Seeds of Faith

Surely if my long dead relative just came back and told me what I needed to know, or whispered comforting words then….

Jesus tells us in the story of the rich man and Lazarus that, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”

Once this physical life ends, earthly work is done. Any messages that need to be given won’t come from the grave. No ghost will come back to tell you to straighten up your life to give you an earthly second chance.

But someone did rise from the dead with a perfect message and people still don’t listen to Him! Jesus offers eternal life as a free gift won for the world on the cross. Nothing more, nothing less. Are you listening? This message is for you!

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

To climb up the corporate ladder, sometimes you have to walk on a few people. It’s not really stealing if it is their mistake. It’s so much work to take care of Grandpa, let’s just let him die.

Such is the wisdom of the world. It makes our hearts yearn for more and take advantage of whoever gets in our way to get ahead.

The prophet Amos proclaims, “Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end…” “I will turn your feasts into mourning….”

The things of this world must pass away and their sins punished. The day is coming and indeed has come where all of our taking of advantage of people has been punished on the cross of Jesus! We are now free to look after all of our neighbors well being.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

That’s all well and good, Pastor, but I live here and now! The poignant words of someone who is struggling with their current situation in life.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

And hear also further words of God from Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday and today, and forever.”

What this means is, O fellow believer, is that the things hoped for and not seen are given to you even today, in the midst of all your struggles in life. Jesus Christ is there, even today, forgiving your sin, through Word and Sacrament, and carrying you through all the joys and sorrows shared.

There will be many things that attempt to place your faith in something else, resist them, for Jesus is the only one who never changes.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

“This hurts me more than it hurts you!” is the cry of the father disciplining his child. Really? Are you so sure, dad? Discipline is never pleasant for the giver or the receiver. But whether a child will acknowledge it at the time or not, discipline is for their own good.

Right discipline is only ever given because of the loving relationship between parent and child. If our parents can discipline rightly, even though they are imperfect, how much more our Heavenly Father, who is perfect, will discipline His children.

Since He disciplined His one and only Son, Jesus for all of our errors, we need not fear His earthly discipline now.

The discipline is a continual call back to our God’s grace and mercy in Jesus, so that we will remain in faith and not lose the unshakable kingdom prepared for us.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

Maybe you’ve heard about some of the people of the Bible: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Israelites, David. Were these people better than anyone else? Wanderers, laughers, adulterers, and those who boldly turned their back on God.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

These are the great cloud of witnesses? You bet they are! In their failures, they were given faith in the promises of God, who forgives all their sin through Jesus Christ!

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

George Michael sung boldly, “I gotta have faith.” His song was about breaking up with a girlfriend. He just needed to have faith that he made the right decision. He knows that ultimately there will be no hard evidence whether his decision was right or wrong. He just wanted something better.

Scripture defines faith in Hebrews, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Much greater than any hope for a better girlfriend, true faith clings to the One who gives the best. Though there is pain and suffering now, there is something better.

By faith we believe that God spoke this entire world into being out of nothing in 6 literal days. By faith we receive the promise that Jesus died for all of our sin. By faith we believe that He will come again and take us in our glorified bodies to our heavenly home.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Luther Quote of the Day

"Note well that the real freedom is freedom from sin….How does it come about? When we hear His Word—for instance, that Christ was born of Mary, suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, rose from the dead on the third day, etc. “Oh,” it is said, “I know all this very well! It is an old story….But learn this lesson of the children, for these words tell us how we are redeemed and set free. “Yes,” they say, “these sayings and words are so common that they do not do the work.” The children are to be highly commended for praying these words and also for understanding them sooner; for the more learned and the smarter we old fools claim to be, the less we know and understand about this subject. To become free implies that you fix your thoughts on something else than that which lies in you… Note well that you will really be pious and free from sin if you believe that Christ makes you free by dying for you, shedding His blood, rising from the dead, and sitting at the right hand of God….

