Love for the Truth

We live in dangerous times. They are what Jesus called “the last days.” These are the days when there will be wars and rumors of wars. There will be signs in the skies, signs on the earth, and even signs in nature. There will be signs in the church and signs in the world. We live in dangerous times because these are the last days.

Yet, the danger I speak of is not necessarily the danger on the roads or streets. It is not the danger of violence on the streets or in our homes.

The greatest danger we face is the constant assaults against the truth. That assault has been happening since the Evil One rebelled and was thrown out of heaven. This is the danger that I’m talking about and that John writes about, too. It’s the assault against the truth. It’s the assault that even happens within the church; John tells us that there are those from us who went out from us.

Yet, we have an anointing from the Holy One, and we know the truth.  We know Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. John writes: Remain in him, and we will be unashamed before him when he comes. 1 John 2:18-17.

Tomorrow is going to be a special day—we’ve had a bunch of those lately! The Wisconsin Lutheran High School freshman choir will be with us. (Can you bring some extra snacks for these young people and their families?).

See you in the AM! We are his!

Pastor Nate

An Either/or Love

In “City of God,” Augustine writes about a rightly ordered love. He means that we have to get our love for things in the right order. We should love the things that are to be loved. We should not love the things that are not to be loved. John speaks more directly and clearly about what and who should be loved and not loved. It is an either/or love. You cannot love the world or anything in the world. It all passes away; if you love it, it will destroy you. We are called to love our Father in heaven who has loved us before the world began and has shown that love in the person of his Son, Jesus. (1 John 2:15-17)

PS. Make sure you check out “the Mount Weekly” below. There is a LOT going on and you’ll want to be a part of it.

That you may know...

How do you know?

That is one of the questions John wants to help answer for us and in our hearts in this letter. Ten times in this letter, he states: “This is how you know...” He wants us to be sure and to know that we are remaining in God and walking in the light.

This weekend, Pastor Chris will be installed as our Mission Pastor here at Mount Lebanon. We’re celebrating and thanking God for the gift of a second pastor. It’s going to be quite a party. Extra pastors will bless him as he begins. Scholars will sing, dance, read, and serve to the glory of God. We will have an epic lunch together. It’s going to be quite a day. We hope you can be a part of all of it!

As we do all of this, John will help us know. Together we will apply some of John’s tests to our own hearts as we study 1 John 2:3-14. How do you know? John will help us be sure that we know.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Nate

10 Reasons to Attend

Ten Reasons To Attend

Christian Estate Planning Seminary

Saturday, April 21

10 am - 12 pm

Ten Reasons Why

1. You are a parent with minor children and do not have an estate plan.

2. You have a family member or potential heir with special needs.

3. You have a fully completed estate plan (last will and testament, living will, trust, powers of attorney, etc.) but haven't reviewed it in a while and may need to make updates.

4. You would like to maximize your giving under current tax law.

5. You would like to maximize your giving to your family and/or charities after you pass away

6. You'd like to understand the best way to specifically direct your giving after you pass away (scholarships, special projects, prolonged and specifically directed distributions to heirs).

7. You'd like to understand more about endowments and how they work/are supposed to work specifically the Mount Lebanon endowments including the Mahnke Student Aid Fund, Building Improvement Fund, and Memorial Trust Fund.

8. You like to get encouragement around stewardship principals and practices.

9. You like treats and fellowship😉

10. Because Pastor Nate and Jeff will be there!

    
    PS: If you can’t make the seminar, but would like more information. Let us know! We can still get you connected.

Walking Together

Walking with God

It must have been quite an intimate thing that Adam and Eve shared with God and each other. Reading the early verses of Genesis 3 leaves me with the impression that God often walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden during the cool part of the day. What an intimate sharing together with each other and God. I wonder to myself what they talked about, what joys they shared, what they anticipated. It must have been an intimate fellowship they shared with God and each other. They walked with God. They walked with each other. They enjoyed fellowship with God and each other.

