The Camden Shop is now open! After a short prayer of blessing, we opened the doors and shoppers found clothing and housewares that they needed. We are so excited about how this place will help our friends in the Camden neighborhood! Spread the word, and come say hello!



We are open every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month at Gethsemane 

1

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger

    or discipline me in your wrath.

2 

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;

    heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

3 

My soul is in deep anguish.

    How long, Lord, how long?

4 

Turn, Lord, and deliver me;

    save me because of your unfailing love.

5 

Among the dead no one proclaims your name.

    Who praises you from the grave?

6 

I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping

    and drench my couch with tears.

7 

My eyes grow weak with sorrow;

    they fail because of all my foes.

8 

Away from me, all you who do evil,

    for the Lord has heard my weeping.

9 

The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;

    the Lord accepts my prayer.

10 

All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;

    they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

And just like that, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We celebrated our families, we gave thanks to God, and filled our stomachs with delicious food. Thanksgiving is a day of thanks, and just as we give thanks for all that we have, we give thanks to God. 

I have a friend that writes on Facebook frequently, and in a recent post they wrote, “Thank you God for allowing me to sleep 8 hours.” Such a simple yet honest recognition of thanks, and in a way, this post emphasizes this weeks message.

It surprises me how hard it can be be to be thankful. Truly there is so much we can be thankful for, but we loose sight sometimes and only see what is in front of our own eyes. We see all the things we do not have. We see the lack of money we have to pay rent or buy any food or even the problems in the news that we just cannot handle anymore. When our mind is filled with the pains of life, it is hard to give thanks. 

So today I am going to teach you all how to say thank you and how to feel thanks inside. 

Step one, take a moment to take deep breathes. As you inhale and exhale, experience the oxygen in your lungs and the breathe of life given to us by Jesus. For every breathe you take, the more relaxed you become. 

Step two, give yourself a hug. Now don’t stop there, touch your head and hands, knees and toes! You begin to feel and recognize the sensations of life and the full experience of all we have been given. You are not dead, and that is something to be thankful for! 

Lastly, I want you all to hear these words; Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so. 

As a dad, when I see my daughter, it fills me with grace and joy. My heart is ready to explode and I am filled with such joy just seeing her. This same feelings is what it is like for God with us. When God says to us that He loves us, we are reminded of the true love of God, and in that, we can be thankful. 

When I feel like I am going to explode, sad, alone, or even ungrateful, I am filled with the desire to adore Jesus when I do these things. 

Perhaps there are people that that need to hear this message today; your heart is filled with anxiety, and your heart will not rest. If so, hear this message.

If you cannot feel the grace and love of Jesus, come here, to the church, to God’s house. Work with us, and serve people who are in more need so that, while doing the ministry of Christ, you might see the love and grace of God in the eyes of people we are serving. In doing so, we can all feel and understand true thankfulness. 

Amen

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders….

The first time I sang the Messiah was in high school. We gathered with other area schools and did a large production. We wore suits and long dresses and stood on risers in a gymnasium for all our families and friends. Many hours of rehearsals led up to the big evening; we practiced our parts in harmony, watching close to our choir director as he waved his hands in pulses and curves in the air. The night of the performance we waited patiently to begin. The orchestra lead in with the violins; we saw our director lift his arms; we took our unified breaths. The director smiled, nodded and gave us the entrance cue and we let our voices soar. Such a feeling of connection with others in an experience that was most holy. I was anticipating the birth of the Christ child through music, through singing, with butterflies in my stomach. God’s promise, fulfilled. For unto us a child is given…

Over a decade ago, I started joining in on the sing-along-Messiah experience with the Minnesota Chorale. Each December, masses of people would fill the St. Olaf church in Minneapolis, sitting among members of the chorale and wait patiently to begin the opus production. A mixture of professional singers, choir members, and people like me (who just loved to sing), relived Christ’s birth, death and resurrection through song, together. Of course, I loved the Alleluia chorus (who doesn’t?), belting it at the top of my lungs until I could no longer speak the next day. But singing the lyrics of For Unto Us was always especially impactful. To sing together, professing as a large group, all the amazingness of God, over and over again, felt like a giant praise and worship experience.

And His name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor

The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father

The Prince of Peace…

As I go through my daily life, I often forget the magnitude of God’s greatness. Greatness that was born in the form of a babe in the manger. I often forget to praise out loud, claiming all the ways to glorify God—taking for granted that our Lord in Jesus is not just my personal savior, compassionate friend, or loving teacher. But baby Jesus was born into this world as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. God in Christ is royalty, is deserving of our praises, of our dedication, of our claiming out loud—in loud voices—all His greatness and sovereignty.

So, as we head into this advent season—anticipating the celebration of the Christ child’s birth—let us all remember to profess God’s royalty, glory, and promises. That in all the fuss of Christmas presents and decorating and gatherings, let us not forget to sing God’s praises, speak of God’s mercy, but also to claim all that God gave through Jesus to our world. For unto us a son is given…and his name is Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.

Amen!

Gethsemane Lutheran Church

4656 Colfax Avenue North

Minneapolis, MN 55412

612-521-3575