DEVOTION: John 14:23-31 English Standard Version (ESV)
23 Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
25 "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
What does it mean to "keep my words" as Jesus says in this passage? What are His "words"? How do we keep them?
Well, first of all, Jesus says earlier in this book and it is repeated over and over again in John's epistles, "Love one another." "Forgive each other." These are His commands and His Words. Love, Forgive, repeat. When you do these things you are truly his disciples. All of the Ten Commandments are summed up in the one word LOVE. The first three express our love for God. The second seven express our love for others. LOVE is the summary of the commandments.
The greatest expression of love works itself out in forgiveness. You can't love without forgiving, because the other person isn't going to always act perfectly toward you. The closer you are to a person the more chance there is that the person is going to hurt you.
How do we keep them? We keep them through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we live by the Spirit we are doing the works of the Lord. When we aren't living by the Spirit we aren't doing His will. It's as simple and as complicated as that. Read Romans chapter 7 if you want to learn more about the struggle between the body and the soul/Spirit. Our bodies, as long as there is breath in them on this earth will struggle with sin. Our minds, being part of our bodies, will struggle as well. We don't want it to, but it does. And so we wait with eager expectation for our bodies and minds to be free of the sin that so easily entangles us.
In the meantime, by virtue of our baptisms and our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in us. He gives us faith. He gives us power. He gives us strength and the ability to love and forgive.
In all of this, in the keeping of His Word through faith, we know that we are saved. When it comes down to it, if you can say Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved! Have peace and joy in that alone today!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us Your Spirit so that we may have faith, and keep Your Word. Amen.
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CALENDAR:
Thurs- Lutheranism 101 is postponed for the next two Thursdays. It will resume on May 26 at 7pm (Come to the high school for the high school band concert at 7pm instead!)
Sat- Worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Kid's Sunday school 9:45; Voter's Meeting 9:45; Worship 11
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WORSHIP WORKERS:
Acolyte- 8:30- John Pezold 11- Jacob Winn
Ushers- Charlie Figura, Jason Figura, Brett Nordwald, Erv Yoder
Altar- Set up- Don Hance; Clean Up- Sandy Robine
Elders- Sat- Randy Fischer; 8:30- Dave Winter; 11- Jim Rahn
Greeters- 8:30- Allan and Barb Dreyer; 11- Marv and Molly Hendershot
Lay Readers- Sat- Judy Koprowski 8:30- Jennifer Figura; 11- Stephanie Owenby
Organist- Rachel Fisher
Piano- Kathy Barrow
Projectionists: Sat- Kathy Fischer; 8:30- Dawn Sherman 11- Hannah Johnson
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: What is Zion? (I'll leave it up again since no one answered it yesterday.)
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23 Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
25 "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
What does it mean to "keep my words" as Jesus says in this passage? What are His "words"? How do we keep them?
Well, first of all, Jesus says earlier in this book and it is repeated over and over again in John's epistles, "Love one another." "Forgive each other." These are His commands and His Words. Love, Forgive, repeat. When you do these things you are truly his disciples. All of the Ten Commandments are summed up in the one word LOVE. The first three express our love for God. The second seven express our love for others. LOVE is the summary of the commandments.
The greatest expression of love works itself out in forgiveness. You can't love without forgiving, because the other person isn't going to always act perfectly toward you. The closer you are to a person the more chance there is that the person is going to hurt you.
How do we keep them? We keep them through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we live by the Spirit we are doing the works of the Lord. When we aren't living by the Spirit we aren't doing His will. It's as simple and as complicated as that. Read Romans chapter 7 if you want to learn more about the struggle between the body and the soul/Spirit. Our bodies, as long as there is breath in them on this earth will struggle with sin. Our minds, being part of our bodies, will struggle as well. We don't want it to, but it does. And so we wait with eager expectation for our bodies and minds to be free of the sin that so easily entangles us.
In the meantime, by virtue of our baptisms and our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in us. He gives us faith. He gives us power. He gives us strength and the ability to love and forgive.
In all of this, in the keeping of His Word through faith, we know that we are saved. When it comes down to it, if you can say Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved! Have peace and joy in that alone today!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us Your Spirit so that we may have faith, and keep Your Word. Amen.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
CALENDAR:
Thurs- Lutheranism 101 is postponed for the next two Thursdays. It will resume on May 26 at 7pm (Come to the high school for the high school band concert at 7pm instead!)
Sat- Worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Kid's Sunday school 9:45; Voter's Meeting 9:45; Worship 11
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
WORSHIP WORKERS:
Acolyte- 8:30- John Pezold 11- Jacob Winn
Ushers- Charlie Figura, Jason Figura, Brett Nordwald, Erv Yoder
Altar- Set up- Don Hance; Clean Up- Sandy Robine
Elders- Sat- Randy Fischer; 8:30- Dave Winter; 11- Jim Rahn
Greeters- 8:30- Allan and Barb Dreyer; 11- Marv and Molly Hendershot
Lay Readers- Sat- Judy Koprowski 8:30- Jennifer Figura; 11- Stephanie Owenby
Organist- Rachel Fisher
Piano- Kathy Barrow
Projectionists: Sat- Kathy Fischer; 8:30- Dawn Sherman 11- Hannah Johnson
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YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: What is Zion? (I'll leave it up again since no one answered it yesterday.)
