Saint Matthew Lutheran Church

A neighborhood church making a world of difference.

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With Love & Thanks: Farewell from Pastor Sara

Dear Ones of Saint Matthew, as Jason, June, Levi and I prepare to leave this community, there is much grief in our hearts. The depth of the grief we feel is reflective of the depth of love we have for you as our faith family. Within that love and grief there is also a great bubbling up of gratitude.  I am overwhelmingly thankful for you, that this is the time and place God sent me to for my first call as a pastor.  So here are a few of the many words of thanks I long to offer you, to give glory to God and thank you for the past seven years I’ve had the privilege to serve as your pastor. 

ŸThank you for letting me in to your times of joy, like baptizing you and your children!  To hear the stories of what has brought you to long for the life of Jesus – and be baptized into it – has been an honor for me as your pastor.  And for the joy of weddings, 1st Communions, women’s retreats, and all the ways I stepped into your life and saw God’s goodness at work.  Wow!  I thank you – I will hold those memories dear. 

ŸThank you for letting me in to your family’s precarious, precious moments – from heart-breaking times in the hospital, to holding vigil as death drew near, times of tears as a family or marriage fell apart, in the shock of an unwanted diagnosis and tragic events.  I thank you – for in these moments what did we encounter? God’s        unfathomable care.  His grace, a shimmer of his Light in the darkness, signs of redemptive beauty, healing, and peace when things are at their ugliest and craziest. God shows up when we are in greatest need.  And yes, as your pastor this is what I witnessed in your lives. Thank you for letting me experience God’s love with you.

ŸThank you for helping me find a voice for preaching God’s Word.  There is holy terror and joy when standing up in front of y’all on a Sunday morning – because it is a tremendous honor and responsibility.  Thank you for     witnessing to the power of the Spirit to speak into your lives even through (and in spite of) me.  I discovered great joy in preaching as your pastor.

ŸThank you for those who stepped into Care Ministry and Prayer Ministry with whom I bumped elbows “in the trenches” of ministry. Those who served in the Hospital Care Team, as Home Visitors, our GriefShare leaders, our Sunday morning prayer ministers, our Tuesday Healing Ministry, all those who volunteered – I have seen the Kingdom of God touch down to earth through your loving service.  A million thank yous for your friendship and your willingness to listen for God and step out in faith – you have taught me how to lead, you have shown me the power of God.  I will never be the same!

ŸThank you for becoming extended family for our family. For investing in Jason and me and our children, for sharing in meals, for being our encouragers and support. For your good humor and grace. For the daily grind of sharing in life and bumping into one another as we follow Jesus together. We love the life we have lived with you! 

At my Ordination on July 8, 2007, Pastor Kevin preached on Ephesians 3:17-19.  He articulated a central hope and prayer for the ministry before me – and it was not best wishes for success or hope for rich learning.  The prayer was one of Christ’s love, that first and foremost I would know I’m the Beloved of God and from that place of belovedness I would step out in loving service and obedience.  At the time I had no idea how completely God would knock my socks off with His love in these past seven years!  But he most certainly has.  This is my prayer for you, my beloved friends and family of Saint Matthew.  May you know who you are – always – as Beloved of God.  For you have shown me this Love and for that I am forever grateful and forever changed.  You will be missed and    always thought of with delight and gratitude. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy     people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the    measure of all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:17b-19

Pastor Sara is called to Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Kirkland, Washington, where she will help launch a new church targeting young adults on the Eastside of Seattle.  We hold her, Jason, and this new ministry in hope and prayer.

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Staff Search Updates

Update: Search for High School Ministry Team Leader

Over twenty five resumes have been received and are being reviewed by the committee charged with the task of identifying the next High School Ministry (Forge) Team Leader for Saint Matthew.  The final candidates will begin the interview process in the next few weeks.  Please keep the interview team in your prayers as they work together to seek the person the Lord has called to lead the High School Ministry going forward. 

Members of the team are, Anne Lewis (Council), Sherry Whitmarsh, Natalie Fassio, Natalie Adey, Kyle Hearn, Andy Smith

Update:  Search for Worship Arts Team Leader

The search for our new Worship Arts Team Leader is well underway.  We posted the job opening on May 21 and have received 25 resumes.  The job posting is now closed and we are no longer accepting applications.  Over the next couple of weeks, we will continue to sift out the strongest applicants and move forward by scheduling live interviews.  We expect interviews will begin the last week of June.  Our hope is to have a candidate chosen by early July.  

The job of Worship Arts Team Leader was broken into two positions - a Team Leader and an Associate. But after looking at the initial resumes as well as budget restraints going forward, it was determined that we would keep with our current structure, a Team Leader and a part-time administrative assistant. Most of our job applicants are coming to us with great technical skills and a real facility in the use of information technology. The top three candidates have been determined and your prayers are now being invited for the team to discern who God is calling to Saint Matthew.

