UPDATE & Hebrews 3:14 “We have come to share in Christ if..???” October 14, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

First, I want to apologize for not being on top of keeping my blog up to date. I have struggled with going to St. Louis Seminary for the week before Labor Day, then coming back to EMU starting, the birth of our second grandson Josiah Joshua Brudi on my birthday, Sept. 3. Our vacation at Charlevoix and St. Ignace for a week and then our restructuring of staff and governance at Cross and Res. I got back last Saturday from 11 days in BC with my grandson Levi and with Meagan and Timothy. I visited my family, attended my last Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute Board of Trustees meeting in Camrose, Alberta and visited friends. I have served for 15 years on the Board so this was a hard meeting. I returned home via London, Ontario on the red eye at 6am on Saturday and then preached last week. Laura and I left for the Pastor's Conference on Mackinac Island at 2:15 on Sunday and were there until Wednesday at 1:00pm. On Wednesday we found out that our "adopted" (not legally but personally) son, Peter Campbell was found dead in his bed at our place. We do not know the cause of death, but we know his heart and tremendous faith, so we celebrate eternal life today.

Today is also very difficult because on the day we will celebrate Peter's life and the gift of Eternal Life on Sunday and the Funeral on Monday. But on this Sunday we will celebrate the gift of NEW LIFE in HOLY Baptism for our grandson JOSIAH JOSHUA BRUDI at C & R: EMU! We are so excited to celebrate this gift of salvation and sonship offered in HOLY BAPTISM, it will be sad in that Peter was to be Josiah's godfather as he was for his uncle BEN last year. We will have mixed emotions but it will be a CELEBRATION non the less!

Today we will concentrate on the words of the writer of Hebrews when he says "We have come to share in Christ if ....we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first! We hear his explanation of this in the problem of unbelief in verse 12 and 19. It gives us great confidence when we understand that true belief is "TRUST" in Greek: "pisteu/w" we have come to share in Christ....if we TRUST IN HIS SALVATION!! So many people make the argument that "to believe" is to have knowledge as in greek thought. But in actual fact I prefer the "Yadah" of Hebrew which is the word to "know" yet with the understanding that it is more than head knowledge it is relationship, intimate knowledge and trust...
This is what the Lord wants when he refers to us having a believing heart rather than an unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. It is our privilege to encourage one another daily. I must confess when I heard about Peter, 23 years old passing away, I questioned the Lord! Yet I understand that because of the intimate relationship the Lord had with him and me that I must trust in the Lord's plan and wisdom no matter what that is why the Hebrew writer shares these words:

12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from
the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that
none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if
we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of
Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who
sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would
never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed[b]? 19 So we see that they were not able
to enter, because of their unbelief.





It is what Jesus means in the Gospel reading when he explains what it means to "believe" when HE taught His disciples about faith and trust with the child as an example in St. Mark 10:13-16:
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples
rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as
these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little
child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them
and blessed them.

Today we will be reminding all of us where our faith starts and how we belong to the Lord and are part of HIS KINGDOM because we TRUST like the children.

May we all TRUST and celebrate the truth that when we trust in Christ as it says in John 14:1 "Trust in God, Trust also in ME!" We have been given the gift of faith by the Holy Spirit and may we have a believing, trusting heart each day!


Looking forward to CELEBRATING with all of Heaven as Jesus stated in Luke 15 as we celebrate the gift of NEW LIFE with JOSIAH.




Just a note that there will be a lunch and cake after service for Josiah. We will celebrate but will have to leave to go to the wake and family time for Peter.




Love in Christ Jesus our Risen Lord and Personal Savior,


Pastor Bryan

PS: For your information: This is the notice on Peter's Funeral and Wake:

Peter Francis Patrick Campbell, the 23-year-old son of Joe and Helen Campbell passed to his eternal reward on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. Funeral arrangements by Janowiak Funeral Home in Ypsilanti are as follows:

The visitation will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church, on Sunday, October 14, 2012, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm in the Worship Space. A rosary will be said at 3:30 PM with a time of worship and personal sharing from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. 

The Funeral Mass will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church on Monday, October 15, 2012, at 11:00 AM. There will be a viewing at the church from 9:00 AM to 10:45 AM prior to Mass and burial will immediately follow Mass at Arborcrest Memorial Park in Ann Arbor.

If you wish to make a donation in support of the Campbell family, please make a check payable to Christ the King and write Campbell Funeral in the memo line, this donation is not tax deductible.

Desserts are needed for the funeral luncheon and any parishioner who would like to bring desserts should drop them off at the Parish Center Gym on Monday morning before the funeral Mass.

Please join us in prayer for the entire Campbell family as they and we mourn the loss of this wonderful young man.

God Bless