Holy Discontent - Let's Build Something Together
Haggai begins by telling us that our life choices matter. Of course that is true; we all know that. But what happens when we make good choices and nothing gets better?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Christmas Day] Beautiful Trees](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1766458441148-4Z6ZUARBSWFIBNXRVG4D/Christmas+light+Daya.jpg)
![[Sunday] A Song of Christmas Light - Wait | Simeon](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1766465408750-D8B3EGC204JHKAXLWITJ/Christmas+light+6a.jpg)
![[Sunday] A Song of Christmas Light - Pointing to Greatness Stave 4](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1766107074577-MKU6U8LW1N5S1EATE1RW/Christmas+light+4a.jpg)
![Christmas Dinner at Mission BBQ [photos]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1766111458710-ULPCKS16DAZCMUN7LI93/PXL_20251218_000243197.jpg)
What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?
And that’s it, in a nutshell. What it means to be a Christian is living shaped by God’s word, obedient to Him and prioritizing others over yourself. For Peterson, it’s just that simple, which is why he keeps describing the Christian life as “not complicated.”
There’s a poem Eugene Peterson can’t get out of his head. It’s a brief, difficult poem called “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” by 19th-century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, just the kind you might expect a thinky, reclusive person like Peterson to like. “Kingfishers” layers on simile, pointing to a “just man” (seemingly “just” as in “moral”), whom it describes as one who “Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—Christ.”
“As Kingfishers Catch Fire” is about things—or people—acting within their nature—behaving like what they are. Today, you’ll hear this called authenticity. And that’s what lingers with Peterson.
You see, he spent his life in the Church, pastoring, preaching and (famously) writing. But if you talk to him about it, he’ll readily tell you not all of his career accomplished what he now thinks it should have.
***
If you’re only a little bit familiar with Christian culture, you know Peterson’s work. He’s the author of some 30 books of theology, poetry and commentary, all of which are worth your attention. But one book in particular promises to make up his legacy. In 2002, Peterson published his defining work, The Message.
Haggai - The Minor Leagues
Haggai begins by telling us that our life choices matter. Of course that is true; we all know that. But what happens when we make good choices and nothing gets better?
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Christmas Eve] A Song of Christmas Light](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1766459038816-RE9GU9A1NB5IBYM52X0S/Christmas+eve+.jpg)
Family Meals Thank You to Grace
Family Meals pickup
Big thanks to all who gave to Family meals.
Please convey to the members of Grace our deep appreciation for their response to the summer food drive collection for Family Meals. In addition to receiving enough food to completely fill my car, we also received an envelop of checks for approximately $230.00 for the support of the drive. Your faithfulness is a powerful witness to the greatness of God's love in Christ shared through you.
Pastor Ron
Email August 2nd 2017
Auguest 2nd email
Listen to the Scriptures: Haggai!
Meet up Tomorrow (Thursday) 11am to listen to the scriptures.
Through the summer we will be reading through many of the Minor Prophets. On Thursdays at 11:00 am we will listen to the minor prophet for that week. If you are not able to join us, I encourage you to listen to it with your family.
Links can be found at
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/read/
New Bible Study.
Beginning on August 15th
Pastor Russ (who lead our confession last Sunday)
He is leading an amazing study on Revelation
Have you ever wondered about Revelation, Wondered what all that scary stuff means. Why is it even in the bible. Come to this class!
We will see you there
Tuesdays at 11 am At Grace
Family Meals Summer Thanks You
From Pastor Ron
Please convey to the members of Grace our deep appreciation for their response to the summer food drive collection for Family Meals. In addition to receiving enough food to completely fill my car, we also received an envelop of checks for approximately $230.00 for the support of the drive. Your faithfulness is a powerful witness to the greatness of God's love in Christ shared through you.
Pastor Ron
See Pictures at https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/family-meals-pickup
August Newsletter is Out!
Download yours Now!
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/newsletter-august-2017
Watch Last Week's Sermon
Joel is Playing the Hits
Joel keeps quoting: quoting other prophets, quoting the stories of the exodus. In other words, Joel keeps playing the hits like that great DJ on the radio. But what happens when the apostle Peter quotes Joel?
WATCH SERMON HERE
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/joel-the-minor-leagues
Watch all past sermons at
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/sermons/
GraceLutheranPSL.com/Read
I Wonder If Sunday School Is Destroying Our Kids
Several years ago I met with a woman distraught by her son’s rejection of Christianity.
She said, “I did everything I could to raise him right. I taught him to be like the ‘heroes of faith,’ with the faithfulness of Abraham, the goodness of Joseph, the pure heart of David, and the obedience of Esther.”
She wondered why he rejected Christianity.
I wondered why it took him so long.
Here is how we destroy the gospel message
Look at almost any Sunday school curriculum. You’ll find:
Abraham was faithful, and God made him the father of a nation. So be faithful like Abraham.
