Saint Matthew's

Here is something new that you can do to help Saint Matthew’s: we have signed up with the Internet search engine “Good Search” that donates a portion of each search to our church. For example, for each valid search, Saint Matthew’s receives one center. OK, that doesn’t sound like a lot, but if we help spread the word to friends, family, and others that even by using the Internet they can help our collective ministry here at Saint Matthew’s.

The money collected won’t break the bank. But any little bit helps!

How can you help? Use Good Search (www.goodsearch.com) as your primary search engine. Whenever you need to search for something on the Internet, go to GoodSearch.com. On their homepage near the bottom, you have a place to enter a name — put in Saint Matthew’s and click “Verify.” Saint Matthew’s will pop up in the window. Highlight it. Put your search topic in the line above and click. Your search helps our church!!

Or you can just click on the Good Search banner on the right side of this page.

I was asked by a non-parishioner what, as a pastor, I actually read. So here is my current list of books that I am reading:

1. Patricia Cornwall – “Trace” (first time read)
2. Rev. Dr. David Scaer – “Sermon on the Mount” (re-read)
3. Dr. Scott Hahn – “The Lamb’s Supper” (re-read)
4. F. Bente – “Historical Introductions to the Book of Concord” (re-read)

Yes, that list is what I am reading now. Numbers 2 through 4 are theological in nature. And the Patricia Cornwall book, well, she is one of my favorite fiction writers, along with Edna Buchanan. “Trace” is a book I wanted to buy for a while, but when I joined the Mystery Book Guild, I thought that was a great time to get it.

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my ordination. Thinking back to last year, I remember a couple of things: one, I was downright scared, and two, I can’t remember much of the service. OK, yes I can remember the sermon (Pastor Jim Douthwaite of Saint Athanasius in Vienna, Virginia did the preaching) and the people who did the “ordaining” (my vicarage supervisor, Pastor Harry Schenkel, and Pastor Tom Green). I think I mean that the day flew by so fast, I couldn’t just take it all in; it took a while for me to understand what June 25, 2005 meant to who I had become.

Well, yesterday my congregation remembered this day: during our ‘indoor’ picnic (can’t have an outdoor picnic when it is raining outside), they presented me with a cake in honor of this anniversary. One of the nicest things to happen was my predecessor, Rev. Jack Wangerin, was here and said a rather touching prayer. For people who don’t really know me, I am very humble and warming up to being at the center of any type of celebration is hard for me. I would rather celebrate someone else’s good deed rather than something I had done. Yesterday the 25th was no different.

I would like to thank every member of Saint Matthew’s for all that they did to make yesterday a special time for me.

The weather is not cooperating: the cold front that has stalled over our area is causing heavy downpours (as I type this, it is raining ‘cats and dogs.’). It isn’t supposed to get any better until sometime next week.

So, that means our intended outside worship will not happen tomorrow. Instead, we will have worship down in Fellowship Hall.

HOWEVER, our congregational picnic will go on!! Yes, it will take place inside (unless there is a miracle) in Fellowship Hall. But the cooking will still happen outside.

Maybe later on in the summer or the autumn we could have an outdoor worship service?

John Jacob wants to be a Congressman from Utah. He is challenging incumbent Representative Chris Cannon. There is only problem: Jacob has faced problem after problem, including a little business trouble that is preventing him from spending as much money on the race as he wants to. Jacobs knows the reason why: the devil is stopping him. Yup, ol’ Satan himself is getting involved with the American political process to stop John Jacob’s run for Congress.

A couple of friends of mine flew into Newark on Monday and spent a couple of days here. Went into the city (read: Manhattan) on Tuesday and attended the live broadcast of “DaySide” on Fox News Channel. Interesting to see how they put together a live broadcast. It was great to see both of them after a year (we graduated seminary together). My friend from North Dakota spent Wednesday night at our bible class. My friend from Indiana had to leave on Wednesday afternoon (had a district convention to attend). This mornng at 3A I drove my final time this week to Newark Airport when my North Dakota friend hopped on the United Airlines flight and headed home. And yes, as I type this before going upstairs for lunch, I am wiped. But work must go on…

There is no way to describe this as anything by wrong.

