Prayers for This Time of Transition

"God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up.  They're created new every morning.  How great your faithfulness!” (Lamentations 3:22-23, message translation). 

God we thank you that even in the midst of change and transition in our congregation, your love does not run out.  Every morning we receive your grace and love that is new when we rise each day. Together as our church family may we rejoice in that promise.  We are reminded of our children’s message last Sunday; it is our choice to rejoice daily. “This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 NRSV)  Prepare our hearts as we soon joyfully welcome Pastor Steve Molin into our midst, and may he feel welcomed into our church family as our Interim Pastor. In your name we pray, Amen.

Prayers for This Time of Transition

The book of Psalms is a valuable tool in our prayer lives. The psalms can make us more fluent in the language of prayer and grow in our expressions of fear and trust, praise or worry, frustration or gratitude. "The Psalms weep with those who suffer, laugh with those who celebrate, and teach all of us about the long journey of faith." (The Lutheran Study Bible's introduction to Psalms.)  Join our congregation in praying Psalm 100 this week:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Prayer During Interim Time

In both Isaiah and Matthew we read my house shall be called a house of prayer. God’s word is filled with calls to prayer, teaching on prayer, Jesus finding time and space for prayer, and beautiful prayers for all circumstances. I believe Martin Luther said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Whatever form prayer takes, it is clearly a gift, an invitation, and important to our relationship with God.

Many of you are already praying for this season in Resurrection’s life. While prayer is vital to all our days, this time of transition is an important season to grow in our prayer lives. To support and encourage you in this, and to unite us all as a house of prayer, the e-letter will contain a different prayer each week. Consider setting a specific time or place each day to pray for the local and global church. Maybe you will choose to sit with a specific Bible verse related to discernment or the future God has for us. Or some may prefer to give more time to quiet and listening, as together we ask for God’s guidance and wisdom. Please join our faith community in the call of 1 Thessalonians 5:17, to pray without ceasing.

God of grace, help us sense your presence with us as we reflect on and remember the past and live into the future you offer us. Remind us of the many ways you have provided for your people with countless blessings and amazing, steadfast love. Help us to reflect that and be loving lights to one another. Guide our steps and fill us with hope as we continue to grow into the church you call us to be. Amen.

But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:15-16

Confirmation Reflections

This past Sunday during our Confirmation service our church family joyfully celebrated twenty-one youth being confirmed.  Confirmands confessed their faith and received a blessing with family and friends surrounding them. It was a beautiful and powerful service witnessing faith in action from these young people in our congregation. 

Jaycee Goossen (9th grader), Sara Dahlager (9th grader), and Maggie Rapp (parent) shared memorable reflections of their confirmation journey as part of the celebration.  They share some of their heartfelt messages here.

Sara Dahlager shared,  "Throughout my journey in the life of Christ, I have experienced many paths in my faith. I have come to learn that God and Jesus are my friends and not just my Savior.  My faith has led me to a confirmation group of people who love and support each other. When I first started Confirmation I was a shy, short little seventh grader.  Over time it has let me experience different sides of myself through my participation in retreats, singing, and learning a deeper knowledge of God and Jesus. A very special memory was doing skits at one of the stations for The Last Supper.  That is where I first learned about my love of theatre.  I wear a bracelet that I often wear on my wrist that says "Jesus", reminds me of where my journey has led me.  Now I am still short but I am more confident in myself, knowing that God is behind everything that I do.  I am looking forward to continue growing as a child of God after I get confirmed." 

Jaycee Goossen shared, "Confirmation has opened a door for me to learn more about Christ.  Confirmation has also promoted some new questions like, "Why do I believe what I believe?” and “Who is Christ to me?”. Confirmation gave me a support group in my life for whenever anything was going on that I could not handle on my own.  It was my second year of confirmation that changed my life. That year I could really focus on what being a Christian means to me.  Being a follower of Christ is actually just like it sounds - it means that you believe and know in your heart that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and is always there for us in our darkest hour and in the best moments.  The people who are sitting to your left and right, who are in front of you, or behind you are your support group and are your brothers and sisters in Christ.  So whenever you are going through a tough time, just remember you are not alone."

Praise God for growing mature faith-filled young people in this church! We are blessed to journey alongside our youth here at Resurrection, and excited to continue to journey alongside our current 7th and 8th grade Confirmation students.  All current parents of 7th and 8th graders are invited to a parent meeting on Wednesday, October 28 at 6:15pm to learn about the Faith Inkubators: Head to the Heart curriculum. We are excited for what is in store.

