Faith Acts In The Home

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Todd Biermann

This past weekend my congregation kicked off the fall schedule with a focus on building faith in the home.  The title for our fall focus is “Faith Acts In The Home.”  This name was drawn from materials shared by Rev. Dr. Rich Melheim in his book Holding Your Family Together.  In this book, he also outlines a simple and powerful tool for fellow Christians, especially families, to us in order to draw closer to each other in life and faith.  This tool is called the “Faith5”.  The concept is that a family or small group of Christian friends gathers together for about 15 minutes every day, preferably just before bed, to do five simple things.  First, each person shares a high and a low for the day.  Next, a brief passage from the Bible is read.  Third, they talk about how the Bible passage relates to their highs and lows for the day.  Fourth, they pray with and for each other.  Finally, they bless each other with simple words of blessing and the sign of the cross on the forehead.

My family has been using this process in a loose form for many years.  This last couple of weeks we’ve been doing the “Faith5” more “formally.”  We’ve found it to be a GREAT blessing in bringing us close to each other and filling our heads and hearts with the comfort of Christ at the ending of the day.

In the church, we’ve been using the “Faith5” in multiple settings; men’s group, meeting devotions, staff meetings, prayer groups, youth group, catechism class and more.  There was a bit of “fear and trepidation” at first, but the highs have far outweighed the lows.

I’m sharing this because it’s another example of how our families and friendships grow stronger when we put Christ FIRST.  The “Faith5” is all about keeping our “thumbs up” to Jesus.  And, just as I’ve used the hand with its 5 fingers as an illustration for keeping our 5 levels of relationships in the right priority, so also the 5 fingers help us keep the “Faith5” in order.  The “Faith5” … a great tool for keeping our “thumbs up” to Jesus that fits like a glove on a hand.

By Kim Keegan

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Marriage … from Creation

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Todd Biermann

Creation Museum by Daniel Incandela

I missed posting last week because my family was at the Creation Museum in Hebron, Kentucky.  This trip was my daughter’s request in celebration of her public confirmation of faith in May.  It was our second trip to the museum and it was, again, AWESOME!  We enjoyed seeing the displays, watching the shows and hearing the speakers.  I especially enjoyed a talk by Dr. Tim Chaffey titled, “Is Genesis Relevant in Today’s World?”  Dr. Chaffey made it clear that EVERYTHING in our world today can be traced back to Genesis.  When we understand Genesis, we understand where we came from, where we are going and why we are here.  What especially struck me was Dr. Chaffey’s clear affirmation that God’s way for marriage is an integral part of His creation that was established prior to the fall in Eden.  The institution of marriage is inseparably bound to all the other parts of God’s beautiful creation.  Marriage reveals the love of God incarnate as it gives us a living picture of the love between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church.

While I didn’t hear anything totally new in this talk, it was certainly affirming.  It showed what I’ve seen many times before.  Whenever you let God and His Word be your sole guide for life, you WILL discover the importance of upholding the institution of marriage between one man and one woman.  It’s not a teaching that’s intended to marginalize certain people.  Instead, it’s a teaching that joyously proclaims the gracious love of God for ALL mankind.  Jesus loves us so completely that He did everything necessary to save us, His bride, from sin and hell.  This is what a godly marriage reveals.  This is the message that motivates a life in God’s way.  It’s what the Creation Museum is eager to proclaim.  It’s what I’m willing to die for.  The joy of the Lord is my strength and motivation.

P.S.  If you’ve never been to the Creation Museum, I highly recommend it!

