Pastor Ben's Blog

The Best Laid Plans

2012-02-01T14:06:00.000-06:00

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" (well not that far away actually), I played Quarterback on a football team. So bear with me. I will explain...but I'm going to use a football analogy. You see, as a Quarterback on the football team, I had to learn how to call an audible sometimes. An audible is when the Quarterback reacts to the defense by changing the play at the line of scrimmage... in other words, right before the play starts. Usually an audible is called when the play you had previously called just isn't going to work. Usually an audible is called because of an unexpected look that the defense presents. It's not that the original play itself was bad, it's just that the defense changed.

Why am I mentioning this? Because my friends, it's time for an audible. Unfortunately, the extra 30 minutes that we expected to get after church at the theater is suddenly only going to last one Sunday. That's because a Star Wars movie is being released in 3D at the theater on February 7th which they are under contract to have to show a certain number of times, meaning they have determined they have to show it early on Sunday mornings (around 11:30). Since they are going to be staffed and opening for an early showing of Star Wars they are also going to return to having other movies shown before noon as well. This decision was just recently made. I have discussed other options with theater management in the hope that we could still work out an arrangement whereby we could stay in the theater for an extra half hour, but it's simply a reality of the movie business that we are at their mercy and right now there are no alternatives. Such is the life of a portable church. We do our best to call the plays, and sometimes we have to call an audible.

What does this mean? A couple things...

1) We will proceed with having the introductory group study to The Story this Sunday, February 5th at the previously scheduled time, from 10:50-11:20. To make this happen for this one week. Bible Quest will run from 9:30-11:20. We're going to make use of our one extra half hour to get into God's Word.

2) Starting the following Sunday, February 12th, we will have The Story group study from 8:30-9:00 in theater #1. Because one of my goals in using The Story at VotL was to bring our whole church together for a journey through God's Word, we hope to recruit parents to volunteer to watch kids from 8:30-9:00 on a rotating basis so that most parents can still attend The Story group study.

3) Bible Quest will continue to start regularly at 9:30. Also, we are still going to be able to expand Bible Quest through 5th grade once again. Thus Bible Quest will be able to serve children 18 months - 5th grade thanks to the number of volunteers that we have who make this possible for us by willingly choosing to serve even though it means they aren't then able to go to church and worship with the rest of us. I cannot say enough about how awesome and flexible our Bible Quest staff has been. Cassy and her team have done a great job of being flexible in dealing with all the unique challenges of our situation as a portable church even though many times plans have had to change. Cassy will be sending out more information to parents regarding Bible Quest later this week.

So we commit this and all our other plans to the Lord. I am thankful for all our blessings. I am still hopeful that you will be able to participate in the The Story group study even though it will mainly take place before church instead of after now.

May God be glorified in all that we do and may he enable us to share Christ's victory with our community.

Operation Jesus Cares - The Christmas Project

2011-12-20T21:59:00.001-06:00

Today was a day I'll never forget. It was a day our church family stepped up and got to reflect the generous heart of God in a real world kind of way. I am so proud of our suburban church for having the desire and willingness to serve and show the love of Jesus in an urban setting. We partnered with the students from Christ-St. Peter school on the south side of Milwaukee to help them make a difference in their community. We supplied the contents for 233 care packages which the kids packaged throughout the day and delivered to their neighbors. It was a tremendous day! Many people's lives were touched and transformed by the love of Christ. Thank you, everyone! Check out the video I made from today. Merry Christmas and God bless you all!

Still a Go at Showtime

2011-12-17T16:58:00.000-06:00

This past week Showtime Cinema here in Franklin was recently acquired by Marcus Theatres. A lot you have been wondering, "What does this mean for Votl?"

Well the good news is that it sounds like nothing major's going to change for us. I got to meet with the new general manager today this week. He knew our church met there and is happy to have our church continue to meet there. He seems like a great guy. Marcus Theatres have a history of being welcoming to churches. I was given a new key to get in the building. I took that as a good sign!

So...I know some of you were praying about the situation and I want to thank you for that. Some of you asked, "Are we going to have church on Sunday?" And the answer of course is Yes!

God has taught me personally a lot over the past five years of starting a church from scratch and I can honestly say I wasn't really sweating this one. As always Jesus is at the right hand of the Father working out all things for our good. He's in control even when things aren't in our control. I know that's also true for whatever other future opportunities God has in store for us as a church.

Finally, I want to mention that over the last couple years I got to know a lot of people who will no longer be at Showtime. I always really appreciated their help in allowing us to meet and worship there. I definitely wish them the best and God's blessings even as I get to know new people there now too.

In His grip,
Pastor Ben

I'm Staying!

2011-10-31T16:08:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all your prayers, texts, phone calls, and conversations over the last couple weeks as I deliberated my call to serve as the pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Madison. I can only describe the last couple weeks as a time of intense wrestling with God. Their vision to reach their rapidly changing and diverse urban neighborhood is compelling and urgent.

However, after prayerful wrestling, deep soul searching, and many long conversations...yesterday I announced my decision to stay at Victory of the Lamb and continue to share Christ's victory here in Franklin with you. I am so thankful to God for all that’s he’s done through us here and I look forward to seeing what more we can accomplish by his power and grace.

I do believe this whole call process has been healthy for all of us to go through. I believe through this call process that God has given me many insights not only about myself but about our mission here in Southeastern Wisconsin. Undoubtedly this is one reason why God gives a pastor and his church another call to consider sometimes.

One thing I have personally committed to doing and I would ask you to do also is to be praying for Our Redeemer church and school until the Holy Spirit sends them just the man he already has in mind to be their shepherd.

Finally, one verse that I found especially comforting over the last month is when Jesus told his little group of followers, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Come Learn About Grace

2011-10-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

You know someone who struggles to comprehend grace or doesn't think it could possibly apply to them? You'll want to invite them to come with you to church this Sunday at Victory of the Lamb. Don't miss out on the message that I'll be preaching based on Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard.

Worship is at 9:30. Come earlier at 8:30 for Bible study. I'd love to have you come even earlier at 7:30 to help set up and learn how to help take everything down after church.

I look forward to sharing God's Word with you on Sunday. I hope to see you there.

Against the Flow

2011-10-08T09:16:00.001-05:00

How is it that messed up people with histories can have a place in the church while others, maybe those outside the church, look inside and think how bad those people are? That's what Jesus is going to help us find out as we begin our new Fall series this Sunday: Parables That Go Against the Flow. Hope we have a big crowd. Invite a friend!

See the Hero...be a hero

2011-10-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

Sin ambushes people sometimes—even people who are our brothers or sisters in Christ, our friends, our partners in ministry. It traps them under enemy fire so to speak and who’s going to help them get out to a place of spiritual safety if not you? Come to VotL tomorrow as I wrap up our series A Time For Heroes. Now is the time. Heroes help their friends get out.

Don't Forget 9/11

2011-08-31T15:55:00.001-05:00

Where were you when…? That’s usually a question people ask when you’ve lived through a shared national experience you couldn’t possibly ever forget. And some things you don’t want to forget. A moon landing. A wall coming down in Berlin. Even a super bowl victory. Some things though we might wish we could forget. Pearl Harbor. A presidential assassination. 9/11.

For my generation there has been no event like 9/11, a day that changed our country’s very way of life and how we see the world. It’s a day so seared into our national memory that we need only those three numbers, 9-1-1, to bring it to mind—even though in many ways it’s a day we’d like to forget.

Yet it’s a day we must not forget. We must remember the victims. We must remember the heroes. To remember them is to honor and value them.

Yet we must also remember the terrorists who took down the Twin Towers in the name of their god. They believed those of us who disagreed with them are infidels. They believed by killing themselves and many others they would gain automatic entrance into eternal paradise.

What should our attitude be towards them as we remember what they did? What should our attitude be towards those who say that we are no different? Who say that Christianity is just as exclusive? Who say that religion is the problem? How do we remember a day that’s changed how our world thinks about God?

On this 10^th anniversary of 9/11, we’re having a special Day of Remembrance service at Victory of the Lamb. We’re going to pray. We’re going to sing. We’re going to seek God. And we’re going to find how Jesus is a hero he has sent for all. His all-inclusive love is the message that can heal people’s hate filled hearts. His peace is what our world needs. Through songs, screen, and sermon I promise you it’s a service you don’t want to miss. It’s a message you want to hear. Invite your friends. If you’ve never come to a service at Victory before, this would be a great time to start. All are welcome. Showtime Cinema. 9:30 am. 9/11.

"Power-Packed" Starts Sunday

2011-08-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

The big idea: We end the summer by taking a close look at four of the shortest books of the Bible. But don’t let their length fool you. These ancient postcards are packed with timeless truths. Besides revealing some fascinating details about the first century church’s character, they also reinforce the nature of God’s heart. The ink on the postcards is as fresh as if they had just been sent yesterday. Their applications are as personal as if each one was addressed to you.

August 14: Philemon—Restoring the Fallen

In this heartfelt intercession on behalf of a runaway slave Paul helps us see that Christianity does not help a man escape his past by running away from it, but enables him to face it through forgiveness.

August 21: 2 John—Treasuring the Truth

There is a great need in the life of a Christian to balance truth and love. Our challenge is finding and keeping this balance.

August 28: 3 John—Walking Together

“How good and pleasant it is,” the psalmist says, “when brothers live together in unity.” Some may jokingly reply, “The psalmist didn’t go to my church!” Three very different New Testament church leaders will teach us how we can better walk together.

September 4: Jude—Persevering in the Faith

Though Jesus has clearly won the victory over sin and death, the battle for each individual soul rages on. As one of our prayers states: “the times and days and perilous.” God give us the wisdom and the zeal to use the tools he’s given us to persevere in these spiritually dangerous times!

Hallepalooza! Devotion 2011

2011-07-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is the message I shared at Lions Legend Park here in Franklin this past Saturday, July 23rd:

Hello everyone. What a week! It sure has been a hot outside, hasn’t it? Thankfully a cold front moved in yesterday and we’ve enjoyed a brisk 85 degrees out here today ;) But what do people always say you should do when it’s hot outside? “Make sure you drink lots of...water. Stay hydrated.”

Because what happens when you don’t get enough water? Two weeks ago, runners in Summerfest’s 1st annual Rock ‘N Sole run found out the hard way. 20 runners were taken to the hospital and 50 received emergency medical attention because they didn’t have enough water. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said: "The half-marathon and 10K race turned into a full-fledged emergency when early hydration stations ran out of water and cups. Runners started collapsing in the humid 85-degree heat, and some were unable to get immediate help because of a lack of medical aid stations. No medical aid was available on the 2.5-mile-long Hoan Bridge."

That’s what happens when people are running in the heat and they don’t get any water. It’s pretty serious. And I wouldn’t want to make light of that, yet isn’t it just a bit ironic that those runners didn’t have enough water as they were running over the Hoan Bridge even though in plain sight was one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world? That’s not to say I'd ordinarily want to drink untreated Lake Michigan water especially since they say we shouldn't even swim in it sometimes during the summer! But nevertheless all that water, right there, and yet people were collapsing because they had no water.

I can’t help but think what a powerful picture that is to describe all those people out there in our world, and maybe you’re one of them, who are racing through life, so busy, trying to get somewhere, and you’re starting to feel the heat and you’re about to collapse and you wish you could get a drink and be refreshed but you don’t know where to find some water.

Did you know that one of the big themes of the Bible is that the grace of God through Jesus Christ is like a fresh drink of water? Jesus once said that "whoever who drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14).

I want you to listen to these words from a man named Isaiah who often foretold the coming of Jesus into our world roughly 750 years before Jesus was born. God says through Isaiah: Isaiah 55:1-2 "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”

Are you thirsty? Come to the waters. Come take a big drink. Don’t sip. Gulp. And did I mention? It’s free. And it’s plentiful. Listen to Isaiah: “and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” That’s interesting how he puts it, isn’t it? You who have no money, come and buy. How can that be? That doesn’t seem to make sense. How can you buy something without money? Well the point is that it’s free. It’s readily available. It’s a gift of God. That’s what grace is. It’s a cold, refreshing bottle of water on a July afternoon given by God.

And it doesn’t just quench your physical thirst. It quenches your deepest thirst. It quenches the longings of your soul. Look, the truth is we are all in a race. It’s called life. And one day the race will end. We will grow weary. At some point we will start to feel the heat. We will collapse. Ultimatley we will die. But... Jesus Christ offers the water of eternal life. The One who lived without sin for you. The One who overcame death for you. The One who is coming back for you. He is the One who offers you this free gift of his grace. Don’t go through life with it. Don’t face death with it.

This is what makes coming to church regularly so wonderful. It’s not about something we have to do. It’s about something we want to do because it’s like a hydration station conveniently placed in our lives where we can drink up, be refreshed, and finish the race until we collapse into the everlasting arms of God in heaven.

I want to close today with this promise of Jesus himself: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life" (Revelation 21:6).