Throughout the Bible, 'walking together' signifies more than mere travel companionship. It's about having a shared agreement, a fellowship. The prophet poses a rhetorical question: ‘Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?' (Amos 3:3). They embark on the journey together because they share an agreement, a fellowship, a sense of unity.

We share intimately in so much from our Savior. We share in the gift of the Holy Spirit. We share in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We share in access to the Father. We share in gifts that come from his heavenly throne. We share in so much and so intimately.

We are called, then, to walk with him in the light, to live in fellowship with him. But how do we do that when we’re sinful? How do we walk with him and with each other when so much sin exists in us and among us? How do we walk with him in such a close fellowship?

Walk in the light. That is John’s encouragement. This Sunday, we’ll continue our study of 1 John by looking at 1 John 1:5 - 2:2.
See you Sunday!

Pastor Nate

PS. Pastor Johnson’s installation is set for April 21 at 9:30 am. Can you help with the meal? Sign-up below or in church on Sunday.

PPS. Connect Groups kick off this Sunday. Sign-up below to get connected. If you haven’t tried one yet, check it out. You won’t regret trying even one or two of these studies.

Connect and Deepen your Fellowship

We are a community for the community. We are here to share and to show the forgiveness of God and the love of Jesus.

GROWING TOGETHER IN GOD'S WORD

The Mount is committed to helping people grow in their faith and in their relationship with God as we study the Bible together with fellow believers. In other words, we want to deep our fellowship - our relationship and connection to God and to each other. Solomon points out to us how important it is for us to walk together this way:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. Also if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

People cannot grow in isolation.   We need each other. As we said in the sermon last Sunday, life and always better together.

We want to velcro people to the two things that they need in every season of life and especially when times are tough: God's Word and God's people.  We are all about “doing life together” filled with God's Word. Oh, and we love to have fun together too! One of the biggest ways that we want to help people grow is through CONNECT GROUPS:

Connect groups exist to connect God’s people to the two things they need for life and eternity: 1) God’s Word; 2) God’s people. 

We pray that first and foremost these connect groups will provide God’s people a safe and intimate place to wrestle with, understand and connect God’s Word to their life.

We pray that these groups will promote the development of significant Christian relationships centered around the study of God’s Word.

Sign-up today!

Radical Love: Fellowship is the Goal

Radical Love

This Sunday, we’re kicking off a new series. We’ll be looking at the apostle John’s first letter for the next 10 weeks. In this letter, as with every book of the Bible, there is a very specific goal. Certainty is John’s goal.

In his first letter, John imparts a powerful message-we are deeply loved by God and are called to reciprocate this love. This letter is a testament to God's radical love for us-a love that forgives sins and grants eternal life. It's a love that is unwavering and unending. John’s goal is to cultivate Certainty - a Certainty that stems from God's radical love for us.

John's letter also serves as a call to action and a call to love one another radically. Our love is to mirror God's love – forgiving sins and embracing love in our relationships with one another and the world. John’s goal is to foster Certainty - a Certainty that blossoms into a radical love for one another.

As we begin to look at this letter aiming at certainty, we have a very important beginning.  John begins his first letter with two crucial truths. First, he identifies himself as a first-hand witness of Jesus and all that he did. John saw Him. John touched him. He heard him. All with his own eyes, ears, and hands.

From then on, Jesus made it John’s mission to declare the One who is Life and Light to the world. John did this so that we may have fellowship with each other and fellowship with our God. “I write this so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:4.

This Sunday, we will learn what fellowship is and what it means. We will also experience it together. You won’t want to miss this experience.