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Our Faith Family

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Todd Biermann
My congregation is currently producing a new picture directory.  I’ve been asked to write an introductory letter, which appears below.  It reflects how “Life in God’s Way” influences all we do as a Christian congregation.
BHC34840
Our Faith Family
We at Faith Lutheran Church see ourselves as a “family.”  We care for one another as the members of a family are supposed to do.  All the images in this directory can’t fully convey the most important part of our family … our relationships.
These relationships start with the one between us and our Heavenly Father, the one true God.  We see God as our loving and caring “head” of our family who gives us all we need, loves us unconditionally and is with us for eternity.  This relationship is made clear in what the Son of God, Jesus, did for us.  He sacrificed Himself into death for us, rose from the dead to assure us of our own resurrection and feeds us with His gifts in His Word, Baptism and Holy Communion regularly.  As we receive these gifts from Jesus, we grow in our most important family relationship … the one with our Father in heaven.
In this Faith family, we also celebrate many wonderful relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ who gather at Faith with us every week.  We sacrifice for each other.  We consider what’s best for the rest of the members of the family and not what’s only good for me.  We also choose to love each other unconditionally.  That’s why we come from all walks of life … financially, politically, ethnically, physically.  It doesn’t matter that we have differences since we are all one in Christ.  We remember this as we love each other unconditionally.  We also care for each other in every physical need.  When one is sick, we’re good at coming together to help.  When one rejoices, we’re good at coming together to celebrate (you’ll see lots of happy faces in the pages that follow).
Of course, this Faith family is not complete.  We rejoice that our Father in heaven delights to adopt new members into His family all the time.  We’re eager to welcome these new adoptees into the close relationships that mark our Faith family.  While the pictures in this directory won’t change, our Faith family already has since they were taken.  And, we will continue to enjoy new relationships with all those yet to join our family.
Yes, this is our Faith family.  The head of our family is God himself.  The one who brings us into this family and teaches us how to love is Jesus.  Our brothers and sisters are our fellow members of Faith Lutheran Church.  Our family is continually growing as new members are adopted in.  Pictures say a lot, but our relationships make the picture complete.
In the Family with You,
Pastor Biermann
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End of Summer Blues

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Todd Biermann

Yesterday was my 49th birthday.  I should be happy I still have another year before, as my daughter informed me, I’ll be “old.”  But, since childhood, my birthday has usually been accompanied by a bit of sadness due to the fast approach of school and now a full church schedule.  It’s not as though I haven’t been busy this summer.  It’s been crazy hectic.  But, at least I’ve enjoyed a lot of fun time with my family.  The fall schedule inevitably means I’ll be in the office, attending meetings, leading events, counseling, meeting with people, etc. etc. ad infinitum.  It takes a genuine effort to schedule time with Heather and the kids.  Relate?

In this context, I really appreciated a deep theological discussion we had in our staff meeting yesterday morning.  We were considering the implications of the doctrine of election.  May not sound too exciting at first, but the end result was a much lighter spirit as I faced this fall.  Why?  Well, it’s all because my future is SECURE in the absolutely certain grace of my Savior, Jesus.  Jesus has chosen to love me.  No doubt about it.  It’s a done deal.  Sealed by His life, death and resurrection FOR ME!  How awesome!  Keeping Jesus first, all MY activities and interactions are secondary by comparison.  All MY WORK that I feel compelled to accomplish this fall is not necessary to satisfy God.  I get to do what I do just because Jesus allows me to share in the joy of passing on His gifts.  My life truly is NOT a “have to,” but a “get to.”

By sekundo

It’s good to be reminded I’m NOT God.  Thank God for that.  I could never do what He’s already done.  Through Jesus, I HAVE God’s love, peace, hope, contentment and joy.  Now, I get to share those same things with Heather, the kids, my family, my congregation and everyone I encounter in the world.  When I come up short this fall, God WILL forgive me and will continue to distribute His gifts to the world with or without little ole me.  Kind of takes the pressure off, doesn’t it?  I guess I don’t need to take myself quite so seriously as fall approaches.  Instead, I think I’ll enjoy the certainty of His love a little more in this last year of PRE-old age … and even when I do turn 50 🙂

