fl PASTOR MARTINS'S MESSAGE FOR
JULY 2010
? g
Jesus said to them all, "If any want to become my
followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross daily and follow me." Luke
9:23
Growing up in the Lutheran churh for all of My life, I have had many opporturties
to see what I really liked to do and was good at. I have had many opportunities to see what I really
didn't want to do and wasn't good at it as well. After I was confirmed in my faith I became active in the Chrfistian/Lutheran youth group. I was
one of the youngest to sing in the bass section of the adult choir, along with my mother who
sang alto. I
was
also one of the youngest to serve on the church council, overseeing the
stewardship committee. I
also was the church's custodian for many years but keep that information to
myself, especially when facing a
congregation's pastor call committee. What I really didn't want to do was assisting or reading the Scripture lessons
each Sunday, as I was afraid of praying and
reading in front of people. Both of those fears had to be overcome when
I decided to go to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, now many years ago.
Throughout our lives our Lord Jesus gives
to us the opportunities to see what we like to
do and what we are good at and also to see what we do not want to do and may
not be too good at, when it comes to
the ministries of the church. Fortunately, our Lord. Jesus, who calls us to become one of his
followers, also gives to us the desire and ability to do some things
well and the understanding and the humility for those things we are not called to be doing. Not all of us are
called to be singing in the choir, serving on the stewardship committee
or whatever the ministry may be, but as we hear from our Scripture in Luke,
Jesus calls "all" of us if we truly want to become one of Jesus'
followers, as we daily take up our cross and follow him,
For the next two
months, we of
