So, I have a personal question to ask all of you today and I hope that it doesn’t cause too much offence.  My question to you is this, are you in your right mind?  Now, at first glance you might wonder if I am questioning your mental health and my answer is “not at all”; though I’m sure each of us have wondered that about ourselves from time to time.  Back in my undergrad program as a DCE I had to take an Abnormal Psychology class and as we went through the diagnosis for each disorder I began to wonder about my own mental state of mind. I was relieved when my professor stated that you needed to have 7 or 8 of the symptoms to be diagnosed with each disorder.  I only showed 3 or 4 so I was ok, but it made me stop and question.  It didn’t help that I was also working at the Oregon State Hospital (where they filmed “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”) as part of my class.  I began to worry that I was having a little too much fun coloring pictures and rolling the ball with the dementia patients.

No, my question to you has to do more with your frame of mind.  How are you viewing and perceiving life and people around you?  Are you viewing things from your own perspective or from God’s perspective?  We hear from the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” God wants to transform our minds so that we don’t perceive things from a worldly point of view, but instead, to perceive things from His perspective, with His mindset.

I don’t think we truly appreciate just how much our mindset is shaped and formed by the world around us – by what we hear and by what we view.  I remember back in high school struggling to get the songs out of my mind from the night before when I went out dancing instead of focusing my mind on worshipping Christ.  It’s tough to worship God when you have songs like “Boom, Boom, Boom” going through your mind.  It wasn’t just that the songs were replaying in my mind on Sunday morning, but they were beginning to shape my attitudes and views on life.  Music is a powerful way to imprint ideas in the mind and can be used in positive ways and not so positive ways.

I have a good friend of mine who is a Hollywood Producer, Dave Drever, who has done some work with our congregation on our website and video brochures for our ministry.  We were recently talking and he told me that recent brain research has shown how sensationalism in the TV shows and movies we watch produce a chemical reactions that becomes addictive, where we crave more and more sensationalism to get the same effect.  Not only are chemicals released in the mind by what we view, but in studies done with those who view pornography they have shown that the brain actually rewires itself.  Our minds and attitudes are literally being shaped each and every day by media and the world around us.  Back in my camp ministry days we used to talk to the kids all the time that you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7) – if you plant bad seeds in your life by what you hear and view, don’t be surprised if you find bad fruit coming out in your life as a result.  Yet, the converse is also true.  If you plant good seeds in your life by what you hear and view you can expect more good fruit to come forth in your life.  Be careful the seeds you plant!

Yet, it’s even more than what we hear and what we view that impacts our state of mind.  It’s not just an issue of conditioning, it also has to do with our nature as well.  We simply do not see things the way God sees things because of our fallen state due to original sin.  We hear in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”   Again in Colossians 1:21 we hear, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” We do not have the things of God naturally on our minds because of our sinful nature. Paul speaks on this in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:14-16)

Let’s be honest, there are many times in our lives that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. We do not see things from His perfect perspective.  We get irritated with people who get under our skin.  We lash out at others who anger us.  We view things from a self-centered point of view of what we want and desire in life, even in things related to Jesus’ Church, rather than asking, “What does God want and what does He desire?”  Our thoughts are definitely not always His thoughts – in fact our thoughts often are completely contrary to His.

So, if you are like me today, this might cause you to pause and ask yourself, “So, how do I get in the right frame of mind?  I want to have the mind of Christ and not a mind controlled by my sinful thoughts and passions.  I want to be a person who sees the world and people the way God sees them; not the way I’ve been conditioned to see them from what I see through the world or what comes natural due to my fallen condition.  I want to have my mind on higher things, not just on earthly things.  How can I be transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I might be able to discern the good and acceptable and perfect will of God in Christ?”

Truth be told, this is nothing you can do by yourself.  No amount of positive thinking or visualization will change your mindset to God’s.  The only way this change can happen is when God Himself transforms your mind for you.  And the way He does that in our lives is as our minds are filled with His Word.  It is as we dwell on God’s Word that Jesus Himself begins to transform us.  His thoughts more and more become our thoughts.  How He sees people becomes more and more how we see people.  It is especially as we focus our minds on Jesus’ love for us and for all people that we begin to gain His mind.  Paul says in Philippians 2:5-8, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

It is as we grow more and more in the knowledge of all that Jesus did for us by humbling Himself and laying down His life for us as a sacrifice on the cross, that we see this attitude become more and more our attitude.  We begin to see people and love people differently.  We begin to perceive and live life differently as well.  So, my question for you today is how much time are you spending in God’s Word so that Jesus can transform your mind?  How prepared are you to receive the Sunday message as God’s Words of life and love to you that day?  How much are you growing in God’s Word through being involved in Bible Study with others or a personal devotion time each day?  It is there that Jesus meets you and through that Word of Gospel that you will more and more be transformed in the renewing of your mind and as a result more and more have the mind of Christ.

