not wanted.

Discrimination is real. We hear many slurs on the news. People often find a way to justify it. It is wrong and it is not the community that God is looking for. In our 2nd lesson today, Paul reminds the Ephesians and each of us that we have been given gifts to support and upbuild people and not tear them down.

Paul says that we are to grow up and not be blown around by every wind of doctrine. The body of Christ is about everyone working together to build each other up. The challenge is to find the things that we have in common and stick to them.

Even though we may not hear love in the news and other media outlets, we are still called to love. It may mean muting ads, which I have been doing. To find out true information, one needs to look elsewhere. We are called to speak the truth in love.

This is very difficult to do at times. In our Gospel lesson today, we hear the crowd asking for it and Jesus offering them as well as us, the bread of life, in order to be strengthened and connected to him. When we are seeking the bread of life it makes us stop and remember that it is not about us, but actually about we. We being God and our neighbors in all of their diversity.

The crowds were not getting who Jesus was. Who is Jesus to us? Our Gospel lesson end with Jesus making a statement that he is the bread of life. Whoever comes to him will never be hungry whoever believe in him will never be thirsty. This is what we will explore next week in the sermon.

Today Jesus offers us the bread of life to be strengthened, to give us eyes to see and ears to hear that we may celebrate diversity to create unity. Join In, Team Up, Get Strong, Keep On, and Celebrate God's beloved community.

Let us pray: God of unity and diversity, You call us to celebrate diversity. You offer us you, the bread of life, to strengthen us and help us to see each other as gifts. May your Holy Spirit help us to receive you and continue creating unity as we celebrate the diversity that you have created. In Jesus name, Amen.

This is a special musical presentation of The Lord is My Shepherd by soloist Ryan Thompson and Addie Thompson on Flute at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Our culture teaches us to always want to know and have more. I believe that sometimes that this is important. In our political world today, it is important to discover the truth to the best of our ability. Media slants information as well as candidates. Thus, before we comment or share things on Facebook, it is good to check it out, because if we don't someone else will. There are other times in conversation that sometimes wondering if we really need to know what is being shared. Most of us know the letters TMI, too much information. As human beings we can only handle so much at one time. The same with food. Our bodies can only accommodate a certain amount of food. For our own health, we often need to tell ourselves that we don't need any more and be satisfied. In our Gospel lesson we hear that when the crowd was satisfied, Jesus told his disciples to gather up the fragments of the five barely loaves and two fish. They filled five baskets. But was it only their physical hunger that was satisfied? The crowd had kept following Jesus as there was something about him that the crowd was drawn to. It just happened that it was meal time and Jesus thought the crowd would be also physically hungry. Jesus had been healing people which were signs of God's presence. When Jesus and his disciples had gone up to the mountain, probably to get away from the crowd, they followed them. John has Jesus testing Philip and asks him "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? In other gospels the disciples suggested to Jesus that he send the crowds away so they could eat themselves. Philip's response was that it would take more than six months wages to feed everyone who was gathered. Andrew said that there was a boy who had five barely loaves and two fish, but what could that do with all of these people. John tells us that there were 5,000 in all and Jesus just said have the people sit down. They were in a spot where there was a great deal of grass which made it the best possible place outdoors. In John, Jesus actually distributed the food, where in the other gospels, the disciples distributed it. There seemed to be enough for all and when Jesus thought they were satisfied is when he told the disciples to collect what was left over. It was an abundant meal with more than enough for all. The people were overwhelmed by this sign and jumped to the conclusion that Jesus was the prophet they were looking for. They wanted to make him their king. Their definition of king was not who Jesus was. The people were looking for someone who would rule with might and power to conquer more lands and accumulate wealth. Thus, Jesus escaped by himself to the mountain. So, what was Jesus trying to show them? Jesus was demonstrating and giving them a sign that he was God made flesh and that he had everything that they needed. He hosted this meal. He was the bread of life and was passing out the bread of life. It was about more than just physical food. It was about experiencing the abundant life in Jesus, experiencing Jesus, God in the flesh. When we are always wanting more, are we able to see the abundance that we have? Even though Faith is greatly blessed, it does not mean that we can meet everyone's needs. So, when we worked on the question, "Who are we?" part of it was looking at all the gifts that God has given to Faith. This is what God expects us to share with our neighbors. It is important to look at what we don't have, but our thankfulness of course comes when we are able to see and experience the abundance that we have here. There is sometimes a fine line about being satisfied and wanting more. If we only focus on what we wish we had our ability to thank God decreases. This can cause blindness in seeing where we can share the abundance that we have. The kingdom of God provides for people's needs. We are only one part of this kingdom with certain gifts that God invites us to share with our neighbors. Part of experiencing God's abundance for us, is realizing what we have been given.

