The Key to St. Peter

Transcription

1 The Key to St. Peter Nov 2017 St. P et er L u ther an C hu rc h - LCM S, 906 Hwy 59 N P O Box 133, Bowie, TX p et er tex.co m s tpet er tex@att. ne t The Parson s Pen By Pastor Larry Knobloch I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E 1 Parson s Pen 2 Parson s Pen cont. 3 Fall Festival 4 Operation Christmas Chil 5 Bowie Mission/Quiling 6 New Bible Study/Caroling/New Christmas Tree 7 Holiday Schedule 8 Serving in Gods House 9 Calendar. Greetings in the name of God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! The Gift of God s Grace Christmas time is near and we have been seeing the signs of Christmas around town and on TV right after Halloween. Alongside of the leftover candy, there were Christmas decorations! Beginning this weekend, we will be seeing the signs of Christmas right here at St Peter. The manger scene is set up and the Christmas tree and all of the decorations too. This brings our minds to gift giving and even better gift receiving! However, the most important gift of Christmas is God s grace, as He sent His only Son, Jesus, down to earth to live the perfect life, for you, and to die the perfect death, also for you! We talk about God s grace being free but sometimes we are stingy and try to withhold a gift that is not even ours to be stingy with. I received permission to pre-print this blog post from one of my former professors. Chad Bird boldly address the gift of grace and that it truly is a gift for all, even those that we might not deem worthy. Be prepared, Chad does not pull any punches. Grace is Karma's Worst Nightmare By Chad Bird Grace is uncivilized and rebellious. We make rules for it and it breaks them. Grace is a constant embarrassment to the prim and proper religiosity of the squeaky clean. It is what Brennan Manning called "the furious longing of God." Grace doesn t tiptoe around puddles in its shiny new shoes but slogs ankle deep through the stinking muck of the pigpen to raise up the poor souls who ve tripped over temptation and face-planted themselves in the rotting mud. It doesn t hire P.I.'s to sniff out the backstories of potential recipients to ensure there s no improprieties that might disqualify them from full acceptance, but tramps through alleys and divorce courts and rehabs and prisons to press into unworthy hands an invitation to live for free under God s roof. Grace doesn t sit cross-armed behind its desk and tsk-tsk you from across the room when you blush to confess your darkest secrets, but wraps its arms around your quaking body and lets your tears and snot drench its shoulder as it whispers, I love you. I forgive you. You are mine. Continued on page 2

2 The Key to St. Peter Page 2 The Parson s Pen from page 1 Grace is lacking in taste and propriety. The same loving lips that kiss away the tears of a repentant whore will turn right around and kiss the lips of a humble queen. The same hands that scrub the vomit out off the clothes of a drunk will shake hands with the teetotaler. It s never learned the difference between a shack and a mansion. Grace doesn t know why the color of skin makes one sinner more or less in need of forgiveness than any other. Grace doesn t give a rip if you re a high school dropout or a Ph.D., a felon or a cop, a virgin or a porn star. You re all guilty of leading lives of rebellion in which every intent of the thoughts of your heart is only evil continually. You re all equally dead in transgressions and sins. You re all equally condemned by the law of God and sentenced to life in the prison of death. Yet there stands Grace, the anti-santa, doling out gifts to bad boys and girls. It throws open its door to holler, Come one, come all. Fools and wise men, penniless and powerful, Pharisees and publicans. You ve all got a seat at my table. Grace is karma's worst nightmare: we get the exact opposite of what we deserve. Grace is the God who was born in a barn, swaddled in rags, in the cold darkness of a world too lost even to know it needed finding. Grace is the God with a motley crew of former tax-gougers, terrorists, and blue-collar fishermen at his heels. Grace is the God with such poor taste in friends that his detractors labeled him a glutton and a drunkard, a sidekick of sinners. Grace is the God who loved them all, loved them unto death, even death on a cross. Hanging there on that pulpit of death, grace preached His love to our world, forgave us, and demonstrated once and for all that He is a God with no peers. He would rather die than experience eternity without us. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, for He has no greater joy than the liberation of the captive, the resurrection of the dead, the adoption of us as His sons and daughters. Grace the uncivilized love of God in Jesus Christ is far from dead. It is wild with life. Bury it beneath the dirt of legalism and it ll explode from the tomb with a defiant smile of love. Stuff its mouth with moralisms and it ll spit them out to proclaim absolution to the world. Grace cannot be stopped or shut up or shamed into a corner. Grace reigns triumphant in the scarred but resurrected body of Jesus Christ. That grace is yours. And nothing and no one can take it away. Chad shows us, in no uncertain terms, that God s grace is indeed for all mankind. If you are interested in more of his writings, visit his website at As we enter into Advent and approach Christmas, remember to share not just physical presents, but God s grace too. Share the gift of Grace with everyone! In His hands, Pastor K.

