Month: September 2015

“WHAT TO DO WITH I’, ‘MYSELF’, AND ‘ME’?” Text: Mark 9:30-37

 

September 20, 2015 Text: Mark 9:30-37

Dear Friends in Christ,

I hope you enjoy this little poem. “I gave a little party this afternoon at three, Twas very small, three guests in all: I, myself and me: Myself ate up all the sandwiches, while I drank the tea; And it was I who ate the pie and passed the cake to me.”
Simple. Silly. Yet very descriptive of human nature in every generation and especially the present age. And here’s what we want to explore this morning . . .
“WHAT TO DO WITH I’, ‘MYSELF’, AND ‘ME’?”
It’s big business; you know…this obsession with self. Watch any reality show and you will see what I mean. I enjoy watching the show “House Hunters” but I am always amazed when couples are looking for a house how the language of “I” predominates. “I need a man cave.” “I want granite countertops and a tub.” “I will not live in a home unless ‘Fluffy” has room to run around.” Aren’t these spouses supposed to be in this together? I’d like to think the producers are encouraging this but I’m not sure that is the case.
We are trapped in the debacle of individualism. Ask anyone who has given his or her baser inclinations free reign, and you will see for yourself. It’s like the drug addict looking for another hit locked in a private hell of remorse and self-loathing – expressive individualism initially promises freedom, but ultimately delivers bondage.
It’s exciting to declare independence from the expression of others and cultural norms, but the result isn’t pretty. When your companions are comprised of me, myself, and I, you live in a very small world.
“And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ‘If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’” (vs. 33-35)
The question Jesus poses is purely rhetorical. He knew what they were arguing about. He knew their sad condition and so did they because they remained silent. Oh, we know that scene. Confronted with our sin, we stand there silent because we have no answer. We knew it as a kid; we live it as an adult.
What a low moment for these men. Jesus had just told them he was going to be killed and in three days rise again. The Savior is going to bleed, suffer hell, and die for them and their concern is who is the best. It’s the battle of the wisdom of God and the wisdom of man in the arena of life. It’s always with us.
Disraeli once quipped, “Talk to a man about himself and he will listen for hours.” We are full of ourselves. Full of our plans and ideas. These words of an unknown author ring true: “’Be yourself!’ is about the worst advice you can give to some people.”
Jesus also lies some hard terms before us: last and servant. If we are going to amount to something in God’s scheme of things then we have to put ourselves last and be willing to serve in whatever capacity God places before us. The Lord drives home the point with this living illustration from our text:
“And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.’” (vs. 36-37)
The seemingly insignificant things and tasks are truly great in the eyes of our Lord. Embracing a child and his or her needs – sacrificing for the care of that child even if it means never living in a $500,000 home or getting what the flesh wants – embracing a child and everything that encompasses is truly great.
Look, brothers and sisters, God embraced and embraces us in Christ. Christ left the security and glory of Heaven to enter the world of I, myself, and me. He suffered hell and pain for our sins, earned our forgiveness and pardons those times we only live for the I, myself, and me. He embraces us in his Holy Word. Not too many moments ago we received the assurance of that forgiveness in the absolution spoken by the Pastor. Soon we will kneel together once again to be embraced in His love and forgiveness through the Holy Supper.
I’ve always loved Frank Sinatra’s song “I Did It My Way.” I’ve always touted my independence. You have the same problem, do you? What to do with “I, myself, and me”? The answer to that can only come to light in the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus for us. May the Holy Spirit lead us to deny self and be a servant to all.
Amen.

Bulletin Announcements – September 27, 2015

†  Bulletin Announcements  †

September 27, 2015

 

THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS, led by Pastor Lueck and meeting in the church basement at 9:15 a.m. is studying “Lutheran Doctrine and Practice Today”. 

TODAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL, the children will complete their study of how God worked in Joseph’s life. “Joseph Forgives” and reveals himself to his brothers, telling them that though they meant evil, God used their acts for good. Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals Himself to us and forgives us in His Holy Word and Sacraments. Families could discuss, “How was God with Joseph, blessing him through all that happened, the good and the bad? How has God turned bad or evil things in your life or world into blessings for your good?”

