August 2018 Volume 12, Issue 8

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1 August 2018 Volume 12, Issue 8 Regular Features: Bd of Director s 2 God s Treasure Report 3 Flower Chart 5 Births & Anniversaries 7 Calendar of Events 7 Millions Who Wonder A pastor friend of mine told me about a conversation he had with a lady who was asking about what his church believed. Everything went fine until he started talking about God's Commandments and the penalty for sin. Hearing about hell, the lady blurted: "Pastor, that's impossible! My god would never do such a thing." Surprised by the lady's reaction, the pastor The Newsletter of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, River Grove, Illinois Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Rev. Roger Gallup, Pastor went on to other topics as he tried to think of a suitable reply. Before the end of their session, he said, "A little while ago you said your 'god' wouldn't condemn you for disobeying his law. I think a lot of people have that god. Their god doesn't condemn them because he likes them just the way they are. Their god wouldn't call them 'sinners' or call them to repentance, and he certainly wouldn't suggest they need a Savior." "The only problem with your 'god,'" my friend continued, "is that he doesn't exist, and he certainly isn't the God of the Bible." "And what was the lady's reply?" I asked my pastor friend. He said, (Continued on page 2) Respect, Don t Reject Inside this Issue: List 2 Stewardship 3 The Takeaway 4 Worship Anew 5 Word Search 6 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22 For any relationship to work, we must accept each other s differences. Within our family we must respect each other s unique perspectives. We don t need to agree on every issue, but we must always honor where the other person is coming from. Paul did that: I try to find common ground with everyone. Some of us who claim to follow Christ have a hard time with views and values that differ from our own. We think compromise is a dirty word. Some of us have turned from the most immoral lives to faith in Christ, yet after our conversion we won t associate with anyone who doesn t agree with us and adopt our newfound values. Sometimes our families fall apart because we try to force our opinions on the people we love, and set boundaries to keep nonconformists out. What a terrible misuse of Christianity! Jesus didn t condemn the people who crucified Him; He prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). He didn t view them as morally bad, but spiritually blind. He told His disciples, No one can come to Me unless the Father...draws him (John 6:44). It s your job to love peo- (Continued on page 4)

2 Page 2 The Bethlehem Star Serving GOD and the community since 1898 Board of Directors Chairman Gerald Erjavec gerjavec@mindspring.com Vice-Chairman Ray Bernero bernero@sbcglobal.net Secretary Kurt Kugelberg kugelberg@sbcglobal.net Treasurer Marian Sperling mjsperling@sbcglobal.net Financial Secretary Tim Saar timsaar@gmail.com Deacons Harry McGinnis hmcginni@triton.edu Properties Bob Schultz schultzie44@att.net At-Large Liz Mork lizmork@comcast.net Diana Arndt dlarndt623@yahoo.com Millions Who Wonder (continued from page 1) "I don't know. I never saw her again." You see, that lady, like many others, thought she was the master, and God was a beggar, who should be glad to glean any crumbs that fall from her table. She thought of God as a cuddly-wuddly teddy bear, who might make her feel warm and secure when she needed Him but would -- the rest of the time -- sit patiently on her bed, or wherever she put Him. She thought of God as being a spiritual Santa, who waited anxiously for her to pass on the list of things she wanted, but who could be ignored the rest of the time. She thought of God as a nice grandpa, who gave gentle suggestions, but would never give orders. Although she might never have said it out loud, this lady was among the hundreds of millions who wonder * who does God think He is that He can tell me what I'm supposed to do? * who does God think He is that I have to keep Him first all of the time? * who does God think He is that He can push me around? * who does God think He is that I'm not allowed to have anything before Him, alongside Him, over, under, or next to Him? Who does God think He is? I'm going to tell you. God thinks He's God, and we're not. He's the God whose justice compels Him to condemn the sinner and the God whose Are you getting the Newsletter via ? If not please give pastor your address! grace sent His Son into the world to save those same sinners. He is the God who says, "The wages of sin is death, but My free gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus the Lord." PRAYER: Dear Lord, may I always remember that You are the loving Lord, and I am the sinful soul. May I always remember the sacrifice made by the Savior, who has given me life through His death and resurrection. In His Name, I ask it. Amen.

