Bethlehem Star. This Issue s Focus: A New Year, A New Life. December 2018, Volume 32, Issue 4

Transcription

1 Bethlehem Star Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[ The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Photo credit: Rachel Hebert December 2018, Volume 32, Issue 4 This Issue s Focus: A New Year, A New Life 1

2 Will You Be Home for Christmas? by Pastor Satorius Will you be home for Christmas? Many college students, distant relatives, even some fortunate servicemen are looking forward to being home for Christmas. They will get to be part of gift exchanges, festive dinners and good times with friends and family. It will be great to be home. But not everyone will be able to be home for Christmas this year. Not everyone was home for the first Christmas. Mary and Joseph weren t home for Christmas. They were following the emperor s decree, headed to Bethlehem, despite Mary s due date fast approaching. They trusted God would be with them and protect them on the way, and give them a place to stay. The wise men from the east weren t home for the first Christmas. They spent Christmas and many more months after Christmas on the road, following the star which eventually led them to the King of the Jews. The shepherds weren t home for Christmas. They were working out in the fields on Christmas Eve. Yet God broke through the darkness and first announced the birth of the Savior to them. The angels weren t home for the first Christmas. But they had been waiting for this moment for years. They sang for the shepherds and for the world: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. None of these participants in the Christmas story were home, but they actually were blessed with something even better. That s because Jesus wasn t home for Christmas either. He left his Father side in heaven to come to us, to become one of us, to live and die for us, to make us his own. Just as they pondered, worshipped, sang and shared the good news with others at Jesus birth, we too have the same privilege as we celebrate Christmas. Through faith Jesus is at home with you now and you will be at home with him in heaven for all eternity. That makes this something even better than a merry Christmas: a blessed Christmas indeed. 2

3 Church Council Changes by Gary Leopold The Christian Church Year by Lynnette Hupman Happy New Year! Recently I was serving at church and started a discussion with another member about the single digit number hymns. He had not realized the Christian Worship, A Lutheran Hymnal, has hymns ordered to the Christian Church Year. The year begins with Advent, which invites us to prepare ourselves spiritually for Christmas. You might wonder why the church year and the secular (January-December) year aren t the same. One author suggested that it reminds us that, as Christians, we are challenged to live our lives differently. The calendar is one way of doing this. For Advent at Bethlehem, we use blue, the color of Hope, in our altar cloths; other congregations use purple. On Christian Worship pages , there is a breakdown of the Sundays and Major Festivals with a listing of the colors. We will soon put up the white altar cloths which represent the glory of the Lord. Caroling around Manassas Throughout the centuries, outreach has become a valuable conduit by which the Gospel message is shared. We perform acts of outreach in order to minister to people and that s what happened on December 16 with our caroling. Seven members visited two Manassas assisted living facilities after Bible Study. Outreach Elder, Martin Schwenke, prepared a song packet with many familiar hymns. The carolers met at Arbor Terraces and sang to diners in the Evergreen and Main Dining Rooms. The favorites there seemed to be Joy to the World and Away in a Manager. At Paramount Senior Living, the favorites were Away In A Manger and Go Tell It On The Mountain. One of the staff started the residents clapping which was great fun. The singers closed each series with Silent Night and wished everyone the peace that comes from knowing the newborn King, Jesus. 3

4 Fishing for my Father by Todd Tucker Jesus Cares Ministry Christmas Celebration! Our 2018 Christmas gathering was a joyous event as our Jesus Cares Ministries (JCM) friends arrived decked out in ugly sweaters for a second year. This year, even the therapy dogs came dressed up! Members of Bethlehem came on a rainy Saturday, December 15, to be part of this unique outreach ministry with people who have a developmental disability. JCM reaches out with the gospel to these friends, their families and caregivers. JCM began at Bethlehem over five years ago! In 2019, we look forward to providing simple, fun, easy-to-understand and highly participative Bible classes and events. These activities engage and educate individuals of all ages, learning levels and physical challenges. If you know of someone who needs to know about JCM, give them information about the JCM website, Or give them Fred s phone, , or Kristine s,

