The God who calls us

 February 9, 2025

Jesus calls Peter and his fellow fishermen to push out their boat a little and then cast their nets into the deep.

In the same way, Jesus calls us.  Sometimes this call is for something small; other times for something that seems riskier and harder.

Peter laments this call of Jesus, saying that he is worn and the fish aren’t moving.  Peter doesn’t believe this his actions will make a difference.

In our lives and in our world today, we can also often feel like our actions will not make an impact.

But we are not called to figure it all out.  Instead, we are called to obey our call and let go of the results. 

This as it turns out…is also a challenge, not just for us, but for Jesus to take on.

Where is the love that is patient and kind?

February 2, 2025

Love is patient and love is kind.

Yet the people want to throw Jesus off a cliff (Luke 4:18-30)!  Where is the love?  Pastor Rob offers that the people in Jesus’ hometown do have love, it is just misguided and blinding. 

We struggle with this today as well as our love can be misguided and blinding.  Our love of one person or one group can block our loving another person or another group.   As humans, we have a strong inclination to love “us” and not “them.”

A reflection on Jesus’ patience and kindness toward our misguided love that finally breaks down the “us” and “them.”

THE Inauguration Speech

 3 Epiphany (Sunday, January 26, 2025)

Today we hear Jesus’ inauguration speech as he gives his first sermon (Luke 4:11-21).  In this sermon, Jesus lays out the fundamental direction of his ministry:

• Uplifting the poor
• By…opening the eyes and hearts of the rich to share what they have
• so that… all may live in a “body” that loves God and loves neighbor

It turns out this message was fundamentally different than the way the world worked 2,000 years ago.  The message continues to be different from how our world works today.  Then, and today, the culture’s moral foundation was a trinity of the self:  self-expression, self-achievement and self-pleasure. 

Which brings us the image for the sermon – bubbles of potential college majors.  Pastor Rob invites us to a different way to talk to young people about their futures, one that would be less pagan and more focused on Christ’s teachings.

Confirming God is the God who turns Water into Wine

 January 19, 2025

Today St. Paul celebrates the confirmation of five adults.  (Confirmation is a public affirmation by a teen or adult of their baptism, which typically happened at a younger age).

The story of Jesus turning water into wine at Cana (John 2:1-11) provides a framework for thinking through:  What then are we confirming?

We are confirming that God is a God who turns water into wine.

We are confirming that we are not gods who can turn water into wine, but we can fill the cup to the brim, trusting that God in Jesus Christ will make water into wine, for God’s glory.

What do we tell the next generation?

January 12, 2025 (Baptism of Jesus)

Today we have a special event at St. Paul — the Baptism of five youth/older children.

It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the question — what do we want to pass along to the next generation about faith?  What is most important to know about our Baptisms and our life as a disciple of Jesus?

Pastor Rob offers three things

1.  You are loved
2. Others are loved too
3. …well, you will have to listen to find out 🙂

S.T.A.R. Goals

 Christmas II/Epiphany (January 5, 2025)

What are your resolutions, dreams and goals for 2025?

Are they about your star rising or orienting your life to the one who causes the stars to rise?

Pastor Rob recommends “S.T.A.R.” goals, reflecting on the journey of the magi (aka wisemen)