3 Volume 12, Issue 8 "Making His House Your Home" August 2018 Page 3 Stewardship: Giving Everything... When it comes to stewardship, a favorite Bible verse is the account of the widow s mite (Luke 21:1 4). It s a moving account. Our Lord praises the seemingly small gift of two copper coins given by a poor widow above the abundance of gifts given by the rich, saying, Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them (Luke 21:3). And that is usually where we stop. But the text goes on. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on (Luke 21:4). She put in all she had to live on. She gave everything. She held nothing back. She trusted that the Lord who made her and all creatures, who gave her everything she had, who redeemed her from her own sin, from death, and the power of the devil, who called her by the Gospel and enlightened her with His gifts of Word and Sacrament, would continue to do this. He would provide her with all that she needed for this body and life because that is the character of the God she had. But this is not why we give small gifts. Her gift, though it appeared small, was actually large. When we are tempted to give small gifts it is precisely because we want them to be small! We don t trust the Lord to provide for us. We give small gifts because we lack faith in the One who created us, redeemed us, sanctifies and keeps us in the one true faith. We give small gifts because we doubt that God will really give us what we need and desire. We give small gifts because we are not content with what God has already given. We are not slaves, children of the slave woman, under the Old Covenant (Gal. 4). We are adopted sons of the free woman. And since we are sons, we are also heirs. And heirs receive the inheritance. For everything is already ours in Christ. And thus, moved by the willing spirit of adoption, we do the will of God in financial matters far beyond all that done by those under the Old Covenant who were forced by legal demands. So what have you decided to God s Treasure Report Date Attendance Income Goal Difference Year * 1279 $57, $57,700 -($512.49) July 1 48 $3, $2,308 $ July 8 51 $2, $2,308 $ July $ $2,308 -($1,479.00) July $5, $2,308 $3, July $1, $2,308 -($671.00) YEAR 1502 $71, $69,240 $1, *The Year row are the totals for this church year prior to but NOT including the dates shown in the rest of the table. + includes Lenten services attendance & income give? How do I decide what to give? Let the Scriptures be your guide. We are to give proportionally to what we have received from God s giving to us (Luke 12:48; 1 Cor. 16:1-2, 2 Cor. 8:12). But you have not been set free to give nothing. See that you excel in the grace of giving (2 Cor. 8:7). We are not free to live selfishly outside the Gospel, without regard for God who gives us all good gifts, without generosity for our neighbor who needs us and our gifts, without supporting the community of faith in which we live, without care for our spiritual fathers and those who teach and help raise our children in the faith, without resources for the poor and needy in short, we are not free to live unto ourselves, hoarding what God has given us only for us. For love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). And the sum of the law is this: Love God and love your neighbor (Matt. 22:34-.40). We love because He first loved us. We give because He has given to us. Luther once said, Possessions belong in your hands, not in your heart (LW 14:240). There is a reason your 10 fingers spread apart. With your hands you catch God s gifts for what you need and let the rest fall through your fingers to your neighbors your family, your friends, your community, your church. On-Line Giving/Offerings: You can now schedule contributions to Bethlehem online through VANCO. To contribute online, visit our web site: and choose Donations in the top banner FREE Day-Old Bakery Open every Sunday morning 7:45am until 10:30am for more information contact: Harry McGinnis, Chair Bring your inkjet or laser cartridges to the narthex! We return them for a rebate For more information contact: Peggy Shabez