Worship Arts Team Leader Search Team: Lara Smith, Janet Selby, Matt Sanregret, John Hanken, Becky Ingram, Beth Bremer, Kevin Murphy, and Jason Bendickson.

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Sunday morning announcements

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR June 15 · Donations for Honduras Mission Trip – deadline is next Sunday. Three separate missions, each asking for different donations - Soccer mission would like to take your used soccer uniforms, cleats, socks and balls - Music and Children’s Rescue missions would like to take school supplies, toiletries and medical supplies – a list is in the bulletin of their specific requests Please bring next Sunday and place in box at the Welcome Center · Farewell Reception for Pastor Sara and Jason on June 29. Join us in thanking and honoring these people as they prepare to move to Washington to fulfill a call on Pastor Sara to serve a new congregation. Instead of preaching, Sara will be available all morning for you to wish her well. Jason will be leading the worship but will come in the room between services. We encourage you to bless them by writing a note or card expressing your thankfulness for their ministry among us and bring it to the Welcome Center. We are asking for donations of goodies to share for the reception and people to help serve and clean up. If you are willing, please sign up at the Welcome Center or on our website.

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God is Speaking to You

This month is the third anniversary of providing healing prayers for people on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of the month. In these three years, the team has prayed for over 950 people.  Each week as the team faithfully shows up, so does the Holy Spirit.  His presence grows stronger and stronger when we gather to minister to His people.  Many people who have been prayed for have experienced some to complete healing.  Everyone leaves having been touched by His love.

Prior to praying, the team asks the Holy Spirit what word He has for this person.  Many team members see a picture, some hear a scripture passage, some sense a certain smell, some hear or sense a particular word or phrase.  When these words are given to those who come, some know immediately what it means, "Oh - the truck you saw was the truck I rode in with my grandpa when we delivered mail."  or "That scripture passage speaks to what I have been wrestling with and praying about for these past couple of weeks."  Some people say, "I have no idea what that means."  Some of those people come back to us later with the answer, "I figured it out - the skyscraper you saw was on the cover of the book I have been reading." How encouraging it is to find out that the Holy Spirit knows us intimately!

A similar connection is made when words are given on Sunday mornings.  One Sunday, the word given was “Tiger.” The word didn’t make sense because it wasn’t a part of the body. But someone came down for prayers, telling us that their pet dog named Tiger is going through medical problems and the whole family is suffering.  What an amazing connection!  The Holy Spirit was leading that person down for prayers through a word that made sense only to them.

In Mark 10:46-52, blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by, and he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."  The crowd tried to get him to be quiet, but he called even louder, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”  The disciples went to him and said, "Cheer up!  On your feet!  He’s calling you."  He jumped to his feet and came forward.  Jesus told him that his faith had healed him, and he received his sight.  

Many people long for God to speak to them.  They think that they will only hear from Him if they hear a voice in their ear.  But God speaks in other ways also - one way He speaks is through other    people, like the people who listen for His voice every Sunday    morning.  They hear words from Jesus and pass them along to the pastor, who gives them out on Sunday mornings during communion.  When you hear these words, consider them as Bartimaeus did—Jesus is calling you!  Every time we gather together in worship, the Holy Spirit is there and so is Jesus’ power to heal.  Coming down for prayers is an act of faith.  So, if you hear the word, "neck" and you have a problem with your neck, Jesus is calling you! Cheer up!  Jump to your feet and go down for prayers - He wants to heal you.

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The Message of the Mission

PENTECOST 2014 THE MESSAGE OF MISSION: Christian Mission finds its source in the God revealed in Scripture, who sent His Son for us, sends His Spirit to live in us and summons all people to Himself. The Church is called to be a community shaped by the cross and mandated to grow into the image of Jesus Christ so that he may be glorified. Saint Matthew seeks to be and live out that Mission in everything we do. This sermon series is about becoming Mission Saint Matthew. The book for sermon preparation will be a multi-ethnic text by Howard Peskett & Vinoth Ramachandra, The Message of Mission, InterVarity Press, 2003.

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Worship this Sunday: "The Spirit of Mission"

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. The day of Pentecost is recognized as the birthday of the church. What happened on the day of Pentecost, and what does that have to do with the church today? Everything! The Holy Spirit was sent to transform lives and to empower the people of God for mission in the world. Saint Matthew seeks to celebrate God's empowering presence in our lives in everything we do! Pastor Andy will give the message of Pentecost from Acts 2:1-21. Everyone is invited to wear RED to commemorate the indwelling and empowering fire of God's Spirit within us!