This is a message which must be preached again and again to fill and satisfy people with this doctrine. My hunger, however, has not yet been appeased. This doctrine is like bread, of which the body does not weary. We can be gorged with other food, but not with bread, unless a person is sick and unable to eat. A healthy person does not tire of bread. Likewise, to the end of his days a Christian never finishes with the study of the Creed. Neither will you or any saint, whether it be Mary or John the Baptist.

Therefore it is fitting that we sit down beside the stove with the children and learn this lesson. Of course, some among us have learned from one sermon all there is to know! But when they are confronted with trials, these people are in sore need of having someone recite these words to them and of having a four-year-old child recite the Creed to them."

Luther, Martin: Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (Hrsg.) ; Oswald, Hilton C. (Hrsg.) ; Lehmann, Helmut T. (Hrsg.): Luther's Works, Vol. 23 : Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8. Saint Louis : Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1959 (Luther's Works 23), S. 23:409

Seeds of Faith

If all the world’s greatest dignitaries appeared on your doorstep and asked to come in, what would you do? Of course, invite them in!

And then they began to discuss issues that were important in your neighborhood and community, would you go make coffee? Pretend not to listen? Act busy? Sit at their feet?

The greatest dignitary ever in the world did visit a humble home in Israel. Two ladies resided there; one sat and listened to the great dignitary between heaven and earth, and the other busied herself at the work of hosting the dignitary.

That greatest dignitary between heaven and earth was Jesus. His response was “you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.”

That one thing is to sit at the feet of Jesus, hear His Word and receive His gifts of grace and forgiveness.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

What happens when I die? Will I wander around chatting with a few select people who can understand me? Will I share messages from the afterlife reassuring my loved ones? Will I become an angel, like one of those cute little cherubs that sit on my mantle?

While all those spirit shows on TV try to point us to something solid that gives us hope after we die, those things are not good enough in God’s plan. The work He has given us to do, we need to complete now, before we die. He doesn’t desire us to be disembodied spirits floating around, or to change us into what we are not.

Instead, all those who believe in Jesus as their Savior are only to rest after they die, eagerly awaiting when we will be reunited with our bodies in perfection.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

The old saying goes something like this. Nothing good in life is free.

So that means if you want quality, you better be ready to shell out the dough, put in the blood sweat and tears and work your tail off.

Surprise! Free gift for you!

The unerring Word of God states, “for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.

That means that there is something good in life that is free for you. It cost our Savior his entire life. But for you, it is a free. Don’t try and buy it. You can't afford it. Don’t try and add to it. It is perfect as it is. For you, there is nothing left to work for. Surprise!

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

You think you’re so smart!

You think you’re so good!

You think you’re so …. __Fill in the blank.___

These snide comments usually come in the middle of an argument. And usually imply that they think you think you are better than them.

Paul says to the “Galatians, For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Still think you’re something? Think again. “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”

Is that message a downer to you? Boast in this.

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Crucified in Christ, we are now something! Forgiven, redeemed, children of God.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

Do I have the right equipment? This is the most important question for backpackers to ask before they head off into the wilderness plodding along with the bare minimum that they need to survive.

They need water filters, shelter, water proof matches, and lightweight high energy food.

Do you have the right equipment for the daily plodding you do in the wilderness of this life?

All Scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be equipped for every good work.

The difference between the hiker and you is that you don’t have just the bare essentials, but rather ALL the equipment that God has provided to you through Jesus Christ our Lord. His holy unchangeable never erring Word in the person of Jesus gives you all you need.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

Fireworks! Explosions! Celebration! Grilling out! Family and Friends! Party!!!

Let freedom ring!

We pour much of our summer energy into celebrating this all important day for our country. Independence from someone over a distant sea ruling our land. Waving flags and banners, parades and carnivals. The victory that gives freedom.

And then we go back to our daily lives feeling as if freedom from ourselves and our addictions and bad habits and behaviors seems far away. Is the freedom given in this country enough?

No, it isn’t. But there is a greater freedom.

Paul says to the Romans “We know that our old self was crucified with (Jesus) in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”]

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Seeds of Faith

Feel over worked? Overloaded? Overwhelmed? Do you feel the demands of living a “good life” are too great? Boy, you can’t even imagine how right you are. The work in the garden of this world is difficult after sin entered the world.

