The Word Alone

As many of my friends and family have read or heard this sermon was prepaired last minute for the congregation I am a member of (Solid Rick Free Lutheran Congregation in Anoka, MN).  Our Pastor came down with the shingles, which he is now on the healing end of, praise the Lord!

I answered “yes” to the deacon making the phone call asking “will you do it?” I was intending to use a sermon that was prepaired from my preaching class at AFLTS.  I was comfortable with that sermon and had a deal of time for pre-prepping it.  After some prayer it was clear that this wasn’t the plan the Lord had though.

Through a night filled with study and tears I came to a great appreciation for what is the first of six semesters of seminary training.  God blessed me and moved in my heart in the study of this text, I pray that He moves in your heart too as you hear it.

P.S.  Sorry for the poor video quality.

Early this week a nasty cold starting sneaking it’s way around our house and crawling into the lives of my family.  Paula and four of the kids were sick on Wednesday and it was rough around here.  So on Thursday I called in sick to work and on Friday I called in sick to school.  Sounds like fun?  Not really, a family of one sick mom is bad enough, then add a couple kids to the mix, plus a dad who catches it too and it’s no fun day off.

back yard cleanup – Arielle

So what gives?!?!

Why does a family in the middle of their first semester at Seminary who is at their end of their rope have to get sick?!?! Things are crazy enough around hear to have to deal with this.  Well that was my attitude.  Even as I took the kids outside and had some fun cleaning up the yard, I was still frustrated about all this time I had to stop doing the school work that needed to get done.

How obvious it should have been to me though… God doesn’t always work the way we would think.  It had to get much worse for me to get the picture I guess, because today my wife was mostly incapacitated.  At first I was just frustrated, and honestly I didn’t want to deal with it.  Of course I did, I packed up all the sick kids (minus the baby) in big red and took off for the night to give my wife some peace and quiet.  Guess what happened?  Is it obvious to you now?  We had a BLAST!  It wasn’t anything special but it was time the kids got to be alone with dad.  That’s something they haven’t had much of since we got to seminary and it was worth every minute of lost homework.

The lesson God’s teaching me today, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9.  I had my plans, to get caught up on the three big assignments that are OVERDUE.  God had his plans, for me to spend some time with my family that was more OVERDUE.


~ I praise you Lord for this sickness, as you have totally blessed me through it!

Per my last sermon, I’ve been making the most of my time.  I’ve already learned over 30% of the bible in Greek… not much actually considering the amount of occurrences each word has.  I’ve been over committed with school, homework, work and a little bit of family time too.

As I write a paper tonight I keep thinking about the sermon last night by Pastor Michael Brandt.  I keep thinking “it’s all about You Jesus, all about You.  I can do this, because it’s all for You.”

As I prep for the sermon at my home church this Sunday @ Solid Rock I’m reminded of the last vacation my wife and I took two years ago. We went to Branson, MO and enjoyed the blessing of a friends time share with a beautiful view.  My favorite part of the room was enjoying the time alone with God, while sipping my coffee and looking out over the lake.  Yes of course, I enjoyed the fellowship time with my wife a lot too.

While I remember this time I had in the mornings, I think of the deep need we have of of being in God’s word.  I also realize the importance of going to bed on time to do so, something I’m failing to do now…

Pray for me, in the morning I meet with some men of God from my home church ( srflc.com ) to spend some time building up the sermon.  Though I’ve never done this before, I’ve heard it is a great tool for shaping a message that God is able to use to speak… in a way more people can understand then just myself.

Thanks for your prayers, I’ll be posting the video of it here as soon as possible after Sunday, Lord willing.

I’ve started this blog for a record. I hope to record every opportunity I have to share the truth, and keep it here. I hope to share what God lays on my heart, and share where I feel He is calling me and the messages that are weighing on my shoulders. I pray this blog will benefit others, as God moves in my life and matures my faith.