Rev. Tucher

Last night, my wife and I got some lovely Starbucks.  Ahh, refreshing…sorry, I digress.  After that, I decided to go to Hastings, our local bookstore/video store/game store.  We were looking at kids music for preschoolers (where my wife works).  I saw this book about kids first prayers.  Here was The Lord’s Prayer (paraphrased).

Dear Father, We love you!  We want to make you happy.  Thank you for giving us everything we need.  Please take care of us today.  We’re sorry when we don’t listen to you.  Help us to love one another!  You are wonderful, God!  Amen.

Now, that doesn’t sound at all like this, now does it?

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

On Tuesday, a Michigan truck driver was sentenced to four years in prison for causing a 2006 highway crash that killed five people from Taylor University and sparked a weeks-long case of mistaken identity.  A judge sentenced him to eight years total but suspended four of them, which would be served on probation.  With time already served including time for good behavior, he will be eligible for release in about a year, the prosecutor said.

Spencer, who admitted he was driving 9 hours past the legal driving limit, fell asleep behind the wheel of his semi on April 26, 2006.  The accident caused the death of four students and a university employee.

While it has been more than a year since the accident occurred, there is still a lot of hurt and pain for all involved, especially with Spencer, having to live with the fact that he caused the death of five innocent people.  We continue to pray for healing and comfort for all involved.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Gospel, which was read earlier.

Everyone take a look at your watch. We need to hurry things up today because I know that everyone has a busy schedule. We have places to be, things to do. Our appointment books are overflowing with meetings and doctor appointments and little league games, sporting events and the like. We are on the go 24/7 and it doesn’t seem like things will be slowing down anytime soon. We try not to worry about our busy schedules and making sure that everything gets done in a timely manner, but it’s hard to do. There are many burdens, many concerns, and many worries of this world that are laid upon us. Not to mention the various concerns of this world clamoring for our attention, often bringing anxiety. Regardless of all that is going on around us, there is no need to be anxious for anything, for Jesus points us to God’s creation and says, “Will God not care for you?”

It’s easy for us to become over anxious in our world. However, Christ points us to creation all around us in our text and asks us a simple question: “When you see creation, don’t you see my Father’s care? Don’t you see the concern my Father has for everything all around you? Then surely you know that my Father is concerned for you as well.”

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An 8-foot tall Lego man was fished out of a Dutch sea on Wednesday.  That’s something you don’t see everyday.  I wonder if LEGOLAND Deutschland is missing their greeter?

I find it interesting that I didn’t post anything about The LC-MS convention which took place several weeks ago. As I was working on my sermon today and scouring the Internet for religious news, I saw that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America re-elected it’s current presiding bishop, Rev. Mark S. Hanson. Hanson, 60, begins his second term November 1.

One of the issues being addressed at the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly is the issue of whether or not the church (ELCA) should ordain non-celibate homosexuals.

ELCA News Service story