The Well

Pastor Laura's Blog

In Jesus' time, the town well was the place where people gathered and shared news and ideas. It was also the place they could be refreshed. In the book of John, chapter 4, the town well was where Jesus offered his living water to the Samaritan woman. In this blog, I will offer some thoughts on upcoming Scripture passages that I will be preaching on. Each week, I will post some thoughts and ideas about the passage on Monday, and I welcome your thoughts, questions and insights into the passage in conversation with me. Your feedback will help me as I pray about what word from God I can bring to people in the sermon. Please check in weekly and send me your thoughts via email through our Contact Us form.

December 26, 2005

Last Saturday night was our first Christmas Eve service as Living Water Christian Church. Although we were a church last Christmas, we didn't have a home and so we weren't able to offer a service. It was so wonderful to be able to open our doors and welcome folks in to come worship the newborn baby with us. The room was warm and cozy and twinkling with candlelight. I can't decide if my favorite part of the service was the music or seeing the candlelight passed from person to person in the room. If you want to experience some of the night vicariously, you can listen to the music here - (scroll down and click on Dec. 24) or the message here.

That isn't to say that Christmas Day worship wasn't also wonderful! We had our family in from out of town, and all our nieces and nephews are very musically talented. My sisters-in-law Karen and Jennifer put together a huge "cousin band" that played carols for us. What a glorious sound we all made together as we sang "Joy to the world, the Lord is come!" We also finished our Narnia series with our tree in complete spring bloom. All the icicles and snowflakes were gone, and there were only flowers and warm gold everywhere. We reminded ourselves that however and wherever we are living in places where it is still winter, Christmas has come, and spring is just around the corner.

Next Sunday, we will have an open house from noon to 5 pm. We'll have games and food and parades and ball games on the big screen. You are welcome to join us for any and all of this New Year's fun, and then we'll begin worship at our regular 5 pm time. What a perfect way to start out a new year - having fun and worshipping in God's House!

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December 19, 2005

I will be a little sad to see our time in Narnia end next week. It's been fun and challenging for me to try to find connections between the story of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and our Scripture passages and the Christmas story. It's also been exciting to watch our winter tree begin to experience spring thaw. By Christmas Eve, it will be completely covered with flowers. The character of Aslan is a great character for us to look at and compare with what we know about Jesus. C.S. Lewis did a wonderful job of showing us the strength and tenderness of this great lion.

This Saturday night is Christmas Eve (I find that very hard to believe!). This will be our first Christmas Eve in our own building, and we're really looking forward to welcoming lots of guests. I can't wait to see the luminarias lining the driveway and the candlelight in the room. Christmas Eve is such a beautiful night, and we are ready to share that beauty with everyone who joins us for either our 5 pm or 8 pm service. Then we'll gather again on Christmas Day at 5 pm to celebrate the birth of Christ with our final sermon in the Narnia series - Spring is Here! I wish all of you a blessed and holy Christmas, and if you live in the Kansas City area and don't have a church home, please come be our guest for worship.

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December 12, 2005

I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to preach about sin when people are so focused on the joy of Christmas. But it turns out that the Christmas season is actually a very good time to talk about sin, especially when we're looking at how sin is portrayed in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in our Narnia series. It's so easy for us to observe the story as outsiders and think, "Edmund is really stupid to believe the Witch's lies!" (just as it's easy for us to observe Adam and Eve and think, "No! Don't eat that fruit, you idiots!"), but if we take a moment to see ourselves as Edmund, it's easy to find examples from our own lives of times when we have done things just as dangerous and damaging to ourselves and others. It's also sad to realize how many genuinely pleasant experiences Edmund missed because he was so fixated with getting more Turkish Delight.

Next week we'll look at Aslan and find the similarities between that character and Jesus. There are many more parellels than the obvious death and resurrection scenes. What would it look like to come face to face with the Lion of Judah? What does it mean that he's not a tame lion? We'll also see our winter tree begin to show more and more signs of spring thaw. Aslan is on the move!

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December 5, 2005

Last night's worship was fantastic! Okay, I know I'm the pastor, and pastors shouldn't brag about their services, but it really was fantastic! Fusion 112 led us in some Christmas music for the first half of the service. I have known all along how talented our musicians were, but they really ministered to us with their beautiful singing and instrumental arrangements last night. You can listen to some of their music here. And our Christmas decorations were incredible! And we had a fire going in the fireplace! Okay, I'll stop with the exclamation points, but I am so amazed at how many wonderfully talented people God has sent to Living Water, and how holy and beautiful it is when we all use our gifts together. I am so blessed to be able to be in ministry with these amazing people. It was so much fun to jump into our Narnia series, too. What a great night of worship (I am really restraining myself and not putting another exclamation point here).