As people of God, we don't have a great history in remaining thankful. When Moses and the Israelites were out in the wilderness, they complained that they did not have food. God provided day by day, manna which could sustain them from day to day. The people still complained. The manna could be characterized as the bread of life as it provided what they needed. God was showing up. We want more people in church, more young families, more kids for VBS and Sunday School. Of course, none of that is bad, but I'm wondering if we can turn that around and say thank you God for what and who we do have. It is the old saying, are we looking at a cup half empty or half full.

When we can look at everything as a gift from God, I believe we live our lives differently. It creates a different kind of energy. One that is bright and uplifting. When people walk into a new place and experience this kind of energy and outlook, it is what can draw them back again and again.

It is a choice that we make. There is nothing wrong with desiring things, but can we first be thankful for what God has already given us. When we focus on what we don't have, it becomes more about me and not we, meaning God and our neighbor. When we focus on the abundance that we have as a community of faith and individually we are able to see more and more where God, Jesus the bread of life is at work. It will allow us to better see and hear those places where we can share the bread of life that we have received.

Culture teaches us to want more instead of being able to see the gifts that God has given us as individuals and as a community of faith. There are things that it is important to know more about. When it comes to our soul and our heart, there is nothing other than the bread of life that can satisfy us. There is something about sharing and being thankful for our blessings that allows us to feel satisfied. There is a world that continues to wait to hear about and receive the bread of life through you and me. We gather every week to experience and receive the bread of life, Jesus through Word and Sacrament. It is when we let go of all those things that are running through our heads, doubt and fear, always wanting more and give them to Jesus that we can become ready to hear and experience Jesus the bread of life. Jesus stands ready to feed us here today. May we receive it with open hands, hearts and minds and then be ready to share Jesus, the bread of life with our neighbor. This is when we will be satisfied. Let us pray, Gracious God, you are always standing ready to feed us the bread of life, Jesus. Often our hearts and minds become clouded with doubt and fear. Today at this time we give our doubts and fears over to you that we may be fed with Jesus the bread of life. Help us to see the abundance in your bread of life that we may freely share it with others and be satisfied. In Jesus' name, Amen

Last week I spoke about us being called as prophets. Now this week in our second lesson, Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he talks about coming together. Paul is addressing his letter to Jewish and Gentile Christians. Each of them have their own idea about each other's conduct. Paul is suggesting, well maybe telling them that they are called to reconcile with each other and create peace. Neither being a prophet nor being called to reconcile are easy things. It takes willing people.

Does this sound like the Christian church today? Through issues and politics, we do not all see things in the same way. We do not interpret the bible in the same way. Thus, how can we reconcile and bring peace to our different views on scripture and how it informs our lives as to how to live as God's people?

I believe the first conclusion to come to is we will not agree on all things. As human beings we each process differently, have come from different places, have had different experiences and are at different places in our lives, even some come from different cultures. Yet, we are called to come together to celebrate the things that we have in common as well as our differences.

Unfortunately, differences often make us feel anxious and we can become defensive. Anxiety can shut us down or give us energy to want to understand what the differences are. When we let our anxiety make us defensive we sever and/or detour connection and unity.

