May 21, 2017. Commencement speeches such as we hear this time of year always have at least two parts: advice, and encouragement to the graduates. In her sermon today, Pastor Penny talks about Jesus' "commencement speech" to us. He offers us advice and encouragement, and also a promise: that by his death and resurrection he has paid the fine for the penalty we deserve. *** [Keywords: 2017 Gospel Greek Holy Spirit Jesus claims that we are his friends Jesus gives the disciples Jesus has removed our guilt Pastor Penny Holste a little unfair admit to ourselves advances in technology all the things he taught them also points to truth another police car arrested at least two parts ate meal together because we remember his love for us began to get nervous beyond any promise big comfort big help by his death and resurrection by the Spirit and the Son and the Father came up to his window commentator counselor country congregation crucifixion dear to me deeper and more beautiful didn't have sidewalks disciples do things wrong doesn't even seem fair doesn't get you anywhere doesn't make sense don't want to face driving to meeting at night entire city block entryway everything is electives failed the test failures we have final exams financial advisor flashing red lights from now on there is no core curriculum give encouragement give some advice gives you something to do gnarled tree trunk going out into the world alone going wrong in family got off the hook graduates great aunt green leaves oranges bright butterflies guilt gets to us he pays that fine he will ascend out of their vision forever help not only survive but succeed here comes the encouragement part here comes the promise that Jesus makes highway patrolman if you love me keep my commandments in bed with a mosquito interpret keep that lamp keepsakes killed knows he's about to die lamp that looked like tree late to meeting lawyer legal problems license lifestyle shows it look for truth in Washington love our physical comfort member of his congregation minister friend need help next Sunday no traffic not begrudgingly not going to be easy not so easy to see truth in our own lives now and forever we are guided and comforted obey my commandments on our piano painted glass paper dolls in cupboard point out our guilt politicians are human beings politics preserving this planet really believe remember her love remember patient gentle loving woman rest of your life in front of you resurrected from the dead rollerskating see him alive send them the Advocate seniors sergeant says you're a friend of his sergeant was his friend sermon sisters and brothers slow down and drive safely so hard to believe solve problems of the world someone you call to your side speaker spirit of Christ spirit of truth started speeding take away all failures of disciples things are hard time for commencement speeches tiny house to guard to hold dear to preserve too small to be effective truly exciting thing about your life uncomfortable uncomfortable truths unfairness that God treats us with vehicle waited for verdict walking we are forgiven and loved we are guilty we deserve penalty we feel very alone we haven't earned it who's telling the truth and who's not will be alone will they remember willingly went through world doesn't accept it worry is like rocking chair your generation]

April 30, 2017. If we met Jesus, would we recognize him? In today's Gospel the apostles did not recognize the risen Christ even when he himself came up and walked along with them. Pastor Penny preaches on this text, asks us to consider how our desires might cause us to believe in ideas that aren't true, and offers ideas about how we can go out into the world as Easter people and share the gift we've been given. *** [Keywords: 2017 30 more years A self-made success? American dream Christ in actions as you come together Easter evening Easter peple Elijah Ezekiel God promises us Holy Communion every week I didn't recognize you I love you no matter what happens Isaiah Jason Ford Jeremiah Last Supper Let's kill that myth Luke 24:13-34 Maundy Thursday Moses PBS NewsHour Pastor Penny Holste St. Peter Why did you let that car hit me? advantages all on your own angels said Jesus had arisen armed with wits and strong work ethic astronaut baby was not going to live be prepared to suffer be transformed beaten beautiful idea but isn't true began to believe best possible future blinded them blinds us born into bought land decades ago bring meals broke through that desire burst into tears care about people charismatic leader climbed way to top college with no school debt color of our skin corporate ladder couldn't be Messiah created it dead discipline doctor gave bad news don't recognize him empowered exiled extreme dedication face to face in eternity facelift fail to be grateful fed the 5000 four year old boy free Israel generations before gift we've been given give rides glorious vision good schools good success story hair dyed hand-me-down clothes handshakes harsh realities he's alive heart attack hearts kept them from recognizing help to buy house hit by a car and killed how foolish you are hugs humble background image of Messiah imprisoned in community with him once again inherit intelligence interpret story invest in startup kept them from seeing king leader killed leading people into idolatry left some money lending discrimination less fortunate love into your families make it on our own maybe he's alive meet Jesus mid 70s military leader millionaire miraculous way modern day parallel neighbors not one of the twelve not practicing justice and mercy of course the Messiah was going to die on fire with hope out into the world pastor friend pearly gates people of God had to suffer pick up hints place where you work live learn play prayerfully with other people preach and do miracles predicted would die and rise pregnant prophet prophetic tradition rally the troops really isn't true relatives rely not on