Next Sunday we'll look at the reign of the White Witch in Narnia. What would it mean to live in a place where it is always winter and never Christmas? We'll also look at Edmund's unhealthy obsession with Turkish Delight and see if we can identify some of our own "Turkish Delights". (I have asked Joann, our hospitality director, to make some Turkish Delight since most of us have never tasted it. Now I just have to figure out how to theologically justify handing out this "sinfully delicious" treat to people next Sunday.) I am also very excited about seeing the movie this weekend, and I hope that it will bring out a lot of these themes that I will be preaching on. Send me your thoughts about the book or the movie on our Contact Us form.

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November 28, 2005

It was really great to have Dana Jorgensen share his songs and the stories behind them in worship last night. It was also great to wrap up our series on The Thankful Life. I wasn't getting tired of talking about thanksgiving - I still have a lot to learn about that topic - it was just a little weird to start Advent without any Christmas decorations up. But it was good to have one more week to learn about living and giving thankfully. I hope these lessons will stay with us throughout the year.

Now, I can turn my full attention to Christmas and our Narnia sermon series! I have been a huge fan of the Narnia series of books by C.S. Lewis since I was a child. When I saw the previews for the new movie based on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", I knew this would be a perfect time to preach about the connections between the story and the Bible and real life. Some might say that pastors who are jumping on the Narnia bandwagon are simply giving the movie free publicity. I'd hate to think that I had succumbed to crass commercialism in the church. But the story is worthy of our attention this Advent season, whether we see the movie or not, because it has so many wonderful metaphors about life and faith and Christmas. I am very excited about this series. We even have a special decorating theme that connects Narnia to Christmas. Come join us this December for this magical look at Christmas in the land of Narnia! As a special treat next Sunday, Fusion 112 will share some beautiful Christmas music as we begin our journey to Christmas.

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November 21, 2005

I'll let you in on a little preacher's secret - sometimes the sermons we preach are as much for ourselves as for anyone else in the congregation. We try to pretend like we have our act together, but we need to hear words of encouragement and reassurance as much (or more!) than anyone else in worship. This was true for me last night. Finding how to be thankful when I'm not really "feeling the love" is something that is very difficult for me. I needed to hear Paul remind me that it's not about me. God is at work in unseen ways that go way beyond my ability to understand or grasp. And when I take my eyes off my own circumstances long enough to realize that, I can find my way back to gratitude.

I am very excited about our guest next Sunday - recording artist Dana Jorgensen. I've been listening to Dana's music on his website (www.danalive.com), and I love his beautiful melodies and thoughtful lyrics. My favorite song is Rescued Me. You can listen to it by scrolling through his songs on the bottom of his homepage. I am really looking forward to having Dana share with us in worship. I will also bring a short meditation on thankfulness to wrap up our series (unlike local radio stations, we're going to stay with the Thanksgiving theme through next weekend before we switch to Christmas). We'll look at what King David has to teach us about thankfulness. Please join us for this not-to-be-missed service!

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November 14, 2005

It was really eye-opening for me to look at why Jesus said thanks over the bread when he fed the multitudes. The more I learned about the strong connection food had to life in that culture, and especially the strong connection food had to God in the Jewish culture, I began to see why saying grace is about much more than the bread. (To hear the sermon, click here.) Now I'm ready to tackle the meaning of the miracle of abundance (even super-abundance!) that Jesus performs. Do you suppose that thanking God for a little, even an amount so small that it's almost not worth mentioning, somehow unlocks the secret of having enough?

Next week we'll look at what the Apostle Paul has to teach us about thankfulness in 2 Cor. 4:13-18. Paul endured all kinds of trials and hardships, and yet he always found reasons to be thankful. I think this is one of the most difficult things to do in our Christian life. When we are going through something so painful that we can't even imagine how God could be present and at work, it is so hard for us to say "thank you." I'm hoping Paul will give us some help with this! Please send your thoughts, comments, questions and insights to me on our Contact Us form.

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November 7, 2005

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Thanksgiving in preparation for this series of sermons, and I'm realizing how this holiday has become lost in the rush to get to Christmas. We all know that the day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year. It's like people can't wait to get Thanksgiving over with so they can finally focus all their attention on Christmas. I'm finding, though, that's it's been very eye-opening for me to intentionally spend the whole month of November just focusing on Thanksgiving. Oh sure, I've been busy planning our December services, especially Christmas Eve, but my heart is staying in Thanksgiving mode rather than rushing on to Christmas. I invite you to spend the month of November with me meditating on what it means to truly live a "Thankful Life."

Next week we'll look at a story from Mark 8:1-8 in which Jesus feeds four thousand people with seven loaves of bread. What has always surprised me in this story and others like it is that Jesus gives thanks before he breaks the bread. Why would Jesus give thanks? He's the one doing the miracle! I'm very curious about what I will find as I prepare for this sermon next week. Send me your thoughts and questions through our Contact Us form.

P.S. We sent out our first of four postcards with our "Come Home for the Holidays" theme. If you are reading this and you received a postcard, we'd love to know what you think about it! If you did not receive a postcard and would like one, please send us your name and address on our Contact Us form and we'll send one right out (actually, I'll probably go ahead and send you all four postcards so you can sell the complete set on eBay!)