See you Sunday! Pastor Nate

Sunday’s Schedule:

8:45 am - Club 5:16 and At a Glance Studies

9:30 am - Worship

11 am - Snacks, Fellowship and Voter’s Meeting

Unshaken

Easter 2024 - Sunday March 31

7 am - Sunrise Service

8:15 am - Breakfast

9:30 am - Festival Service

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UNSHAKEN 

Psalm 16:8 – I keep my eyes always on the LORD.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

A story is told about a young man who went spelunking in some deep, dark caves.  A guide went with him and they had all that they needed.  As they began their exploration of the caves, at first, everything was wide open.  Big, large, wide-open passages.  Great, big, cavernous rooms.  At first, the young man felt safe.  He was out in wide-open spaces and his feet felt like they were on solid ground.  But as they explored deeper into the cave system, the footing became less secure, and open spaces became much tighter. Though he wasn’t claustrophobic by nature, he began to feel the pressure of the caves around him.  He imagined everything crashing down around him.  He wasn’t sure he could keep exploring; that is how intense his fear became.

His guide knew that he was starting to shake.  His guide knew the thoughts he was having because he could see it in his face, lit up by their head-lanterns.  He even heard it in his voice.  He wasn’t as sure or confident of himself as he was when they first started out that morning.  So, he gave him two pieces of advice: 1) “Keep your eyes on me.  I’ve been down this way before; I know where it all leads.  Keep your eyes on me; you will be safe.” 2) “Listen to my voice and the directions I give you.  I will be with you all and want to show you some great things further down and deeper in.”   

It’s the same thing for us in our lives as Christians.  Sometimes we feel like we’re standing on solid ground and in wide, open spaces.  But sometimes, we’re walking through life, and the ground seems pretty shaky; we feel the pressure of uncertainty and the insecurity of the unknown.  We’re not sure where it all leads.  God, however, is our guide.  And he says, “I will be with you.  Keep your eyes on me.  I know where this path leads, and you won’t be disappointed when you reach your final destination.”  He urges, “Listen to my voice.  Listen to the comfort I give you.  Listen to the direction and guidance I set for your feet.  I will be with you and want to show you some great things further up and further in.”

The young man followed the advice of his guide. He keeps his eyes up and his ears open.  Eventually, everything opened up, and they came into this massive room that was unlike anything he could have ever imagined after all the tight spaces they had walked through.

That is what God did for Jesus. He walked through the tightest space imaginable when he suffered death for the world. Yet, through it all, he kept his ears open and his eyes up.  And God did not disappoint.  He raised his Son from the dead and did not abandon him to the grave; he did not let his Holy One see decay.  Instead, he raised him from the dead, and now he sits at God’s right hand.

This is God’s greatest desire for us. We will walk through tight spaces.  Yet, as we keep our eyes up and our ears open, we will not be disappointed.  God has good plans for us, plans that bring him glory, plans that give us hope and a future.  God knows where he is leading us and we will not be let down when we get there.  We will not be abandoned, even in the grave.  He will be with us and raise us to eternal pleasures at his right hand.  Therefore, we will not be shaken!

PRAYER:

Lord God, my heart shakes within me as I consider the tight spaces in which I live.  My heart quakes at the uncertainty and insecurity I’m facing.  Lord, help!  I hear your voice this morning calling me to take my eyes off of the waves, to turn my eyes away from the tight walls pressing in on me on every side.  Heads us!  Eyes on me! And there you are.  You were never gone.  You have always been right by my side. Guiding, directing, and leading me to places that are far better than I can imagine.  My eyes look to you today, dear Lord, so I will not be shaken.  Amen.

Incited by Jesus

Stirred up for Jesus

Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” But they insisted, “He stirs up people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” Luke 23:4-5

         They weren’t wrong, you know. Jesus was stirring people up. He wasn’t doing exactly that of which they accused him, but they were right in a way. They were accusing him of inciting the people to rebellion. They were accusing him of seeking to overturn the rule of Pilate and of Ceasar. They accused him of being a disturber of the peace and setting up a kingdom that would rival the Romans. And if that were true - the way that they meant it - then Jesus would certainly have been guilty as charged, guilty of the cross, guilty of rebellion, and worthy of death.

         But they still weren’t wrong. They just didn’t really understand how Jesus was stirring people up. Consider how the ministry and message stirred up the hearts of people.

