Helping Hands

What a beautiful day here in Cypress, Texas! The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the temperature couldn't be better--a cool 68 degrees for the high today.

This weekend we'll have another full schedule of activities at St. John, even as schools in the area kick off their spring break with the final bell this afternoon.

Tonight a few of us are going to the Casting Crowns concert at the Berry Center, and then tomorrow morning the men will meet for their weekly Bible Study/Sunday morning set-up. Juniors for Jesus and the Instrumentalists may be getting together for rehearsal in the morning as well.

Sunday is a great day to get up (especially after remembering to set your clocks ahead) and pray together at 7am, worship/attend Sunday School at 8, 9:30, and 11, and then have our Holy Week/Easter 'All Hands on Deck' Meeting. For those who are involved with the governance transition team, you will also meet Sunday afternoon.

Which makes me raise up my hands and say--thank you! We have hundreds of 'helping hands' here at St. John; those who tirelessly step out and serve God in so many ways, from setting up chairs to leading music to serving on the Altar Guild. What would happen if all of those hands just stopped...helping?

A church in Virginia did this just a few weeks ago. No ushers, no Sunday School teachers, no money counters, no parking attendants, no nothing. Do you know what happened, as a result? Nothing. (Don't believe that this could really happen? Read more here: http://www.pastors.com/blogs/ministrytoolbox/archive/2010/03/10/crazy-risk-a-weekend-with-no-volunteers.aspx)

People were able to see how much an impact all the congregational 'helping hands' help each and every week, and for them (about 1,250 volunteers), it was a big difference.

As members and friends of St. John, you are our helping hands--you are walking with us, living and sharing the Abundant Life of Jesus. In what you do both on our campus and in your vocations throughout the week, you are our hands into the Cypress Community. You are showing people God's love through your service. Thank you.

Moving Forward with iTunes

Go to our website here (http://www.stjohn-lutheran.net/sermon_audio.htm) and you will see that we are in the process of getting our messages up as podcasts on iTunes. That means that you can actually subscribe to podcasts of the Sunday messages at St. John.
On the one hand this is a bit heady; we're on iTunes. On the other hand, I realize that the fact that we're on iTunes means little or nothing in the grand scheme of things. It's not that big a deal.
But it is a big deal if just one person connects with this podcast and is drawn by the Holy Spirit to faith in Jesus, or realizes a deeper relationship with Jesus and a more intentional pursuit of following Jesus. That would be a big deal in deed!
We don't have it all nailed down just yet, but we are in hot pursuit of every means possible of Living and Sharing the Abundant Life of Jesus. Most of that involves a serious engagement of faith and deep conviction about the goodness of God and the incredible blessing of abundant eternal life that comes by faith in Jesus. Much of it is a person-to-person sharing of that good news and encouraging accountability as we follow together after God. But it is only fully realized as we move out with the Good News of Jesus and seek in whatever way we can to get that Good News into the ears and hearts of people.
So, we're on iTunes. We have a Podcast. That doesn't make us "somebody." But the One who does make us "somebody", Jesus Christ, may just be a bit more accessible to to more people by this means. May Jesus' name be exalted!

The Little Things

Yesterday I was doing a bit of yard work, when I felt a pinch in my thumb. My sago palm stabbed me. It wasn't until this morning that I realized not only had I been impaled, but it had also left a piece of itself in my thumb; and my whole hand began to throb. The only way to make it better was to remove the little splinter.

This afternoon, Natalie came by after her classroom of 2-year-olds all went home and we went together to get a nice fruity drink at Sonic--a Route 44 Lime Slush. Paradise.

It's amazing how the little things in life can either make or break your day. A little splinter the smaller than size of a gnat didn't allow me to focus until it was out...and now a cool drink on a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon has given me a smile and rejuvenated my day.

I wonder what would have happened if Jesus let a little splinter (or specifically in his case, a few blisters on his well-traveled feet) get in his way--I don't think he would have been able to suffer the punishment of death on a cross. He endured the highs of riding in to chants of 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' on Palm Sunday, and the lows of being betrayed, tortured and put to death just a few days later.

Thank you, Lord, for giving your life for us to be our Savior--steady, and true. Amen.