Care Net Banquet 2017
Thursday, September 14, 2017 and Friday, September 15, 2017 6:30 pm
Every Human Life Has Purpose
28th Annual Fund Raising Banquet
Thursday, September 14, 2017 and Friday, September 15, 2017 6:30 pm
Seating Port St. Lucie Civic Center 9221 SE Civic Center Place Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
You will meet and hear the story of our Client of the Year for 2018, but here’s a little glimpse. Dominique, her husband Sean, and their 2 daughters relocated to Port St. Lucie last year. When they discovered they were expecting their 3rd child, they didn’t know where to go for help. They did an internet search and found Care Net! Dominique and Sean came in, met with a peer counselor, confirmed their pregnancy, and oh so much more! Please come and let us share with you how we were able to bless and be blessed by this amazing family! Their 3rd little girl is due in September! Our guest speaker this year is Ryan Bomberger. Ryan is an Emmy® Award-winning creative professional, citizen journalist, factivist, and author of the new book, Not Equal: Civil Rights Gone Wrong. He is also the co-founder of The Radiance Foundation (www.TheRadianceFoundation.org), a life-affirming organization based on the belief that every human life has purpose. Ryan has a rather unique perspective on the innate nature of purpose. He is one of ten children, who were adopted and loved, in a multi-racial family of fifteen. Today, as an adoptee and adoptive father, he enjoys illuminating the intrinsic worth we all possess. While there is no charge for this event, an opportunity will be provided at the dinner to help this ministry with your financial gift and pledges of time, talents, and resources.
Good Morning! Can you believe it? Our Annual Fund Raising Banquet is just over a month away!!! The dates are Thursday, September 14, and Friday, September 15.
Attached are two things:
1. Bulletin Insert in pdf format. If you have bulletins, could you please insert them into your bulletins at least on August 20 and 27? If not and you can have them available at your information desks, that’s great too!! 2. Slide for inclusion into your Sunday morning announcements.
Also, here’s the link for our 1 minute YouTube announcement………………………
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xzVqzI-gAY
Thank you all so very much for your love of Care Net, and for your friendship. We are blessed beyond measure because of you and your faithfulness!!!
If you need anything additional, or have any questions, please let me know.
Blessings,
Debi Boerckel
Office Manager
Care Net Pregnancy Services
8432 S. Federal Highway
Port St. Lucie, FL 34952
(772)871-2211
www.CareNetTC.com (Client Emphasis)
www.CareNetFriends.com (Donor Emphasis)
www.ProtectTheHeart.org (Student Emphasis)
Repentance In Your Name vs Repentance In Christ's Name
This is not repentance in God’s name, but in the devil’s name. For this is striving to propitiate God by our own works and by our own strength, a thing God cannot allow.
BY MARTIN LUTHER
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations… -Luke 24:45-47
What is repentance in His name? Hereby he singles out the repentance that is not made in His name, and therefore the text compels us to consider two kinds of repentance. First, a repentance not in His name is, when I come with my own works and undertake to blot out sin with them; as we all have been taught and have tried to do. This is not repentance in God’s name, but in the devil’s name. For this is striving to propitiate God by our own works and by our own strength, a thing God cannot allow.
Serve the Nervous King - Let's Build Something Together
When Nehemiah saw that all was not right in Jerusalem, did he rise up and call for revolution? No. He instead made it his calling to calm and serve the nervous king.
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Divisions - Together 1 Corinthians 1-4](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1757016029499-QYKYXUZGFPWS60G27RFV/Together+1a.jpg)
Go And Be Dead
In the glorious and great exchange of the Gospel, it is Christ who proved to be your neighbor and my neighbor.
BY KYLE G JONES
We sinners share a common problem when it comes to Jesus’ parables. We read them with an eye to our own righteousness. That is, we read them with our eyes peeled for what they might tell us to do. We read them with Law tinted lenses.
While it is true that Jesus’ parables contain Law (commands and demands from God), if we’re to understand them rightly our eyes need to hunt tirelessly for where Christ and his Gospel reside within them. Though not always easy, we must avoid the temptation to make the Law our primary prize while reading or listening to Jesus’ parables.
Take the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). Its popular understanding is that Jesus expanded the definition of neighbor to include all people by answering the question “Who is my neighbor?” with a story illustrating sacrificial care toward one’s enemy. And he made it official when, at the end, he commanded: “go and do likewise.”
But, “Who is my neighbor?” was not the primary question driving the discourse between Jesus and the lawyer that resulted in this well-known parable. The lawyer’s opening question to Jesus is, “Teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
The parable of the Good Samaritan comes in the context of a salvation question. “Jesus, what must I do to be saved?”