3 The Key to St. Peter Page 3 FALL FESTIVAL

4 The Key to St. Peter Page 4 OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD THANK YOU! for all your support and donations for Operation Christmas Child! We packed 31 boxes to go share the gospel overseas!

5 The Key to St. Peter Page 5 BOWIE MISSION We would like to invite the congregation to join us for our December project as we collect food for Bowie Mission. The Bowie Mission helps 1,000 people on average each month. Please consider picking up a few extra items as you do your shopping for your family. Bowie Mission needs include: Cereal Hamburger Helper Mac n cheese Ramen noodles Catsup Mustard Mayonnaise Miracle Whip Saltine crackers Cookies Tuna Helper Canned meat (chicken, tuna) Flour Sugar Canned fruit Salt Coffee Peanut butter Quilting There will be no quilting gathering until January. Thanks to our quilters for their dedicated work. We look forward to getting this Lutheran World Relief project off to a good start in the new year.

6 The Key to St. Peter Page 6 New Women s Bible Study We would like to start a new Women s Bible Study beginning in January. Our first topic: Anxious For Nothing by Max Lucado Over the past few decades, studies have shown that Americans are the most anxious people in the world. We take the most medication for it, see doctors to treat it, and spend fortunes trying to relieve it. How have we let our fears get the better of us? In Anxious for Nothing, Max Lucado leads readers to reflect on the promises of Philippians 4:4-8. This passage from Paul's epistle contains an antidote to anxiety that will help you develop a mindset of resilience. Rediscover the power of prayer and take control of your thoughts. You can rest in "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding." If you are interested in this study, please contact Cyndi for dates and times CAROLING Make a Joyful Noise, Sunday Dec. 10 at 3:00 p.m. Let s bring our songs and carols to those who need a little extra Christmas cheer. Meet at the church. NEW CHRISTMAS TREE It was decided after last year that for safety reasons, we would purchase an artificial tree for Real trees are being cut earlier and earlier and even with daily watering, become a dry tinder box in a short time. We have had a problem with melting wires which could present a catastrophic situation. If you ve ever seen a dry tree catch fire, you know how horrible this could be. Thank you for understanding.

7 The Key to St. Peter Page 7 HOLIDAY SCHEDULE It s a busy time. We re blessed with a multitude of opportunities to worship Dec 6, 13, and 20 Weekly Advent Service 7:00 pm CAROLING Dec. 10 3:00 Children s Christmas Worship Rehearsals Sundays, Dec 3, 10,and 17-12:o0 noon, after church Lunch will be served Christmas Eve Children s Presentation of the Nativity of Our Lord 7:00 pm Christmas Day With Holy Communion We worship together at 10:00 am NEW YEAR S EVE Regular Sunday Service 10:30 a.m.

8 The Key to St. Peter Page 8 Serving in God s House in December Acolytes Dec 3 Austin Dirickson/Will Jones Dec 10 Cooper Hammer/Adam Pickett Dec 17 Brody Childs/Sarah Horton Dec 24 Will Jones/Reegen Ferguson Dec 31 Monte Mayfield/Adam Pickett Nursery Schedule Dec 3 Katie Jones/Hattie Hammer Dec 10 Cyndi Knobloch/Shelby Horton Dec 17 Aubrey Gill/Rebecca Pickett Dec 24 - Kelley Roth/Rebecca Horton Elder Arn Anderson Counters Brent Husfeld Gaylon Rice Lay Readers Dec 3 Bob Aune Dec 10 Arn Anderson Dec 17 William Pickett Dec 24 Bryan Roth Dec 31 Gaylon Rice Altar Guild Rebecca Horton Monica Mayfield Altar Care Jo Kleinhans/Lisa Lawson/Donna Unger