All Saints Lutheran Church, Phoenix AZ: Ask the Pastor BLOG

God's Word in Action: Ask the Pastor BLOG

Welcome to this new resource! At the suggestion of God's Word in Action (GWIA) subscribers, we are expanding this resource to include the opportunity to ask questions of our Pastors regarding their sermons, weekly Bible lessons for Sunday or any other faith/Bible based topics.

To best facilitate the question and answer process and to best share the benefits of all questions and answers with anyone who subscribes, we have choosen an interactive tool called a "BLOG". Short for "web log", the BLOG format allows for you to view the sermon summary from each weekly edition of GWIA and ask questions and view answers.

How to Use the "GWIA - Ask a Pastor BLOG":

Scroll down the page to find the GWIA edition you wish to ask a question about. Note that the newest week (date) appears on top.
Click the comments link under the sermon summary to ask your question.
A new "Post Comments" form is displayed below the edition you want to ask a question about. Note the other weeks are temporarily out of view.
Type a name. Even though a name is required, "Anonymous" and "Guest" are perfectly acceptable if you wish to ask your question anonymously.
Type your email address. Also required but will not be publically displayed.
Skip the Website field as it is NOT required.
Type your question in the Comments Box.
Click the "Add Comments" button at the bottom to submit your question. Your question now appears below the related GWIA edition.
Click the <<back to the blog link to return to the BLOG and close the Post Comments box.
Questions are reviewed and answered by our Pastors which can take anywhere from an afternoon up to 2 days in the event of questions posted on Fridays or Saturdays.

How to View Your Answer:

Return to the GWIA - Ask a Pastor BLOG by clicking the Question Button in one of your weekly GWIA emails -OR- by visiting the All Saints home page and clicking the "view the current edition" link in the subscription box.
Scroll down to view the GWIA edition you asked a question about and click the "Comments" link.
This displays all the questions and answers posted for this edition.
Once you have completed your review, you can click the <<back to the blog link and return to the complete list of weekly editions. From here you may choose to view other questions and answers posted for other edition, etc.

Questions about or difficulities with the BLOG:
Contact Bobbie Tomasek at btomasek@allsaintsphoenix.org or Gina King at ginaking@allsaintsphoenix.org

April 2 Edition: For Those Who Doubt

So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John 1:25

“He is risen!” So now what? On Easter Sunday we sang, heard, and rejoiced about it. Now that we are filled with excitement, it is time to share the news with the Earth. Some of us, like Thomas, can’t get into that excitement. He did not believe that Christ had risen because he wasn’t there to see it. Maybe we are like Thomas, we have heard about it and can’t join in the joy. We wonder “What does this mean for me?” We aren’t any happier. John included this story in his gospel for those of us who are like Thomas, who are not really up for celebrating the holy days. Thomas might have thought that the other disciples were crazy or hallucinating when they said they had seen Jesus in the flesh. But Jesus doesn’t just leave him to wonder, he comes back, walks directly up to Thomas, and invites him to put his fingers into His hands and sides. He came back just for Thomas because he cared about him. When Thomas touched Him, he must have felt a great release of fear and pain and he cries out “My Lord and my God!” This is the most powerful and complete confession of recognizing Jesus in the Gospel of John.

The disciples did not “get it” when Jesus talked about being God. Up until this point, the disciples did not grasp that the God of Heaven and Earth was walking aound with them in human form. After He appeared to Thomas, he understood that God has come down to him. This is the God we believe in – the God who comes down to us.

March 26 Edition: Don't be Afraid

“Do not be afraid.” Jesus said to them. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Imagine that on your travels you saw that all of the cemeteries were empty, left open, with their occupants nowhere to be found. When they saw Jesus’ tomb was empty on the first Easter, all of the soldiers fainted and were scattered around. They experienced the power of God first hand, and nothing would ever be the same. The war isn’t over, but the ultimate victory is assured through God’s love and power over death. We are free from guilt and fear because of the price Christ paid.

Although it was easy for the angel at the tomb to tell the women “Don’t be afraid,” it is a pretty sure bet that they were. A few moments later, it was hard for them to believe when the angel said that Christ was raised and was not there. God had chosen women, who could not be witnesses in those days, to witness his greatest act of love and forgiveness. He changed and continues to change the lives of those who have struggled. Jesus reached out to them, and we know that we are not alone because Christ is with us just as he was with the women.

March 19 Edition: Hope for the Hopeless

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was thrown into an uproar. “Who is he?” the people asked. Matthew 21:10

The original Palm Sunday might have been a cold, cloudy day in Jerusalem, yet people still came out to see the strange looking man riding on a donkey. We remember the celebration and the shouts of “Hosanna” that came from the crowd. What we don’t typically remember is that the city was in turmoil. We can picture Jesus’ enemies lurking in the background and plotting to kill him. The skeptics wondered who he was; others called him a miracle worker, prophet, messiah. Quickly the esteemed welcome turned into a cruel arrest and trial that led to Jesus enduring being stripped, mocked, and finally crucified.

Even though this happened so many years ago, today in our own lives we sometimes see things change very quickly. A loved one faces a serious illness and/or dies, we lose our jobs, face financial problems, wreck our cars. It seems as though the world comes to a stop and we lose all hope. We don’t know how Jesus must have felt as his life turned around. We do know that he suffered and died. We also know that the world didn’t stop turning and life goes on today. He is the one who brings hope through His resurrection when all seems hopeless.

March 12 Edition: Life from Death

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

We can all relate to the story of Lazarus, because we have all been deep in sorrow following the death of a loved one. We wonder where life is. Jesus in this story grieved deeply, showing His human side, as he mourned the death of his friend with the grieving family. Even though Jesus knew that Lazarus would soon be alive again, he shared the pain of loss. But this is a story of life, which can come forth out of sorrow and pain. Jesus commanded Lazarus to come out of death into life. This is reflective of Genesis and John 1:1, where God creates and affirms life and the impossible is made possible.

The Lazarus story is very emotional for Mary and Martha, just as funerals are very emotional for survivors today. Though our pastor has conducted over 500 funerals and has yet to see anyone rise from the grave, what he has seen are lives changed by God and people miraculously surviving what appeared to be certain death. He has seen sorrow and grief change to joy. And he has seen these people give Jesus the credit and praise for carrying them through.

The dead do rise; addicts turn their lives around, the severely ill are healed, those who need reconciliation with family and friends receive it and lives are changed. These are more than stories. These are signs that we, too, may hear His voice and be carried out of our darkness into light.

March 5 Edition: Black and White

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” John 9:39

How would you define sin? Our eighth graders thought it could be “Going against the Ten Commandments;” others believe it is anything that separates us from God. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day believed that the sins of a person or those of his or her parents caused disfigurations and handicaps. It was clear to them, because they didn’t understand Jesus and they only saw in black and white. This belief system got more difficult when Jesus healed a blind man, and told them that sin did not cause his blindness. The Pharisees saw lots of sin and condemned many people. Although we now see that the world is far more complex and problems come in shades of gray, we sometimes become Pharisees when rules become more important than people.

At the Thursday night study group, our youth are focusing on groups of people who would be easy to judge. One story tells of a woman who suffered from addiction, whose actions resulted in a horrific car crash. Her story is complex, and begins with abuse and neglect as a child. Her life changed when she saw the wreckage of her car, and she knew that God had sent angels to protect her. She realized that if God could forgive her and give her a second chance, she would serve him. She changed her life to serve others and tell them the story of what God did for her.

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