May 2009 message from Pastor Homan: Jesus, our Good Shepherd
Dear Members , Friends and Guests of Our Saviour's,
Recently, I was outdoors when a rain shower caught me off guard. As I looked for a place to stay dry, a person said to me, "April showers bring May flowers." Even though I wasn't thrilled to be getting wet, I had to acknowledge that I enjoy the color transformation that takes place in part because of God's moisture falling from above. I thought at that moment of one of our hymns, "Beautiful Savior." I thought of these words:
Beautiful Savior, King of Creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I'd love thee, truly I'd serve thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
The month of may brings to mind another beautiful image, the image of the Good Shepherd. The fourth Sunday of Easter each year focuses upon the Good Shepherd, the one who gently cares for His own. Although many of us do not live on a farm, some, like me, have a background of growing up on a farm. That helps me appreciate the image of the Good Shepherd. But I still need to learn more.
The gospel for Good Shepherd Sunday teaches quite plainly that Jesus ins the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Now, the people who first heard Jesus say these words may have thought that he was peaking metaphorically about laying down His life. But after the cross, they realized that he meant it literally. He is the shepherd who gave his life for his sheep.
We learn not only from the words spoken by Jesus, but also from I John 3:16: "We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us." As followers of Jesus, we who are committed to go where Jesus went and do what Jesus did, ought to lay down our lives for one another, too. In John 3:17, the author offers a concrete example of how we can practice this, how we can lay down our lives for one another. "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?" John tells whoever follows the Good Shepherd to practice real love. This is easier said than done.
This month when you hear about the Good Shepherd, think about how you can live as Jesus, the Good Shepherd, taught you to live. Have a great May!
Pastor Brad Homan
April 2009 message from Pastor Homan: Share the Easter story
Dear Members, Friends and Guests of Our Saviour's
We see this image expanded in John 3, where salvation comes not from a bronze snake, but from Christ Jesus. John 3:16 teaches this way of salvation by teaching, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will be saved." That verse is the one many of us learned when we were very young.
Some years ago you may have been in your reclining chair, munching on snacks, while watching your favorite NFL team. During the game you may have seen a person in the stands with a placard sporing the name John followed by the numbers 3:16. This text is one of the most famous in Scripture and it is the reason why some try to get the message of God's love on national TV. I don't know how many people have come to believe in Jesus, but I give those who hold up this message credit for their enthusiasm.
Sometimes I believe we need more of an enthusiastic spirit when practicing our faith. We need to be willing to share the message of God's love for us. But too often we are too timid to share this message.
I love another passage from Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are you saved through faith, and not from yourselves, it is a gift from God, not by works, so that no one can boast." We need to focus upon God's grace for us. For God loves us without condition. He, in fact, loved us so much that Jesus died upon the cross in payment for our sins.
In a few days, we will focus upon the death of Jesus for us. May we be motivated to share this message with neighbors, friends and family.
Have a blessed Holy Week!
Pastor Brad Homan
March 2009 message from Pastor Homan: Applying God's Word to your life
Dear Members and Friends of Our Saviour's,
• The second is a commentary on Romans 1:16-17: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of god for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Have you ever wanted direction for your life ... and, to learn how God directs us, you take your Bible, open to a page of scripture, and with eyes closed you point your finger to a verse and read it?
For most of you, the results are mixed. Sometimes what you read is meaningful; at other times, the verse does not seem to apply to your situation.
I decided to try this with our new Bible study by Armin Panning, "The people's Bible—Romans." I tried it five times. Here are some of the sections of his study that I discovered:
• The first words come from discussion of Romans: "God credits that righteousness to the believer." god looks at the believer as perfectly holy. He declares the believer to be just and holy. Hence, justification is 100 percent completed.
The new life of faith, however—the Christian's walk with God—is in a constant state of becoming. The Christian's life of holiness, often called sanctification, grows and matures as the Christian experiences continually new outpouring of grace and goodness from a loving God. Do these words from the Bible study intrigue you? I hope so.
• The second is a commentary on Romans 1:16-17: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of god for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Of these verses the Romans study by Panning says, "Being ashamed of the gospel would imply that Paul was hesitant about proclaiming it, that he was afraid of making claims and promises from it that might go unfulfilled. If such unreliability was the case, when all is said and done, Paul would end up embarrassed and discredited for making false claims and promises that he couldn't keep."
• A final look at the commentary will come from near the end of the book: "What we do for a weak brother is in reality being done for Christ himself as well." Regarding such deeds done by his believers, our Savior testifies that on the last day he will declare, "I tell you the truth: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Hence, in living a life of loving service for others, we are actually glorifying the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I enjoyed turning through the pages of this Bible study. I hope this brings you excitement at growing in God's Word. Remember that we will have a study book for each one joining in the study. Come to our Sunday-morning Bible study and grow in God's Word.
Taking a look at God's Word,
Pastor Brad Homan
February 2009 message from Pastor Homan: Why we celebrate Lent
Dear Members and Friends of Our Saviour's,
Ash Wednesday comes near the end of this month (unlike last year when this day fell on February 6) and is a day when we seek to renew our allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ.
