Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church - Chickasha, OK

06/15/2024

SorryI have been absent from this page for awhile, but I promise I am back. I am often amazed as a I begin to research and write a homily (sermon) at how God interjects his own words into what I am typing out. Lessons today were: Ez 17:22-23, Ps 92: 1-4,12-15, 2Cor: 5-6:10-10-17, Mark 4:26-34.

It’s a good thing to give thanks to the Lord!

Yes it is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord. In my ministry I hear so many stories of deep sadness. Out of that sadness often comes deep guilt or deep anger sadness part often expresses awareness of loss and the idea that they are no longer worthy of God love and forgiveness. The anger more often than not come from what seems to be unanswered prayers. Lately an inmate who has worked hard at getting himself “right with God” talked of his deep sorrow that he had put all this effort into faith and he was refused a commutation hearing. He had done all this faith stuff to prove he was worthy of it and had prayed hard for it to happen, and nothing had happened. I had not seen him for a month and had worried a bit about him and prayed for him. He was there at our service last Thursday, he still seemed a bit subdued but in a little better mental place.
Sometimes it is very had when we separately prayer for something and it doesn’t seem to be answered as if God is too busy to listen to us, or maybe just no longer wants to deal with us. It is best to remember that last part of our Ezekiel lesson: The Lord has spoken, I will accomplish it. HE does, in his way not our way.

Paul reminds us of the truth of this since we generally regard events in our lives from out human view, things often get out of focus. Words that come to mind are: revenge, hatred, unforgiveness, selfishness, judgment, separation, bias, to name just a few. If we are going to live up to our place in God’s family, we need to work on moving into God’s point of view. An inmate told us a story about being in a residential faith program where they met with mentors weekly. As he was entering the gather he spoke to a mentor he had met before he went on to meet with his group. As they were speaking two men were basically had the persona of “hicks”. They said hi and kept going. The lady then said, out loud, “I hate them.
Sometimes we forget that reminder from Christ that we must love everyone, even our enemies if we are going to live into our faith.

Jesus tries to explain just what the kingdom of God is like. In the time of this parable, there was no good way to know how a dead look se ed could grow into a productive plant. Today we understand this better, but if we let it, it can still be that same awe, just knowing that the earth will replenish itself with our without our help., it is God that makes the earth flourish, not out way. Even as a “science geek, I am I awe of how the universe, how the earth, and how life work. From the largest scale to the smallest, it all works according to God’s plan and not to our planned interference. God made the seeds, he hands them to us to offer to another,There are such a variety of seeds and needs, that we can offer, some will surely grow under another’s care because they needed that seed to grow in their lives.

Go from here, today and offer even one seed to another. If you think you can’t grow things, there are seeds of miracles!

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05/06/2024

What is and where is Church?

When the woman at the well asked Jesus where she should worship; at Jacob’s well or in Jerusalem. Jesus answered her by saying that she would worship the father in spirit and truth as God is spirit”.

As we look around today we can see hundreds of churches, so at which one do we worship? It is confusing. I cannot tell you what this scripture says to me and that it should mean the same to you. For we come into the scriptures through our own life experiences which for most of us those experiences are added to and subtracted from, changing constantly. I would be betraying the God spirit within you if I insisted you see this scripture through my eyes, or anyone else’s eyes. I would encourage you to use your own life and eyes.

But what does this mean, through my life experiences. I can worship when I am meditating, I can encounter the Holy Spirit in these quiet moments. Is this worship? A physical setting can spur me into standing in awe of some aspect of God’s creation. Times such as seeing a rainbow span the Grand Canyon or hiking to the bottom and seeing Earth’s history lessons exposed in the rock layers encountered. I experienced God majesty and power on a mountaintop in Colorado as a storm developed and we were wrapped up by the cloud and the air became electric as the lightening began to form around us. The Holy Spirit came to me while I was just sitting out in a large open range region. I encountered the Holy Spirit in a vision several times as God guided my life into what was expected in me if I was obedient to the message. I have found the holy present in a prison gym during an spiritual retreat program we were presenting over the course over several days.

I mention these to show that “church” occurs in many opportunities and can be as simple as chance encounters that occur during your faith journey. Have you held the door open for stranger, smiled as you walked past someone, held a simple conversation while standing in line. These are holy moments that offer a glimpse of church to another. We practice “church” throughout our lives even if we are not aware of them. It is good tp be a [art of a church congregation and work together with others, but it is also good to live out your faith by becoming and being a part of God’s family outside that faith community. The woman at the well did just that when she “ran and told”.