         He stirred up their hearts by overturning their religious/cultural norms. That was what got the Pharisees and teachers of the law so worked up against Jesus in the first place. His Word was challenging their rules, and they hated that idea. He was calling them to abandon their pursuit of self-justification in favor of Jesus-justification. But we all do that. We all want to claim a righteousness of our own. That’s why we get so worked up when people call us out on our sins. They’re proving that we’re not, which stirs up the inner lawyer in us to a stiff response.

         In the hearts of others a yearning to hear His Word and to see what Jesus would do next. They had a deep yearning to hear what Jesus had to say. That’s why the Jews couldn’t carry out what they really wanted to do. The people who thronged around Jesus were hanging on his words (cf. Luke 19:48). They were eager to hear what he had to say and receive the gifts he had to give. They had abandoned their pursuit of self-righteousness and were eager to receive righteousness, that is, by grace and through the cross of Jesus. They were eager to hear what Jesus had to see and hung on every word of his. He stirs us up to a yearning for his Word, hanging with bated breath on every syllable that dropped from his lips.

         He was (and is) also stirring up a radical love in our hearts for the people around us, the kind of love that puts other people ahead of us. As Jesus sat with his disciples around the Table, he taught them about a love that puts other people in our place. Yes, that’s what I meant to say. We have seats at the Table with Jesus. With the disciples, Jesus has given us a place in his kingdom and a place at the Table. And Jesus is among us as one who serves. So, Jesus stirs us up to give people our seat at the Table, to be their servants, and to be among people not as people at the Table but as one who serves (Lk 22:24-30). He stirs us up to radical love.

         And most of all, he stirs up in us a deep yearning and longing for a kingdom that is not of this world. That’s why Jesus was not a threat to Pilate, Ceasar, or the Romans. He wasn’t trying to set up a throne in Jerusalem and rule from there. He was bringing us into a kingdom that is not of this world. On the one hand, we are already citizens of that kingdom. That’s why we are stirred up to a deep love for others and a strong desire to do what pleases our king. We have seats at his table and receive eternal gifts from his hand. We are already citizens of that kingdom, an island of salt and light in this world. And at the same time, we are not yet there in this kingdom. That’s what the thief longed for from the cross. “Remember me,” he pleaded, “when you come into your kingdom.” We will be welcomed into that kingdom one day by the power and mercy of Jesus. Yes, Jesus stirs up in a deep yearning for his kingdom.

The word of Jesus incites us to something, but not to rebellion.

It stirs us up to radical love and hope that yearns.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep messing with me through your word so that I love radically and hope for a kingdom that is yet to be seen. Amen.

A Label that Sticks

Rahab, the __________________

Matthew, the _________________

Paul, the _____________________

Peter, the _____________________

Chances are good that just by reading the names, you were able to fill in a few of the blanks. (Read to the end, and I’ll share what I was thinking.) But the question is, why were you able to do it? Why were you able to fill in those blanks? Why were you able to apply the label to Rahab, Matthew or Peter?

The answer is sad to consider. You were able to do it because you know these people by their sins. You know how they failed Jesus and sinned against other people. You label them by their sin and their failure. That’s how you know them.

Labels are nasty things, especially when other people label us. They label us as the person who did this or that. They characterize us as this kind of person or the person who did that.  Those labels seem to stick. People know us by our sin.

Jesus was labeled, too: “This is the King of the Jews.” That’s the label that hung above his cross. Yet, for us, this is not a label of shame for Jesus but of glory. More than that, in this label hanging above his cross, we find hope and healing for our labels. This Sunday, we’ll be looking at Luke 23:32-38.

We’ll see you Sunday! It’s going to be another good one.

Pastor Nate

PS. Don’t forget! There will be a call meeting right after church together with an open forum in the community room.

PS AGAIN! Who have you invited to Easter? Don’t forget to hang your fish.

