VMing in KS

James 2

2011-02-10T16:16:00.004-06:00

I've been preaching through James the past few months and have really enjoyed it. Following are some of my thoughts from chapter 2. I have the Bible passages linked to Those of you with newer versions of Logos will be able to use the links to go to specific references.

Faith Without Works

A Dead Faith

Js 2:14 "What good is it my brothers..." James confronts those who make the claim to have faith in Christ, but there is no evidence of that faith in their lives. "Can that faith save him?" First, we need to identify what this faith is. It is a faith without works. It is words without action.

Js 2:15, 16 This faith without action is illustrated with a man who sees someone poorly clothed and without food, and tells them “Go in peace, be warmed and filled", but does nothing to actually meet those needs is just like one who has the word faith in his active vocabulary but not in his active life. The question is pointedly asked, "What good is that?" Answer: None, whatsoever.

Js 2:17 The faith of this person, if it is there and not just his words, is dead. His faith is lifeless and inactive. Can this faith save him? No, for the simple reason that his faith is not genuine. Genuine faith is beyond claiming to believe. It's more than intellectually agreeing with a given thought.

A key thought is that not all who claim to be believers actually are. Jesus illustrates that Himself in Mt. 7:21. ‎Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false declaration. -Wiersbe (Also note his quote of Calvin, which I believe is extremely accurate.)

A Useless Faith

James goes from discussing a faith that is dead because it isn't genuine to a faith that is useless.

James 2:18–20 gives us a possible argument that someone may use.

Due to Greek not having quotation marks, most translations disagree in what is actually being said by this individual, but I believe that from the grammar used the quote should include verses 18b-19, thereby reading, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. " The Bible Knowledge Commentary discusses the briefly.

The attitude of this individual is almost to the point of thinking that faith is worthless and only works truly matter. He is correct in believing that works are important, but not at the expense of faith.

This individual tries to further his point by saying that even demons have faith and it causes them to tremble. This is quite accurate. Demons probably have better doctrine than many of the churches existing today, but this faith and knowledge is not something that can save them. It may even have an emotional response, but emotions based on knowledge cannot save either. However, this individual's argument is proven invalid in that faith works with works.

A Working Faith

James, great at illustrating his points, gives two illustrations showing faith working with works. In both instances faith came first, then was proven by the actions taken.

The first illustration is that of Abraham sacrificing Isaac. Faith was first. Abraham believed that God would keep His promise that God would make of Abraham a great nation through Isaac. If God asked him to sacrifice his son, Abraham would do it. God would keep His promise somehow. Perhaps by raising Isaac from the dead. (Hebrews 11:17, 18) Was Abraham justified by his works? Yes, but only in that his works were the fruit of his faith and that his faith was proven to be true by his works.

The second illustration is that of Rahab at Jericho. Her faith in God was shown in her protecting the spies at the possible expense of her life. Again, her faith came first and was proven by her actions.

In these, and our, actions our faith is made complete. Anything that is missing from faith is made whole when our actions are shown. What good would it have done for Abraham to claim belief, but then to say, "but there is no way I'm sacrificing my son." Is that faith? No, it is the same dead faith discussed earlier.

Does this contradict Paul and salvation by faith alone? Absolutely not! In fact, salvation by faith alone is enhanced by showing us true faith. True faith is an active faith. It is absolute trust. In salvation, that faith is shown in your trusting Christ alone for salvation. True faith does not say, "I'm trusting in Christ for my salvation, but I'm going to keep doing good works just in case."

A Whole Year?!?!?

2010-10-21T11:28:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted in a year. For those who have checked hoping for updates, I apologize.

The biggest news in our family is that we are expecting another little one in January. It's an exciting time for us.

We have been going strong in Awana and have seen a few more kids that are from families that don't typically go to church. I would ask that you keep them in prayer.