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Opportunity and Challenge by Pastor Kevin Murphy

Serving into the middle of my 16th year at Saint Matthew has taught me a few things:

ŸPastors (and some of the staff and people) come and go, but the DNA of a congregation remains. Saint Matthew has always been a Christ-centered congregation of leaders and committed disciples.

ŸI am the fourth pastor to serve as the senior leader at Saint Matthew and every senior pastor has written a significant chapter in the life of this congregation. Pastor Stenman wanted to build a strong,      neighborhood church that is very connected to the wider community. That remains true to this day. Pastor Wagner was the quintessential churchman who wanted Saint Matthew to be a congregation of   families that was an extended family to one another. That remains to this day. Pastor Niemi expanded everything: the buildings, the staff, the ministry, the scope of who Saint Matthew is and what we do. That remains to this day.

ŸThe chapter that will characterize my ministry is still being written. It is hard for me to summarize because I am too close to it to be completely objective. The next pastor will be able to see clearly what was added during my leadership (and what were the weaknesses).

All that is to say God is in control and God has Saint Matthew very much in mind and will see us through all the staff changes and this time of transition. As I mentioned in my sermon on Easter morning, we are committed to having the highest quality preaching and teaching during this season and the highest quality pastoral care. “It’s all about Jesus” and we are taking care of each other will never be in question during these days.

Please remember the staff and the leadership of our congregation in your daily prayers. We have a couple dozen people working on the interview teams for Teen Ministry Team Leader, Worship Arts Team Leader, Worship Arts Administrative Assistant, and Teen Ministry Administrative Assistant. Please pray for them: that God would send us great candidates; for spiritually discerning the people will be the best fit at Saint Matthew; for the process of them being integrated into our staff.

Though times of transition can be a challenge, we see great opportunity in seeing how God is going to realign our staff and the future ministry in the coming year(s). Jesus says to us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, trust in me” (John 14:1).

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Sermon: “The Church’s Maturity” – Kevin Murphy, Ephesians 4:7-16

Listen to the Sermon HERE

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This morning we conclude our six-week sermon series entitled, “A Resurrection People: Jesus Rising from the Dead Changes Everything.” We have been focusing on what is different about our lives because Jesus is alive, and how that difference ought to be observable and world-changing. Today I want us to consider that “each of us has gifts that are to be used to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Building up the Body of Christ means that we are equipped for unity and strengthened for maturity.”

Last week, Pastor Andy made it clear that we are unified around the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. With Jesus at the center, people of amazingly diverse backgrounds, cultures and even political persuasions can be held together in this one body. We are unified around this common creed, “Jesus is Lord.” If Jesus is Lord, Caesar is not. If Jesus is Lord, no religious nor political system is. If Jesus is Lord, I am not and you are not. So we concluded that humility, gentleness, forbearance and love are the attributes of Jesus which will allow is to be unified around his Lordship. Today we are going to look at the second-half of the fourth chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Church of Ephesus, and I am going to ask you to please stand, if you are able, for the reading of God’s Word:

7-13 But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,

He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the booty, He handed it all out in gifts to the people.

Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love (Ephesians 4:7-16, The Message).

Paul talks about gifts from the perspective of Psalm 68 which he quotes at the beginning. It is a psalm which celebrates the victorious procession of the King of Israel, which Paul now interprets to be Jesus - the Risen, Ascended and Victorious Messiah-King of Israel. To the Victor go the spoils and the result in our case is that our victorious and risen Lord gives “each one of us the gift of grace” (Ephesians 4:7).

We have spent a fair amount of time – more than other churches – talking about the five-fold ministry and the importance of our recognizing these gifts for ministry that every believer in Jesus has been given. These are not just leadership gifts, though they should be used for leadership. These are the very wiring God has placed within us so that we can equip the saints for “skilled servant work” and we can become “fully developed and fully devoted mature adults, fully alive like Jesus himself” (Ephesians 4:13).

Paul talks about his own understanding of his gifting to be an apostle earlier in Ephesians 3:

7-8 This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.    8-10 And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! (Ephesians 3:7-10, The Message).

So we might conclude that what Paul says was a sheer gift in his life, and he knew this from personal experience – this was not natural gifting. This was not his life’s ambition. He didn’t go into this work as a result of some psychological need in his own life, “a sheer gift, a real surprise” he says – he believes our five-fold gifting is the direct result of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven.

The most important thing to note about these five-fold giftings is that they are not an end in themselves, but they are to release all the other gifts of God’s people. “Equipping” has a wide range of meanings “to repair, to train, to prepare and to restore.” Even in these definitions we get some definitions of how the five-fold ministry can be used to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” And the goal of maturity also has a very specific meaning. “Maturity” in the New Testament carries the ideas of “completion” or “perfection.” Most of us remember the bumper sticker that says, “Please be patient with me, God is not finished with me yet.” God’s goal for the Church is to look like Jesus. That’s going to take us our whole lives’ long.  In writing to the Christian in Corinth, Paul says it this way:  “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV). But we should also have a sense of how we are progressing – now, here, today.