I am Barabbas

He should have been crucified. He should have been hung on that cross. I’m talking about Barabbas, of course. Okay. Maybe it wasn’t that obvious. Yet, it remains true. Barabbas deserved every bit of the pain of that cross and more of God, in heaven.

Yet, there was a substitute for him – Jesus! What a miscarriage of justice! What an improper use of power on Pilate’s part, making Jesus a pawn so that he might keep control of the people.

Yes, Jesus stood in for Barabbas and us too!

We deserved every bit of the pain of the cross and more! Yet, Jesus took our place! He stood in for Barabbas. He stood in for you. He stood in for me. He was abandoned. God and the people rejected him. He did all this so that we will not be abandoned. He did all this so that we will never be rejected.

Here’s some homework. On Sunday, we’ll be in Pilate’s court and consider things from Barabbas’ perspective. Listen to this song.

This Sunday is a big one. Let me count the ways:

1) It’s communion!

2) Pastor Chris will be with us in church. We’ll get to meet our new Mission Pastor.

3) It’s NAME TAG Sunday. Grab a name tag on your way into church. Get to know some new people (or some old ones better).

4) It’s a SUPER SNACK Sunday. With all these fun things going on, let’s add some food! Bring something to share. Let’s make it epic.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Nate

The Scars of Rejection

One of the tools that a writer has in their toolbox of character creation is someone who is called a foil character. A foil character in the story serves as a stark contrast to another character, usually the protagonist or the hero of the story. For instance, Harry Potter’s foil is Draco Malfoy. They are different and opposites in just about any and every way possible.

If we treat the Bible as literature - and it is an inspired work of literature, we can see authors of the Scriptures doing the same sort of thing. In this case, Peter serves as a foil to Jesus. Peter denies that he knows Jesus. He denies any association with Jesus, and even with the other disciples. But Jesus, on the other hand, never backs away from saying exactly who he is. In fact, in the short little section before us this Sunday, he makes incredible claims about his identity and work, even under intense pressure.

And, in this faithfulness and steadfastness of Jesus, we have help, strength, and forgiveness in the face of rejection. Yes, it’s true. Throughout our lives, we suffer the pain of rejection. Jesus did, too. Yet, in his rejection, we receive acceptance. In his condemnation, we get forgiveness. In his death, we find life. He was rejected that we might be accepted, received and forgiven. Yes, in his wounds, we are healed. We’ll be studying Luke 22:63-71.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Nate

PS. Check out the Mount Weekly, linked below for all other news and notes.

The Scars of Memory

The human mind is a powerful thing. It hangs on to things. It remembers things. And often, at least in my experience, it remembers the things that I have no desire to remember. It remembers the pain. It remembers the band times. It remembers things that I do neither want to nor choose to remember.

What do you think it was like for Peter to live forever with the name, title, and memory of “the one who denied Jesus?” What do you think it was like for Matthew to be known as “the tax collector?” What do you think it was like for them to be constantly reminded and to remember their moments of epic failure regularly?

I have moments like that, too, where I remember my moments of sin and failures against God and toward other people. Moments I can’t help. Moments that are triggered in me so that I remember my sin again. Perhaps you’ve lived through that, too.

This weekend, as we keep reading through Luke, we want to deal with those scars and the memory of our past sins. We’ll let the waves of mercy and the power of Jesus’ look do it’s work.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Nate

PS. Check out the Mount Weekly, linked below for all other news and notes.

SCARS - New sermon series

Scars tell stories. They tell stories about the things that we’ve done. We tackled that guy and ruined our knees for the rest of our lives. That’s a story we love to tell. Our scars also tell stories about things that happened to us. Wounds we received. Abuses we suffered. Pain and suffering have happened or are still happening to us. We’ve all been wounded in some way. We’ve all suffered something or from someone. We all have scars from those wounds. And those scars tell stories.

Jesus’ scars tell us stories, too. They tell us of what he suffered. They tell us what he endured. They tell us how he was traumatized and abused by sinful people. His scars tell us stories of our salvation. And it is in those wounds of Jesus, in his scars, that we find healing. Isaiah said it this way: “By his wounds, we are healed” (Is 53:5).

