Redeemer s Christian Connection

Transcription

1 Redeemer s Christian Connection R e d e e m e r L u t h e r a n C h u r c h P i o n e e r R o a d D e l t a, C O F a x E m a i l : r l c l c m d e l t a l u t h e r a n. o r g We b s i t e : d e l t a l u t h e r a n. o r g March Newsletter Pastor s Corner FEED MY SHEEP - Part 2 I truly appreciate the feed-back (both green flags and red flags) which I have received since my comments in last month s newsletter concerning weekly communion. While some of the red flag feed-back had to do with legitimate concerns about the implementation of weekly communion, others were simply seeking to grow in their understanding of its importance. To help in reaching a unity through which our Lord works to answer our questions and overcome our concerns, I pray that the following will provide further nourishment. When it comes to receiving the Lord s Supper, while the Lord did tell us to take eat drink, and, do this, He didn t tell us how often. The same is true for any of the Gospel gifts which our Lord gives us. Our motivation for receiving them is not the Law but the Gospel itself the blessings which are offered. The how often question reminds me of the time when Peter asked Jesus, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven (Mt 18:21-22). Forgiveness is to be given as often as it is needed and desired. The same is true when it comes to the how often of the Lord s Supper; as often as it is needed and desired. The how often question is something which is good for each one of us to consider throughout our lives. When Martin Chemnitz (a 16 th century Lutheran theologian) considered this question, he wrote: the rule about when and how often one should go to Communion must be taken from the teaching about the fruit and power of [the Lord s Supper], namely, when and as often as we recognize that we have need of this power. i When Martin Luther considered this same question in his concluding Large Catechism comments on the Lord s Supper, he suggested that we basically put [our] hand on [our] bosom to ascertain whether [we] have flesh and blood. If you are flesh and blood (and since Paul says in Romans 7:18, I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh ), Luther says, for that reason, so long as I have flesh, it is of course necessary for me to go to the sacrament to strengthen my faith and spirit against the flesh which is opposed to my spirit. Scripture is not lying to you, but your feeling and your lack of feelings are deceiving you. One of the most common concerns about weekly Communion is the danger that it will be taken for granted. Taking something like the Lord s Supper for granted is certainly part of the sinful nature of all of us. As a result, I m sure that our sinful nature will tempt us to take the Lord s Supper for granted whether it is offered every day or only once a year. To help us fight against such sinful temptations, would it be better to offer the Lord s Supper (one of the very things which the Lord gives us to strengthen our faith and overcome sinful temptations) less often or more often? In my sermon last Sunday (see the sermon for the First Sunday in Lent, Staying Green in the