The clearest way for us to see the true nature of the unity and maturity God is calling us towards is given to us by Paul in a series on contrasts in verses 14-16:

No longer gullible infants but mature adults. The contrast here is between a naïve and dependent child, and a level-headed and responsible adult. We have all known mature teens and immature adults, so don’t think in terms of years. But the Christian who constantly has to create some drama, who exhibits a hyper-critical spirit, and who insists on their own way all the time is an infant. The wiser Christian who knows to always take a deep breath, and reads the situation carefully (and in most instances recognizes a certain complexity in every situation), and responds responsibly and positively is an adult.

No longer tossed about but joined and held together. Error in the Church often looks like people who try to hijack Bible study and make every conversation into a devil’s advocate opportunity. Those who promote instability and chipping away at a healthy congregation’s resiliency. A mature church can count on the preaching and teaching being biblically-based, groups are responsibly and accountably led, and there is a general sense of the leadership pulling in the same direction.

No longer deception but truth.  The Bible is clear that false teaching has supernatural origins. The devil is called cunning and deceitful, which I would say includes people who say one thing to one person and something else to another based on what they believe that person wants to hear. To extend Paul’s “sailing metaphor,” Error is designed to slow us off course (forgetting the destination), sends us swirling in gusts (critical instead of thankful), to get us marooned (isolated) and up creeks (losing hope).

No longer cunning but loving. False teachers are those whose primary concern is meeting their own needs, feeding their own egos, or filling their own wallets. The contrast here is those who will “speak the truth in love.” These are the mature Christians who will insist on saying what needs to be said because they want the best for those to whom they are speaking. This is not just about honesty in conversation, it is about intentionally pointing people toward Jesus, and not making them dependent on us or our opinions.

No longer human lies but Christ’s truth. The nourishment, life, growth and protection of the Church come from Christ alone. Jesus wants the best for us, and so it is for our blessing that we see the five-fold ministry promoted to help us all attain to the unity and maturity Jesus desires.

No longer crafty people serving themselves, but honest, loving people, serving each other. Paul has used the imagery of immature children and inexperienced sailors; his third picture is of a healthy body. So how do you picture a healthy body? Some people have overblown ideas of themselves and unrealistic views of what the church should look like (picture of body-builders).  Eugene Peterson has it right when he describes a fit runner taking a 10k in her stride (picture of a fit woman running).

So we conclude where we began last week. The goal we are working towards is unity and maturity, and last week’s sermon and today’s are part of a whole. I would want to lift up the same virtues which Pastor Andy highlighted last week. On a scale of one to ten: 1) How humble are you? (let’s agree that choosing five is not an option. Make it 4 or make it 6 if you believe you fall mid-range on the humility scale). 2) Are you known to be a gentle person? 3) How patient are you? 4) How loving are you?  5) How much do you value unity in the Body? Total up those 5 numbers and multiply it by two to get a one hundred point scale, and let’s give ourselves a grade on how spiritually mature you are. Where I teach on Monday nights, 100-90 is an A, 89-80 is a B, 79 – 70 a C, and everything below 70 is a failing grade. What’s your report card on spiritual maturity? I gave myself an 82, a B-. I still have a ways to go in spiritual maturity.

This is God’s will and word to us today. How will we respond? Let’s make these verses Ephesians 4:1-17 a matter of personal reflection in the coming weeks. Let’s ask God to further speak into our lives and ask how He can make us more like Jesus. Let us pray:  O Lord, my God. Form me more fully into your likeness. Use the circumstances and interactions of this day to form your will in me.  From the frustrations of this day form peace. From the joys of this day form strength.  From the struggles of this day form courage.   From the beauties of this day form love. In the name of Jesus Christ who is all peace, strength, courage and love. Amen.

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Sunday's Sermon: "The Resurrection Unity"

Christ is Risen!  He is Risen, indeed!   The physical Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just a one-time historical event, nor is Easter merely a season on the church calendar...The resurrection of Jesus is central to our identity as His followers.  We are Easter people.  There is no greater evidence to support the fact of Jesus' physical resurrection from the dead than the transformed community he leaves behind.  This Sunday, Pastor Andy will speak on, "The Resurrection Unity" from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  As Resurrection People, our unity in the midst of real diversity will lead to the building up of the Body of Christ into maturity.

