Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe, Hawaii (808)

Transcription

1 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe, Hawaii (808) Every October we celebrate the anniversary of the Reformation. It was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, questioning the teachings of the church of His day. Many of these statements, dealt with the seriousness of sin in Christians lives and how God s grace in Jesus Christ is the only proper means to address it. Luther s post began the Reformation, a correcting of popular Christianity based upon the simple principals of grace alone, faith alone, scripture alone (Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sole Scriptura). So, maybe it would be good that if during this month we also consider whether or not Christianity may be in need of another reformation? Which reminds me of a conversation that I had a few months ago that began with the question, So pastor, now that the state has OK d gay marriage, does that mean that we re OK with it? That sounded eerily similar to what Luther faced, where the state controlled what the church taught. Sure, Christians today face many pressures from the government, but there are also a variety of societal pressures placed upon Christians to conform to the politically correct views regarding immigration, sexual orientation, the #Metoo movement, or the Catholic priest abuse scandal. I hear these pressures upon my teens as they come home repeating statements from their schools chapels, Jesus was an immigrant, so we must support illegal immigration and a pastor s son told us today that homosexuality is no longer wrong and God made people in His image so that we can choose whatever sex we want to be. The question that I am often confronted with today is can Christians be progressive or do we need another reformation? Often the dichotomy between conservative and liberal usually refers to sexual morality. Those who promote chastity, abstinence, the sanctity of marriage, while condemning homosexual acts and abortion, are often labeled conservatives, while those who take a more open-minded perspective to these issues are liberals. The implication is that a Christian can look at an issue and settle on either side within Christianity. The Apostle James would say, No way! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4: 4) If we believe in God and take Him at His Word, then there can t be a conservative/liberal divide on the moral teachings of Christianity. There is only the Christian (Biblical) perspective and the worldly perspective. A person who accepts and defends the Biblical moral truths is not necessarily conservative, he or she is simply a Christian. A person who rejects the Biblical truths is not a liberal Christian, he or she is simply worldly. I am not trying to condemn those who say that they believe in Jesus, but don t agree with the Bible. But the question to consider is, how can a person believe in Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and yet not believe the Word of God? How can one believe God is true and all powerful, yet reject His truth and choose whatever they may think is best? As the Lord penned through His prophet Solomon, What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Christianity has always had something to say about the subject of morality, especially sexual morality, and if you desire to be a Christian, you can t simply disagree with it. - Continued on next page-

2 When it comes to the teachings of Christ, there are no liberal doctrines or conservative doctrines, it is just truth. A Christian must accept that it is truth because it came from the One who Himself is Truth. The point is, God has given to us a clear, uncompromising, unmistakable consensus across both the Old and New Testament about the nature of marriage, sexual morality, and many other topics and every Christian church for almost 2,000 years has affirmed these teachings. God s Word warns us that the morals and attitudes of the world will deviate across vast extremes, like a pendulum swinging back and forth as is popular at the time (1 Timothy 4:15), even justifying what is unnatural and evil as good and true. However, as Christians, we need to understand that either affirm the Biblical truth on these issues, or we throw the Bible out and Christianity with it. In God s eyes there is no in between. If a person claims to be a Christian with a liberal view of morality, marriage, and sexuality, then they probably base it on one of three assumptions; 1) The Bible is not a reliable source for moral truth, or 2) The Gospel is not Christ's own words, or 3) Jesus was just a man of His day who lacked a full understanding of morals, marriage, and sexuality. For those who hold these opinions, there s good news. There are a lot of people, especially non-christians, who share the opinion that Scripture, Christian teachings, and Jesus are unreliable, fallible, and entirely human. The bad news is that none of those opinions are compatible with Christianity. You can t claim to have a Christian faith while question- ing the divinity of Christ and the legitimacy of Scripture. This is not intended to be a harsh rebuke to those who have been led to believe that it is entirely possible to be a progressive Christian today. The devil is always at work, tempting us to doubt God s authority and His Word. So, within the politically charged climate in which we live, I want to encourage each one of us to consider what it means to be a Christian, that Christ is the Lord of our lives. That means that the Christian church does have something to say about fundamental moral teachings, there s either the Biblical perspective or the worldly perspective. Luther posed 95 theses on the church door in Wittenburg, posing several statements bringing to light the many ways that Christianity had drifted away from the fundamental teachings of the Gospel and calling on Christians to repent. So, I ask, is it time for another reformation? This month, in the spirit of the Reformation, I would encourage us all to consider just how many pressures there are upon us from the world, the devil, and our own flesh, and allow God s Spirit to lead you to repentance from progressive moral teachings of our world and be transformed by the renewing of your mind in the eternal truth of the Word of God (Romans 12:2). It is only through the Word of God that we come to know the truth, that He desires to save everyone from the evils of this life by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. May we all cling to that truth above all else Youth Gathering What is the Youth Gathering? Held every 3 years since 1980, the LCMS Youth Gathering (Gathering) provides thousands of youth and adults the opportunity to come together as a community of God s people to learn more about Jesus Christ...During the five days of the Gathering, youth spend time together in God s word, worship, service and fellowship. -lcmsgathering.com Date and Location: July 11-16, 2019 in Minneapolis at the Convention Center and U.S. Bank Stadium There will be an important meeting at 11:00am on October 7th following worship to discuss the Youth Gathering.

