God doesn't want your money...

So I've been meaning to get this out there because I'm passionate about it, but I was hoping to get the audio fixed. Alas, our recording of the service never happened, or it did, but with the audio levels turned to zero, so it recorded zero. This is my message from October 10th, the second week of our annual giving campaign. Watch this video first, I used it to introduce the subject of God and money...




and here is my message...

Untitled from Luke Schmidt on Vimeo.

No Fear...

It would be a nice way to live, don't you think? No fear. More than a catchy logo from a few years ago. (What happened to that, by the way?) Instead, just a way to go through life.
I remember this little doggy nightlight I had when I was a kid (12). I wasn't a big fan of the dark. Active imagination and too many sequels of Nightmare on Elm Street. So, I compensated for Freddy's claws with a little puppy nightlight. It made sense at the time.
I wonder where our fear first comes from. Raising Kate, who just turned 4, has given me an interesting perspective on fear. Fear of strangers, fear of bugs, fear of men in general (can I sign her up for that one through high school?). The one that still confuses me is a fear of the dark. One night she just said her room was too dark. We had a nightlight on, the door cracked, but she said it was too dark and that she was scared of the dark. I've been very careful to monitor what she hears and sees, so I didn't know where this came from.
Is fear just a human tendency, a preservation mechanism of sorts? Why some things and not others? And the big question, what alleviates, or dare I say cures, fears?
I think fears, unless medically diagnosed, are really masks for the worries and anxieties we have in our lives. Was Freddy Kruger my big fear as a kid or did I just really not want to get sliced into ribbons?
I began to finally understand fear in context when I made it into a contest. In this corner, fear. In the other corner, God. Go get it, God.
Really, that was one of my earliest realizations of relying on God, abiding in God. Imagine if we had constant faith in the one that creates and sustains and delivers us. No fear...
Here is Kate illustrating no fear. She turned 4 in September. Poppa is proud. Momma was at home, obviously.

How do they do that?

I spent the morning yesterday walking the halls of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which was really an overwhelming experience. I was expecting walls of paintings and some sculpture, probably some 'modern' art that was a bunch of trash glued together. You know, the basic museum scenario. Instead, I found myself enthralled by the depth and quality of the collection. From 5000 year old jars to original Matisse paintings, I'm kicking myself for not spending at least a few hours there monthly. From sculpture so detailed you could almost make out individual hairs to a dining room set created by Frank Lloyd Wright, they had me hooked.
Then a realization hit me. I have no artistic abilities. Or perhaps better said, I've never had the opportunity to see what gift for the arts I might have. I think it started to sink in when we saw the Native American artwork, and just a "simple" basket. What was utilitarian for them was an ornate maze of weaving with a perfect pattern, yet created by human hands. I remarked to Jess, "they must start doing this at childhood and just perfect it through life."
Of course, the next question was, "What are we teaching our kids?" Seriously, what are we giving our kids to equip them, what are we teaching them to create? I think of the countless hours of watching TV, playing video games, and surfing the net. And that's just me. I thank God that I didn't grow up in the age of texting, I love that a personal conversation still sounds appealing to me.
Now I'm not insisting that our kids weave baskets or paint or sculpt. But what if they did, or what if we gave them the opportunity to explore the hidden talents and gifts that God has given them, given us? Jess and I resolved that when the kids were a little older, we're going to take a painting class, or a sketching class. (I made a butter dish in Park and Rec pottery growing up. A potter I am not...) We're going to take the opportunity to give Kate and Will chances to create things. Hopefully, we can do it as a family. What a great way to experience history and maybe even create a piece of it...

Pastor Luke