Today, receive this promise of Jesus as you plant the seed of His Word in your mind and watch His Word renew your thoughts and perspectives to be more and more to like His, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water
 that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3) God’s richest blessings and may Jesus create in you more and more His state of mind! 

Ever since President Obama’s recent announcement of his support for same-sex marriage I have been formulating and praying on a response.  As a pastor I often don’t speak on political issues. I have chosen as a pastor to be an independent when it comes to politics because I have to be able to pastor “blue state” and “red state” people.  Besides, Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36) and so my work has to do more with the hearts and souls of people in terms of their relationships with God and each other rather than issues that are of the political realm.  As such I am definitely not part of the “religious right” who think they can bring about God’s Kingdom by political action.  No law will ever change the human heart – only God’s love in Christ can do that.

With that being said, there are times in which there are issues facing a society in which the Church must speak as an independent voice – it must speak those things that are on the heart of God.  And where the President justified his decision regarding same-sex marriage on his religious views based on his Christian faith, I feel compelled to speak on this issue.  The President sighted the “Golden Rule” as his justification for taking this stand in support of same-sex marriage.  While I also believe that we should all do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Luke 6:31), the “Golden Rule” does not supersede God’s will, His purpose or His design for life.  Only God can establish His purposes for life, not us – God is God and we are not!

It troubles me to see something that God instituted and gave as a gift to the human family being transformed into something He never intended it to be.  Marriage was always intended from the beginning to be the ultimate experience of sacrificial love (not romantic notions of love as the world understands love) as a man and a woman committing themselves before God not only for the sake of each other, but also to have children and raise them in a safe and loving environment with a mother and a father.  In Gen 2:24 we hear of this gift, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Jesus affirms this understanding of the marriage relationship in Matthew 19:4-6. The institution of marriage was given by God so that we might experience His blessings as the human race and see in just a small way what our relationship has always supposed to have been with Him.  Marriage thus becomes a small glimpse into the relationship between Christ and His Church. (see Eph. 5:21-32) What God has given and instituted should not be changed by the political or cultural whims of a society.

Now, these thoughts that I share are shared in love and respect for all people.  This is not about moralism or homophobia.  Just because someone doesn’t agree with you we should not be so quick to label and dismiss them.  But sadly, why the Church comes off so bad in this conversation on same-sex marriage is that many within the Church have turned Christianity into a moralistic religion rather than what it truly is, a relationship with the living God through Jesus. God showed us the extent of His undeserved love for the human race through Jesus’ sacrificial life and death.  It is through faith (trust) in Christ’s sacrifice that our relationship with God is restored as are our relationships with others.  This  love  then  transforms our  lives  where  we now  see what  God’s design for life is to be and we become empowered to live sacrificial lives of love for the sake of others, even those that we may not agree with or who differ from us when it comes to faith.  You see, the difference between tolerance and love is that tolerance is simply having a permissive attitude towards opinions and practices that differ from our own while love, true sacrificial love that we know from God who is love and the source of love, values people and sacrifices for them even when they disagree with you and treat you as an enemy.  It is with this kind of love that we all need to have this conversation together.

As a follower of Jesus and as a pastor, I do not hate nor am I prejudiced towards those who practice homosexuality.  While I may not agree with their lifestyle nor believe that this is God’s design for their lives as clearly expressed in the Scriptures, I do love them with the love that God has for all of us.  None of us are deserving of God’s love and there is no “sin” that is greater than another.  As the Scriptures say, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  Sin is simply not living in relationship to God or living according to His design and purpose for our lives.  The human race is like a computer program that has become corrupted or has gotten a virus.  As a result, we no longer operate the way we are supposed to or respond to our Creator the way we were designed to.  We all need God’s grace (undeserved love) and salvation – especially me!  I am right there with the Apostle Paul who said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15)  So who am I to judge another or treat another with prejudice?  I must love because I am loved and that means honoring and treating people the way I want to be treated, but even more so in the way that reflects God’s love in Christ for all of us.

Yet, all of this still does not invalidate God’s will and design for our lives.  And part of that design is marriage, a gift given to the human family by which a man and a woman would be joined together as one flesh to not only sacrificially love one another, but in order to have and raise children.  This is a sacred relationship that God has given and as such we as a society should not turn it into something He had no intention of making it.  Here is my question as I consider redefining the meaning of marriage, if we take this step where will it go from here?  A person marrying both a man and a woman?  Polygamy?  A person marrying their pet? (I’m not trying to be funny here, these are serious questions we need to consider).