I will try to be more regular in posting, but no promises. :-D

Larson Letter

2009-09-03T14:24:00.000-05:00

Larson Letter
We have just celebrated our third anniversary here at Bethany Church and it’s amazing to see the changes that have occurred in that time. Our family has drastically changed, first with our adoption of Ethan nearly two years ago, and also with the birth of Ember this February. We’ve seen changes in the church and changes with Village Missions. However, we are encouraged by our God who does not change and remains faithful.
I’ve been enjoying being a missionary/pastor for this area of north-central Kansas. I’ve learned a lot and continue to love ministering to the people of this area. Being a Village Missionary is quite interesting because you never can tell what you will be doing from one day to the next. One day I’ll be riding in a combine with a young man about to head to college and the next I’m directing a Bible camp for the youth in the area. From funerals to baby dedications, my life is busy, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world!
Misty has been busy as the homeschooling process has begun for our family. Ellie is entering 1st grade and Misty’s been learning about how to keep things organized with four kids, ministry, and trying to find time for herself, which is a rare thing indeed. She is looking forward to another year of teaching Cubbies in Awana.
Elise (Ellie) is a vibrant 5 year old who loves to play with her friends and absolutely loves to read. Her love of dressing up makes things interesting where it’s not uncommon to see her walking through the living room as a princess, minutes later dusting as a servant girl, and then jumping around as Tinkerbell. She is excited about joining the Sparks group in Awana and learning more in piano lessons.
Ethan is an extremely energetic boy who never stops moving unless it’s to sleep. (Although he doesn’t sleep for long!) Turning four in September, he is going to be starting with Cubbies and gets to join Mommy this year. His adoring, almost smothering love for his little sister is both sweet and scary to watch. He has adjusted well to our family over the past two years and is making great strides in his speech. We thank you for your prayers over that adoption process and also for his previous diagnosis with hydrocephalus which actually turned out to be a cyst which will not require surgery.
Evan is a bright and imaginative 3 year old who is looking forward to being 4 in October. He has learned to talk, and practices all of the time. His sense of humor is a force to be reckoned with. His punch line to all jokes, “because he died.” He enjoys playing with his brother and sister, and has done quite well starting to learn verses for Cubbies which he also starts this year.
Ember Lanae Larson, born February 10th of this year is an answer to prayer. With a rough pregnancy, her birth has brought us much joy. At six months, her smiles and noises are a delight. Ellie had prayed for a little sister for many months before we were even expecting another one. We tried to prepare Ellie for maybe having a brother, but with her faithful prayers, I don’t think we needed to even bother. God answered her childlike faith with a sweet little sister.
We want to continue to thank you for your support, both in prayers and financially over the past three years. Without your support this area would be without a Bible preaching church. It is amazing to see Him working in the lives of the people here.

We ask for your continued prayer in these areas:
Praise:
Ember’s health
A large number of children in the church
The servant’s heart in this church

Request:
Awana to reach the youth and their families in the area
Continued outreach
A greater love for the people
Our family

Thank you and God bless,
The Larson’s

Elections, Leaders, and the Hearts of Men

2008-11-05T12:15:00.006-06:00

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

2008-10-26T13:45:00.002-05:00

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

2008-09-30T17:23:00.003-05:00

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

2008-04-26T10:49:00.005-05:00

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

2008-02-22T11:49:00.002-06:00

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

2008-01-24T12:05:00.001-06:00

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...

2008-01-16T14:35:00.000-06:00

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

Personal Note

2007-11-07T21:39:00.001-06:00

Hey I just wanted to give everyone an update on what's going on with our adoption. We finally got "The Call" and we are leaving on Friday for Vietnam to go pick up our new son!
Please keep us in your prayers. We will be taking Ellie our 4 year old daughter and Evan will be staying with his Grandma. (She needs a lot of prayer!)

We'll be updating my wife's blog while we're in Vietnam. It's at mistyandtyler.blogspot.com

God bless,

Parson Larson

Beautiful Living: Older Men Part 3

2007-10-11T11:05:00.000-05:00

Good morning (yes, I realize that it may not be morning where you are right now as you read this, but it's always morning somewhere). Update on things going on here before we get back to Titus. Awana has been going really well. We've gained a couple of kids, but at this point I'm not sure how regular they will be, and potentially lost one of my T&T girls due to a family situation. Please continue to keep these children in your prayers. We want to make sure these children know our Savior and as they study the Word of God will be living it out in their lives. Remember to check out my wife's blog for information on the adoption. The link is to the right.

Ok, now back to Titus. We're discussing the qualities that the older men in the church are to have. The next is that they are to be "self-controlled".

