John & Roxanne Get Busy in the Kitchen

Mom, Mom, and Grandma, this is for you! We made apple pie with help from Roxanne's mom by phone. ( Thank you. The butter crust was flaky, but tasty:)

Next on the list of culinary delights was apple sauce and Grandma's Goulasch. Here are some pictures as they are prepared.

These are some pictures of the finished product. Look out! John got the camera again! I love you, Honey:)

Sermon on The End Times

Here's a sermon I preached on Sunday November 27th and Monday November 28th. It's one the End Times and it's based off of Mark 13:32-37.

"KEEP WATCH!"
Text: Mark 13:32-37

1. Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today’s message is entitled, “Keep Watch,” and is taken from the Gospel of Mark 13:32-37. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: U.S. President Lyndon Johnson on many occasions told one of his favorite stories about a pastor who was having difficulties with one of the members of his congregation. This pastor was becoming distracted at his church by a man who came every Sunday and slept through the entire sermon. One Sunday the preacher decided to do something about it. As he began to preach, the man fell fast asleep. Seeing this, the preacher said quietly, “Everyone who wants to go to heaven, stand up.” The entire congregation immediately stood up, except the sleeping man. When they sat down, the preacher shouted at the top of his voice, “Everyone who wants to go to hell, stand up!” This startled the dozing man. Still half asleep, he jumped up, looked around to see what was going on, then said to the preacher, “I don’t know what we’re voting on but it looks like you and I are the only ones in favor of it.”

2. This story about the sleeping man reminds all of us about the importance of keeping watch and awaiting Christ’s return. Jesus calls us to keep watch and be ready for God to come. Though humorous as the story of the sleeping man in church is, it can paint a picture of all of us at one point in time in our lives where we may have fallen asleep and forgotten about our Lord’s return. The early Christians in Jesus’ day took this literally and many gave up a lot of their possessions and became monks and nuns in order to be ready for Christ’s return. Now Jesus isn’t telling us to do this, because the possessions that He’s given to us are also a gift from God. These blessings can be used to bring others to know who He is and what He’s done for them. Jesus is telling us to be aware and awake for His return.

3. In Mark 13:32-37 Jesus lays out for His disciples what it means to be watchful and to await His second coming. He says, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back-- whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!”

4. It’s during the season of Advent that we remember that Christ will again return to judge both the living and the dead. In the same way that Jesus left this earth at His ascension, so also He’s going to return with glory at a time when we least expect Him. It’s a useless effort to try and predict the hour of Christ’s return when even Jesus Himself doesn’t know when the Day of the Last Judgment will be. Many of you may remember the doom’s day cults who had stated when the end of the world would come. They followed their leaders to death believing that the end of the world was upon them and the only way out was to commit suicide. The Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and The Worldwide Church of God started their religious followings with the belief that they had predicted when the Second Coming of Christ would be. The Jehovah’s Witnesses for instance once set many dates for the end of the world in the 20th century in the years 1914, 1918 and 1925, but the end never came. Here in Mark 13 Jesus says that not even He Himself, will know the time when the Last Day will be. This is difficult for us to understand. How can God the Father know when the Last Day will be, but not Jesus Himself? We as human beings cannot answer this question, because it’s part of the mystery of who God is.

5. This shows us how futile it is to try and predict when Armageddon or the Last Day will be. But, today more than ever we see people running scared because they don’t know when The Day of Judgment will be. Many of you probably remember the Y2K scare when everyone thought all of the computers of the world would shut down because they were only set for 20th century dates and not for the 21st century. Many went out and bought enough supplies of food, clothing and other things to feed a whole nation. And yet, nothing happened. We’re still here five years after the Y2K scare hit us. If even the Son of God doesn’t know the day or hour when the Last Day will be we too should keep watch in faith. God the Father will return and Jesus calls us to remain diligent in the faith awaiting His return. As the Apostle Paul says in our Epistle Lesson for today from 1 Corinthians 1:7-9, “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God will continue to keep us faithful through the power of His Word as we await His return. He’ll give us the spiritual gifts we need through the power of the Holy Spirit in order to serve Him and build up His Kingdom.