Now, back to the “Golden Rule” of doing to others as you would have them do unto you, this begs the question – should we for “fairness” sake look at making sure equal rights are ensured for all?  By all means we should in a free society like ours.  Yet, is retaining a traditional understanding of marriage really denying rights to people?  I believe there are issues that we might be able to address in “fairness” without changing the definition of marriage.  For example, the following issues could be dealt within the civic realm:  Should visitation rights be given to same-sex couples?  Should same-sex couples be able to claim their partners on their insurance?  Should same-sex couples be able to have their relationships legally recognized by the State?  These are issues for our society to decide.  My focus as a pastor again is not on passing laws, my focus is on the hearts and souls of people that God loves in Christ.

Let me assert again that we should not redefine what God has defined.  However, if we are going to go down this road as a society that is becoming more and more unchurched then I would advocate what a pastor friend of mine, Dominic Rivkin, suggested – make all relationships recognized by the State “civil unions” rather than redefine marriage.  This way that State can recognize relationships the way it decide is best and those seeking to be married before God can do so according to their faith tradition.  The problem with legalizing same-sex marriage as a nation is that this is forcing people of faith to legitimize something that they don’t agree with based on their faith convictions and turning something that God instituted into something that He never intended it to be.  This does not seem to be the tolerant thing to do nor is it the loving thing to do.  I believe there is a solution here that we can find as a nation that addresses some of the concerns that those who choose to live in homosexual relationships are concerned about without turning marriage into something that God never intended and forcing people who have differing faith convictions to support.  Just some thoughts as we continue in love to find a way forward as a nation and try to live out the “Golden Rule” that Jesus calls us to live.

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending the CNH District Convention.  Now, in all honesty I wasn’t per se looking forward to this convention after hearing about other district conventions in the past from friends in the pastoral ministry and having sat in on our LCMS national convention back when I was attending seminary.  Yet, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by just how positive and uplifting this event was this weekend!  And after attending, I can truly say how blessed I was by the experience and have been refreshed in my faith once again.

The theme of our convention this weekend was “The Heart Of The Good Shepherd” taken from these words from John 10:14-16, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Jesus describes Himself in these passages as the Good Shepherd and us as His precious sheep.  Just as sheep know the voice of their shepherd and trust him, so we know the voice of Jesus and trust in His love for us.  He loves us so much that He even talks in this passage about laying down His life for the sheep.  That’s the heart of the Good Shepherd for us!

Yet, if we listen closer we will hear the heartbeat of the Good Shepherd in a deeper way.  His heart not only beats for us, the found, but His heart also beats for the lost.  Listen again to the heartbeat of Jesus, “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.  I MUST bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” (John 10:16)  Do you hear it?  His heartbeat is also for the lost, not just the found!  LCMS President Matthew Harrison spoke at our convention this weekend on Jesus being Good Shepherd.  During his Bible study he highlighted how Jesus states that He MUST go bring these other sheep into the fold as well.  This is an imperative for our Good Shepherd!

In the last few week’s I’ve been hearing some interesting comments around St. Philip that honestly have saddened me.  There are some who have expressed the following, “Pastor Travis is always talking about outreach and we don’t want to do outreach here.”  I don’t know if that’s your feeling or not, but if it is, your issue is not with me, your issue is with the Good Shepherd.  Jesus is the One who came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10)  Jesus is the One who said that He would leave the ninety-nine found sheep in order to find the one that was lost. (Matt 18:12)  If you don’t like the fact that we as a ministry are focusing on outreach take that up with Jesus because it is He who has called us as His Body to “Go and make disciples of all nations . . .” (Matt 28:16) and that we are to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8).  I am simply reflecting the heart of the Good Shepherd who desires “all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:3-4)

Recently I came across this very convicting quote that speaks to this lack of desire to do outreach, “A church that does not desire to reach out to their community with the love of Jesus is a church that is basically telling everyone to go to hell.”  Pause and consider those words for a moment.  As difficult as these words may be to hear, they are true and they convict my heart.  When a ministry doesn’t care enough to reach out with our Good Shepherd’s saving Words of love to their community this is basically what we are saying to them, because that is their eternal fate that awaits them without Jesus.

Yet, this is not the heart of our Good Shepherd.  He doesn’t desire anyone to go to hell.  He didn’t desire for you to go to hell; that’s why He gave His life for you so that you might be saved.  He came and sought you when you were lost either when you heard the Shepherd’s voice through the sweet words of the Gospel later on in your life or when His words came to you and made you His precious little lamb in the waters of Baptism.    He made you part of His flock by His grace; His undeserved love.  Remember, unless you are of Jewish decent  none of us were not part of the original sheep pen.  We were “the nations”, those who were outside of the promises of God to His people Israel.  Yet by His death and resurrection He brought us all, Jew and Gentile alike, into His fold called the Church and given us life in His name.