The opposite of self-controlled is to be "other-controlled". This is something that we need to be cautious about. What is it that controls you? There are many things that can cause you to lose your self-control. Alcohol is the first thing that I think of. It's common knowledge that drinking too much can lead to loss of control. I've been to wedding receptions where the booze has flown freely. Everyone had fun, even those who didn't drink, yet those who had been drinking were doing things that they never would do without the influence of alcohol. Self-controlled, they were not.

How about anger? I know people who become very angry. They lose control. When this happens, it is a scary thing because you don't know what's going to happen. If you look into their eyes, you don't see them, it's almost like looking into the eyes of an animal. Something that should definitely be avoided.

Being self-controlled is also one of the requirements for the leaders of the church in Titus 1:8. They should be self-controlled, or temperate in their desires. The question that this all comes down to is simply, "do your desires control you and force you to live in order to fulfill those desires?" Unfortunately, the desires that tend to control you are the desires that are sinful. What should happen, is that your desires change to become God's desires. Psalm 37:4 deals with this. “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
This does not mean that God will simply give you whatever you want. This is really dealing with your heart. When your delight is in the Lord, you delight in what He delights in. You desire what He desires. When your hearts desire is for God's hearts desire, then you will get the desires of your heart.

So, do your desires control you, or do you allow God's desires to lead you?

Beautiful Day

2007-09-26T10:07:00.000-05:00

Have you ever woken up in a really good mood? I'm like that today. I had a good breakfast, the kids are playing happily, it's a beautiful day, Misty's having a good day, and I just finished one of the best cups of coffee I've had since I finished working at Jax, a coffee shop in Scottsbluff, NE.

Something I've noticed about coffee is that once you have had really good coffee, you become spoiled. You've had what is excellent and anything less becomes a disappointment. Earlier this summer I flew up to Michigan for the wedding of a friend. In one of the airports I stopped by a rather well known coffee place. (You know the one.) I have a particular affinity for a dry cappuccino. What this is for those who are not as well versed in coffee lingo is a cup of thick foam (preferably thick enough to hold a spoon upright in the glass) with a good espresso poured down the middle. I ordered a very dry cappuccino at this place and became extremely disappointed when I received a drink with no foam at all, just milk that had been steamed to a temperature that ruined the flavor of the drink.

Now, believe it or not, I do have a point to this post beyond showing that I'm what some call a "coffee snob". Those of us who have tasted of the grace of God have experienced what is greater than anything this world can offer. What seemed to be wonderful to us before, now tastes ruined at best; or at worst, like a second rate knock-off. All of the pleasures that this world can offer may be fun and enjoyable for a moment, but we know that it doesn't last and doesn't compare to what we have received in Christ Jesus.

If you have questions about this grace, leave me a comment with your e-mail address. I won't post it for all to see, but I will write you back explaining what this grace is and how to receive it.

God bless

Awana

2007-09-19T13:24:00.000-05:00

Please keep us in your prayers. Tonight is our first night of Awana and my first night of being an Awana commander. I am so thankful for my wife who has pretty much gotten this whole thing organized single-handedly. She's excited about her Cubbies group and I'll be taking care of games, T&T (Truth & Training, the 3rd-6th grades), large group time, and whatever else needs to be done.

Our prayers are that we will have a lot of kids, that the Gospel will be presented clearly in a way that they can understand, and that the parents will be affected by the work of God in the lives of their children. We really desire this to be an outreach to the families in the area.

God bless!

UPDATE: After our first night has been completed... I believe this night was a success. We had a pretty good group of kids (25-30, not quite sure yet on the exact number) and it just went really well. We were able to have a lot of fun and the kids were able to learn about God's Word. It was great. Thanks for your prayers!

Things that make you go, ugh...

2007-09-13T13:29:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, things are pretty crazy here in the Larson home. 3 out of 4 of us are sick, leaving only sweet little 3 almost 4 year old Ellie to take care of the rest of us. (Ok, not really, but Misty, Evan, and I are quite miserable today.

Be praying for us, the adoption process may speed up for us here. There are two families traveling to Vietnam in about a week that were either behind us in their schedule or dead even with us. Read Misty's blog for more information on that.