Joseph was a good little boy (unlike his “bad” brothers), and God made him Prime Minister of Egypt. So be good like Joseph.
David had a pure heart (unlike his brothers), and God made him King of Israel. So have a pure heart like David.
Esther was an obedient girl. God made her Queen of Persia and she saved God’s people. So be obedient like Esther.
Finally, if we fail to be good, Jesus will forgive us (a “P.S.” tacked onto the end).
What’s so bad about these Sunday school lessons?
Nothing really. Except that they lie about God, they lie about these “heroes of the faith,” they lie about the Bible, and they lie about the gospel. Apart from that, they are pretty good. Oh, they also create “younger brother” rebels and “older brother” Pharisees.
Read the rest at:
http://beliefsoftheheart.com/2013/07/23/i-wonder-if-sunday-school-is-destroying-our-kids-2/
See you Sunday!
I Wonder If Sunday School Is Destroying Our Kids
Cheeky Title, but exposes how we can keep God as the hero in our stories.
Several years ago I met with a woman distraught by her son’s rejection of Christianity.
She said, “I did everything I could to raise him right. I taught him to be like the ‘heroes of faith,’ with the faithfulness of Abraham, the goodness of Joseph, the pure heart of David, and the obedience of Esther.”
She wondered why he rejected Christianity.
I wondered why it took him so long.
Here is how we destroy the gospel message
Look at almost any Sunday school curriculum. You’ll find:
- Abraham was faithful, and God made him the father of a nation. So be faithful like Abraham.
- Joseph was a good little boy (unlike his “bad” brothers), and God made him Prime Minister of Egypt. So be good like Joseph.
- David had a pure heart (unlike his brothers), and God made him King of Israel. So have a pure heart like David.
- Esther was an obedient girl. God made her Queen of Persia and she saved God’s people. So be obedient like Esther.
- Finally, if we fail to be good, Jesus will forgive us (a “P.S.” tacked onto the end).
What’s so bad about these Sunday school lessons?
Nothing really. Except that they lie about God, they lie about these “heroes of the faith,” they lie about the Bible, and they lie about the gospel. Apart from that, they are pretty good. Oh, they also create “younger brother” rebels and “older brother” Pharisees.
Email July 26
Email July 26th
Listen to the Scriptures: Joel!
Meet up Tomorrow (Thursday) 11am to listen to the scriptures.
Through the summer we will be reading through many of the Minor Prophets. On Thursdays at 11:00 am we will listen to the minor prophet for that week. If you are not able to join us, I encourage you to listen to it with your family.
Links can be found at
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/read/
Sarah's Kitchen at the Ballpark
If you want to join us for the baseball game on Thursday, July 27, a group from Grace will meet outside the St. Lucie Mets entrance at 5:45 so we can all go in and find seats together. If you can't be there by 5:45 and want to sit with us, call Cris at (770) 328-5078. You can buy tickets at a specific Sarah's Kitchen booth near the entrance. The game starts at 6:30.
Watch Last Week's Sermon
Nahum: Comfort in Chaos
Nahum means comfort. So take comfort that God is bringing good news.
We had camera problems this week. So enjoy a different pastor doing the same sermon.
WATCH SERMON HERE
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/nahum-the-minor-leagues
Watch all past sermons at
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/sermons/
GraceLutheranPSL.com/Read
The Fog of Fear: Panic Attacks, Anxiety and Being Overwhelmed
You can see it far off, looming on the horizon, a thick fog menacing off the coast and swirling in the distance. You know the signs. You’ve been here many times before, but you’ve learned to carry on. At first you kind of ignore it, you are aware it’s there, but you don’t want to work yourself up so you busy yourself with things in the hopes the winds will change and it is driven out to sea. But the winds rarely change.
In time it approaches, subtle and quiet, caressing its way—almost seducing—its way back into your life. Your ostrich-defense has not worked and you aren’t able to continue the charade of hiding. At first it’s manageable. “This isn’t so bad” you think, “I can handle this.” But before you know it the fog is all around you, the thick blur is everywhere and the familiar comforts are whited-out. In the fog sounds are distant echoes, faces are veiled shapes and the familiar becomes strange—but strange because this particular strange you know all too well. Feeling alienated, overwhelmed—unable to trust yourself, in the fog of anxiety you give up. You lose yourself in a kind of existential madness. You have a panic attack.
Read the rest at:
http://www.christholdfast.org/blog/the-fog-of-fear-panic-attacks-anxiety-and-being-overwhelmed
See you Sunday!
The Fog of Fear: Panic Attacks, Anxiety and Being Overwhelmed
We have a God who is with us always. Who never abandons us as orphans, who walks through death-valleys with us, and whose strength is sufficient in weaknesses. Those are all promises. They are all true.
