Jesus Cries with Us, Jesus Cries Out for Us Last Sunday afternoon Jamie, Laurie, Phylis and I sitting at a large round table visited with Anna, Ashley, Alison (from Panama), Fatima (from Venezuela), three little people, and a faithful member of St. Christopher Episcopal Church. St. Christopher is a sanctuary church in El Paso, Texas, a safe place f…

This is a special musical presentation of Hine Ma Tov with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Since I will be on vacation beginning Wednesday, this will be my last sermon before the election. This does not mean that I am going to tell you who to vote for. I will be voting tomorrow. Many of you have voted by mail, others will take advantage of early voting and others will wait until election day. The important thing is to vote. Leading up to…

This is a special musical presentation of I Know The Lord Laid His Hands on Me with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

How many of us have said that we really don’t understand some people’s way of thinking? Our culture today has many conflicts and/or paradoxes. It hasn’t changed since the time of our Gospel lesson today. Only today it seems to be more polarized. History continues to repeat itself and only we can be responsible for ourselves. The last verse of our G…

This is a special musical presentation of Heart of the Nations with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Jesus has been and continues to be very pointed in what he is trying to teach. He is trying to prepare his disciples for his pending death and resurrection. Everyone seems to have their own idea of what the kingdom of God is supposed to look like. Jesus says it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God. He told them it was easier for a camel to go t…

In my study groups this past week, it was a challenge to discuss what some call as the big “D” word, divorce. Jesus chooses to take on the difficult issues that people face. Some of you may have experienced divorce personally or most likely it has been in your family. My grandfather divorced my grandmother in 1952 after finding work out of town and…

This is a special musical presentation of Send Down The Rain with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Today we are celebrating Michael and all Angels Sunday. This is a festival dedicated to the archangel Michael that started in the fifth Sunday in Rome. Michael is not a saint, but in Jewish angelology, he is one of the four arch angels who carry out the will of God. The stories about Michael center around war scenes which are battles between good a…

This is a special musical presentation of Pray For the People with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion or disagreements on who we welcome. We have people, including Christians who want to define who to welcome. It is one’s interpretation, but is the interpretation based on love or fear. The God that I read about and experience and see modeled through Jesus is about welcoming all out of love. I do not belie…

This is a special musical presentation of Whoever Would be Great Among You with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Revive Us Again with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Many of us have been through exit interviews. They are about how learning about how we were received. I wonder if we would ever consider asking the question, “Who do people say that I am? In other words how would people describe me. We would have to be ready for anything depending on what had occurred during our time of employment. There are a grea…

In my husband’s psychology practice, many had the diagnosis of Mental Retardation, now known as Intellectual Disability. Most of them were high functioning to the point, that one asked my husband, I hear people saying that I am mentally retarded, “What does that mean?” My husband told him that is was a level of functioning, but in reality, he told …

This is a special musical presentation of This Little Light of Mine with the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Down to the River with the Sinful Sinners at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

For Not with Swords Loud Clashing Lead on, O King eternal! The day of march has come; henceforth in fields of conquest your tents will be our home. Through days of preparation your grace has made us strong; and now, O King eternal, we lift our battle song. Lead on, O King eternal, till sin’s fierce war shall cease, and holiness shall whisper the sw…

Last week I shared goals that were developed from the input that was received at our gatherings this past year. I need to let you know that they are still in progress and are being reviewed by the call committee. They will then go back to the council for final approval. You will then be able to see them in the Ministry Site Profile. The Ministry Si…

This is a special musical presentation of The Lord's Prayer with Tammy Heilman, Bob Nelson, and Deb Borton-McDonough at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

The crowds are following Jesus, but Jesus is throwing them for a loop again. Jesus is saying he is the bread of life that has come down from heaven. This can’t be as he is the son of Joseph, and they know his father and mother. Now he is claiming to be God? The Judeans say that they know the truth. They seem to be so closed minded. This idea that t…

This is a special musical presentation of Thee We Adore, O Savior with Elaine Harrison, Kay Hillberg, Brenda Kopf and Ann Mayer on handbells at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Fairest Lord Jesus by Megan Nyquist and Addie Thompson on handbells at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