03/25/2024

Holy Week into Easter
S Jesus begins his final week; he is confronted with the reality of what lies ahead for him. He moves a few days of seclusion with his disciples to actions in Jerusalem that will seal his fate. He even asks the heavenly Father to save him, if it is with the Father’s will, but is willing to accept it. By Thursday (our calendar)he comes to the final act of betrayal, beatings, and finally crucifixion. It is a gruesome time by Roman rule; the beatings are vicious sometimes resulting in flaying the skin and even exposing bones and inner portions of the body. Stripping a Jew n**e in public is subjecting him to public shame. Crucifixion and its methods cause the cavity around the heart and lungs to fill with fluid gradually cutting off life. So Maundy Thursday the church recognizes how fast life can change. We move from dinner with celebrating communion with bread and wine. Some practice foot washing and others hand washing. The altar and apse are stripped; lights and candles are extinguished and leave the church in darkness. Some sign up to “sit with Jesus for an hour) from the end of the service until the Good Friday service occurs. These services often follow the Stations of the Cross. The atmosphere is very somber. Holy Saturday is very uneventful as Jesus lies in the tomb. At Sunrise on Sunday, the hallelujahs return and candles are lit, flowers fill the church, and a joyfulness return. Jesus the Christ has defied our weak earthy ideas of power and lives within us to this day.

03/13/2024

Thoughts this Lent:
I often wonder about when we look at, or interact with someone and we deem then unworthy to be one of God’s beloved children. That person is homeless and begging, that person is ugly in spirit and appearance, that person says bad things, that person is a criminal and/or had been in prison, that person is an addict. The list goes on and on and we judge.
However, who am I to place myself in God’s throne and judge another? This brings to mind the thief on the cross. There were no formal rites, no baptism, no confirmation classes or ceremony, no welcoming applause for him. He just asked to be in eternity with Jesus, and that night he was. As Christians and church members we seem to have built up many steps to get to God’s favor and set aside those who do not follow our path. Maybe it’s time to look at what God asks us to do: carry the seed of faith, offer them freely to those we meet in the world who seem to not know how much God’s love exists for them. They must take those seeds and with God’s help plant them and grow them. The secret is to carry those seeds and make them available to another. It is not our job to plant them, our help can come after the seeds ara accepted, when a asked for help.
Maybe our lesson this Lent is to gather God’s seeds and spread them around to those who seem to have no faith gardens!

03/07/2024

Good Hello 🔵 It’s official. Signed at 21:44. It was even on TV. Mine really turned blue. Don't forget that tomorrow starts the new Facebook rule (aka... new name, META) where they can use your photos. Don't forget the deadline is today!!!
I do not authorize META, Facebook or any entity associated with Facebook to use my photos, information, messages or posts, past or future.
With this statement, I notify Facebook that
it is strictly prohibited to disclose, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. Violation of privacy may be punishable by law.
Here's how to do it:
Hold your finger anywhere in this message and “copy” will appear. Click “copy”. Then go to your page, create a new post and place your finger anywhere in the empty field. “Paste” will appear and click Paste.
This will bypass the system….
He who does nothing consents.!

02/28/2024

A new month, already. This third week of Lent brings us to green of GOD's rainbow color scheme. As it is moving us to spring, why not grow more into our faith. I encourage you to look for the places that the LIGHT of Christ it's shining out by others who are living out their faith openly. We might call these acts good deeds and that's okay as long as we recognize the work of Christ's love flowing through us and out into the world. Keep your eyes open, write down what you see (probably on Facebook, and thank God for the LIGHT!

02/21/2024

A WEEKLY LENTEN STUDY
God’s promises rest in the rainbow, his promise to keep us safe, take this journey through Lent with his rainbow!
The 4 Days of Ashes (Feb. 14)
Black is the absence of color-this week, it is the time to absorb the flavor of Lent, to consider what you need to do to increase your faith.
Lent 1 (Feb. 26)
We start out slowly, so we need a lot of energy to get into a Lenten discipline. Purple is a high energy color, which makes Reconciliation a prime starting point. Forgiving is always a difficult process.
Lent 2 (Mar. 4)
In ancient times blue was the color of protection. This week remember that Christ protects us through our passage through life. Think on those times and how you reflect this protection to others around you.
Lent 3 (Feb. 26)
Green is the color for growth. Lent is a great time for renewal, to grow your faith and let your Christ light shine brightly out into the world, encourage the Christ light in others.