This Sunday, we’re starting a new sermon series called “Scars.” Throughout this series, we will find healing for our wounds in the wounds of Jesus. This Sunday, we will consider the burden of responsibility. It is a weight on all of our shoulders that presses down and may even threaten to crush us.

This Sunday will be special for another reason. The Lutheran Ceili Orchestra will be leading us in worship. This is always a special Sunday! We will gather a free-will offering for their ministry after the service.

Let’s continue the trend! Let’s make snack time EPIC again!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Nate

PS. Check out the Mount Weekly, linked below for all other news and notes.

Ash Wednesday

PSA: Read below for more information about a Lenten Bible reading plan and the imposition of ashes. We will continue our practice of the imposition of ashes tomorrow evening.

CONSCIOUS OF CONSCIENCE

Psalm 51:2-3 –Wash away my guilt, and cleanse me of my sin. For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.

It is amazing to me the different tactics that we use to appease and quiet our consciences.  Adam and Eve showed us how to pass the buck.  Adam turned it back on God because it was God who gave him that woman who gave him that fruit.  Eve blamed the snake.  It wasn’t their fault (can you hear the sarcasm dripping from my fingers?).  And over the years, we’ve only gotten better at appeasing our consciences.  We go into denial about what we’ve done or that it was actually sinful. We are the master of a thousand excuses. We’re often dishonest with ourselves and God about what we actually feel and think; about what we’ve actually done.  We actually convince ourselves that what we’ve done or what we’re doing is okay. We are the master at justifying our actions.  We make ourselves feel better about our sins by comparing ourselves with other people. There is always someone who is worse than me.

For approximately a year, David was in all of those places. He must have tried every trick in the book to quiet his conscience. I can hardly imagine the mental gymnastics David had to perform to excuse his adultery with Bathsheba and the gangster-like murder of Uriah, her husband.  But the time came when David couldn’t dance around his sin anymore. And it hit him like a load of bricks. I am completely aware of what I’ve done, and it sits on my conscience like a load of bricks. Wash me clean!

Parenting has helped me with this, personally.  I see my own children struggling to own up to and confess their sins to me.  I confront them, and they roll their eyes at me.  I discipline them, and they point the finger of blame.  What I’m trying to teach them is that there is only one answer when we get caught and called out our sin, “I’m sorry.”  It’s a bitter pill to swallow.  It hit me one night as I came home in a bad mood.  And then some of my neighbors cross a line and it upset me. So I confronted them about it, and I was not nice. It almost got heated.  So I started to walk back to my house, but then it hit me.  I was wrong. I couldn’t make excuses for the way I had talked or acted.  I had to go and confess it.

There is only one response for us when we sin.  Our initial response is to try to make excuses, to justify it, to blame someone else.   But when we do that, we leave our sin sitting on our conscience.  It might be glossed over or hidden for a while.  But it will come to roost one day and we will bear it. Confess it now.  Cry out to God from a broken heart.  Confess with the confidence that it is already forgiven. God promises us this grace and forgiveness.  He even says, “Before they call, I will answer” (Isaiah 65:24).  That is how certain and sure God’s forgiveness is.

God is a better Father than I am.  No doubt about that.  But this is what I want my children to know.  If you’ve sinned, confess it, and I will always forgive it. There may be consequences, but there is always forgiveness.  So, own it and confess it.  I will forgive it, and then we will move on in the peace of forgiveness.  God grant that to you today.

PRAYER::

Lord God, help me see you as a safe place to confess my sins. When I hold on to them and fail to confess them, they become like a sickness to my soul.  They sit on my conscience and weigh me down; sometimes I don’t even know it.  But you aren’t here to get me. You sent your Son to save me.  You want me to confess my sins to you and then, every single time, you want to forgive me for what I’ve done against you.  Keep me from being afraid of you.  Instead, teach me to run to you in confession whenever I sin against you.  Amen.