6. Jesus says in Mark 13 that it’s not the duty of the owner of the house to tell his servants exactly when he’ll return, but it’s the duty of a faithful doorkeeper to be watching. That’s who we are. We’re God’s servants who’ve been called to work diligently at keeping watch for Christ to return. Does keeping watch mean that all we do is sit around and wait for His return? No. God doesn’t want us to be idle or lazy in our waiting, because that can lead to godlessness and all sorts of wickedness. When I read this verse from Mark 13 I thought about the times when I was younger and my parents left the house for me to take care of when they were going out on a date. I had to take care of my brothers Eric and Nate and keep the house clean. My parents wouldn’t always tell me when they would return, but I had to be ready for them to come so that they wouldn’t find the house in shambles or my brothers and I fighting. Kids this may have happened to you when your parents left the house. This state of watchfulness still applies to me today as I need to keep watch in my apartment so that when my wife leaves to run an errand and asks me to clean the house, I get it done. Guys you know what I’m talking about. The image Jesus paints for us is a picture of a watchman or doorkeeper who awaits the owner’s return. The owner may return in the evening, at midnight, in the middle of the night or at dawn. These are the four watches of the night as the Romans during Jesus’ time kept. Here we see in Jesus’ explanation of His return that awaiting The Last Judgment is not a call for indifference or fanaticism as many cults have done, but for alertness and readiness for His coming.

7. The word “Watch” that Jesus uses in Mark 13 has different meanings in the original Greek language that was used in His day. The first word for watch that He uses talks about a man arousing himself from a deep sleep. This is like the story I told earlier of the man who fell asleep in church and woke up to find that he didn’t know what was happening. The other word for watch conveys the idea of wakefulness and alertness. Jesus conveys this by providing an example of how people kept watch during His time. In the temple during the night, the captain made his rounds and the guards had to rise at his approach and salute him in a particular manner. Any guard who was found asleep on duty was beaten, or his garments were set on fire. Jesus doesn’t want this happen to us. He wants us to keep watch and be alert and ready for His return. Revelation 16:15 says, "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." Jesus, the Son of God will come like a thief. At an hour when we least expect Him and He doesn’t want to find us naked or asleep when He returns. Jesus is saying, “Be on guard! Be alert!" Don’t immerse yourselves in the things of this world and lose your own soul. Always keep your eyes fixed on Him. So that when the Last Day comes we’ll be anxiously awaiting His return along with others we‘ve brought to the faith so that they too can share in the wonderful gift of eternal life. Watching is then more than keeping the faith and praying. It’s also continuing in that relationship with God and bringing others into that relationship with Him.

8. The call from Jesus for Christians to be watchful has become less apparent in some Christian circles today. One of these examples can be taken from the Left Behind series written by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins. For instance, The Left Behind understanding of the rapture, which is the belief that when Christ returns all of the believers will be taken up to heaven immediately and all the non-believers will be left on earth. You’ve seen this in bumper stickers on cars where it says, “In case of rapture this car will be unmanned.” This understanding of the rapture can lead to a dangerous “wait and see” attitude. Non-Christian readers of the series might conclude that if millions of Christians suddenly disappear, then—and only then—will they repent and believe in Jesus. Before this they may “take their chances,” and believe that they will get a second opportunity during the Seven Year Tribulation. However, Jesus states in Matthew 25:10: “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.” This “shut door” indicates that there will be no salvation offered after the one-time Second Coming of our Lord. The Left Behind series causes more confusion when it promotes the idea that there’s not just one return of Christ (the rapture), nor two (Christ’s appearing to usher in his 1000-year rule), but three comings of Christ. The last advent, it teaches, will be at the end of the millennial reign or the Great White Throne Judgment of Rev 20:11–15. In the Bible the words “rapture,” “the blessed hope,” “the glorious appearing” and “the final judgment” are terms that designate one event: Christ’s Second Coming. We as Lutherans believe that there’s only one future hope for the church, the bodily return of Jesus Christ. It’s then that Jesus will judge the righteous from the unrighteous and He’ll create a new heavens and a new earth. What this will look like we don’t know, but He calls us to be ready, watchful and anxiously awaiting His return, because all people on this earth only get one chance.

9. May God enable each of us through the power of His Holy Spirit to live and act according to His purpose so that we may be able to share in that blessed hope of eternal life. We ask that God would enable us to be on guard and alert for when His Second Coming comes. May we be empowered to lead others to see the urgency of the Gospel message—that there’s little time before Christ will return, so that they too may share in the glorious hope of eternal life. We ask that God would give us the strength to keep watch each day for the hour when He returns so that Christ may not find us sleeping like the man who slept through the whole church service. With God’s power we’ll be able to complete this as we await the end of all trials and tribulations that this life brings. The day when there will be no more tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, mudslides and other disasters. When people will no longer fight with one another and families will no longer be found in ruin, but when we’ll all see our Savior face to face and live in eternal peace and joy. May that day come fast and quickly! In Jesus’ name we ask this. AMEN.

