OUR SAVIOUR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH May Kinsey Drive Phone:

Transcription

1 OUR SAVIOUR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH May Kinsey Drive Phone: Tyler, Texas Website: oslctyler.org Bringing Christ to the people...the people to Christ Dear Friends in Christ, I thought I d write and share an update with you. I ve been gone for a number of weeks now and I m sure people are wondering what all is happening. Let me share an update. I m continuing to be with my daughter Amber in England. Amber is a student at Chester University here in England. She was assaulted last December and Karen and I made a quick trip to England to be with her, in fact we brought her home with us for 3 weeks. Amber and Karen went back to England in late January; Karen then spent much of the winter in England with Amber. I came over after Easter to spend time with her. Amber has done a lot of work on the road to healing and recovery, we are proud of her. It has been a challenge for our whole family, but we are gaining on things. I am so grateful for your prayers and support. You really have been the Body of Christ for us and I deeply appreciate that. And a special thank you to the church council, Blaine Davis, and Wally and Chris Seibel. I very much appreciate all of your work and help. I m not sure when exactly I will be returning to Tyler. The next few weeks are going to be very significant weeks for Amber so I m hoping to share them with her. We are kind of making plans as we go. I wish I could be more definitive, but we still have a few things that are working themselves out. If you would like to contact me, and if there is something that I can be of help with, please do let me know. My address is mbraaten@oslctyler.org I try to check my s a couple of times a day. And if you have the WhatsUp app on your phone you can call me through that. I miss you all. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of our life and work at Our Saviour s. There are so many good things happening, and continuing to happen in my absence! I look forward to being back with you. I also miss the Texas sunshine. England is wet, about once every two weeks we get a day when it doesn t rain. It will be nice to get home to warm up and dry out. Thank you for all that you are doing. Please keep my family and me in your prayers, as I will you. God Bless, Pastor Mark

2 Social Ministry The Social Ministry Committee follows the mandates of scripture to serve others, especially those who are ill, hungry, troubled, suffering injustice, or lacking basic needs. Each month, we will include a brief description of the organization (s) that our donations target. April Contributions: In April, we made donations to Bethesda Medical Clinic and to Hope Haven of East Texas. AA Group at OSLC OSLC is pleased to be hosting a new AA group. Meetings are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at noon. For more information please contact Pastor Mark or the church office. Dates for the Summer June Day Camp here at OSLC for children age 3 through the 6 th grade July 8 13 Our week at Lutherhill Bible Camp August National NALC Convocation in Denver Church Council for 2018 Here is our council and their positions for this year. Please keep our council in your prayers, and thank them for the great work they are doing! Bill Hebb President, Congregational Care, and Evangelism Amy Norris Vice President and Education and Youth Committee Bill Videtto Secretary Chris Burris Treasurer and overseeing Technology Sherry Towns Worship Committee Erin Henriksen Social Ministry Committee Cheryl Pontious Fellowship Committee Ryan Gibbs Property Committee Kristin Blaise Stewardship Committee Men s Group Save the Date for May Get Together!! We have a men s fellowship group that meets monthly. This month we are meeting at Bill Videtto s home at 9539 Tosha Lane, Flint, TX We will gather at 4:30 pm on Saturday, May 19. Our gatherings include dinner, conversation, bragging, swapping stories and getting to know each other better. Guys, please come and check it out. For more information and directions, please call Bill at , or at: bjvidetto@gmail.com.

3 Primetimers Mark your calendars for the next wonderful opportunity to get together and enjoy great Christian fellowship, delicious food, and a very interesting and enlightening speaker. The date is May 10 th, The time is 12 noon and the place is OSLC. We will be doing a potluck luncheon with no specific theme (so anything goes). The hosts are everyone, so please plan to arrive a little early to help set up and stay after, to clean up. Many hands make light work. Following the luncheon and a short meeting, the speaker will be our own Debbie Miller s daughter-inlaw. You will hear Leslie tell of her life, before October 6, 2016 and after October 6, Leslie seemed to have it all a Christ-centered life, being blessed with two great children, a new fiancé and a great career which included working with physicians and going to Washington D.C. as a lobbyist.. Then a huge change Leslie was t-boned by an 18 wheeler on her way to her office. Just a short distance from home, her life was changed in that instant. Leslie was taken to ETMC, where concerns were expressed by the trauma surgeon as to Leslie s prognosis. Even in this horrific moment, God had his hand on her by her being taken to ETMC, a level 1 trauma emergency room, and with a surgeon who not only had great medical skills, but also great people skills, being very patient throughout and keeping the family informed and always willing to answer our questions. He later told us that when he first saw Les, he thought she might have been the worse he had seen of this type of injury. Leslie was in a coma for over two weeks, suffered not only a traumatic brain injury, but the injury was such that it literally shook and rattled her brain around. Many of you at OSLC learned of Leslie s accident and prognosis and began praying for Leslie. Leslie had people that had never even met her praying for her. Leslie continues to receive messages from some of those who, although they did not know her, felt led to pray for her. Did Leslie lose it all as a result of this vehicular injury? Many what if s came up as Leslie was able to form her own thoughts What if my fiancé can t deal with this, being so different from what they had planned? What if her children s father decided she could not care for the children? How could she make it through this and have the resources she needed? Can Leslie see some ways her life has been enriched at this point in her recovery? Can Leslie see some ways the lives of her immediate family have been enriched by this drastic change in Leslie s life? What about her friends? What about those acquaintances and strangers who have prayed for her? As the hymn says, Through it all, I ve learned to trust in Jesus, I ve learned to trust His word. Come hear Leslie as she shares about her life as impacted by this injury. Once again, mark your calendars and do plan to attend the next Primetimer s meeting. Not only will the food be great, but the fellowship is out of this world. Remember we are the most caring Primetimers in the world. There is no one who will intimidate you or nothing to obligate you, just great folks to welcome you, so give us a try and do bring friends, the young in age and young at heart! Bring your favorite dish to share and your appetite. Please be thinking about whether you would like to continue meeting during the summer or wish to take a month or more off.

