How are YOU Responding to Jesus' Holy Week Love and Victory?

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Last week in writing about Easter I intentionally neglected to mention a very important event that occurred at St. John on April 13.  On Palm Sunday 2014, twelve Confirmation students shared their faith in Jesus and their plans to live for Him.  Yes, the students wrote essays because they were expected to do so.  But, these students had experienced as much as 3 years of learning about God’s love for them in Jesus, and learning about God’s call to live as His children.  These essays were written willingly and personally.  As in other years, there were tears in many eyes as these young people responded to the grace and mercy God has given them in Jesus. 

 

So, how about you?  We have just celebrated the undeserved sacrificial love of God in the Good Friday death of Jesus, and in worship surrounding this gift.  We have just rejoiced in Jesus’ Easter victory over Satan and sin and death.  We celebrated the victory Jesus won when He rose from the dead.  How are you responding to this divine miracle of love?

 

Let me share with you another story that brought tears to my eyes.  On Good Friday Kathy and I were in worship at St. John.  Our youth wrote and led the service as they have for many years.  This year instead of sitting in our seats and meditating, people were also asked to participate and experience what Jesus’ crucifixion means to us individually.  So there were 5 stations which worshipers visited.  Two stations asked questions about our faith life and our struggle to believe.  These stations gave Bible verses to read.  These verses were then placed on two of 5 points on the cross.  Another station asked what our greatest personal failure or sin was.  People wrote a response and this was placed on the cross.  But one station simply said, “Christ died for your sins.”  We wrote our names on a piece of paper and placed our names on the cross.

 

Kathy and I expected our daughter, Mary, to join us for Good Friday worship.  But Mary was baby-sitting for our son Josh and his wife Erin’s children.  Taking care of 4 children aged 6 and under can be a daunting task, even for a loving aunt.  So Mary and the kids were late, really late!  Actually, they got to the service about 10 or 15 minutes before it ended.

 

When Mary and the children arrived they moved around in the seats and said “Hi” to everyone, making some noise in a service of silence. Then Emma pushed a piece of paper into my hand.  I later learned that while Mary was getting the kids ready to leave for church she had a conversation with them about what Good Friday is, and what Jesus did.  The older children were moved by what Mary said and they wanted to write letters to God!  I unfolded Emma’s piece of paper and it said in her handwriting, “I love God.  Emma”.  I asked Emma if she wanted to put her name on the cross.  So we went forward again and stuck her letter to God on the cross.  We placed it where people put their names in response to the words, “Christ died for your sins.” 

 

When I returned to my seat Jake then gave me a folded piece of paper.  His letter said, “I love Jesus.  Jacob”.  I asked Jake if he wanted to put his letter on the cross too.  Henry also wanted to go forward.  So in the middle of the songs Jake and Henry and I went up and stuck this letter to the cross.

 

So, how are you responding to Jesus’ loving sacrifice and His victorious resurrection?  It brings tears to my eyes to say that my grandchildren responded to God’s love with love letters of their own.  I pray we all have such child-like faith.

 

Congratulations and God’s richest blessing to Kyle Anderson, Kamerin Ewart, Grace Miller, Tess McDowell, Dalton Peltier, Micah Richards, Sidney Richards, Forrest Rose, Jenna Sutton, Travis Tardiff, Jason Watkins, and Rebekah Watkins, who professed their faith in Jesus as their Savior on Confirmation Day 2014.  May God continue to bless each of you to grow in faith and love, because Jesus died for you and rose again.

 

 

A Child of God, Thankful to be able to respond to God’s Amazing Love,

Pastor Jonathan

 

 

P.S.  Here are some pictures from Confirmation Day, 2014.  These pictures have been on our church Facebook page for a while.  Please “Like” St. John on Facebook. https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6001932051329168145?banner=pwa

 

P.P.S.  THANK YOU Jamie and St. John youth for the meaningful Good Friday Worship service.

 

P.P.P.S  Here are some pictures from my last ice fishing day of 2014.  I was leading a church meeting in Funny River, so these pictures were taken from Sport Lake in Soldotna.  https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6006294507410343889?banner=pwa

 

 

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

 

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"He is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!!"

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Recently in worship we were asked by one of our members to pray for one of their friends.  This friend has been diagnosed by a physician to be terminal with cancer.  The way I was told the situation, the question is no longer whether this friend will pass away, but when.  That’s a sobering diagnosis.  Now, I’ve seen doctors make a mistake, but not usually.  We are blessed with good and skilled and faithful medical professionals in our area and I’ve always received good treatment.  It seems this friend is facing a sobering reality.

