Welcome to St. Jacob's Lutheran Church

During a recent session of Wednesday morning Bible study, our small group read the account written by Luke in the book of Acts, of the time when God poured out his Holy Spirit upon all those who were gathered in the upper room. Peter was there, along with the remaining apostles, Jesus’ mother, and nearly 120 other witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. They were in the room together worshiping God and praying. That’s when it happened.

A sudden sound of a mighty rushing wind filled the room just as tongues of fire danced over the heads of the faithful. God’s Holy Spirit made his entry into the lives of those who would build the Church of Jesus Christ. What happened next is nothing short of astounding.

Peter, and the remaining disciples of Jesus took to the streets of Jerusalem and began proclaiming the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. They did it in many languages, even though none of them had knowledge or training in the tongues in which they spoke. It was God’s working of a miracle so that people would know the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the true Paschal Lamb who takes away the world’s sin. Scripture records that 3,000 people were added to the church on that day, and in the next few days, another 5,000 were added to the number of believers in Christ.

Reading this narrative of the birth of the Church of Christ, and then considering the recent history of the Church, one might get the sense that the Holy Spirit no longer moves among the faithful. This would be a completely false statement. The power of the Holy Spirit is unchanging. It is the same today as it has always been since the beginning. What has changed, however; is humanity’s response to the power of the Holy Spirit.

The powers in the air, as Paul puts in Ephesians (Ephesians 2:2-4), continue to lull Christians into a spiritual slumber, of which they find it difficult to awaken from. We at St. Jacob’s are no better off than many congregations when it comes to a lack of response to the Holy Spirit’s calling. There appears to be a condition of spiritual lethargy permeating the lives of congregations throughout the Church.

During the recent Mission Region Convocation, I was a part of a conversation among several pastors who compared notes about the goings on within our churches. We soon discovered we are walking on common ground. There seems to be little hunger within several of our churches for Spiritual growth. Bible study attendance is at an all time low, as is Sunday School attendance. Participation in mission projects seems lacking and worship attendance among young families is becoming a rarity in many places. We all scratched our heads and wondered what the cause of these trends might be.

One thing we realized is that, as it was in the upper room, the people of God do not seem to gather in large numbers for prayer. Prayer seems to be something we turn to when we want something or have a particular difficulty. Christians today do not seem to be plugged in to the available power of the Holy Spirit God provides. Instead, we tend to listen to those “powers in the air” and our faith becomes distracted. This spiritual lethargy causes congregations to shrink within themselves and experience decreasing joy as numbers of worshipers begin to dwindle.

It is my prayer for St. Jacob’s that we would make a strong commitment to living a life together in the power of the Holy Spirit. That we would experience increased life together in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and that we would rediscover the joy and fruitfulness of reading Scripture with one another as a community of believers. May the God who first brought forth the Lord Jesus Christ from death and the grave give us the will and the desire to do these.

Grace to you and peace,

Pastor David Nuottila

What follows is a copy of an essay shared with me by a friend who received it from one of his former students. I found this to be a powerful witness coming from one who felt he had to share his experience upon reading the narrative of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the first time. My friend edited some parts to preserve the student’s anonymity. Permission has been given for my sharing it with you.
Prior to attending this class, I had not been exposed to Christianity. I hadn’t read the Bible before. I knew a famous story about the Last Supper and I had seen paintings that depicted it. A few weeks ago, I went to a church for the first time. I felt a little amazed about it. The church was just like a big, warm family. Christians greeted others, gave hugs, prayed to Jesus by singing songs. They even prayed for people who were suffering diseases and disaster even though they were strangers to them. Then I saw some Christians holding out their arms and weeping when they were emotionally moved. They were so faithful when they were praying that I couldn’t believe how great was the power of their belief had I not seen it myself.
I was given a small piece of bread and a little cup of red wine which represented Jesus’ body and blood to eat. A Christian told me it was given according to Jesus’ promise to sinful human beings. But I didn’t understand that until I read Luke’s story today.
Jesus healed so many people who were sick and troubled by evil spirits before he went to Jerusalem, but he didn’t do anything for himself, even though he had anticipated his death many times. He kept calm in the face of death, comforted women who wept for him as he carried his cross. He even forgave one of the condemned criminals dying with him.
What a graceful man! Now I know why Christians are so faithful to him. A man who could devote himself to ease others’ sins should be honored and praised forever!
But still there is one thing that puzzles me. If Christians can be so moved by their faith in their Lord and Savior, why do so many take salvation for granted? Why do so many Christians refrain from attending church services on Sunday?
Being welcomed into this big warm family has brought me ever-closer to the God whom I did not know. But once I began reading the Bible and learning more about Jesus, I have become intrigued with his life, and especially his death. I have come to believe that Jesus truly is my Lord and Savior and that having been forgiven of my sins, I will one day enter the gates of his kingdom. If this is what Christians believe, why is it that an overwhelming number of them stay away?
I’ve heard some say it is because they don’t like the music. Others have said it’s because they don’t care for the pastor. I’ve even heard Christian parents complain that there are not enough things to keep their children busy. This is what I don’t understand. Are we supposed to come because we like the music? Are we supposed to come because we feel the pastor is a terrific preacher and perfect gentleman? And are we supposed to bring our children so they can participate in games and programs? No, what I have come to believe is that Christians are to come to church because living on our own terms is why Jesus went to the cross in the first place. He died because humans are stubborn in their thinking, because they only want life measured by the way they think it should be. Although I am sure few would admit this, not even to themselves, I have to admit this was me, at least until I took this class and was invited to church by one of my classmates.
I am so thankful that I have met Jesus. I am thankful that a church filled with sinners welcomed me into their warm family. I am thankful that the imperfect pastor of their church believes Jesus died for the sake of everyone, and that he is so willing to tell others how God saves us from our sin through the death of Jesus.
Not before I took this class, not before I read the Gospel of Luke, not before I went to church with my classmate, did I realize what I had been missing my whole life. And now, I want this for everyone. Thank you, Jesus, for opening my eyes.
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila