Welcome in the name of our Risen Lord

We three kings of Orient are. Bearing gifts we traverse afar. Have you ever thought…really thought about these kings. Think about it. Here are these learned men from Persia, Gentiles who were knowledgeable about the prophecies of the Jewish Scripture that a King was to be born. It is thought that they were astronomers who saw an anomaly in the shy and decided to follow it. They searched for this King, even asking king Herod where he was to be born. They finally found Jesus Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. There is more to the story, but the point is…they sought out this little baby to pay him honor and worship. With rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew prophecies, they were led by a star on an arduous journey across a desert, braving the wind, the sand, thirst and desert animals to worship the one born king of the Jews. This messiah was promised to the Jews, yet here come learned outsiders to find and worship this baby, acknowledging how special he is. No outside force could stop them

I wish we could say the same thing. Almost 2 years ago, the coronavirus hit, completely stopping any kind of worship for 4 weeks. During those four weeks, we learned a little about using technology to bring an online worship experience to our members. The zoom experience was not really great, but it was better than nothing. Church continued on zoom, and many of us became comfortable with the zoom service. t was, and for some of us, still is tempting to sit on our soft couches, holding a cup of coffee in our hands and watching the worship service unfold. You hear scripture, receive absolution, and listen to the sermon. . While it was not a great experience, for many of us, the lack of physical intimacy that is inherent in in person worship was replaced by the convenience of sitting around and watching the service unfold in front of us. It all seems like a great way to start a Sunday morning

The wise men would tend to disagree. They knew that the experience of worship is more than an hour on your couch, in front of your “device.” It takes being there. It is being an active part of your worship community. It is confessing your sins and receiving absolution. It is hearing and reacting to God’s word, contained in the readings and liturgy. It is taking part in the teaching of the word during the sermon and then later in bible class. It is confessing our faith together through the creed. And it is receiving forgiveness of sins through the reception of Jesus body and blood during the Eucharist. Being part of the body of Christ is not a passive experience. Faith is active. It involves fellowship, it involves giving comfort, it involves listening and acting. And it involves receiving strength and support from the people you interact with in church. None of these things can be done effectively, isolated behind your screen. It takes stepping out of your comfort zone, and carefully rejoining your life. Fear is a powerful emotion. One that can push faith aside. Scripture speaks to fear in almost every book. In Matthew 6 Jesus says do not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself. Paul writes to Timothy for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love. It is this spirit of power and love that brings us to gather together in church.

We would like to invite you back to where you have all the love and support you need to grow in faith and fellowship. If you have concerns or fears we would welcome the opportunity to speak with, and pray for, you. We invite you back to worship, and to share in Bible Study opportunities. All precautions have been taken. So, join us this Sunday and every Sunday to worship, learn, pray, and to become connected with and grow with us. Through worship, prayer and devotional opportunities our relationship with God is strengthened and sustained each day. You are invited to grow with us as we mature in our faith from the teachings anchored in the Holy Bible and our Lutheran heritage. We hope that you will join us and continue on the journey that will allow us to grow in faith bringing us closer to Jesus.

We will, of course, continue to stream our worship on zoom. All of the sign in information will be available in the announcement section of this website. And now you can hear this week’s, and previous, sermons right here on our website. Just click the button at the bottom of this page to go to the sermon page of the info section where you can again experience the teaching and preaching of our guest speakers. May God keep you safe as you work your way through the coming week. And plan to join us as we continue our bible study centered around “The Chosen.”

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