Sermon on Stewardship

Here's a sermon I preached recently on Stewardship. Hope you like it.

SERMON: “A Shrewd Peace”
Text: Luke 16:8-- "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”

1. The Scripture reading that we’re going to focus on for the second weekend in our three week sermon series, Living Each Day as a Steward, is from Luke 16:8: Jesus said, "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”

2. Many of the parables of Jesus focus on finding something that has been lost. They’re aimed at lost souls. In the parable of our Gospel lesson for today the focus shifts to dealing with the life and living of those who’ve been found, the faithful. Our faith in Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior is reflected by the way we live. As the faithful people of God our purpose is to give glory, honor and service to Him. The way we go about doing things in our day to day business can’t be separated from our relationship with God. No human being can serve two masters. God is our master and we’re called to serve Him, not money. That’s what Jesus is sharing with us in this Parable of the Shrewd Manager. It’s a great parable that touches the lives of every one of us as we struggle to keep God and His will for us before all other things that this world has to offer. We’re often tempted into thinking that money and wealth offer the quiet and peaceable life, but this is not true.

3. The parable of the Gospel lesson is a true picture of worldliness. Jesus aims it at Pharisees, Scribes, politicians and open sinners. He aims it the people we see as needing to hear a lesson on worldliness, because from our viewpoint they have this problem of being absorbed into thinking that more is better. But you know who Jesus is directing this parable to? He’s also speaking this to His disciples and to us as well. If you’re sitting there in your pew thinking that you’re not guilty of worldliness and being greedy with the things of this world. Think again! I myself can attest to the fact that I’ve put other things before God. No matter what our age, we all can become involved in the things of this world and put them in place of God.

4. The commercialism of our age and culture is a good example to us of how worldliness is all around us. The constant use of celebrities to model lines of clothing, sporting goods, and cosmetics tell us that if we own these items, we too can be like our heroes. The use of credit cards and the availability of many goods guarantee our ability choose what we want, when we want it. Easy credit and finance can be a temptation to us all in this fast paced world we live in. In earlier times people had to consider whether they could afford such things, and they might have had to delay while they saved. It’s also become the job of the advertising industry to keep us in a state of discontentment. The answer is always bigger, better, faster, or more like someone else. We’re informed of our lack of something and then told it’s ruining the quality of our lives. But, God has given us a purpose in this life to be the faithful stewards of His creation. We as Christians believe that we are the products of a personal, loving Creator, and that our life, opportunities, and resources are a gift to us. Psalm 24:1-2 says, "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains; the world and those who dwell in it." Because we’ve been made by God, our ultimate fulfillment is found in Him. In a world of many desires and pleasures another voice can be heard from the book of Matthew 11:28 where Jesus says, "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The answer is not in a product but in a living person. Jesus Christ. He’s the one who enables us to live our life with a purpose, to live each day as a steward of God’s creation.

5. In the parable, we have a rich man whose business is large, so large that he employed a general manager, a steward, who had the power to handle all of his business affairs. We’re not talking about a small business here. We’re talking about a CEO of a big company like McDonalds or Microsoft. This manager was in charge of 800 to 900 gallons of olive oil and 1000 bushels of wheat. That’s a lot of product in Jesus’ day. No doubt the steward lived a life that was equal with the wealth he dealt within his day to day life. As it turns out the steward, who managed the affairs of the rich man was a crook. This is something that we in our contemporary world today are aware of. We’ve heard of the mismanagement of money in companies such as Enron, WorldCom, Martha Stewart’s company and the events that surrounded Watergate in Richard Nixon’s presidency. It’s because of this that many of us have learned to distrust the leaders and politicians here in America today. In the parable, we look on the steward at a time in his career when somebody had caught him in his crooked activity and threatened to fire him as an employer. The evidence presented against him is overwhelming and convinced the employer to fire the steward on the spot. It’s interesting that the steward makes no effort to defend himself and admits to his guilt.

6. The steward thought about his dilemma. He made a decision and then acted very quickly. That shows us some good leading skills. The steward caught a vision and saw a purpose for himself once again in his job. He knew that he wasn’t strong enough to do hard labor and he wasn’t going to rely on begging for money and food for the rest of his life. His plan was to gain some momentum so that his employer’s debtors would take him into their own homes so that he can live at ease until something better comes along. He decides to squander his employer’s possessions one last time. He pulls the debtor’s note out of the safe, hands it to him and tells him to write a receipt for much less than what it really called for. In that day, as in ours tampered documents would make a transaction invalid. So new obligations must be drawn up and substituted for the originals. The deed’s done. What a clever and shrewd man!

