The Parable of the Two Farmers

Once there were two farmers who each had a vision of a wonderful crop, free of weeds and producing a great harvest.

The first farmer gathered all the seeds and spread them out, then began picking out the weed seeds from among the wheat seeds.

The second farmer sowed all the seeds right away.

Some time later the second farmer was busy at work pulling the weeds each day as the crop grew, while the first farmer was busy at work searching for and removing weed seeds in preparation for planting.

Eventually, the second farmer had a wonderful harvest. The first farmer had a lot of very clean seed.


(Just a little window into my world on a Wednesday morning.)

Putting Your Life in Forward Motion (Excursion 4/Road Trip #14 June 24, 2018)

This is the fourth and final message in the Excursion for June 2018. It's also message # 14 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church. 

Title: "Putting Your Life in Forward Motion"

Message Summary:  If we've made it a regular practice in our lives to let the Lord fill us up with life, then that "inflow" will want to go somewhere! So the final theme has to do with letting the Lord direct our lives, direct the flow of love from us to our neighbors. This message introduces the image and metaphor of The Asteroid Field to talk about navigating in our ever-changing lives, which is to say, following where Jesus leads. The process of "orient, act, repeat" turns out to match beautifully with the way Jesus describes his core message in Mark 1:19 saying "The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom is near - repent and believe the good news." 

Video: Click here to watch video of the message on Facebook.

Audio: Click here to listen to audio of the message.

Slides: Click here to see slides from the message.

Conversation Questions from the Travel Guide

• Where in your life do you see something exciting or something with “energy around it” right now?
• If the Lord was inviting you to “go for it!” or otherwise engage in that area, what would it look like if you did?
• Where in your life do you see something that’s really concerning for you – a person, issue or problem that’s just “on your heart” a lot at this time?
• If the Lord was inviting you to “go for it!” or otherwise engage in that area, what would it look like if you did?

Bible verses for Learning to be Loved:

• John 10:1-6
• John 8:12
• John 6:60-69
• John 15:10-12
• Luke 10:27
• Matthew 16:24-25
• Luke 5:27-29

Rhythms of Life that Help You LIVE (Excursion 3/Road Trip 13 - June 17, 2018)

This is the third message in the Excursion for June 2018. It's also message # 13 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church. 

Title: "Rhythms of Life that Help You LIVE"

Message Summary:  Life has lots of rhythms that we need to pay attention to if we want to live well. There are natural, biological rhythms like breathing in and out, and the rhythm between being asleep and awake. You won’t get far at all if you don’t respect those rhythms!

Spiritual life has natural rhythms too. These may be easier to ignore, but they are no less important. The “abiding” that we looked at last week often calls for a daily rhythm of time spent getting filled up spiritually, which turns into “fruitfulness” in our lives. Another spiritual rhythm is the weekly swing from a day of rest to the days of work and back again.

Our culture however, with its obsession and addiction to busyness and “being productive,” tends to work against these spiritual rhythms.  So this is an area where we often need to take control of our lives and schedules and exercise some personal discipline if we want to be spiritually healthy. This is often one of the first places that disciples really encounter the challenge of whether to follow Jesus or to follow the norms and expectations of our culture.

As my friend Ernie likes to say; “There are ways of living that give life, and there are ways of living that…  don’t.”

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Video: Click here to watch video of the message on Facebook.

Audio: Click here to listen to the audio recording of this message. 

Slides: Click here to see slides from the message.

Conversation Questions from the Travel Guide

• How long has it been since you woke up feeling really rested physically, full of energy and ready for the new day?
• What would your life be like if that was normal for you? 
• How long has it been since you felt really rested spiritually, full of joy and ready to engage the world with love? 
• Imagine that you spent time most every day simply “soaking up the love” from God. What would your life be like if that was normal for you? 
• Are you the kind of person who can just make up their mind about something (like a diet or exercise) and then stick with it? Or do you typically need others to encourage you and offer supportive accountability for achieving your goals?
• What would it take to improve the spiritual rhythms of your life?

Bible verses for Spiritual Rhythms:

• Genesis 1:26-2:3
• Deuteronomy 5:12-15
• Luke 4:16
• Acts 17:2
• Luke 2:41-52
• Mark 1:35

Learning to be Loved (Excursion 2/Road Trip 12 - June 10, 2018)

This is the second message in the Excursion for June 2018. It's also message # 12 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church. 