4 Bethlehem Church was dedicated on Sunday, Nov 4, 1951 it was built adjacent to the old church building Our Church Staff Pastor Rev. Roger Gallup, M. Div., M.A. Office Home Director of Music Linda Erjavec, B.A Secretary Elizabeth Gallup x10 circa 1900 Bethlehem Church (foreground) and School (background) Page 4 Respect, Don t Reject (Continued from page 1) ple, and it s God s job to change them! So, stop trying to do what only God can do! If you invest patiently in your relationships, respect other people s perspectives, and sow good seed, you ll The Takeaway 1 John 1: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. In the scheme of things, it was a small thing: only $5. * Five dollars is the amount of money a patron left as a tip for his waitress at Our Place Restaurant in Mansfield, Texas. * Five dollars is the amount which was still left on the table when the next family was seated. * Five dollars is the amount the little girl in reap a pleasant harvest in the long term. Your love, not the force of your argument, can give hope to the most severely damaged among us that there s healing for the broken places of the human soul. that family hid away under her menu. Now you know more than did that table's waitress. All she knew is that her tip had been there, and then, when she was able to get over to her table to pick it up, it wasn't there anymore. She assumed her money had fallen on the floor or slipped under the jelly and sugar caddy. It was only when the new family, the father, mother, and their daughter left the restaurant that the waitress found out her money wasn't at her table anymore. The owner of the restaurant, Benji Arslanovski, took his waitress The Bethlehem Star Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to respect others and not serve as a judge over them and let You do what You do. In Jesus Name, Amen and together they reviewed the security camera footage. What they saw disturbed them. They watched as the little girl showed her parents the money. Watching the scene play out, Arslanovski observed, "If my son did that and it's not my money, I'd give him a look and he'd put it down, so I was waiting for that look. And, it (the look) didn't happen." Instead, the parents did nothing, and their little girl pocketed the money. The theft upset Arslanovski. The restaurant's owner posted (Continued on page 5) In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Phil 4:6 Would you like to submit a prayer request? Prayer is very powerful & Bethlehem has a powerful prayer chain. Sue Peavey, Chief Prayer Warrior susanpeavey@sbcglobal.net We will do the rest and many prayers will be made known to God. Contact: Sue Peavey

5 Volume 12, Issue 8 "Making His House Your Home" August 2018 Page 5 Flower Chart 2018: We are all aware that flowers bring beauty to the altar as well as joy to the giver. Unfortunately, we have experienced problems with receiving payment. If you are like me we sign up when the flower chart is produced and then forget about it until the date comes up and our name appears in the bulletin as the donor. We leave church saying we have to pay for them and then time gets away from us and the thought is forgotten. Payment can be made in advance or at least during the month in which flowers were requested. God's blessings to each of you who donate flowers. Any questions you may contact Liz Mork. The Takeaway (Continued from page 4) (Continued from page 4) the video of the theft on Facebook. Within a few hours, the girl's mother came in and returned the money, who said they had thought it was theirs. Arslanovski isn't sure if he believed her, but he took down the video. Arslanovski says it isn't the first time he has posted a video of a misbehaving patron. There have been eight customers who walked out the door without paying their bill. After their videos were posted, six out of the eight deadbeats returned and made good on their omission. So, do you think these folks repented of their sin? No one can be certain, but I wonder... Many years ago, the great pulpiteer, Charles Spurgeon, defined repentance this way: "Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a mourning that we have committed it, a resolution to forsake it. It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved." Well, I doubt if that family has embraced that level of repentance. If they had, they would have brought their daughter in and encouraged her to own up. Yes, $5 maybe a little thing, but it can be a big thing when it comes to setting a spiritual direction and a moral compass in a child's life. It would have been a big thing because that little girl would have known the joy of having a Lord who assures that if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. PRAYER: Dear Lord, I confess my many sins and in doing so rejoice in the forgiveness which comes with faith in the Redeemer. In whose Name I pray. Amen. Pull Tabs We collect tabs to benefit Ronald McDonald House. Drop them off in the Narthex. Many thanks! Peggy Shabez chairperson River Grove Food Pantry If everyone coming to church brought just one item each Sunday, think how many lives we could touch. PLEASE USE OUR NEW: Tuition Credit Shopping Program for current & future students of Walther High School Linda McGinnis, Chairperson