Also, Awana is going to be starting here next Wednesday (the 19th) and we were supposed to have our basic training on Saturday. Unfortunately, the guy who is doing the training is delayed on a work trip to Texas and won't be back in time. We are going to delay the training, but still have our kick-off parents night on schedule.

We've also finished up the book of Titus in Church a couple of weeks ago and are beginning to go through John. I think I'll wait to do Hebrews 11 until later. I'll still update with notes from Titus as we go along here though.

God bless,
Parson Larson

Beautiful Living: Older Men Part 2

2007-08-28T20:58:00.000-05:00

As we continue in this study of "Beautiful Living" we see that the next characteristic the older men are to have is that they should be worthy of respect. The King James Version words this as "grave", but in today's wording "grave" just doesn't quite have the same meaning that it should. Remember this is written from the perspective of a 26 year old. The Greek word is "semnos" which could be translated as honorable.

Paul is saying here that the older men should live lives that are honorable, or as the NIV puts it, "worthy of respect".

This is something that all of us, not just the older men although they are the focus of this particular verse, should strive for in our lives. As we age there is more reason for respect. There is a lifetime of experience that gives wisdom. (As long as you learn from your experience.) It's very sad that in our society the elderly have become ridiculed rather than respected. Younger people often have little to no respect for their elders, including me at my rather ripe old age of 26. (Just kidding... sort of.) That lack of respect causes them to miss out on so many of the lessons and relationships that are just waiting to be taken advantage of.

The challenge is this: are you living a life that is honorable? Is your life worthy of respect? We should live our lives in such a way that causes others to respect us. Make good decisions, use your experience to teach others, and avoid the troubles that you know are out there.

I think of many men in my past that I can say have lived honorable lives. These men have been used by God to change who I am from who I could have been. For that, I am grateful.

The Boss!

2007-07-18T14:59:00.000-05:00

Just a quick thought from our Village Missions conference this last week. It was a great time of encouragement and refreshing. It is truly one of the best things that Village Missions can do to help the churches they serve. If their pastor is discouraged and worn out, he won't do any good where he serves. Thank you, Village Missions!

Brian Wechsler, the director of Village Missions, was there and gave me a bit of a panic. He said, "I've been reading your blog." My response, "Oh, uh..." My thoughts, "What have I been writing? Am I in trouble? What now? What do I say? Uhhh..." :-) Well, sir, I hope you enjoy what I write. Thanks for your message this past Thursday night. It was an encouragement to me.

God bless,
Parson Larson

Beautiful Living: Older Men -Part 1

2007-07-01T23:23:00.000-05:00

The first group Paul focuses on in this passage is the older men. He commands them first of all to be temperate. What does this mean? Two different meanings came up as I studied this, moderation and vigilance.

Moderation:

This would be the idea of keeping things in balance in your life and not allowing yourself to do something excessively. Too much of even a good thing can be bad. So, we see that we must be moderate. This includes food, drink, and other activities, or even mindsets.

Far too often we go to extremes and don't have balance in our lives. I like video games... a lot. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but when it becomes the only thing I think about during the day, then there is trouble and the rest of my life starts to suffer. The key is to be moderate and keep it in balance.

Vigilance:

Combines the thoughts of being watchful and endurance. One dictionary describes this as "being sleeplessly watchful". I like this because of a sense of protection from older Christian men. This is important because of the life experiences that these men have. They have experienced many of the things that those who are younger (including myself and my mere 26 years of experience) are going through now.

These are two things that we all should strive for in our lives, moderation and vigilance.

Keep reading Titus, and I'll be back later with some more thoughts. Please leave comments and let me know your thoughts!

Beautiful Living: Old Men

2007-06-28T11:25:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up, my parents had two pictures hanging up in the kitchen. To me, these are great examples of, as my last post described, beautiful living. In one picture, there is an old man with a gray beard praying over a table of food. In the other, an older woman who is apparently the wife of the man, praying over her meal. A brief glimpse into the lives of these two individuals... In my own mind I imagine their lives. I can see both joy and pain, hope and sorrow, laughter and tears. The gnarled hands of the old man show the work he has done his entire life. At this meal you see their priorities and their love. In prayer they show their thankfulness to the Creator for the blessings He has provided. There is love, gentleness and hope in their lives. Truly, beautiful lives.