(From Pat King who always has wonderful answers!!)
So you want 'short,' cupcake? Okay, how about this?
According to Psalm 87: 2-3, it is the city of God. In the Old Testament, it usually referred to Jerusalem. It was originally a fortress in the Jebusite city. (2 Sam. 5-7). When Solomon built the temple, Zion denoted it and its courts. It also referred to Mount Zion.
But in the New, it refers to God's spiritual kingdom.
For those of you with inquiring minds, here's a nice article about it: http://www.gotquestions.org/Zion.html
And for once, I was serious. Must be the cold I picked up.
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TODAY'S QUIZ: Who was Adonijah?
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NEWS!!!!
VOTERS' MEETING THIS SUNDAY AT 9:45!!
All chairs of boards and committees should have reports ready to present at the meeting.
Our one item to vote on in the agenda is to move Kelsey Overbeck's salary out of the temporary three year campaign and into the regular budget.
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OUR NEXT GUN GLUB MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, MAY 17 at 7pm!!. IT WILL BE A "GET ACQUAINTED WITH ALL SORTS AND TYPES OF GUNS" EVENING.
Paul Brockfeld and Jason Cluver will bring a wide variety of guns (shotguns, rifles, and handguns) for us to look at and learn how to operate. We will all get to handle the guns. No shooting.
This will be a great opportunity check out all sorts of guns so you can be more confident and sure of your ability and knowledge, and even learn which one would best fit you!
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SOCIAL SECURITY: READY OR NOT WORKSHOP IS ON THURSDAY, MAY 19 at 6:30pm!
Come learn how a little planning could help you avoid making a mistake. You may save thousands over the rest of your life. Our government has made Social Security a moving target. Know how the new rules may affect you. The workshop will be sponsored by the Senior Services Resources Group! Drinks and Sandwiches will follow! Please call Marilyn at 456-2888 to reserve your seat.
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TRIBUTE TO VETERANS MEMORIAL PAVER PROJECT IS UNDERWAY
Place your order online at www.tributetoveteransmemorial.org or get an application from the office.
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CHURCH PICTORIAL DIRECTORY PHOTOS STILL NEEDED
Some members who were unable to attend a photo session during our scheduled times have asked to use their picture from the 2013 directory. LifeTouch has advised that there would be a $10 charge for that service. If you are interested please notify the church office as soon as possible and arrange for payment.
Also, if you didn't purchase other photos with the company you still have a complimentary photo waiting for you on the counter in the narthex.
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PASTOR KLAUSTERMEIER IS BIKING 1,000 MILES THIS SUMMER FOR LEADACHILD!!!
We have been blessed beyond measure in the United States haven't we? I want you to join me in making a global difference by releasing children from poverty through Christian education.
Instead of taking a week off and joining my fellow Lead a Child bikers who are riding the Fault Line across four states this year, I have decided to go solo and bike 1,000 miles locally and while on vacation by August 1 to raise funds for LeadaChild. Would you sponsor me so that I can raise funds to support this most worthy organization? In my opinion, there is no more worthy organization to support than LeadaChild!
LeadaChild provides educational assistance to over 26,000 children and shares the love of Jesus Christ with the students and their families! LeadaChild supports the poorest of the poor children through Christian education in the following countries:
Guatemala Chad Honduras Palestine Haiti Uganda
Gambia Ivory Coast El Salvador Nigeria Panama Nicaragua
Burma Ghana Chile Venezuela Bolivia Mexico
Liberia Uruguay Sri Lanka India Guinea Sierra Leone
Bangladesh Cambodia South Africa Togo Thailand
These students need your help to find a way out of poverty through Christian education and learn of the hope of Christ our Savior.
Please fill out your information below and send it with your check or donate online through the LeadaChild website: http://www.leadachild.org/bike
Every dollar makes a difference. Please give generously. Please remember all of the riders in your prayers! Thank you much for your support!
Biking For Kids Together,
Pastor Jeremy Klaustermeier
LeadaChild is a 501 C-3 non-profit organization and is a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
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HELP LITTLE LAMBS GET SOME NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT!!!
Order some Avon "Skin So Soft" from Little Lambs to help them raise money for new playground equipment! Call Karin at 314-691-7283 to place your order!
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OPERATION BACKPACK FOR MAY IS CANNED FRUIT!!!
Remember this is for the poor and needy children of our community and county that often receive two breakfast and lunch at school, and have very little or no food at home.
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GENERAL PRAYER
For MARIANNE LINKE who is back home and recovering from her fall.
For CHERYL, a cousin of Tony and Sandra Perricone, who is going through breast cancer treatment right now.
For FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF WILMA JUNKER, as they mourn her loss. She passed away last Friday after contracting pneumonia after hip surgery.
For BETH a daughter of a friend of the Fosters, who was in a very severe bicycle accident and has broken ribs, and punctured lung and a broken shoulder.
For DON BRAZEE who is at home and receiving in home care (They are calling it hospice care although he is in relatively good health, and is not in imminent danger of dying any time soon. They just have no cure for the problems he is having.)
For CAROL BRAZEE who is struggling with severe bronchitis and is seeing a pulmonologist today.
For DENISE SCHLESSELMANN as she is in need of more funding to continue her mission work in the Czech Republic.
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