This holy day marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Let's take a moment to remember why the church has felt this season to be important. This season is a time when we prepare our hearts, minds and souls for the special days of Christ's death on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter. In Lent, we recognize we are simply dust and ashes without Christ, we confess our sins to God, and we follow Christ to the cross, where we are made whole again. In the early church, the six weeks of Lent were a time of training and instruction for converts to Christianity who were preparing to be baptized on Easter. The English word "Lent" is derived from the Germanic root for "long" because Lent occurs in spring, when the days lengthen.
Forty Days. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Sundays are excluded from the counting of the 40 days, because they remain "little Easters" even during this solemn season. The number 40 is significant because, at the start of his ministry, Jesus spent 40 days fasting, praying and resisting temptation, as we are called to do during Lent.
One Focus. Our focus during Lent is solely on the cross of Christ. For it was on the cross that the sinless Son of God suffered and died for us that we might be fully forgiven and live forever with Him in Heaven. Reading Scripture verses about the events leading up to Christ's crucifixion (see below) and putting a cross in a prominent place where it can be seen often keep our focus strong.
Pondering the Passion. The word "passion" in the context of Lent does not refer to intense romantic love, but to the sufferings of Christ from the night of the Last Supper to His death on Good Friday. Here are sections of the gospels to be read this season:
Matthew 26:14-27:66
Mark 14:1-48
Luke 22:14-23:56
John 18:1-19:42
Here are some of the hymns that are a special part of our worship. They help us to understand Christ's sacrifice for us. Sing or simply read the words of these Lenten hymns as part of your regular devotions.
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" 425, 426
"O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" 449, 450
"Abide With Me" 878
Looking to the cross of Christ,
Pastor Brad Homan
Ash Wednesday comes near the end of this month (unlike last year when this day fell on February 6) and is a day when we seek to renew our allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ.
This holy day marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Let's take a moment to remember why the church has felt this season to be important. This season is a time when we prepare our hearts, minds and souls for the special days of Christ's death on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter. In Lent, we recognize we are simply dust and ashes without Christ, we confess our sins to God, and we follow Christ to the cross, where we are made whole again. In the early church, the six weeks of Lent were a time of training and instruction for converts to Christianity who were preparing to be baptized on Easter. The English word "Lent" is derived from the Germanic root for "long" because Lent occurs in spring, when the days lengthen.
Forty Days. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Sundays are excluded from the counting of the 40 days, because they remain "little Easters" even during this solemn season. The number 40 is significant because, at the start of his ministry, Jesus spent 40 days fasting, praying and resisting temptation, as we are called to do during Lent.
One Focus. Our focus during Lent is solely on the cross of Christ. For it was on the cross that the sinless Son of God suffered and died for us that we might be fully forgiven and live forever with Him in Heaven. Reading Scripture verses about the events leading up to Christ's crucifixion (see below) and putting a cross in a prominent place where it can be seen often keep our focus strong.
Pondering the Passion. The word "passion" in the context of Lent does not refer to intense romantic love, but to the sufferings of Christ from the night of the Last Supper to His death on Good Friday. Here are sections of the gospels to be read this season:
Matthew 26:14-27:66
Mark 14:1-48
Luke 22:14-23:56
John 18:1-19:42
Here are some of the hymns that are a special part of our worship. They help us to understand Christ's sacrifice for us. Sing or simply read the words of these Lenten hymns as part of your regular devotions.
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" 425, 426
"O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" 449, 450
"Abide With Me" 878
Looking to the cross of Christ,
Pastor Brad Homan
January 2009 message from Pastor Homan: Begin the year with God
Dear Members and Friends of Our Saviour's,
At a worship service recently I offered an encouragement of how to grow in God's Word. I read about how to make God's Word real in our lives from a book, "You Can!" by Dr. Frank Minirth, the co-founder of the Minirth-Meier Clinics. In this book, the Christian is encouraged to have a confident faith, a faith that is transformed into action.
As we enter the New Year, our thoughts often focus upon how we can improve ourselves. I would also like to suggest that we work to improve our relationship with God's living and eternal Word. Here are some suggestions:
Keep this new year, 2009, focused on God's word,
Pastor Brad Homan
At a worship service recently I offered an encouragement of how to grow in God's Word. I read about how to make God's Word real in our lives from a book, "You Can!" by Dr. Frank Minirth, the co-founder of the Minirth-Meier Clinics. In this book, the Christian is encouraged to have a confident faith, a faith that is transformed into action.
As we enter the New Year, our thoughts often focus upon how we can improve ourselves. I would also like to suggest that we work to improve our relationship with God's living and eternal Word. Here are some suggestions:
- Read the Bible again and again—Spend 15 minutes a day in the Word, just reading it; this will allow you to cover both testaments in a year.
- Meditate on God's Word—Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you." How do we hide God's Word in our hearts? By saying it to ourselves over and over again, by meditation upon it.
- Ask God to make His Words real in your life—Turn the words of Scripture into your own prayers. How is this done? Simply by turning Scripture into your prayers. Find a verse of Scripture that fits your circumstances and make it your theme for the year. Need help in selecting a theme verse? Give me a call or stop by church and I would love to help.
- Apply the Scripture to your problems—For instance, if you have a problem with worry, look up the passages of Scripture that speak of worry. Or, turn to our hymn book and look to "I am Trusting Thee Lord Jesus." God's word certainly can help.
- And finally, never give up studying God's Word—We are told this in the Bible: "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Keep this new year, 2009, focused on God's word,
Pastor Brad Homan
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