Provoking Thought

I have a wonderful, creative calendar posted on our office wall. I get one every year from Ministry of the Arts. The original art is always beautiful. Each day has a quote, thought or action to take. Last Wednesday the calendar said, "Take a risk on behalf of love." Thursday was, "Behold the exquisite." Friday: "Collaboration vs. competition." Saturday: "Explore the cosmos; Google 'Hubble,' click 'Gallery.'"

This makes me glad.

And today's quote is from St. Thomas Aquinas, since today is his feast day. And here's his quote:

"The things we love tell us what we are."

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What do the things you love say about who you are? Leave your comments below!

Souper Bowl of Caring

This weekend is the Super Bowl. It's also time for the Souper Bowl of Caring. Here at CtK we'll be collecting a special offering - not just the usual offering for World Hunger in fast food cups, but a Souper Bowl offering collected in soup pots. The money will be used by the youth of the congregation to purchase food for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.
So empty your piggy bank and let's make some noise!


We'll also make a Super Tower of Soup! So bring a can (or three) of your favorite soup for the food bank!

The voice of authority

“They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as one of the scribes. Just then, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching-with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread through out the surrounding region of Galilee.” St. Mark 1:22-28

I grew up in a household with “voices of authority.” My father, a career naval officer, had a presence of authority around him, and his voice reflected it. Whenever my father spoke, I listened to him. The tone of his voice quickly captured my attention.

I learned to respect that voice, and over time, I learned to respect the teaching that came along with the voice.

My mother also had a voice of authority. She had to, trying to raise three sons while father was deployed overseas.
In order to not be over run by teenage ambition, my mother learned to use her voice as a way of corralling her sons into submission. The tone of her voice quickly captured my attention. It caught the attention of my brothers as well.

I learned to respect that voice, and over time, I learned to respect the teaching that came along with the voice.

The voice of my parents can still make me sit up and pay attention.

In many ways, I have inherited the voice of my parents.

On my cell phone I have recorded a message which I use as an alarm clock. My wife has commented, “That sounds like Bob (my father).” Yes, I am my father’s son. I’ve inherited his voice. The voice works. It gets me out of bed, whether I’m sleepy or not!

The Bible verse above comes from the gospel reading for Sunday, 1 February 2009.

People who heard Jesus were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.

And Jesus uses this authority to bring healing to a man demonized by an unclean spirit.
He uses his “voice of authority” to address the unclean spirit:“Be silent, and come out of him!”

Do we allow Jesus to speak with authority in our lives? Does his voice chase away the demons that plague us, or do we dismiss his voice as “one of many in our busy lives?”

Jesus does speak a voice of authority when our sins are forgiven.
“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, so that you may come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have have life in his name.” John 20:30-31

Jesus does speak with authority when he declares, “This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood, shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.” We hear these words during Holy Communion.

Jesus does speak with a voice of authority when we are dead and in the grave, awaiting the resurrection.
“Do you not know that all of is who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:3-5

I hope you hear the “voice of authority” in your life.

EVENTS THIS SUNDAY

There will be only one service of worship this Sunday, January 25th, at 9:30am. Following worship we'll enjoy a SHORT coffee break, provided by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. At 10:45am we'll convene the Annual Meeting of the Congregation. And it should be pretty fun. Yes, we'll do some of the usual "business" of the congregation - electing some new leaders to serve on the church council, voting members for Synod Assembly, etc.. And we will review last year's spending plan and approve a new spending plan for 2009. More than anything, though, we will celebrate how God has been working among and through us here at CtK in the last year, and make plans to continue our mission and ministry for the year ahead. FUN!


Following the meeting is the Annual Chili Cook-Off and Potluck - lots of folks are signed up already. If you haven't signed up, don't panic - just SHOW UP! There will be lots of chili and we need lots of judges to decide whose is best.

See you Sunday!

Baptized Into Community

This past Sunday we celebrated the Baptism of our Lord (you can read about it in Mark 1:4-11). There are lots of interesting things to say and think about, in terms of why Jesus received the baptism of John the Baptizer. I'll save that train of thought for another day.
We also celebrated the baptism of a baby girl in our congregation, Annika, and were called again to remember the promises made at our own baptisms, no matter how old we were when we were baptized.
Grant preached a great sermon on the power of baptism and the promises we can cling to throughout our lives - we are claimed, called and sent by God. Baptism is the entrance to the Christian community (which is why we so often place the font by the door to the worship space - our lives of faith together begin with God coming to us in grace). In fact, in the Roman Catholic tradition, adult converts to the faith undergo a time of preparation for baptism, formally marked by enrollment and prayers. It's called RCIA - the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.
And as much as I enjoyed Grant's sermon (both times), Sunday afternoon left me thinking that while it was hopefully very good news to everyone gathered, anyone worshiping with CtK who might not yet be baptized might have felt a little left out, which was NOT the point.
If you, or someone you know, is interested in being baptized, please let us know! While we do baptize infants, we also baptize children, teens, young adults, and old farts, too. Baptism is a gift of God's grace for everyone. Let's talk.

Wise Guys

Today is the Day of Epiphany - the annual celebration of the magi's visit to the infant Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In the earliest days of the Church, Epiphany was a bigger deal than Christmas (I know, hard to imagine any return to that now, huh?). The word epiphany means manifestation, to make known. And today we remember and give thanks to God that Christ Jesus was made known to the Gentiles by the rising of that crazy star - and that the magi were paying attention and came to check it out. We celebrate that Jesus is the light of the WHOLE WORLD, and that he came for ALL PEOPLE.

Do you know anyone who could benefit from a reminder that Jesus is for him/her? Perhaps you are the one God would use to get their attention and share some grace.

ALSO - tomorrow, Wednesday the 7th, we are launching BLAST (Belonging, Learning and Serving Together). Come for dinner at 5:30pm, worship at 6:00pm (it will be very child friendly and interactive!) and activities at 6:30pm. The choir will rehearse at 6:30 and we'll also begin a Bible 101 class for anyone who has questions about what the Bible is, where it came from, and how exactly it is God's word for us. If you've ever felt intimidated in Bible study (or avoided one because you felt like you might not know enough to participate without feeling like a dork) then this is for you!

** I got this great art from the web page for Chinese artist He Qi (he's one of my favorite contemporary artists). Don't want to be illegal with the use of the art - it's just so cool!