Go & Tell the Story

By Rebecca Sheridan, Nebraska Synod Evangelist Matthew 28:16-20 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”             For the last five years in my position as Nebraska Synod Evangelist, this passage from the end of Matthew has come up quite a bit, as if God has been trying to tell me something.   You may recognize it as the Great Commission.   In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus also gives us the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39).   A...

By Rev. Rebecca Sheridan           Christmas is over, and our attention in most congregations has turned to annual meetings.   Budgets, elections, and resolutions are foremost topics of conversation in most church councils.   The hymn for reflection this month calls us back to remembering why we’re in the “business” of church in the first place.   Budgets, council members, buildings, committees, and all other organizational structures of the church are meant to support ministry so that we can share the life-giving good news that God offers all of us in Jesus Christ.   In baptism, we give the newly baptized (or his or her sponsor if an infant) a candle saying, “Let your light so shine before others so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,” from Matthew 5:16.   From the beginning of our life in Christ, we are called to let God’s light shine in and through us.   The hymn as well as coun...