Ash Wednesday is the Wednesday that comes seven weeks before Easter, marking the beginning of the season of Lent.  During Lent, we focus with Christians worldwide on our need for repentance and forgiveness and on Jesus’ suffering and death, which provides that forgiveness.

At Mount Lebanon, we practice the Imposition of Ashes. Near the beginning of the service, worshippers can have their forehead or hand marked with ashes.  This is an optional worship activity.  Worshipers of all ages may receive the ashes, and parents who wish to participate are encouraged to spend time discussing the meaning of the action with their children.

Ashes can still hold rich symbolism for Christians today. The Bible says: “Sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all men” (Romans 5:12).  Though we are forgiven, our sin guarantees that we will die, and ashes remind us of this fact.  Recall what God said to Adam after the first sin, “You[will] return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

Ashes also symbolize our need to repent of the sins that contaminate our lives.  As our soul is dirty with sin, our bodies are marked with dirty ashes, which makes plain to everyone who sees us our heartfelt confession of sin to God.

The Imposition of Ashes is an age-old practice that may help add new meaning to your repentance and contrition during Lent.

May God bless our Lenten journey and the traditions that accompany it.

Commitment Sunday

It’s Commitment Sunday…

This is what you need to know.

This Sunday, 2/11, is Commitment Sunday. We’ve been talking about it for a few weeks now, about recommitting ourselves to supporting our congregation's regular work and special work. This Sunday will be a very special day for many different reasons. We pray it will be a gathering of God’s people that brings great joy - from beginning to end and then beyond into a time of fellowship! Bringing our commitments before the Lord is a small and even optional part of this day. It’s going to be a special and epic day.

This is what you can do to prepare.

1. If you’ve chosen to participate in the commitment Sunday, bring your commitment cards, sealed and marked with your name in the envelope. We pray that the intentional study and careful thought you’ve put into this have been a blessing to you.

2. Bring some extra food! Let’s make this a non-a-potluck-potluck snack time. What if our snack time became an extension of our worship service and not just something tacked on at the end? What if we lingered a little bit longer to share life with each other and to pray for one another? What if we didn’t hurry off but got to know people we haven’t met before, including guests? We won’t know if we don’t try. Bring some extra food and let’s see what happens.

3. Remember this about your commitments. They don’t get you brownie points with God or score special places in heaven. The true commitment that matters most on this Sunday is not your commitment to God, but his commitment to you. The true devotion that matters most this Sunday is not our devotion to God, but his devotion to you. That makes this Sunday less about you and more about him.

So, see you Sunday? It’s going to be a special day!

Pastor Nate

Sunday Schedule

Club 5:16 - Acts 29 - Study for Adults at 8:45 am

Sunday at 9:30 am.

11 am - Connect Groups + Acts 29 Study and Activity

The Joy of the Lord

I’m not sure what to do with the preposition “of.” It’s so ambiguous. Nehemiah says, “The joy of the Lord” is your strength. But what exactly does he mean? Does he mean that the “joy from the Lord” is your strength? Is he talking about a joy that’s yours? A joy that is aimed at you that he wants you to have? Is he telling you to be joyful?

Or is he talking about something else?

Is he talking about joy that belongs to the Lord? The “Lord’s joy?” In this case, he is talking about the things that give God joy, things like forgiving sins, things like delivering people, things like giving strength. Is that the joy that gives us strength?

That word “of” is so ambiguous. But maybe that’s just the point. It’s left ambiguous so that we can think about both. Perhaps Nehemiah wants to give us joy from the Lord so that we are full of joy and that our days of mourning and grief end. Perhaps, at the very same time, he wants us to lean into the things that give God joy. He wants us to hold both in dynamic tension and to gain strength and refuge from that joy.

A huge part of the Israelites' lives before the Lord and their commitment to him grew out of their attention to the Lord. We cannot rally the family or set out on any journey together unless we are giving our full attention to the Lord and his Word. Our festival joy doesn’t just grow out of finishing projects, but from the Lord and in his Word, where we find that “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” We’ll be looking at Nehemiah 8.

