Seeds of Faith

“I don’t get no respect.” We all believe Rodney Dangerfield’s catch phrase could be our own. It seems as if our culture hasn’t a clue what it means to respect anyone anymore. Respect your elders. Respect your boss. Respect your body. Yeah right. Disrespect abounds.

You would think if God came down and walked the earth there would be a little more respect.

God did walk the earth and alas, no we still don’t respect. He gave us His Holy Word every time we fail to listen to, we give the greatest disrespect.

and that is why Jesus, God’s only begotten Son was sent to the earth, to get no respect.

With all of our lack of respect heaped on Jesus’ shoulders, He was rejected, by us and by His Father, so that you and I are now respected by our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska.

Seeds of Faith

I cannot imagine the hurt and the pain that go along with having a pigheaded child. Especially one that would be so bold as to demand, “Give me all the money I will get when you die! Give it to me now, because I am leaving home never to return again!”

What a slap in the face.

Yet that is what we have done to God. We boldly walk in and say, “give me my life the way I want it now. I am venturing out on my own with no regard for you.”

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus tells us about our God who is willing to run out to us when we have pigheaded schemes of doing it our own way. He runs out to us through Jesus our Savior, who humbled Himself to death to bring us back into God’s Family

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska.

Seeds of Faith

If you own an extended cab long box pickup, pulling a cattle trailer,
you may have said this.
“It takes a 40 acre field to turn it around.

The bigger it is, the larger the space it takes to turn.
But when you are going the wrong direction, you still have to turn.

That is the problem with our sin. No matter how small they may seem, they make us too big for the space that we have to turn in. That’s a problem, because if we don’t turn and head the other direction, we are headed down a path of destruction.

If that sounds hopeless, hear the Good News. Your sins are no more. Your load has been taken away but the blood of our Savior, Jesus. Turning is now no problem. Believe the Good News!

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska.

Seeds of Faith

I must go. Often these are words that come after a nice, long, pleasant visit with a friend. We have had a good chat. I’m sad it is over, but I must go home now.

I must go. These words can also be uttered when you are dreading the appointment ahead. I must go to the doctor and get the test results.

Our Savior from sin, Jesus, also lived these “ I Must Go,” moments. No matter what lay before Him, whether a joyous feast with His disciples or a conversation with those who didn’t believe Him to be the Savior, Jesus must go. He must go to the cross. He must go to His death.

Not because Jesus’ pleasant visit to this world was over. But because His love for us was so great, Jesus must go to the cross to take away our sin.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska.

Seeds of Faith

“The devil made me do it!” cries the child, trying to convince his parents why he shouldn’t be punished. Parents quickly see through that charade knowing that the only thing that made their child disobey was their own selfish desire to do what they should not do.

Temptations to do what we should not do abound. They come in forms as subtle as TV commercials and as blatant as friends saying, “c’mon give it a try.” Jesus as He walked this earth was not exempt from temptations. And He even had a batch handed out by the Devil himself.

Jesus overcame all of these temptations by using God’s Holy Word to live a spotless life in our place. When we succumb to our own temptations, cling to God’s Holy Word of promise of forgiveness of sins in Jesus death and resurrection.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska.

Feb 20, 2007

Even though we are in the midst of cold temperatures and snow, we are coming upon a dusty season. No, I’m not predicting another dry spring. Instead I am talking about the dusty season of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday.

God cursed our first parents Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, “for you are dust and to dust you shall return.” We also live under that same curse. Ash Wednesday then is a reminder of our mortality caused by our first parent’s sin and yes even our own sin. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Death.

And God sent His Son, Jesus into the dust of our flesh so that the dusty mortal’s curse would be placed on Jesus, leaving us with His immortality.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska.