Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

A Devotional Written by Chad Hershberger

“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us!”  –Ephesians 2:14

For several years, I lived in a town that was split in half by train tracks.  When a train came through the city, the one end of the town was cut off from the other.  Everything came to a standstill on the roads leading through the town.  Everyone had to wait for the train.

One night I was coming home and a train was passing through town.  I had to sit for ten minutes or more waiting for the train to pass.  I had a particularly bad day.  I had been going at a busy pace all day and was stressed out.  The train made me stop, collect my thoughts, and slow down for a few minutes.  It was welcomed relief.

We all need trains in our lives—those things that make us slow down and appreciate life, especially during hectic days.  Those hectic days often are days when tempers flare, hours grow long, and confrontation mounts.  During those hectic days (or string of hectic days) we need trains that make us stop and find a few moments of peace.  The passage above also reminds us of that which is divided is already made whole through Christ.

Appreciate the trains in your life.  And feel refreshed as the caboose passes by!

Dwelling in the Word: The Ascension of Jesus

As part of the Book of Faith Initiative, here is a Bible study for your use this month, written by Pastor Breen Marie Sipes of Zion Lutheran Church, Kratzerville.

The Ascension of Jesus:  Acts 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

What scares, confuses, or challenges you in this text?

What delights you in this text?

What stories or memories does this text stir up in you?

What is God up to in this text?

This story is called “The Ascension of Jesus,” because it describes how Jesus went back up to heaven after being raised from the dead on Easter.  Most people do not know this story, because Ascension Day is 40 days after Easter, which is always a Thursday (church, on a week night?), and almost always in May (the busiest time of year for many families with children in school).  I believe that this is a very important church holiday, and so at our church we have begun celebrating “Ascension Sunday” on the Sunday before Pentecost.  The children lead us in worship on this day, and we release butterflies that families have raised from caterpillars.

Maybe you have never celebrated Ascension Day before.  Maybe you never even heard of it, but remember that part in the Apostles’ Creed that we say on most Sundays?  “On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.”  We say that we believe it, and this story is where it occurs in the Bible.  I invite you to read it closely, especially if it’s the first time for you.  What does it mean that Jesus was with the apostles for forty days after he was raised from the dead?  What do you think he taught them?  What does it mean that the Holy Spirit was coming?  Does it scare or delight you that Jesus tells them that it’s not for them to know the times or periods set by the Father?  Does it scare or delight you that Jesus will come again?

This text is a rich linchpin on which our future as Christians rests.  We proclaim this mystery: “Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.”  In this season of joy, what does this mystery mean for you?

Pastor, Meet Peter Jennings: Collecting Information

The third in a series of articles about what pastors can learn from broadcast journalists, written by Chad Hershberger, Director of Communications

I have a theory.  It is my belief that everyone, to some degree, is a reporter.  That’s because we all tell stories.  When something happens to you, isn’t it human nature to tell your family and friends?  Don’t you recount the details of that event to loved ones?  In this age of social media, some even go a step further and write about those events on Facebook, Twitter, or blogs.  Professional news writers just need to work on their writing, editing, and interview skills.  

Living on a Prayer

A Devotional Written by Chad Hershberger

“I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!”  –Psalm 139: 7

 Over the years, I’ve been able to do some research on prayer. I’ve studied different styles of prayer, how you “should” pray, and how prayer improves the spiritual well-being of each of us.  A short time ago, I read a devotional book that had a new interesting twist on prayer. The author writes, “A few years back, I started beginning my prayers differently. I began saying to God, ‘You go first.’ Then I would quietly wait for thought to start crossing my mind. I assumed that God would bring to mind the most important things I needed to pray about. If they were positive thoughts, I would pray them back with joy. If they were negative thoughts, I would pray about them with courage and honesty.”

Ever since I read this, I’ve been intrigued. I occasionally try it and he is right; usually, something comes to mind that I should pray about. I think it is good for us to remember that when we turn to God in prayer, it should not just be a laundry list of things we want. Rather, we should look to God in praise, thanksgiving, and in genuine conversation with our maker. Perhaps if we listened more than we talked, new and interesting things might start happening in our lives!

Prayer: Christ Jesus, our Shepherd and Savior, give us water when we thirst, food when we hunger, and life when we face death. Thanks be to you for satisfying our needs. Amen.

Pastor, Meet Peter Jennings: Conceiving an Idea

The second in a series of articles about what pastors can learn from broadcast journalists, written by Chad Hershberger, Director of Communications

 

For several years when I taught “News Writing” at Penn College, I used a textbook titled, “News Writing and Reporting:  A Coaching Method.”  The author, Carole Rich, took students through a four-part process of writing a news story.  The first step was to conceive an idea.  It was her contention that good reporters come up with many of their own story ideas and have to “sell” them to their editors.