 Ephesians 4:1-6

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Saint Matthew Has Three Weeks of Honduras Missions Summer of 2014

This will be the sixth summer that Mission Partners are going to serve at the Children’s Rescue Mission (CRM) in Tuepasenti, Honduras. It began with Susan Hopkins going down with Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Dana Point, CA in the summer of 2009, and upon returning asking if she could recruit people from Saint Matthew to go the following year. So much has happened since!

Starting in the last week of June, there will be three back-to-back mission trips from Saint Matthew to Tuepasenti, Honduras:

Music with a Mission (June 28-July 5) – after going to Honduras the past two summers, Laurie Carlson and her daughter, Natalie Fassio, are leading a group of eleven violinists and their families (20+ folks) to share their music with the people of Tuepasenti and the surrounding villages.  They are planning to establish sustained musical programs in the middle school and high school in town.

Soccer Clinic Mission (July 5-11) – since this trip was planned at the end of last summer, both boys and girls football (“soccer”) teams have been organized in each of the five villages that make up Tuepasenti and the  surrounding area. These “clubs” will come into town for two one-day clinics, hosted by CRM and ten folks from Saint Matthew - from professional soccer coaches to support staff. Then on day three, we will host a round-robin style tournament on the Municipal Pitch.  This trip is co-hosted by Mike & Jessica Kelley and Mike & Mary Hoffert.

Saint Matthew Mission Week (July 11-18) – this will be the fifth time that Mike and Cheryl Sigler have hosted the trip to Children’s Rescue Mission. There is lots of time for fun, music and art with children, meals shared with seniors, home visits, praying for the sick, and times of study, worship and encouragement with the pastors and Mission staff in Tuepasenti. There is something for everyone on this trip. Special skills are appreciated and used, but your presence is the greatest gift of all.

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Sermon: "The Church’s Meal" - Kevin Murphy, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Listen to the sermon HERE

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

C. S. Lewis writes: “There are three things that spread the Christ-life to us: baptism, belief, and that mysterious action which different Christians call by different names – Holy Communion, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper. At least, those are the three ordinary methods. I am not saying there may not be special cases where it is spread without one or more of these…And I am not saying anything about which of these three is the most essential….Anyone who professes to teach you Christian doctrine will, in fact, tell you to use all three…” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 47-48).

In the past five weeks we have been looking at how we are Easter people, the Body of Christ which is both the evidence of and the representatives of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen that we are called to be the fellowship of the burning heart (Luke 24:13-35). We have seen that we are to be devoted to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer (Acts 2:43-47). Last week we looked at a brilliant case study of how we are to demonstrate God’s grace and generosity in the way we live our lives (2 Corinthians 8 & 9). Today, I want us to look in depth at why we consider the Lord’s Supper to be central in our faith formation and Christian worship.

Will you please stand as we read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26  23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NRSV).

The vast majority of Christians have held two key commands of Jesus to be “sacramental.” The first is “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19, 20). We are commanded to go and make disciples, and making disciples is a two-part process – baptism and teaching.

There is no such thing as an unbaptized Christian in the New Testament. When one became a Christ-follower they were baptized. The idea that there would be a period and a process of catechumenate where a person received instruction prior to baptism is a later development, and I will tell you that my strong preference is that a person is baptized and then see themselves at the beginning of a life-long journey following Jesus. A letter is going out this week to a variety of folks at Saint Matthew reminding us all once again that there are no unbaptized Christians. This is the prescribed Christian initiation experience. It is a one-time event, and all Christians are to be initiated by being forever connected to Jesus’ death and resurrection through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.

In commissioning the disciples in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus himself says, “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Jesus makes it clear that we are saved by faith, but he also says if you believe, you will be baptized.

The other clear command for Jesus’ followers, in terms of on-going practice is Jesus’ words at the Institution of the Lord’s Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24, 25). Unlike Baptism, which was clearly a one-time initiation experience, this celebration of the Lord’s Supper was to be a regular occurrence.

The tradition which was passed on to Paul (he claims by Jesus himself) recalls that it was at the final meal that Jesus shared with his friends “on the night when he was betrayed” (1 Corinthians 11:23). By Paul not mentioning Judas by name, he was possibly inferring that the Corinthian Christians were betraying Jesus by the shameful way they had been practicing the Lord Supper. In 1 Corinthians 11:17, Paul says, “Instead of coming together to celebrate the Sacrament, you are coming apart” (1 Corinthians 11:17). This reflects a larger reality with which they are struggling. Paul talks about “divisions…quarrels” among the believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10, 11) and these are spilling over into their practice of worship.

You’ll note that we are quite careful with the Words of Institution at Saint Matthew. This is the tradition that Paul says came directly from Jesus himself. We don’t feel the need to improvise on these words. These words are to determine the whole meaning, atmosphere and behavior in any celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This is remembering Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf, and it cannot be taken lightly. So it is the words which gave the actions their significance.