4 A Passion for God s Word Our Thursday morning Bible study is currently in lesson 2 of a series of studies focusing on Bible. Our current study is focused on the structure of the Bible, the individual parts of the Bible, the Canons of Scriptures, the old Covenant and the new Covenant, and supporting scriptures. Future studies include the Tapestry of God s Word, the Authority of God s Word and the Purpose of God s Word. Please join us at any time. We meet at 10:00 AM on Thursdays. We always have copies available of the current study on Thursday mornings. If you would like a copy in advance, they are available in the Church office or Chris Burris can send you a PDF ( cburris9031@gmail.com). A new format is coming for the OSLC Epistle We are very excited to announce that beginning in June, our Epistle will have a new format! We will have sections, pictures, links, polls, and many other interactive features. Additionally, we will have the statistics and reporting to see how many people are receiving and reading the s. With the product we are using, we can also send text messages to members for important announcements. We will continue testing, training, gathering addresses, and cell phone numbers through May. We will provide more information in our update in weekly bulletin and the next newsletter. Costly Grace Dietrich Bonhoeffer CHEAP GRACE is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheap wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?

5 (Costly Grace Continued) Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian "conception" of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins. The Church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has, it is supposed, ipso facto a part in that grace. In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God. Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God. Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living word, the Word of God, which he speaks as it pleases him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a world of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." From The Cost of Discipleship Chapter 1

6 2018 First Sunday Second Sunday Third Sunday Fourth Sunday Fifth Sunday Resurrection of Our Lord Second Sunday of Easter Worship Servers April 2018 Third Sunday of Easter Fourth Sunday of Easter Fifth Sunday of Easter Sixth Sunday of Easter First Sunday/Next Month April 1 April 8 April 15 April 22 April 29 May 6 Altar Guild Jan Moch Carol Lattier Joni LeBlanc Carol Lattier Jan Moch Jan Moch Susan Buntz Sherry Towns Sandra Hawthorne Virginia Coker Susan Buntz Susan Buntz Audrey Cameron Connie Lucas Randy Hendrickson Kimberly Butler Audrey Cameron Audrey Cameron Ed Lucas Jennifer Videtto Michelle Smith 10:00 Combined Service LMC & Usher Ryan Gibbs Sally Dengerud Erin Henriksen Connie Gibbs Cheryl Pontious Ryan Gibbs Usher Milo Miles Cliff Dengerud Randy Hendrickson Nicholas Henriksen Ken Pontious Milo Miles Acolyte Rachel Gibbs Mackenzie Davis & Grayson Sartor Emi Fay Williamson Ezrah Johnson Ben Snyder Abby Gibbs Reader Kristi LeRoy Mary Ferguson Lori Sartor Carmen Nazario Travis Snyder Joan Fleck Communion Dee Miles Audrey Cameron Amy Norris Audrey Cameron Jan Moch Dee Miles Susan Buntz Ed Lattier Jana Snyder Cheryl Pontious Ed Lattier Susan Buntz Jana Snyder Carol Lattier Blaine Davis Ken Pontious Jana Snyder Blaine Davis Projectionist Toby Fite Toby Fite Toby Fite Toby Fite Toby Fite Toby Fite PLEASE NOTE: If you cannot serve in your scheduled worship service position, please find a substitute so that the position is filled. Then call the office at ( ) so that the right server can be shown on that week's bulletin.

7 13 Mother s Day 6 9:00 Sunday School 9:15 Choir 10:00 Worship 11:00 Youth Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 9:00 Sunday School 9:15 Choir 10:00 Worship 11:00 Youth 20 9:00 Sunday School 9:15 Choir 10:00 Worship 11:00 Youth 27 9:15 Choir 10:00 Worship 11:00 Youth :30 Safety Comm. 6:30 Council :30 Social Ministry :00 Primetimers 6:00 CODA 16 9:00 Embroiderer s Guild 1:00 LCW 17 1:00 Darning Ladies 6:00 CODA :00 Darning Ladies 6:00 CODA :00 Darning Ladies 6:00 CODA 4 6:00 ACA Meeting 11 6:00 ACA Meeting 18 6:00 ACA Meeting 25 6:00 ACA Meeting 5 12;00 AA Meeting Altar Guild #1 12 Altar Guild #2 19 9:00 Embroiderer s Build Altar Guild #3 26 Altar Guild #4

8 Our Saviour s Lutheran Church 4900 Kinsey Drive Tyler, TX Address Service Requested NON PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #40 TYLER TX OUR SAVIOUR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH Staff: Senior Pastor.....Rev. Dr. Mark Braaten Parish Administrator.Debbie Miller Financial Administrator.Carol Lattier Organist/Keyboardist.Dr. Jaeyong Lee Mission Statement Bringing Christ To the people, And the people To Christ. Sunday Schedule 9:00 Sunday School for All Ages 10:00 Worship Service 11:00 Youth Meeting

9