Lent 4 (Mar. 4)
The physical sustainer of life on earth is the sun. We clothe God and Christ in gold to honor their royal presence in our lives. It is time to ask yourself if the yellow life light is burning within you and how are you keeping it from being a beacon to the world.
Lent 5 (Mar. Mar. 11)
Have you ever thought of orange as a rainbow or liturgical color? Well it is, the beautiful oranges of sunrise and sunset should remembering us of times in our lives that were beginnings and those that were endings and where God has been in those times.
Lent 6 – Palm Sunday (Mar. 18)
Red is a lower energy color, before we start the hectic Easter activities, maybe it is time to rest and reflect on how our hopefully new attitudes toward following Christ will be put into practice.
EASTER SUNDAY (Mar.31 )
The reflection of all the colors results in white light. It is now time tom shine out with all the colors of God’s rainbow promise. If we leave off a color or two, our faith life will not be balanced. In lent we absorbed God’s gift of the rainbow, now it is time to reflect the whole rainbow of our colors tom the world!

02/16/2024

STEPS TO IMPROVE CHURCH ATTENDANCE
1. Doe we have a website? Does it include: our church name (mentioned often), service times, location, what to expect, various ministries, contact information, who we are and our Lutheran identity information.

2. A presence on social media: church mission and how we live it out, encouraging scripture, dialogue with followers, service projects and events that support the community. Have a team to help with social media.

3. Church hospitality: begins in the parking lot, maybe have a few spaces marked for visitors; a welcoming team or person in the form of greeters at the door offering a smile and es**rt them to where they need to go, offer to help them maneuver through the service, good directional signage, where the kids can go, always offer to accompany them.

4. How to make guests comfortable: have everyday type conversations, briefly explain your service (maybe have them sit with a church member), post service contact information, explain the attendance slips available or another method, remember every Sunday can be someone’s first Sunday.

5. Personal follow-up without threatening personal space: Text a thank you for coming at the end of the service, short hand-written note and/or a simple gift quickly sent signed by the pastor or staff member, an e-mail sent out on Monday (it will arrive before the note or gift), after 30 days if they have not returned then invite them back again, if they come back then send them another card and invite them too an introduction step

6. Introduce them to your church: create a space to share your church’s mission, vision, and values, listen to their lives and expectation.

7. Develop a path to discipleship but not programs: Faith is a journey help others discover their path through next steps, too many options discourage new members, start with worship then move on to connecting with groups, serve, outreach, use personal and intentional invitation, invitation classes invite people to find small groups.

02/16/2024

Contrary to popular usage, the rain bow is God's sign of promise for his purposes, not our additions. So, let's begin the Lenten season with what those colors of the rainbow might stand for.

The week of Ash Wednesday: We begin with the imposition of ashes to remind us that as sinners, we need tome to sit with God an reflect on what we have failed to be and do in our faith. Black begins our Lenten journey. Take time to chart your course for you Lenten disciplines.

02/14/2024

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of 50 days of Lent. As Lent begins on Valentines Day, I was inspired to think of how to be more loving, taking on more positive attitudes toward others rather than fasting from food. Make peace with someone you are at odds with, visit with someone who is mostly alone, help someone who is struggling...Got the idea yet? Go forth with the kind of love God has given to us and pass it along to those you encounter.

01/13/2024

The lesson for Sunday January 14 is about God calling. He called Samuel when Samuel was just a child and Samuel responded. Scripture is full of God calling and an individual answering. The gospel is about Jesus calling his disciples, calling them by name. Now you don't have to answer, or your answer can be "No".
So why might one say no? You might feel too inadequate, you might not want to do that, it might not fit what you think a "God call" should look like. Sometimes our lives and the world around us to too busy and noisy that you just can't hear the call.

Has God called you to do a ministry, did you hear it, or ignore it? Maybe it's time to stop and listen and hear what God is asking of you and then to say "here I am Lord, send me!" Maybe you can add and help me do this!

01/08/2024

Just imagine: Saturday, January 6 was Pentecost was the day God opened up his gift to the whole world and Sunday was the baptism of Jesus (30 years later). What a fun weekend to celebrate God's wonderful gift of his presence among us and his living example of the best way to live!