In the next posts I will discuss what Paul commanded Titus to tell the people of Crete, specifically the older men and women.

For those who interested in reading ahead, read Titus 2:1-10.

Thoughts, Ponderings, and Ideas... (almost sounds deep, huh?)

2007-06-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

I wanted to give an update on what we've been doing in church for the past few weeks. As I've posted previously, we're studying through the book of Titus. As I was studying for a sermon on the first part of chapter 2, I came across something at the end of verse 10 that really stuck in my mind. Up to this point Paul is telling Titus about how the people of Crete should be living. Then at the end of verse 10, right after talking about the lives of servants and slaves he says, "so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive."

This phrase really got me to thinking about one of the reasons we should be living out the commands given to us in the Bible. Our lives are testimony to the world about Christ. The way we live should make the teaching about God our Savior attractive to the world.

Can we say this about our own lives? Do our lives cause unbelievers to say, "I want a life like that. What makes them different?" My father-in-law recently had an experience like this while stationed in Kyrgyzstan. Some soldiers noticed the difference between his life and the life of another person who does not live a Christian life. These soldiers have now been asking my father-in-law about Christ and His grace.

The question we should be asking ourselves then, is this, "Am I living an attractive life?" The way I have posed this question at church the past two sermons has been, "Is your life beautiful?" So... is it?

More to come on this topic later.
God bless,
Parson Larson

Long time, no writing...

2007-06-01T19:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry about not updating this blog more often! Things are going really well here in KS and as an excuse about why I haven't written read this: http://mistyandtyler.blogspot.com/2007/05/our-son.html

We've been a little busy with the adoption, with Ellie and Evan, with weddings (1 down, 2 to go), and just life. However, I should update more. We'll see if I can stick with it. :-)

As far as church is going, we've had ups and downs. We recently had a couple resign from their positions on the board. We kind of saw this one coming, but were doing what we could to avoid that. However, all things are in God's hands, we just may not like them.

For ups, well... we have started a new sermon series in the book of Titus which is a really interesting study. I'm getting a lot out of it. The frustrating thing is that only about 75% of what I end up studying gets into my sermon. I'd be preaching 2+ hour sermons if I put it all in there.

We also are starting an AWANA program. Village Missions and AWANA are starting a pilot program to get rural churches active in youth ministries and Misty and I will be heading to Chicago in August for a conference on this. I must admit that I'm excited about the flight more than the conference at this point, but that's mainly because Misty and I haven't had the chance to fly together yet. She also has relatives near Chicago, so we might try and get together with them for supper some night if we have the time.

Please continue to pray for us and for the church as we continue in our ministry here. There have been several health problems among people in the church (all of them are doing fine now), for the couple that has resigned their positions, and for the AWANA program. We need to have enough leaders for all of the kids in the area that are likely to come!

God bless,
Tyler

Life In General

2007-05-15T18:33:00.000-05:00

Hey, people do read... and comment. Well, at least three of you.

Ok, enough of my more than slightly odd sense of humor for the day. (Thanks to Rob Jordon for the pic.) We are home from Michigan as of 9:00 last night. After that I'm home for a month, then I'm back to Michigan for another friends wedding. Home for a month, and then we're off to Colorado for our Village Missions conference! A month after that, we are going to a conference in Chicago with Village Missions and Awana. (Which is right after a likely trip to Nebraska for the wedding of another friend.)

Wow. I'm out of breath from just typing this... Ok, not really.

We have finished Judges here in Kansas. Off to the wonderful book of Titus, and then after that we'll do a series through Hebrews 11's "Hall of Faith". We're continuing to work on our doctrine study on Sunday nights, and after that... I'm not sure. I have a couple of ideas that I'm thinking about doing, but I'm unsure as to what we will do.

Thank you to all of our friends and family who are supporting us as we work in rural (very rural) Kansas. We love it here and are excited to see what God is doing. Look for a prayer letter coming to a mailbox near you soon!

God bless,

Parson Larson (this name is even engraved on a pocketwatch now. Thanks, Phil and Jen. Congrats!)

So, um is anybody there???