Written by: Hannah Koehler

The Joy of Serving

Listen. Many who have worshipped at Resurrection have joyfully listened to Roger Olsen share his gift of music as longtime pianist with the worship team. Others are strengthened when Roger listens, in his career as a psychologist. In both settings, Roger has tapped into his God-given talents, finding joy in his serving. He writes about this below, to help us all consider how we are gifted. Later this month, hear more about spiritual gifts at Resurrection in an upcoming Sunday message and through a new gifts survey, raising up the ways God has gifted you. 

I have participated in the music ministries at Resurrection Lutheran Church for many years. Being involved in the music ministries and worship was my first way to be involved in the church. While I find enjoyment and fulfillment in sharing the musical gifts that God has given me in our worship services, I think what has been the most significant value of being involved in the music team has been the sense of connection it has given me to other members of the church congregation. I have been a member at other churches where I have not been as involved in the church and it was difficult to find a way to be more connected with other members. I have continued to participate in the music ministries because of the connection I feel with the other members of the musical team.

In my work as a psychologist I know the value of interpersonal relationships in mental health. People are biologically wired to need social connections. Research has shown that even with feeding and physical care, infants will not survive without being attached to a parent.  This need for attachment continues throughout life. When people feel alone and isolated they suffer both mentally and physically. One of the benefits of psychotherapy for most people is that this process leads to stronger relationships with friends and family, but clients also usually experience increased social connections with people in their lives. We need to be connected to others as human beings. For me, being involved in Resurrection’s various ministries is a great way to find that connectedness to others, as well as being able to serve God using the strengths that he has provided for me. 

I have chosen playing piano as the way that I serve God through our church because I feel that music is a particular strength that I have been given. Going through a self-examination process, independently or in community, to identify spiritual gifts can be very helpful in finding out personal strengths. Luckily, Resurrection offers such resources in various formats, including a link to a helpful questionnaire on the church website called the Spiritual Gifts Assessment Tool. You may want to begin an exploration of spiritual gifts by going through this assessment.

Participating in a service opportunity that utilizes my strengths has made my involvement much more rewarding. While I am also involved in other ways in our church, I find more enjoyment and satisfaction in being involved through my strength in music. I think that we do find more enjoyment in serving and are more effective when we understand our own personal strengths and use those strengths in serving God.

Written by: Roger Olsen

Guided Hands Puppets at Woodbury Days 2015

On Sunday, August 30, Resurrection's Guided Hands Puppet Team participated in the Woodbury Day's Parade.  Check out the short video from Daryl Hintz.

Play Work Worship

Play, work and worship  are parts of nearly everyone’s life. We give significant time to each of them. However we are often confused about them.  Several years ago, I read this quote, “Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play and to play at their worship,” by Lutheran Pastor Gordon Dahl.  The current sermon series at Resurrection is based on this quote.  Last Sunday, August 23, we examined the meaning of WORSHIP (Listen to the message here). This Sunday we will explore PLAY and on Sunday, September 6, we will look at WORK.

What Worship is NOT

In today's culture, we often approach worship as a form of entertainment or optional play.  Pastor Larry Peters writes on his blog;“What is most damaging to us, however, is when we play at worship; when we treat God as a hobby or distraction from the routines of work and play.

"It is obvious that worship for many has become entertainment and worship has become theater. Too many Christians sit in their theater style seating around a stage to watch a show, to witness great performers, to hear dramatic music, and to have fun.

"Too few of us expect to give ourselves into what we do on Sunday morning. Too many of us expect to come waiting to get and generally settling for what makes us feel good or makes us happy.”

What Worship IS

Worship is meant to focus our attention, our hearts and minds on God, first and foremost.  Jesus said “Strive first for the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Matthew 6:33. Worship has both individual as well as collective dimensions. We can worship God together on Sunday morning and we can worship God as individuals in our daily spiritual practice of prayer, Bible reading, and/or devotions.

One metaphor for worship is that it is a time to reset our G.P.S. position: our God Position System. Just as the Global Position System on our phones needs to connect to satellites in order to get a proper fix on our phones, worship is a time to reset our connection to God and God’s path for us. Worship reminds us of the grace, power and beauty of God’s love.

So what is Play?

This Sunday we will explore the function of play in our lives. Dahl contends that as Americans we “tend to work at our play.” As an example most adults no longer use the word “play” when they go to exercise; we more often call it “working out.”  Play and leisure have dropped out of our adult vocabulary because they seem too frivolous and extraneous. Coaches tell their team, “Stop playing around and get to work!” Sports have become less about play and more about serious achievements.

Yet psychologists are calling us to reconsider the role of play in our adult lives.  Jesus said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Play can be a form of rest and restoration for our work weary souls.

Join us this Sunday as we look at PLAY in our lives.

Pastor John Keller