St. Luke's Blogs

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

I enjoy Wednesday Night Alive with my family. Each Wednesday night, before we head to our respective classes, we have a wonderful dinner together. We love the great food and we have so much fun with our friends. When dinner is over, two of my daughters go to the youth group for worship and small groups. My youngest daughter, Molly Anne, enjoys her time with the children’s ministry. Last week, I was walking Molly Anne to her class when I experienced a wonderful moment of kindness.  As we were walking to class, we both still had our drinks from dinner in our hand. Molly Anne did not want to take her drink to the children’s area…

In a cross country race, doing one’s “best” is often defined by the time it takes to finish the run. However, for Brandon Schutt, a high school student running to qualify for the state meet in Nebraska, “best” was defined by his willingness to help an injured competitor. During the race, Blake Cerveny, a student from another school, was running his hardest to qualify as well. Unfortunately, Blake’s leg would cramp, and he fell 400 meters from the finish line. Blake would try to get back up and keep running, but he soon fell again. Blake made every effort to get up and run, but he would eventually collapse to the ground in pain.

Not too long ago, Bob Long did a sermon series on popular songs that have enriched our lives.  I specifically remember the message in which he focused on James Taylor’s song, “You’ve Got a Friend” from the album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon.  That was one of my favorite songs from 50 years ago.  The song was written by Carole King and both her and her good friend, James Taylor, recorded the song within days of each other and many of the same musicians such as Joni Mitchell performed on each version.  James released the song in the spring of ‘71 and it went to number one on the charts.  Every time I turned on the AM radio that song was playing.  James said Carole King told him she wrote the song as a response to a line in an earlier song by Taylor entitled, Fire and Rain.  The line James sang was, “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.”

The Apostle Paul is responsible for most of the books that make up the New Testament. Throughout these 11 books, Paul articulates his deep understanding of the Christian faith. These writings give the church much of our theological and practical foundation. Paul takes on topics such as the meaning of the law, salvation, death, the sacraments, grace and so many more. His teachings influenced the church then and now.

Perhaps one of the most significant lessons Paul teaches, in his great works, is the lesson of gratitude.

Charles Wesley had many gifts, but perhaps his greatest gift was his ability to poetically write words that so wonderfully share the story of faith. In his lifetime, Charles Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns and poems, many of which are still sung in worship today. He wrote powerful songs like, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.” These songs have helped the faithful worship for almost 300 years. The meaningful lyrics help us put words to our experience of God. These songs help us lift our prayers of gratitude and hope before our God.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23 Archbishop […]