6 The Bethlehem Star Page 6 Word Search: Angels circa 1927 Bethlehem Church & Parsonage prior to remodeling of church building which occurred in 1928 Word Search: Answers Our old church altar Daily Devotion-Lutheran Church Charities Read or listen to a great daily devotional Sundays-6am-WGN 720AM

7 Volume 12, Issue 8 "Making His House Your Home" August 2018 Page 7 Birthdays Czarnecki, Dorothy Pagen, Sara Capron, Arlene Moselle, Jaclyn Erjavec, Linda Narvaez, Phyllis Loranz, Thomas Schultz, Jessica Koterla, Lynn Sperling, Marian Koterla, Kelsey 01-Aug 02-Aug 02-Aug 03-Aug 07-Aug 09-Aug 12-Aug 13-Aug 14-Aug 16-Aug 17-Aug Guhl, Cheryl Downey, Wanda LeDuc, Autumn Lonigro, Anthony Schmeiser, Betsy Puchta, Amanda Culliton, Sandra Bull, Ngaire Naylor, Daniel Roeder, Heather Roeder, Hillary 18-Aug 22-Aug 22-Aug 22-Aug 22-Aug 24-Aug 28-Aug 30-Aug 30-Aug 31-Aug 31-Aug Anniversaries Kolek, Joseph & Marsha Shabez, Dave & Peggy Arndt, Don & Diana 05-Aug 26-Aug 29-Aug Do you want to add to our Birthday or Anniversary list? Contact the Church Office: or just send us a note! August 2018 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY th S aft Pentecost 8:15am Bible Study 9:15am Service (C) 10:30am Coffee & th S aft Pentecost 8:15am Bible Study 9:15am Service (I) 10:30am Coffee & th S aft Pentecost 8:15am Bible Study 9:15am Service (C) 10:30am Coffee & th S aft Pentecost 8:15am Bible Study 9:15am Service (I) 10:30am Coffee & Note: (C) denotes Common Cup Communion Service and (I) denotes Individual Cup Communion Service;

8 Bethlehem Lutheran Church 2624 Oak Street River Grove, Illinois Celebrating God s Love since 1898 What We Teach and Confess As Lutherans -There is one true God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. -All People are born in sin, and we sin against God every day. -Jesus Christ is our Savior. He is true God and true man. He came from heaven, lived a perfect life in our place and died a sacrificial death on the cross for all. -Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and opened the gates of heaven to all who trust in him. -God accepts all who believe in Jesus even though there is no merit or worthiness in us. -So that we might believe in Jesus, God has given us the ministry, which is the preaching of Christ and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord s Supper. Through these, God also gives us the forgiveness of sins. -When God brings people to faith, He also produces many good works in our lives. These are done, not to earn grace, but to do God s will and please him. We love him because he first loved us. -God has given every man, woman and child a calling in life. Within that calling He directs us, and through His Word, strengthens us to live for Him. -The Bible is the inspired Word of God. The Bible is free from all error and contradiction in all that it says. The Word of God brings us to Jesus our Lord. ADVANCE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING COMPANY CHICAGO, IL 8:15am Sundays For all you Early Risers used to coming to the first service - Join us for coffee and a topical discussion of the Bible with Pastor Gallup. Everyone interested in learning more about the Word are welcome! CHURCH: (708) PASTOR: NEWSLETTER Please any articles you want included in the next newsletter to: kugelberg@sbcglobal.net We re on the Web! Visit us at: bethlehemrivergrove.com WORSHIP SCHEDULE Sunday 9:15am Service Communion is celebrated every Sunday; common cup on the 1 st, 3 rd and 5 th Sunday & individual cup on the 2 nd and 4 th Sunday.