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October 9 Worship

9/29/2016

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I present the opening words of our lesson from 2 Timothy:

"Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David--that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal.  But the word of God is not chained.  Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory."    2 Timothy 2:8-10


​Do you notice Paul's strong conviction?  The word of God is not chained! Even though he may be in prison, the word of God is not going to be confined in any way.  Might this not be an important word for us to reflect on today?  There might be folks who want to squelch religion or put Christians on the sidelines; yet the word of God is not going to be bound. The word is still going to get out; it is still going to be powerful and effective.  Christianity is not going to die out.

As a result, the apostle Paul calls for us to have endurance.  It might be easy to give up on our missional task thinking that the naysayers are too strong or we just can't have a voice in today's world.  Maybe we better think again.  The word of God is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword.  (Hebrews 4).

I would ask you to reflect on your level of endurance in doing Christ's work today?  Do you feel that there is power in your own witnessing?  Do you believe God's word can change another person's life?  I would ask you to reflect on these words for your preparation for this Sunday's worship.

Also, I would invite you to consider any healing you might need in your own life - whether for a physical ailment, emotional problem, or lack of faith you might have.  The holistic prayer for healing will offered in worship this Sunday!

Pastor Marty



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October 2 Worship

9/23/2016

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Have you ever had a time when you wondered about having enough faith?  Maybe you were going through a difficult time in your life and needed divine help.  Whatever it was, you felt like you didn't have the faith to really trust God.

The disciples had such a moment.  They heard Jesus talk about denying themselves and taking up their cross.  He talked about the cost of discipleship and the need to evaluate whether they could really take on the task.  The disciples hear Jesus say what he expects of them and then the disciples react with these words of our text:

"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' The Lord replied, 'If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.'"     Luke 17:5-6

They wanted their faith to be increased.  An interesting consideration is whether faith can be measured in any way?   So how is it with your faith?  Do you have the faith the size of a mustard seed?  If so, you could do wonderful things for the kingdom of God.  It seems like this faith is more a trust in what you CAN do through your faith.  I would ask you to contemplate your faith and how closely you feel connected to Jesus.  

In preparation for Sunday's worship, you may read the entire Gospel which is Luke 17:5-10.  May God's blessings be upon your preparation and worship this Sunday!

​Pastor Marty
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September 25 Worship

9/10/2016

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The story of the rich man and Lazarus seems to give us a chilling warning about the fate of our lives as well as fascination about the next life. Lazarus who is poor and had lived off the crumbs from the rich man's table ends upon heaven (Abraham's bosom) and the rich man ends up in Hades in torment. The rich man pleads earnestly for Lazarus to come back to earth to instruct his (the rich man's brothers) so that they would not suffer the same fate.  We have these words of the rich man to Abraham:

"Then, father, I beg you to send him [Lazarus] to my father's house - for I have five brothers - that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment."  Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.'  He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'  He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."  Luke 16:27-31

You get the picture here that we have enough in Scripture pertaining to how to get to heaven.  We have Moses and the prophets: the word of God is sufficient.  Don't we struggle with how we might entice someone into the Christian faith?  Do we need anything beyond the power of God's word?  This is something for us to contemplate.  Yet, even having someone come back from the dead will not necessarily be convincing.  What this means is that the word of God is powerful in and of itself with the work of the Holy Spirit.

I would ask you to contemplate the power of God's word to help convince an unbelieving world.  You may want to read the entire Gospel reading which is Luke 16:19-31 in preparation for Sunday worship.  May God's blessing be upon your reading and worship this Sunday.

Pastor Marty
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    I invite you to reflect on these words of Scripture in preparing for worship.

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    Pastor Marty Pauschke

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