3 Sunday, September 2nd, We welcomed the Elliot and Lane families into our Church Ohana! We are so thankful God has brought them into our church and we want to extend the warmest Aloha! Do you have a desire to use your God-given gifts to serve the church in some capacity? We have many areas where we could use your help! Lectors, Keiki Church, Acolytes, Keiki Message, Media Tech, Worship Team, Food Bank, Ushers, Nursery, LWML and More! If you have been wanting to get more involved, talk to Pastor or the church secretary about where we can use your special gifts to glorify our God and help our church ohana! Keiki Message before Keiki Church every Sunday! Bring the keiki and let them hear what the Lord has for them! Ages 2-10 will have the opportunity to go to Keiki Church right after Keiki Message!

4 Pastor celebrated his birthday with the Prayer Warriors Bible Study on September 26th. Hope you have a very blessed year Pastor! We had such a fun Bunco Night! At the end of the night, pastor baptized Dylan Keoni Delacerna-Quismorio! What an exciting night of food, fun and fellowship and the Baptism of Dylan with our Saint Mark Ohana!

5 Bunco Night was a big success with 28 players. We had food, drinks and prizes. We also had the blessing of performing a baptism that night. It was a very special evening. Bread Breakers was held at Randy s house in September. Many thanks to him for opening his home for a time of food and fellowship, to get to know each other and share stories. Reformationfest coming up on October 28 starting at 4:30pm. Wear red and sign up to bring your favorite German potluck item. Join us for games, brats, and prizes! Invite your friends to come and learn about the Reformation and to have some fun. We ask $5 per person or $10 per family to cover the cost. Stay tuned for upcoming events in November and December. We are participating once again in Operation Christmas Child and packing shoeboxes to share the Gospel with children in other countries. This year we will be hosting a packing party after church on November 4 and asking for donations to fill the boxes. You can also pack your own box or pack a box online. In December we will be collecting gifts for the Angel Tree organization to support children of incarcerated parents. We hope to include bibles and baked goods with our deliveries this year so will be asking for donations. The food bank can always use more volunteers to distribute food and organize the pantry. See Katie Shirley if you can help. Thanks to all the volunteers who bring fellowship snacks each week. Please keep checking the sign up sheet so we can provide goodies for our ohana and guests each Sunday. Tomorrow s Promise Today -Edward Grube- And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask for anything in My name, and I will do it. John 14:13-14 You ve heard it before. It s not what you know, but who you know. And how would you like to know someone who could and would give you whatever you asked? Dream a moment. Just what would you ask? Back to reality now before you garage is overcrowded with Rolls Royces or your job begins to interfere with exotic vacations or...jesus promise, as it appears above, is in context of the proceeding meditation. Remember? Jesus told believers they will not only continue His work on earth, but they will also do great things when they pray in His name. Praying in Jesus name means more than simply adding a few words at the end of our prayers. When our prayers harmonize with everything that Jesus was, did, and is, then we are praying in His name. So forget about luxury cars and multimillion-dollar income. They aren t important nor are they covered under the terms of this promise. In face, this promise promises more than most of us can dream. Now, that we have the promise in focus, what would you ask for? Want to be another Billy Graham? Would you like to feed 5,000 -no, make it 15,000 with only the contents of your lunch? Just ask. Right? Great things lurk within the sound of your prayers! Once again, we need perspective. The greatest thing we can do for God may be far less great in our minds than it is in God s will. That s why we pray not only in Jesus name but according to God s will. Great things don t always mean startling statistics, dramatic deeds, or fabulous fame. Yet God challenges us, and we can ask His help to succeed. Why not ask Him right now? Then watch for the opportunities.

