Last Sunday evening (March 15) I and four other members of Trinity attended the Ohio District “Fan into Flame” workshop at Zion, Painesville. “Fan into Flame” is a movement within our church body known as “ABLAZE”. It began as a vision of World Mission to involve every member of the LCMS to tell the Gospel story around the world.

The 21st Century state of the world is:
- 7+ billion people in the world,
- 5 billion have not heard the Gospel,
- Nearly 14 million people live in the Ohio District of whom 7 million have not heard the Gospel,
- 72 million person population increase in the U.S. between 1970 and 2000,
(During that same time, LCMS membership declined by 350,000.)

So the question is, “Are we ablaze with the Holy Spirit – or is the flame of faith dying out?”
Some might say the latter is true. The Barna Research Group has cited statistics that indicate the following:
- Of people who regularly attend church, only a minority described witnessing and having meaningful relationships with other people in their church as very important endeavors
- Adults under the age of 35 were the least likely to have a Biblical perspective in life
- Only some churches that are not connected to a larger church body had a majority of members who shared their faith in Christ.

And this is not a new phenomenon. People have been ignoring God ever since Jesus was crucified some 2000 years ago. Only by discounting and discrediting Him could Pilate, the Romans, and the Jewish people crucify Jesus. That’s precisely the reason why we need a Savior. We have an uncanny ability to rationalize unethical and sinful behavior, compromise our values, and let the world pressure us to marginalize and minimize God.

Churches may come and go. Attendance may go up or down over time. The years may bring delightful change or dreadful challenge. The influence of the church may wax or wane. But the power of Jesus Christ has not diminished! The Holy Scriptures tell us to proclaim Christ crucified, the power and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23).

This Easter let us all recommit ourselves to know Jesus Christ in a personal way. Know that he gave himself into death and rose for us so that we might have eternal life. Let us pray that God will inspire us through His Holy Spirit that we may fan the flame of faith into a fire that will spread from Him to you and through the church and then throughout the Ohio District and into the entire world.

God bless you all through the risen Christ,
Pastor Schuler

Spring in the northern hemisphere of Earth is marked by the gradual lengthening of daylight hours. From the nadir of winter solstice on December 2l, the daylight hours increase, gradually, two to three minutes a day until, on June 21, summer solstice and the “longest day”, they reach their zenith. The winter months of December, January, February and March are marked and displaced by the steadfast return of daylight. In the realm of science and physics, lengthening days herald the warming of the earth and the revival of life.

Metaphorically, too, lengthening days herald lengthening hopes. Gardeners ponder seed catalogs and envision the anticipated harvest. Farmers prepare equipment for tilling the soil and calculate yields. Travelers muse over vacation plans and excursions. The human heart thrives not just on the “here and now”, but also upon the “what will yet be.” Where there is no hope, life withers and languishes.

This time of year for the Christian faith marks the beginning of Lent, a 40 weekday period (not counting Sundays) of preparation for the events of Holy Week and Easter. Easter–the day of resurrection of Jesus the Christ–is determined via the lunar calendar. It’s the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal (Spring) equinox. From that day, Lent is calculated back six
weeks and marked as a time of spiritual preparation and introspection. The word “Lent” comes from an old English word “len(c)ten”, which referred to the lengthening of days in spring. For the Christian, it’s a season of worship, prayer, study, fasting, penance, sharing of material gifts, in short, spiritual disciplines geared toward deepening faith and commitment and a fuller experience of the wonder of Jesus’ life and crucifixion and the splendor of His resurrection.

Starting with Ash Wednesday (so-named for the burned residue of palms from the previous Palm Sunday), worshippers begin this solemn season with the “imposition of ashes,” a rite of penance accompanied with the words “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” That somber and sobering declaration reminds us of who is God and who is not. It also frees us
from the pretense of self-centered living to experience again the grace and love of God incarnate in Jesus.

Some people speak of “giving up” something for lent. Let me challenge you to “take on” something for lent. Plan to attend the six mid-week Lenten services leading up to Holy Week. This will give you the opportunity to spend approximately 30 minutes with Jesus every Wednesday. The message for each of those six evenings will be about strengthening your relationship with God and with those you love. You will follow Christ along His Lenten way and discover how he reclaims us and all our relationships here on earth. The title of the series is “By His Stripes: Healing Wounded Relationships”. It brings the powerful message of God’s
death-defying love directly into the family.

