Blog: Forest Lake Talks

“Do nothing out of self ambition or vein conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 In his letter to the Philippians, Paul instructs the people of Philippi to value others above yourselves. He also says to do nothing out of self ambition. Too many times, we merge from these teachings to serve ourselves rather than the needs of others. We are naturally selfish people and want to fill our own needs before we can fill the needs of others. Paul asks us to do the opposite. Jesus came to earth in human form to serve us rather…

As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.” – Psalm 40:17 I picked the last verse of this particular psalm because it forms a powerful conclusion. In the preceding verse, the psalmist reminds the hearer to “rejoice” and “be glad,” but in the next verse, the psalmist is needy. How can the psalmist be glad in the midst of being “poor and needy?” I believe the psalmist is able to distinguish between current state and an enduring, steadfast state. The…

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”  –Isaiah 40:1 Isaiah first spoke these words into a situation of desolation and despair.  Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians, much of its leadership deported, and the rest of the people living under the rule of a foreign power that did not know nor respect their God. We celebrate Advent in a time of darkness, both literally as the days grow shorter, but also figuratively as we are seemingly dividing up more in more into our religious, social and political clans unable to recognize the humanity of and divine image in one another…

“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:16 KJV One of my favorite Christmas memories is when my son, Cole, was in preschool, and we were setting up our creche. I unwrapped the carefully packed figurines and handed them to Cole to arrange in and around the stable. After handing him the last figurine, I stepped back to admire his handiwork. Though all of us are big animal lovers, I was surprised to see only the animals in the stable with the baby, and all the humans relegated…

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6 My soul waits. It seems that all we are doing now is waiting. Waiting on the election, waiting on the inauguration, waiting on a vaccine for Covid-19, waiting on test results, waiting on church to reopen, waiting on schools to reopen… waiting. But through his word, I hope. We have much to hope for, not getting sick, a vaccine, and now Christmas.…

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 COVID; Pandemic; Stay Home; loss of employment; Masks; Social distancing; flatten the curve; protesting; rioting; looting; massive fires; hurricane after hurricane; tornadoes; damage to economic structure; addiction increases; domestic violence is on the rise; an election that is tearing apart families and friendships; hate seems to be common now on social media; etc. – Yes, 2020 has been surreal! Recently, while driving, I was listening to KLOVE on the radio and heard this: “2020 surprised you.…

“This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them, but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life. To the eternal King, immortal and invisible, the only God – to him be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.” – 1 Timothy 1:15-17 An excerpt from Paul’s first letter to Timothy in…

“In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away, and those whom I have afflicted. The lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion now and forevermore.” Micah 4:6-7 I have always been intrigued by looking backward in history and discovering what happened on a particular day in a particular year. Down through the ages what happened on December 1? 1862: President Lincoln reaffirms the necessity to end slavery as he stated in…

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 I hear it often (and have said it myself), as I am sure many others have as well, “When will this all be over,” “I can’t take much more of this,” “I just want things to go back to normal,” “We just need 2020 to be over,” and so on in some form or other. We all yearn for normalcy to return. We all want the pandemic to be over so we can get back to our…

It was a rainy, muddy, spring day in September 2012, when a Social Services vehicle drove into the yard of the newly renovated headquarters of Ministry of Hope Lesotho. The eight two- to ten-year olds, that had just moved into their new home, pressed their noses against the window, wondering what was going on. I grabbed an umbrella beside the front door and went to greet our visitors. A government social worker stepped out of the Landcruiser asking if this was the crisis care center known as Ministry of Hope. I agreed that it was, and accompanied her inside, together…

November 25, 2020 Dear Forest Lake family, Rafael Nadal, winner of this year’s French Open and winner of twenty Grand Slam titles, is one of many athletes with a specific ritual before a match or game. Tennis, a sport long known for its traditions on the court, now competes with baseball as the sport with the most unique rituals off the playing surface. In Nadal’s case, he “takes a cold shower before every match and then sets two water bottles, one cold and one at room temperature in front and left of his chair on the court, making sure that…

Dear Friends,  As we approach the end of 2020, I have heard more than a few folks say that the end of 2020 cannot come soon enough!!  But the good news is that the Sunday after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the new Christian year!  Every year, Christians begin again during Advent.  Sunday, November 29th is the first Sunday of the Advent Season – the four weeks when we set aside time to prepare our lives, hearts, and minds for the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. “An Advent like no Other!” could be our theme this year!  And, although…

October 28, 2020 Dear Friends, We do not know what the future holds.  I guess that is always true, but somehow most of us skate along on a very thin veneer of what we call normal, and we are always surprised when normal comes to an end.  But, as we all try to peer into the fog of the future, perhaps we should instead begin to be surprised when the normal holds, surprised when our plans come to fruition, surprised when what we planned to do we were able to do.  The story of Scripture is a story of both…

October 14, 2020 Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Dear FLPC family, When we begin a worship service, we typically say the following: “We continue to be a congregation dedicated to the transformation of our heads, hearts, and hands in the service of Jesus Christ.” Even though we are in the midst of trying times, examples of FLPC members modeling this transformation abound! A few weeks ago, one of our members contacted the church because he needed someone to help him clear some debris from his yard. Within an hour, several of our…

September 30, 2020 Dear Friends, When life gets overwhelming and we feel very small and insignificant, we can choose either (1) to shut down and move into protection mode or (2) to open our hearts and minds, pray to see where God is already at work, and join God in that work. In the next few weeks, I intend to highlight some small, concrete actions you can take to join God at work in the world.  In the last newsletter I invited you to watch a video in order to educate yourself on child abuse (signs and responses) so that…