ourselves but on God retraced their steps rocket fly to moon rooted in history safe neighborhood save Israel saw God in that little boy say things that were hard scripture see christ through us send letters serious help sermon seven miles to Jerusalem show us the stars slow of heart to believe slow to believe smiles sold for fortune son stand up stand up to powers that be story preserved 2000 years for us suffering servant support structure take care of people take care of widows and orphans and foreigners in country teachers tech entrepreneurs testimony of women through this faith community throw off power of Roman Empire tomb was empty took the bread blessed it and broke it tummy tuck two generations ago two men in Jesus' inner circle unable to see vanished very sad want to believe it wanted to believe we don't recognize God we have seen him we made a mistake white light white man white privilege whole new possibility woke up woman taken to hospital working your way up from nothing worth it]

March 26, 2017. Not everyone wants to be free from blindness. Pastor Penny preaches today on both the physical blindness of the man Jesus healed in John 9:1-41, and on another kind of blindness. The Pharisees who questioned the healed blind man were themselves blinded, by their rules, and by their obsession with keeping the law. Are we more like the blind man or the Pharisees? When Jesus invites us to the baptismal font, do we promise to try to see others as God sees us? *** [Keywords: Amy high powered New York architect At First Sight movie God valued him Gospel James Jesus invites us to the baptismal font Jesus offers healing Jesus' intention John 9:1-41 Pastor Penny Holste Pharisees Sabbath Shirl Jennings Ten Commandments Virgil able to see accepts afraid all their many rules already loves us anxieties baptized based on true story beggar bird took off flying blind from birth blinded by rules booted from synagogue breaking rules broken commandment called him Lord can be painful challenged their blindness come to see God compulsion confident couldn't remember their image crucified did not want to dirt distances were confusing doctor dog from cat drives wedge between us and people we love educated ends on sad note excellent in work or school eyesight fall back fall in love feeling fell on knees felt more disabled felt superior first a man free from blindness get rid of their blindness gift good life in spite of blindness great temptation having our trust healer helping someone on Sabbath highly respected leaders ice skating on pond identity independent keep all the rules keeping trust kneading bread know world without seeing known by everyone light of God's love look at life through God's eyes lost confidence love and forgive us forever love and mercy maintaining certain lifestyle make paste man from God massage therapist mitzvot mixing anything with hands more aware of Jesus more confusing and scarier never gave up on them obsession with keeping the law offered to end their blindness our value is already there outcast physical blindness physical sight pool and be healed prefers to remain blind questioned the healed blind man reaction to world reason he was killed recover sight regained energy religious leaders renewed creative energy road leading to village rose from darkness of death saddest thing about their compulsion about rules see others as God sees us see others like God sees us sinful society portrayed solution for eyelids something more precious soul searching spit still blind stronger than blindness succeeding in physical challenges successful operation take over our lives teaching then prohpet they were seeing God third commandment through hearing time and money touching trust Jesus trust in loving God unfailing promise unless they were dying vacation spa valued by God wash eyelids in pool wasn't being punished when we fail who God was who he was whole new understanding your sins remain 613 rules]

March 5, 2017. Do we need a kind of North Star in our lives? Today we hear the gospel story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. How did he know he was being tempted? Pastor Penny preaches on this text and says that he knew because what the devil was offering didn't match up with his mission. Our mission, like Jesus', is to help and care for others. Knowing this helps us to know when we're being tempted. And we can resist temptation because of our loving relationship with God, a relationship that becomes our North Star that will guide us home. *** Transcript *** We begin this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Well you may know this, but I just discovered that the North Star is not a particular star — that it is a kind of a star. And that right now as we are alive, Polaris is the North Star, but that different stars throughout the eons have served as a North Star. And a North Star is simply the star that is closest to the North Pole, that aligns with it most closely. And of course, the beauty of having a star that serves as a North Star is that in the night sky all the other stars seem to be rotating around and they're moving, but the North Star does not. So through the centuries, sailors for instance could always find their way by the North Star that would lead them safely home. And I bring that up because I think that as we talk about temptation, which is what our lessons are about today, we really need a kind of North Star for our lives. Temptation is the topic. Adam and Eve were tempted in the garden. Jesus was tempted in the desert. And we are tempted in all kinds of different places. Maybe sometimes at our computer we're tempted to push "send" and send an angry comment, an angry email, or maybe to post something a little sarcastic. Or maybe it's that we're tempted to push "buy" when we shouldn't, but it's a spur-of-the-moment decision to purchase something that we really don't need. Or maybe we're tempted to have just one more cookie, or just one more