Lengthening days … lengthening hope. The earth warms and grows as it tilts toward the sun. Human hearts and lives warm and grow as we “tilt” again toward our Creator and toward one another.

Lenten Greetings,
Pastor Schuler

Dear Friends,

Some time ago a friend of mine told of an unforgettable experience while on a plane flying from New York to Miami. The plane was droning along in dense fog. He and the other passengers kept looking nervously out the window although they could not even see as far as the wing tips.

Then, a confident voice came over the loud speaker: “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen? This is your captain speaking. We are now over Wilmington, North Carolina, and flying at 11,000 feet. We shall be in Miami on schedule at 2:55. The sun is shining in Miami and the temperature is 82 degrees.”

My friend then commented: “After that announcement, the other passengers and I were completely relaxed. I looked out the window and I still couldn’t see the wing tip, but we all felt fine. We had heard from headquarters. The person who was running things knew right where we were, where we were going, when we would get there and exactly what the conditions would be upon arrival. We had heard the voice of authority.”

The SEASON OF LENT begins February 25, and with a little imagination we can think of this time as the scene outside that airplane window: dense fog and no certainty in the future. The winter season has become tiresome, the news groans on with conflict and war, the economy struggles to provide for the needs of so many, and on and on. In a personal way, many of us wrestle with uncertainties in our own lives.

Yet, as we draw closer to EASTER, the voice of God (our voice of authority) speaks to us – and we find all the answers. For hate and war comes the message of love and peace; for oppression and disadvantage comes the message of justice, righteousness and the value of each of God’s creations; and for loneliness, anxiety and death there comes the message of God’s constant care, the resurrection of Christ and eternal life for all who believe.

I pray that you will join us in the journey during this SEASON OF LENT. Ash Wednesday begins the Holy Season with a service of The Blessed Sacrament of Communion on February 25th. See you in church!

Yours in Christian service,
Pastor Schuler

Dear Friends,

“The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news of great joy
That will be for all the people.”
Luke 2:10

The angels knew the purpose of Jesus’ coming. Jesus certainly carried out that purpose. And now, God calls us to carry on the purpose—to bring the good news of great joy for all the people. If we didn’t get the message from the angels, Jesus left us with a final command when he said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

There’s no better time to proclaim your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior than at Christmas time. You join with millions of people around the world sharing the good news of the Gospel. At Christmas time, people are much more open to an invitation to Church. Ask God to give you boldness to extend the invitation.

God extended his invitation of grace to you and now he calls you to extend an invitation of grace to another. To what lengths are you willing to go to build a relationship with an unchurched neighbor or co-worker? To what lengths are you willing to go to extend the greatest invitation on earth?

A better question might be: To what length was God willing to go to build a relationship with us? He stepped from His eternal throne, removed His robe of light and wrapped Himself in human flesh. He whom angels worshiped was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow’s hay. He spoke our language, slept on our earth and felt our hurts. Our maker allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross, spit upon, sword-pierced and sin-soaked. He was covered with our transgressions. He died our death. He lives that we might live also. That’s the length he went to build a relationship with you and extends an invitation of grace, hope and peace. To what length will you go?

May God bless you with many opportunities to invite,

Pastor Schuler

Dear Friends,

The following was published by Pastor Powell Woods of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in November 2006:

The first Thanksgiving was when the pilgrims got together to celebrate the harvest—right? Well, not exactly. That may have been the first American Thanksgiving, but the first thanksgiving was celebrated long before a human being ever set foot on this continent. It was celebrated by Noah and his family after God delivered them from the floodwaters that had covered the earth. We read about it in Genesis 8:20-21: “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done, as long as the earth endures….’”

Noah’s sacrifice—the first formal act of thanksgiving recorded in the Bible—is also the first worship service. Noah gathered his family together around an altar to offer up a sacrifice of thanks to God, who had delivered them from destruction. God’s response to Noah’s sacrifice was His promise to sustain life “as long as the earth endures....” Here we have the heart of Biblical worship: man thanks God for delivering him from death, and God responds by promising him new life.