“Jesus took bread…He gave thanks…he broke it…and He said, ‘This is my body which is for you’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). And then he added this earth-shaking command, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce says, “In the biblical sense ‘remembrance’ is more than a mental exercise; it involves a realization of what is being remembered. At the Passover feast the participants are one with their ancestors of the Exodus; at the Eucharist Christians experience the Real Presence of their Lord” (F. F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame, p. 111).

“In the same way also he took the cup, after supper….” (1 Corinthians 11:25). The cup of blessing which is the final cup of wine in the Passover meal, which Jesus used to share the New Covenant, is a picture of delight and celebration in God’s blessing. It is the “cup of salvation” (Psalm 116:13). But it also portrays God’s judgment, “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pour out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs” (Psalm 75:8).

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus had prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:41-42).  Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath, drained it to the bottom of the cup, so that you and me and everyone who trusts in his saving act can enjoy the cup of thanksgiving and blessing!

“This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). I believe Jesus is recalling the words of the prophet Jeremiah, which every faithful Jew knew by heart: 31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Jesus becomes the Passover Lamb whose shed blood on the cross creates a New Covenant with Jews and non-Jews, rich and poor, the most-uptight legalist to the rankest sinner, women and men. Everyone can now know the glorious freedom of forgiveness and have a personal knowledge of God!

So as Easter people, and the community of the Resurrected One, we have a beloved Covenant relationship with God and with each other. And here’s Paul’s critique of the Corinthian Christians which we cannot ignore. Never forget that this is about Jesus’ death. God loves you so much that God sent Jesus to die for us. And we should also never forget that there is a day in the future when all God’s children will be gathered around His throne. Don’t forget he died; don’t forget His promises are sure!

So whenever we gather together, we celebrate this meal. We are always remembering what Jesus did for us. We know that Jesus stands at the beginning and end of human history, and that he will never leave us orphaned. That’s why we always celebrate this Meal together. And that’s how we celebrate being a sign of Jesus’ resurrection which changed the course of human history forever. Amen.

[saintmatthewlc]

7th Annual Global Multicultural Concert - May 18 at 6pm

Global International Missions Presents 7th Annual Global Multicultural Concert  Sunday, May 18 6:00pm - 8:00pm Saint Matthew Lutheran Church 399 Wiget Lane Walnut Creek, CA 94598

The public is invited to enjoy an evening of music and worship that celebrates the goodness of God and the beautiful diversity of God's people. this colorful concert features praise choirs,worship bands, children's choir, and dance teams from many of the cultures represented in the Bay area, and beyond! included are participants from Burma, Indonesian worship dance, African-American Gospel choirs, European and Romanian Praise Lamb Missionary Men's Choir, Russian, Messianic Jew, Korean Youth Body worship, China, Japanese Children's Choir ,Hispanic churches Union Band, Song, & Harp; Pacific Islander, Hawaiian cultural backgrounds. They are all from many different churches and traditions, coming together to pour out their hearts in this performance.

Master violinist Maurice Sklar's Amazing performing for Revival our Nations.

"Praise the Lamb" Romanian Missionary Men's Choir team from all of cross state.

Emmanuel Palabra Viva / Canto Nuevo Christian Church from the East Bay All-Latino Salsa Band and Latino Harp (AARPS) Perform; True Vine Ministries from East Bay All Afro-America Gospel Team; Haven Baptist Church from the Russian Children Hand, Bell, & Praise Team; Indonesian Baptist Church Body Worship; Tri-Valley Presbyterian Youth Worship Dance from Korea; Vocal Soloist from Seoul, South Korea, China,America. Japanese Christian Church Children Choir of Walnut Creek; Saint Matthew Worship Praise Team & Choir; Messianic Jew Team perform the Shofar; Special Saxphone perform from Bethel Baptist Church; and All Nations Choir and Praise Team will sing together. The entire group will perform "Amazing Grace" and "God Bless America " on the Stage as the finale for Revival our Nations.

The message of hope and Spiritural strength comes clearly through the music, the message, and the spirit of this unique and inspiring gathering. This gift is for all of us! The concert is free, donations are accepted. The vision of Global International Missions (GIM) is to expedite effective and fruitful world mission and evangelism through the concerted efforts of all missions-minded churches in America and to contribute to the continuous revival of the multicultural Body of Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit..."  Furthermore, "Global International Missions exists to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) given by our Lord. We seek to do this by reaching out to lost souls of every culture and every generation everywhere in the world, by helping hurting people by ministering to their personal needs, and by passing out God's word to everyone who is spiritually hungry. As we go, we seek to be intentional in connecting with each person Christ commands us to reach." 