Summertime

2011-07-07T17:34:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends,

First of all I wanted to give a great big THANK YOU to all the people who participated in the 4th of July parade on Monday...especially to our worship band for hauling all their equipment and playing, the Kiesows for providing our decorated chariot, and to all the incredible volunteers who walked along with the float handing out flyers and candy in the hot sun. Thanks also to everyone who donated candy or supplies for our float. I think I can safely speak for everyone who helped in saying that by the time I got home at 2, I was completely exhausted and it sure felt good to put my feet up!

But it was well worth it. In fact this year we got to be the “Grand Finale” to the parade and that was pretty cool. It's really a lot of fun to be out in the community, interacting with people, and inviting them to our summer events. It's important for us not just to go to church, but to be the church out in the world sharing Christ's victory.

Just a reminder to all of you of our two big VotL events this summer that we were promoting at the parade. First off, Hallepalooza! is coming up on Saturday, July 23rd at Lions Legend Park here in Franklin. It's from 11 – 3. Entertainment will include live music, kids' games, some great door prizes donated from community business and free food. I'll wrap things up with a devotion from God's Word at 2 and we'll give away the door prizes after that.

Next, just a reminder that our annual Soccer Bible Camp will be held August 1-4th at the Polonia soccer fields. It's a great time for kids ages 5-12. Register online by July 18th.

One last thing, if you've been on vacation or out of town I'd encourage you to go back and catch up on the sermon podcasts from our summer series: Unmasking the Christian Atheist. I'm really excited about this series and I believe that it's going to help a lot of people apply the Gospel to their lives. If you prefer you can also download and read a pdf of the sermon through our sermon series page. Of course, if you've been thinking about checking Victory of the Lamb, I'd like to encourage you to come and visit any Sunday this summer.

C-h-r-i-s-t

2011-05-22T17:24:00.000-05:00

In my sermon today, I made mention of the fact that I’m not a bumper sticker guy…but I did just recently put a bumper sticker on my ’96 Chrysler for the very first time. I think it’s a very cool twist off of the “coexist” bumper stickers that you see all the time.

One of the neat things about worshiping in a movie theater is that I can use the screen to show imagery and symbolism that teaches the truths of the Bible. In case you missed it this morning (or you haven’t seen my rusty red car driving around Franklin), it looks like this:

I got it from this website. And on this site there’s an informative description of what each of the symbols mean as they tell the story about what makes Jesus Christ unique among all the founders of any religion, philosophy or worldview.

C – The Open Tomb: The first symbol portrays the foundational fact of Christianity: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate proof of Jesus’ divinity and work. Such a tremendous event caused Jesus’ witnesses to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Sunday, he day on which Christ rose became the day on which Christians worship. Without the resurrection Jesus’ life and death and the cross would have been meaningless. As the Apostle Paul says, “And if Christ had not been raised your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 NIV).

H- The Lamb of God (Agnus Dei): The second symbol functioned as one of the earliest depictions of Jesus Christ. The lamb reminds Christians that Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice for sins. In the Old Testament the blood of the Passover lamb rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Likewise, the blood of Jesus Christ rescues God’s people from sin. The lamb is pictured with a banner representing his victory on the cross. The simple gospel proclamation is best summed up by John the Baptist, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

R – The Chi-Rho (Kee-Roe): The third symbol, also known as the Chistogram, is one of the earliest symbols used by Chrsitians. The Chi-Rho is formed by the capital Greek letters Chi and Rho. Chi and Rho are the first two letters of “Christ” in Greek. The Greek language is of course the language that the New Testament was written in and also the language in which the early church blossomed. The Chi-Rho forms a cross which of course brings to mind the death of Jesus Christ. The significance of Jesus’ crucifixion is perhaps best summoned up by the prophet Isaiah some 700 years before the crucifixion, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV).

I – The Star: The fourth symbol is the star of Bethlehem. The star represents Jesus Christ as the light of the world. Jesus is the light that pierces the darkness enabling the blind to see. For Gentiles (non-Jews) the star holds a special meaning as it was a star that God used to guide the Gentile Magi from the East to the Christ-child in Bethlehem. For Christians, Jesus is still the guiding star that gives direction, purpose and hope. Jesus proclaims this very truth when he says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 NIV).

S – The Fish (IXTHUS): The fifth symbol consists of perhaps one of the most common Christian symbols both ancient and modern. The Christ Design fish symbol consists of two intertwined fish representing the fellowship enjoyed among Christians. Despite culture, background, and status Christians are made one in Christ. The fish is sometimes seen with a simple cross where the eye would be located. It is also seen with the word IXTHUS. IXTHUS is the Greek word for fish. It can also be used as an acrostic with each letter standing for a Greek word that sums of the central truth of Christianity: (I) Jesus (X) Christ (TH) God’s (U) Son (S) Savior. The fish is of course an appropriate symbol since many of Jesus’ first followers were fishermen. Jesus spent much of his time on the shores of the Sea of Galilee where one of his miracles consisted of multiplying fish to feed thousands of people. It was Jesus who gave his disciples and all Christians the simple command: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19 NIV).

T – The Anchor: The final symbol of the Christ Design is one of the earliest symbols of Christianity and was found etched in the walls of Rome’s catacombs. The anchor contains within it a hidden cross. The anchor is a symbol of the hope that Christians have in Jesus Christ. He is the sure anchor that keeps us safe through the storms of life and death. The author to the Hebrews writes, “We have this hope for the anchor of our soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:17 NIV).

The meaning of the word Christ: The word Christ is a Greek word which means “Anointed One.” In the Hebrew it is “Messiah.” The title is appropriate for Jesus because he was anointed by his Heavenly Father for the work of mankind’s salvation. Those who were anointed in biblical times were prophets, priests, and kings. Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of all those roles. He is the prophet that has spoken to us the revelation of God. He is the king who lovingly rules over all things for the good of the church and he is the priest who not only intercedes on behalf of us but actually sacrificed himself for us. May Peter’s great confession be that of every Christian when he says to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 NIV).

New Sermon Series

2011-05-14T13:51:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends,

Everybody’s got "faith," right? In other words everybody puts their trust in someone or something. Maybe it’s a doctor. Maybe it’s a politician. Maybe it’s a savings account. Maybe it’s their own street smarts. Maybe it’s the words of a particular motivational speaker or a preacher on TV. But let’s be real. When people say, “You just gotta have faith,” what are they saying? Because not all kinds of faith are the same, are they?

Tomorrow at Victory of the Lamb we're starting a sermon series called Radical Faith where we’re going to be talking about faith from a radically different perspective than how a lot of people look at it. We're going to talk about faith with a firm foundation. Faith you can build your future on. We’re going to talk about a solid faith that you can sink your spiritual teeth into. This series is going to search some great stories from the Old Testament so that we can learn that self-confidence is no substitute for Christ-confidence. Jesus himself said, "You diligently study the Scripture because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me" (John 5:39).

Click here for more info about this series

What's the Point?

2011-04-18T20:42:00.000-05:00

In Spirit and In Truth

2011-03-21T12:09:00.000-05:00

Many of you have mentioned to me that you can tell I really enjoy preaching. I do. I get to study a Bible text in the original languages of Greek and Hebrew to prayerfully grasp its meaning. I get to read what others have said about that text throughout the years. I get to ponder how that text relates to life today. I get to take God’s timeless truth and write (actually, it’s type) a message that applies it in timely ways to people where they’re at today—not only to lifelong believers but to brand new ones, seekers, and skeptics too. And then I try my best to memorize that message and deliver it with all the excitement and conviction that the Spirit has worked in me!

Inevitably though one of the things that happens every week is that in studying a text, I uncover many things that don’t make it into that particular Sunday’s sermon. There’s just not enough time to say it all. There never is. So I try and stick to the content that’s most relevant to the theme that I’ve come up with for that one message. So if you ever feel frustrated because you think there’s more I could say about a particular text...just know that I feel that way every single week! There’s not enough time to explain everything or make every possible application to our lives. That’s why I’m convinced there are about 100 sermons in every text and why I can preach on the same text every couple years and still make it fresh.

One of the things I would’ve like to spend more time preaching about this past Sunday are Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman: 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

These words are very interesting because they come right after the Samaritan woman tries to drag Jesus into an argument about where you need to be to worship God. But Jesus refuses to get into an argument about this. The Samaritan woman has it all wrong. Sometimes Christians can have it all wrong too when they argue about things that God could care less about. Where to worship is one of these things.

The right place for worship was an important topic for Samaritans and Jews. But Jesus is teaching us that genuine worship is spiritual and is no longer dependant on places and things. True worship of God has nothing to do with a physical location or a building. It has nothing to do with sacred places or spaces.

For the Samaritans it mattered where they worshipped simply because they had their own deeply held traditions and preferences. But for followers of Jesus Christ, it shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter because God himself doesn’t care where we worship him. He doesn’t care whether we worship him in a movie theater or in a cathedral, in a soccer club or at a shrine. The place or the space won’t bring us closer to God. And so Jesus says the kind of worshipers the Father seeks must “worship in spirit and in truth.”

These are wonderfully comforting words that remind us to stay focused on Jesus who is “the way and the truth and the life.” What Jesus offers us through his word and sacraments should always be our focus no matter where we meet for worship. So whether we stay in a movie theater, move to a school gymnasium, renovate an industrial warehouse, or build a church building one day...the important thing is that we continue to focus our worship on Jesus Christ and his victory for us poor sinners.

Freak Out...or Have Faith?

2011-03-07T13:22:00.000-06:00

How do you react to change in your life? Do you avoid it? Or do you look for it? Do you resist it? Or do you embrace it? I have one neighbor who has repeatedly told me, “I don’t like change.” It’s definitely true that God has wired all of us with different personalities. Some personality types like to move slowly. Their motto is “Let’s not rock the boat!” or “We’ve never done it that way before so let’s proceed cautiously!”

Other personality types find new possibilities exciting. Their motto is, “Let’s consider the opportunities!” or “Let’s get on with it already!” I think in all these differences you can see God’s wisdom in wiring us all differently. In fact, not only does God give us different personalities, but we also all have different gifts and opportunities that God gives us to evaluate and use in our lives of service to Him.

I think there are 2 basic reactions we can have as God’s people to change. We can freak out...or we can have faith. The truth is that God is always working to exercise our faith. Time and again he tells us in his word, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). As you read the Bible just pay attention to all the ways God is always working in people’s lives to move them forward in their faith. When life is status quo, faith can become stagnant. So God often stirs up our lives to give us new opportunities to trust him while he’s at work choreographing his gracious plans for his Church throughout the whole world.

For example, over this past week God has given people in our church a number of opportunities:

Benhur K, one of our worship team members, has been extended a call to serve at Christ the Rock Lutheran Church in Round Rock, TX (near Austin) as their worship team leader. Christ the Rock is a 4 year old mission church like ours. They’ve been praying for someone with Benhur’s gifts for the last 2 and a half years. I think this is just an awesome example of how God has a big picture plan and is always working to spread out his gifts for the good of his Church. Please keep Benhur and his family in your prayers as they look to find potential housing, officially decide, and maybe even move to Texas in the next couple weeks.

Also this past week our Children’s Ministry Director, Cassy, was given the opportunity to evaluate her various callings in life when she was offered a full-time management position at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. After a long week of many conversations and prayers, she has chosen not to accept that position so that she can continue serving part-time here at VotL while also working part-time at the hospital for now.

We are thankful to God for giving Cassy the opportunity to evaluate her callings in life and for leading her to decide to continue serving at VotL. I know I speak for everyone in saying how thankful we are to have Cassy on our staff and how highly we value all that she does. Our Bible Quest program is second to none and growing. Please keep Cassy and the rest of the Bible Quest team in your prayers and maybe even consider what opportunities God is giving you to volunteer to help them as the program continues to grow.

I can’t wait to see what opportunities God is going to keep giving our congregation as we move forward in faith to carry out our mission of sharing Christ’s victory with today’s people.

Series Wrap-Up

2011-02-28T12:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we wrapped up our series “The Me I Want to Be.” I want to encourage you to take the time and listen to the sermon podcast if you missed any of the sermons in this February series that I got to preach over the last couple weeks. They definitely build on each other and I think we’d all benefit to even go back and just listen to them in sequence, maybe by downloading them and listening to them on your way to work, or while running on the treadmill, or while you’re folding laundry in the living room. Remember that you can do this a couple different ways—either by going to our website www.victoryofthelamb.com or by searching for our podcast on iTunes.

In the book of James, he says that we should be “doers of the Word” and not just “hearers of the Word.” Sometimes I think it takes a second time through the content to really get it and then start to apply it. Otherwise James says that we’ll become like a person “who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:24).

I think it’s always easy to hear a sermon and think, “Amen! Right on brother!” but then you only think about other people who you think need to hear it and what those other people should start doing after they hear it. But kind of the whole point of Jesus’ sermon on the mount is that he’s talking to you and me as individuals and how we can become the people God wants us to be. Not them. Me. Starting from the inside out.

