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[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words and Bethany Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday Words for July 30, 2014

From Interim Senior Pastor Len Hoffmann

 Scroll down to find the link to your Bethany Weekly Newsletter!

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, so to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Psalm145:8

***

Men’s Bible Study with Pr. Len this Saturday at 8:00 a.m. All men are invited.

September 7 is Rally Day. Watch for details of this special celebration as Bethany is W.I.R.E.D. for Outreach and Service. W.I.R.E.D. = worship, involvement, renewal, education, discipleship. Worship will be at 8:30 and 10:30 with our new schedule starting on September 14.

 

August 10 at 9:45 a.m. “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Teaching Sunday School, but were Afraid to Ask”. Members of our Education Team will answer your questions about schedule and curriculum. Please join them and become involved.

Sunday at Bethany:com·pas·sion /kmpæ                         n. Noun /

1. 1.   a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. Another definition might be “suffering with” or “suffering together”.

 Compassion also has as part of the definition suggests not only sympathy or empathy towards one who is suffering, but also an accompanying action that seeks to do something about the suffering of another.

 Our Psalm reminds us that God did not just suffer for us in Jesus Christ, but continues to suffer with us. God does not just feel our pain, but actually seeks through his love to heal our pain.

Furthermore we have received love from a compassionate God, and we are moved to be compassionate toward others. To walk with others in their suffering and being ready to share the ways in which God has walked with us in our suffering.

 As members of the Lutheran Community we also have the opportunity to share compassion as we connect with needs around the world through Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response, the World Hunger Appeal, the Malaria Initiative, and LSSI.

Personally and corporately one of the marks of a disciple of Christ is to live with compassion and love toward all, as God lives with compassion and love toward us.

Pastor Len

 

Lectionary 18
Proper 13
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

Glorious God, your generosity waters the world with goodness, and you cover creation with abundance. Awaken in us a hunger for the food that satisfies both body and spirit, and with this food fill all the starving world; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

 

First Reading                                                                                                        Isaiah 55:1-5

God invites Israel to a great feast at which both food and drink are free. God also promises to make an everlasting covenant with all the people, with promises that previously had been limited to the line of kings. As David was a witness to the nations, these nations shall now acknowledge the ways in which God has glorified Israel.

Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
²Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.

 

Second Reading                                                                                                      Romans 9:1-5

This begins a new section in Paul's letter in which he will deal with the place of Israel in God's saving plan. He opens by highlighting how Israel's heritage and legacy include being God's children, having God's covenants, being given God's law, participating in worship of God, and receiving divine promises.

I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit — ²I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. ⁴They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; ⁵to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
 
 The Gospel                                                                                                        Matthew 14:13-21

After John the Baptist is murdered, Jesus desires a time of solitude. Still, his compassion for others will not allow him to dismiss those who need him, and he is moved to perform one of his greatest miracles.

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, [about the beheading of John the Baptist] he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. ¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." ¹⁶Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." ¹⁷They replied, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish." ¹⁸And he said, "Bring them here to me." ¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

 

 

 

Attachments:

Bethany Weekly 7-30-14.pdf

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[Bethany Lutheran Church] News From Pr. Carrie

Our deployment to Jerusalem has been delayed by ELCA Global Mission for one week due to the political situation. We are now in Oklahoma visiting family, and while we are very frustrated by this turn of events, we are also excited to have the unexpected opportunity to attend my brother Carl's wedding before we depart. Right now, we have tickets to fly on Sunday, August 3rd. We're more than ready to go, and every report we've received indicates that we will be quite safe in Jerusalem. 

Thanks to everyone who has checked in on us, and for all who have prayed for us during this time of transition! 

Peace,

Pr. Carrie

 

 

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[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words and Bethany Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday Words for July 23, 2014

From Interim Senior Pastor Len Hoffmann

 

Scroll down to find the link to your Bethany Weekly Newsletter!

 

Thought for the Day:

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

***

Pastor Paul will return from vacation and be in the office on Friday, July 25.

September 7 is Rally Day. Watch for details of this special celebration as Bethany is W.I.R.E.D. for Outreach and Service.

Christmas in July: This Sunday we will celebrate Christmas in July. Our gifts will be dedicated and distributed by the Social Action Committee on Monday. Please bring your gifts for our community outreach this Sunday when we will sing Christmas Hymns and celebrate the joy of sharing.

Our Seniors have committed $1,000 from the Ice Cream Social to our deficit (funds we have borrowed from dedicated funds). Thanks to everyone who supported this effort.

Sunday Morning Announcements: Announcements need to be in the church office by Tuesday morning. If something needs special attention please let Pastor Len know prior to worship.

Sunday at Bethany: News stories have captured our attention these past weeks. A civilian airliner shot down; escalating conflict on the Gaza strip; a growing humanitarian crisis on the southwestern boarder of the U.S.

We can add to that our personal stories of battles with cancer, dementia, broken relationships,addiction, depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

In Romans Paul reminds us that since we have been claimed in Baptism and made children of God through Christ that nothing can separate us from God’s love. God continues to love the world despite all the sin, death and evil that plagues us and all humanity. God continues to work in and through us.

Martin Luther reminds us that the good and gracious will of God is done without our prayer, but we pray in the Lord’s Prayer that the reign of God and God’s powerful love may come among us also.

 We are claimed, forgiven and set free to reach out and serve.

Pastor Len

 

Lectionary 17
Proper 12
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

Beloved and sovereign God, through the death and resurrection of your Son you bring us into your kingdom of justice and mercy. By your Spirit, give us your wisdom, that we may treasure the life that comes from Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

First Reading                                                                                                          I Kings 3:5-12

Because Solomon did not ask for long life, riches, or the defeat of his enemies, God gave him what he asked for: wisdom to govern the people well. In verse 13 God gives him additional honor and riches beyond compare.

