Easter Week

Alleluia! Jesus is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

There have been a lot of men who have died over six thousand or so years. The cross has been the instrument of death for many of them. Some men have even claimed to be a savior of the world.

Only one man has risen bodily from the dead and proved it by showing himself to over 500 people. That man is Jesus, God’s only begotten Son. Jesus rose physically from the dead because He cares about your physical body both now and into eternity. His physical resurrection is the victory march over the effects of sin, disease, infection, cancer, death. His physical resurrection is His promise to you that these things will not plague our bodies into eternity.

Alleluia! Jesus is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

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

Holy Week

It seems foolish. What self respecting Savior would die on a cross?

And besides, can any one man die for the punishment of the entire world’s guilt?

Only God is big enough to make that kind of sacrifice. But then, how weak must God be?

The Word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

He was weak so that we would be strong. Jesus’ death, God’s death, is our life.

To those who believe, Jesus is the power of God who forgives their sins and raise them up to everlasting life.

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

Palm Sunday

It is time for a parade! The most important dignitary of the whole wide world is coming to your town. Break out the banners! Strike up the band! Don’t forget the streamers. He’s right around the corner. Wait, he doesn’t seem to be all giddy with excitement. Oh he seems to be trying to smile, but are those tears in His eyes? Hmm… Oh it’s time to shout… Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Yes indeed, Blessed is He who continues to come to us in the name of the Lord through, Word and Water, Bread and Wine. That first Palm Sunday to enter to pay for the sin of the World. Now He comes to bring that forgiveness to you. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Jesus our Savior King!

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

Lent 5

Crime shows have a fascination with finding bones subtly hidden in the wide open. There is one thing that is guaranteed when they find bones. The person is dead. No need to call for an EMT. Mouth to mouth won’t help.

Spiritually, we are like those bones found, long dead. There is no getting up and walking on our own accord. But the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can give you spiritual mouth to mouth

St. Paul says in Romans 8, “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

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

Lent 4

I only need to take off my glasses to know what it is like to not be able to make out any detail in the world. But the total darkness of blindness terrifies me. One thing that I do know for certain… even in earthly blindness, “the works of God will be displayed.” (John 9:3)

We need not try and find what causes each hardship in our lives. Instead, how will the work of God be displayed?

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame…(Hebrews 12:2)

And that is the greatest work of God that He has done. He sent Jesus to endure the cross to take away our sin. That is the greatest work of God displayed in our lives.

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

Lent 3

“Is the Lord among us or not!” cried the children of Israel while they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They were hungry. They were thirsty. At least that had something when they were slaves in Egypt.

If God is with me why??? “It would be better if…”Sound familiar? especially when it seems things are not going your way.

St. Paul says “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

In the midst of your worldly sufferings, drink deeply of the stricken rock, Jesus Christ our Lord. In Him is the only true nourishment.

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

Lent 2

Born again. Right Jesus. You want me to get back into my mother’s belly and be born again. Wouldn’t that be silly? How could I even fit, I’m all grown up. As if being born once isn’t traumatic enough.

Jesus’ response to Nicodemus. “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

This being born again must be pretty important that Jesus would describe it and connect heaven to it! Water, Spirit, and heaven collide in Baptism. Out with the old birth, in with the new. The sinful child from conception is gone. The new man given birth in water and the Spirit, whether your 1 day or 100 years. With the new man comes heaven given to you. Thank you Jesus.

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

Lent 1

“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. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Ash Wednesday

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, I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.

Transfiguration of Our Lord

One more happy time. One more glimpse of glory. One more precious moment to make a memory last forever. These are things that people wish for when they are in the midst of sorrow and suffering. One last hurrah.

In the church calendar we get one more high point before going into the somber season of Lent. We see Jesus standing on a mountain with his clothes as white as light hearing a booming voice from the Father, “This is my beloved Son, with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”

Why the glimpse of glory before the slew of sadness? So that we, who live most of our lives in the valley may know that we can listen to the Word of God and trust that He ascended the mountain of the cross for you and me.

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

Epiphany 3 Seeds of Faith

It can be one of the most heated battles in childhood games. To be the first to get that checker all the way across the table and get to cry out…. “King Me!” Your kingdom is at hand.

In Matthew 4:17 Jesus says, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This isn’t some childhood game of checkers where Jesus marched across a table and claimed an earthly crown.

Although the world was seeing some earthly consequences to the kingdom of God being at hand in Jesus. The deaf hear, the lepers cleansed, the blind see.

This is just a small glimpse at the true Kingdom of God. Jesus did march, not across a table but up a tree, to die to take away all sin. By doing so He opened up the eternal Kingdom of God to all believers where there is no more sickness and death.

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

2nd Sunday after Epiphany Seeds of Faith

During the Civil War a company of Confederate irregulars known as the Bushwackers were arrested by Union soldiers. Because they were not in uniform, they were not recognized as prisoners of war but were sentenced to be shot. A courageous boy in the Union Army touched his commanding officers arm and pleaded, “I know one of the condemned men. He has a large family who needs him badly. Please let me take his place. My parents are dead and I have few friends. No one will miss me. Let me take his punishment.” Hesitant, the officer finally consented. His marker reads: “Sacred to the memory of Willy Lear. He took my place.”