2007-05-05T14:02:00.000-05:00

You know, I think I'd post a little more often if I would get some comments. *hint-hint*

This Sunday marks the end of our series through the book of Judges. Hmm, now what next? 2nd Hezekiah? 1st Opinions? Hmm, oh the options. :-)

It's amazing as I study these last three chapters how the people responded to sin. It seems that they didn't even realize it was a sin. However, it hadn't been that long since Moses had been given the Law, so they should have known. Unfortunately, the parents weren't doing a very good job at teaching their children about the wonders of God.

How about us? For the parents that are reading this, are we teaching our children about who God is and what He has done? All it takes is the failure of one generation to cause the fall of a nation. If you read Judges, notice how quickly they fell. They enter the Promised Land with Joshua and things are going well. He dies, his assistants die, and the nation falls into idolatry. It's too easy to try to rely on another person to teach our children, but how can we be loving parents if we are not teaching them what is eternally important. Instead, we focus on the temporary and make idols out of it.

Our society reminds me of the last part of the final verse in Judges. "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." Everyone did as he saw fit. No regard for what was right. How we feel right now does not make something right or wrong.

We can't let this happen to us today.

-Parson Larson

Wow... Been Awhile

2007-04-18T12:44:00.000-05:00

Hey all!

Yeah, I realize I haven't posted since February. Sorry. However, I don't make guarantees as to when I will post. Hope you've realized this by now. Getting close to wrapping up the book of Judges soon. Of course, when you go through all 4 chapters that deal with Samson's life in one sermon you can go through a whole book rather quickly as well. *Note, I do NOT usually go that quickly through chapters. It's a rare occasion that worked well with the message.*

For those of you MySpace fans out there, I have joined you. I'm at www.myspace.com/qrossphyre

Well, that's about it for now. If you have questions please leave me a comment and I will see if I can answer you.

God bless,
Parson Larson

Life...

2007-02-21T16:03:00.000-06:00

Greetings! Things have been going well for us here in Kansas these past few weeks. We had our Valentine's banquet on Saturday with another church in the area. It went extremely well. There were quite a few in attendance with an interesting devotional on love, our love for Christ, and how we show our love to Him. Along with some specials, wonderful food, and games we had an incredible evening.

Judges has been a lot of fun for me lately. I'm enjoying doing a slightly different type of sermon lately. This week we'll be in chapter 6 with Gideon. I'm excited about this one! Great application on trusting God!

The adoption process continues to move on, but you'll have to check out Misty's blog for that one, the link is on the right.

God bless!

Getting to Know You...

2007-01-16T19:28:00.000-06:00

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You... or however the song goes. This should be our attitude about our relationship with Christ. Getting to know Him, should be our goal. Is He real in your life, or are you just a Sunday Christian? Just some thoughts that have been rambling in my head for a few days.

Things are going well here in Kansas. We finally had lunch with the family we have been trying to get together with for MONTHS!!! I believe our first attempt to get together was in September of '06. Finally, in January... We had a lot of fun and look forward to more times with them in the future. At this rate that will be in late May. We'll be looking forward to it.

We have a video camera that will make it easy to upload videos to the computer. In time I may put it on the blog if I can figure out how to do that with Blogger. Hmm, I have an idea... Oh well, I will experiment later.

Pray for me as I prepare a series through Judges. I haven't done a series through any historical books or through a narrative rather than a letter such as the epistles.

God bless,
Tyler

The New Year

2007-01-11T19:22:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone!

I trust that 2007 (yeah, just like everyone else I started off writing '06) is treating you well so far. We are doing quite well so far this year.

As an update on my computer problems, my hard drive did finally bite the dust just before Christmas. I have a new one installed and pretty much everything is up and running. I need to find a few drivers online and then I'll be back up to normal.

Our Christmas programs were incredible! Our Sunday School program was probably the best I had seen. The Gospel was very clearly portrayed with the question "Do You Believe?" being prominent throughout. It was followed by a cookie fellowship time. I had a chance to meet many new people, but when you have an additional 33% in the church that is to be expected. The next week was our Candlelight Service. Again, it went very well with the opportunity to meet new people.

We then drove through the night to my parents house in order to surprise my Mom on Christmas morning. That was a LOT of fun!

