Deuteronomy 6:4-7: “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments I give to you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home…”

Dear Fellow Believers,
The Fall schedule is upon us, and as usual, it is time now for us to leave behind the lazier days of summer and to resume those busier schedules at home, at work and here at Church. On the long-running comedy “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Raymond and Robert recalled in several episodes that when their father, Frank Barone (Played by actor Peter Boyle) really meant business, he would look at them, point his finger at the boys when they were growing up and say: “AIS!” If you watched the show, you are laughing right now, but if you were not familiar with the show you need to know that the letters “AIS” stood for “A** In Seat!,” or translated a bit more nicely, “you need to sit your bottom down and listen now!” This was a clear message to Raymond and Robert that they needed to stop what they were doing and sit down because what was to come was serious and important, and could not be dismissed.

In the same way, our Heavenly Father truly means business and is once again bringing us His own Holy “AIS” in His Word this Fall. It is time for all of us to turn from our summer leisure and to be seated in His Holy House for the hearing of His life-giving Word, and it is time for us to dedicating ourselves to sitting down at home with our family around His Word. We take note that as His Children claimed in the waters of Holy Baptism, the Lord’s call to sit at His Son’s feet and learn of His love for us is not simply a suggestion… it is a command. This is more than important…it is a matter of eternal life! And to show us how earnest God is that we know of His saving love, He sent Jesus to perfectly fulfill this command for us. Now this command is given to us in love with our very best interests in mind. By calling us to sit near His Word, He is providing the very means by which we and our children can remain living in God’s gracious love for in Jesus, having our sins forgiven,
having our faith strengthened, and being reminded that God’s ways ALWAYS lead to peace and life. No matter what comes in these harder times, we can be sure God loves us and has decided for us in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is issuing a very holy “AIS!” to us right now. This fall, it’s time to get our bottoms here in worship, here in Sunday School and in Bible Study, and near Him in His Word in our homes with our families. And we won’t heed His AIS because we “have to,” we will do so because we wouldn’t do anything else! The very times we and our children are in are demanding it! In our lives relationships continue to be tested at home, at work and even here at Church. We need patience and right hearts to remain open and forgiving people, sharing the Good News with others. We find tragedy everywhere around us, and we need to put it in proper perspective and not lose sight of God’s leadership. Plans continue to fail for us and for others, yet we need to trust that God is in control, not us, and while we need to be good stewards, success needs to be measured at all times by God’s standards of faithfulness, not by our own measuring stick. At our very best, we still remain sinful and we make mistakes, and that is why we need to be put in mind each day that Jesus had to come…for ME!

So, come and hear…so that by the Spirit’s power, you will keep the faith and obey the LORD, and show the love we say we have for the LORD with our very lives and our actions. It’s time for AIS members of Christ the King! With Jesus’ forgiveness and strength, we can hear our Heavenly Father’s voice, and take our rightful place. My bottom will be seated at the Word of the Lord. Our Father is calling!

Sincerely,
Pastor Randy