5 New Year Contentment by Rev. J. Bourman Contentment cannot be taught. If it were that simple and easy, we d all have it all the time. Someone would just teach us the logic of it and it would stick. Don t you see, we d tell our kids, contentment makes the same sort of sense as 1+1= 2. And then they d nod their heads in agreement won over by our irrefutable logic. Pretty sure that s not effective. Why? Because I know me. And I know my daughter. And if the Scriptures are true, I know you and your kids too. If I m going to tamp down the whirring, yearning, and chasing of my discontentment this Christmas, if I m going to help my daughter do the same, there is only one force with both the consistency and the power to deliver. His name? The Holy Spirit. He alone will allow me to walk past the Apple store without a second thought. He alone will allow my three-year-old daughter to walk past racks of Christmas toys without throwing a tantrum or convince her she s alright without that additional Christmas cookie. That s just honest. Keeping that in mind, here are a few quick thoughts on unleashing the Spirit: Unleash the Spirit on yourself. In the Word, you ll find this incredible, mind-blowing God who has met every one of your most basic and most profound needs in totally overwhelming ways. Did I gush enough to make my point? The reality is that if we parents are not convinced we have everything we could possibly want or need in Christ, how could we possibly hope to share that same news with our kids? My daughter can smell a rat a mile away. Unleash the Spirit on your child(ren). See above. Just think, it s December! What better picture is there than that mangy manger for teaching the love and promises of God? Live gratitude. Even shout it! I do, and I heartily recommend it. When I see another stunning Carolina crescent moon, my whole house knows about it (and who put it there!). Sometimes at dinner, I ll very intentionally ask my girls, What are you thankful for today? We do that at bedtime, too. At the tender age of three, she sometimes has a hard time getting past the zoo, but hey I don t mind asking her, Are you thankful for Jesus, too? Why? (Quick aside: if you want to feel joy after a tough day, do what I suggest and just watch your daughter s eyes light up with gospel glow as she tells you about the God she s learning to know. I m telling you, there s nothing better!) Ignore, squash, or redirect discontentment. Pray for wisdom on which of those triggers to pull in which circumstance and then pull it. Don t be afraid to let the Spirit convict through you. Whatever you do, don t ever indulge it. The human heart is a bottomless pit. One more thing will not satisfy. Only Jesus does. Finally, build these rhythms into your family life intentionally, practically, and concretely all the time. The human heart doesn t magically heal from discontentment after December 25 rolls by. Before we know it, once again in the new year we will find our hearts in need of Holy Spiritprovided contentment. I am also delighted, however, to tell you that once again in the New Year you ll reliably find the Spirit for yourself and your children in the words and promises of God. 5

6 Change, Transition, Constancy by Gary Leopold Jesus is My Rock and that s how I roll! by Martin Schwenke On Saturday, 1 December, numerous friends and members of Bethlehem gathered to be part of the Greater Manassas Christmas Parade. This was done, like all of Bethlehem s Outreach activities are done, for the express intent to spread the gospel - to let people know that they have a friend in Jesus. Along with that, we told them about our Little Stars of Bethlehem Early Learning Center, about our Jesus Cares Ministry to the developmentally disabled and shared a little bit about the people at Bethlehem Lutheran. We are always looking for ideas to spread the gospel message and our Early Learning Center Director, Cheryl, came up with a great idea. The parade s theme was A Rockin Christmas and our float had the backdrop saying, JESUS is my rock and that s how I roll! 37 of us had t-shirts made up and we came decked out for about 20,000 parade attendees this year Whoo-hoo! Pastors Wattles and Satorius, Lorna Satorius, and Vicar Bourman from Grace Lutheran were a blessing to us and Theo Bourman stole the show with his smile and t-shirt display. The Little Stars of Bethlehem ELC student smiles and waves were a blessing on the float. We were also blessed with their parents and family who walked with us. If you would like to see official parade photographs, there s a link on Facebook for Greater Manassas Christmas Parade. It was posted on December 4 and our photos are on page 6. To watch the video, go to and click on Prince William TV. On the far-right side, there is a time and our walk happens at about -1:17:22. A lot of work went into preparing the goodie bags plus bringing in and creating the parade float. I give you all a big THANK YOU! 6