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Young Knight

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Todd Biermann

This past Saturday marked a milestone in the life of my son, Micah.  He’ll be turning 13 in November.  To mark this move into the teen years, I planned a special “rite of passage ceremony.”  For the past year, Micah and I have been meeting early each Wednesday morning with a group of men and sons for a Bible study on being a man of God.  One of the group members invited all of us to his cabin for a retreat this past weekend.  It seemed like the perfect time to invite these godly men to join me in marking Micah’s transition to teenhood.  They all eagerly agreed to write a letter to Micah to give him wise counsel.  Several other special men of God in Micah’s life also wrote letters and sent them to me in advance.  Then, last Saturday, after a day of “manly” fun, I took Micah for a walk in the woods.  Along the way, much to Micah’s surprise, we encountered each of the men from the Bible study group.  They all shared wonderful words of wisdom from their own personal perspective.  They also pointed Micah directly to the Lord as the one stable guide for life.

 

Micah & JeffMicah & CarlMicah & LannieMicah & Mark After hearing from the men of our group, the last half of our walk focused on letters from others, ending with my own. Through the tears (Micah’s AND mine), we passed through an invisible portal.  We both knew that childhood was a thing of the past.  Micah’s eyes were opened to what lay ahead and he realized there was no looking back to the shielded perspective of childhood.

Then, as our walk came to an end, we joined the rest of the group around the campfire.  I spoke to Micah of facing his teen years with courage in much the same way a knight faces a battle.  I asked him if he was ready to enter the teen years as a courageous young man of God.  He boldly proclaimed, “Yes, with the help of God.”  Micah then took a knee and I used my 4-foot Crusader’s broadsword to “dub” him as a young “knight” of God in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  20130810_171755  The men all gathered around to lay our hands on him and speak words of prayer and blessing.  20130810_17204620130810_172042  I then hung upon my young knight’s neck a silver pendant in the shape of a knight’s shield emblazoned with the cross.  We both hugged and shared tears of joy and thanksgiving to God for this special day.  We will NEVER forget that moment.  God was clearly present.  The future is in HIS hands.

I share all of this because I’m very proud of my son, now a young man of God.  I also share this because it points out many important things about relationships in God’s way:  1. Jesus must remain first at EVERY stage of life.  2. It’s a father’s duty and joy to mark the passage of his son through the steps toward Christian manhood.  3. The body of believers has an important role in standing together to raise up the next generation of godly men (THANK YOU to the brothers of our study group).  4. There’s relationship-building power in ceremony that includes physical ways to mark the event, such as the use of the broadsword and presentation of the pendant.  5. It’s important to make the time to mark faith milestones before the opportunity flies away and is lost forever.

Thanks to all who participated and prayed for the events of this past Saturday.  To all my brothers and sisters in Christ who are reading this, I entreat your continued prayers and support for Micah as he walks down the challenging road ahead.  By the grace of God, he will remain “strong and courageous.”20130810_172152

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What Nail?

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Todd Biermann

Photo by Michael Chen of Fillmore Photography

This past week Heather and I had some pretty “intense” discussion.  We’ve been debating the best way to handle some necessary home repairs.  Questions arise about the best use of our dollar.  Do we just do the minimum fix at minimum price?  Do we do the fix well, hopefully to last a bit longer, for a bit more money?  Do we do a bit of “home improvement” while we’re doing the repairs … hopefully increasing the value of our home?

These “discussions” reminded us that we sometimes see things from a different point of view.  Not that one is right and one is wrong … just different.  This can be hard when I’m a natural “pointer” and “fixer” and Heather is more of a “painter” and “thinker.”  In the midst of it, I directed Heather to this video titled, “It’s NOT About the Nail.”  Click on the link and check it out.

Watching the video helped us both laugh a bit and not take our situation so seriously.  We may disagree at times, but our life really isn’t so bad.  In fact, its’ AWESOME!  We both have a Savior, Jesus Christ!  We both KNOW we will be with Jesus in His New Creation for all eternity!  We both have Christ’s assurance of peace, wisdom and strength each day.  Jesus does NOT want us to make bad choices.  As we both go to Him in prayer for our shared decisions, He WILL guide us.  I may sometimes want to focus too much on the “nail.”  Heather may sometimes want to ignore the “nail” entirely.  But, as we turn to Jesus in a united manner, everything will work together for good in the end.

