The Shield of Faith. Faith Lutheran Church F, The Importance of Lent

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1 Faith Lutheran Church The Shield of Faith F, 2018 Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power Take up the shield of faith. Ephesians 6:10, 16 The Importance of Lent Ah yes, our old friend Lent has come to pay us our annual visit. I just wanted to take the time to talk about where our focus should be as Christians this season. It can be a confusing time of the year. Christmas has just come to an end just a month ago, the New Year scramble is upon us, and we also face the very worldly and secular concept of New Year's resolution. Now, there's nothing wrong with New Year's resolutions. They can in fact be a great tool for getting healthy or doing away with some of our bad habits. However, it's an easy mistake to combine, or at least not properly distinguish them, from what we give up in Lent. Now that begs the question; what is the purpose of giving something up for Lent? Perhaps our entire understanding of Lent is lawed. We are so focused on giving things up for Lent that we aren't giving thought to what God's desire for us actually is during this season of re lection and repentance. While giving things up can clear our minds and attention long enough to give time to meditation on Christ and our own sinful selves, could it be that giving things up isn't as important as taking things up? I've attached an article from Pastor Mark Wood which he wrote in February of 2016 in the Leader Blog. The article is titled: Lent: A Time for Giving Up or Taking Up? What are you giving up for Lent? Are you sure that s a good idea? Giving up things for Lent is a long-standing tradition in the Western Church. Doing so is generally understood to help us prepare for ob- serving and celebrating Easter through experience some kind of suffering through deprivation. While there is nothing wrong with giving up things for Lent and in some ways it can be a valuable spiritual discipline, for many people the practice has devolved into a work of personal suffering through which they expect to better understand the sufferings of Christ. How silly of us to think that denying ourselves chocolate for forty days or going without our morning boost of caffeine for a season even begins to approach the least of Jesus sufferings for us. We ve moved far away from the purpose and substance of Lent by the insigni icant things we re willing to give up. While no one is certain about how the practice of giving up things for Lent began or what the motives were of those who irst observed Lent in this way, we can certainly see how giving up things for Lent has come to be practiced in our culture. Far from being a time of solemn re lection and repentance, the beginning of Lent has turned into another excuse for people to engage in excess. Now, without the disciplines of fasting, self-denial, and prayer that followed, people revel in consuming all the things that were once prohibited during Lent and much, much more. Mardi Gras (and its various regional adaptations) has become a celebrated cultural event that shows more of what the American character has become than our half-hearted observances of Lent. By giving up things for Lent in the ways that we do, we ve made this holy season into one more instance of our self-absorption. Like the New Year s Resolutions that we made just a few weeks ago, our commitment to ob- Continued on page 2

2 P 2 Continued from page 1 serving Lent sacri icially is momentary and leeting. We have a sense of what is good for us and what we must do in order to improve ourselves or our circumstances, but we lack the resolve to see our way through the selfdenial that it takes to make the needed change an effective part of our lives. What we give up for Lent is often as petty and insigni icant as what we resolve for New Year s and ends up just as broken and meaningless. Isn t it time for us to put an end to our empty observances of Lent? Are we ready for a serious go at journeying through Lent in a way that brings us to a deeper understanding and appreciation of Christ s atoning work? If so, perhaps we should stop giving up things for Lent and use this sacred time to take up things instead. The things that we should aim to take up during Lent are those things that we ve let fall by the wayside as we ve lived our lives at the breakneck speed of our culture. It might include taking up a daily devotion or taking up the practice of meditative prayer. If we ve been away from the gathering of God s people in worship, we could take up participating in the Divine Service on Sundays as well as the mid-week Lenten services. What a difference Lent could be for us and make in us if we would take up reading God s Word daily, intentionally speaking the Gospel to one person a week, showing the love of Christ to the poor and needy through acts of mercy, or listening to recorded sermons or Bible studies. Whatever we might take up for Lent, we should remember that, above all, taking up things for Lent in a meaningful way inevitably results in hearing the clear call of Jesus to take up our crosses daily. Taking up our crosses involves looking beyond our self-interests, desires, and pious actions (including giving up things for Lent) and inding joy, peace, security, and purpose those things that are so F, 2018 glaringly absent in our culture in the realization of what Jesus gave up and took up for us. Take up something edifying for Lent and discover joy that giving up earthly things for a few weeks can never approach. Questions to consider: What might I take up for Lent that would help me grow in faith and love? How can either taking up something for Lent or giving up something for Lent open doors for me to share God s Word with people in my life? How might it get in the way of it? In what ways can I use the season of Lent to be a witness of Christ to people who are caught up in the excesses of our culture? (Article by Mark Wood) In Christ, Pastor Stebbins Lutheran Women s Missionary League Our next meeting will be on Saturday, February 10 at 10:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall. All ladies are welcome to attend the meeting, which closes with lunch and fellowship. Be sure to bring your Mite Box. If you are not able to attend, you may bring your Mite donation to church any time in February and give it to Linda Lewis. The Kentuckiana Zone will hold the Shrove Tuesday Prayer Service at Resurrection Lutheran Church on February 13, beginning at 1:00 PM. Everyone is invited. The Spring Rally will be held at Divine Savior Lutheran Church on Saturday, April 14. The theme is Choose Life (Deut. 30:19b) Make plans now to attend. Election of Zone President and Secretary will be held. If you are interested in either of these positions, please let Lois or Barbara know.

