Elections, Leaders, and the Hearts of Men

I must admit that I am sickened by the attitudes of many people today. I've read articles from people both disappointed and elated by the election of Barack Obama and most of them have extremely wrong attitudes. There is bitterness and anger directed at those who voted for "the other guy", whoever you would consider him to be. Ladies and gentlemen, this should not be the attitude that we have after the events of this election.

Regardless of my own personal political views, I am grateful to live in this nation. No other nation in the world has the same rights and freedoms that we enjoy. One comment in particular has been going through my mind repeatedly. During the election coverage from the American Family Association they had a live blog where people could post their thoughts throughout the evening. After it became apparent that Obama was winning, one person wrote, "If Obama wins I'm leaving this country. Maybe move to England or something." This is an attitude that absolutely drives me nuts! We are living in a nation where people have the right to choose their leaders and to make their opinions known through our votes. If you don't like what's going on, don't leave, but do what you can to change what you are able to.

I've been planning on using Romans 13 as my text for this Sunday's message for awhile now. The message itself wasn't going to change regardless of Obama or McCain's election. It doesn't matter. The message of this passage is the same regardless.

We are to submit to the authorities that God has placed over us.
Rom. 13:1, 2 (NIV) "Everyone must submit himself to the govening authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels agains the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." (Italics my own.)
Regardless of who you voted for, Barack Obama has been placed into the position of authority over those of us who live in these great United States of America. I will not rebel against the authority that God has placed me under. As long as this nation continues to uphold the freedoms that we celebrate, we will continue to be a great nation. As long as there are Christians down on their knees praying for our leaders, there is hope. As long as we have the right to worship God freely, I will submit to that authority. Why? Because God said so!

Romans 13 continues on in verses 6 and 7 about how we need to give to the authorities what they are due: taxes, revenue, respect, and honor are the examples used. Regardless of my opinion on Obama, I will give him the respect that is due a person in his position. I will not withold my taxes. We need to continue to respect the leaders of this nation. We don't have to agree with everything that they do and stand for, but let's at least show them the respect of their offices.

Please post your comments. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Resting before I Go Again

I'm sitting in my office in between our potluck lunch and our afternoon service. Once a month we move our evening service from 7pm to 2pm after our potluck so that those who travel don't have to every Sunday. I enjoy these days, but they make for a long Sunday. It's also hard to stay awake. Our bellies are full and we sit in a warm sanctuary... *snore*

Sorry. As I said, it makes for a long day. It still amazes me how much I love this church that God has seen fit to place us in. Today was a good day. In addition to my mom and grandma staying with us this weekend we had several families join us this morning who hadn't been here in months due to circumstances beyond their control. It was great to see them and reunite with them in fellowship.

On a personal note, our family is doing really well and the baby continues to be healthy. Ellie was writing the names of our family down on a paper the other day, "Ellie, Mommy, Daddy, Evan, Ethan" and then there was something I couldn't quite read. I asked her and she said "That says, 'Baby Whatever-Your-Name-Is". I got a pretty good laugh out of that. She's really excited for this new child to enter our lives.

As I leave I just want to thank you all and your support for us in this ministry. We deeply appreciate your prayers and look forward to seeing you again.

Busy Life and Other Stuff

Hey everyone, sorry about not posting since April. I have slacked in this area, but maybe I'll be able to get back into it a little bit.

We've started our second year of Awana and are really enjoying it. We've had around 25-35 kids each week. That's taken a lot of prep work for both Misty and I. It's been interesting trying to fit the church schedule into something that remotely looks feasible.

We're still studying John on Sunday mornings. We had our first anniversary in the book at the beginning of September and we're enjoying just taking our time and seeing how things fit together.

In personal news... we are expecting baby #4 in March. Not sure if we'll have a boy or girl at this point, ask us in a few months. ;-) We haven't done a lot of announcing about this, originally because we just wanted to see if we could keep it a secret. After that though, there have been some complications and we weren't sure a number of times if we had lost the baby. As of this past Monday though, it seems that the baby is doing extremely well. Ellie was even able to feel the baby kick.

Well, supper is about ready, so I should get going.

A View From the Pulpit

So, what does a pastor see on an average Sunday morning? Well, obviously churches differ, but this is what I see. The people that I love and care for. The people who are here to hear the Word of God spoken.

