Month: October 2021

This Sunday, we end our October worship series on servant life by gathering together to worship God and give thanks for the saints we know and love who have died.  And that connection between servanthood and sainthood is so important for us to grasp.  We do not serve God in order to become saints.  We serve God because God’s love has swept us up into the salvation story.  We serve because, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been sanctified.

And so while we cherish and celebrate the particularities of those we mourn, we do not put our trust in their goodness.  We do not fear that their human imperfections will separate them from the eternal goodness of God.  Our beloved are saints in the eyes of God, not because of their strengths, their victories or their impact on the world–but because they were and are perfectly loved by their creator.  It is the love that formed them and that carried them in life and through death–it is a love that sustains them still.

Come and see how very good the news is–your loved ones are not lost to God or to you.  This is how our story ends.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture: 1 Kings 19:19-21

The biggest stumbling block in our servant life is not our ability, but our desire.  It is not that life as a servant of God is not possible–we are absolutely able to live the life that God is calling us to live.  Jesus isn’t looking for disciples who are faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.  Those are superheroes–God is looking for servants who are willing to walk the second mile, turn the other cheek, forgive repeatedly, speak truth in love and work for the good of others.  It’s not that we can’t do these things.  We just don’t want to.  

We don’t want to be servants because we don’t want to live small, boring, insignificant, weak lives in the shadows.

And if that were the call–it would be a hard sacrifice to make.  But when you think servant of Jesus, I need you to think less Jeeves and more Elijah.  A life serving Jesus will be filled with meaning, power, adventure, growth, purpose and–most remarkably–that elusive peace that passes understanding which Jesus promises.

I hope you’ll join me as we look at the witness of the prophet Elijah–who wasn’t a superhero at all, but the kind of ordinary servant of God we all are equipped to be.

Peace,
Pastor Kate

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Dear Church,

I read an article in Relevant magazine revealing that in 2019, all but one of the most popular 20 Facebook pages for American Christians were actually created by overseas bot farms in order to spread misinformation and steal personal data.  The groups had nostalgic and sentimental names like ‘smile and shine,’ ‘be happy and enjoy life,’ ‘blessing,’ and ‘light a candle for lost loved ones.’

What this reveals to me is not a problem with an internet platform, but a problem with the Church. When we believe we’re called to build our life in Christ around privilege and pleasure, we make ourselves ripe for exploitation and abuse.  The folks building those fake platforms know us better than we know ourselves–they knew just what to promise to make us click ‘follow.’

I didn’t see any fake platforms named ‘Dying to Self,’ ‘How to Serve with Humility and Grace,’ or ‘finding the strength to bless & serve our enemies.’  But that’s what the gospel story is about–Jesus didn’t come to be blessed and served–he came to seek and save and serve the lost and wounded.  That is the narrow way Jesus opens to us, and it is still the only path to abundant life and salvation.

I hope you’ll join me for worship on Sunday as we look at the beautiful and astonishing story of those who served the Aramean general Naaman.  Here we find the rare story of sons and daughters of Israel who understood and embodied God’s covenant with Abraham, especially one little girl whose name is unknown to us who prefigures Christ himself.  Come to be inspired, come to be challenged, come to behold the awe-ful way we are called to serve one another as Jesus serves us.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Scripture:  Matthew 25:14-30 (?)

Dear Church,

Before leaving on a long journey, a man left work for three of his servants.  In his absence, two of the servants labored as requested, but the third servant did nothing.  When their Lord returned, he was pleased with the obedient servants and angry with the one who did nothing.  The ones who were faithful were rewarded, the one who was not faced consequences.

Usually when we think about this story (Matthew 25:14-30), we focus on the servant who did not follow instructions.  We question his motives; we evaluate his excuses, and we resolve to be nothing like him.

But this month we are focusing on a less popular aspect of Jesus’ identity–his servanthood.  So, instead of wondering what was wrong with the third guy, we’re going to focus on what was right with the first two.  Where did they find the energy, courage and wisdom that their fellow servant lacked?  What did they know and how did it empower them to live differently?  Most importantly, how did their approach to serving mirror Jesus’ own?

I hope you’ll join me as we reveal the wisdom of a servant that leads to abundant life.

Peace,

Pastor Kate

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Dear Church,

If I asked everyone reading this letter to complete the sentence ‘Jesus is ________,’ we’d all probably fill in that blank differently:  

Lord, Savior, Son of God, Friend, Brother, Shepherd, King, Way-maker, miracle worker, promise-keeper, light in the darkness, God-with-us, Name above all names, Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Merciful, Grace, Hope, Love, Life, God…

There are a million different glorious truth-filled ways to fill in that blank–and I hope you have first-hand knowledge of many of them.

But there is a word that belongs with all the others that we often overlook.  And really, it’s the key to understanding how and why Jesus is all those other things.  But we ignore it because it doesn’t seem glorious or holy like the rest.   It doesn’t seem like something God could be–or should be.  

That word is servant.  Jesus was and is a servant.  Jesus is the One who serves.  This is an unexpected thing for the One who is all those other things to be–it almost feels shameful.  It is hard to understand how the one who is everything on that list could also be a servant.  And really, it’s even more strange than we imagine.  Jesus isn’t just anyone’s servant.  Jesus serves us.  

The fact that we struggle to accept this shows that we deeply misunderstand both Jesus and the sacredness of serving.

So for the next month we are going to lean in and seek understanding in a new worship series called, ‘The Life of a Servant’. Because friends, if Jesus is a servant, then we who claim to follow him are servants also.  If you are too good to be a servant–then you are too good for the narrow way of Jesus (Philippians 2:1-11).  I hope you’ll join me as we deepen our understanding of the holiness of this servant life we share with Christ. 

Peace,
Pastor Kate

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