Where does Jesus point him? Jesus asks, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” According to Jesus, the lawyer gives the right answer and, if he does what the Law commands, he will live.
Catherine Stephens Memorial Service
Monday at 11am
August 21
Treasure Coast Sea Winds
950 SE Monterey Rd, Stuart, FL 34994
There will be a Lunch Reception after the Service at Grace Lutheran PSL
Catherine Stephens Memorial service will be.....
Monday at 11am
August 21
Treasure Coast Sea Winds
950 SE Monterey Rd, Stuart, FL 34994
https://goo.gl/maps/e9UGy1QrVS52
There will be a Lunch Reception after the Service at Grace Lutheran PSL
Grace And Peace
Please join us in prayer and support for Richard and everyone in the Stephens family as they morn the loss of Catherine.
She passed away during the night of August 15th.
Details will be forth coming.
Grace and Peace to you all
Pastor Cris Escher
Grace Lutheran PSL
John 11:33-36
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved[e] in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Jesus is the Resurrection and the life.
We join with Jesus, the whole community of the saints, in weeping with the Stephens Family and friends. But also waiting expectantly for the Resurrection of life. We will see you soon!
Email 8-17-17
Email at Grace
Revelation Bible Study
Tuesdays 11AM
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 Volunteer Orientation
Family Meals is hosting a volunteer (leader and assistant) orientation and providing a light supper. Please join us at Trinity Lutheran Church ( trinitychurch4u.com) Monday, August 28. We plan to begin at 5:30 - 7:30.
More details will be on Grace's web site soon.
Mops Volunteers Needed.
MOPS (mothers of Preschoolers) is a great organization which brings mothers from our community of St Lucie West and provides a strong support group.
They meet at Grace on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays in the morning.
They need Volunteers to watch there precious preschoolers.
Please email the Grace Office at gracelutheranspsl@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to sign up.
August Newsletter is Out!
Download yours Now!
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/newsletter-august-2017
Watch Last Week's Sermon
Holy Discontent
Nehemiah sees the city of God, Jerusalem, and is troubled. The wooden gates are burned, and the stones are cast down. What does Nehemiah do here? He confesses his sins to God the Father.
WATCH SERMON HERE
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/holy-disconten-build-together
Watch all past sermons at
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/sermons/
GraceLutheranPSL.com/Read
Racism, Dealing with It
Editor’s note: in the wake of the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, a word on dealing with racism from Professor Leo Sánchez.
In a sinful world, racism will not go away. Every so often, it raises its ugly head in public. But rather than merely stating what seems so obvious—racism is a sin—here are some practical ways to confront it head on and deal with it.
Read the rest at:
https://www.gracelutheranpsl.com/news/racism-dealing-with-it
See you Sunday!
Luther Movie - October 19th
One-night Movie Event
Don’t miss this special event: a one-time showing of the new Martin Luther film at:
Regal Cinemas Treasure Coast Mall on October 19 at 6:30pm
One-night Movie Event
Don’t miss this special event: a one-time showing of the new
Martin Luther film at:
Regal Cinemas Treasure Coast Mall on October 19 at 6:30pm
This special screening is the perfect outreach opportunity... a chance to invite friends and neighbors to an event in a community setting. This entertaining new film follows the great adventure story of Luther’s life, packed with political intrigue, kidnappings, and life-or-death showdowns. At the same time, it's a story about the most important questions of life, including "Who am I?" "What is my purpose" and "How do I get right with God?"
It’s a must-see for any lifelong Lutheran, and a chance to share the message of your Lutheran heritage with others. And the only place you can see the film is in the theater on the night of our church’s special event.
This is the first time in more than 60 years that Lutherans have made a feature-length film about Martin Luther and the Reformation. Filmed in historic locations across Europe, this movie brings Luther’s story to life with exquisite attention to detail. It’s a chance to strengthen your faith by revisiting the birth of Protestant Reformation, and to share that experience with others.
IMPORTANT: All tickets ($12 each) must be purchased in advance. Tickets can be purchased at a special web site set up for the screening:
https://new.tugg.com/events/martin-luther-the-idea-that-changed-the-world-ivev
Racism, Dealing with It
A very good Article from the Professor of Hispanic Ministries at Concordia Seminary St Lucie. One of Pastor Cris' Favoraiate professors.
Editor’s note: in the wake of the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, a word on dealing with racism from Professor Leo Sánchez.
In a sinful world, racism will not go away. Every so often, it raises its ugly head in public. But rather than merely stating what seems so obvious—racism is a sin—here are some practical ways to confront it head on and deal with it.