6 Beckendorf Update Dear Friends, Greetings once again! Do you remember last month me saying that things had been going well which means not a whole lot to write about -- it's only when something unusual happens that I really have anything to really say. Well, guess what. This will be a longer update. This past month the translators were doing well and working hard until about the middle of the month, when they seemed to run out of steam. It is not uncommon for there to be lulls in the work; and there still is work being done, just not necessarily translation work. We pray that the translators get back to translating and pick up steam again. Some really great news is that another LBT project in Botswana had a launching of their Bible; the culmination of years and years of hard work. Our translators were invited to go, and Tim and I hoped they would catch the vision of what could happen with our project. Unfortunately at the last minute Splash and Moses had funerals to go to, so only Moronga went to the launching. We are disappointed this happened, but funerals are very important in the Khwe culture and we understand how it would be more important for Splash and Moses to attend to them. In the next two weeks or so the translators are supposed to go for training on some translation software; we pray they will follow through on that. And... as of last Wednesday we are now in the States at the beginning of our furlough. We had really good travels here and were eager to see our supporters in Oklahoma, Texas, and southern Illinois. Unfortunately, this past Saturday Tim was riding his bike on a country road and someone came up behind him and ran into him. He was taken immediately to a hospital in St. Louis. He has one shattered vertebra, a few that are cracked, and his pelvis is broken in four places. However, we are thankful it wasn't a lot worse: his head, neck, and internal organs are all fine; he didn't even break a leg or arm (though he does have one long, deep laceration on his left elbow). He had surgery yesterday (the 26th) on his back where they fused the vertebrae above and below the shattered one to keep the area there all stable. We are still waiting to find out whether he needs surgery on his pelvis -- I hope the decision is not to do surgery. That's really all I know at this point. We are staying with my mother and she is happy to have the company. Our furlough schedule is going to change, but I don't know how much at this point. We have been incredibly blessed with an outpouring of concern and support, and we know many, many people are praying for us -- it really is quite humbling. Praises: - Thanksgiving for the launch of the Kalanga Bible in Botswana. - Thanksgiving that the translators have the opportunity for more training in translation software. - Thanksgiving that Tim was not hurt worse than he was in his accident. Prayers: * Please pray that the team would continue to be diligent in their translation work. * Please pray that the team will go to the training on translation software and get a lot out of it. Please pray for Tim's healing. Thank you again for all of your prayers on our behalf. -new update on next page-

7 Dear Friends, Well, so many people have written to us expressing concern for Tim, praying for him, and wondering how he is doing that this will just be a short update on him. If you have heard from us within the past week or so, this might be just a repeat of what you have already heard. Tim is still in the hospital waiting for his back and pelvis to heal, but I (Lisa) have been amazed at how quickly he is progressing. He was in the ICU for only three days, then he was moved to the osteo unit where he stayed three days, then off to acute rehab. The rehab unit is in the hospital and he has been there for a week now. Tim gets three hours of various kinds of therapy a day; and the therapists, etc., are real pleased with his progress there and how well he is doing (and they keep saying how young he is -- he really likes that). He is now unplugged: off oxygen, his telemetry device, and all IVs. He wears a brace when not in bed, and will be wearing that for the next several months. He still has quite a bit of pain, especially when he has to move from the bed to the wheelchair and back. Right now Tim is expected to be in the rehab unit for 2-3 more weeks, when he comes home he will still be in a wheelchair. About a month after coming home he should start being able to put weight on his feet again and start standing and walking. Just waiting for that pelvis to heal. We are on hold as to what the immediate future will be. We won't make our original November date for going back to Botswana, we will kind of have to play it by ear and see how Tim is doing to decide when we will go back. We really have been amazed and humbled by all the concern people have expressed for Tim, by all the people praying for him, and for the many offers for help. We truly are blessed! Praises: - Thanksgiving that Tim was not hurt worse than he was in his accident. - Thanksgiving for the wonderful care Tim has been receiving at the hospital. - Thanksgiving for the progress Tim has made so far. Prayers: * Please pray for Tim's healing and that his pain would lessen. * Please pray for wisdom in planning for the future. Thank you again for all of your prayers. Tim, Lisa, Aaron & Andrew Beckendorf

8 The Saint Mark Lutheran School 3rd and 4th Grade Choir and 5th and 6th Choir sang at Sunday service last month! What a musical treat it was to hear our keiki from our school sing for our church Ohana. We also want to extend a wonderful welcome to our school families for joining us on these special Sundays! Each grade level will perform several times a year. Check the church calendar on our website to see the next performance! Saint Mark s Lutheran School Early Learning Center construction is well on its way! The Early Learning Center is set to open in the Fall of 2019! The early learning center will consist of three preschool classrooms, collaborative learning space for all students, as well as a specialized technology robotics center. This is a very exciting time for Saint Mark Lutheran School and Church and we are looking forward to the center opening! For more information regarding the Early Learning Center or enrollment, please contact the school office.

