The summer series is “Losing My Religion,” and over the next several weeks we’re going to work our way through the book of Hebrews.  We called it “losing my religion” because for some of those early Christians the peer pressure and persecution was so strong they started sliding back into the way of doing things, the old form of religion they had grown up with.  Let me try to paint a picture of what it might have looked like. 

Imagine if you’re one of the people this letter was written to.  You’re a Jew who was brought up on a tradition that’s been around for centuries.  It’s a system that God put in place with your spiritual hero Moses.  But along comes Jesus who says he’s the guy, the Messiah, that all of the Scriptures have been pointing toward, but he’s not exactly what you expected.  Yet you’re amazed at the way he taught. His attitude and actions were nothing like the other religious leaders of the time.  Jesus’ compassion, inclusiveness and truth telling, made you believe that the kingdom of heaven was available to you, so you put your eternal hope in him.  But now that he’s gone you’re beginning to question your decision.  Especially since your friends are split.  Some believe Jesus was who he said he was, others are glad they killed him.  And now that Jesus is gone some of your friends are telling you you’re following a false religion.  They’re telling you Jesus was wrong and crazy, and the only way to God is to go back to the old way of doing things, the old promises, the old system.  What do you do? 

Essentially this is what these new Christians were facing.  And I think some of us today face the same questions, the same pressure, from family and friends when we decide to leave a long standing religious tradition in favor of a relationship with Jesus.  If that’s you, the book of Hebrews will give you assurance that you made the right decision.  Even if you were raised following Christ this study will give you insight into your relationship with your Savior.  So keep reading a chapter a day (or even a half a chapter), and bring your Bible with you for the rest of this series. 

All of us, regardless of the job, have times where wonder if what we do matters.  Pastors included.  But then there’s times like this past weekend.  Let me explain.

The 4pm service at Lino Lakes is the service that’s recoreded and shown at White Bear and Spring Lake Park for their Saturday night services.  The goal is to make the 4pm as “good” as possible from a teaching stand point because that is the service that may be shown all weekend at the other locations.  But this past weekend, from my perspective, at the four o’clock…I stunk.  I did.  I felt flat, out of sync, and I struggled at times with what I wanted to say.   

But then something remarkable happened. 

At the end of the service when I offered people the opportunity to put their trust in Jesus as their Savior and Forgiver, dozens of people responded.  Why?  Because I’m not the one doing the saving!  I may have done what felt like a rotten job, but God is bigger than my poor delivery, and I can’t tell you how glad I am to know that because if it was all on me to make that happen I’m not sure anyone would go to heaven.  Father’s Day weekend, for those people who accepted Christ, will be remembered as the day their eternity was secured, the day they joined God’s family and the day all of heaven celebrated just for them. 

After what has been a surreal last couple of weeks we’re getting back to the Christian cliches.  Before I talk about what’s on tap for this weekend, I feel like I have to pass on a piece of advice.  When you’re faced with that awkward moment when someone tells you they’ve suffered some kind of set back or loss, resist the urge to say something that tries to make them feel better.  You know what I mean, because some well meaning person has said to you something like, “Everything happens for a reason,” or if you’ve lost a loved one they might say something absurd like, “God must have needed another angel for the choir.” 

No, He doesn’t need another angel.  And, no, not everything happens for a reason. 

People often say things like this when they don’t know what else to say in order to make the other person feel better about their situation or about God.  God can use all circumstances for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28), but he isn’t the cause of all our circumstances.  And that’s at the heart of the cliche we’re talking about this weeked, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”  This weekend I hope to set the record straight about what God does and does not cause in our life.  

I had an opportunity to go through the neighborhood where the tornado hit in Hugo…it’s devestated.  We’ve all seen pictures and videos by now, but that still doesn’t prepare you for seeing it first hand.  And I saw it a few days after the storm, after some clean up, so I can’t imagine what it must have looked like when it happened.  The group of us stopped by one Eagle Brookers house that was hit and while his house was still standing the walls had been pushed out by the wind from the inside.  The sliding glass door and windows had been blown out and the wind was so strong it actually pushed the walls out, like blowing up a balloon.  Seeing the damage made me thank God that more people weren’t hurt. 

What makes me proud to be part of this church is the response.  The response to the clean up efforts has been so strong the city has cut off volunteer registration.  The number of people calling the church to offer help to those affected is amazing.  I’m honored to minister along side a group of people who just don’t go to church, but who want to BE the church.  There’s one family in particular who live in the affected area, their house received minor damage so they’ve become something of a home base for water, food and basic supplies.  They’ve set up tents in their front yard and bought wagons to bring supplies to those cleaning up and going through the wreckage.  I’m in awe of how God is using them.  They are the hands and feet of Jesus.

Please continue to pray for those affected.  After the media goes away and reality continues to set in, that’s when our prayers and support will also be needed.   Let’s continue to be the church. 

It’s Memorial Day and I’m asking every Eagle Brooker to pray for the families affected by last nights storm.  We’ve all seen the news footage, it’s amazing and heartbreaking.  I know of one EB family who just made it inside their house before the hail started and then half their house disappeared.  Pray that God would comfort them during this time.  Rebuilding a house is the easy part, rebuilding emotionally can take far longer.