Our Cup…er…Our Trip Overfloweth!

If you were in church last Sunday, you heard me tell a story about a young teacher on Rosebud Sioux Reservation who made rice soup for 8 students and ended up feeding the entire community, dogs included. That’s because he didn’t know that rice expands when it cooks. To make sure he had enough for the hungry teenagers, he put three boxes of rice in his soup pot, left it on the stove to simmer, and went off to class. When he returned with his dinner guests, the rice met them at the door!

This is a story of God’s abundance, I said. And so is this: We have an abundance of adults and young people who want to go on the mission trip to El Salvador this summer.

Go…..Team!

A news report this week mentioned that a judge has given a two-week stay to allow a squad of Texas high school cheerleaders to continue using Bible verses on posters that their football team then runs through at the outset of a game. Apparently this had polarized some people for and against the use of scripture for a school activity, as well as causing people to argue over freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Oh, please don’t let this become a new battlefront in our culture’s ongoing incivility between people who don’t agree with each other. But it probably will! At first glance, you’d probably think that I would, as a pastor, be on the side of the Bible-quoting Kountze High School Lions. But actually, I am a little upset at the cheerleaders. So I will now use this week’s blog to address this truly crucial moment in American history, and the history of Christianity!

Lutherans & Politics

I’m no political junkie, but my view of this year’s election is that it is mighty important. Like you, I want to be informed so that I can use my vote to contribute to the common good and secure the future for my children and grandchildren. But with all the theatre, the vitriol and gamesmanship, the untruths and half-truths, it’s challenging to know what’s what.

Responding to Friends in Need

A strange thing has happened to the musical guests who will be with us Sunday. Some of the Imuka Singers rushed out of a house during a devastating fire just this past Saturday and lost almost all of their possessions, including their passports and visas. The nine male members of the Imuka group were staying together at a host home when the fire broke out. All the people escaped unharmed, thank the Lord! Still, they had no time to gather their belongings, and one fellow even got out without being able to grab a shirt. They truly lost everything they had.