New Years was a lot of fun with Misty's family visiting us. I'm one of those fortunate enough to have wonderful in-laws (Doug and Peggy, if you're reading this you better comment!)

That pretty much brings us up to the present. I'll be finishing up my series in Galatians this week with a sermon addressing the question "What Really Matters?" For Paul, it didn't matter what others thought about him. He said that the world was dead to him, but not only that, he was dead to the world. As far as they were concerned Paul was dead. They didn't care for him at all. They just needed a body to complete the thought. Hmm, interesting. Does the world matter to you?

God bless,
Parson Larson

Hard Week

2006-12-13T15:17:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had a week where you just can't get to whatever it is that needs to be done? That's pretty much how this week is going...

#1 Computer Problems
The Power Supply on my desktop went out. Hence, trying to type on my laptop slowed me down. New psu shows up and after installation, computer works, for awhile. I now find out my hard drive is going out. I'm trying to back up all of my information so it doesn't get lost. Oh fun.

#2 Adoption Process
Our home study is this week. The social worker spends a day here interviewing us. I don't mind the process, but that's most of a day that I can't work.

#3 Thursday
I don't mind Thursdays. They are perfectly wonderful days. ALL of our Bible studies happen to fall on Thursdays. I'm not quite sure how this happened. Oh well, it works. It just doesn't leave a whole lot of time to work on a sermon.

#4 Christmas
Ok, I love Christmas. As the song goes, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." This is my first Christmas as a pastor and I'm getting a glimpse of all that goes on in a church during Christmas. It's pretty cool, but time consuming.

Anyway, that's a glimpse of this week. #1 is the most frustrating, but I'm dealing with it. I enjoy computer work so I'm getting it all done. I just need to focus on other things first.

I have my sermon narrowed down for this week. We'll be studying the kenosis in Christmas. If you have no idea what that is, look it up. Studying builds character. :-) Or read Phil. 2:5-11 for an idea.

You know what, I think this is enough for today. I better get to work on this sermon.

God bless,
Parson Larson

Merry Christmas

2006-12-12T10:28:00.000-06:00

It's looking like it will be one of the busiest Christmases I've had for quite awhile, but I guess that I can expect that now that I'm a pastor. (For those just stumbling across this, I'm at my first pastorate in Kansas.)

For those who live in North Central Kansas, I have one question... Does it snow here? We moved here in August and had some good rain storms (tornado just north of us) but it is now December 12th and we haven't had any snow yet!!! We have had 60+ degree weather in the last week. What's going on? Nothing is forecasted for this week either. Oh well, just remember this post when we're snowed in this January.

Had dinner with some new friends in the area last night. Like myself, he is a young pastor in a rural setting so we have quite a bit in common there, plus their two boys are the same ages as my kids, and Misty and Mary Ellen get along really well too. It was a lot of fun.

Last Sunday's sermon was about missing Christ in Christmas and comparing us to those who missed Him the first Christmas. I'm not entirely sure what this week I'll be preaching on, other than a Christmas theme, but I have a few ideas. Just need to narrow them down to something a little more specific.

Our Home Study for our adoption is coming up this week, please keep us in your prayers. I'm kind of nervous about that. If you want more information go to Misty's blog at mistyandtyler.blogspot.com

God bless and Merry Christmas!
"Parson Larson"

Day after Thanksgiving

2006-11-24T12:44:00.000-06:00

Black Friday. It sounds creepy unless you get your income from people shopping at your business. The day that puts you back into the "black" financially. The one day that I'm really, really glad that I don't work retail anymore!!!

I pray that you all had a great Thanksgiving. I'm reminded of all the blessings that God has given my family this past year. Although I miss being in Nebraska with the rest of my family, God has brought us to a wonderful place here in Kansas. Last week I gave a sermon on Thanksgiving (if you would like notes from this sermon leave me a comment and I'll try to get them to you) and I told about the prayers Misty and I had about the church we would end up in. All of them had been answered. I am so grateful for that!!! It was even more than we prayed for. It has been a great blessing for us to be here.

Remember Who you are thankful to and make sure you are thanking Him more than just once a year!!!

Invictus by His Grace,
Tyler

Guilty

2006-11-22T14:49:00.000-06:00

Ok, you've discovered that I'm not the most consistent as far as posting goes. I just put time into other things. By the way, linerider, although fun, takes up too much time.