 

It dawns on me that each week, pastors, too, have to conceive an idea for a news story—their sermon.  Perhaps many of you sit at a blank piece of paper or a white computer screen, trying to come up with ideas for your weekly epistle.  Maybe you could benefit from some of the tips I gave students about conceiving an idea for a news story:

 

• It’s helpful to pretend you are a reader (or a sermon-listener) and role-play what he or she would be interested in hearing about.  Perhaps there is a way to follow-up on an idea you presented in a previous sermon.  Perhaps there is an item making big news that you could look at theologically.  Maybe you observed something during the week that ties to the text or you overheard a conversation that sparks an interest relating to that week’s scripture passages. 

 

• I think it’s important to know your audience.  What is going on in the lives of those in your congregation?  What are their interests?  Making a sermon relate to those in the pews will draw them in (just like a news story that interests readers will draw them in and keep their attention).

 

• Be curious.  Read a lot.  Have conversations with peers.  Put yourself in situations where you’ll meet people from a variety of walks of life and from diverse communities.  They’ll give you ideas!  As you talk with people, let them talk and you listen.  Undoubtedly, they’ll share something that might become a sermon nugget.

 

• As you study the text, be a detective.  Do background or historical research.  Ask questions on what happened, motives, and consequences.  Ask yourself questions like the following:
  • Why did something happen? 
  • Why is it happening now? 
  • Why is so-and-so taking that position on an issue as opposed to another? 
  • What are the implications of this action or position as opposed to another?

 

• In news writing, we learned of the Q-S-A FORMULA.  I think it might be valid for pastors to use this method in their sermon preparations:
  • Think of a QUESTION that needs answered
  • Combine that with a SOURCE that may be willing to answer it
  • And an AUDIENCE that may be interested in hearing the answer

 

I also taught my students that doing research was very important.  I think that is the case in sermon preparations, too.  Journalists use three essential research tools:

1. Document Searches (including the internet, checking prior news stories on the subject)
2. Observation (use all five senses)
3. Live Interviews

Perhaps pastors can do the same, for a new twist on your weekly “newscast” from the pulpit! 

Favorite Bible Verse: Matthew 6: 25-34

[Jesus said,]  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?   And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?’ or “What will we drink?’ or “What will we wear?’  For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

If there is one thing that I am really good at, it’s worrying.  Worrying about my daughter, worrying about the next meeting, or if I’m doing my job well, or what’s for dinner.  Worrying about the big things.  And the small details.  Worrying about worrying!  If I let it, worry can consume my days and my nights, as I lay awake worrying about tomorrow; something that hasn’t even happened yet!  Because of my great penchant for worry, Jesus words in Matthew 6 are a great balm.  On those days when worry threatens to overtake me, I read this passage, over and over.  In those stressful moments when worry creeps in, I find myself repeating, “Today’s trouble is enough for today.”  It helps.  It helps to focus on Jesus and his promises, rather than my worry about what could be (which, by the way, will probably never happen).  This passage reminds me that he’s got it all in his hands, and he’s got me, too, and, really, I don’t have anything to worry about at all.  And so, I take a deep breath, and lay my head down, and sleep in peace, for “you, O Lord, make me lie down in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

– Pastor Breen Sipes, Zion, Kratzerville

Synod LEARN Team Member

Favorite Bible Verse: Joshua 24: 15

Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.    Joshua 24:15

 

When thinking about my favorite Bible verse or story, different ones come to mind at different times.  Today as I pondered my favorite verse, this is the one that I chose.

 

But how does this relate to me today?  My ancestors didn’t serve “gods in the region beyond the River”.  My ancestors are mostly from Germany, with a smattering of Welsh and Greek thrown in.  Okay, so they’re from beyond the ocean, not the river, but I’m pretty sure they all served the same God I serve today.  I’m not living in the land of the Amorites, but in a land that was founded on the principal that “all men are created equal” and where people are (supposedly) not persecuted for the religion they choose to follow.

 

So why would I need to choose whom I will serve?  Well, I am faced with this choice every day.  From the moment my eyes open in the morning until they close again at night, I have to decide what (or whom) to “serve” in my life.  I, and you, live in a society that pulls us in many directions.  Advertisers love to tell us what material things we “need” to make our lives more complete.  Society pulls us in directions where we may not wish to go.  Even friends and family sometimes ask things of us that may make us uncomfortable. 

 

I am one of three people who teach confirmation classes at our church.  We occasionally ask the kids to list what is most important in their lives.  They come up with wonderful lists of things, some of which are truly important, and some of which are, well, not so much.  Things like family, friends, pets, school, teachers, food, sleep, houses, sports, music, cell phones, computers and other technical gadgets – the list goes on and on.  When they complete their list, we ask them, “Where is God on your list?”  We explain to them that the things they put first in their lives become their gods.  It’s an eye-opening experience – for the students and the teachers!

 

In this season of Lent, as we contemplate Jesus’ journey to the cross to pay the ultimate price for the sins of the world, let us remember to stay focused on whom we serve.  Let us remember to put God on our list.

 

As I wake every morning, I pray that God reminds me that, “as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”.  May this be the way I live my life today and every day.  Amen and amen.

 – Dawne Long, Zion Lutheran Church, Kratzerville

Synod LEARN Team Member