7 Jesus is My Rock & Manassas Christmas Parade Photos This couldn t happen without you and your amazing willingness to help at all hours of the day and night. We remember with thanks the 2017 donations that covered last year and this year s expenses as we provided the gospel message to 2000 parade attendees through the goodie bags. May the Holy Spirit continue that work and may God s will be done. We are making plans to participate in the 2019 Manassas Christmas Parade and ask you now to plan to join us next year on Saturday, December 7. If you have questions about our Outreach Program or anything regarding the parade, contact me at or martin.55@comcast.net. God bless each of you this Christmas Season! P.S. Our members, Nikole (percussion) and Luke (flute) were part of the First-Place winners of the Marching Band category. Congratulations to Battlefield High School Marching Band! 7

8 Silent Night for 200 Years by Gary Leopold This year s Christmas Eve service will be extra special as we at Bethlehem Lutheran along with Christians everywhere gather to worship Jesus by singing Silent Night. It was 200 years ago on December 24, 1818, that this most famous and treasured Christmas carol was first used in worship. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and His birth and life here on Earth as true God and true man to work humankind s salvation by meditating on that, thanking and praising Him for all that He has done and continues to do. At the same time, taking a few moments to consider Silent Night s rich lyrics, the brilliant simplicity of its tune, and its origin on its 200 th anniversary is a worthy endeavor. Joseph Mohr penned Silent Night s poetic lyrics already back in In 1818 as Christmas approached, he gave them to Conrad Franz Xavier Gruber the son of a poor linen weaving family, and asked him to compose a melody in two-part harmony so it could be used for their church s Christmas Eve service. Father Joseph Mohr was curate at St. Nikolaus Katholische Kirche in the small village of Oberndorf in Upper Austria near Salzburg. Although Silent Night was written in German, it is actually an Austrian Christmas carol. Another common misconception is that Silent Night has three verses; it originally had six and they were ordered differently. Here they are side by side. Alles schläft, einsam wacht Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar. Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar; Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh! Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh! Gottes Sohn! O wie lacht Lieb aus Deinem göttlichen Mund, Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund; Jesus in Deiner Geburt! Jesus in Deiner Geburt! Die der Welt Heil gebracht, Aus des Himmels goldenen Höhn, Uns der Gnade Fülle läßt sehn Jesum in Menschengestalt! Jesum in Menschengestalt! Wo sich heut alle Macht Väterlicher Liebe ergoß, Und als Bruder huldvoll umschloß Jesus die Völker der Welt! Jesus die Völker der Welt! Lange schon uns bedacht, Als der Herr vom Grimme befreit, In der Väter urgrauer Zeit, Aller Welt Schonung verhieß! Aller Welt Schonung verhieß! Hirten erst kundgemacht, Durch der Engel Halleluja. Tönt es laut von ferne und nah: Jesus der Retter ist da! Jesus der Retter ist da! All is calm, all is bright, Round yon virgin mother and child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace. Son of God, love's pure light; Radiant beams from thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at thy birth. Brings to earth saving light; Grace fulfilled to us is given, From the golden heights of heaven. Comes in lowly birth. Comes in lowly birth. Shows to each his great might. Love descends from heaven above. Dwells with us in brotherly love. Hailed by nations afar. Hailed by nations afar. Grants us grace, from sin s plight; Stills God s wrath as was foretold By his prophets in days of old. Peace, good will to all men. Peace, good will to all men. Shepherds quake at the sight. Glories stream from heaven afar; Heav nly hosts sing, Alleluia; Christ, the Savior is born! Christ, the Savior is born! 8