3 T S F P 3 Our Con irmation Class Has Begun! As many of you know, we have two con irmands that have begun their instruction and further catechesis. This is one of the most exciting parts of our work as Christians, mostly because it is one of the visible fruits of God working among us. This is the future of, not only our church here at Faith, but also the future of the Christian Church on earth. These con irmands are our successors. Everything we can do to help and further prepare them for life outside of Faith's walls (as Christians) should be done. Please pray for our con- irmands and be ready to help and encourage them at every turn. Also, if you know of anyone (child or adult) that would like to participate in this class, please bring or invite them for an introduction (or refresher) to the basic yet fundamental foundation of our faith and relationship with God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Please, as your Pastor, I urge all of you (no matter your level of activity in our congregation) to take the time to read the article from LCMS.org listed below. It is a great reminder that adults and already con irmed members are such a crucial part of the catechesis of those being con irmed. The temptation is to see con irmation as a graduation from church, but it isn't. Con- irmation is part of the beginning of one's understanding and journey with Christ. Commentary: Con irmation - more than a graduation irmation-more-than-a-graduation Pastor Stebbins *The class currently meets at 6:00 PM on Wednesday nights. Please contact Pastor for the time of the class during Lent. Board of Trustees On Saturday February 3, we will be painting the interior of the rental house next door. We plan to start at 8:00 AM and work until around noon. We would appreciate anyone who could come and help get the house ready for the next renters. Mickey will have some painting supplies, but if you have brushes or rollers, it might help to bring them. Altar Guild There will be an Altar Guild Meeting on Saturday, February 10 at 9:30 AM, right before the LWML meeting. All members should plan to attend. Upcoming Meetings The Church Council will meet on Friday, February 16 at 5:30 PM. All Of icers and a representative from each board should plan to attend. The quarterly Voters Meeting will be held right after worship on February 25. The second reading of the revised constitution will take place. All members should plan to stay for this meeting. Camp Lakeview and Lakeview Villages (near Seymour, IN) are currently registering campers, grades K-12, for the 2018 summer season. What a great place to have fun and learn about God at the same time! To get more information, visit the camp s website at or call the camp of ice at Online registration for Lakeview Ministries opens on February 1st at 9:00 a.m. Last year, many programs were illed quickly, so register online today!

4 Servants for February Assistants Readers 2/4 No Communion Greg Sullinger 2/11 Dan Fickes Danielle Sullinger 2/18 Mickey Leister Barbara Anderson 2/25 John Roehrig John Roehrig Ushers John Pierce Darrell Pryor Altar Guild Barb Allison Teresa Leister February Birthdays 1 Mary Lou Cobb 17 Sandy Futch 8 Eric Sullinger 19 Jean Lewis 12 Ty Cobb 21 David Cooksey 12 Pauline Wood 24 Mickey Leister 14 Barb Allison 27 John Stebbins 17 Ryan Bandy Greeters Danielle and Reagan Sullinger Financial Report Monthly average needed for 2018 Budget: General Fund 10, Building Fund 2, Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. Deuteronomy 16:17

5 Faith Lutheran Church 7635 Third Street Road Louisville, KY Fax: http//faithlutheranlouisville.weebly.com Sunday School: 9:00 a.m. Sunday Worship: 10:30 a.m. Pastor John Stebbins