LWML UPDATE: The LWML is pinning and sewing quilts for Lutheran World Relief TODAY from 1-4:00 p.m. We will meet upstairs in the Quilting Room. If you have a portable sewing machine and would like to hem quilts or help pin the hems of quilts, we would appreciate your help.

THE BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION is planning a Work Day on Saturday, October 10th at 8:30 a.m. We will be cleaning out and re-organizing the Day Care/Youth area located in the basement of the church. Many years of VBS and Sunday School supplies to organize and put into proper storage. Please plan to come and help us with our tasks. Thank you! If you have any questions please feel free to call Paula Hardy at (309) 310-7917.

PORTALS OF PRAYER: The October-December 2015 Portals of Prayer are available on the bookrack in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.

THANK YOU: The Good Shepherd Blood Drive was a success as we exceeded our goal. Thank you to the donors, volunteers, cookie bakers and everyone else who played a part in this life-giving mission. What a blessed day as the Lord allowed us to share this gift of life!

FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: The sign-up for help with coffee/doughnuts is posted on the wall by the north stairwell. We need an individual/family to sign-up each week to pick up the donuts and make the coffee. If no one is signed up by Friday of each week, the order will be cancelled. We thank everybody who continues to help with this part of our church fellowship.

YOU ARE INVITED: Our Redeemer Lutheran Church of Eureka, IL will hold its 26th Annual Hog Roast at the Fellowship Hall, 698 Reagan Drive in Eureka on Saturday, October 3rd from 4-7:00 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Eureka Food Pantry. Tickets are $10.00 in advance, and $11.00 at the door for adults and $5.00 for children, 12 & under. Carryout is also available. The menu is roast pork, barbeque sauce (optional), potato salad, applesauce, baked beans, rolls and butter, cake or pie, and a drink. Pastor Lueck has two complimentary tickets or you may call the church office at (309) 467-5477.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Fight For the One Next to You” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Hebrews 2:14-18. Who’s fighting for you? Who are you fighting for? The speaker will be Reverend Gregory Seltz. Hear this Sunday’s message on the Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tune in! You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.

PRAYER CHAIN: If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her home # is (309) 661-6522; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582. The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.

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Bulletin Announcements – September 20, 2015

†  Bulletin Announcements  †

September 20, 2015

GOOD SHEPHERD’S BLOOD DRIVE is this coming Tuesday, September 22nd, from 2-6:00 p.m. Sign-up sheets are available in the narthex but if you would prefer signing up online please go to: redcrossblood.org. Enter in our zip code, 61704, find our Blood Drive and let the blood flow. Pastor Lueck will once again kick off our Drive by reaching out his right arm and turning his head. Please join us in fun and church fellowship as we help those in need with this gift of life.

COOKIES NEEDED: We need three dozen cookies for the Blood Drive this coming Tuesday. Please let Pastor know if you can bring a dozen cookies. Thank you.

THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS, led by Pastor Lueck and meeting in the church basement at 9:15 a.m. is studying “Lutheran Doctrine and Practice Today”.

TODAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL the children will learn how “Joseph Feeds Egypt” during a great famine. Ask your children, “How do our sins cause suffering for both ourselves and others?” God sent His Son, Jesus, to save all humanity from sin, death, and the devil. Discuss the reality that in spite of how awful life seems, Jesus is with us through His Word and Sacraments, caring for us always.

TODAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the OCTOBER NEWSLETTER. Mandy Kluender is our Editor for the church newsletter and any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted to her at mgkluender@hotmail.com or you may call her at (309) 838-9868.

THANK YOU: We would like to thank all who helped make our School Kit Project for the LWML a success.

PORTALS OF PRAYER: The October-December 2015 Portals of Prayer are available on the bookrack in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.

FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: The sign-up for help with coffee/doughnuts is posted on the wall by the north stairwell. We need an individual/family to sign-up each week to pick up the donuts and make the coffee. If no one is signed up by Friday of each week, the order will be cancelled. We thank everybody who continues to help with this part of our church fellowship.