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October 31, 2005

Looking at Paul's Doxology in Romans 11:33-36 was a really humbling experience. I'm amazed at how easily I begin to think that I "own" things, even my time, and that I am being gracious when I decide to share some of what I have with God. Paul sets me straight when he reminds me that "from him and through him and to him are all things." If I will take my eyes off of myself long enough to realize that everything I have is from God's gracious hand, it changes my whole attitude. I find myself wanting to spend time with God and serve God's people out of a sense of love rather than obligation.

That's why I'm excited about our upcoming series The Thankful Life. I found four different references to thankfulness in the Bible - one from the Psalms; one from the life of Jesus; one from Paul and one from King David. There are many other references to thankfulness, of course, but this series will look at what it means from these four different sources. My prayer is that this series will help me and others discover the breathtaking beauty of God's love and provision and that that discovery will permeate everything we do.

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October 24, 2005

Worship is one of my favorite subjects. But it was interesting to discover that as much as I think about worship services and planning them, I haven't given much time to thinking about "worship." I was glad to have the reminder in Psalm 150 that worship is supposed to be big and loud and boisterous and involve all that we are, all that we have, and even all of creation. It is so hard to worship when you're the pastor or involved in any kind of leadership in the service. You are always thinking about what's not working or what's coming up next. I needed this reminder that worship is just as essential (maybe more so!) for me as it is for the rest of the congregation.

Next week I'll tackle the real question on everyone's mind: "What's the minimum we can do and still make God happy?" We want there to be some kind of guideline or measuring stick. It's not necessarily that we're looking for an easy way out of doing more things for God, but it would be nice to know when we've fulfilled our quota. When we compare ourselves with the people around us, we seem like really nice people, so maybe God's just pleased with that, and we don't really have to exert a whole lot of energy into improving ourselves. Or maybe not...

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October 17, 2005

The sermon on integrity was one of the toughest I've ever preached. It's not that I didn't believe what I said - I believe it with all my heart - but I do such a mediocre job of living it out in my own life that it seemed ridiculous for me to preach about it to others. I thought about maybe softening it a little bit and spend more time talking about grace and forgiveness, topics I am much more comfortable speaking about. But integrity is one of our core values at Living Water and it has to mean something to be a core value. When I realized that God wanted to preach this message to me as much as through me, then it was easy to just let go and say what was on my heart. This wasn't a one time, hit-and-run sermon, though. This will be a value that the church and I will wrestle with as long as we have breath.

Next week we'll be talking about worship, one of my favorite subjects! We often have such limited ideas about what it means to worship and how and where it must be done. I think the Scriptures paint a picture of a lifestyle of worship that isn't confined to any particular place or time. We'll explore together how to make worship a part of our everyday lives. Please send me your thoughts and question on our Contact Us form.

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October 10, 2005

Last night was a real treat for us in worship. Ross Jutsum, a musician who runs State of the Heart Ministries, came and shared with us in song and word what God has been teaching him. I'll admit that I was a little bit nervous turning over the service to someone I had never met before. That's always a risky thing for a pastor to do. But sometimes, God wants to move us outside the normal and routine so that we can experience something fresh and different. That's what happened last night. Ross' music and stories reminded us of a God Who is at work in so many different places and different ways. The most amazing story Ross shared was during Act(s) II when he told about a time when he broke both wrists during a terrible fall from the roof. The doctors told him he would never play the piano again. Yet, here he is, still playing beautiful music, fully recovered through God's grace.

Next week we will return to our series on Walkin' the Walk. We're going to be looking at the word "integrity", how it relates to hypocrisy, and what it means for us as followers of Jesus. These are very difficult concepts to understand and explain. On the one hand, we readily acknowledge that all of us are sinners and that none of us can live a perfect life. And yet...Christ calls us to live differently than the world lives. Our actions and behavior must demonstrate that there is something that changes when you become a Christian. It's not about being a goody-goody-holier-than-thou. It's about meaning what we say and doing what we mean - walkin' the walk of Jesus. Send me your thoughts, questions and insights on our Contact Us form!

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October 3, 2005

I guess it's a little dangerous to preach a sermon titled "Keeping the Faith When the Going Gets Rough". I had lots of fresh sermon illustrations just trying to get ready for the service. But even when the projector fails and the printer won't print your sermon, it's still good to gather with God's people and worship. It was especially wonderful on this World Communion Sunday to remember that we gather around a table with our brothers and sister around the world.

I'm really looking forward to next week's service. Ross Jutsum from State of the Heart ministries will come share with us in word and song about some of his experiences ministering to the refugees from Katrina. I have never met Ross, but he contacted me and asked if he might come bring his music and stories to our worship. After talking with him and praying about it, I realized that this would be a good opportunity to hear from our brother in the faith. We'll take a quick break from our Walkin' the Walk series to listen to this special guest.

Who is Pastor Laura?

Get the 411 on Pastor Laura and the rest of Living Water's staff here. Read her answers to frequently asked questions here.