Identity Theft: Paul`s Letter to the Church in Ephesus

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1 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 7 JULY 2018 Identity Theft: Paul`s Letter to the Church in Ephesus by Pastor David Langewisch There are many forces that tear away at the very essence of what it means to be a Christian. In this letter, Paul establishes the foundation of grace in which we find our own identity, and reminds us of how we are integrally connected to one another, on mission together in Christ s church. Chasing the Star Page 2 Father s Day Page 3 Vicar Thank You Page 4 Join us beginning July 8 for a six-week sermon series on the book of Ephesians. The weekly topics will cover: I Am Blessed; The Old Me; We re on the Same Team; Christianity is One derful; No Cheap Imitation; and Battle- Ready. Scholarships Page 4 LifeLight Page 5 Blessing Bags Page 6 July Calendar Page 7 Family Rockies Page 8 Game July 29

2 P AGE 2 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 7 ``Chasing the Star`` Prayer Retreat Saturday, September 29, 2018 For the ladies of Bethlehem, led by Judy Berg, a recovering prayer wimp, and sister of Marva Tonniges Do you feel like you are a failure at prayer? When people ask you about your prayer life, does your mind start scrambling for ways to hide your problem? Do you start talking about other things that you hope will make you sound like a godly person? Or do you have a fair to middling prayer life that you would like to expand? If either of these descriptions applies to you, then we encourage you to register for this event. Judy will be here from Dallas, Texas, to help us gain new insights about prayer. We ll hear what several authors have to say about prayer, examine the scriptures on the topic of prayer, and practice some new prayer techniques. Let s get together and chat over morning coffee and a light lunch. More information in our next newsletter. ============================================================================================================ How is God calling you to MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

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4 P AGE 4 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 7 Thank You Bethlehem by Vicar Nicholas Gonzalez I cannot believe that a year has already come and gone. I remember last July, when I first arrived in the Bethlehem parking lot and Kim gave me a quick tour of the church and the keys to the house. At that time, I was nervous, anxious, and had no clue what God had in store for me. Now, a year later, I am thankful, humbled and realized that God s plan is always more than we can imagine. Over the past year I have learned so much about the inner-workings of a church and how to work as part of team. But one of my greatest take-aways from vicarage is the opportunity I had to interact with all of you. Whether we ve had a personal conversation or not, I want you all to know how thankful I am to have been the vicar at Bethlehem. My name is now on a list with so many others who have had the chance to experience life as the vicar at Bethlehem. And if their experience was anything like mine, I know they too were blessed. As a congregation, you showed me that even in the midst of change, God s people remain unified because of Jesus Christ. You demonstrated the love of Christ and care that Christ has for his people, from my first Sunday here until my last Sunday here. And so I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for investing in me. Thank you for giving me, and so many other vicars, the chance to experience this wonderful church and school. Thank you for supporting future pastors and sharing all your wisdom and knowledge. Thank you Bethlehem, for being the place where I was able to spend the last year learning and growing on my journey to become a pastor. I can t wait to one day share stories about my vicarage and remember all the wonderful times I have had this past year. ============================================================================================================ 2018/19 Bethlehem Scholarship Awards by Dale Wagner Congratulations to this year s recipients of grants for the 2018/2019 school term from the Bethlehem Scholarship Team: -- Daniel Langewisch is completing his senior year at Concordia University-Nebraska in pursuit of his pre-seminary degree and received a $1,500 grant. The team also awarded a total of $8,000 to four Bethlehem members attending Faith Christian s Lutheran Track for the 2018/2019 school term.

5 FULLY ALIVE P AGE 5 Fully Alive Bethlehem Lutheran Church & School 2100 N. Wadsworth Blvd. Lakewood, CO Church office: School office: Visit us online at Bethlehem@ BethlehemDenver.com KLTT 670 Radio Broadcast 11:00 AM Sundays David J. Langewisch, Pastor Drew Ross, Pastor Tim Wendelin, Pastor Sam Reinhard, Vicar (Student Pastor) Nathan Richter, Principal Sandy Wendelin, Director of Discipleship Scott Bubke, Director of Operations Doug Butte, IT Director Becky Chaplin, Director, Ministry to Children Andie Bell, Interim ELC Director Dave King, Director, Worship Arts Fully Alive is published monthly for the members and friends of Bethlehem Lutheran. It focuses on news within the congregation and activities in the church each month. Articles may be submitted to the church office by the 15th of each month for the next month s issue. to: bethlehem@bethlehemdenver.com. ; GoodNews@bethluth.net. All articles and information will be sent through the BLC server. I hope this makes it easier for you to Will You Pray for our Pastors? by Martha Rowley When I opened the February issue of the Lutheran Witness the first article had the title, Will You Pray for Your Pastor? written by the president of our Missouri Synod, Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison. The article starts out with St. Paul's letters that are filled with references to his prayers for others and his requests for their prayers for him. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power... (2 Thess.1:11). This is true for us and our Pastors and Vicars as well. They pray for us and we have the responsibility to pray for them. We will benefit from these prayers. Pastor Harrison shared a visit that he had with an elderly woman who had just been transferred from her home to a care facility and was distraught. Pastor Harrison tried to comfort her but she comforted him instead by saying, Oh Pastor, I pray for you every day. He felt dismayed but comforted! Our Pastors serve 24/7. They pray for us, counsel us, study for us, preach the word to us. I could go on and on but I think you get the message. As we go about our summer plans, please keep our Pastors in prayer. Both pastors are heading to Jamaica for a mission trip, Pastor Wendelin makes calls on hurting people, and Pastor Langewisch prepares for the musical and for teaching our new series for Lifelight in the fall called Triune God, New Creation & 1 & 2 Kings. These are just a few items on their to-do lists. One of the prayers that Pastor Harrison suggested was: Savior, bless my Pastor with faithfulness to Your Word. Cause him to grow in knowledge of Your Word. Give him courage and strength for his tasks. I thank you for our Pastors and for all faithful pastors. Grant success to the work of our seminaries. Bless our professors and students. And give my pastor joy. I ask all this for Your sake alone. Amen.

6 P AGE 6 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 7 Birthday Blessing Bags by Dorris Clark (a perfect ten eight times) Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40 At the end of May, I celebrated by 80th birthday. Early in the planning, I was asked if I wanted a party or at least a cake at church. My answer was no. I felt the money could be better spent if given to those in need. Early in my marriage we supported Denver Rescue Mission. They aid the homeless, and after checking with them, we found that we could make Blessing Bags. The bags are clear plastic gallon size filled with everyday items we often take for granted. The mission hands them out to the homeless during the week. To date, some 70 Blessing Bags have been donated. Another thing on my wish list was to have a card shower. I thought wouldn t it be nice to get 80 cards! Someone said, Wouldn t even 38 be nice? (That was the year I was born.) However, the cards kept coming and coming. The count now is well over 100! One other thing on my wish list was to take flowers to Ft. Logan and Crown Hill for people in my life who now live with Jesus. Biggest highlight was my family joining me in worship and the special prayer said in my honor. Also, I had surprise visits from those who live out of state. Afterwards, we gathered at a local restaurant which included a chocolate birthday cake from the German bakery. There were 20 in attendance. Even though I felt the Blessing Bags were my main gift, my family continued the royal treatment with lovely gifts just for me. God is good and no words can express how deeply grateful I am for all the blessings He has bestowed on me. A big thank you to everyone who was a part of making ============================================================================================================ Pray for our YOUTH Mission Trip Team to Jamaica Please pray for safety and protection for our Youth Mission Trip team to Jamaica from June 30-July 7, as they renew relationships built with previous mission teams.

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8 Non-Profit Org. U. S. POSTAGE PAID WHEATRIDGE, CO PERMIT NO. 68 Join us on July 29 for a fun family day at the baseball game! Sign up in the Commons beginning July 1.