You can see it far off, looming on the horizon, a thick fog menacing off the coast and swirling in the distance. You know the signs. You’ve been here many times before, but you’ve learned to carry on. At first you kind of ignore it, you are aware it’s there, but you don’t want to work yourself up so you busy yourself with things in the hopes the winds will change and it is driven out to sea. But the winds rarely change.
In time it approaches, subtle and quiet, caressing its way—almost seducing—its way back into your life. Your ostrich-defense has not worked and you aren’t able to continue the charade of hiding. At first it’s manageable. “This isn’t so bad” you think, “I can handle this.” But before you know it the fog is all around you, the thick blur is everywhere and the familiar comforts are whited-out. In the fog sounds are distant echoes, faces are veiled shapes and the familiar becomes strange—but strange because this particular strange you know all too well. Feeling alienated, overwhelmed—unable to trust yourself, in the fog of anxiety you give up. You lose yourself in a kind of existential madness. You have a panic attack.
Nahum - The Minor Leagues
The Shortest book in the bible has a timeless message to us all.
We had a goof this weekend and the Camera was never started. So enjoy the same sermon from Mark Adrian at Messiah Lutheran in Tampa
Nahum 1
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
God's Wrath Against Nineveh
2 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
5 The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
7 The Lord is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
8 But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,[a]
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
9 What do you plot against the Lord?
He will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.
10 For they are like entangled thorns,
like drunkards as they drink;
they are consumed like stubble fully dried.
11 From you came one
who plotted evil against the Lord,
a worthless counselor.
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Though they are at full strength and many,
they will be cut down and pass away.
Though I have afflicted you,
I will afflict you no more.
13 And now I will break his yoke from off you
and will burst your bonds apart.”
14 The Lord has given commandment about you:
“No more shall your name be perpetuated;
from the house of your gods I will cut off
the carved image and the metal image.
I will make your grave, for you are vile.”
15 [b] Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!
Keep your feasts, O Judah;
fulfill your vows,
for never again shall the worthless pass through you;
he is utterly cut off.
Romans 10
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[c] And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Email July 19th
The latest email
Listen to the Scriptures: Nahum!
Meet up Tomorrow (Thursday) 11am to listen to the scriptures.
Through the summer we will be reading through many of the Minor Prophets. On Thursdays at 11:00 am we will listen to the minor prophet for that week. If you are not able to join us, I encourage you to listen to it with your family.
Links can be found at
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/read/
Welcome, Baby Gunnrik!
Matthew, Annalee, and Baby Gunnrik will be honored at a small reception shower after service on Sunday, July 23.
If you're able to "shower" this sweet little one, born in May, we encourage you to write a blessing in a beloved children's book, either new or used (instead of a card). The family would also appreciate baby toiletries and boy clothes sizes 9 months and larger. Thanks for showing your support to our littlest Grace friend!
Family Meals
Grace is collecting food for Summer Family Meals.
Last Easter we were the number 1 donor church. Let's keep it up!
Just bring food to the church and put it in the bin.
This year they are asking for desserts (boxed mixes).
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/family-meals-summer-food-drive
Sarah's Kitchen at the Ballpark
- St. Lucie Mets game on Thursday, July 27 at 6:30 pm
- $7.00 general admission tickets with some proceeds going to support the Sarah's Kitchen mission
- Dollar night on various concessions
- Contact Sherry Evans (772 626 9425) for tickets.
Watch Last Week's Sermon
Obadiah and the Love of Manure
This tiny book shows how massive our love is for Manure but also how massive God's loving ways are towards us.
WATCH SERMON HERE
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/obadiah-the-minor-leagues
Watch all past sermons at
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/sermons/
GraceLutheranPSL.com/Read
GOD'S HUMILITY FOR YOU
By Martin Luther
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -Philippians 2:5-11
Christ assumed the form of a servant, even while remaining God and having the form of God; he was God, and his divine words and works were spoken and wrought for our benefit. As a servant, he served us with these. He did not require us to serve him in compensation for them, as in the capacity of a Lord he had a just right to do. He sought not honor or profit thereby, but our benefit and salvation. It was a willing service and gratuitously performed, for the good of men. It was a service unspeakably great, because of the ineffable greatness of the minister and servant -- God eternal, whom all angels and creatures serve.
Read the rest at:
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/read
See you Sunday!
Family Meals Food Drive Spring 2017
Family Meals Food Drive!
This is the last week to bring in food!
Keep St Lucie beautiful Mets game!
Join us with the keep St Lucie beautiful crew at a fun Mets game
Dear Adopt-A-Street Groups,
Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful has volunteered to participate for the 10th Anniversary Treasure Coast Waterway Cleanup event which will be held Saturday, July 29, 2017 from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM. We are inviting you to join our team.