⁵At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you." ⁶And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. ⁷And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. ⁹Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?"
¹⁰It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this. ¹¹God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, ¹²I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.                                                               

Second Reading                                                                                                 Romans 8:26-39

These words celebrate the depth of God's actions for us. Through Christ's death for us and the activity of the Spirit praying for us, we are fused to God's love poured out in Jesus Christ. Nothing, not even death itself, is able to separate us from such incredible divine love.

²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
²⁸We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. ³⁰And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
³¹What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. ³⁵Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written,
"For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

The Gospel                                                                                              Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Throughout Matthew's gospel, Jesus and his disciples proclaim the good news that "the kingdom of heaven is near!" Here, Jesus offers several brief parables that explore the implications of this announcement for people's lives.

³¹He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; ³²it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
³³He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
⁴⁷Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
⁵¹Have you understood all this? They answered, "Yes." ⁵²And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

 

Welcome to Bethany Preschool!

Bethany Preschool was designed to teach developmentally appropriate skills and to provide our students and their families with a caring, Christian-based foundation in an atmosphere that encourages the social, spiritual, emotional, physical, intellectual growth and development of each child.  Our philosophy is to make learning so exciting that it will be enjoyed to the fullest.  Our goal is to give the child a good self-image and confidence in his or her ability to succeed at new experiences and challenges.

Contact us today at 815-477-7463
pam.mcallister@bethanylc.com
Our address is 76 W Crystal Lake Ave, Crystal Lake, Il 60014

 

Attachments:

Bethany Weekly 7-23-14.pdf

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[Bethany Lutheran Church] Watch Your Mail

 

 

Watch your US mail for an important announcement regarding the Fall Schedule that will begin on September 14, 2014.

 

Pr. Len

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[Bethany Lutheran Church] Coming September 14

 

Coming September 14, 2014

New Schedule - New Coffee

Bethany Lutheran Church W.I.R.E.D for Outreach and Service.

Watch for details coming soon!

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[Bethany Lutheran Church] Wednesday Words and Bethany Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday Words for July 16, 2014

From Interim Senior Pastor Len Hoffmann

 

Scroll down to find the link to your Bethany Weekly Newsletter!

 

Thought for the Day:

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8:24-25

***

Kelly, our office manager, will be on vacation July 14 - 18. If you need assistance the rest of this week, please call the church office at 815-459-2690 and one of the Bethany staff will assist you.

 

Pastor Paul will be on vacation beginning today. He will return on Friday, July 25.

 

Christmas in July: It’s the annual Christmas in July outreach opportunity. There are items that are needed this time of year for a variety of social ministry organizations. Please take an “ornament” with a desired gift and return it to the church by the last Sunday in July when gifts will be dedicated and distributed by the Social Action Committee. Christmas Hymns will be sung on July 27.

Thanks to our Seniors for the Ice Cream Social. It’s 20^th year and a great time for all.

Thanks to Pr. Paul, Barb and all volunteers for the great VBS. 74 Children and 38 Staff

Sunday Morning Announcements: Please consider entering the Sanctuary a few minutes early for Welcome and Announcements. We want to welcome everyone, especially our guests. It is very helpful to get announcements into the Bethany Weekly Newsletter. Announcements need to be in the church office by Tuesday morning. If something needs special attention please let Pastor Len know prior to worship.

Sunday at Bethany: I was thinking about Christmas in July and remembering back to when I was a young boy. I hoped for a lot of things back then. I hoped for a snow day or two, which was a rare occurrence in St. Louis. I hoped for various Christmas presents over the years..

As I grew older I realized that my hopes were really wishes. Hope from a Christian perspective is not wishes and not wishful thinking. Hope is grounded in the power of God to deliver what God promises, and God always delivers.

God’s greatest delivery came in the person and work of Jesus. God delivered hope to the hopeless. We need hope to live. We need hope to get up every day and face the challenges and changes of life. We have the assurance of things hoped for through faith in Jesus Christ. The tough part at times is to wait for the promises to be fulfilled in our lives. Therefore, we need to continue to discern through prayer, worship and the study of scripture how God is delivering hope to our lives, our community and our world. So, we wait with patience. We wait with hope.

Pastor Len

Lectionary 16
Proper 11
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Prayer of the Day

Faithful God, most merciful judge, you care for your children with firmness and compassion.
By your Spirit nurture us who live in your kingdom, that we may be rooted in the way of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

First Reading                                                                                                           Isaiah 44:6-8

God claims the right to sole rule, because God announces things that actually do happen, while supposed divine opponents remain silent. God is Israel's redeemer, that is, the best brother or sister they ever had.

⁶Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
⁷Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.
⁸Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one                                                                                        

 

Second Reading                                                                                                   Romans 8:12-25

For Paul, true spirituality means that we experience the reality of the Spirit, which enables us to pray as God's children, keeps us in solidarity with creation, and gives us unseen hope that God will liberate us and creation from bondage to death and decay.

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — ¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
¹⁸I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; ²⁰for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; ²³and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

The Gospel                                                                                             Matthew 13:24-30, 36-42

Jesus tells a parable about the co-existence of good and evil in this world. God's judgment will remove all evildoers and causes of sin, but not until the end of human history.

²⁴He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?' ²⁸He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' ²⁹But he replied, 'No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." ³⁷He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

Attachments:

Bethany Weekly 7-16-14.pdf

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