Behold the Lamb of God, Jesus, who takes our punishment of eternal death onto himself so that we no longer must face the wrath of God, but rather have his good pleasure. He took my place.

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

The Baptism of Our Lord Seeds of Faith

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Which one? The one standing in the muck of the Jordan River? The one who had water wash over his head by God’s servant, John? The one who the Spirit descended on in the form of a dove? Yes this one! The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are present there to attest to it!

Well, that’s nice Jesus, just go and dry off now and let us ponder more important things.

Woah! Put on the brakes for a moment. Let us not hurry too quickly past this seemingly small event in Jesus’ life. If the Father is well pleased with His Son, that means he is pleased with all those who are baptized into Jesus. You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.

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

Epiphany Seeds of Faith

On Sunday was the celebration of Epiphany*, that is, the coming of the Wise Men to see the infant Jesus. It was made clear to them that God had indeed brought about everything He had prophesied would take place. The Wise Men were shown the King of the World wrapped in diapers. God told it. They saw it with their eyes and their eyes of faith. It is certain.

We call these men wise, not because they had any greater knowledge than anyone else but rather because they knew to listen to God’s direction to see Jesus. Oh to be wise like the Wise Men who followed the light of the star.

We don’t need astronomical skills to be wise like the Wise Men. Simply put, open God’s Holy unerring Word. It’s light will always point you to your Savior, Jesus.

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

*To make clear or certain by showing or displaying

New Year's Seeds of Faith

Happy New Year!

So when will the resolutions start? After all the Christmas cookies are out of the cookie jar? Or maybe when all the family goes home? Or is your response… “what resolutions?”

The New Year has been a popular time to try and change our own lives. Resolutions come and go and few actually become permanent

So in this time of out with the old and in with the new, it might be a good time to ponder a change that is good and does happen without any effort on our part. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”

Being a forgiven child of God is a great way to begin the new year!

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

Christmas Seeds of Faith

Bells are ringing, gifts are being given, family and friends are celebrating, songs are being sung. It is a joyous occasion.

Really, it is, despite whatever disagreements you’ve had over what to get the kids or who’s family to spend more time with.

What? You still don’t believe me? I’m sorry to hear that. I guess you’ll have to try harder next year.

Don’t want to wait until next year? Tired of the Christmas frustrations? Then stop what you are doing for a moment and hear God’s Word on the topic. “The Virgin will bear a Son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

That infant in diapers in the manger is God himself. He is bigger than any disagreements you will have this Christmas, for He has taken away the world’s sin.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

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

Seeds of Faith

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on an uninhabited island. He prayed daily for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for an answer to his prayer, but nothing appeared. Eventually he managed to build a shelter from driftwood for his few things. One day after scavenging for food, he returned to find his hut in flames with smoke filling the sky. He stared in grief and anger. Everything was lost. He cried out to God, “How could you do this to me?” Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of an approaching ship. “How did you know where I was?” “We saw your smoke signal,” the rescuers replied.

In the midst of pain and suffering, is our Savior, Jesus. He never promised life would be easy, just that He would rescue you even in the midst of the pains of this life.

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

Seeds of Faith November 27, 29

The end is near! Will it be chaotic? Dark? What will bring it to an end? You say I need a Savior now. What good will this Jesus do for me? After all, He just started some religion of good teachings 2000 years ago. How will that help me now at the end?

If all that were true, then you would be right. But this is Jesus our Savior… from Colossians 3

“For by [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth… all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together…. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things… making peace by the blood of his cross.”

That makes a world of difference at the end.

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

Seeds of Faith, Thanksgiving

Stop! Before you carve that turkey. Put that fork down! Fold your hands and bow your heads. On this day of National Thanksgiving it is easy to be thankful for the food on the plate and the family that is there to share it with you. But before you say grace and move on, hear God’s Word through Paul to Timothy:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people… This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.”

Yes that is right, all people. Those government officials that you want to vote out of office. That schoolyard bully. Our nations’ enemies. Pray for them. This is good and pleasing to our Savior Jesus for He gave His life for them as well. Give thanks for that good and perfect gift!

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

Seeds of Faith Nov 15 &20

The temperature is getting colder. The leaves are falling. Harvest is done or almost done. Wars and worldly strife. Broken families. Wildfires, earthquakes, and hurricanes that tear the world apart and take life.

What do all of these things have in common? They tell us a change is about to take place. Unfortunately the change isn’t as tame as fall turning into winter. But it is just as obvious. When we see all the pain, suffering, and death, Jesus says then we know that the Kingdom of God is near.

But for those who are in Christ, they need not fear all of the calamity. Jesus says, “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” His words of promise and salvation are for all who trust in Him. When you are in Him, eternity is yours.

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