2 Wilderness ) I pointed out that God s Spirit works only through His Word and Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion to give and sustain in us all the gifts of eternal salvation which our Lord, Jesus Christ, has earned for us through His life, death, resurrection and ascension. As a result, the highest form of worship the most visible demonstration of our faith in God s Word takes place when we come to where the Lord promises to be to give us His gifts. And since, as our Lutheran Confessions point out, partaking of the Sacrament of the Altar increases the reverence and devotion of public worship, ii our reception of the Lord s Supper can only be good for His Church. In one of his sermon s which speaks of the great exchange which takes place in the Lord s Supper between us sinners and Jesus Christ, Martin Luther wrote: In faith we walk up the chancel steps, kneel and receive from our pastor Christ s true body and blood and we say, Amen I believe. Here the benefits of the great exchange are tendered to me, for here His innocence and my sins, my weakness and His strength are thrust together, and all thus become one. What is mine is His, and what is His that I also have When I receive the Sacrament, then Christ receives me and consumes me also, and devours me and my sins, and I enjoy this righteousness. Thus His godliness and riches swallow up my sins and misery, so that afterwards I am nothing but righteousness. iii In the Lord s Supper, God s people consume and are consumed. The Sacrament is pure Gospel, giving us all that Christ has won for us. To God alone be the Glory. In His name, Pastor Van i Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, Part II, Concordia, St. Louis, 1978 p ii AC XXIV, 5-6 iiithe Project Gutenberg, EBook of Epistle Sermons, Vol. II, by Martin Luther, Great Is Thy Faithfulness Our hymn of the month for March is an American Hymn which is one of the favorite hymns of God s people in England. I m glad it is included in our new hymnal since it not only speaks of God s material blessings ( summer and winter and spring time and harvest ), but also of His spiritual blessings especially Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth. According to Thomas O. Chisholm (who wrote the lyrics), there were no special circumstances which caused its writing just his experience and Bible truth. William M. Runyan, who wrote the music specifically for these words, said: This particular poem held such an appeal that I prayed most earnestly that my tune might carry its message in a worthy way, and the subsequent history of its use indicates that God answered prayer. While this hymn doesn t specifically mention Jesus Christ by name, and is therefore not a stand on its own hymn, since it s included in the context of our hymnal/service book which makes very clear who Jesus Christ is as the God/Man Savior of all mankind, and the pardon for sins that He earn for us through His death and resurrection, we can sing this hymn with gusto. The same could be said about some of the Psalms like Psalm 150 which, out of the context of the rest of the Psalms and Scriptures, tells us very little about who the Lord is and why we Praise the Lord! But in the context of the rest of the Scriptures, including Psalms like Psalm 22 which Jesus referred to from the cross when He said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?, we certainly do praise the Lord for being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. That s why it s also important for us to keep our lives in the context of God s Word and Sacraments, so that the world may know the motivation behind all the good that we seek to do. In the context of God s Word and Sacraments we thank and praise the Lord for His great faithfulness and give all glory to Him. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

3 Birthdays April Oberheu March 3 Helen Austin March 5 Maysen Wilbur March 10 Stephanie Sidor March 12 Henry Parada March 13 Jordan Oeltjenbruns March 13 Teagan Scarbrough March 15 Kathryn Weller March 16 Lois Stephens March 19 Andrea Van Fossan March 19 Ken Weber March 28 Wedding Anniversaries Darrell & Myrna Sinner March 12 Baptismal Birthdays April Oberheu March 18 Joseph Cumins March 24 Benjamin Cumins March 24 Jim Gilleece March 25 Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 8th, so don t forget to Spring Ahead on Saturday night before retiring. THE LORD S MINISTRY Redeemer Lutherans attendance figures and financial blessings that were given for the month of February to further maintain the Lord s ministry. Date Attendance Communicants Offerings Received Needed Operating Gen./Designated Funds Budget $ /$ $4, $3,918.00/$ $4, $ /$ $4, $1,279.00/$20.00 $4, $3,582.00/$ $4,455.06

4 2014 Statistics Report The following figures (Religious Traditions) for both Delta and Montrose County came from the Association of Religion Data Archives, for the year Delta Montrose County County Evangelical Protestant 4,238 3,721 Mainline Protestant 1,615 1,785 Orthodox 96 0 Catholic 3,630 2,916 Other 1,676 2,826 Unclaimed 19,697 30,028 The population of Delta County was 30,952 in The adherent totals of the religious groups listed above (11,255) included 36.4% of the total population in The population of Montrose County was 41,276 in The adherent totals of the religious groups listed above (11,248) included 27.3% of the total population in Redeemer Lutheran would be listed under Evangelical Protestant. The following figures reflect Redeemer Lutheran s membership for the year Membership: Baptized 209 (Ave. age 44) Confirmed 169 (Ave. age 52) Average Attendance: Church 82 (39%) Communion 72 (43%) Adult Bible Class 32 Sunday School 8 Teen/Young Adult 5 Tiny Treasures (Fall Qtr.) 1 member, 24 non-members Vacation Bible School 5 members, 33 non-members Baptism Infant 4 Youth 2 Adult 0 Confirmation Adult 0 Junior 0 Other Weddings 0 Deaths 3 Funerals 3 Location Austin (5) 2% Cedaredge (14) 7% Delta (83) 40% Eckert (4) 2% Hotchkiss 0 Montrose (50) 24% Olathe (4) 2% Other (51) 23% (students, military, out-of-state, etc.). Other College (12) 6% Military (3) 1% Shut-in (2) 1% Age Group 1-2: (5) 2% 3-6: (6) 3% 7-11: (13) 6% 12-14: (10) 5% 15-18: (11) 5% 19-25: (22) 11% 26-30: (7) 3% 31-40: (24) 11% 41-50: (17) 8% 51-60: (23) 11% 61-70: (28) 13% 71-80: (31) 15% 80+: (14) 7% It is our prayer that you regularly partake of the many gifts that God gives through Jesus Christ to Redeemer Lutheran Church. Help us to look for ways to further our ministry within our congregation and our surrounding communities. Pastor Van; Boards of Elders, Education, Evangelism, Youth Ministry, Stewardship & Parish School