This is very different from the kind of worship man makes up out of his own imagination. Pagan worship, weather it’s sun-worship or cow-worship, always consists of the attempt to persuade God to send blessings rather than curses upon the worshipper. It’s marketplace religion, quid pro quo: man offers up his sacrifices and prayers to God in order to secure God’s favors. But this is not the kind of worship that God desires—or that we profit from. If, like Noah, we strive to make thankfulness the heart of our worship—thankfulness to God for rescuing us from death and for giving us eternal life—He will draw near to us and we will draw near to Him and we will be blessed in many ways, as Jesus said: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Happy Thanksgiving!

In Christ’s Love and Compassion,

Pastor Schuler

Dear Friends,

The following was published by Pastor Powell Woods of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in September 2006:

I suspect that if God asked you or me what we would like Him to do about sin, we would say, “Make it all go away” or “Get rid of it.” That’s probably what people have in mind when they ask why God allowed sin to come into the world to begin with. Why didn’t He just make us so that we couldn’t sin? Why did He allow us the option of sinning when He knew in advance that we would choose to sin? Nobody can really answer that question, of course, because the Scriptures don’t answer it, but the evidence suggests that God wasn’t interested in creating robots who would have no choice but to do His will: He made creatures who had the power of moral choice.

In any event, God has not chosen to deal with the problem of sin by getting rid of it. Instead, He has chosen to forgive it. He has gone to great lengths to do this, sending His only Son to purchase forgiveness of our sins on the cross. And because our sins are forgiven, we have the power to forgive each other’s sins. Forgiveness, then, is the central dynamic of Christian life: as we forgive, we receive forgiveness. If we refuse to forgive, we cease to receive forgiveness.

In the Second World War, in the South Pacific, many English and American troops contracted cholera. It was a terrible disease and it gook a lot of soldiers’ lives. Doctors worked furiously trying to find a way to immunize soldiers against cholera or cure it, but to no avail. Cholera killed its victims by spiking their temperatures to levels their bodies couldn’t tolerate. Finally, one doctor reasoned that if they could find a way to control patients’ temperatures while the cholera ran its course, they might be able to help victims survive it. He found that quinine, in small doses, would keep cholera victims’ temperatures at levels their bodies could tolerate. Many, many lives were saved using this treatment. They couldn’t prevent the disease, and they couldn’t cure the disease, but they could help people survive the disease.

I think our struggle with sin is a lot like that. We can’t prevent it, we can’t cure it—at least not in this world. We know that sin is evil and destructive, but we have all “contracted” it—like cholera—and we know that unless it is dealt with, we will die of it. And the one thing which will keep sin from killing us is forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of our sins, and our forgiveness of other people’s sins. Forgiveness doesn’t get rid of sin, but it does rob it of its power over us.

But it’s important for us to remember that it is only by sharing forgiveness that we can continue to receive it.

Dear Friends,

September is traditionally the month where we celebrate Labor Day. Labor Day provides the community of faith here at Trinity with an opportunity to pause, to remember God’s good and mighty acts for us, for all creation and to thank God for the gift of redeeming work.

September is also the month when the regular schedule of worship (10:45 a.m.) resumes. The church choir under the direction of David Dorsch begins the season with prayer and praise and with a good measure of practice which does so much to enhance our weekly worship time.

September is when our Sunday School begins another year of teaching children the Christian faith. I have heard from parents expressions of gratitude for what their teachers are teaching the children about God. The 9:30 a.m. Adult Bible Class also resumes study of the New Testament in September.

We live in a world that needs values and character to be taught. Church teachers point to the kind of life God wants of his people according to Micah 6:8 . . . (paraphrase)

“…the teacher has showed you, O student, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
And to walk humbly with your God.”

I’m excited about this new fall season at Trinity. I consider it a privilege to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in our worship services. I look forward to a full church, so be sure to come and bring a friend.

This hymn verse from an old hymnal goes like this:

“God is here! As we your people meet to offer praise and prayer,
May we find in fuller measure what it is in Christ we share.
Here, as in the world around us, all our varied skills and arts
Wait the coming of the spirit into open minds and hearts…”

Anticipating a new season in our journey together,
Pastor Schuler

Dear Friends,

July is America’s birthday. The manner in which our country was born is not only a matter of great national pride it’s also awe-inspiring to the rest of the world. We gained our freedom by declaring our independence from another country, fought a war to maintain that independence and won.