[saintmatthewlc]

Rev. Dee King—New Interim Care Ministry Team Leader

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

My name is Dee and you have seen me around here for over five years.  I’ve been assisting in Worship for the past few months.  I am blessed to be following PastorSara in pastoral care ministry on an interim basis through July.

I am an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and served in West Ohio for 12 years before moving to sunny California.  I love it here and don’t miss the snow at all…or the humidity and mosquitos!  I could stand a few more thunderstorms and some lightning bugs, but the tradeoff is definitely tipped in my favor!  Saint Matthew is such a faithful, dynamic congregation.  You have already enriched my life so much.  Now I get to give back in a more substantial way.

This is a half-time position, so I will be here until noon Sunday through Thursday.  I can be reached at 932-1955 ext. 107 or online at [email protected].  Please call with any pastoral care needs.  You can also fill out one of the cards in the attendance pads in the pews, drop it in the offering plate or leave it at the Welcome Center and I’ll contact you.  We are well equipped with Hospital Care Team, home visitors, email prayer team, TLC (for rides, meals, etc.) and pastors on call 24/7/365.

I’ve noticed recently that in an emergency, sometimes people don’t know how to proceed.  So PLEASE TAKE NOTE NOW before you have a crisis!  If you need a pastor after hours, please call the church phone number 932-1955 and dial extension 123. The Answering Service will contact the pastor on call. That is advertised in so many places, but we don’t always notice when things are going well.  I’m hoping you’ll notice it now while you’re checking out the new kid! :o)  I look forward to getting to know you better.

Grace & Peace, Dee

[saintmatthewlc]

Spring Concert 2014

[saintmatthewlc]

Sermon: The Church’s Devotion – Kevin Murphy, Acts 2:41-47

My friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

We began 2014 with a church-wide study, “Right Here, Right Now” which was a challenge for us to be everyday missionaries, to live a missional lifestyle. We then entered into a season of invitation to “Engage with God” in Lent, and we were reminded that we need a close connection with God if we are to maintain these missional lifestyles we studied back in January and February. Now in this Easter Season, we are considering what it means for us to be the Church, a resurrection people. This is both an invitation to be family to each other and to be the Body of the Risen Jesus to the world.

Pastor Andy began this series with a wonderful sermon about the fellowship of the burnings hearts from Luke’s post-resurrection story of the disciples walk to Emmaus with the as yet unrecognized Jesus. When we consider Jesus, there is a spark which begins to ignite into a flame that can then be forged into something useful. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and I believe Pastor Andy rightly defined that as spiritual formation.

So let me ask the follow-up question. How are we spiritually formed into this “family of faith” and the “Body of the Risen Lord”? In the next few weeks we are going to be answering that question. How does this formation take place? How does God take ordinary women and men like you and me, and transform us into the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers that give shape to God bringing His Kingdom to earth, right here, right now?

Our text for today is from Luke once again, this time from the second volume of his two-volume work, The Acts of the Apostles, chapter two, beginning with verse 41 (will you please stand if you are able):

41-42 That day about three thousand took him [Peter] at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

43-45 Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.

46-47 They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved (Acts 2:41-47, The Message).

What are you “devoted” to? I’m devoted to Jesus, Debi, my family, and the Saint Matthew family. Beyond that short list, my devotion begins to get quite thin. I say that because for me the word “devoted” really means something. “Devotion” suggests a serious commitment.

The four things Luke says the early believers were devoted to are central and essential to the spiritual formation of the Church. If we were to poll the people of Saint Matthew, and those of our friends who know us well, I wonder if any of these four would make their lists of what we say we are “devoted to.” It’s isn’t that we don’t practice these four things, I think we do. But we sometimes are caught up in doing so many other things that we forget what’s most essential and central to being family to each other and being missionaries in our everyday lives.

1) They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). Just as the original twelve apostles had spent three years at Jesus’ feet, and the eleven had forty intense days of instruction from Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension, so now these Spirit-filled second generation followers wanted to sit at the feet of the eleven apostles.

Their teaching was fairly simple: They taught about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, his on-going rule and reign in heaven, his promised return, and they issued an invitation for another generation of folks to repent and believe in this Message. The pattern of their teaching was presenting Jesus as the center of human history and the apex of God’s plan of salvation presented in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus’ resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit were seen as the key to understanding both their present lives and their futures. Luke’s Gospel makes it very clear that these were the things Jesus teaches, and now this same teaching is on the lips of the apostles, and it’s on our lips as well. Luke repeatedly stresses the apostles’ preaching and teaching in these first few chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, and this all begins with these second generation believers having accepted Christ as a direct result of Peter’s message (Acts 2:41).