Defensiveness can bring out the more legalistic approach to dealing with people and issues. It is a way that we can say that we are right. This stops our ability to hear and understand where people are coming from. Even if we don't agree, listening can show respect to the other person. Because another person may come from a different place with different experiences it can cause them to see things differently than we do.

Paul is trying to tell the Jewish and Gentile Christians that Christ came to bring them to unity. This is not a unity that erases who they are but challenges them to celebrate their differences and what they have in common, Jesus. This is even when they view things differently.

Paul says Jesus has abolished the law. I don't believe that he is talking about the 10 commandments. I believe he is talking more about using the law to control as opposed to bring a sense of order and safety to community. The problem becomes when we want to tell other people how we think it should be and then slip God in there to justify it.

Jesus boils down even the 10 commandments to two, Love God with your whole being and your neighbor as yourself. Love is not about controlling people. When we try and control someone we make them feel less than, like 'The Other', and that is not love. I would challenge all of us to think about and use this principle intentionally as we move through this political season.

Paul says all of us have access to God and we are all citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. I believe then that we are called to recognize that Christ is our cornerstone. In Christ the whole building is joined together and built on the apostles and prophets.

This is the foundation that we have for our faith. We are called to reach out and listen to understand where people are coming from, but we are not called to compromise how we interpret Loving God and neighbor. It may be the only thing that we can agree on is Jesus came to teach us, to die and rise on our behalf for our forgiveness, salvation and new life. This is the connection and a basis for unity.

For me the gospel lesson leads us out where to do ministry and the heart that we are called to have. Jesus gives us the model for the ministry that we are called to, and he is not in a building doing it. Jesus took his disciples away to a place without distractions. They had been on the road and ministering to people and were tired. We don't know if Jesus was actually tired or just felt his disciples needed a rest.

People who needed healing were not about to take a break in pursuing Jesus. They found him and his disciples. Jesus felt their need for healing, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Jesus had compassion on them. This was not pity, but a feeling of love for them from deep inside.

The people felt that this man Jesus, had what they needed. There was an urgency as they could have been sick for some time. We don't often see this in our country or where we may go to medical professionals. There are countries where people travel for hours to see a medical professional and then wait. I know some of you have had this experience when doing work in a third world country.

My point being this is where God shows up for people, where they are. In our gospel lesson in Jesus, and in medical professionals in third world countries. I believe this is where we are called to connect with people, where they are, to meet the needs of other people. This can only happen when we view all people as God's people worthy of respect. It is not our place to judge. It is our place to allow people to see Jesus in us.

This is what Paul is telling the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Christ is the one who unifies the church to stand out as a loving, non-judgmental place in neighborhoods. Although, I believe for us today it extends past the Christian church into all religions. When we get down to it Love God and neighbor, neighbor being all people, is what God calls all of us to do.

Jesus did not make any divisions about the people seeking him. Paul talks about reconciling with each other in order that the church may be able to somehow get down to Love God and neighbor and not about telling others how to live their lives. It is about coming together out of love to listen and respect each other. This is the only way that we can bring unity and peace to the church.

In reality we will only be able to do what we can do. There will be some who will believe that they are right and will not want to listen and this is disrespectful. I know I find it difficult to work with someone who does not accept me for who I am. I am now experiencing this from the church that I grew up in. I praise God that here we are working on accepting people where they are at.

We are called to continue to do as we are doing, working into our welcome statement, working with those churches who work at respecting all people for who they are, who God created them to be. This then is a light to the community. It is how we together can be a prophetic church, first to ourselves and then to our community. This is doing what we can to bring peace and unity and the rest is up to the Holy Spirit/.

There are still people searching for love and acceptance, by working together to share this with all people is where Jesus will be.

This is a special musical presentation of Holy Thy Name at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Acquaint Now Thyself withsoloist Bruce Thorsen Piano at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan