The Pastor and The Snow

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If you were to peek your head into a pastor’s conference, one of the things you would find a common topic of conversation is all of the “non-pastoral” work that pastors end up doing.  Things like shoveling the walk, mowing the grass, lights, fundraising, organizational administration, even (gasp!) working on the church computers.  Pastors, being human, like to complain about all of the things that they do which don’t really seem a part of their call.  “There’s nothing in my call document that says I’m supposed to do THAT!”

Now I don’t think pastors are unusual in this complaint.  We all like to believe that we are important, and that the menial things that just need to get done are somehow not worth our effort.  Who hasn’t complained about being overworked and underpaid or underutilized at work? Continue reading →

The Taste of Life – Judica (Lent V) 2008

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Judica, Lent V (March 9, 2008)
John 8:42-56
For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “The Taste of Life”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is from the Gospel lesson just read from John chapter 8. We focus particularly on Jesus’ words, If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.

One of the things we have largely lost in our culture is a sense of transcendence. It is difficult for people to think about spending money or time or energy on things that will last, because we live in a day and in an age where up-to-date-and-speedy is much more important than enduring and steady. Whether you’re talking about a fast food menu, a car, the music on the radio, a computer, or the look of the furniture in your living room, if it isn’t the newest, the freshest, and the neatest, then, well, it just isn’t worth the effort is it? Why spend time or money on things that will last when they will be out of style in three years?
Transcendence means something that goes beyond its own time, reaches back into the past and forward into the future. Transcendence is one of the characteristics of God. But sin, of course, is almost always about the moment. Instant gratification rather than humble service, self-promotion rather than sacrifice, do what feels good now, and worry about the consequences later. That is the way we all operate, to one degree or another. Continue reading →

Memorial Service for +Bonnie Miller+

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Todd A. Peperkorn, STM
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Memorial Service for Bonnie Miller
John 14:27-31
For an audio MP3 of this sermon, CLICK HERE

TITLE: “Peace I Leave with You”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for today is our Lord’s words to His disciples from St. John chapter fourteen, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives peace do I give my peace to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Bonnie Miller was born on December 10, 1942 and baptized into the Holy Christian Church on January 17, 1943. She moved to Kenosha in 1961, and married her husband, Dale, on February 18, 1984. She died in Christ on February 24th in the year of our Lord 2008. In Revelation chapter fourteen we hear:

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (Rev. 14:13-14) Continue reading →

Losing My Religion

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Rev. Greg Alms over at Incarnatus Est just posted about this NY Times article on the latest Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey. The survey is on the dramatic shifts that are taking place in the American religious scene, where upwards of 44% of people no longer are members of the church body they grew up in as a child. Thanks for drawing this to our attention, Greg!

Here’s the citation I’d like to think on a bit:

To Prof. Stephen Prothero, large numbers of Americans leaving organized religion and large numbers still embracing the fervor of evangelical Christianity point to the same desires.

“The trend is toward more personal religion, and evangelicals offer that,” said Mr. Prothero, chairman of the religion department at Boston University, who explained that evangelical churches tailor many of their activities for youth. “Those losing out are offering impersonal religion and those winning are offering a smaller scale: mega-churches succeed not because they are mega but because they have smaller ministries inside.” Continue reading →