YOU ARE INVITED: Our Redeemer Lutheran Church of Eureka, IL will hold its 26th Annual Hog Roast at the Fellowship Hall, 698 Reagan Drive in Eureka on Saturday, October 3rd from 4-7:00 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Eureka Food Pantry. Tickets are $10.00 in advance, and $11.00 at the door for adults and $5.00 for children, 12 & under. Carryout is also available. The menu is roast pork, barbeque sauce (optional), potato salad, applesauce, baked beans, rolls and butter, cake or pie, and a drink. Pastor Lueck has two complimentary tickets or you may call the church office at (309) 467-5477.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Free, Indeed” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from John 8:34-36. When our sins and guilt stick to us like glue, Jesus Makes us unstuck. The speaker will be Reverend Ken Klaus. Hear this Sunday’s message on the Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tune in! You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.

PRAYER CHAIN: If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her home # is (309) 661-6522; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582. The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.

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“TONGUE LASHING” — James 3:1-12, 9-14-2015

 

September 13, 2015 – Christian Education Text: James 3:1-12

Dear Friends in Christ,

On a windswept hill in an English country churchyard stands a drab, gray slate tombstone. The quaint stone bears an epitaph not easily seen unless you stoop over and look closely. The faint etchings read as follows: “Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Arebella Young, Who on the twenty-fourth of May, began to hold her tongue.”
James writes in our text “no human being can tame the tongue.” (v. 8) Oh how we know that to be true! James through the Holy Spirit is about to put us in our place but we know that there is always good news on the other side. We are about to receive a . . .
“TONGUE LASHING”
When we hear the words “tongue lashing” we don’t anticipate with joy getting one of those from our teacher, or parent, or coach, or boss, or spouse. If you have ever received one you have probably walked away feeling pretty bad. That is what sin and the law can do to us. We are all guilty of abusing the tongue.
The Epistle confronts Christians of every age – and so also each one of us – with the inconsistencies between faith and actions. “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” (vs. 5b-6) Not one human being is innocent. We all know what we are capable of.
In our world it might be better to say our fingers do the talking. Look at all the texts, and the tweets, and the Facebook postings that people need to retract. How can we miss, young or old, that there are consequences to what you send over social media? Recently, a man hired to be the public address announcer for Nebraska football was fired for an inappropriate tweet. College students are losing scholarships. Politicians are being embarrassed for letting their words cause controversy. Stories like this come out each and every day. What happens is that we become self-righteous and we say that we don’t do that. C’mon now you don’t believe that, do you?
I grew up in a small town. I know that a little bit of gossip can set a whole village on fire. Vicious propaganda can fan international hatred into wars. Popular religious and doctrinal errors and teaching can rage like a Wild West wildfire and leave countless victims in their wake. The whole round of existence is set aflame by the evil tongue. Ouch – a tongue-lashing.
A recent “Dustin” comic strip shows the mother and daughter sitting on the couch and the daughter says, “My friends use snapchat so our texts disappear right away.” The mother responds, “In case you send messages and photos that are really embarrassing?” Daughter, “exactly.” The mother then goes on, “Actually, there’s a low-tech application that works even better for that.” The daughter excitedly says, “Really?” The mom then replies, “Yes, sweetheart, it’s called judgment.”
We could use a whole pile of judgment in our society. We always miss the end game when we let our tongues loose. So, is there nothing we can do? Are we doomed to live this life in a never-ending battle against a tongue that would just as soon destroy us, as it would honor the God of our salvation? In a way, yes, and in another, no. The battle rages on, but the war is already over. There is one who held his tongue and took our tongue lashing because only He could live the perfect life that we cannot.
That perfect one is our Savior Jesus Christ. He lived and died and rose again because our tongues are out of control. He bridled his tongue even in the face of death so that we might receive his righteousness and He now lives in us. Christians possess the grace of God, which is a divine power that is able to control the tongue.
In Baptism, that fire that burned from your tongue was extinguished. The Word of God that you hear in worship, in Adult Bible Study, in Sunday School, in Small Group Bible Study fills your mind and your heart with the pure truth from God. That Word replaces all of the “other words” and gives your tongue something righteous to speak. As you receive the body and blood of Christ under the bread and the wine, the wounds inflicted on you by the things you say are healed.
Yes, our Savior took quite a tongue lashing for you and I. The vile things thrown his way as He journeyed to the cross. Imagine social media if it was around during the time of Jesus. Do we really need to imagine? The hatred for Christ and His Word are all around us. Christians here and around the world take a tongue lashing or worse for their beliefs. But never forget the lashes that tore at the skin of Jesus. The words of the soldiers as He died on the cross. The language spoken that His death was it.
Except, He could not be kept silent. He had a resurrection promise that his followers shouted to the world, “He Has Risen! He Has Risen Indeed?” Jesus spoke his victory over Satan, and hell, and death. Oh, the tongue lashing the devil took that day. Oh, the tongue-lashing he will take on the Last Day when Jesus returns with the beautiful sound of triumph.
Christ sets us free from bondage to the devil and sin so that we have something new to say: “O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise.” (Ps. 51:15)
Amen.

