Remembering our Heros

Its great to have a holiday to remember all those who sacrificed so much for us to have the liberties that we enjoy.  There are so many men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country with their very lives.  We had the honor of having several men in our congregation Sunday morning who served in the Army, Navy, and Air force.  One of the men was an active duty service man.  What a blessing it is to thank them personally.   

We also have a God who gave up everything he had in service to those he loved.  John 3: 16  ^" For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Christ gave up his life not just for those who live in a country with such a rich heritage of religious freedoms, and democracy but for all who would believe in him.  His precious life changed human history but restoring our true freedom to worship the one true God.  To honor him by remembering his great sacrifice on the cross, and knowing that he did not remain dead we know that we have a new life in his name. 


God Bless all our service men and women!

He is Risen!

Easter has come and gone but its never really far away.  Each Sunday God has us recall the great gift that Christ gave to us on Good Friday.  I was talking to someone who just lost her father to cancer.  They discovered it very late and the doctor said he would have about a month to live.  He lived 31 days and died on Holy Saturday.  The hurt that we experience when someone we love dies is very painful.  Its real, and it cuts us to the core.  But understanding the amazing event on Easter Sunday makes the pain much less, because we know that death did not win  Christ won!  And Christ promises us that he is with us as he was with his disciples.  They could touch his hands and side they saw him eat with them.  The God Man has taken away forever the sting of death for all who believe in him.  And we too one day will experience the Easter to end all Easters when all are raised and those in Christ will enter paradise forever. 

Holy Week

Its great to see the children walking into the church waving their palm branches and singing hosanna!  Our King has come and this week of the passion we celebrate the victory over sin and death.  The Messiah make his way to the cross.  John 12:15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!  Christ's entrance into Jerusalem was a sign of a King but not one coming to conquer but one who is coming to bring peace to his people!  And he does that for each of us He brings us peace by taking away our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.  What a joyous time for us knowing that he makes us holy and so that is what we are! 

Prayer

 Prayer is such an important part of the Christian life.   Jesus told us to pray often, the Holy Spirit prays for us and intercedes for us.  Its our way of speaking to God.  So as we approach Lent we are going to be going through a Bible study call "Prayer We Speak to God".  Its by John Kleinig who is the author of "Grace upon Grace".  We as a church having been praying for God's guidance as we are working on how we move Christ Lutheran forward in ministry here in Breckenridge.  Its one of the blessing and gifts that God gives us in that we can talk to him, and he promises to listen.  So as we journey through Lent together I hope you can join us on Sunday mornings as we learn more about talking to God.

Happy New Year!

Greetings in Christ,
2012 is a new year of hope and joy for us who trust in the mighty Savior born to us to redeem us from all our sins.  As we move through each day that God blesses us with we begin to ask how can we be more effective this year.  How can we reach the lost with the hope of the Gospel.  How will God use us to bring his kingdom forward.  Christ Lutheran has been working through a series of workshops that we hope will provide a guideline for changes in our ministry that we hope will have a greater impact on our community and our world for the sake of Christ. 
We have studied a book called "they like Jesus but not the church" Through a series of lectures we have tried to understand people who were not raised in the church, who probably don't even know a Christian personally.  How we can do things that put people off with out even knowing it.  We have made some small changes to help us be able to speak to people from different walks of life to begin a conversation and allow us to share the hope that gives us the reason to celebrate the year a head and the life we have in Christ.  I hope that God continues to challenge me and all of us to find new ways to love our neighbor in the year 2012.  As Christ Lutheran moves through this year as we ask questions and look at our values, may we be lead by God's gracious hands to live for him and call others to know him.