7. How many of you are concerned about your retirement years or your ability to financially exist in the later years of your life? I know my wife and I are concerned about this and my own father has downsized his business in order to make plans for his retirement. We live our lives in the arena of worldliness, trying to gather as much as possible toward some mental picture of what is enough. We call it a “nest egg.” Because we’re sinners, greediness and worldliness can get a hold of us. It brings us to a point where we loose sight of God and our need for a Savior. God’s purpose for our lives is set aside as we scheme to take care of ourselves. Then we’re lost. The shrewd way that mischievous steward gathered his “nest egg” was praised by his employer who was shrewd enough himself to appreciate it.

8. So the question comes up. What does Jesus have in mind in telling this parable? In the verse following the Parable, Jesus helps us apply the story to our lives as His stewards. In Luke 16: 9, Jesus says, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” In this verse Jesus referred back to the Shrewd Manager who used worldly wealth in order to make friends for himself who would take him in when he was fired. Jesus tells us as stewards to use the same shrewdness using our resources. The difference between the Shrewd Manager and us is the motivation and goal. God calls us to use all His gifts with the purpose of helping others to come to know His Son. By doing this we will be welcomed into Heaven by those we have witnessed to and with whom we have shared our blessings.

9. Rick Warren once said in His book, the Purpose Driven Life, “Nothing matters more than knowing God’s purpose for your life…not success, wealth, fame or pleasure. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction and events without reason.” Our purpose is to serve God through the stewardship of the possessions that He has given to us. God’s not asking for much, just 10%. After all, He gave 100% of His life for us through His death on the cross. Everything we do is a response in thanksgiving to Him for that awesome gift of forgiveness He’s given us. Let’s thank Jesus for living His life with a purpose as a steward giving Himself up for us. Let us live with a purpose as faithful stewards of His creation so that the Kingdom of Heaven may be built up.

Blessing of the Lord: In light of this parable, may we, with God’s strength, become wise stewards of the material things that God entrusts to us and may we respond out of thanksgiving for Who God is and what He has done for us, living each day as stewards who give Him glory and honor in all that we do. AMEN.

Our 5 Month Anniversary

Mom -
Here is a picture for you. These are the flowers you sent us for our month-versary:). They are beautiful! John and I are doing our best to water them and keep them alive.

Our first venture into mum-plantology ended with bug infested plants. John and I threw them in the dumpster as we could not do anything with them inside our apartement:( It was a sad, sad day. Then, within the week, mom sent her gift to us! They are beautiful. I think the trick is to water them a little each day instead of a whole lot once a week or two....

Aren't they cute!?! Our wedding ivy, JohnRox, and our 5 Month Mums!!!
( The ivy is the little plant in the stand in the lower left corner of the picture.)

We have one other plant pot in our kitchen. We'll have to post a pic of that on another day. The plants in the kitchen were a house-warming gift from my mom.

We also lost the ivy we bought at Target earlier this year. It had some sort of growths on it that looked like spider webs (and we forgot to water it for like 2 weeks - that didn't help any...)

So far we have had good luck with the plants people have given us, but not with those we've bought ourselves.

November 8, 1308--John Duns Scotus the Subtle Doctor

By the Staff or associates of Christian History Institute. © Copyright 1999-2005. All rights reserved.

The man who won the title "subtle doctor" began life as a dunce. He could not comprehend his school work. In desperation, he resorted to prayer and received the gift of understanding, becoming a brilliant scholar.

John Duns Scotus was born in Duns, Scotland around 1265. A virtuous young man, he joined the Franciscans as a teenager and was ordained to the priesthood in 1291. He devoted his life to theology and philosophy, studying and teaching at the great universities of the day.
In those days the Sentences of Peter Lombard and similar works formed the backbone of philosophical and scientific studies. These Sentences arranged doctrinal opinions of the church fathers under categories with objections made to them and comments by other church authorities. These became grist for classrooms, starting points for debate and the basis of many commentaries.

John wrote a commentary on Lombard's Sentences. Just what all he wrote is difficult to decide, because others wrote works using his famous name. John was particularly interested in showing that men could know God's existence through reason. His long and difficult arguments have to do with the nature of being. John argued strongly for a first cause. He defined infinity as a positive attribute rather than a negative one (as something without boundaries) and showed that God must be infinite in every good thing.

The philosophy of John was widely accepted for three centuries. "He described the Divine Nature as if he had seen God; the celestial spirits as if he had been an angel; the happiness of the future state as if he had enjoyed them; and the ways of Providence as if he had penetrated into its secrets," wrote an admirer. However, in the sixteenth century, his philosophy was mocked as nonsense. People who put forward silly ideas were called dunces.