The Presbyterian Church is attempting to make the Trinity inclusive by completely rejecting the Trinity. What do I mean? By claiming God the Father is actually God the Mother and God the Son is actually God the child of the Mother and that the Holy Spirit is the Womb makes a mockery of the Holy Trinity.

The reality of why God the Father begat God the Son and the Holy Spirit proceeded from God the Father and God the Son is specific to what we believe. Just a couple of weeks ago, we confessed the Athanasian Creed that outlined who the Trinity is. And nowhere in that Creed was God the Father described as God the Mother.

Again, we have Protestants moving away from the comfort found in the Word of God to make people today feel good. God’s Word, when upheld in all its truth and purity, is the comforting Word where God’s love is shown through His actions. Why can’t other Christians just accept that as it is.

With the recent election of a new bishop to head the Episcopalian Church in America, she has made a public pronouncement that homosexuality is NOT a sin. How a member of the clergy — those whom were raised up to lead God’s children — make such a false statement is beyond anything I can comprehend.

All sex outside of marriage as ordained by God — one male, one female — is wrong. No matter who is involved in this sex-thing (same sex or male/female relationship), all sex outside of marriage is wrong. It is sin. Period.

You cannot claim that homosexual acts are NOT sin unless you reject the Word of God. Take some time today and read Leviticus 18 in the Old Testament. Read the specifics of what God tells his people is good and bad when it comes to sex.

Believe it or not, this really isn’t controversial if one takes God’s Word as it says.

So, anyone out there have a 15-year old daughter? What about a 12-year old son? Well, in the great state of Colorado, they can get married!!

A court has ruled that a 15-year old girl (now all of 18 years old) was legally in a common-law marriage when she began shacking up with the man who is now serving time in jail for an escape and parole violation. The so-called mom apparently consented. This “couple” tried to get a marriage license and to the wonder of it all, they couldn’t. Something about a 15-year old getting married…

But they lived together. Under Colorado law, she is legally married to this jail bird, a state court ruled. Apparently, Colorado law doesn’t specifically outlaw kids from being “legally” married via the common-law loophole.

Overall, Mom needs her head examined. This 18-year old needs a shrink. And this man…I can’t type what I am thinking.

The Colorado legislature needs someone to stand up and fix this travesty.

I received an email from a pastor friend asking me about the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was wondering if I was watching (yes) and wondered if I cared for either team (yes, on both accounts).

First, I am pulling for the Carolina Hurricanes (ugh, that was a painful OT loss last night!).

Second, I don’t hate either team, especially the Oilers (can never hate the team that traded Mark Messier to the Rangers).

And finally, third, no, I haven’t become a Devils’ fan now that I am in New Jersey. I am still the diehard Rangers fan (my blood is ‘blue-seat’ blue) that I have been for years.

Since starting this diet thing on June 4th, I have shunned brewed coffee. Since I was only drinking one cup (8 ounces), it didn’t make much sense to dirty up the coffee pot each morning. I pulled down a coffee pod and made the cup in my coffee pod coffee maker. The clean up is simple and I didn’t have to waste any coffee grounds.

Today, I felt like someone turned off my jets. Ugh! Tired doesn’t describe what I felt. OK, it could be that I haven’t had a restful night’s sleep in a few days (including last night). But I haven’t been this worn out in a very long time.

So, after Morning Prayer at 7:15A (everyone is invited to attend each Monday through Friday here at Saint Matthew’s) I came home a made real brewed coffee. I pulled out the Chock Full O’Nuts New York Roast down off the shelf and brewed up a couple cups. Ah!! I know their slogan is that they are the “heavenly coffee,” and they aren’t kidding. (For those wondering, I do not use cream; only a little Splenda).

Time for work!