Since 2007, they have removed more than 72 tons of trash in Martin, St. Lucie & Indian River Counties. This year the Treasure Coast Waterway Cleanup will be cleaning up 125 miles of waterways in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties. The event is for all ages and all volunteers will receive an event T-shirt and those with watercrafts will receive a commemorative burgee to fly, which shows that they are part of the event. There will be an appreciation BBQ in August (date TBA) for all volunteers.
The team name is: Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful and our team will report to the C-24 Canal Park Boat Ramp in Port St. Lucie at the roundabout on Floresta and South Bend,500 SW Oakridge Drive.
Please feel free to check out Treasure Coast Waterway website for more information; http://www.tcwaterwaycleanup.com/
To register, please click this link and fill out the required information; http://www.tcwaterwaycleanup.com/register-here.html
For the day of the event, we ask that all volunteers follow the following safety rules:
►Always wear closed toed shoes.
►Please examine all litter for sharp edges before picking up.
►Please provide adult supervision for all minors
►Hats, sunscreen, bug repellent, gloves and water are strongly suggested.
We look forward to seeing you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful
Georgette Beck
Secretary
Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful
Public Works Department
121 S.W. Port St. Lucie Blvd.
Port St. Lucie, FL 34984-5099
Email: gbeck@cityofpsl.com
Phone: 772-873-6312
Fax: 772-871-5185
God's Humility For You
An Excellent Article by Martin Luther, Yes that Martin Luther.
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -Philippians 2:5-11
Christ assumed the form of a servant, even while remaining God and having the form of God; he was God, and his divine words and works were spoken and wrought for our benefit. As a servant, he served us with these. He did not require us to serve him in compensation for them, as in the capacity of a Lord he had a just right to do. He sought not honor or profit thereby, but our benefit and salvation. It was a willing service and gratuitously performed, for the good of men. It was a service unspeakably great, because of the ineffable greatness of the minister and servant -- God eternal, whom all angels and creatures serve.
Obadiah - The Minor Leagues
The Shortest book in the bible has a timeless message to us all.
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.[a]
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[b]
in your lofty dwelling,
who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
5 If thieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6 How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
7 All your allies have driven you to your border;
those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
those who eat your bread[c] have set a trap beneath you—
you have[d] no understanding.
8 Will I not on that day, declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of Mount Esau?
9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,
so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
Philippians 2
2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.What Happened This Week
The Tragic End Of Appealing To Man's Righteousness
Abraham didn’t understand God very well (at least not early on). I don’t say that as a dig against the Patriarch. I don’t think any of us understand God very well either.
Abraham didn’t understand God very well (at least not early on). I don’t say that as a dig against the Patriarch. I don’t think any of us understand God very well either.
When Abraham discerns that God is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah he is bold enough to attempt to talk God out of it. To his credit, he seems to have genuine concern and compassion for the people who lived there. He does not want to see them destroyed. Of course, his nephew lives there, so that is an added motivation. But I don’t think we should assume that is the only source of Abraham’s concern.
I’m not so sure modern Evangelicals would plead with God for mercy toward a notoriously wicked group of people. Sadly, we’re more likely to start gathering the firewood for the roast. And we tend to be more like Jonah pulling up a lawn chair with a bowl of popcorn to watch those sinners get what they deserve.....................
Death To Self: Can You See It? GERHARD FORDE
perhaps you can turn away from yourself, maybe really for the first time, and look upon your neighbors. Maybe for the first time you can begin to receive creation as a gift, a sheer gift from God’s hands.
As we have heard, he who would save his life shall lose it, and he who loses his life for Jesus’ sake shall find it. But what does that really mean to die to self? Does it mean, perhaps, selling my car and going on foot or by bus? It might. We can’t rule out the possibility. Does it mean, perhaps, selling my good clothes and furniture so that my wife and I should sit around in rags on orange crates? It might. Certainly we can’t dismiss that possibility either. For the problem is that words like “dying to self” are translated into some kind of action, or something that actually happens -that is, some real change -they don’t have any real meaning. So we certainly must try, eventually, to translate them into the language of action.
But before we get too hasty and impatient there are some things at which we should take a hard look. The first is that we have a rather incurable tendency always to refuse to really listen to the words of God and instead to translate them immediately into something we are going to do, indeed, can do. This is what we always do with the law. We take it and translate it into a do-it-yourself kit for salvation. It is as though we think we are going to do God a big favor by living up to what is demanded of us and even, possibly, put him out of the salvation business by accomplishing all or at least some of it ourselves-even if that turns out to be just a teeny-weeny little bit. But when we do that we really come a-cropper when we come to this word about dying to self. For what can that possibly mean in a do-it-yourself religion? Here God has set a snare for us in our easy confidence that we are big enough to handle the job. ......
Much like Scrooge, the shepherds sat in darkness until the heavenly angels came, bringing the light of a well celebrated Christmas.