9 A lot can happen in 200 years. Differing accounts arose about how Silent Night came into being. One involved a broken organ and another how the hymn writer was called to the cottage of a poor woodcutter s home to bless that family s newborn. More importantly, Silent Night was well received and widely used. It was sung to the Austrian Emperor, the Russian Czar, Queen Victoria of England, Napoleon III, and in 1839 it was presented in front of Wall Street s Trinity Church in New York City. Along the way Silent Night s growing popularity kindled interest in its composer whose identity had been lost to time. For a while, rumor had it that it was written by famed composer Michael Haydn. Research led to Salzburg, where Gruber s 12 th son was a choir boy and the record was set straight. Stille Nacht began to be translated into other languages. Its first English translation, which was really a paraphrase, was by J.W. Warner and appeared in an 1849 Methodist devotional with this text: Silent night! Hallow d night! Land and deep silent sleep, Softly glitters bright Bethlehem s star. Beck ning Israel s eye from afar. Where the Saviour is born Where the Savior is born. I am grateful for the translation that I learned as a child that is still used today. By 1990, Oberndorf officials were able to provide copies of Stille Nacht translated into 30 languages. By 1992, their collection had grown to 100 languages. Still others continued to submit more translations so that by the 175 th anniversary in 1993, the number had grown to 175 languages. By 1999, Stille Nacht had been translated into over 300 languages. I suspect that it is available in even more languages today. Praise the LORD that the Gospel is reaching the World through this wonderful hymn. To the best of my recollection, Silent Night has always been part of all Christmas Eve services that I ve attended. When I was a child it was not the service s last hymn and it was never done with candlelight. I suspect that when Silent Night was first performed in 1818, St. Nikolaus was candlelit. Most likely the sanctuary s Christmas tree was adorned with lit candles a practice that dates back to the 1500 s and perhaps longer. Generally the Children s Christmas Eve services in which I took part ended with us singing Joy to the World as the organist played with more vigor and gusto than heard throughout the rest of the year. And why not? Joy to the World! The LORD has come! Let Earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room, And heav n and nature sing! A few years we concluded our worship with Hark the Herald Angels Sing! Those dynamic and triumphant hymns are a stark contrast to Silent Night s gentler, more meditative mood. We live in different times. Perhaps in this day and age, candles and meditation are what is needed in order to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and His birth and coming to Earth as true God and true man to work humankind s salvation. 9

10 Fishing for my Father by Todd Tucker REVEREND WELCH - INSTALLATION SERVICE The members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church have invited area congregations, District ministers, former members, and friends to join us in celebration at the installation of our new minister, Pastor Clayton Welch at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 13, Kathleen, the Fun, Food and Fellowship Coordinator, will host a dinner reception immediately following the service. She will share more information in the coming weeks. Todd, Congregation President, is coordinating final details for the Welch family as they move from River Falls, Wisconsin. Lil is coordinating the Food Pantry/Move-In Items. If you have any questions regarding this transition, bethlehemelcelder@gmail.com Women s Ministry News This is the final month of prayers for our Befriend A Mission congregations and ministers. We have lifted up Missionary Philip Birner, his wife Susan, and the people of Lusaka, Zambia. Rev. Ben Workentine, his family and the Cross of Christ congregation near Boise, Idaho have especially needed our prayers as they grieve for Mara Joy. Finally, Rev. Gunnar Ledermann, his wife Marinda, and the mission congregation of Divine Peace in Rockwall, Texas have needed our prayers. If you haven t prayed for them lately, bow your head and do so now. God loves to hear our prayers! We will receive new mission congregations to pray for in January. Many thanks were given to the ladies of Grace Lutheran for hosting us for Advent by Candlelight. There were over 90 women and young ladies participating and 27 of them were Bethlehem Lutheran members and friends. What a wonderful way to begin Advent! Our Bible study using the book, Pew Sisters, begins again on Monday, January 14 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, January 17 at 11:30 a.m. If you d like to bring a project or snack, talk to Heidi Grohs. We sent out gift cards to the 16 college students we re supporting through prayers and cards. Your donations were so generous and very appreciated. Two of the students had birthdays and Jeremy Rilko graduated from Eastern Michigan University in December so we included special greetings for them. Martha also mailed Christmas cards! Talk to Joan Richards if you have any questions. We will meet to discuss the Women s Retreat at Bethlehem on March towards the end of January. The Spring Mission Rally will be April 27, in Clarksville, Maryland. Direct your questions on these matters to Lynnette Hupman. Finally, make your plans now to attend the July Women s Conference! 10

11 11