New Beginnings Lutheran Church

Are you who you are because of nature or nurture? Was your personality formed in the womb or by your environment? Knowing who you are gives insight into your destiny.

When life sucks the joy out of you, it’s easy to get stuck in a negative mental-loop. When you find your thoughts spiraling around bad and worse, faith gives a better response.

When life sucks the joy out of you, it’s tempting to fight fire with fire. When the desire to lash-out at others wells up in you, faith gives a better response.

When life sucks the joy out of you, it’s tempting to withdraw from the world. When pulling the covers over your head feels preferable to any other option, faith gives a better response.

If anyone had reason to question God because of injustice, it was Jesus. But there is the rub: when you see evil, you assume goodness. And when you see Jesus, you see the crux of the matter when talking about good and evil in our world.

I like to think I’m in control. I like to call the shots. When I lose control, I feel powerless and even afraid. Therefore, depending on others is not what I want—and that includes God. But my picture of the freedom of autonomy is an illusion.

Have you ever heard someone described why they stopped believing in God? Could you hear their failed expectations? Wouldn’t we do well to evaluate our expectations of God as much as we evaluate God’s failure to meet them? What should we expect?

Tell me about the god you don’t believe in. Perhaps I don’t believe in that god either. All of us don’t believe in some gods. Therefore, all of us are atheists in some way. Maybe we need to discuss the unknown god and we’ll find ourselves connecting much better.

Should we really believe something because the Bible told us so? Before the writings of the Old and New Testaments were combined into what we call the Bible, conversations about Jesus centered on an event—not a book. What is the basis of our faith?

Most atheists didn’t choose their outlook on life because atheism is more appealing than theism. Most atheists began their journey to their belief in “no god” because of a dissatisfaction with religion.

We do not need psychology’s input (helpful as it is) to know that thankfulness is a preferred mindset. Gratitude trumps the power of positive thinking. After all, we are blessed by a bird in hand and by two in the bush! This attitude depends on how you count your blessings, but when you give thanks FOR (not IN?) everything, you can count anything!

We cannot stay where we are. Try as we might, God’s will for our future points away from where we are. Want to fast forward to what God has in store? Let’s talk about your future.

Who is your who? Who are you who to? Do you know your who and that you’re one, too? Dr. Seuss has nothing to do with this weekend’s message, but you do!

What is worship? What you say and what I say will probably not match, but I think you’ll agree with me when you hear what I have to say. So don’t miss worship on this day! Ok?

Want to know a very powerful response to hard questions you cannot answer? “I don’t know.” These words are the perfect response when you don’t know. They are authentic and humble. These words show we’re in process, like everyone else. And these words let us speak of Jesus.

Do you have all the answers to people’s questions? Of course not! Who does? In spite of everything we don’t know, we do know a pretty amazing person: Jesus. So, not to be evasive, but to be constructive, let’s point people to the one who does have all the answers and speak of Jesus.

Creation or evolution? Gay or straight? Left or right? It’s funny how much we talk about such things in comparison to speaking of Jesus. We’d all find more answers that we’re looking for if we spent more time on Jesus than the more popular debates of our times.

We’re not in a competition when it comes to faith. We are not supposed to win debates or even “win people.” Most of us prefer to avoid such confrontations. And yet, strangely (wonderfully), most people like Jesus. So, let’s just love people and speak of Jesus.

Do you believe God works all things together for good? When life hurts, “happily ever after” seems like the stuff of fairy tales. Are painful chapters in life redeemable? Does pain in life really serve a purpose?

Have you ever felt all alone in the world? Ever wonder if anyone cares, or ever will? Does your future feel like solitary confinement? To feel this way is one of the worst experiences in life. When everyone else seems to have left, where is God? Why doesn’t God provide?