It has been an exciting time here at the Son Games 2024 VBS program. We have had a great group of kids, a wonderful staff, and we not only partnered with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, but had people from other churches, too. This is what church is about. You heard our mottos, Join In, Team Up, Get Strong, Keep On, and Celebrate. This is all in the ba…

This is a special musical presentation of The Lord is My Shepherd by soloist Ryan Thompson and Addie Thompson on Flute at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

Our culture teaches us to always want to know and have more. I believe that sometimes that this is important. In our political world today, it is important to discover the truth to the best of our ability. Media slants information as well as candidates. Thus, before we comment or share things on Facebook, it is good to check it out, because if we d…

Last week I spoke about us being called as prophets. Now this week in our second lesson, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he talks about coming together. Paul is addressing his letter to Jewish and Gentile Christians. Each of them have their own idea about each other’s conduct. Paul is suggesting, well maybe telling them that they are called to reco…

This is a special musical presentation of Holy Thy Name at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of Acquaint Now Thyself withsoloist Bruce Thorsen Piano at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

This past week in our Bible study we looked at the First lesson from Amos and the Gospel lesson from Mark. It took some processing to find some good news in these passages. The people of Israel were not listening to God, not measuring up and they were going into exile. Then we hear what happened to John the Baptist after he had been arrested. He wa…

This is a special musical presentation of Kingsfold with Elaine Harrison, Brenda Kopf, Matt Schnizlein and Addie Thompson on Handbells and Kathy Richardson on Piano at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

After one of our pastors left back home, I tried to fill in some of the gaps. I was home from college and had a great deal of energy. The council president sat me down and said that sometimes when you are from the church, it can be difficult for people to see where you are now as they may only remember you as you were growing up. Thus, maybe I shou…

The last time I was here, 2 weeks ago, I announced that I would not be putting my name in as a candidate for your next pastor. Pam is no longer working here, and Connie finished her time with us. Everyone take a deep breath. This is a lot to process all at one time. We hear in the Bible that God never gives us more than we can handle, but really? P…

This is a special musical presentation of When Peace like a River at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

This is a special musical presentation of Nearer, My God to Thee by Bob Borcherding on fiddle at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

This is a special musical presentation of Amazing Grace by Bob Borcherding on fiddle at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

This is a special musical presentation of Sing Out To God by the Summer Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

Sometimes I don’t like the way that the kingdom of God grows. But what is the kingdom of God? It is the place where God reigns or is in charge. I appreciate how Luther it explains it as heavenly and earthly. As people of God, we have one foot in each. Here on earth, we try and practice how we will live in the heavenly kingdom. Growth in the kingdom…

This is a special musical presentation of Rain Dance by Calvin Kadrofske on Marimba at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

Have you noticed that some people feel called to put themselves in the middle of conflict? Sometimes those of us are transitional or interim pastors can find ourselves there. I have seen some people run from it and others run to it. I feel that I am some place in between the two. My husband and I were members of a church where I began being the dir…

This is a special musical presentation of Majesty by Addie Thompson and Deb Borton-McDonough playing the handbells at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan

What is sabbath or what is the sabbath day? Different religions have different days, thus we can’t say one day is totally right or wrong? Christians have said throughout history that Sunday is our sabbath. But what about Christian churches who have Saturday night services? At one point in our history, Sundays were strictly observed as “the sabbath”…

This is a special musical presentation of Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus by soloist Bob Nelson at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, MIchigan

When I worked on my pastoral counseling degree at the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, PA, I learned a new way of approaching scripture. It was to ask questions of the text in order to gain more understanding. In other words, what do I need to know in order to have somewhat of a grasp on the text. This approach works for me as I like to be a detecti…

This is a special musical presentation of Bless His Holy Name by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir and the Faith Bells at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical presentation of True Light! by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir with a solo by Christopher Lewis at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

We are doing many things in our worship service today. Each one is a different celebration. It is important in our community of faith to recognize those things that we can celebrate. Celebrations can also remind us of what we can be thankful for. We give thanks to God for our music staff and all that they do celebrate the gifts of all those who are…