To say I’m excited to encourage you to attend this Sunday is an understatement. The Rev. Mark Jasa has become a good friend of mine and I’ve come to know my brother in Christ, Pastor Jasa, to be especially gifted in the realm of sharing the faith with those who do not know the Gospel.

Over the years, I’ve sought to serve countless Christians who have admitted their fear, anxiety, and intimidation about sharing the Gospel. Pastor Jasa has met this situation head on and has come to the conclusion — and I agree with him — that we need to back up and simplify!

His approach is very simple. Step one: be 100% clear in your own mind and in your own heart as to what the Good News (Gospel of salvation) IS; Step two: visualize it and conceptualize it so as to be able to put it into your own words.

Pause here. What do I mean? What we are saying is that at step two don’t make it about memorizing 101 details (including the memorization of several Bible verses), but make it a personal picture for yourself that you’ll never forget. Think of how St. John pictures Christ through his great “I AM” statements. Jesus says, “I Am the Bread of Life,” “I Am the Good Shepherd,” etc.

And then simply permit yourself a level of comfort to share your biblical vision of Jesus and how it conveys the Gospel.

In other words, Pastor Jasa makes sharing the Gospel easy for us!

Neither he nor myself by the way are suggesting that we don’t invest in the rest of the story: namely, investing in relationships. This is paramount. Get to know people. Show them that you care. Never treating others as an object of a religious agenda. No way! But living in 1st John 1:19: “We love because He first loved us.” The true Christian loves people just because. We care because we’re received the highest love and care in the universe from Christ…and who wouldn’t want to share this? This is our reason for investing in relationships: to share the love of Christ.

This evening from 5-7 pm we are offering Part I of our Witness Workshop at my residence. Then tomorrow in worship Pastor Jasa will preach on the powerful parable of The Prodigal Son in Luke 15 through his sermon entitled, “The Good Father.” Why this sermon? It presents the Gospel itself with fantastic clarity…and if you know the Gospel, then you can share it! Then, from 11 am to 1 pm we will continue the Witness Workshop (Part II) in the Conference Room at Crean Lutheran High School.

Also, we are providing yummy food at both events tonight and tomorrow! You are most cordially invited and please invite a friend!

Let us gather in God’s house tomorrow to receive the gifts of Jesus. We will be filled with God’s joy as we once again are affirmed in the forgiveness of all of our sins and as we receive the powerful medicine of Christ’s body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine in Holy Communion. Divine Service begins at 9:30 am!

I look forward to conducting the entire liturgy as well as the children’s message. Tomorrow promises to be an uplifting Sunday!

Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Here is an excerpt from Pastor Jasa’s sermon:

Verse 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.

 

We have barely begun the story and he is already lost. Why? Because he has Broken his relationship with his father. I am probably in my parents’ will. I am due to get some money, when?  When they die. So if I ask for it now, what am I saying to them? You are worth more to me dead than alive. I actually know someone who asked his brother “what is going to happen to the family house when mom and dad die? Can I live in it? And his brother snapped him into shape and scolded him. He said how dare you even think such a thing. If and when something is coming to you, you will be notified. And that is what the older brother in this story was supposed to have done. But apparently he did not do it. In our society with entitlement mentality something is definitely lost, but Middle easterners who hear this story are shocked. They realize just how offensive this is. The younger son’s behavior is Outrageous. And everyone should be horrified.

 

This story went wrong with the younger brother asking the question in the first place, then it went wrong with the older brother not stepping in as an intercessor between the father and the son, saying father don’t listen to my silly immature little brother. He’s mad he doesn’t know what he’s saying. Let me talk some sense into him. But now the story really goes south as the father divided the property. Does he have no shame at all? In a real situation, in the middle east this happened and the father and the son didn’t talk for 5 years. And only after the rest of the family pleaded were they able to be in the same room.

 

But this father is no ordinary father. Jesus is defining what a father is and his definition is different from the culture’s definition.

Thus far the manuscript, come tomorrow and receive a really good sermon to the glory of Jesus and to the blessing of your soul!

In Your Service and To Christ’s Glory,

Pastor