However, John's thinking made a comeback. Based on a vision he experienced, he taught the absolute kingship of Christ and Mary's immaculate conception, which the Roman Church later embraced as a doctrine. A feast of the kingship of Christ was also instituted in 1925 and Pope John Paul II beatified John in 1992.

John died on this day, November 8, 1308. He was only about forty-five years old.

Resources:
-Cross, F. L. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. (Oxford University Press, 1997).
-"John Duns Scotus." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (http://plato.stanford.edu/ entries/duns-scotus/).
-McKeon, Richard, editor and translator. Selections from Medieval Philosophers, II, Roger Bacon to William of Ockham. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1930).
-Minges, Parthenius. "Blessed John Duns Scotus." The Catholic Encyclopedia. (Robert Appleton Co, 1909).
-Saint-Maurice, Béraud d. John Duns Scotus : a teacher for our times. Translated by Columban Duffy. (St. Bonaventure, New York: Franciscan Institute, 1955).

Abbo of Fluery Speared While Breaking up a Brawl on November 7th, 1004AD

Abbo of Fluery was killed in a brawl between monks, a victim of the politics of his age. An outstanding thinker, he contributed to a revival of science and mathematics, wrote letters and poetry, and prepared a history defending the French monarchy. He taught in both England and France. Among the tasks he undertook was to prove that the world would not end in A.D. 1,000 as many of his contemporaries believed.

The Carolingians and Capetians were vying for power in those days. Abbo threw the monastery of Fluery behind the Capetians. His scholarship, addressing the controversies of the day, made him a target for enemies. Retainers of the Bishop of Orleans attempted unsuccessfully to assassinate him. Abbo became a notable peacemaker. This led to his death.

In 1004, at the invitation of the monastery of La Reole in Gascony, Abbo brought a group of monks from Fluery in an attempt to restore order at La Reole. Instead, the division worsened. A brawl broke out between southern and northern monks. Abbo ran out to break it up and was pierced in the abdomen by a spear. Staggering back to his cell, he died in the arms of Aimoin (who wrote his biograhy). The French quickly elevated Abbo to sainthood. He is honored during this week, on November 13th.

November 1, 1509 • Michelangelo Unveiled the Unfinished Sistine Chapel Ceiling

By the Staff or associates of Christian History Institute. © Copyright 1999-2005. All rights reserved.

All of Rome waited in expectation. For months, Michelangelo Buonarroti had worked in secret. Curiosity was aflame. What had he accomplished? Had he succeeded in transferring his skill as a sculptor to work with fresco (paint in plaster)?

Pope Julius II, as impatient as ever, demanded that Michelangelo unveil the ceiling of the Sistine chapel although it was far from done. High on the scaffolding, his face just inches from the ceiling, paint dripping into his eyes, Michelangelo had completed only the central vault.
Julius prevailed. Down came the scaffold, erected with such labor.

On this day, November 1, 1509, the public surged into the chapel to see what Michelangelo had wrought. Painters could only gape in astonishment. Michelangelo, who had earlier revolutionized sculpture, now did the same with painting. His nine groups of stories from Genesis stole the breath of contemporaries. He made his figures seem to be in perspective and distributed them across the vault with an astonishing inner rhythm to tell the stories of creation, the fall of man, and sacred history. (Years later, he added the Last Judgment to the wall behind the altar.)

His rivals immediately began to ape his techniques. Michelangelo infused much of his art with Christian feeling. An admirer of the reformer Savonarola, his sonnets show that he genuinely desired to know God and considered himself unworthy of him:
O my dear God, matched with the much I owe All that I am were no real recompense:Paying a debt is not munificence.

Although he had flaws of temper, Michelangelo's art and life reveal an individual concerned for God's glory. A contemporary wrote, "Buonarroti, having lived for ninety years, there was never found through all that time anyone who could with right and justice impute to him a stain or any ugliness of manners."

However, he found dealing with Pope Julius a strain. Once when Michelangelo threatened to leave Rome, Julius, in a fury, said he would have him flung from the scaffold. Michelangelo immediately took it down and refused to add the gold leaf and touch-ups that Julius wanted.

Resources:
Cross, F. L., editor. "Michelangelo." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. (Oxford University Press, 1997).
Janson, H. W. History of Art. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1969).
Symonds, John Addington. The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti. (New York: Modern Library, 1928).
Various encyclopedia and internet articles.