drink. In either case, we don't really need them. Or maybe it's a matter of how we use our time. You know, we're tempted to watch just one more movie, play just one more video game, spend just a little longer on Facebook, or do one more crossword puzzle. Maybe we're tempted to spend another session in the gym or spend a long time on our phone, or maybe go to just one more store in the mall or online. And in all these cases, as we're confronted with things that can tempt us I think we need to ask two questions: how can we recognize when we're being tempted, and once we realize that how do we resist? Well, we can look to Jesus in the gospel today, because he was tempted. There's nothing wrong with being tempted; it's what you do with it. And it's interesting, what you wouldn't know necessarily is that the thing that happened just before the lesson today is that Jesus was baptized. And then immediately after his baptism the Spirit of God sends him into the wilderness to be tempted. Now, why would the Father send his Son to be tempted? Is it that he wanted him to have some practice in resisting temptation and build up his moral muscles? Did he want Jesus to understand the human situation? We don't really know. But he was sent there, and a spirit — called Satan, the devil, the tempter — tempted him. And Jesus had to figure out what and whether he was being tempted. Because the first two temptations don't really stand out. Jesus had fasted and his fast was over, so what was wrong about accepting some food? Or the second one: Jesus as the Son of God had special powers. Was it really so bad to have a little fun and jump off a high building and watch the angels scoop you up and protect you? But the third one — that probably stood out as a clear temptation — was when the devil said all these kingdoms and their glory will be yours if you worship me. How did Jesus determine whether he was being tempted or not? He used one method — and that was to see if those things being offered matched up with his mission. Jesus had a mission in life. And he knew what that mission was from scripture. And that's why he kept quoting all these passages from scripture. He knew his mission, and he knew his mission was not to have power and glory. He knew it was not to be frivolous about the powers that he had and tempt the angels. He even knew that his mission wasn't always to have a full stomach. He knew his mission was to rescue us. He knew his mission was to be a poor, traveling healer, who would be hurt and crucified and die and rise again, so that we might be children of God. He knew his mission, so he knew when he was being tempted. Well, Jesus' mission is really, in some respects, our mission. Not that we're rescuing him, but we are called to look out for other people. So our mission isn't just to do whatever we're able to do or buy whatever we have money to buy or experience whatever we have opportunity to experience. Our mission is to see how our actions impact other people, to help people and to care about them. Knowing our mission helps us to know when we are being tempted. To spend hours on the phone with a friend who's going through a hard time, for instance, might very well be part of our mission in caring for people. To spend hours on the phone building ourselves up by criticizing other people and talking behind their backs would probably be a temptation. To spend a lot of time at the gym in preparation for the occasional marathon might be part of our mission to keep our bodies intact and maybe enjoy the community of athletes. But spending time at the gym to avoid responsibilities of schoolwork or work or family responsibilities — that could be a temptation. So knowing that we have a mission helps us to identify and recognize when we're being tempted. But what do we do when we know we're being tempted? How do we have the strength to withstand those temptations? In the play — and it's also a book and a movie — To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a lawyer in a small, southern town. And he has been appointed to stand up, to be the lawyer for a black man who has been accused of attacking a white woman. Now, he had a temptation not to do that, not to be that man's lawyer, because the whole town didn't like the man and they didn't want Atticus to do it. But Atticus felt he was being unfairly accused, that he was an innocent man. And so he went ahead and became his lawyer, and he was a strong lawyer in his defense. Of course, he paid a price. His family paid a price, and he paid a price. They were even attacked. But he didn't give in to the temptation. And then later on in the play he thinks his son might have been implicated in a crime, and he's tempted by his friend who's the sheriff to just sweep the evidence under the rug and forget about it. But Atticus says no. He says I can't be one person in church and another person in life. He says, if I don't live up to the things I've taught my son, I will lose him. And he is my most precious possession. Atticus did not give in. He had the strength to resist temptation because of a loving relationship, because he cared for his son and his son cared for him. It is a loving relationship that Jesus uses to give himself strength. The relationship, of course, with the Father. He is in constant communication with his Heavenly Father through prayer. He senses the Father's presence in his regular worship, and we get a glimpse into the closeness between Jesus and his Father — the love they have for each other — in the prayer that he prays in the Book of John shortly before he is taken into custody. It goes like this (he's praying to the Father about his disciples): the glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you love me. That loving relationship is what gave Jesus strength. It was his North Star. The relationship he had with a loving Father guided him, gave him strength, and gave him the ability to make it home safely. It's interesting that