Title: "Learning to be Loved"

Message Summary:  One thing the Pipe metaphor does really well is point to the importance of having an “inflow” first. This is why the “Abide” icon has a circle at the top of the pipe, to focus our attention there. As it says in 1 John 4 “We love because he first loved us.” And Jesus teaches us this same thing in John 15 using the image of a vine and branches: fruit is the result of the sap flowing into the branches. Over and over again Jesus emphasizes that the most important thing for us to do is to “abide” in him. Stay connected. Stay open. Receive the flow. Let yourself be loved.

We do believe that God loves us, loves us all the time, and loves us just as we are. But how do we “tune in” to that realty?

The answer to that may be different for different people, and it may be different for the same person at different times! But a good starting point is to look at the beautiful moment of abiding between Jesus and his Father at his baptism. What we see there is Jesus simply listening, “soaking it in” as the Father declares three things to him: You are my son, I love you, and I’m pleased with you. (Mark 1:9-11)

Jesus abides constantly in the relationship declared in those three statements. That relationship is his source of strength and direction for all he does and endures. As followers of Jesus, we want to learn from his example and “find rest for our souls” (Matthew 11:29) So learning to be loved can begin by spending time listening to the Father just as Jesus did. Listen to the Father speak those same words to you. “Abide” in that love, and you’ll surely feel the flow pouring in from above.

Video: Click here to watch video of the message on Facebook.

Audio: Click here to listen to audio of the message.

Slides: Click here to see slides from the message.

Conversation Questions from the Travel Guide

• Does it feel important to you to spend time “soaking” and simply experiencing the reality of God’s love for you?  Or does that seem like wasting time when you should be “getting something done?”
• Sometimes people light a candle as a sign of God’s presence, or wrap a blanket around their shoulders to represent God’s loving “hug.” For many, tilting their head back – like we do to feel the sun on our face – brings a powerful sense of God’s delight in them. Are there abiding practices that you have tried or found helpful?
• Following Jesus’ example, we too can quiet our hearts and simply listen to the Father speaking to us. Which of the three things the Father says speaks most deeply to you? “You are my child”? “I love you”? “I am pleased with you”?
• For some people, trying to sit quietly might make it harder for them to feel loved! Is that true for you?  If so, what kind of activity does help you get filled up with God’s love?

Bible verses for Learning to be Loved:

• Romans 5:8
• John 15:16
• 1 John 3:1a
• Mark 1:9-11
• Matthew 4:1-4
• Matthew 11:29
• Zephaniah 3:17

A Helpful Way to Think About Life (Excursion 1/Road Trip 11 - June 3, 2018)

This is the first message in the Excursion for June 2018. It's also message # 11 in my "Road Trip" series at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church. 

Title: "A Helpful Way to Think About Life"

Message Summary: The way we think about life shapes how we experience it, and how we live. You’ll live very differently if you believe “Life is a test” as opposed to “Life is an adventure!”

One helpful way for followers of Jesus to think about life uses the image of an L-shaped pipe. In this metaphor, humans are built for relationship: for connection to God and to each other. Life is about “flow” as we receive love from God and release love to others. The inflow and the outflow are connected, and are actually just two parts of one thing. As it says in 1 John 4 “We love because he first loved us.” Blockage at either end shuts down the flow, both in and out.

Now, life is full of “plumbing problems” that disrupt the flow of love to us and through us. People can be wounded by others spiritually, emotionally and physically, and end up with “dents” in their pipe. “Clogs” of bitterness, anger jealousy and such can also form inside us. 

But healing can repair what has gone wrong. And human life finds meaning, joy and fulfillment again as we experience the flow of love moving through us.

Video: Click here to view video of message on Facebook.

Slides: Click here to view the slides from the sermon in a new window.

Audio: Click here for the sermon audio from Sunday, June 2, 2018.

Conversation Questions from the Travel Guide

• What other ways do people think about life?   “Life is a ___.”  “Life is like___.”  
• Do any of those ways of thinking shape how you experience life?
•  How well does the Pipe image fit with how you experience life?
•  Are there things about your life that don’t fit easily within the Pipe metaphor?
•  If you saw yourself as a pipe, then how would you see Jesus?
•  Are you aware of any clogs in your life right now? Any dents?

Bible verses you can explore using the Pipe:

• Matthew 6:12
• Luke 10:40
• Luke 15:11-32
• John 15:1-11
• John 7:37-39