Bulletin Announcements – September 13, 2015

†    Bulletin Announcements    †

September 13, 2015

THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS, led by Pastor Lueck and meeting in the church basement at 9:15 a.m. is studying “Lutheran Doctrine and Practice Today”.

TODAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL:  The account of “Joseph’s Troubles” continues the study of Joseph’s life in the Sunday School lesson for today. God was with Joseph; and in Christ, God is with us in all the situations of life, providing, protecting, and forgiving us. As a family, you might discuss, “How do we usually react when we are falsely accused of wrongdoing? How can we learn to trust Jesus to work out all things for our good?”

TODAY, September 13th, will be our first door Offering for our new adopted Seminary student. He is Bradley Ferch who is in his last year of studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN. Bradley was born in Iowa and his home church is Trinity Lutheran Church in Litchfield Park, AZ. He is married to Carole and has two daughters, Madison and Lillian. Before studying for the ministry he was a Dental Laboratory Supervisor. We look forward to getting to know his family better throughout this academic year.

LADIES MORNING BIBLE STUDY: We will resume our Ladies Morning Bible Study on the Book “Women of the New Testament” starting this coming Tuesday, September 15th at 9:30 a.m. in the Conference Room at the church. We are on Chapter 5: “The Canaanite Women”, and will begin our Study with a light breakfast. All the Ladies from the congregation are welcome to join the Study and if you would like to know more about it, please contact Jeannette Ross at (309) 662-4622.

NEXT SUNDAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the OCTOBER NEWSLETTER. Mandy Kluender is our Editor for the church newsletter and any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted to her at mgkluender@hotmail.com or you may call her at (309) 838-9868.

GOOD SHEPHERD’S BLOOD DRIVE is on Tuesday, September 22nd, from 2-6:00 p.m. Sign-up sheets are available in the narthex but if you would prefer signing up online please go to: redcrossblood.org. Enter in our zip code, 61704, find our Blood Drive and let the blood flow. Pastor Lueck will once again kick off our Drive by reaching out his right arm and turning his head. Please join us in fun and church fellowship as we help those in need with this gift of life.

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY:   Attention all crocheters and knitters! A new Prayer Shawl Ministry is being formed by Ann Hammond and Laura Kessler so that we may reach out to the needs of others who wish to know or better know Jesus as their Savior! “Threads of Grace” will begin this fall and an initial meeting will be arranged at Laura’s home (due to her mobility issues, she asks that we hold any meetings at her home, but tasty treats will be served!) Don’t know how to crochet or knit and wish to learn? Lessons will be offered! As well, donations of knitting and crochet yarn will be very welcome. Please watch the bulletin for further details. If you have any questions please feel free to call Laura at (309) 310-5607 or email her at dogdiva2@comcast.net. Thank you!

THANK YOU: We would like to thank all who helped make our School Kit Project for the LWML a success.

FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: The sign-up for help with coffee/doughnuts is posted on the wall by the north stairwell. We need an individual/family to sign-up each week to pick up the donuts and make the coffee. If no one is signed up by Friday of each week, the order will be cancelled. We thank everybody who continues to help with this part of our church fellowship.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Tradition, Tradition, Tradition” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from Mark 7:1-13. What role do traditions in our relationships to God and each other? The speaker will be Reverend Gregory Seltz. Hear this Sunday’s message on the Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tune in! You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.

 PRAYER CHAIN: If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her home # is (309) 661-6522; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582. The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.

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