We have done a lot to build upon our independence since we declared it on July 4, 1776. We have worked hard and have taken pride in the many accomplishments made by the masses. We have gained our respect and our power by being the most freedom-loving nation on the planet and by giving common, ordinary men and women a chance to succeed with opportunities that are not available anywhere else.

We have released the energies of an energetic people. We have such an attractive lifestyle, from coast to coast and from border to border, that people who are attracted to it stream into the country by the millions. There is no record of masses of Americans standing in line waiting to get out of the country. A few political dissidents are always threatening to leave, of course, but they are mostly celebrities who disagree with the outcomes of elections.

Early settlers were aware there was something special about the colonies, so were the drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the framers of the Constitution. They all knew that a nation based upon freedom could be wildly successful in a manner that countries presided over by tyrants could never be. The greatness of our country rises above differences of opinion because we elect our government officials, and we know we can make changes, if that is our will, on Election Day without fighting internal wars.

It was America’s uniqueness that caused Thomas Jefferson to write,“all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That concept got us started as a country, and we celebrate it today, 232 years later.

The birthday of the United States of America is a great occasion to contemplate not only what we have achieved as a nation and what we may some day achieve with continued perseverance and dedication. It is also an opportunity to thank God that we live in such a marvelous place on this planet and know that we have indeed been blessed to be a blessing to others.

In Christ’s love and compassion,
Pastor Schuler

Dear Friends,

It’s that time of year again, when graduating seniors don caps and gowns in order to receive hard-earned diplomas, and brides are attiring themselves in wedding gowns and grooms in tuxedos to exchange wedding vows. The college or university grads may have jobs to go to – or if not jobs, perhaps a graduate or professional school. Many of the high school graduates will soon head off for college studies. Newly-weds will now establish a residence of their own. Parents, meanwhile, wonder what to do with the already, or soon to be, vacated space. They are proud of their children and happy for them but they will soon be blinking back tears at the realization that their little boy or girl has grown up. With these and other similar situations in mind, it occurred to me that a sermon on “leaving home” might be useful. (Look up John 15:9-17)

Even if you’re not at this moment personally involved in such a transition, stay tuned. Parents of young children will come to such a moment (sooner than you think). Other persons who contemplate selling their homes and moving, either into a life care community or a retirement location, have to deal with leaving home. So do many others of us facing life changes of various kinds. Moreover, my pastoral intuition suggests that among us are some for whom the tasks of leaving home as children, or of letting go as parents, are unfinished – however long ago the physical separation may have taken place.

Whatever your particular situation, my prayer for you is taken from the words of Jesus, “…love each other.” (John 15:17)

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Schuler

Dear Friends:

Easter really came early this year – and it’s over already. At least the calendar day for Easter has come and gone, and our Easter Sunday services are over for the year.

A couple weeks ago, actually it was the Tuesday of Holy Week, I was at the Family Christian Store in Mentor purchasing a book. Someone greeted me at the cash register and wished me a joyous Easter. I replied, “Everyday is a joyous Easter Day.”

Now, I understand what that fine Christian woman meant in saying that. She was anticipating the marvelous joy and celebration of the Easter Sunday services that would soon be held at her church.

I share that experience with you because it asks the question whether Easter or our sense of “resurrection” and new life is over after the formal Easter Sunday worship services. If, indeed, we have the sense that it’s “over”, the very meaning of Easter and Christ’s resurrection is open to question. The challenge of the days and weeks and months following Easter on the calendar is to experience and bear witness to continuing resurrection in our own lives, in the life of the church and in the world of which we are a dynamic and influential part.

The Sundays after Easter are often experienced as low Sundays, a reference to the obvious sense of let-down after the build-up of Lenten expectations culminating in our celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. But we strive to continue with the same fervor and excitement over the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. We continue to sing the joy-filled hymns and read the post-resurrection pericopes and pray the thanksgiving prayers of Easter. “Christ is risen!” we continue to say to each other. “He is risen indeed!” we respond.

Actually, He really is risen and because of it we too shall really rise to be with Him in eternity. And so we keep sharing that message with everyone here at church as well as outside the church every day – from now to the next Easter. What a marvelous opportunity it is to experience and express continuing resurrection in ourselves and in the world, to the glory of God!

Yours in the wonder, mystery and reality of continuing Resurrection,

Pastor Schuler