Repentance
Public displays of racism offer an opportunity for repentance. Not merely calling for someone else to repent, but for my own repentance. Which is actually more difficult than condemning racism in general because it makes racism my personal problem. Here we sin by commission and omission.
Our sinful flesh gladly finds ways to avoid people of other races or paint them in a suspicious light. Or it simply fails to acknowledge racism as a real problem in our society, or the pain people who have suffered discrimination because of the color of their skin go through on a regular basis. The appropriate response to this state of affairs is neither claiming to have “no racist bone in my body” nor appealing to one’s innocence or ignorance about America’s so-called original sin. Nor will winning an argument about whether racism is a personal or systemic sin save anyone either.
The sinful flesh finds all kinds of sneaky ways to avoid dealing head on with racism and ethnocentrism. So the best first response is simply to repent: “We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.” And then to wait for God’s response, trusting in his mercy: “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” In this cyclical rhythm of repentance, of contrition and absolution, Christians learn to live daily under the sign of their baptism into Christ, drowning the sinful flesh so that a new creature may rise every day.
Vigilance
Public displays of racism offer an opportunity for vigilance. Sin is not only a corrupted state but an actual way of being in the world. This is why we do not simply confess that we are sinful by (corrupted) nature, but also that we sin specifically in thought, word, and deed. Accordingly, racism is not merely about people acting out their racism in public, but much more often people thinking and speaking in subtly racist and ethnocentric ways.
To be watchful is not to turn a blind eye to racism, pretending it does not really exist among “good” people like us but only among a few “bad” apples out there. Instead, Christians openly acknowledge life is a rough pilgrimage in the wilderness, where we are constantly vulnerable to the seductions of the evil one, including the idea that we are superior to others in some way. If having a superiority complex were not a perennial human problem, why would Christians have to be reminded to put others before themselves? We must, therefore, be careful not to become overly confident about our own power to resist the lure of supremacy, lest we become an easy prey to it without even noticing it.
Another common seduction we are vulnerable to is the idea that if we fight against flesh and blood, and kill our enemies (either literally, or more likely with our words), then we will do our part to eradicate from society the perpetrators of racism. Yet we know hatred only breeds more hatred. Here Christians must avoid the seduction of imitating the language of the world, the violence of words (even in the name of freedom of speech), which parades monsters while neglecting the potential harm to their own spiritual lives of an unchecked fear of and distance from people who look different from us.
It is easier to go after evildoers. And indeed, when we see evil, we must call it what it is. But let’s face it. It is more difficult to be accountable to others for our manner of speech, so as not to slip into attitudes toward people of different races and ethnicities based on stereotypes and myths perpetuated by sensationalist media. No one is immune from these seductions. So the proper response to racism is not to deny our vulnerability to it, but simply to be watchful and pray: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”; and “May your holy angel be with us, that the evil foe may have no power over us.”
Sacrifice
Public displays of racism offer an opportunity for service. Contrition and forgiveness bear fruits of repentance. Grafted onto Christ the Vine, Christians bear the fruit of his Spirit in their lives. Racism, on the other hand, bears plain signs of the works of the flesh. It promotes enmity, strife, anger, selfishness, dissension, and party spirit. Amidst such sinful passions and desires, Christians dare to live and walk by the Spirit. Doing so is never easy. It entails sacrifice.
Where there is hate, Christians show love. Where there is sorrow, joy; where conflict, peace; where anxiety, patience; where rudeness, kindness; and so on. There can never be too much of these things in a sinful world. Walking in the Spirit is not without personal sacrifice. In showing love, we become the objects of hate; when sharing joy, we hear of the other’s grief; when preaching peace, conflict comes our way; when teaching patience, we bear other’s anxieties; when we show kindness, people rudely dismiss us.
Racism is an expression of egocentricity. It is a love of self which only loves those who look like self. It is a form of what Luther called our being curved in on ourselves. Service takes us outside ourselves, away from a misguided love of self and into the realm of neighbors who are different from us. We begin to see life in terms of the pain of others, including those whose race and ethnicity makes them the object of hurtful words and acts, and dare to speak on their behalf and defend them when they are portrayed in the worst possible light or their lives are threatened in some way—even if we suffer for it. No one said being a Christian is easy.
Hospitality
Public displays of racism offer an opportunity for hospitality. Racism is a form of exclusion and aims at alienation, a sin that seeks to destroy the human hope for acceptance and belonging. It teaches that humans can justify their lives—their worth and value—before others on the basis of the color of their bodies and the privileges accompanying their racial identity.