I know I was personally challenged by Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 and I’m sure you were too. I think this is one of those sermon series that in preparing for it, praying about it, struggling through it at times, God was shaping me to be that “Me I Want to Be.” I can attest that they were some of the hardest sermons I ever had to write just because Jesus’ words are so penetrating and his critique of “religion” so devastating.

Incidentally one of the things that also struck me just in planning the worship services for this series is how few contemporary songs there are that even come close to teaching any of the topics Jesus deals with in Matthew 5. That’s why in order to teach all of God’s words without compromise it’s important not just to sing what is popular or makes me feel good, but what is important and true—even when that truth is tough for me to swallow sometimes. Truly that’s also part of becoming “The Me I Want to Be” too. I was reminded of that in reading one of today’s Bible lessons in the passage that said: “Whatever is true...think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Keep It Real...Repentant

2011-02-18T11:07:00.000-06:00

I’m constantly dreaming about how our church can impact our community with the good news of Christ. How can we be a church that engages people who are far from God so that they can see the love of God in us and hopefully even hear about the love of God from us?

Well a lot people would say that churches today need to be more relevant—especially to reach unchurched young adults. But how do you or I become “relevant”? How do you make a church “relevant”? Is trying to be “relevant” even a good idea?

Some people think that in order to become relevant you need to give Christianity an image makeover by altering the Bible’s message so that it’s more popular or provocative. Others think that in order to become relevant you need to make Christianity more cutting edge and technologically cool. As the thinking goes…if you want to reach unchurched people, especially the growing numbers of young people under the age of 30 who are unchurched, you need to be “relevant.”

But what really makes church relevant to a young adult? Listen to what 27 year old author Brett McCracken says about this. His words really ought to make us think:

"I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don’t want cool as much as we want real. If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it’s easy or trendy or popular. It’s because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It’s because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex drenched—and we want an alternative. It’s not because we want more of the same." (link to article)

What this is saying to me is that being relevant isn’t about carefully crafting a culturally cool image. Being relevant comes down to being real about ourselves, about Jesus and his word. And isn’t that naturally happens as we take Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 to heart? Jesus’ devastating words of law that we've been hearing the last couple of weeks especially force us to admit that we aren’t perfect…but they also free us to admit we aren’t perfect.

If the world we live is narcissistic and phony, the Church of all places then ought to be a place where people can be real. The Church of all places then ought to be a place where anybody can come as they are, find a group of people who are transparent and honest about their sins, and listen to the voice of their Savior who says, “I am the way, the truth, and life” (John 14:6).

In that way, being “relevant” really isn’t much different than being “repentant”—a call to each one of us an individual members of the Church to turn daily from our own righteousness to Christ and his righteousness just as Christ once preached, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

White As Snow

2011-02-02T10:26:00.000-06:00

Today is a “weather holiday.” At least so says the Mayor of Milwaukee. And I don’t know about you but so far I’ve been spending my “weather holiday” staring out the window at the snow drifting up to a couple feet all around our house. I’m about to get bundled up to go fire up the snow blower. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this much snow! One friend’s status update said, “Went out with 4 children helping with shoveling duty. Came back with only 3.”

Now I know not everyone likes snow. I’m not the biggest fan personally. But there’s something cool about it when it’s a pristine, white blanket that covers everything. Actually the Bible uses that as a picture for the grace of God who forgives our sins for Jesus’ sake. Just like a blanket of white snow covers the landscape so that it looks pure and white and fresh, so God’s grace covers over all our sins—no matter how dirty or shameful they might be. God once said it like this: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18). That is the joy of trusting in Jesus. He makes us pure and clean in God’s sight. He has covered over our sins with his righteousness like a blanket of fresh snow.

I just wanted to share that today as I’m sure many of you will be spending lots of time and energy shoveling snow.

We’re starting a new sermon series this coming Sunday, February 6th, and I want to invite you to join us as we learn more about the forgiving, transforming love of Jesus.

Worship – Sundays at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema, located just west of Hwy 100 on Loomis Road at 8910 S 102nd St. Come a little early, grab a cup of coffee, and a breakfast bite to eat at the Victory Café in the lobby. Come this Sunday for the start of our new sermon series “The Me I Want to Be – Version 2.0”.

Bible Quest (kids age 1-5th grade) – Also Sundays at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema. Bible Quest is our safe, fun Sunday morning kids’ ministry which takes place during our Sunday morning service. For more information about Bible Quest please contact our Children’s Ministry Director, Cassy Robbert

Quest (teen group) – Meets every third Sunday of the month at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema. Quest is our Sunday morning teen group that aims to help teens understand God’s place in their lives. Contact group leader Jon Brown-Schmidt for more info.

Mute Musings

2011-01-20T21:03:00.000-06:00

As I’m typing this, I can’t talk above a whisper. Literally. I have laryngitis. Since last Sunday night my voice has been missing in action, which, as a pastor...is a little disconcerting!

I was amazed to hear though that it happens frequently to almost a lot of pastors. At Pastors’ Conference on Monday we joked about how it’s God’s way of making you a better listener. But it reminded me of something. When you were a kid did you ever play a silly game where you asked a question like, “If you had to choose, which ability would you rather lose…seeing, hearing, smelling, talking...those sort of things?” It’s kind of the opposite of the question, “If you could have any super power what would it be?”

As I sit muted this week, I've found myself musing about these types of things and it got me to thinking, “Would other people be happy if I couldn’t talk to them again?” Now I know you’re thinking that’s a ridiculous question. You’re here to listen to me talk every week so you must have at least a general sense that what I say is beneficial to you...I hope!

But take me away from church. Would my neighbors be happy if I couldn’t talk to them again? Would my coworkers like Pastor Andy and Cassy be happy if I couldn’t talk to them again? How about my wife? Have you ever asked those questions honestly about yourself? “Would other people be happy if I couldn’t talk to them again?”

It was kind of funny. Wednesday this past week was Sarah’s birthday and I had planned for a month to take her out for a night on the town. So I still did. But I couldn’t really talk. I just had to look her in the eyes, smile, listen, nod. Ironically…probably just the things that make her feel closest to me!

You know Bible has a lot to say about what we say when we open our mouths. It really has everything to do with whether we use our words to build people up or tear people down. Listen to these words from Ephesians 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

In other words when we open our mouths to talk, God wants us to ask, “Is this going to build this person up and thus benefit this person…or is this going to tear them down and destroy this person?” If this all just came naturally, we wouldn’t need God to tell us in his Word…and sometimes a few days without a voice can be a good opportunity to think about such things.

So, that said (or rather...typed!), hopefully I get my voice back soon and I get back to building people up. But I also look forward to listening next Sunday to Pastor Andy preach as he wraps up our current sermon series, “Experience the Power of the Light.”

Have a great week in the Lord!

Pastor Ben

Everybody Invites Somebody

2011-01-10T16:45:00.000-06:00

This week I’m wrapping up our Ministry Plan for 2011—June 2012. Part of working through a Ministry Plan is reviewing what God has accomplished through us during the previous year. You’ll get to hear about that and see how God has blessed us. One of the things that blew me away was how for the 2nd consecutive year since we’ve moved to Showtime Cinema, our congregation grew by another 33%! Why is that? I’m sure different people can point to various reasons. Let me just give you 2 quick ones that come to my mind:

1) The power of the Holy Spirit working through the gospel message--the good news that Jesus won for us the victory over sin and death. I mean, this is the best news of all time!
2) We are a congregation of inviters!

We invite people because we're excited about our church's mission and our message. We say, “Come and see!” But I think we can do it more. I think I can do it more. I think everybody can invite somebody. I think we haven’t even begun to see what God can do through us if we all take it up just one notch this year when it comes to personal invitations. I can't wait to see what God has in store this year as he continues to change peoples' lives through the message of Christ's victory.

A personal invitation is how a man named Nathaniel met Jesus in the Bible after all. John 1:45-46 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote-- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip.

So if you're reading this and you've been wondering, "Hmm, should I check out that church?"...please do. Just come and see for yourself why we're so excited about our Savior.

Christmas Eve Service

2010-12-23T14:31:00.000-06:00

Twas the Night Before Christmas…

We are having a special Victory of the Lamb Christmas Eve service this week on Friday, December 24th, at 6 pm. However since Christmas Eve is one of Showtime Cinema’s busiest days of the year, we aren’t able to meet at Showtime.

Instead we are meeting in nearby Muskego in the brand new school gym of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School.

If you don’t have other plans, we’d love to see you on Christmas Eve to celebrate with us the birth of our Savior. This is a Christmas Eve service for the whole family!

Here are the details: Christmas Eve, 6 pm, in the new gym at St. Paul’s in Muskego. St. Paul’s is located at S66 W14325 Janesville Rd. The gym is located on the school campus which is separate from and south of the church building.

Since St. Paul’s has a Christmas Eve service starting at 6:30 pm we can help them by parking as many of our vehicles as possible behind their new gym back by the school playground. Once we fill up that area then we can make use of the parking spaces in front closest to the school.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

In Christ,

Pastor Ben

Brothers and Sisters in Christ

2010-12-18T15:00:00.000-06:00

What makes Christmas special? Of course the #1 thing is Christ himself, without whom this year’s Christmas celebration would have no lasting effects beyond the scraps of wrapping paper scattered around the tree and the leftover cookie crumbs on the kitchen floor. But Christ is the gift that keeps on giving. His flawless life and perfect sacrifice cover over all our sins and he will one day give us the gift of eternal life in heaven! Those are priceless gifts that truly last…a lot longer than the batteries in one of those singing Hallmark Christmas cards. Christ makes Christmas special.

But for many people, Christmas is also special because it’s a time to gather with family. That’s a big part of it for me. I’m so thankful for my family. This Monday and Tuesday I’ll be spending time with my family—including also my parents and my sister and her husband for our “Kuerth family Christmas” (Since my brother-in-law is also a pastor it just doesn’t work to have Christmas on Christmas for us!).

Yet one thing I’m learning every year is that sin stains even the best families. You know what I mean. Because of sin, holidays for some people can be downright nasty. Some families look forward to seeing each other only to end up disappointed. Some families don’t look forward to seeing each other because conflict and drama is inevitable. Instead of family joy, they find jealousy. Instead of Christmas cheer, they find contentious arguments. How sad that sin robs families of the joy of being together!

You may not even notice it anymore, but when I greet people before worship here at Victory of the Lamb, I usually say, “Since we come together as a church family…” Like most families, we’ve got people with different personalities, different political views, different problems, different sins. And so I suppose someone might reasonably wonder, “If I have to put up with that in my own family, why would I do that also in a church family?”

But there’s a difference. As a church family we recognize how we’ve all fallen short of God’s glory. Me too. We recognize how Christ alone makes us whole. And despite our differences, through baptism we’ve all been claimed by God as his dear children. Though by nature we were all once enemies of God, now by God’s grace we are brothers and sisters in Christ! As Christ loved us, we now get to love each other, encourage each other, and help each other grow closer to Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, may Jesus Christ bless you and our church family with true joy and peace this Christmas week.

In Christ,
Pastor Ben

Blizzard Schmizzard

2010-12-13T17:02:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends,

Who gets up to go to church in a blizzard? A lot more people than I thought possible! Now I should’ve known. There was one day back at the Polonia Soccer Club when we didn’t have any heat in the building and it was 16 degrees in there…and still people stayed for worship. We had blankets that we brought from our house. It was crazy…and awesome!

But I’ll admit…I might have been wondering if we had gone a bit soft since our chairs aren’t the cold steel chairs of Polonia anymore, but instead are the comfy movie theater chairs of Showtime Cinema. But whatever doubts I may have had about our “mission toughness” before yesterday, I don’t have them anymore. We had a great turnout at church yesterday!

Granted we didn’t have a whole lot of snow, but it was pretty awful out there nevertheless. Yet standing outside and greeting people before worship…I honestly wasn’t all that cold. And here’s why. First of all I had some good company. Second was that I just kept seeing so many people show up, bundled up, making the effort to be there. Cars seats wrapped in Buzz Lightyear blankets…awesome! It’s like one guy once told me… “Today I just would not be denied the Word of God!” I think we’ve got something really special going on at Victory of the Lamb when people want to come to church in a blizzard. Just so you know…you all are also invited to worship with us and check things out for yourself on a nice day outside too :)

A couple things to put on your radar:

Christmas Eve – We will be having a special Christmas Eve service this year on Friday, December 24th, at 6 pm. However since Christmas Eve is one of Showtime Cinema’s busiest days of the year, we aren’t able to meet at Showtime. After all, nothing says Christmas Eve like going to a movie (Just kidding). The only other real option for us then was to work out something at an area church, but we knew that would be difficult since every other church also has Christmas Eve services. However, St. Paul’s Lutheran in nearby Muskego has graciously given us permission to use their brand new gym and Trinity Café for our own Victory of the Lamb led worship service involving our Bible Quest kids and our worship team. I’ll be giving a Christmas message. So if you don’t have other plans, we’d love to see you on Christmas Eve. Here are the details: Christmas Eve, 6 pm, in the new gym at St. Paul’s in Muskego. St. Paul’s church is located at S66 W14325 Janesville Rd., but you can park as close to the school as possible since St. Paul’s will be having their own Christmas Eve services going on in their church building.