Take a look at this week’s “Mount Weekly” for information about “Commitment Sunday” (February 11).

See you Sunday! It’s going to be a special day!

Pastor Nate

You are what you...

You are what you…

How would you finish that sentence? You are what you… There are a lot of answers to that question. Just google it once and see what comes up. You will find all sorts of answers. You are what you eat. You are what you do. You are what you think.

There are, of course, other more powerful and important answers to that question. You are what God says you are, and he says you are forgiven. He says you are loved. He says you are sent. He says you are holy. You are what Jesus did for you, and he paid the price for your sins and credited his own righteousness to you. Moreover, you are what baptism makes you. You are a beloved child of the heavenly Father, a co-heir with Christ of all things, and co-ruler, seated with him by faith in the heavenly realms. This is a powerful identity bestowed and given to you by the power, might, and love of God our Father.

Yet, this does not mean that what we do is irrelevant or unimportant. What we do and how we live is vitally important. First, it is part of the way by which God does his work in the world. I’m talking, of course, about the doctrine of vocation. By virtue of your vocation, you are God’s mask in the world, the way by which he does his work.

What you do in your daily life matters because it orients you and centers your life on your God. Your eating is a spiritual activity because by it we seek to honor God and care for the body God gives us. Your drinking is a spiritual activity since, through it, we seek to live a life that honors him. Your simple attendance at worship is a spiritual activity since by showing up for church, you have told yourself (I hope!) that your God and your life with him is worth prioritizing.

Tomorrow, we’re going to dig into Nehemiah 5. We’ll have an honest conversation and study of the Scriptures regarding the place that our offerings have in our spiritual journeys. Our offerings are really not about raising money for the church. They have a higher calling than that. Your offerings are a spiritual discipline and activity that serves to center your life on God and his Word. Tomorrow, I’ll prove it to you.

The life of the church goes on. Word and Sacrament continue on day after day, week after week. Tomorrow, we’ll do it again. Centering our hearts and lives on the God who gives, on the God who saves. See you then!

Pastor Nate

Pastor Krueger Farewell

Pastor Krueger Farewell

Join us for worship this Sunday as we gather together one more time with Pastor Krueger and his family around God’s Word and for a meal.

Four years ago, Pastor Krueger began his service among us and with us here at Mount Lebanon. In October, he accepted a call to be a missionary in Idaho Falls, ID. Sunday, January 21, will be his final Sunday among us. We’ll have one more opportunity to hear God’s Word from him. We’ll have one more opportunity to encourage him. We’ll even send him on his way with God’s blessings.

We hope you’ll be able to make it! Worship begins at 9:30 am. A luncheon for all will be served in the school gym immediately after the service. The main meat and sides will be provided.

We’ll see you Sunday! Pastor Nate

Sunday Schedule

Club 5:16 - Acts 29 - Study for Adults at 8:45 am

Sunday at 9:30 am.

Fellowship Meal to Follow at 11 am.

Rise up and build!

Nehemiah wasn’t going to sit still. He listened to the report about what was going on back in Jerusalem and had to find out what was going on. So, he went to the king and asked for help to address the problems he had heard about. The king granted it, and so Nehemiah was on his way. He was on his way to learn more about what Jerusalem was up against. He was on his way to rally the family of believers in Jerusalem to rebuild and restore. He was on his way.

So are we. We have a report to make to you about the life and health of Mount Lebanon. We have a report to make to you about what is going on here. There is a report to consider for yourself, for the life that you get to live for God. There is a report to be given and a report to be heard. We’re on our way to climb up, to rally the family around the mission of God here among us and through us.

What are we going to do about it? What will you do about it in your life of following Jesus? What will we do as we pursue a mission with him? We’ll be looking at Nehemiah 2:11-18. There is a report to be given. What will your response be?

We’ll see you Sunday! Pastor Nate