both Atticus Finch and Jesus Christ are not motivated by dread or fear. It's not a drudgery for them to resist temptation and to follow their mission. Instead, they do it out of love — love for someone who loves them. Maybe, as we think of ourselves going through life with various temptations, and we think of our relationship to our Heavenly Father, maybe the prodigal son will help us get some insight into how we interact with God. You know the story of the Prodigal Son probably. He took his father's hard-earned money, he went out and squandered it, and then he was penniless and hungry so he headed for home. And I think a lot of times we think, oh he went home because he had to. That was the only place, that was the last place he could go, so he went. But I wonder if there wasn't more to it than that. I can imagine him walking along those dusty paths home and thinking about his father, thinking about the relationship he had had with his father, how his father sacrificed to provide for him, how his father taught him, how his father had dreams for this son, a mission. And he must have hoped that that love that he used to know was still there. Well of course, we know the end to that story. The father is standing there with open arms ready to forgive this son when he comes home, still loving him. That father figure represents for us our relationship with our heavenly parent, with God. Because we know that in the same way, God has sacrificed to provide for us, God has taught us, God has given us strength, and God, like the father in the Prodigal Son, forgives us when we fall on our faces. So it is that relationship with a loving God that is the most important relationship we have in life. And as we go through a field of temptations, it is that relationship with a loving God which becomes our North Star that will guide us safely home. Amen. *** Keywords *** 2017, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Penny Holste, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 15:11-32, Prodigal Son, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

February 5, 2017. In Matthew 5:13-20, Jesus tells us that we’re the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In the time of Jesus, salt and light were very important. We’re important too. Especially now, with our politics and our communities and country divided more than ever, Jesus urges us not to hide our light. Instead of building walls between us and those with whom we disagree, we should build bridges. We’re reminded just how much power God gives us, and in her sermon today Pastor Penny talks about some ways we can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. *** Transcript *** I want to start with a word association this morning. If I would say Starbucks, you would say? If I would say McDonald's? Okay, how about Boeing? And Enterprise? Christ Lutheran Church? We have to think, right? What is our product? It's not quite so easy, and it might be different for different people. And you have to think about it. I think that some churches are known for things that they do within their four walls. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church hosts the Feed My Starving Children program, and we've been involved in that. We think of that, maybe, when we think of that church. There are churches that have a community meal. There are churches that might have daycare or a latchkey after school. But I have to believe that what people know about a congregation is not so much what happens here, but what happens outside these walls. I believe that we are the product of Christ Lutheran Church -- that you all are the product. And when you think about how many people (I was asking the children how many people they see) think of the people that we make contact with in one day's time. And then multiply it by all of you. You know that our impact is mostly felt out in the world. We are the product of Christ Lutheran Church. And Jesus tells us how important we are as a product. He says, You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. And of course, salt and light are important today. Food would taste pretty bad without a little salt. But in Jesus' day, salt and light were very important. Salt particularly, because it was the way you preserved food. It became a very important trade commodity, salt did, and we get our word salary (like in "earning a salary") from the Latin word for salt, because some Roman soldiers were paid in salt. That's how important it was. Light, of course, is always important. If we didn't have artificial light when the sun went down, we wouldn't get much done. In Jesus' day, when the sun went down they would light little lamps with oil. And it wasn't a very bright light, but it allowed them to go out into the world in safety or to stay home and do what they needed to do safely and securely and with comfort. So when Jesus says you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, he means it is very important. And it is, and you are. You are these things in your communities. You -- through your words of encouragement, through your faithful work, wherever you work, through your volunteer efforts, through the promises you make and faithfully keep, through the protests or marches you're in or the prayers you pray, when you show patience with a child, when you sacrifice for a friend -- you are the light of the world, the salt of the earth. And you are important. And I think we are especially important right now, because this is a hard time as a nation and as a world community. We know that with each new event that happens in politics, our country is more divided. When we think of the last two weeks under a new administration, I know that a good share of the country is going "Yes!" and a good share of the country is going "No!" And a good share of the country is saying, I don't know what's going on. I'm going to wait and see. We are divided. So it is very much the time that we need to be salt and