5 Thrivent Choice Dollars Don t forget to direct Thrivent Choice Dollars Grant funding from Thrivent Financial through its Thrivent Choice program can help support organizations you care about. Don t let designated Choice Dollars expire. Direct Thrivent Choice Dollars by March 31 Eligible Thrivent Financial members who have been designated Choice Dollars have until March 31, [YEAR], to direct them. Don t miss this opportunity to recommend that Thrivent Financial provide grant funding to [ORGANIZATION NAME]. Go to Thrivent.com/thriventchoice to learn more and find program terms and conditions. Or call and say Thrivent Choice after the prompt. Tiny Treasures Update We have 26 students currently enrolled in preschool, kindergarten and/or the after school program. We thank God for the opportunity to share His Word with so many families. We have transitioned to the new CPH preschool materials, One in Christ, and it is a blessing to students and staff. There is a general theme to the Bible story each month and in February the stories reflect Jesus is Our Good Friend. We continue to use the same assessments of academic achievement, which also provides an academic theme each month with us covering Social and Emotional Development in February and Approaches to Learning in March. Finally, we are appreciative of all the direct and indirect contributions to the preschool children from the notepads and cookies to Adam painting the youth room to the preschool grandmother who donated enough money to buy everything on the wish list. Thank You! Jace Lenten Season Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the Lenten fast for the Early Church. Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert. In memory of that, Christians fasted for forty days. But since Christians didn t fast on Sundays, because it was the day of resurrection, and a day of great joy, they had to start on a Wednesday in order to fast for forty days before Easter. What does it mean to fast? It means to willingly abstain from something that in itself is both permissible and good. You abstain from it in order to free yourself to serve Christ. You show both yourself and your Lord that you can take this earthly thing or leave it. This is the right way for a Christian to live. We should use this world and its goods as if we didn t need them. Q: Do Lutherans have to give up something for Lent as some other denominations require? A: From the perspective of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, "giving something up for Lent" is entirely a matter of Christian freedom. It would be wrong, from our perspective, for the church to make some sort of "law" requiring its members to "give something up for Lent," since the Scriptures themselves do not require this. If, on the other hand, a Christian wants to give something up for Lent as a way of remembering and personalizing the great sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for our sins, then that Christian is certainly free to do so--as long as he or she does not "judge" or "look down on" other Christians who do not choose to do this. Q: What is the significance of Lent? A: Early in the Church's history, the major events in Christ's life were observed with special

6 Lenten Season continued observances, such as His birth, baptism, death, resurrection and ascension. As these observances developed, a period of time was set aside prior to the major events of Jesus' birth and resurrection as a time of preparation. During Lent, the Church's worship assumes a more penitential character. The color for the season is purple, a color often associated with penitence. The "Hymn of Praise" is omitted from the liturgy. The word "Alleluia" is usually omitted as well. By not using the alleluia--a joyful expression meaning "Praise the Lord"--until Easter, the Lenten season is clearly set apart as a distinct time from the rest of the year. Additionally, it forms a powerful contrast with the festive celebration of Jesus' resurrection when our alleluias ring loud and clear. Finally, the penitential character of Lent is not its sole purpose. In the ancient Church, the weeks leading up to Easter were a time of intensive preparation of the candidates who were to be baptized at the Easter vigil on Holy Saturday. This time in the Church's calendar was seen as an especially appropriate time for Baptism because of the relationship between Christ's death and resurrection and our own in Holy Baptism (see Romans 6:1-11). This focus would suggest that the season of Lent serves not only as a time to meditate on the suffering that Christ endured on our behalf but also as an opportunity to reflect upon our own Baptism and what it means to live as a child of God. To Live with Christ, Daily Devotions by Bo Giertz, pg. 183 The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO infocenter@lcms.org Life Thoughts in the Church Year March 1 The Second Sunday in Lent Peter heard Jesus speak of suffering and death but he seemed to have missed the resurrection part. (Mark 8:31-31). The way of salvation would be the way of the cross AND an empty tomb. When we take up our cross and follow Him, we follow in the victory. He has already won over death, and we follow toward the victory of our own resurrection. That makes cross bearing purposeful and hopeful. March 8 The Third Sunday in Lent God did not send Moses into Egypt with the Ten Commandments and say, Keep these and I will see what I can do about getting you out of here. No, He got them out of there. He redeemed them from the house of slavery (Exodus 20:2). He tells them, This is how redeemed people live. Keeping the commandments and making good choices in our lives is not the way of salvation. It flows from salvation. March 15 The Fourth Sunday in Lent But God (Ephesians 2:4). What hope-filled words! We were dead in sin and deserved to stay dead in sin (2:1-3). But God... Makes us alive together with Christ (5). The world is a mess. But God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...(John 3:16). Our lives can seem a mess. But God created us in Christ Jesus for good works (2:10). Live in hope! Think, But God... March 22 The Fifth Sunday in Lent A God who forgives iniquity and remembers sin no more (Jeremiah 31:31-34) is just the kind of God people who have sinned against life need to hear about, trust in and take comfort in. March 29 Palm Sunday/Sunday of Passion Because we have a God who emptied Himself and became obedient unto death (Philippians 2:5-8), we are free from the slavery of sin and death. Instead, we become prisoners of hope (Zechariah 9:12). Isn t it good to know that when we feel hopeless, we have a hope that will not let us go?

7 The Daily Lectionary for March 1. Isaiah 64:1-9 Numbers Psalm 85 Numbers Psalm 86 Numbers Psalm 87 Numbers Psalm 88 Numbers Psalm 89 Numbers Psalm 90 Numbers Psalm 91 Deuteronomy Psalm 92 Deuteronomy Psalm 93 Deuteronomy Psalm 94 Deuteronomy Psalm 95 Deuteronomy Psalm 96 Deuteronomy Psalm 97 Deuteronomy Psalm 98 Deuteronomy Exodus 8:1-32 Psalm 118 Hebrews 1: Exodus 9:1-28 Lamentations 1:1-22 Hebrews 2: Exodus 9:29-10:20 Lamentations2:1-22 Hebrews 3: Exodus 10:21-11:10 Lamentations 3:1-66 Hebrews 4: Exodus 12:1-18 Lamentations 4:1-22 Hebrews 5: Exodus 12:29 Lamentations 5:1-22 Hebrews 6:1-20 Psalm Exodus 13:17-14:9 Hebrews 7: Exodus 14:10-31 Hebrews 7:23-8:13 24 Exodus 15:1-18 Hebrews 9: Exodus 15:19-16:12 Hebrews 10: Exodus 16:13-35 Hebrews 10: Exodus 17:1-16 Hebrews 11: Exodus 18:5-27 Hebrews 12: Exodus 19:1-25 Hebrews 13: Exodus 20:1-24 Luke 4: Exodus 22: :13 Luke 4:16-30 This outline is a devotional reading plan that covers the entire Sacred Scriptures each year. The selections are based on ancient models and are generally in harmony with the liturgical church year. The average reading is three chapters daily. A seasonal canticle is assigned for each month and is scheduled to replace the psalm on the first days of the month. All of the psalms are read twice a year. The lectionary is in accordance with Martin Luther s suggestions: But let the entire Psalter, divided in parts, remain in use and the entire Scriptures, divided into lections, let this be preserved in the ears of the church. Also: After that another book should be selected, and so on, until the entire Bible has been reads through, and where one does not understand it, pass that by and glorify God.