 

The truth is that all of us are terminal.  Unless Jesus comes again before our death, all of us will die.  Death is the result of sin in our world, our sin and the sin of everyone else.  All have broken God’s laws and hurt others. Life as we know it will end for all of us. 

 

Facing the sobering realities of life can be overwhelming.  There are some trials that we cannot overcome.  One of those sobering realities is death.  But, death is not the only reality we cannot overcome on our own.  I saw a news article recently in which a person was quoted to say, “You can’t fight city hall.”  Sometimes it seems there is nothing we can do.  I know people, especially in other parts of the country, who have been frustrated by the recent economic downturns.  For some, addictions seem impossible to overcome.  What do we do when life’s problems and realities seem bigger than we are???

 

Before His death, Jesus faced the death of his friend Lazarus.  When talking to Lazarus’ sister, Martha, Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. " (John 11:25-26)

 

Jesus died because of our sin.  But, Jesus, the Son of God, rose from the dead.  Jesus did what we can’t do.  He overcame sin and death.  In the  account above Jesus is telling Martha, and telling us, that everyone who believes in Him as Savior will live forever in heaven . . . after death. 

 

Jesus shows that because of His Easter victory we can face even the most impossible and unchangeable situations.  Cancer and death may be realities we cannot overcome on our own.  But the greater reality is the forgiving love and the Easter victory of Jesus.  With Jesus we overcome death and have eternal life in heaven.  With Jesus we can face the stark, seemingly unchangeable, seemingly impossible trials of life with the one who rose again by our side.

 

The early Christian church started worshiping on Sundays to celebrate Jesus’ Easter victory.  It’s that important!  I encourage you to make a point to celebrate Jesus’ Easter victory this Sunday.  In fact, I encourage you to celebrate Easter every Sunday.  “He is risen!”  “He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!”

 

 

A Child of God, Facing Life with Jesus’ Easter Victory,

Pastor Jonathan

 

 

P.S.  Please note the Holy Week activities and worship services listed below.

 

P.P.S.  A couple of years ago St. John member, Bill Weith, shared this music video on You Tube with me.  This song, sung by the English boys choir, Libera, is called, “Going Home,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2aLSat3h0w  This is a great Easter message.  By the way, please ignore the advertisement.

 

 

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

 

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The MOST IMPORTANT Day

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

What is the most important event that has happened in your life??  Would you answer, “The day I was married.”?  Would you say the most important day of your life was, “The day our child was born”?  Or, perhaps you see the day you graduated, or the day you were hired for a really good job as the most important day in your life.

 

However, as Holy week begins with Palm Sunday on April 13 this year, and ends with Easter on April 20, let me ask you to think about another day which is important for your life now and eternally.  Around the year 30 or 31 or 32 A.D., on the Friday of Passover week in Jerusalem, Jesus died a death of torture on a cross.  Crucifixions were not uncommon in the Roman world.  It was such a painful death that the Romans saved this execution for the worst criminals.  Romans citizens, by law, could not be executed in this manner.  But, the Creator of the Universe, The Son of God Himself, Jesus, the promised Messiah, went to Jerusalem to the Passover knowing that He would die by crucifixion.

 

Sometimes people ask me when I was saved.  I know they want to know when I came to faith.  But, my best answer is that I was saved from sin and death and hell in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago when my Savior died for me.  I firmly believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection are the most important events in history for my life.

 

Considering my struggle with sin, it is life changing to know that Jesus loved me enough to die for me.  I am regularly amazed and saddened at how easily I can fail my Lord.  It seems I can rebel against God or hurt others without even trying.  My sin, and everyone’s sin, separates from God and from others. 

 

However, thankfully, God knew our failure and our need, and Jesus knowingly faced this horrible death to pay for our sin.  So, while we struggle with our sin, Jesus died to pay the debt we owe.  While we all face death, Jesus died so we don’t have to die eternally.  Jesus’ death lets me live in the peace of His forgiveness in this life and in the sure hope of everlasting life in heaven.

 

Often our failure and sin causes us to wonder if we are worthy of being loved.  “Look what I did this time!”  But, God shows us how loved we are.  He didn’t just forgive our sins, but the Lord of All sent His son!  Personally, I might face danger for someone I love, but I would not ask my children to do that.  God the Father sent His Son, Jesus.  And Jesus loved us so much He suffered torture and rejection and death by crucifixion.