9 Why do we give? Is it simply because God commands us to? Or is there more to it? To be sure, the instruction and Word of God in the Bible says we should give, and this is sufficient to encourage us to give (Luke 6:38; Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8:7; Gal 6:6). But there s more to it than just obligation. We re not just trying to fulfill a work of the Law. We are bearing fruits of the Spirit given to us by our Father in heaven through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, we re not just doing what our Father said, we re also doing what He did. Children emulate their parents. When they grow up they often carry many of the same mannerisms and characteristics as their parents, but there is more to it than that. Children copy their parents even on a more mundane level. They watch how their parents cross their legs, how they fold their hands, how they stand and sit and walk, how they do and say most everything. And children try to copy it, which can be quite humorous when parents wish they wouldn t. It can be uncomfortable and embarrassing if a child copies or repeats something less than polite that they learned from a parent. Sitcoms thrive on these situations. It only happens because children emulate their parents because they want to be like them. We are the children of God, by grace, through faith. In Holy Baptism, God the Father declares of us what He declared of Jesus at His Baptism in the Jordan: You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. God the Father claims us as His own. He takes away all our sins, and in exchange He gives us His righteousness, His purity, His holiness, and His Spirit, by which we cry out, Abba, Father. We are born again, born from above, born of water and the Spirit, to a new life in Christ as His children. We are sons of God in Christ, through Baptism. And since we are sons, we are heirs heirs who share in the glory of the Son of God. The inheritance is ours because of the Father s grace and mercy, His generosity in sending His Son in time to save us for all eternity. And this is why we give generously of our income to the work of the church. We want to be like our heavenly Father. We want to emulate His generosity by being generous ourselves. We give to the work of the Church because we have witnessed the generous giving of our Father in heaven. More than that, we are recipients of it. It is because we have received God our Father s gifts that we desire to give ourselves. And His gifts are not just spiritual. They are temporal and earthly as well. As the Small Catechism teaches in the Fourth Petition of the Lord s Prayer: Give us this day our daily bread. What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. What is meant by daily bread? Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. In other words, God gives us everything we need for the care of both body and soul. His generosity knows no bounds. Therefore, we sit down at the beginning of the year, the beginning of the month, or the beginning of the week to set aside a generous portion of God s daily bread for His work in the Church. We don t do this simply because He has commanded us so to do; it is because we, as His children by grace, want to emulate His generosity in our own lives. He is our Father; we are His children. And children want to be like their parents.

10 How A Christian is like a Pumpkin This is a fun way to share the Christian message with your keiki! A lady recently being baptized was asked by a coworker what it was like to be a Christian. She replied, it s like being a pumpkin: God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you may have gotten from the other pumpkins. Then he cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removed the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then he carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see. 1. Take a pumpkin. You aren t a pumpkin, but all of us are something like one. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you may have gotten from the other pumpkins. Talk about how a pumpkin is like us: it has an outside and an inside. The outside is what people see. The inside is like our soul or our heart. A pumpkin left to itself will soon rot and die. We will die some day too. 2. Carve out eyes and a small o shaped mouth. As you make the holes and pull out the pieces of rind, ask people what they see inside (yucky stuff). This is what we look like to others and what we are like when are hearts are not changed. The hearts of men are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live (Ecclesiastes 9:3) How can we get rid of this icky stuff? 3. God is the only one who can change our heart. But in order for God to change our heart we must become open to him. Carve an opening in the top of the pumpkin big enough to put your hand through. You might want to quote revelations 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 4. Put in your hand and pull out the insides. God scoops out all the yucky stuff inside of us. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, impurity, and greed. Talk about the cross and how Jesus was willing to become messy for us, so that we might be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:25b-27). 5. But if we leave a pumpkin with just the insides taken out, then it s just hollow. We need to have a light inside that will truly make us alive! Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Add a light to the inside of the pumpkin. When Jesus lives inside of you, you can glow! You will want to be kind and honest. You will want to please God, to help others, and to tell other people about your friend and Lord. 6. At this point you might want to carve the mouth into a smile! God carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