Worship – Sundays at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema, located just west of Hwy 100 on Loomis Road at 8910 S 102nd St. Come a little early, grab a cup of coffee, and a breakfast bite to eat at the Victory Café in the lobby. Come this Sunday for the start of our new sermon series “God’s Love—Unstoppable!” and hear Pastor Andy, our new assistant pastor, preach his first sermon at VotL.

Bible Quest (kids 1-10) – Also Sundays at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema. Bible Quest is our safe, fun Sunday morning kids’ ministry which takes place during our Sunday morning service. For more information about Bible Quest please contact our Children’s Ministry Director, Cassy Robbert

Quest (teen group) – Meets every third Sunday of the month at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema. Quest is our Sunday morning teen group that aims to help teens understand God’s place in their lives. Contact group leader Jon Brown-Schmidt for more info.

In Christ,

Pastor Ben

Blizzard Warning

2010-12-11T16:32:00.000-06:00

A couple people have called to ask if we're having worship tomorrow because of the blizzard warning overnight. The answer is YES! We are having worship...for whoever shows up. I'll be the guy out front with a shovel in my hand. Good night and God bless. Pastor Ben

Join Us for a Special Sunday!

2010-11-10T15:56:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends,

No one should walk through life alone. That’s why this Sunday is a going to be a special day at Victory of the Lamb. At our regular 9:30 service at Showtime Cinema we’re going to be installing our new part-time pastor, Andy Glende, and we want to invite you to be there for it. We’ve called Pastor Andy and given him the responsibility to help make sure that in our church family “no one walks alone.”

You see, God has been really good to Victory of the Lamb over the past couple of years. By the grace of God I’ve seen us grow from a small group of less than 10 people to a community of over 150 people from all different backgrounds. By the grace of God many of these people are people who didn’t grow up going to church, weren’t Christians, or haven’t been connected to a church in a long time. That’s amazing! I’m talking about people who’ve now been baptized, people who’ve been confirmed after going through Bible 101-301 classes wherever we could meet, people who I first met going door to door or at one of our community events like Hallepalooza!, Soccer Bible Camp, or Christmas for Kids.

And now together we’re learning more about Jesus each week and how we can continue to share His victory with our community. Our Sunday morning Bible Quest kids’ ministry is thriving. Our new Quest teen group has gotten off to a great start. And even as I type this out, there are some awesome “victory stories” going on in some of your lives and so I’m pumped to get to play an ongoing part in them!

So as a church we praise God for all these blessings! Yet at the same time we recognize that we’re at a bit of a crossroads. We’re at that point where it could be all too easy for us to become comfortable and complacent. Like every church we also face the trap of becoming inwardly focused on what we want instead of outwardly focused on what others need—the gospel. Like every church we face the danger of losing our love for the people in our community who don’t know Christ.

But we’re not going to let that happen! And that’s why we’re so excited about bringing Pastor Andy on board. Our people are important. Pastor Andy is going to do all that he can in 25 hours a week to get our people connected not only to God’s Word but also to each other because God doesn’t want anyone to walk alone. And so we want to help everyone get connected and grow in their faith so that even as our church keeps growing bigger, it’ll stay feeling small. And that’s what Pastor Andy’s going to do as he gathers small groups in their living rooms, around their kitchen tables, and in other places around town where we can meet and grow together.

Then also I’m going to stay focused on furthering the outreach mission of our church, teaching Bible 101-301 classes, preaching, worship planning, and helping new people meet Jesus by taking the time meet them where they are.

In one of my favorite books in the Bible, the New Testament book of Acts, we get a glimpse of how the first Christians practically lived their faith. They met regularly in public and in people’s homes. They were devoted to God’s Word. They enjoyed meals together and prayed. They showed their love for each other in practical, concrete ways. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). And that’s finally what we’re all about at Victory of the Lamb!

So you are invited! Join us this Sunday morning at 9:30 am at Showtime Cinema here in Franklin. Come early to enjoy some free coffee and treats in the lobby and to register your kids ages 1-10 for Bible Quest. We’d love to see you there!

In Jesus,

Pastor Ben

You are Invited

2010-10-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. Well that certainly sounds like something that would describe a windy day like today here in Wisconsin, doesn’t it? It’s like the wind out there has a mind of its own.

But these are actually words of Jesus that he once spoke to describe the work of God. Just like I can’t control the wind or tell it how many mph it should blow, so I can’t control how God works or completely figure out how. And yet I know God’s at work in people’s lives the same way that I know the wind is at work outside my house. I can see and hear the results.

And for good reason. The Bible tells us that through simple things like words in the Bible or words spoken by a pastor or a friend…God is at work! Through simple words that are connected to water in Baptism and words connected to wafers and wine in Communion…God is at work! He’s working to give people hope. He’s working to give people joy. He’s working to forgive and to transform!

I think one of the coolest things in the world for me in being part of a church is seeing God’s work in real people’s lives that are changed forever through faith in Jesus. That’s what we’re all about at Victory of the Lamb. What I should really say is that’s what God is all about at Victory of the Lamb.

God is at work. Starting this coming Sunday, October 31st, I invite all of you to join us for our new sermon series called Finally Free! In this series we’re going to let God work through his words to give us a clear picture of how he can set us free from guilt, from condemnation, from sadness, and from worry.

So come alone. Come with your family. Come with a friend. But just come. Come this Sunday. Hear God’s words and let God work in you…because it’s not about what you have to do. It’s about what he wants to do for you.

Worship – Sundays at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema, located just west of Hwy 100 on Loomis Road at 8910 S 102nd St. Come a little early, grab a cup of coffee, and breakfast bite to eat at the Victory Café in the lobby.

Bible Quest (kids 1-10) – Also Sundays at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema. Bible Quest is our safe, fun Sunday morning kids’ ministry which takes place during our Sunday morning service. For more information about Bible Quest please contact our Children’s Ministry Director, Cassy Robbert, at crobbert@live.com / 414-899-4984. Also check out our BQ Facebook page for pics: www.facebook.com/BibleQuest

Quest (teen group) – Meets every third Sunday of the month at 9:30 at Showtime Cinema. Quest is our Sunday morning teen group that aims to help teens understand God’s place in their lives. Open to all teens. Check out www.facebook.com/questteens for more info about our group’s free movie event on November 6th that’s open to any and all teens from the area.

Peace in Christ,
Pastor Ben

Worship and Outreach Symposium Papers

2010-09-27T14:44:00.000-05:00

As promised Sunday...here's a link to the 3 papers which were presented and discussed at this year's Symposium at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary which I attended last week. The men who wrote these papers are all especially gifted in that they are not only true scholars, but also pastors who love their people as much as they love the truth of the Gospel.

There's some "deep end of the pool" stuff in these papers...but don't let that scare you off. They were written for pastors to be sure, but there's a treasure trove of information for any and every Christian to consider when it comes to how worship and outreach relate to each other.

I especially appreciated the continued reminder running like a thread through the entire Symposium not to think of myself as a "worship guy" or an "outreach guy" but as a "Gospel man" just as the Apostle Paul certainly did when he wrote Romans 1:16: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."

Whether it's worship, or outreach, or the struggles of my own heart...it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ, revealed and given through Word and Sacrament, that is both the message and the means to bring true and lasting peace.

Check out this link and scroll down to download the papers.

SuccessFULL Fall Kickoff

2010-09-10T15:40:00.000-05:00

How many of you get up in the morning and think, “Today I want to be a failure”? Probably none of you…because we’re all wired to want to succeed. Success is important to people. But the question is, What really makes a person successful? Or, How do you measure success?

It seems at first like an easy question. For example, if you’re the Green Bay Packers, it’s simple. It starts Sunday. Win. That’s the measuring stick. Some people are saying Super Bowl or bust this year. Fans define success based on accomplishments, trophies, wins and losses.

Well this Sunday we’re starting a new sermon series where we’re going to see that thankfully God has a different way of defining success for our lives as followers of Christ. The question “How does God measure success?” is what we’re going to be pursuing the next 4 weeks in this new series: God Wants SuccessFULL Christians.

What does it mean to be successFULL? Come find out by joining us any Sunday, September 12-October 3 at Showtime Cinema at 9:30.

If it’s been a while, this would be a great time to come back to church after the summer.

If you’re new this would be a great series for you to come and check things out.

If you’d like, come early to grab a coffee and a bite to eat and to register your kids ages 1-10 for Bible Quest: our safe, fun kids’ ministry that takes place during the 9:30 worship service.

I would love to see you this Sunday for our new series to kickoff this Fall.

Summer Wrap-Up

2010-08-09T16:39:00.000-05:00

The calm after the soccer camp…that’s how it feels right now for a little bit at least! So I just wanted to take a few moments to reflect on what a great week it was last week. God gave us a couple really great days of sunny (and muggy!) August weather…so that 65 kids, 12 coaches, and a host of helpers could enjoy a week of playing soccer, meeting new friends, and learning about Jesus. I mean, how can you beat that? Thank you to all the coaches and everyone who contributed to this summer’s camp!

I really appreciated also getting to talk to a lot of you parents at the cookout on Thursday evening. It means a lot for me to be able to hear how much your kids enjoyed the camp, to hear how they’ve been singing the songs, and to have an opportunity to invite your families to come to learn more about Jesus at our church.

I’m just being totally honest with you when I say it’s really our joy to do this camp and to share God’s love with kids despite all the work it takes. I also enjoy answering the question, “So where’s your church?” Yep, it’s at the movie theater across the street from the soccer club. I know that always strikes some people as kind of strange at first…but hey, the church is about people and a building of any kind is just a tool to help us connect more people to Christ.

God so loved the world was our soccer camp theme this year. We’d love to help you discover more about what that means. You all are invited to worship with us any Sunday at Showtime Cinema here in Franklin at 9:30 am.

We also have a fun and engaging kids’ ministry called Bible Quest that takes place every Sunday during the worship service. Just bring your kids in a little before 9:30 to register them on your way into worship.

You can check out pics from this year’s soccer camp on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/victoryofthelamb

You can also find more info about our church and listen to sermon podcasts from any of our sermon series on our website: http://www.victoryofthelamb.com/

In Christ,

Pastor Ben

Summer Events

2010-07-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Summer!

I know I don’t have to tell that to anyone who participated in the 4th of July parade on Sunday! It was 90 degrees and sunny as our church float rolled down Loomis Rd with our band playing on it for over an hour. And then there were the 35 of you who walked alongside the float handing out candy and invitations to our community. A huge thank you to all of you! Some of the kids especially were just unbelievable at handing out stuff.

All in all, with our postcard mailings included, over the last two weeks we’ve been able to distribute 15,000 invitations to each of our summer events!

First off we’ve got Hallepalooza! coming up this Friday, July 9th, from 5-8 pm at Lions Legend Park in Franklin. In case you’re wondering, you are invited! This is our party in the park with live music, free food, kids’ events, karaoke, horseshoes, and door prizes donated by local business. Come whenever you can after work. Food will be served from 5:30-7. I’ll be leading a devotion from God’s Word at 7:00 and door prize giveaways will be after that.

Second, we’re hosting our 4th annual Soccer Bible Camp the first week in August. The dates are Monday – Thursday, August 2nd -5th from 1-4:30 pm each day. It’s a coed camp for kids ages 5-12. All campers will receive a water-bottle and camp T-shirt. Our theme this World Cup year is “God So Loved the World.” Please register at our website by July 18th.

Sunday Sermon Q and A

2010-06-14T17:40:00.000-05:00

Twice a month, I regularly invite people at worship to text me whatever questions they have on my sermon. We then have a Q and A time during the service when I do my best to answer some of those questions. I want people to know that it’s ok to have questions and it’s good to talk about them. We’re a church that wants to honestly deal with them because, honestly, we’ve all got questions.

Well this week during the sermon…I thought it might be helpful to invite you to text or email me your questions and I could try and answer them here on my blog throughout the week.

As it turns out, either my sermon was insightfully clear or incredibly confusing (you be the judge!) because I haven’t gotten any questions to answer yet.

Well…actually it’s not that I haven’t gotten any responses or questions regarding my sermon. In fact, I’ve had more questions and responses about this sermon (actually this sermon series so far) than I’ve ever had.

And I thank God that because of Sunday’s sermon there are some hurting people now reaching out for God’s help to forgive and move forward in their lives. I am awed sometimes at the power of God’s Word to open people’s hearts, lead people to admit their struggles and the effects of sin in their lives, and to seek God’s forgiveness and strength in Christ. That I know is all the Spirit’s work.
However, because of the deeply personal nature of some of these situations for people, the questions that I did get, while really good questions, aren’t ones I can address in a blog. They are questions that require context and conversations over time.

What I can tell you though is that I think it’s awesome that through our church, real people, hurting people, are repenting of sin and finding real hope in Christ!

But if you have a question or a situation that you’re struggling with…and it's something you’re comfortable with me addressing anonymously here on this blog…please still feel free to let me know….and check back later in the week and if I have time, I’ll try and address it.

In Christ,
Pastor Ben

New Bible 101 starting

2010-06-07T16:46:00.000-05:00

Got questions?

“Don’t all religious paths lead to the same place?”

“Isn’t the Bible just a bunch of myths people made up?”

“God loves me as long as I’m trying to be a good person, right?”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere, right?”

“Isn’t your church just full of hypocrites like the rest?”

These are just a handful of questions people have asked in taking Bible 101. I believe everyone should have an opportunity to openly and honestly discuss spiritual questions like these. We’ve all got them. And that’s what Bible 101 is all about.

Basically Bible 101 is your opportunity to learn about the Bible and ask whatever questions are on your mind. You don’t have to be a member of our church. You don’t have to go to our church. You don’t even have to have ever met me before.

As for me…I have no hidden agenda. I just love to help people like you see what the Bible actually says so that you can make up your own mind about it on the basis of at least knowing what it says.

There are two options for you to attend Bible 101: Saturday afternoons or Tuesday evenings starting this Saturday, June 12th from 1:00-2:30 pm and also Tuesday, June 15th, from 6:30-8:00 pm.

We’ll work through the same lesson on the Saturdays as on the following Tuesdays. You can mix and match the days you can attend—whether Saturday afternoons or Tuesday evenings.

The Saturday afternoon classes will be held at Innovative Health and Fitness in their community room. Innovative Health and Fitness is located across from Showtime Cinema at 8800 South 102nd Street in Franklin.

The Tuesday evening classes will be held at CESI (Competitive Edge Software, Inc.) which is located at 9850 S 54th St in the Franklin Business District. Bible 101 is 4 lessons/4 weeks long. All materials are free! If you want in, please send me an email by this Friday at benkuerth@gmail.com so I can plan on you being there.

If you aren’t able to take Bible 101 this time around but know you want to in the future, please let me know that as well and I’ll make sure I keep you in the loop about future classes.

God's Pastor Plan

2010-05-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

If you've been coming to Victory of the Lamb or following what's going on, you know that for the last couple of months we've been planning and praying about calling a second pastor from this year's graduating class of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. We've been growing and we want to keep reaching more people while also helping the people we have reached to keep growing in their faith.

So we had a plan that we were pretty exicted about to call a part-time pastor for two years in the hope that we'd be able to support him full-time after that. I was really excited about our plan so that I could stay focused on outreach and preaching while the new pastor would focus on discipleship and developing Bible studies.

Well as it turns out, God in his wisdom saw fit not to have another pastor assigned to us this year. Basically there were more full-time pastor positions avaiable than anybody expected a few weeks ago. Those full-time situations were mostly filled first. Then when it came time for our pastor position to be discussed, the assignment committee just didn't feel that there was the right fit for our ministry situation.

So what's my reaction...after all our planning? Honestly...I told my District President that my gut-level reaction was that I'm thrilled so many of the Seminary's graduates received full-time pastor calls. I told him that I'm a Kingdom guy...and by that I mean that for me it's not just about building our church (with a lowercase "c") here in Franklin. I'm thrilled when God works to build his Church (with a capital "C") around the world...and I know that God's working to call people to faith in Jesus through the gospel in more places than our backyard.

God has so amazingly blessed Victory of the Lamb. He's enabled our church to grow. He's opened the door for us to worhsip in an amazing facility. He's helped us have the vision to stay focused on reaching unchurched people. He's convinced us that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all important. Absolutely I believe that God's going to bless us with whatever gifts we need to keep sharing the gospel.

So maybe the timing wasn't right even though we though it was. Maybe God wants me to spend more time develping leaders from within our church. Maybe God's got something even better in store. That's usually the case. Because our God is "the giver of every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17), I truly believe that sometimes God takes a good idea like ours and says, "Now that's pretty good...but instead here's the perfect gift...the one that you really need." That's what's fun about following where God leads and I know he'll help us to figure out what gift he's going to give us instead.

Building the Church...One Person at a Time

2010-05-17T16:52:00.000-05:00

I just got asked this question again today at the doctor’s office: “When are you going to build a church?” Maybe you’ve wondered this question yourself. And I understand. A lot of people grew up associating church with a specific building. Church was a destination. It was a landmark. It was there before they were.

“When are you going to build a church?” It’s a fair question. So I said what I always say in response to it:

“We are building a church. But the church isn’t about a building. It’s about people. So the mission of our church isn’t to build a church building. For us it’s about loving people where they’re at and helping them learn about what Jesus has done for them. And if God keeps blessing his word that we share and we need to build a church building to keep reaching more people who don’t know Jesus, then God will help us do that too.”

And so we’ve actually begun the process of trying to figure out when and where and how we can build a church building here in Franklin. But that’s not going to change our mission.

We are here to share Christ’s victory with today’s people, loving them enough to meet them where they are. And God has been so good to us as we try to stay focused on that mission. We’ve been worshiping at Showtime Cinema now for one whole year. During this time our church membership has doubled. Our Sunday morning kids’ ministry, Bible Quest, regularly has 30-40 kids in it.

I love our church. And I believe that what the New Testament says is also true about the people in our church—that “in Christ you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). This means we don’t just go to church. We are the church!

So let me just share some more exciting news about our church. This week Thursday, God-willing, our church will we get a second pastor to complement me and we’ll learn who he is. I am really pumped about this. After a couple months of planning and prayer we’ve been able to request a graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

I’ll be the lead pastor who’ll focus on outreach, preaching, worship, and leadership. Our second pastor will primarily be a discipleship pastor. His main roles at first will be to teach a weekly Bible study, to get to know our people and help them find a plan for individual and family spiritual growth, and to develop and oversee a plan to connect people in small groups gathered around God’s Word on a regular basis.

So I’ll be attending the Call service at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary this Thursday morning at 10 am. If you’re interested you can also follow along via a live video feed by going to this link.

Sunday Morning Worship: We worship every Sunday at 9:30 am at Showtime Cinema movie theater in Franklin. Everyone is invited! Kids welcome. Come early for treats and coffee. For directions and more information visit our website.

Bible Quest: is our awesome ministry for kids ages 2-10 which takes place during the regular Sunday morning worship service. It is completely free. There is a safe and secure check-in process. Just bring your children a little early to register them with Cassy, our Children’s Ministry Director.

Soccer Bible Camp for kids ages 5-12 is going to be Monday August 2nd – Thursday August 5th from 1-4 pm. Online Registration soon.

Hallepalooza! is our church picnic / concert at Lion’s Legend Park in Franklin. It is going to be held Friday afternoon/evening July 9th.

Come for Easter

2010-03-31T12:09:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. I’m guessing that some of you stumbled upon our website because you got an Easter postcard or some other invitation to come to church with us this Sunday. If you’re thinking, “Yep, that’s me”…I just want to say that we mean it. We’d absolutely love to have to join you us this Sunday at Showtime Cinema at 9:30. Whether you’re looking for a church, maybe looking to give church one last shot, or just on a spiritual journey looking for something but you’re not sure what…come check us out this Sunday. There’ll be a lot of people just like you coming for all sorts of reasons. And we’ll do our best to help you see the biggest reason of all – our Savior, Jesus Christ. He’s the real deal and you can find your strength in him. So please check out our website. Hopefully it gives you the impression that Victory of the Lamb is a place where you can come as you are and learn about God with us in person.

You ever wondered, “What does the goods news of Jesus have to do with a Facebook news feed?” Probably not!…but that's what you'll find out if you come to Victory of the Lamb and worship with us this Sunday on Easter. Feed good news to your news feed! I hope to see you Sunday. – Pastor Ben

Church League Champs

2010-03-08T15:43:00.000-06:00

After winning a nail biter over Star of Bethlehem in New Berlin last night, we brought home our first men's basketball church league championship trophy. Look for it this week at the Victory Cafe. Just be careful not to smear it with frosting.

If you're looking for some March Madness, feel free to come cheer us on in the State tournament this Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we play at 12:15 at Star of Bethlehem in New Berlin. Then we'll play Sunday either at 5:15 or 6:30 pm at Concordia University in Mequon.

Citizens of Heaven

2010-03-02T17:29:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends,

Did you watch the Winter Olympics? My favorite Winter Olympics sport has long been speed skating…even though I’ve never even so much as worn a pair of ice skates. It doesn’t really count that when I was a kid watching the Winter Olympics I would skate around my parents’ house in my footie pajamas. Still…speed skating has always captured my imagination.

I suppose that’s one of the reasons why I’ve enjoyed watching Apolo Ohno so much. I mean certainly short track speed skating is exciting all by itself, but Apolo has such a flair for the dramatic. So often he’s snagged a medal when it’s seemed likely that he’d finish out of the top three.

And then…whether it’s gold, silver, or bronze…he flashes his big smile and skates around wearing the American flag. He’s certainly proud to represent his country as a citizen competing in the Olympics.

All this got me thinking about how the Bible says that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). What an amazing statement! We are citizens of heaven through faith in Jesus. Why shouldn’t we be pumped up about that? I think of Apolo Ohno wearing the American flag, proud to represent his country.

In a sense that’s the privilege God has given each of us…except it’s God we get to represent. We happily carry his flag because he’s given us citizenship in heaven. Heaven is our real home…and that, not because of our own performance, but because of His grace to us through Jesus.

That means one day when you die, you don’t have to look at that as a scary thing, but kind of like the medal ceremony at the Olympics…where Jesus will put around your neck the gold medal of victory—eternal life in heaven.

If you’re feeling bold, say out loud, “I’m a citizen of heaven. My Jesus loves me. I get to go to heaven, because He won the victory.”

If life on earth has started to pull you down, I want to invite you to worship with us at Victory of the Lamb where you’ll more about the victory of your Savior.

Sunday Morning Worship: We worship every Sunday at 9:30 am at Showtime Cinema movie theater in Franklin. Everyone is invited! Kids welcome. Come early for treats and coffee. For directions and more information visit our website: http://www.victoryofthelamb.com/

Bible Quest: is our Sunday morning children’s ministry for kids ages 2-10 which takes place during the regular Sunday morning worship service. It is completely free. There is a safe and secure check-in process. Just bring your children a little early to register them with Cassy, our Children’s Ministry Director.

Easter for Kids: This free one day event for kids will teach the real story of Jesus Christ's resurrection in a lively and fun way. Kids will experience the resurrection as never before...through a musical telling of the story, crafts, and games - all in a safe, familiar environment at the Franklin Public Library. We look forward to seeing you there! Pre-register your kids ages 3-10 by clicking on the registration link on this page: http://www.victoryofthelamb.com/EasterForKids.ashx

Dead Sea Scrolls Presentation: More info to come...but on Thursday evening, April 8th, Professor Mark Braun from Wisconsin Lutheran College will be giving us a presentation on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Milwaukee Public Museum currently has a special Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit through this June. Our presentation will be open to all of you, free of charge, and will help you understand what you’ll see at the Museum. We hope you can also use this as an opportunity to invite unchurched friends or neighbors to attend. More details to come in the coming weeks.

In Christ,

Pastor Ben

Haiti Relief

2010-02-04T13:49:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends,

It’s been 3 weeks now since the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. It’s been over a week since the Haitian government has officially called off the search for survivors. The Hope for Haiti telethon is over. The headlines on most network news websites have moved on to things like budget deficits and Super Bowl storylines.

Our world has a way of moving along. That can be good. That can be not so good. For the people in Haiti…there’s no doubt that it’s going to be a very long road to recovery. For the homeless, jobless, injured and orphaned…moving along is going to take longer than the headline cycle of network news websites.

Three weeks ago at Victory of the Lamb we were privileged to hear from one of our own members, Becky, who’s gone down to Haiti every March for a number of years. She’s been going there with a team of surgeons, doctors, and nurses who have volunteered their time and skills to help the people of this 3rd world country with needed surgeries.

Becky and her team have made a lot of contacts in Haiti over the last couple of years. They have friends there. For the last couple of weeks, Becky has been working to scramble a trip together to get down to Haiti and help as soon as possible. This week she is actually getting to go down there, to camp out, and to perform surgeries and other needed medical care. Becky and her team will be on the front lines of providing medical aid. There are plenty of people who still need it.

I guess I just wanted to share all of this with you for a couple of reasons. First, to say thank you to all of you who contributed medical supplies or cash donations to buy supplies for their trip. I was very moved by Becky’s talk after church 3 weeks ago, and I know many of you were too. Particularly her comments made me think…on how she thought God could make good happen out of this catastrophe, maybe allowing a better government to replace the corrupt one that used to make life miserable for all the Haitian people.

Likewise as word got out about Becky’s trip, so many of you called or asked how else you could help. I think our response to help was pretty special. It certainly is evidence of God’s love that fills your hearts. I thank God for your faith put into action. Becky told me yesterday after church, and I know she’d want me to share it with you, “I’ll always be grateful for how everyone has helped.”

But there’s one more thing I’d ask all of you to do to help Becky and her team. And that’s pray for them. Half of the team leaves this Tuesday. Becky and the other half of the team leaves on Sunday. If you don’t know what to pray, feel free to use the following:

“Dear gracious God, we know that every good and perfect gift comes from you. You have given us the gift of your Son and through faith in him have promised us your protection. Please be with Becky and her team as they travel to and through Haiti. Keep them safe. As they camp out, send your angels to camp beside them. Bless their work. Use them for the good of many and to your glory. Work through the disaster in Haiti so that many will seek and find you through your Son, Jesus. Finally, bring Becky and her team safely home to be with us again. We pray this according to your good and gracious will in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Bible 101 class update: I just wanted to share my excitement at having 15 people total in my new Bible 101 class. That’s special to me because it’s the most I’ve ever had in one class. I praise God for the opportunity to dig into the Bible with those people.

It’s also special because there are people in the class who have never even attended a Victory of the Lamb church service. I think that’s pretty cool because Bible 101 class to me is an opportunity for anyone to learn what the Bible says, ask questions, and explore faith without any pressure. I figure...just in general...the Bible’s a pretty important book. It has some important things to say about God, you, me, eternity. It’s made a huge impact on billions of people throughout history. And so it makes sense to me at least that everyone should have an opportunity to learn what the Bible actually says. Just keep that in mind the next time you hear about a Bible 101 class starting. You don’t have to go to Victory of the Lamb or even plan on it to take the class. Just so you know.

Sunday Morning Worship: We worship every Sunday at 9:30 am at Showtime Cinema movie theater in Franklin. Everyone is invited! Kids welcome. Come early for treats and coffee. For directions and more information visit our website: www.victoryofthelamb.com

Bible Quest: is our Sunday morning children’s ministry for kids ages 2-10 which takes place during the regular Sunday morning worship service. It is completely free. There is a safe and secure check-in process. Just bring your children a little early to register them with Cassy, our Children’s Ministry Director.

Adult Bible Fellowship Group: is a Bible study, fellowship, and fun group that meets to discuss the previous Sunday’s sermon and to explore further how the Bible text applies to our everyday lives. We meet this Wednesday from 6:30-8:00 pm at CESI (Competitive Edge Software, Inc.). 9850 S 54th St. Franklin. All members and attenders are invited and encouraged to participate.

In Christ, Pastor Ben

God's Blessings in the New Year (1/4/2010)

2010-02-04T13:48:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! Any of you get a Nintendo Wii for Christmas…along with the new and improved Wii Fit? I haven’t ever used the Wii Fit but I hear it’s quite fun. I’m told a lot of the exercises are designed to increase core strength and balance. Interestingly enough one of the articles in this month’s newsletter from Innovative Health and Fitness talks about balance as being the new central focus of the professional fitness community. I guess Nintendo understands how important balance is for physical fitness too.

But I’d say balance is important for spiritual fitness as well. I think the New Year is a great time for each of us to evaluate how balanced our lives are. I for one think physical exercise is vital. I don’t feel or function well when I’ve gotten out of a regular exercise routine. I’m the same way with sleep. You know what I mean. Balance is important. Sleep, work, diet, exercise…but let’s not stop there.

We need to have balance in our lives so that our faith can grow too. Increasing our spiritual fitness is even more vital than physical fitness. Do we use some of our time to pursue God through Bible study, prayer, and worship in church? Do we use time to help our children learn to know Jesus? Do we use time to help others in need and put our faith into practice by serving? Do we have balance in our lives so that spiritual things get a higher priority than earthly things?

If you’re feeling spiritually out of whack, there’s good news though. God hasn’t given up on you. If you make the time to pursue him, he promises to help you. Psalm 145:18 says, “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” God is our spiritual trainer. Through God’s words of truth in the Bible he promises to be near us and to help us grow in faith.

As you learn more about what he’s done for you through Christ, God says you can expect these results: more love, more joy, more peace, more patience, more kindness, more goodness, more faithfulness, more gentleness, and more self-control. I’d love to help you find spiritual balance in 2010.

So here are some upcoming opportunities for you to prayerfully consider…

New Year, New Bible 101 class: This class is for anyone who wants to learn about God and find honest answers to their spiritual questions. There are two options for you to attend: Tuesday evenings or Saturdays afternoons. This new Bible 101 class starts Saturday, January 23rd from 1:00-2:30 pm and also Tuesday, January 26th, from 6:30-8:00 pm at Innovative Health and Fitness in their community room.

The same lesson will be taught on the Saturdays as the following Tuesdays. For your convenience you have the choice to mix and match the days you can attend—whether Saturday afternoons or Tuesday evenings. Bible 101 is 4 lessons/4 weeks long. Bible 101 is your opportunity to learn about the Bible and ask the spiritual questions that are on your mind.

It is also the first prerequisite to becoming a member of Victory of the Lamb if you’re interested. All materials are provided free of charge. Please let me know if you want to attend so I can have materials for you. Bible 201 will begin the week after Bible 101 for those who want to continue learning more about the Bible.

Sunday Morning Worship: We worship every Sunday at 9:30 am at Showtime Cinema movie theater in Franklin. Everyone is invited! Kids welcome. Come early for free tasty treats and coffee. For directions and more information visit our website: www.victoryofthelamb.com

Bible Quest: is our Sunday morning children’s ministry for kids ages 2-10 which takes place during the regular Sunday morning worship service. It is completely free. There is a safe and secure check-in process. Just bring your children a little early to register them with Cassy, our Children’s Ministry Director.

Adult Bible Fellowship Group: is a Bible study, fellowship, and fun group that meets to discuss the previous Sunday’s sermon and to explore further how the Bible text applies to our everyday lives. The next 4 Wednesday session will begin Wednesday, January 13th, from 6:30-8:00 pm at CESI (Competitive Edge Software, Inc.). 9450 S 54th St. Franklin. All members and attenders are invited and encouraged to participate.

God bless all of you this New Year of His grace!

Pastor Ben

Baptism and Advent (12/1/2009)

2010-02-04T13:47:00.001-06:00

I’m guessing most of you got to celebrate Thanksgiving last week with at least one of the three big “F”s in America: food, family, ...and football. But at Victory of the Lamb this past Sunday we also took the opportunity to thank God for his great faithfulness.

It was a really great day. Over 160 people got to witness God being faithful to his promise in baptism as a mother and her baby boy were both baptized and brought into God’s family. We were reminded of the promise that God has made to each of us who’ve been baptized. “You are mine. Your sins are washed away. You are special. You are loved. I am yours. Even if you have nothing else, if you have me, you have everything.”

It got me thinking Sunday afternoon, “I wonder how many people I know who aren’t baptized?” Because God is faithful to his promises there is awesome comfort in baptism. But I wonder how many people don’t know what baptism is or they see it as something they have to do to please God rather than as a promise that God makes to them.

If you or someone that you care about isn’t baptized, I’d love to talk with you more about what God does for us in baptism. Just let me know. It doesn’t matter why you aren’t baptized. I’m not here to judge anybody for that. But like a mentor of mine used to tell me anytime he was surprised that I hadn’t experienced something (like deer hunting) in life, “Ben, you can’t do it any younger.” That still makes me smile, but it might as well be true for baptism too!

Definitely God’s promises are right at the top of the list when I think of things I’m thankful for. I’m also thankful for all the people God has put into my life. I’m also thankful for all the plans that God has in store for me, my family, and our church family. In church on Sunday we heard God’s prophet, Jeremiah, talk about God’s great faithfulness. The same Jeremiah also wrote, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

I’d like to wrap this up by inviting you to join us and learn more about God’s promises as we start a new worship series Sundays this December at Showtime Cinema called “Relax and Let God Prepare Your Christmas.” You can find out more by visiting our website: www.victoryofthelamb.com

The Lost Sheep (11/09/2009)

2010-02-04T13:46:00.001-06:00

My girls love this story. There’s a shepherd who’s got 100 sheep. One silly sheep though gets itself lost. Sheep are kind of like that. So this shepherd leaves the 99 sheep behind and spends his time and energy searching for that one lost sheep. Why? Because he loves that sheep. It’s not that he doesn’t love the other sheep. He does...very much...and if they ever get lost he’ll go searching for them too. But it’s the lost sheep that desperately needs the shepherd’s time and energy. A shepherd only has so much of both. The reality of the situation is that the shepherd actually has to leave the other sheep behind to find and rescue the lost sheep. This is a story Jesus told about how he as the “Good Shepherd” came to seek and to save people who, like sheep, get themselves lost. He spoke this story to a group of people called the Pharisees who were upset at how Jesus spent his time and who he spent it with.

I think about this story a lot. You can read about it in Luke chapter 15. Many of you know how I apply it to myself and to Victory of the Lamb. Just today I got to talk over lunch with a man who wants to transfer to our church from another one. And as I always do when I meet with someone like that, I asked him if he has any personal agenda in wanting to be a member of Victory of the Lamb. I’m always happy to hear when someone says no—that he/she just wants to grow in God’s Word and be a partner in a church whose crystal clear focus is to share Christ’s victory with today’s people.

I think he might have been a little surprised though when I told him that I do have an agenda. I have an agenda to rescue the lost. My personal agenda is that I want to focus more of my time and energy on the people who don’t know Jesus and who don’t go to Victory of the Lamb than on the people who do. I think Jesus would too. So that’s my “agenda” and, really, the reason Victory of the Lamb exists.

Not every church is like that though. Many people want to be served rather than to serve others. Many people look at church in terms of what they can get out of it for themselves. Many people want to get their own way. I understand. That’s how we are by nature. Selfish. Straying. Lost. Me too. How wonderful that Jesus came to rescue us!

I love the people who go to Victory of the Lamb. And I love our continued focus on sharing Jesus with those who don’t know him. It’s awesome how flexible you all are as we try whatever we can to find and reach people with the gospel of Jesus. If you’ve been to Victory of the Lamb recently, wow! The Cinema’s starting to feel comfortably full, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong though. It’s by no means full, but it’s starting to get there. That’s exciting. If you haven’t been there, we’re big enough that you can come and not feel like you’re being “targeted” as a guest, but small enough that you won’t feel like you’re just a nobody. We’d love to have you come and hear more about Jesus. He’s everything to us.

Teamwork (10/06/2009)

2010-02-04T13:45:00.001-06:00

Favre-apalooza chapter 1 is over and there’s a cloud hanging over Wisconsin much like the rain clouds outside on this Tuesday here in Franklin. What struck me watching the game last night was just how crucial line play is in football. If you loose the battle up front, in fact, if one guy on the offensive line gets beat…the whole team loses. You can have all kinds of offensive firepower, but you won’t move the ball downfield, you won’t be successful and win, unless the whole offense works as a unit with each position carrying out its role. Of course the TV cameras usually only follow the ball and left tackles rarely get asked to give post games interviews on national TV when their team wins. It’s the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers that get accolades…but every football guy knows it’s the left tackles of the world that make it possible for those guys to make the big plays.

I couldn’t help but think how true that is for a church as well. We’re a team. We have a common purpose and shared goals. And we need each other. God really knows what he’s doing. In bringing us to faith in Jesus as our Savior, he also gives us a place on his team. Each of us has a role. Each of us has different strengths and weaknesses for sure. And only together can we accomplish God’s game plan to make a difference in people’s lives for eternity.

What gets me really excited even the day after my favorite football team loses and their weaknesses get glaringly exposed…is that our church, Victory of the Lamb, is doing a pretty good job of functioning as a team. We’re not perfect. I’m certainly not perfect. We want to continue to grow together and be transformed to live as God’s people for the benefit of others.

But God has really blessed us and I don’t want us to lose sight of that. We’ve got a mission that is at the heart of all that we do. We want to share Christ’s victory with today’s people. And by God’s grace…we’re doing that. The thing about this though is that not all of you get to see the wonderful things that I do get to see on a regular basis. Not all of you know the stories of people repenting of sin, people expressing faith in Jesus, people being freed from the burden of guilt through God’s forgiveness, people being baptized in my kitchen, people coming to church for the very first time…and then coming back.

I don’t want the credit for that and I sure don’t deserve the credit for that. All glory to God! And all glory to God also because there are so many people, so many of you, who are a part of the team that makes it possible for us to reach people with the gospel of Jesus. What’s really awesome for me is when I get to go out for coffee or lunch to talk with someone that you invited to church.

So if you’re an offensive lineman on our team, if you’re a left guard or a center, please know that you are important. The little things you do are important as you give and love and serve and pray. I value you as teammates. And together we are making a difference. Even if it’s just through your prayers…that’s no small thing. The Bible says that "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results"(James 5:13 NLT).

So I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to Jesus for calling me to quarterback his team at Victory of the Lamb, to say thank you to all of you for the roles you play on our team, and to express gratitude for the opportunity we have to worship at Showtime Cinema.

If you’ve been wondering…we had a pretty successful Fall Kickoff month this past September. We came just shy of our goal of having 200 people at our Kickoff service…but just barely. Throughout September we’ve had the highest attendance we’ve ever had as God continues to help us share Christ’s victory with today’s people.

If you didn’t get a chance to check things out in September, don’t worry. We had a big special service on September 13th, but every Sunday we design our service with you in mind. As a team we truly don’t care so much about ourselves except what we can do to welcome you and give you an opportunity to hear the message. So come be our guest anytime and know that you are welcome and that we’d love to have you come find your place on our team.

Worship: Join us Sundays at 9:30 am at Showtime Cinema—8910 S 102nd St., Franklin. Come early to grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat and to register your kids for Bible Quest which takes place during the service. Current Worship Series: Breaking the Huddle. For more info and for others things going on check out our website: www.victoryofthelamb.com

Sermons: download or listen to audio podcasts of each week’s message www.victoryofthelamb.com

Facebook: Check out www.facebook.com/victoryofthelamb Be a fan.

In Christ, Pastor Ben

Secret Shopper Visit (9/28/2009)

2010-02-04T13:44:00.001-06:00

My dear friends in Christ! The apostle Paul once wrote "Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:15-16).

So with that thought on this otherwise cloudy Monday morning I want to thank you and bring a little sunshine into your world.

Yesterday at worship we had 140 people in attendance. This is awesome!

Yesterday also my Mission Counselor, Pastor Ed Schuppe, visited our church and worshiped with us for the first time at Showtime Cinema. Ed is a consultant and a mentor to me. He oversees dozens of newly planted churches, travels extensively, and devotes all his time to reading and studying and helping new churches.

When he visits churches he always comes as a "secret shopper" of sorts. He writes very detailed reports on everything from signage to friendliness of people to the music, the sermon, etc.

Ed is a man I highly respect and whose opinion I know I am always wise to seek. And with that said I want to thank God for all of you in the spirit of the apostle Paul and encourage you all to keep up the good work!

Ed wrote me a comprehensive 3 page report on his experience at VotL which he concluded by saying "Thanks for the great worship experience!"

In three pages of his report, nearly every comment was praise and encouragement. It was in every respect a glowing report and that is to your credit. Thank you! As a church committed to loving and reaching the unchurched with the gospel it is so important to do the little things to welcome people…and you’re doing them. Continue to look beyond yourselves to others and do these things more and more!

Here’s just a small sample of his comments to give you an idea of the things Ed from experience knows are vital to a church’s health in being able to reach others:

Before the service: Greeter outside at the door was very welcoming and conversant. Great job!

People were very friendly, even the teens. They often initiated the greeting and were willing to talk.

Very welcoming atmosphere before the service. Ushers were also welcoming and conversant.

The bulletin: Very nicely laid out, informative, and easy to follow. I especially appreciated the back of the bulletin. Nice format and very well worded. Nice use of VICTORY.

The service: Great welcome and greeting. I appreciate the energy and enthusiasm you project. Your people did a great job with the greeting time.

Great music! The Apostles’ Creed song – Great! Great use of video clip in the sermon.

— Like I said, these are just a sample of Ed’s comments. Ed also has been a great help to me in evaluating my own attitudes, preaching, leadership, vision, etc. I appreciate this very much.

So…I pray that y’all have a great week in the Lord. I’ll be at a pastor’s conference in Two Rivers Tuesday – Wednesday but I will be back for our Adult Bible Fellowship Group on Wednesday evening. I hope to see you there and I look forward to worshiping our Savior with you again this Sunday.

Remember that if you happen to miss a Sunday or two you can go to our website www.victoryofthelamb.com and get the sermon. We’re also more frequently updating our music as well. Yesterday’s sermon should be posted by this evening.

God bless! Pastor Ben

Sermon Preparation (9/10/2009)

2010-02-04T13:43:00.003-06:00

I don't usually do this but I felt compelled to blog in the middle of writing this Sunday's message. I know a sermon is going to have an impact on people when it's first of all had an impact on me. Sermonizing (my word) can be tough sometimes. (I'd say it's like giving birth...but my wife probably would dispute that statement on the grounds I don't know what I'm talking about!)

My message Sunday is going to be about Religion vs. Jesus. This is an absolutely huge, important concept. How many of us think we're religious? How many people say, "Oh...I'm Lutheran...or I'm Catholic...or I'm just Christian...or I'm whatever" and think that because they've followed the program, kept the rules, done the church thing (or not) that everything's cool with God?

It's a trap that our Opponent lays out there certainly for every single person on this planet...but even for, perhaps, especially for Christian pastors. Our Opponent wants me as a pastor to think, "I'm so religious. I've given my life to the Lord. I must be so much more special than so and so because I've lived a pretty good life. I've kept the rules (for the most part)."

What a sinful mess those thoughts are! And that's what religion is all about. Using my man-made standards to puff myself up while looking down on everyone else who doesn't live up to them. Never mind God's standards. There's a hypocrite in all of us. We need to repent of that. We need to repent of religion with its man-made rules and find out again, or for the first time, that it's really all about a person. It's about Jesus.

Man, sometimes learning about Jesus and his perfect sacrifice on the cross for me...it really hits home. I'm so glad Jesus is my Savior and that He saves, not religion.

I'm excited to share law and gospel this Sunday during our Fall Kickoff. I know God's going to bless this message. I've got a few people I've been praying for too that God would give me the courage to invite them to church this Sunday. I've been praying all week too that our postcard mailings might prompt some people to come and hear this message too. -- I'd love nothing more than to share my message (really God's message) with a packed house on Sunday.

Fall Kickoff (9/2/2009)

2010-02-04T13:43:00.001-06:00

When you wake up to go for a run and it’s in the 40’s outside…you know Fall is pretty much here. Yeah, it’s that time again. But not just time for the leaves to start changing colors, not just time to go back to school. It’s time to go back to church. I hope that doesn’t sound crazy! But I’m serious. The routine and rhythm of life that starts in September is a good thing. It’s not that summer with its camping and vacations and soccer leagues is all a bad thing. But it’s good to get back into a routine. It’s good to get back to going to church. For some people especially Fall is a great time to think about going back to church for the first time…in a long time…or ever. Maybe that’s you. Maybe that’s someone you know.

That’s why we’re having a special Fall Kickoff service on September 13th to invite everyone to come to church. We’re inviting our entire community to come check out Victory of the Lamb at Showtime Cinema—our new worship space. For three months over the summer we’ve been getting settled in and figuring things out there. It’s really an awesome place to have a worship service. Our Bible Quest kids program is getting in the groove being there at Showtime too. It’s a huge step up from meeting in that little corner at the Polonia Soccer Club. I mean, we’re ready to go. We’re thankful to God. We’re ready to grow!

So we’ll be kicking off on the 13th with a new sermon series called “Breaking the Huddle” and we’re setting the goal of having 200 + people at our service. We’re praying for this. I know a lot of you have been praying too. Thank you! A lot of you having been praying for people and inviting them to come. I’m really excited. I think God has big plans for our church to make a lasting difference in people’s lives. And we want this to be an opportunity for all of you to invite an unchurched friend, family member, or neighbor to come be a part of our church family and to regularly hear the gospel with us.

For 2 1/2 years Victory of the Lamb has been becoming a place that loves people enough to meet them where they are—especially people who’ve never been to church before or people who, for whatever reason, have been away from church a long time. Now we want to let our community know that we’ve moved to Showtime Cinema to reach out to more and more people so that everyone in our community might have the opportunity to learn about the victory of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We’re encouraging all our people to invite someone who doesn’t have a church home, someone who doesn’t know Jesus, to be at our Fall Kickoff service on the 13th. Maybe there’s someone you can invite too and be a blessing in their life. That would be awesome!

In Christ,

Pastor Ben

Summer Wrap-up (8/10/2009)

2010-02-04T13:42:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends,

What an incredible couple of weeks! First God gave us an absolutely gorgeous day back in July for Hallepalooza!—our community concert / picnic in the park. We had almost 200 people turn out, many of whom stayed through the devotion at the end of the evening. I’m going to post that devotion on my blog on our church website www.victoryofthelamb.com if you’d like to read it. It was a really special day. I got to connect with a number of people whom I haven’t met before and I’m praying that in the future we might be able to connect them also to Christ.

Then this past week we just wrapped up our 3rd annual Soccer Bible Camp at the Polonia Soccer Club. 4 days with 50 kids. Again, we had awesome weather. We snuck it all in before the thunderstorms and muggy weather of this past weekend. Thank you, God! And I can’t say enough about the effort and care of all our coaches and helpers. Our cookout to close the camp on Thursday was definitely a big success too. Almost every soccer camp family stayed. That was awesome! So thank you everyone for coming and especially those of you who helped serve or donate items! A special thank you also to Dan Johnston and Mark Reichert, our summer assistants, who’ve been a huge help all summer long and to all of you who helped to feed, house, or support them with your time, money, and energy.

Our soccer camp is just such a great opportunity for us to show we care about the kids in our community and offer them a unique and fun way to learn not just the game of soccer, but about Jesus. This year’s theme was “He scored – We win” and we got to celebrate His victory more yesterday in worship too. Many of the soccer camp families came to church to hear their kids sing the soccer camp theme song that they learned last week. It was just an awesome service. We had 146 people in attendance—our highest attendance this summer. Our God is certainly an awesome God—but truly because of his grace to us through Jesus. If you weren’t able to make it this past Sunday, all of you soccer camp families are invited to come any Sunday, check out our church, and hear more about the victory of Jesus. If you don’t have a church home where you regularly hear the good news about Jesus, we’d love to have you worship with us.

If you’re on Facebook, you can check out pictures from both Hallepalooza! and Soccer Bible Camp by visiting our church page at www.facebook.com/victoryofthelamb We’ve got over 100 fans now on Facebook so we’re able to have our own URL. We’ll be regularly updating both our website and our Facebook page so be sure and check back frequently for updates and pics.

Hallepalooza Devotion (7/26/2009)

2010-02-04T13:41:00.001-06:00

The following is my devotion from July 26th at Lion's Legend Park, based on Micah 7:18-19...

There’s a show on the Discovery Channel called Deadliest Catch. Raise your hand if you’ve seen it. It’s a documentary about 8-10 fishing boats and the fishermen who risk it all in the Bering Sea. They’re out there to catch King Crab and Opilio Crab during the dangerous fishing seasons in October and January off the Aleutian islands of Alaska. Now I’m not a huge fan of the show, but I’ve got a friend named Eric who is. And last week as Eric and some other friends and I were fishing up north... the weather was just terrible. It was raining for 2 days straight and the high temp was 57 degrees. We kept joking about how we were on the raging Bering Sea risking our lives like the guys on Deadliest Catch.

And that got me to thinking…if you’re on a boat like the Northwestern on the raging Bering Sea and let’s just say you were wearing a ring, maybe your wedding ring, or just some other piece of jewelry…and it fell off…into the sea…and it sank to the bottom…what are your chances that you’d ever get it back? It would be impossible, wouldn’t it? There’s no way you’d ever be able to salvage that ring again, no matter how important it was to you. It’s hard enough to find airplane wreckage when a large plane crashes in the middle of the ocean. The ocean depths in the Pacific are up to 7 miles deep and still largely unexplored.

Well I suppose if you lost a ring or something important to you at the bottom of the sea, you’d probably feel pretty devastated, wouldn’t you? You know that feeling that you get when you’ve lost something important and you just can’t get it back? And I’m not just talking about possessions or things that you’ve lost. I lost a skateboard once. I was pretty upset about that as a kid. But I’m not talking about losing stuff.

I’m talking about relationships that you’ve lost because you messed it up with hurtful words or actions that you regret. I’m talking about reputations that you’ve torn down through gossip and camera phone pics and MySpace posts. I’m talking about your own sense of worth and purity that you may have lost because you’ve done things you are ashamed of. I don’t know what it is that you’ve lost…but we should all rightly feel struck by the realization that, “I have messed life up. I have sinned against God.” And if you don’t feel that way at all, if you’re ashamed of nothing, what you’ve lost which you’re not even aware of is a rightly tuned conscience. You’ve messed up the most important relationship of all, your relationship with God.

But this takes us to one of my favorite passages in the Bible. In our summer Bible study at Victory of the Lamb we’ve been traveling through some of the back roads of the Bible, reading some of the Old Testament prophets like Hosea, Amos, and Micah. Well last week in the book of Micah in the Bible we read a passage that all of you should think about and take to heart tonight. It’s from the very end of the book where Micah says:

Micah 7:18-19 18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Did you hear what the prophet says? God will again have compassion on us. He will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities (and that word in Hebrew means messed up, twisted, perverted mistakes) into the depths of the sea.

Do you get what he’s saying? If God hurls your messed up sinful mistakes into the depths of the ocean…then can anyone dredge them up again and hold them against you on the day of Judgment? No. Not even God. God is in the salvation business, not the salvage business. He puts our sins where he can’t dredge them up and use them against us.

Now your conscience might try to dredge them up. As human beings we also have a bad tendency to try and dredge up the sins of others and hold them against people. But God doesn’t do that. He hurls them all into the depths of the sea. And the reason that he can do this is because God sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ into this world as a human being just like you and me. But he didn’t mess up. He didn’t lose his innocence. He didn’t fall into any kind of sin. Because he came to die…for our sins. In exchange for our sins he came to give us his holiness. We receive that holiness and along with it the forgiveness of all our sins simply by trusting that Jesus took them all away. Through God’s gift of baptism, he further promises that he has washed our sins away, drowning them in the depths of the sea forever. Micah says, “Who is a God like this?” He’s our God. And he can be your God too. Amen.

God of underserved love, thank you for this beautiful day and for the opportunity tonight to hear your word and worship you. If there are any here tonight we don’t yet know you I ask you to work powerfully in their hearts through your word to ignite the spark of faith, and to give them the courage to seek you more, to find in you their God and Savior. Keep us safe tonight on our way home and bless all we do in your holy name. We pray to you with confidence in the name of Jesus, your Son, our Savior. Amen.

Canvassing (7/14/2009)

2010-02-04T13:40:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends,

One evening this week a group of us were out and about inviting people to join us for Hallepalooza and Soccer Bible Camp for kids. I happened to meet some people on their front porch, talk a bit, and then actually get invited in to share the good news of eternal life through Jesus to a living room full of people. One of the residents in this small group home was an 80 year old man named Frank. Frank had been taught about Jesus as a boy, but he never paid much attention to God. In fact most of his life has been spent ignoring God and stubbornly insisting he's ok on his own without God. But lately a trip to the hospital and a confrontation with his mortality has made Frank somewhat more open to hearing about God.

So here I am in his living room. I got to share the law and the gospel with Frank. He needed to see his sin before he was willing to see his need for a Savior. And so I got to share with Frank ultimately the confidence God wants us to have of life after death because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Sin and grace. Plain and simple. Where these people live, they don't get to hear about Jesus. There was no doubt in my mind that God brought me to talk to Frank and that living room full of people. I told him so. I urged him to believe in Jesus Christ as his Savior and be at peace with God. I don't know if Frank was totally convinced in his heart, but he was sure listening. And the neat thing is…I get to go back. Frank would like to talk again. I'm hoping that maybe even we can do regular ministry with the residents of this group home. God opens up doors... including the doors to people's hearts. I'm thankful to God for the opportunity to talk with Frank before his time of grace is up.

Every time I get to have a conversation with someone like Frank, God reminds me how important the message of Christ is...for everybody...for you and for me too. There are times, I'll be honest, when I'm low on energy, distracted, under a lot of pressure, my spirit is weak...and I wonder if it's all worth it. But then God brings me to someone like Frank who takes me back into God’s Word. This stuff is the real deal. It's life and death. We're talking eternity here. I am nothing...Christ is everything! How much more important can you get than this?! And yet there are a thousand things in our world custom designed by the Enemy to lull each of us into spiritual slumber land. I meet so many people like Frank who’ve hardly spent any time seriously considering spiritual things...and don't want to. They're just so...busy.

Busy spending hours playing golf, hours taking endless Facebook quizzes, hours running here and there, hours doing anything but paying attention to God and his Word...all the while expecting that, if there is a God, he'll pay attention to me when I need him to and he better be there to do what I want.

I don't know what all those things are that distract you from God. But I've got them too. I understand that we swim in a culture where it's easy for faith to drown. And I want you to know as I type this out, I'm praying for you...all of you who might happen to actually read this far :) that you would take a time out and consider how important your connection to Christ is. I'm praying that God would keep you from being lulled into spiritual slumber. And I would ask you to do the same for me.

You know, that's really what being part of a church family is all about. Caring for each other, praying for each other, encouraging each other as we follow Christ and trust him to bring us one day home to the never ending bliss that is heaven. And if you need a little encouragement in your spiritual life, I would invite you to join us at Victory of the Lamb on a Sunday when we come together to spend time listening to God's Word.

Summer Menu (6/15/2009)

2010-02-04T13:39:00.001-06:00

Happy Summer! I think I can safely say that now… Anyway, while summer for some of you means a little more time to relax, settle down, and do some of the things you’ve been wanting to do…summer at Victory of the Lamb is a pretty busy time! We just wrapped up our first worship series at Showtime Cinema and, I think, just about have most of the wrinkles ironed out in worshiping there. Now we’ll be focusing on all our summer events and activities while gearing up for our Fall kickoff at Showtime the Sunday after Labor Day.

So here’s a menu of things happening this summer for you to plan ahead:

New Worship Series Beginning This Father’s Day: “Imitating Our Father.” Join us Sunday for the beginning of a series that will retrace the faith-walk of Abraham as we glean some relevant lessons for our own spiritual journeys. Worship is at 9:30 am at Showtime Cinema—8910 S 102nd St., Franklin. Come early to grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat and to register your kids for Bible Quest which takes place during the service. For more info check out our website: www.victoryofthelamb.com

4th of July Parade—We’ll be having our band playing music on a church float in the City of Franklin’s parade on the morning of the 4th. We’ll be advertising our summer church events—Hallepalooza and Soccer Bible Camp. We need as many of you as possible to join up with our float that morning before the parade begins and walk alongside it, handing out brochures and postcards to everyone we can! The main parade starts at 11 am. Meet up with our float on Loomis Rd somewhere by the Walgreen’s on the corner of Hwy 100 and Loomis around 10 am to help. Strollers and wagons welcome!

Hallepalooza—is our picnic and concert at Lion’s Legend Park in Franklin. Sunday, July 26, from 4—7 pm at Lion’s Legend Park. Food, fun, and music for the whole family. And it’s all free! The whole community is invited! There will be door prizes. We wrap up the evening with a devotion from God’s Word.

Soccer Bible Camp—Once again we're having an awesome soccer camp for kids ages 5-12 this summer. Monday, August 3rd—Thursday, August 6th, from 1—4:30 pm at the Polonia Soccer Club. We'll be mailing postcards at the end of June / 1st week of July. If you want to be sure and get information when it comes out, you can contact camp director Mark Reichert at 608-548-4955 or via email at reichert_md@msn.com We’ll begin taking registrations online at the end of June.

Bible Quest—is every Sunday, did you know that? Bible Quest is our weekly kids’ ministry that takes place during the worship service at Showtime Cinema for kids ages 2-10. It gives kids an opportunity to learn about the Bible on their level and have fun doing it! It gives parents the freedom to focus on the message in worship. We do encourage parents who want to keep their kids with them in worship. That’s fine too. But we want to give parents options. Parents, come before 9:30 on a Sunday to get your kids registered. We’ve got a safe and secure check-in process. Any questions please contact our Children’s Ministry Director, Cassy at (414) 235-4445 or crobbert@live.com

Memorial Day (5/26/2009)

2010-02-04T13:38:00.001-06:00

On Memorial Day, while visiting family, I got up early and went for a long jog in the country near New London, WI. I ran past a cemetery. I noticed a large tombstone with three American flags by it. Later in the day I learned that tombstone marks the death of three brothers—Navy men on the USS Oklahoma, a ship attacked at Pearl Harbor, a ship where all three brothers died.

That made me really think about what freedoms I enjoy because of the sacrifice of men and women like the Barber brothers. I think if you asked most people today what they think is the most important freedom we have…they’d say, “Freedom of speech.” Undoubtedly that’s a wonderful freedom…as are so many that we enjoy here in the USA! But forgotten sometimes I think is simply the freedom of worship.

We get to worship God without fear. We get to talk about Jesus without hindrance. We get to study the Bible without having to worry about the secret police storming in and breaking things up. We are so blessed! And I know some of you will say, “Yeah, but…” Well maybe, but there are Christians in places around the world right now who have to meet in secret. They have to deal with the constant threats to their livelihood and their lives. Yet they continue to meet anyway—even without the freedom to do so publicly. And in places where Christians are persecuted, ironically that’s where you see men stepping up and going to church and leading their families so that they get to hear and study the Bible. Because they know that in the Word they learn about their Savior who sets them truly free—from their sins, from death, from hell. And that’s why we worship too—to learn about Jesus and the great things he has done for us! A great way for all of us to say thank you to God for freedom is to come together for worship.

As a church, Victory of the Lamb has been worshiping at Showtime Cinema now for almost a month. There have been some wrinkles to iron out, as we expected in moving to a new place. But I think we’ve just about got things figured out. We are definitely thankful to God for the opportunity to meet at Showtime and I know he’s going to bless us there as we reach out to our community with the love of Christ. If you haven’t been there yet we’d love to have you join us for worship as God gives you the opportunity.

Moving Day (4/30/2009)

2010-02-04T13:37:00.000-06:00

Today was moving day! It was kind of weird, hauling all our stuff across the street to Showtime Cinema. People keep asking me, “So are you going to miss being at Polonia?” And you know…yeah…a little bit. It was the place God plopped in our lap in answer to our prayers when we were starting from scratch. It was a great place to start. And we’ve got a few extra memories that not every church has—like a worship service without heat…in December...in WI. O the fun! Actually though, it kind of was fun. I mean, there were some really frustrating moments being there…but it was fun because of the people I get to work with. That’s just the truth. So many of you have put in long hours…serving with a smile…and a healthy dose of sarcasm every now and thenJ But in terms of volunteers who’ve been transformed by God’s grace…unbelievable! Thank you so much. I am so blessed as a pastor to lead a group that wants to share the love of Jesus with their community. Thank you for rolling up your sleeves like Jesus did to serve.

As I was setting up and cleaning before church this last Sunday, I had a little sentimental twinge…but just a little one…because by the end of the service all my energy was focused on looking ahead…and man, I am excited. It’s go-time at Showtime! Thank you everyone who helped make last Sunday at Polonia special. Thank you everyone who helped me today move our stuff over to the cinema.

I think we’re just about ready. We’ve got some sweet new equipment to tinker with. We’ve got some big new plans for Bible Quest—our Sunday morning children’s ministry. We’ll have a new movie theater ad soon. We’re starting a new sermon series this Sunday on our core values that help shape how we carry out our mission. We’ll be working to iron out some wrinkles probably as we gear up for a re-launch this September. And we’ll be planning our summer outreach events like our 4th of July stuff, Hallepalooza, and our soccer Bible camp (which by the way is August 3-6 if you’re looking to save the dates).

Happy Birthday Votl (4/2/2009)

2010-02-04T13:07:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday VotL! 2 years ago this week we launched Victory of the Lamb on Palm Sunday of 2007. It’s amazing to think it’s really only been two years that we’ve been worshiping together. But wow has God been good to us…so good in fact that we’ve pretty much outgrown the Polonia Soccer Club and we’ll be moving to Showtime Cinema starting Sundays in May.

We had 122 people at worship this past Sunday. The reason I even mention this though is not to somehow boast about what we’ve done, but because that number represents people—people dearly loved by God, people that Jesus gave up his life for. It’s about what God, in his grace, has done for each of us. Among those people at worship on Sunday, I’ve had the privilege of seeing God work the gift of faith in some of their hearts. I’ve had the privilege of seeing God bring people into his family through baptism. I’ve seen God work in incredible ways and change people’s lives. When I get really busy or start focusing on myself…I try to reflect on the people I get to share Jesus with every week, and I can’t help but be humbled and awed by the grace of God that he would allow me to get to play a role in leading people to know Him. Especially this week as we focus on the suffering and death of our Savior, I can’t wait for Sunday to celebrate Easter at VotL and hopefully get to meet more people searching for hope. I know we’ll have a bunch of new people come check out VotL this Sunday for Easter so if you’ve been thinking about coming, but haven’t yet, we’d love to have you join us.

Finally, I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped out with our Easter for Kids event at the Franklin Public Library on March 28th. It was really an awesome day! We had over 90 kids this year which makes it the most highly attended kids’ event that we’ve ever had. We had a lot of kids and almost not enough volunteers. A lot of you had to work really hard to make everything run smoothly, but again, it was an incredibly organized and well run event. And without a doubt, we got to make an impact on kids’ lives. A couple pictures even made it onto the franklinnow.com webpage. You can see them here: They were the first pics in the gallery, but you might have to scroll a little bit to find them if someone else posts newer pictures.