light. And I think that's why Jesus urges us in today's gospel not to, he said, let your salt lose its flavor. And I'm not quite sure how to depict that. But he says don't put your light under a bushel basket. Don't hide your light. And I do think it would be easy to do that right now, with all the division in our country. It would be easy to do it by disengaging, by just turning off the news and throwing yourself into your work, into your family, into your hobbies, into the Super Bowl and just saying, I really have no control over this and I don't have that much power. So I'm just not going to bother with it. But Jesus said we do have power. A little bit of salt goes a long way. A little candle, when the power goes out in a storm and you reach for that candle or that flashlight, makes a big difference. A little bit of God's power goes a long way. In the second lesson, Paul said to his congregation, "I came to you and I didn't have lofty wisdom or lofty words. I was trembling," he said. "But my meager words had power because the Spirit was behind them." In the same way, we may feel powerless. But God says, You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. If we don't disengage, we might be tempted to hide our life in the opposite way. We might accept our power and use it abusively. Instead of disengaging, we might demonize the people we don't agree with. We might demonize the other side. We might eagerly take every negative statement we hear, every stereotype, and began piling these grievances on one another, like we're building a wall, until we've built a wall -- and we can't see through it or beyond it to see the goodness or even the neutrality of people who are on the other side. And when we do that, when we demonize people, what we do is we not only discard their ideas, their political views, but we discard them as people. We stop asking why. Why do they believe differently than I do? What hardships have they experienced in the past that makes them feel the way they do? What good have they experienced that they want to bring back again? Why do they believe the way they do? So clearly, if we are not to hide our light under a bushel basket, if we are not to disengage or demonize, we've got to build bridges and not walls. And that requires us to talk. We have to be willing to listen and to talk to people we don't agree with. Maybe you saw the news story about the Retired Marine who went around the country, and he'd go to cities and he'd hold a placard that said "I am a Marine and a Muslim. Ask me anything." And people did. When he listened and he talked, I'm sure he learned a lot, and they did too. I said this at first service -- and I'm waiting for someone to take me up on it: I would love it if this congregation could model what that could look like, because I'm sure we have the wide range of political spectrum here in this congregation. If we could model what it would be like to talk about controversial subjects, and do it while we care for each other, what a light we would be to this community, and really to the world. It may be, however, that you just feel that you haven't got the energy to take this on, that you just don't have the strength to fight this fight, to try to listen and to try to speak to people who don't agree with you. And in that case, I think it's important to remember that when Jesus said you are the light of the world and you are the salt of the earth, the "you" in Greek was plural. He meant we as a community are that. Sometimes we need to hold each other up. When one of us gets weary, we need to give each other strength. And that's why we come here on Sunday morning. That's why we worship here. That's why we pray together. We pray for understanding and for wisdom. We pray to have the courage to live out the beliefs that we have. And we pray for people who don't agree with us. Or maybe you have the strength, but you're just not sure. You're in that middle group and you just don't know what to believe. What is right? What is the right thing to do? What is the right thing to say? Well, we could look at Jesus' life. And he gives us a glimpse of that in the last part of the gospel, where he talks about the law and fulfilling it. We see in Jesus' life that he did not keep the law -- he fulfilled it. And that sometimes meant breaking the law. Like when he healed people on the Sabbath, or when he ate with the outcasts, the church society said no. No, don't do that. And Jesus said yes, this is the will of God. Because he knew God, because he had a firm relationship with the Heavenly Father, he knew what God would want him to do in that situation. It's kind of like if you have older children, and parents go out for the evening and the children are on their own, and you have this rule: you say "no friends over." In fact, don't let anybody in for safety's sake. Well if there's a fire, of course they're going to let in the firefighters and they're going to break your commandment. But they're going to fulfill your wishes as parents, because they know we love them, and they know what you would want them to do in that situation. So it all comes down to the relationship we have with God, that we stay close so that we can let God speak to us about how to live out our faith in these separate situations. It's all about our relationship with God. And you know, our relationship with God is strong. Our relationship with God is solid, not because our faith is so strong or our self-discipline is so strong or our wisdom is so strong, but because God's love for us is unshakable -- so much so that Jesus died to make us what we are. So when it comes right down to it, being the light of the world simply means to be what God has made us to be, to stay close to God, and to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Amen. *** Keywords *** 2017, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Penny Holste, Matthew 5:13-20, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12