One Sunday morning we were packed. A couple had celebrated their 50th anniversary the day before and all of the family decided to join us on Sunday morning. We could barely fit any more people in. One woman asked if Iwas nervous. My response, "Yes, but not because of the number of people. I'm enough of a show-off that I enjoy being in front of people. I'm nervous because of the responsibility that I have in properly preaching the Word of God."

I love public speaking. College speech class was one of my favorite courses. I get a thrill from it. I rarely get nervous if I'm just giving a speech. However, once you add the responsibility of accurately preaching God's Word, I get nervous. It is a great responsibility that I should never take lightly. Once I do, then I am in the wrong position. God, help me never to take that responsibility lightly.

Village Missions

Well, for those of you who don't know, Misty and I are part of a group called Village Missions. Click on the link for more information on them. One thing I love about VM is the fact that once I'm placed on a field as a missionary/pastor, I am NOT left to go it alone. Starting this past fall the other Village Missionaries in the area have met together once a month for prayer, encouragement, and of course lunch. Misty and I have absolutely loved getting together with them. It encourages us personally and also spurs us to have a better ministry where we are.

During this last meeting the men in the group decided we needed to get together as men. Our goal is to build our friendships and also pray for each other during this time as well. Last night was our first meeting. This was a great time and we are already trying to figure out what we'll do next time.

Left to Right: Jim Karg, Steve Matthews, Riley Wilson, Jon Hansen, Gene Little, Chip Farnsworth

To other Village Missionaries, if you live even two hours away from the closest missionary, make a point of getting together with them. We've been meeting once a month but would love to do it more. It is more than worth your time and even more valuable than the gas it takes to get there. (Regardless of how much it is.)

Musings from a trip to Vietnam

Interesting pictures... these were taken in a Buddhist temple in the Chinatown section of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In the first picture you can see an idol that is worshipped as part of the religion, and in the second you see a large urn that holds incense whose smoke supposedly carries the prayers of the petitioners to heaven.

What does a Christian pastor do when he enters such a place? He prays. I saw the people who firmly believe in their religion. Yet, they are destined for hell. I realize that seems harsh and arrogant on my part. How can I put my faith ahead of theirs? How do I know that I'm right and they are wrong? Interesting topic, for another post. For now, just go with my thoughts, rambling as they are...

They have no hope. There is no guarantee in their religion that they will enter heaven such as they believe it to be. This is not true for a Christian. I Jn. 5:13 says that we can know that we have eternal life if we believe. That is true hope. I love that word "hope" in the Bible. It doesn't mean, "I hope this will happen." There is no guarantee in that hope. The word used actually means a guarantee. That our hope is sure. It is guaranteed. Our blessed hope is in Christ Jesus.

There are those in Vietnam who believe. We were unable to visit one of the government run churches while we were in Vietnam, but these churches are unable to teach the full truth of the Gospel because of the Communist government. Each sermon must be approved before given. Underground churches are able to teach the full truth at risk of their freedom and even their very lives.

I was able to meet one man and his family whom I believe to be true Christians. Due to language difficulties I was unable to understand exactly the circumstances. From what I could gather, this family wanted to immigrate to the US, but were unable to because of their Christian faith. The government wouldn't allow it. I saw and prayed as I saw this man and his family weep at their possible loss of freedom (maybe more, especially hard when looking at their young son). Was this what the man asked me to pray for? No. His prayer was not for himself, but for the salvation of Vietnam. This selflessness has struck my heart. There is a nation that, save for a remnant of believers, is lost and destined for hell. This isn't the only nation. Around the world people are lost and dying. They are heading for an eternal destiny away from God, love, and anything that is good. They are destined for eternal death. I have never been struck with that reality so profoundly as I had that day.

Join me in prayer for this lost world; for this lost country...

Long breaks...

I apologize about the long break that my wife and I have had in blogging. Adapting to another 2 year old boy in the house is a lot harder than we thought. It's amazing how busy those kids have been keeping us.

To update you all on our situation, Ethan, at this point at least, does not need surgery for his hydrocephalus. That may change after our opthamologist appointment, depending on how much pressure there is, but for now at least he seems to be fine. It definitely doesn't slow him down. Ethan and Evan are constantly running around and picking on their big sister. He's slowly picking up a few English words, and is understanding most of what we say.

My plan at this point is to post a few things from our trip in the next week and then try to convince Misty to do the same on her blog, which I know everyone wants.

God bless,
Parson Larson