Talk seriously with those near you.  Listen to their perspective.  Step back and laugh a bit WITH each other.  Remember what really matters.  Thumbs up to Jesus.  ALL will work together for good.

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Music to My Ears

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Todd Biermann

Today was the last day of a GREAT week of VBS (Vacation Bible School) at Faith.  It wasn’t great because there were over 400 kids in attendance (which there were).  VBS  It wasn’t great because the singing was so wonderful (which it was).  It wasn’t great because the snacks were so good (which they were).  It was GREAT because I heard a couple of things I love to hear.

I had the privilege to lead the Bible story time for three of the days this week.  On the day that I talked about what Jesus did for us, I focused on the gift of Baptism.  The “music to my ears” that day was having at least four children raise their hand to ask, “Can I be baptized?”  One even said, “As soon as you’re done talking to us, could I, please, be baptized?”  What an awesome gift to me to hear these children asking for the free gift of life.  You can be sure I spoke to each of them about how super it was that they wanted this gift.  I then told them to talk to their parents about it right away and then we could all talk together about getting them baptized as soon as possible.  Now THAT’S a GREAT VBS moment!

The second time I heard “music to my ears” was this morning.  I was talking about the gift of God’s Word recorded for us in the Bible.  I shared how it teaches us all about the tremendous love of Jesus for each and every one of us.  Before they left the Bible story time, I heard several children ask, “Can I have a Bible?”  Before the day was over, about a dozen children went home smiling with delight as they held their first Bible.

This was a GREAT VBS!  The children learned about the tremendous blessing of putting Jesus FIRST in life.  They were eager to give a “THUMBS UP” to Jesus, and I was delighted to respond to their beautiful request for HIS great gifts.  Awesome!

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The Power of Presence

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Todd Biermann

Last week I wrote about the sad death of Kirk Reid, a member of my congregation who finally lost the battle with liver disease at the young age of 66.  On Monday, I had the privilege to lead Kirk’s  funeral service.  We gathered in the Lord’s house to celebrate the victory over death Kirk received as a free gift from His dear Savior, Jesus.

By bamakodaker

On Monday, I was thrilled to see the body of Christ acting with the love of the Bridegroom, Jesus.  Nearly 350 people gathered for the occasion.  Many made the sacrifice of leaving other important obligations behind to be physically present with Kirk’s family at their time of loss.  They practiced incarnate love, following the model of the perfect lover, Jesus.

On the way to the cemetery, the funeral director commented how unusual this funeral was.  He said he rarely sees such a turn out for funerals anymore.  People just don’t take the time or make the effort to come to funerals.  How sad.

I certainly sensed the encouragement that Kirk’s family received from the large group that gathered.  The sense of hope and confidence in the Lord swelled up as the congregation joined in joyful songs of praise to our Savior.  That unified voice of the faithful offered us a taste of what Kirk’s enjoying in heaven right now.  What a wonderful act of love as this group practiced the power of presence.

You may not think it’s a big deal to go to a funeral.  You may have a huge list of other obligations that seem critically important.  This past Monday I was reminded again of how important it is to be physically present with those who are suffering the harsh loss of death.  Even if you don’t know what to say, just be there.  Make it a point to sacrifice your other priorities to attend.  When it comes to Christ-like love, the power of presence is indispensable.

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Death Demands Jesus Alone

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Todd Biermann

As a pastor, one of my more difficult tasks is to sit with a dear member of my flock who’s facing the hour of death and know there’s nothing I can do to stop this hideous evil.  It’s an inevitable part of life in this fallen world.