I'm looking forward to the sermon this week. It's going to be a look at our freedom in Christ and the war between our old and new natures. (Gal. 5:13-26) We continually struggle with the old nature and it's desires. It reminds me of a song by Smalltown Poets called "Everything I Hate". The song says "I'm into everything I hate, my spirit is not moved, my members take the bait." We hate the sin but we keep going back to it like a dog to it's own vomit. Sickening how we continue to live in the sin that Christ died to set us free from.

Invictus by His Grace,
Tyler

Been Awhile...

2006-11-08T20:39:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I posted anything, but since I don't think anyone has read this yet, no big deal.

I do not remember much about last week. I'm not entirely sure why, but it all went by in a big blur (I don't even remember Tuesday).
This week is going a little better. We're all fighting colds and our voices sound strange as a result. The sermon for this Sunday should flow together pretty smoothly. I need to run it through a good outline and do some more writing (which usually corresponds with more research), but I think it will go well.

For those who are interested it will be on Gal. 5:1-12.

God bless,
Tyler

Back to Normal (whatever normal is)

2006-10-31T21:45:00.000-06:00

Sorry about the lack of a post for the last few days, like I said in my last post we were going to have a crazy week. Everything went really well for us though. Had a great visit with my mom and grandma, the visit from our DR with Village Missions went great. It was great to see them all again. Just wish we lived a little closer so my family could see the kids a little more. I guess that's part of the cost of being where God wants me to be.

Could be an interesting sermon this next Sunday. I'm planning on doing a message on Galatians 4:19-31. We've been going through Galatians and it seems like we are getting a pretty good grip on the basic subject matter. Keep me in your prayers though as I work on this message. I really want the sermons presented to the congregation to be God's message to them.

I need to go out and do some visitation this week. I want to visit some of the leaders in the church, plus I think we'll have dinner with a family from church some night soon. We have tried to have dinner with them about two or three times before but something has always made us postpone.

God bless,
Tyler

I don't feel so good...

2006-10-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

Well good morning to everyone out there. Yesterday and today I've been fighting a bit of a head cold. Because of this my voice in the morning makes Barry White sound like a soprano. I'm praying that this will pass soon. We have a busy week coming up.
Misty and I will have a meeting about adoption on Wednesday in Wichita. My mom and grandma will be showing up here sometime on Thursday for the weekend. Misty is decorating a cake for a baby shower which will be Sunday afternoon (after both a potluck and our evening service which we hold in the afternoons when we have potlucks). Plus, my boss, the District Rep. for VM will by showing up here on Saturday afternoon, so we get to have a board meeting that night. I'm pretty sure next week might get back to normal. Whatever normal is.
On the plus side of things, my sermon for Sunday is already written. We had a funeral for Misty's grandpa this last Saturday and so we had to leave town for the weekend. A friend from VM filled pulpit for me. (Thanks Nathan!)
I'm going to go work on the sermon a little bit more this morning. Even though it's written, I now have time to make it a little better, and then off for visitation this afternoon.

God bless,
Tyler

The Life of a Village Missionary

2006-10-23T14:23:00.000-05:00

My wife Misty and I have decided to do a couple of blogs about different things in our lives. This one is about our lives as Village Missionaries. Our other is located at larsonlove.blogspot.com and is about different things we're doing in our lives.

We have been Village Missionaries in north-central Kansas for just over 2 months and have experienced a large change in our lives since we moved here. Previously I was the manager at a coffee shop in Nebraska and being a pastor is a completely different experience. However, this is what I've wanted to do since High School and finally being able to be where God has prepared me to be is extremely exciting.

We are going through the book of Galatians during our Sunday morning services and are really getting a glimpse of grace vs. the Law. Sunday nights we are going through the 10 basic doctrines and everyone is learning a lot. It's great to see people excited about learning more about God.

We are in a very rural location (nearest neighbor is a mile away) so the personal aspect of ministry is drastically different from what I had anticipated. It is a lot harder to visit people because of the distance from everyone plus having them not be home when you do get there is a difficulty that I'm trying to deal with. (Please pray for me in this.)

More on this later, God bless,
Tyler