11 Midweek Study/ Prayer Warriors gathers at 10:00am at church on Wednesdays for refreshments and a discussion of upcoming Sunday readings. Due to school break we will not be meeting 10/3 and 10/10. Men in the Word meets for breakfast and 15 minutes with Luther on alternating Saturdays at 7:30am at Pastor s Home. 10/13 & 10/27 Youth Activity tentatively scheduled 10/13 at 10am. Nursery during Worship Service available for your keiki located just off of the sanctuary Sunday School meets at 8:30am on Sundays prior to worship for youth, teenage, and adult. Saint Mark Food Bank meets every Saturday from 8:00am-10am to open the food pantry to those in need. Volunteers & Donations Needed. Women s Fellowship will meet at Kristin Lim s House on 10/3, and 10/17 at 6pm Dorothy Brum s Memorial Service will be at Saint Mark on 10/6 at 10:00am. No Food Bank on this day. Reformationfest will be 10/28 starting at 4:30pm Operation Christmas Child packing party 11/4 after service A five week refresh class will begin on 10/7 10/9 Picquet 10/11 Miyasaki 10/13 Disque 10/16 Tanaka 10/31 Macri 10/2 Marian Beyer 10/2 Travis Slavens 10/4 Katie Shirley 10/7 Elizabeth Hagen 10/7 Elizabeth Marin 10/7 Kaleb McMillian 10/7 Landon Picquet 10/8 Martin Fenner 10/8 William Wynhoff 10/11 Rhonda Chaffin 10/12 Kristy Schroppel 10/13 Kathleen Gerling 10/15 Leah Tanaka 10/17 Cristen Clark 10/17 Rachel Hilpert 10/19 Donna Macri 10/20 Jacob Gaudi 10/20 Anthony Warren 10/20 Leslie Wynhoff 10/21 Sally Brady 10/21 Michelle Tucker 10/22 Melia Kekaulike 10/23 James Chaffin 10/23 Francine Fenner 10/28 Beau Lehna 10/30 Katie Gray

12 Date Elder Lectors Acolyte Keiki Keiki Media Ushers Nursery Sunday School Message Church Tech October 7 Anthony Richard Cooper Pastor Tara Scott Brad, Bruce Mary Ann Keiki Rachel Susan Ben Adam, John, Abi Youth LeNore October 14 Yal Anthony Mart Abi Lorien Angela Abi Jason Mark Mary Ann, Mart, Frank Kristy Ben Keiki Rachel Youth Lorien October 21 Tom S. Matthew B Teresa Sophia Tara LeNore Eli Scott David, Rick, Toby, Bill Bill Lani Keiki Rachel Youth LeNore October 28 Matt L. Kristy Jason James Kristy Vanessa Lorien Yal, Richard, Nathan, Josh Erik Paige Keiki Rachel Youth Lorien Date Set Up Clean-Up October 14 Millie Mary Ann, Kristin October 28 Kristy Leslie, Louise There are many ways to submit a prayer request. If you would like to be added to our prayers please sign the prayer request paper after service, contact the office via or phone, or click the link Prayer Request Please keep these families in your prayers. Housebound: AB, Jinny J, Elizabeth M, David M, Jim T, Harold & Peggy B, Gloria S. Military: Chris W, Scott W, Tom W, Help & Healing: Karen H., Bennetti Ohana, Willie S., Jennifer V., Maria C., Rosanna W., Kayla, Pastor Maddick, Delilah Q, Anthony D.,, Francine S.,, Bill D.,, Steven F., Sally G., Josh H., Ben H., Phyllis S., Martin B., Joseph P., Sr. Peace & Comfort: Joseph P. Jr., Skouburg Ohana, Mann Ohana, Won Ohana, Missionanaries: Beckendorfs, Stovers Safety: Hurricane and flooding victims

13 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Normal Office hours Tues-Fri 8:30am-12:30pm 8:30am- Sunday School 9:30am- Worship/ Fellowship 11:00am- Youth Meeting 11:00am Refresh Class 8:30am- Sunday School 9:30am- Worship/ Fellowship 11:00am Refresh Class SMLS K-2 Choir LWML Mite Sunday 8:30am- Sunday School 9:30am-Worship/ Fellowship 11:00am Refresh Class pm Our Redeemer Installation 8:30am- Sunday School 9:30am-Worship/ Fellowship:30pm 28 11:00am Refresh Class 4:30- Reformationfest :00pm- Women s Fellowship 7:15pm- Worship Team :00pm Outreach & Fellowship 6:00pm- Church Council 8:00am SMLS Chapel 10:00am- Bible Study 11:00am- Prayer Warriors 1:15pm Youth Quest 6:00pm Women s Fellowship :00am SMLS Chapel 10:00am Bible Study 11:00am Prayer Warriors 1:15pm Youth Quest :00pm Elders Meeting 7:00pm- Board of Education 7:15pm- Worship Team 7:15pm- Worship Team 7:15pm Worship Team :00am-Dorothy Brum Memorial Service :30am- Men in the Word 8:00am- Food Bank 10:00am- Youth Hike :00am- Food Bank :30am- Men in the Word 8:00am- Food Bank