This last week, however, I thought I might have an opportunity to stop death in its tracks, at least for a while.  One of my dear faithful members, Kirk Reid, had been fighting an insidious liver disease for many months.  He knew that in order to live beyond his current age of 66, he’d likely need a liver transplant.  Since his condition wasn’t severe enough to warrant him receiving the liver of a deceased donor, another option was to receive a partial liver from a live donor.  This approach has been very effective.  God created the liver to regenerate quite rapidly.  Both the donor and receiver have a nearly full-sized liver within about two months after the transplant.  Kirk’s daughter, Staci, having the same “O” blood type as her dad, had hoped to be such a living donor.  Unfortunately, an issue with her own liver preempted that plan.  As Kirk’s condition started to deteriorate a bit more a few weeks back, I asked the family about the requirements for someone to be a living donor.  I learned the most important factors were for the donor to have “O” blood, a healthy liver and be age 18 to 55. Since I knew I met those criteria, I began to pray.  After talking things over with the donor supervisor and my family, I was convinced that this was something I wanted to try.  It was the right thing for me to do.  This action would reflect the kind of sacrificial, unconditional and incarnate love that I teach about all the time.  I wanted to be able to practice what I preach and actually help one of my sheep hold off the advance of death.  So, I filled out the paperwork and began arranging for my visits with the donor medical team.  If things continued as planned, I would have finished the testing process today.

Sadly, my plans couldn’t be realized.  Over the past week, Kirk’s condition continued to deteriorate quite rapidly.  Before I could complete the testing, he progressed to a point where he could no longer handle a live donation.  And, his decline didn’t stop.  Yesterday, at 1:40 p.m., I once again stood in prayer with a dear sheep as he was received into the waiting arms of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.

I have to admit that I’m filled with many unhappy emotions.  Sorrow that a young and vibrant Christian came to a premature end to his life.  Regret that I didn’t act more quickly to help Kirk with the donation of part of my liver.  Anger that death has won again.

Yet, through these unhappy emotions, I cling to what I shared with Kirk.  Death has been swallowed up in victory by our Lord, Jesus Christ!  Yes, death WILL overtake us all at some point.  But, Jesus has destroyed the power of death.  His PERFECT love paid the complete sacrifice for our sin.  His unconditional choice to die for us all is our source of certain hope.  His incarnate death and resurrection assures us of our own resurrection.

No, I wasn’t able to be the hero and save Kirk’s life.  Blast it all!

Yes, Jesus already saved Kirk from hell.  Praise His name!

This past week has proven again the importance of what I’ve written about so often in this blog.  Our focus must always remain on Jesus first and foremost.  His love, alone, is perfect.  No healthy liver and no doctor can offer what Jesus has already given.  Death demands Jesus alone.

Courtesy of James Adams

 

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Run as One

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Todd Biermann
Team Biermann runs the Volkslaufe AS ONE!

Team Biermann runs the Volkslaufe AS ONE!

Heather and I had a first yesterday.  We ran together in the 5K race as part of the Volkslaufe (The People’s Race) in Frankenmuth, MI.  We didn’t win any medals.  We didn’t get much notice from anyone but a few friends from church.  But, we did enjoy it very much as we ran the whole race together as one.

Our love for each other grew through this experience.  We practiced the principles we’ve learned from the Lord.  For one, HEATHER suggested that we do this.  Now, this is truly a sacrifice of love from her.  Although I’ve run several races in the past, Heather had never done this before.  She doesn’t relish running.  The pain in her knees cries out saying, “STOP RUNNING, YOU FOOL!”  But, out of love (and with the help of a couple Ibuprofen), she made the sacrificial and unconditional choice to train and run with me … putting her love into physical action.

On my part, I put aside my testosterone driven desire to take off sprinting with the lead guys in the race … just to prove that I still can.  It wasn’t about winning or impressing anybody with my prowess.  Instead, I relished the fact that I had a wonderful wife who was willing to join me in something I enjoy.  And, honestly, it was a lot more fun and less painful than it ever would have been if I’d gone sprinting after the jack-rabbits up front.  My decision to sacrifice my macho attitude, unconditionally stay in step with my wife and stay physically by her side, paid off with a great experience together.  In fact, Heather’s already discussing when we might do another race together.  Who would’ve thunk it? 🙂

The decision to love IS worth it.  New adventures and TRULY valuable rewards (better than medals) are always in store for the couple that runs together … in God’s way.

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