I am tired of listening to people who cry out that the church isn’t fair if the church rejects sin. There is nothing fair about sin — it tears one away from their Creator and firmly plants them in the world of the now. For the church to openly OK sinning, then it isn’t really a church. It is more of a social club with rules regarding praying. Why? Because church is the bride of Christ, the One who died for sin. To decry the supposed “unfairness” of the church to accept modern ideals and allow open sin, that makes the church a harlot. Why would any church want to be an adultery and accept the sin that our Redeemer came and defeated just so everyone can play nice?

This issue came up, yet again, from our brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church in America, the church body that declared it is OK to ordain priests and consecrate bishops who are openly homosexual and in “committed” relationships. Apparently some in that church body aren’t too keen that their church has openly rejected the Word of God and they want to at least bring it back into some kind churchly norm. And it seems that the Episcopalian Church’s first and only openly gay bishop is stomping his feet.

“Most Episcopalians think that God’s gay and lesbian children are every bit as worthwhile as the rest of God’s children and they won’t be willing to sacrifice gays and lesbians on the altar of unity,” New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson told The Associated Press in an interview prior to the meeting, which began Tuesday.

The only thing the Episcopalian Church is doing is asking their dioceses to exercise extreme caution in who they choose as their leaders.

Sin is not something any church should condone. Period.

The only altar “Bishop” Robinson should be concerned about is the altar of the cross. But it appears he may have given that up a long time ago.

This doesn’t have anything much to do with religion, but I laughed as I read this: a robber is suing the auto-parts store he stole from …. because the workers there beat him up. I kid you not. A funny one to start your Wednesday.

As I was winding down from yesterday’s service, I got to thinking:

What is it that makes Christians different from every other religion? It is forgiveness. Lutherans focus more on the forgiveness of sins than any other Christian denomination and religion in this debased world. Forgiveness is what we plead for when we come to church, begging our God to not look upon us as the sinful, wretched creatures that we are and instead look upon us through Christ Jesus. “Grant us the forgiveness of our failures not for who we are or what we have done, but only because of our Lord Jesus dying and paying our debt.”

This is who we are as Lutherans. We focus on the forgiveness of our sins won for us at the cross of Calvary. We didn’t merit it. We deserve eternal punishment. But Christ won the day for us. His body was broken and His blood was shed for us. This is central to our faith.

That is why when we confess our sins, we should ponder all that we have done in the past week, to truly reflect on the sin that we committed, and to see our failures right before us. It makes those words of the confession we speak to stand out in our lives. With repentant hearts, we come before our God pleading for our sins to be forgiven. And when the sweetness of God’s absolution is spoken, that because of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice our sins have been washed away and forgiven, we are granted a new beginning.

It is an annual tradition here at Saint Matthew’s — Sunday is our Choral Eucharist festival where our church choir joins with the choir at Saint Paul’s in Closter here in New Milford.

I don’t remember how long this tradition is, but for me, it is my first.

This week our liturgy is taken from the upcoming Lutheran Service Book, Divine Service Four (essentially the Divine Service from the Hymnal Supplement ’98). It is an uplifting liturgy and focuses, as do all our liturgies from our hymnals, on the gifts of our gracious God. I am looking forward to being able to introduce this liturgy to Saint Matthew’s as something part of our regular rotation of liturgies.

My intention is to use the liturgies seasonally from our upcoming hymnal throughout the year to bring a deeper understanding of what encompasses the historic liturgies of the church. This will help all of us grow in our faith as we hear the Word, receive our Lord’s body and blood, and respond in song and prayer.

If you are in the New Milford, New Jersey area this Sunday morning around 10A, please join us.

And, one more thing, after our Choral Eucharist celebration, Saint Matthew’s and our Vision Team are holding a special breakfast that is open to all who attend our service. Come and worship our Lord, be nourished with His Word and body and blood, and then fill up on French toast and breakfast foods. (You’ve got to come for one reason: the dessert!!)