2) They devoted themselves to the fellowship (Acts 2:42). This was more than having a chat with each other over a cup of coffee after worship. The word “koinonia” from which we get the word fellowship was best expressed by “koinos” which means generosity. They generously shared their lives with each other to the point that they sold their possessions to make sure everyone was taken care of. We are going to look at this generous fellowship in more detail next week, but this was a matter of devotion for these first believers!

They often talked about having fellowship (sharing life) with God. In his Gospel John says we “have fellowship with the Father and the Son” (1 John 1:3). The apostle Paul emphasizes our having “fellowship with the Holy Spirit” remembering the text we looked at on Easter morning:

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. 3 Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:1-4).

That’s the definition of “the fellowship” to which these early Christians were committed.

3) They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42). For liturgical Christians like us, it would be easy to turn this into the Sacrament of Holy Communion. But that doesn’t appear to be Luke’s primary point.

Remember, Jesus had instituted “the Lord’s Supper” or “Holy Communion” within the larger Passover meal, which was a larger celebration – think Christmas Dinner or a Thanksgiving Meal. These are occasions at which people have the “glad hearts” which Luke describes.

I love that as a church family we have committed to having the Sacrament of Holy Communion as a part of every worship service here at Saint Matthew. But I also think that for us to experience the kind of shaping formation we see in this passage, we ought to be sharing meals with each other, in each other’s homes much more. I know that’s a commitment of time and resources, but eating and drinking together around tables in each other’s homes is also something Sacramental. The formalized meal we do in worship should be accompanied by a less formal eating and drinking together in which we share our homes and our lives, “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46).

And last, but not least 4) They devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42). This is worth a moment of reflection. Luke’s writing is filled with references to prayer. Jesus prays in Luke’s Gospel more than any other. Luke emphasizes Jesus as the perfectly Spirit-filled human being, and in order to be perfectly Spirit-filled as Jesus was, he had to regularly engage in prayer. This was a deep devotion of these early followers as well. Luke notes:                                                                                       

They met “constantly” for prayer (Acts 1:14)

They prayed when a special need arose (Acts 1:24-25)

They participated in prayers at the Temple (Acts 3:1)

They prayed informally at home (Acts 4:24-31)

They prayed in prison (Acts 16:25)

They prayed for those in prison (Acts 12:5, 12)

They prayed on their own (Acts 11:5)

They prayed together (Acts 12:5)

They prayed indoors (Acts 12:12)

They prayed outdoors (Acts 10:9)

They prayed mid-day (Acts 10:9)

They prayed at midnight (Acts 16:25)

They prayed in the Temple (Acts 22:17)

They prayed in a Roman palace (Acts 26:29)

They prayed at sea (Acts 27:29)

They prayed on a beach (Acts 20:36)

They prayed for non-Christians to be converted (Acts 26:29)

They prayed for confused Christians to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15)

They prayed when they ate (Acts 2:46-47)

They prayed when they fasted (Acts 14:23)

They prayed for he sick to be healed (Acts 28:8)

They prayed for the dead to be raised (Acts 9:40)

They prayed to commission their leaders (Acts 14:23)

They prayed when their leaders were given their final responsibility (Acts 20:36)

They prayed when they first became Christians (Acts 9:11)

They prayed when they were seconds from death (Acts 7:60)

In other words, “They devoted themselves to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

The relevance for us is almost too obvious to be made, but we need to face it. It is not just the range of things for which they prayed which is striking, but the frequency of their prayers is stunning. They planned time for prayer every day when they met. They are so disciplined about it, that even when Peter is on his own, away from Jerusalem, he still keeps their daily rhythm of prayer (Acts 10:9).

But even more than that, they expected God to answer their prayers! Here’s one of my favorite passages from Acts:

29 Lord, listen to their threats! We are your servants. So make us brave enough to speak your message. 30 Show your mighty power, as we heal people and work miracles and wonders in the name of your holy Servant Jesus. 31 After they had prayed, the meeting place shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and bravely spoke God’s message (Acts 4:29-31, CEV).

Together let us pray this prayer of devotion together:

Lord, make us devoted to the teachings about Jesus that have been passed down to us. Lord, make us devoted to one another as members of your beloved family and Kingdom-making missionaries. Lord, may we share our very lives with one another as we gather in worship around your Word and your Table, and as we gather at table in our homes. And Lord, may we be devoted to listening to you, speaking to you, knowing that you hear us, and answer our prayers. Make us fully devoted, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[saintmatthewlc]

Sermon: "The Fellowship of the Burning Hearts" - Andy Smith

Pastor Andy's Sermon from Sunday, April 27 - "The Fellowship of the Burning Hearts", a reflection on the Road to Emmaus text. Listen at http://www.saintmatthew.org/sermons