Wish you had just one moment to catch your breath, but even your day off seems to produce more work? Want to expand your faith life but even going to church is just one more chore to do on a Sunday morning?

Hear the word of the Lord, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn

Seeds of Faith

Every mother eagerly awaits the day when she can say, “I felt the baby move.” That movement is a concrete testament that the life inside is actually a human being. Kick, punch, twirl, and swim.

Now imagine if you could actually know what your baby was responding too.

After Mary found out she was bearing the Savior of the world, she went to visit her relative Elizabeth, who also was having a child in her old age. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s baby, John the Baptizer, leapt for joy in her womb.

Our Savior’s presence in the womb of Mary caused joy to the infant John in the womb. Why? Because salvation is being fulfilled and he came into contact with his Savior.

Come into contact with our Savior Jesus and even infants in the womb can leap for joy!

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn

Seeds of Faith

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many who put flags or flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers. Thanks be to God for those who die in service!

This past Sunday was another memorial day of sorts. It was the Feast of Pentecost, the day a gathering of believers were filled with the Holy Spirit enabled to declare the wonders of God in their own native languages.

What wonders of God were they declaring? That Jesus, the one who was put to death on the cross, rose from the dead three days later, and ascended into heaven to fill the world with His forgiveness.

Thanks be to God for the One who died in battle of your sin and rose victorious for you!

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn

Seeds of Faith

Gifts are so often cherished by those who receive them. The best gifts are the ones that will be used. But even the strongest toys will wear out or break and the prettiest flowers will whither and die.

John 17 says that our Heavenly Father has given us to Jesus. Does this mean we will be used by Jesus until we wear out?

We have been given to Jesus, not to be worn out with doing Jesus’ labor. Rather we have been given to Jesus so that we may have His glory. Jesus prayed to His Father in heaven, “The glory that You have given me I have given to them…”

Jesus gives us the glory of a right relationship with our Heavenly Father through the forgiveness He won for us on the cross. You continue to be His most cherished gift.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn

Seeds of Faith

Today is the celebration of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven.

After all, isn’t that the appropriate place for him? Jesus’ tour of duty on Battlefield Earth is done. The General of the Army has declared victory and now he returns to His throne in heaven through the clouds to sit back and look at what a good job he has done?

Actually, it is quite the opposite. Indeed, Jesus has gone back to where He came, the Father’s right hand of authority and power. The God/Man now reigns on the throne in His earthly body.

That is good news for you and me. He reigns as Your King of Kings, continuing to prepare a place for you in His kingdom. Jesus still keeps His promise to never leave us or forsake us.

All who believe in Him long to see Him in His heavenly glory. Yet now we must see Him hidden in Word and Water, Bread and Wine.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn

Seeds of Faith

Don’t pull on the plant, honey. As the 18 month old topples the pot off the stand. You just wish they understood your words completely. Oh, they hear them, and they may even grasp that you are communicating something important. But for the 18 month old, the details are sketchy. Mother’s understand it so well, lack of understanding fades. Disobedience lay around the corner.

Our Savior, Jesus, understood this so well. His disciples walked with him for 3 years and still didn’t grasp that Jesus must die to take away all sin, and must rise to new life to give us His eternal life. But it can’t be any clearer. Jesus said, “I have said these things to you that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn

Seeds of Faith

Months upon months of knowing what is coming. Hours upon hours of preparation. You know the outcome. A bouncing baby boy or girl. But the woman knows what comes first. Pain. Birthpain. No one looks forward to that kind of pain. No it is the joy of the newborn child that is remembered months, weeks, and years to come.

So it is now. We live in a world of school shootings, natural disasters, broken homes, and the list goes on for each person who feels loss.

Jesus used the image of childbirth in John 16 to assure all those who put their faith in him. These are pains that lead up to a greater joy that no one can take from you. A joy of eternal life Jesus has prepared for you.

These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, Nebraska. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn