Pastor,
I think starting a blog is a great idea and commend you on giving it a try. Make sure you hang in there long enough to let folks try it and get used to it.

We in America have written off heaven as something we can't know and what little people tell us of it sounds boring, e.g. sitting around play harps all days floating immaterially in the clouds. If we don't really understand heaven, how can we take aim for it in our daily lives and make the trade-offs needed to bring about God's Kingdom, heaven? Randy Alcorn's book Heaven wonderfully describes Heaven and his novels illustrate how to live in light of heaven. Great reading.

Bruce Anthony

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I thought your message last Sunday was great. One thought that stood out to me was the "business" that we busy ourselves with and neglect the best God has for us and for us to do. I'll miss your message on Sunday as we will be out of town.

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The easier (not necessarily easy) question first: "Does the typical Christian in America think that dying is gain?". In my experience the answer is clearly no. With the abundance of material blessings in America, we (American Christians) often have a hard time seeing how/why heaven would be better. I've been told that heaven is much more often a topic of sermons in 3rd world countries than it is in the U.S.. I know that I've only rarely heard about heaven as the focus of a sermon. There are definitely times/days/seasons that I do long for heaven, thinking of Rev 21:4 (I realize that in context that passage is about the new heaven). But when things are going well...the thought of dying is much less attractive. For me personally it seems to be the loss of my relationships with others (particularly my wife and daughter) that I....fear? Knowing that Christ awaits me is wonderful, but will there be a sense of pain in the breaking of the human relationships?

The harder question is "What do you think it means to REALLY live for Jesus Christ here on earth? " In short I've always been taught that to live for Jesus means to die to myself. I've understood this to mean that that I need to lead a selfless, rather than selfish, life - doing what I can to make life better for others, most notably by giving others the hope that can only be found in Christ, but also by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc.. I think though that much of it comes to motivation. Am I doing this to advance myself - or to advance Christ's kingdom? To live for Christ means to take on His cause. By no means do I claim to be a good, or even consistent, example in this regard. It is however my understanding of what it means to live for Christ on earth. To live selflessly, seeking to better the lives of my brothers and sisters and through these relationships advance the kingdom of God.

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These passages in Phil. were my dad's favorite. I understand it better each time I read and think about it. When my dad passed away in 1973 at the age of 60 my first words were praise the Lord and I remembered how fondly he looked forward to that time. Naturally, my mom had difficulty with the loss, and often would say why she couldn't have gone first. I would counter with it's great he could be 1st and not suffer ill health, etc.
What we have in store is so great that I know the thing that will tough will be the loss of my presence to nurture, care for, and support those around me. Otherwise, for me there is no looking back Tim Ruopsa

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Most will say, when discussing death as gain, that gain is there if there is no reason to continue to live. Our immediate Rochester community recognizes the issue of "quality of life." Even to believers, if the quality of living is depleated, the alternative of death is accented. As I hear Paul, the value of death is not in the lack of life/quality of life, but in the value of presence with the Father.

The believer will always struggle with the opposing issues that Paul faced. This is especially true to those who hold a high view of "the Sanctity of Life."

I suppose it is a semantics issue, but the fact we have to clairify living for Christ as opposed to REALLY living for Christ is to say we do not understand the concept. We either do or we don't. There are no grey areas here. There are no pretty good servants. That being said, we must not fall into the snare of evaluating our service/living as acceptable due to our quantity of service. Since the Father measures the heart, He knows and measures according to His heart of grace. Therefore, I fail in those moments that I do what I would not do "Oh wretched man that I am," but the Father fills me with grace and I receive joy for the service offered in His name.

Pastor, thank you for your leadership in our church.

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THANK YOU!!! This blog is wonderful. The comments posted are terrific, and maybe a little intimidating for the rest of us who are not as talented with words or as "studied" as the distinguished authors above!
I would like to echo the comment about last Sunday's sermon being terrific and would add that I struggle greatly with transitioning conversations to Spiritual topics.
Many of the speakers I have heard say that if you are living for Christ that your joy and light will be evident to all and they will come to you asking about this gift you have.
No one is asking me.....so what does that mean? I have had people tell me lately after my father's recent death that they can see the strength of Christ supporting me. These are Christian family memebers or friends. Their comments have been true treasures in my life.
Are non Christians really going to come up to me and ask questions? I am not sure that they will.
So again....how do I go about transitioning those conversations??

Dieing is gain....I definitely think so. I sometimes cry out to the Lord like a naughty 2 year old and say, "I wanna go home" . "I am tired of the fight". And yet with three children to raise I know the work He has for me to do is not finished yet.
I too have found great comfort in Randy Alcorn's books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Keep up the great work Pastor Olson!

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Hello Everyone,
Well, I think I've considered quite a bit on this during the week and to do a study on this is amazing! I am in agreement to the above comments. What I found in doing a bit of a word study that isn't it interesting that Paul didn't say "to live is Jesus". Just pondering that, to live means "be alive" and Christ means "anointed". So could Paul have meant that for him to be fully alive is knowing he's anointed with the Holy Spirit? If I'm really, really living for Christ I believe that I'm obedient to the Holy Spirit because of my love for Christ, allowing Christ to flow through me without hindering Him and that knowing Christ is following His lead not my own selfishness. As the song says, "Blessed assurance Jesus is mine!" So I pray that I would show grace upon grace to people and invite God to show others Christ in me.

To God be the glory,
Jean Keefe

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I think about these questions all the time. What does it mean to "Seek first the Kingdom of God." When Jesus said seek first, He said make the pursuit of Him number one above everything in life. In Matthew 6 Jesus talks about worrying about food, covering etc., however, He says all these things the "Gentiles eagerly seek." When I look around, I think the church is ringing its hands over the same issues and concerns as the world. It's not just the Gentiles who eagerly seek the things of the world & the cares of life. The church looks very much the same as the world in this regard. I think it is very different in an affluent society, (with very little pursecution for the faith in Christ), to maintain a heart that believes and a life that lives Phillipeans 1:20.

I think the church in America has ignored the multitude of passages about the absolute surrender of one's life to Christ. Yet I could list so many verses that say very clearly that we no longer belong to ourselves, for we have been bought with a price. Therefore we are to live as "living sacrifices." That phrase a "living sacrifice" is a contridiction in terms. Sacrifice means a death. And yet we are called to be a "living death."

Essentially, we are called to be dead yet alive. In other words, we are called to be dead to self but alive unto God. It is easy to get frustrated with oneself when you realize what our calling really is. I know I am not alone in my lack of surrender to my Lord. But still, it is troubling all the same.

Thank the Lord for his Grace and the Cross.

Foreve His,

Dan Wood

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"What does it mean to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel? What does this look like in our culture?" are the questions that caught my eye in Pastor Todd's initial blog. To know the answer to that would guide one in both the attitude and the action aspects of how we live out our Christian walk where "to live is Christ, to die is gain", as well as how we converse and interact with those in our sphere of influence. As an individual (and as a parent) I struggle with balancing grace and legalism in defining conduct that is "worthy of the Gospel". Our culture gives permission and increases our tendency to rationalize the choices we make. Unless we consistently measure our choices against the standard set for us by Jesus and in line with where he is shaping us, we are certain to miss the mark.
Great idea for the blog - I'm looking forward to it (and the rest of the website) as a way to stay connected once we move to OK.
Pastor Todd -I/we appreciate your pastoral concern for the individuals that comprise the body.

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