 

Romans 5:8 says it well, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

You may notice that in speaking of the approximate year of Jesus’ death I used the traditional form of noting the year.  I used “A.D.”, anno domini, “the year of our Lord.”  I believe the early western calendar makers, who were admittedly Christian, got it right when they based all time around the pivotal event in history, the life and death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 

Each of us may look back on our lives and think of important days.  It seems to me personally, that my wedding day, the day my marriage began, has brought the greatest number of obvious blessings to my life.  My wife and family are such a blessing!  But, I know that even my marriage pales in comparison to what Jesus accomplished when He died for me.  When He died, Jesus gave God’s love in a way that blesses us daily, and blesses us eternally.  Thank you, Lord!

 

A Child of God, Living a changed life because Jesus died for me,

Pastor Jonathan

 

 

P.S.  If you are a “Facebook” used, please consider “liking” St. John on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/stjohnpalmer

 

P.P.S.  A couple of weeks ago I wrote about meeting a man while ice fishing.  We shared some stories and faith and that first meeting was a blessing.  We got together to fish a little and talk some more this past Monday.  He took these pictures.  Isn’t this a beautiful rainbow trout?  https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6001191828085300513?banner=pwa

 

 

 

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

 

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God Knows us and He Cares!

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

My wife, Kathy, has some new favorite jokes.  I know these are favorite jokes of hers because I have heard them more than once over the last year or two.  So, when I sit in the passenger seat of my vehicle and Kathy drives, she often points at the light on the dash and says, “Look, the passenger air bag is on.”  Hmmm.  Airbag.  I understand.

 

But, the joke I have recently heard more often has to do with our cuckoo clock.  When the clock marks the beginning of another hour and the bird cries “cuckoo,” I have now heard Kathy say to me many times, “Listen, the clock is calling your name.  Cuckoo!”  OK.

 

You might call such banter ‘kidding.’  Maybe it is.  But, such jokes or kidding also express in a loving way, “I know you’re there.”  There is a warmth in knowing that people recognize our presence.  We receive a gift when people joke with us in order to say, “I know you are there.” I also understand Kathy’s kidding and jokes to be saying to me, “I not only know you are there, but I care about you.”

 

Life is meant to be lived with others, in community.  Americans, and perhaps especially Alaskans, might think we can face life on our own.  But such thoughts of self-reliance and independence are really deception.  We need others for counsel and feedback, for guidance, and for correction.  Perhaps most of all we need the presence of others in our lives for companionship and for love.  Deep down we know we need others.  In truth everyone needs to be loved.  We all need to have someone say, “I know you are there, and I care about you.”

 

Jesus gives us assurance of God’s daily presence in our lives.  Jesus assures us that God knows who we are and what we face in our lives.  In Matthew 10 Jesus says, 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  (Matthew 10:29-30)  In other words, God our Father knows what is happening in the life of every creature.  Our Father cares for the birds and animals.  God takes even more care in the lives of every human being.  So, God knows you are there.  God cares about you.  When you face troubles God tells you, “not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”  

 

During Lent we especially remember that God knows the trials we face.  The greatest trial we face is our own failing, our own selfishness, our sin.  So God sent His Son.  God’s Son was tortured and executed as a common criminal.  Jesus, the Son of God, was abandoned for a time and suffered the pains of hell so that, as we believe in Him, we not only have God’s loving presence now but also eternally in heaven.  If we are with God eternally, then He knows what we face today.  He knows we are here, and He cares.

 

As an aside, I wonder if these words of assurance from Jesus were also a joke, or were a form of kidding.  Jesus says, 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  I’m pretty bald these days.  There were probably those listening to Jesus who shared my challenge.  Yes, I have fewer hairs than in days and years past.  But, then we have the words of Jesus.  God doesn’t just know how many hairs I have.  Each of my few remaining hairs are numbered.  God knows which hair is number 1, and which hair is number 10,302.  God knows more about us than we know about ourselves.  Maybe this verse is Jesus kidding with us to tell us, “Yes, I know you are there.  Yes, I care.”

 

As we face the challenges of everyday, please know that in the smallest details of life God knows what we face.  God knows we are here.  God cares about us and has sent His Son to prove it. 

 

A Child of God, Thankful for God’s Daily Presence and Love,

Pastor Jonathan

 

 

P.S.  Here are a couple of pictures from our Marriage retreat last weekend, https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/5998607302900330337?banner=pwa

 

P.P. S.  Here is a picture of last week’s ice fishing catch.  https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/5998608599824245313?banner=pwa

 

 

 

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their e-mail address.

 

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