In a world where our churches and communities often remain de facto segregated, we begin to get comfortable with those who look and speak like us. We have a hard time crossing racial, ethnic, cultural, and social borders to meet neighbors on the other side. Perhaps we are afraid of the unknown. Perhaps we are too comfortable. We can call it whatever we want. But whatever the reason, we are missing out. What if God surprises us on the other side of the border and richly blesses us our lives with neighbors who look and speak differently?
Jesus was from Nazareth in Galilee, where nothing good comes from. Due to their proximity to Gentiles, Galileans were seen as less than pure and wise. Yet God surprises us and works out his salvation through a Galilean! And it is out of suspect Galilee that Jesus sends out his Galilean disciples to make disciples by baptizing and teaching. Here again, God defies common human expectations. In his own ministry, Jesus crossed into the lives of Samaritans, strangers and foreigners of mixed race and religion considered enemies of God. The Spirit of Jesus moved Philip in Acts to cross into the land of the Samaritans, where the evangelist welcomed them into God’s kingdom through baptism in the name of Jesus, and the Samaritans received the gift of the Holy Spirit. God’s house is wide and all races have a place at the table. Through these stories of divine welcome, we learn that justification before God is not by race but by grace.
We also learn to reach out to neighbors outside our comfort zones. One deals with racism by inviting people of different races to share life with us in our homes, churches, and communities. A welcoming attitude moves beyond merely being aware of the other while remaining in a parallel universes. Hospitality crosses borders to learn from and collaborate with new neighbors. Got time for coffee?
Devotion
Public displays of racism offer an opportunity for devotion. When people of different races fight against each other, or more likely (and perhaps problematically) keep their distance from each other, we have all lost respect for God’s creation. We no longer acknowledge that when we stand before another human being we stand before God’s own creation. Since worship includes faith and its fruits (love), racism gets in the way of the proper worship of God. It dishonors both the Creator and his creation.
True worship gladly receives God’s gifts of creation and redemption. When do we make time to revel in such gifts? The day of rest was just the time to do so. God’s people kept the Sabbath not merely through the cessation of labor, but by thanking God for the work of his hands and for saving his people through the Exodus. The broader point of the day of rest, however, was to make time any day in the midst of busy lives to behold the awesomeness of these divine gifts with thanksgiving and praise, joy and celebration. Today we are so occupied that we no longer stand still to soak in the beauty of God’s work, including the gift of neighbors, and to celebrate it.
Racism gets in the way of proper devotion to God because it denies the beauty of his creation, which comes in no other way than in many different colors. It also denies the gift of the church into which God has gathered unto himself, through his Word, a people from different nations, races, and languages. By resting in God’s promises of creation and new creation, Christians learn to look once again at neighbors of different races through the eyes of faith and love—namely, as God’s own precious creatures for whom Christ gave his life. They also learn to give thanks and praise to God for the lives and gifts new neighbors bring to them personally, as well as to the church and our world. And yes, they learn to rejoice in each other’s company and play together.
Come, Holy Spirit!
How then do we respond to racism, whether crass or subtle, not only in public but at all times? By looking in the mirror with the eyes of repentance, at our spiritual lives with the eyes of vigilance, outside of ourselves with the eyes of a servant, toward excluded neighbors with the eyes of welcome, and toward the Giver of all gifts with the eyes of devotion. This picture of life is, of course, quite a burden for any person to fulfill on his or her own. Inevitably, we will come up short when dealing with racist and ethnocentric impulses.
Yet Christ’s grace is abundant and he gives us his Spirit to provide what is needed along the journey. If lack of repentance, the Spirit will kill the sinner in us to make us alive. If lack of vigilance amidst the seductions of evil, the Spirit will make us watchful and accountable to one another in our thoughts, speech, and deeds. If lack of service and hospitality, the Spirit will warm up our cold hearts toward the strange other and bear his fruit in our lives, leading us to engage in sacrificial and welcoming acts on behalf of marginalized neighbors. If lack of devotion, the Spirit will give us rest in God to stand back and behold the colorful beauty of his creation in the face of our neighbors. So come, Holy Spirit! We need you!
Revelation Study Tuesdays at 11am
Revelation Bible Study. Thrusdays 11am
Pastor Russ is leading a study through revelation.
Meet us at grace on Thursdays' at 11am.
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.
![[Sunday] Body- Together 1 Corinthians 5-7](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1757614641277-E3RL138857X8O6C1GA6P/Together+2a.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.
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!
Instead of treating the body as a means for selfish gain, Paul's message points to a greater purpose where our bodies are made into a holy dwelling for God himself.