And Jesus MUST find those who still as of yet have not heard His voice because He does not desire them to go to hell either.  This is the heartbeat of our Good Shepherd still today!  It doesn’t mean that He doesn’t love us the found, but He loves the lost as well.  His love is big enough for all, the found and the lost alike.  As He goes to find those that are still lost, He invites us who hear His voice as the found to join with Him in His mission of love – to share the Good News of what God has done in Christ so that they too might hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.  By God’s grace may this more and more become our heartbeat as well as a ministry here at St. Philip; one that reflects the heartbeat of the Good Shepherd!

I’m sure that many of you as you are driving to work or running errands for the day have had the chance, even if for a few minutes, to listen to Rush Limbaugh.  Now, some believe that he is a voice of truth, others believe he is an arrogant windbag – perhaps both of are true.  Love him or hate him the man knows how to draw and command an audience.  Yet the reason I bring him up is not to delve into politics, but to reflect on something he says often that caught my attention.  He often says in his intros, “Talent on loan from God.”  Now I know that some might not be able to hear that phrase without some reaction to the person saying it.  And yes, on some level it might sound arrogant.  But, if you take his comment at face value it is absolutely true, we all have talent on loan from God.

This last week I had the privilege of attending an equipping workshop at St. Dominic Catholic Church in San Francisco hosted by a friend of mine, Joe Cavanaugh, who I met through Strengthsfinder coach training with the Gallup Organization.  Joe took a number of leaders with this ministry through training to empower them to coach people on their Strengthsfinder results in order to empower them for missional living.

One of the most powerful comments that struck me this last week was Joe’s comment that 80% of people can’t articulate their talents and gifting.  Basically, many people don’t have a clue what they do best or why.  Yet, it’s not just that they don’t know what they do best, but they don’t even appreciate what they do well.  We all tend to suffer from the effects of something called “Minimization”.  What that means is that even if we do have a handle on what we do well, we see our talents as common to all, because we believe there is nothing special about us.  So, basically most people don’t have a clue what they do best and if they do they greatly undervalue their unique set of gifts and talents that God has placed within them, and so do not intentionally seek to develop them.

Yet, this is the furthest thing from the truth.  We all have been given unique gifts and talents by God that allow us to make a special contribution to this world that literally no one else can do.  The amazing thing the Gallup Strengthsfinder assessment does is helps people identify their top 5 talents out of 34 talents common to people worldwide.  Yet, here is the amazing truth – only one out of 33.4 million people will have the exact same 5 talents in the exact same order as you!  But wait, it gets even better when you consider that only one out of 447 trillion people will have the same top 10 talents in the exact same order as you!

And when you combine that with other talents, skills, your personality and life experiences we all have the truth is that you are a unique creation of God, having been created and redeemed in Christ for a purpose that only you can do in service to the world and the Kingdom!  We hear in Eph 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  You were created the way you are with all of your gifts and talents for a purpose that God prepared for only you.

In Psalm 139:14a we hear, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  Do your believe that?  This is the truth we all see through faith in Christ.  To sum up this Scriptural truth I want to leave you with these words from my friend Joe, “To accept your natural, God-given talents is to accept yourself the way God created you to be . . . not by trying to become someone He never intended you to be.”  If you have ever wondered what your unique strengths are and what your unique contribution only you can give to the world give me a call and let’s talk further.  We all have talent on loan from God.  The question is what are you doing to do about it?

After the tree we hang up our stockings by the fireplace with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be here. We also place our collection of Santas and Nutcrackers on the mantel as well as step up our small Nativity scene in the living room. Lastly, we move outside to hang the Christmas lights on the house and to set up our large nativity set out on the front lawn.

Let’s see, tree – check; stockings – check; decorations – check; lights – check; nativity sets – check. Oh yeah, shopping, all done – check. I guess we are all ready to celebrate Christmas! All ready except for one thing. Have I prepared my heart to celebrate Christmas? That’s the one thing I wonder if we really pay attention to each year as we make all of our Christmas preparations – have we prepared our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus?

That’s really what this season of Advent is all about; it is a time to prepare out hearts to celebrate the gift of Jesus and the salvation this tiny child brings not only to our lives, but for all the world. During Advent we hear the call of John the Baptist, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.” (Matthew 3:3b)

So, have you taken time this Christmas to prepare your hearts to truly celebrate the birth of Jesus? Have you taken the time to remove the roadblocks that might prevent His coming to reveal Himself and His salvation for you? Have you made room for Him to come into your life anew this Christmas? Getting ready for Christmas is more that setting up the tree, hanging the stocking or even setting out the Nativity set. Getting ready for Christmas is really about preparing to receive Jesus afresh into our hearts and to prepare to receive His gifts of life, of love, of peace and of salvation that only He as the Prince of Peace can bring.

So, come and let us prepare the way for the Lord again this Christmas as together we pray, “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.” God’s richest blessings and may you all have a very merry Christmas and a most blessed New Year!