Deacon’s Doodles for September, 2024
Greetings! May the Peace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, dwell in you richly!
The summer season is coming to an end. I know that is not exactly a “news flash,” but where did summer go! It seems like it was just a couple weeks ago that many of you celebrated a picnic in our backyard, blowing bubbles and eating all kinds of summer time picnic foods!
I have already started planning for the season of Advent and Christmas. Granted I am only looking at the various worship and devotional materials available to support our local planning for the end of the church year. But, after we worship on the last Sunday in the Church Calendar on November 24th, we will again be decorating the church in preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth over thousand years ago! That is followed by our Wednesday evening meals, bible study, and worship service.
Now, my purpose in mentioning all this is not to jump in line ahead of “Back to school” celebrations by parents, Labor Day, Rally Sunday, Halloween, All Saint’s Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving or any other holidays that I missed.
No, My reason for talking about Christmas, Christ’s birth, is that His birth should be on our minds ALL Year Long! Jesus’ mission to come to earth in human form was literally to bring the Word of God down to save the world. Including all the sinners, like you and me. Jesus told the crowds in Galilee, Jerusalem and literally everywhere He taught and preached, “I am the Bread of Life.” This is the daily bread for which we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. This Bread is the Word of God that we are to eat and digest each time we read the Bible, each time we pray to God, each time we ask His forgiveness for our sins. This Bread from Heaven is what we eat each time celebrate the Eucharist!
This is the Holy Spirit of Christmas Past, Present and Future that we should keep in the front of our minds and deep in our hearts all year long! We need to keep ourselves; our families and our neighbors close to God. As summer ends and we prepare for “the holiday season” that most of the world sees as the end of the calendar year, we should keep in mind that we are also drawing closer to a new beginning. Yes, the beginning of a new calendar year, but also closer to the New Eden, the New Paradise that will be when God’s Kingdom is established here on Earth for eternity. All those things that God has promised will be reality. It is coming! Let us be ready! Amen.
PS- Have you read your Bible today?
****************************************************************************************************************
Deacon’s Doodles
Greetings and Summer Salutations!
We have made it through another Memorial Day Weekend, hopefully you found time in between picnics and bar-b-ques to remember that Memorial Day is the Holiday to acknowledge the men and women who have passed on either in battle to defend freedom or since their service ended during the peace for which they made the ultimate sacrifice. That is a frequent misunderstanding made by non-military citizens who confuse Memorial Day with Veteran’s Day. Both call for recognizing military service and duty to country, but Veteran’s Day honors those who are still alive and is celebrated in November. We owe big “Thank-yous,” in both cases! May God Bless all service men and women, past, present and future!
We have several other U.S. holidays coming up in June and July. One that is often overlooked is Flag Day on June 14. I have always liked this Holiday because beside the Patriotism it always falls on the same date! Then, there is Independence Day on July 4, again it always falls on the same date. It seems to overshadow Flag Day, maybe that is because there are no fireworks? More likely it is because only federal employees are guaranteed a day off from work. Later, as Summer draws to a close, we will celebrate the American Work Force on Labor Day, which changes dates but it always on the first Monday in September so that everyone gets a long weekend.
Some of the feasts and festivals in the Church Calendar shift dates as well, while others are always on the same Date; Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension and Pentecost are always the same. While the dates of Advent, Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Easter change. These events are mostly controlled by humans and perhaps that is why there is some uncertainty or changes from year to year.
This “calendar tinkering” is all in contrast to things that are set in stone, literally by God. He has created the universe and determined its beginning and end. His laws are unchanging. The Human perspective and interpretation of God’s Word may have changed due to our ability to understand His words partly due to the translations that have been done. These translations have been done in order to make the Gospel available to all people in their native tongue (Remember the Day of Pentecost). Great care has been taken to keep the meaning intact, though some words and their importance, or emphasis, do not translate very well. But it is more likely that it is our hardheaded brains and hardened hearts that have made us unwilling to accept God’s Words than our ability to understand the words we read.
The Holy Scriptures themselves tell us NOT to add, change or delete anything to what has already been written. This is what I and other leaders in the church body are cautioned against doing. We are not to implant our opinions into the scripture. We are to study God’s Word and, through the power of the Holy Spirit as our guide, we are to speak the Word as it is written and, if needed, explain its meaning. This is where it is sometimes necessary to go back to the commentaries and research the original Greek or Hebrew terms and cultural context to understand what we read in English.
Worship leaders, meaning not just pastors but also Bible Study and Sunday School teachers can then offer application of Scriptures to the lives of those who we teach, minister to and comfort.
In the end, we should be celebrating what God has provided for us: our daily bread, the Sabbath, the birth of Christ, the resurrected Christ and His Ascension, His coming again to establish God’s Kingdom here on earth once more and forever, but mostly God’s Promise of eternal Salvation through Faith in His Son who has paid for our sins and transgressions by His death on the cross and descent in to Sheol followed by His resurrection to eternal life. All this has been done because God’s love for us is unchanging, just like His Word. Amen.
God Bless!
Deacon Ken
__________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Redeemer Church Family,
We would like to take this time to thank you for supporting the efforts at our church in reaching those in need by opening our outreach Open Pantry on the second Wednesday of each month.
While we were able to help everyone, we have really depleted our pantry items and hope you will be able to help us open our doors next month with a full pantry. Having easy open cans or packets of items makes access to food for those experiencing homelessness.
Peanut Butter, Jelly, Crackers, tuna, instant coffee, applesauce, canned pasta, ready to eat dinners, protein bars, toothpaste, toothbrush, tissue packets, body wash, socks ...
Anything else you might think would be helpful is always welcome!
Thanks,
2nd Wednesday Outreach Servants
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Christian Education
Here we are in June and the beginning of summer! By now you all know that Sunday School is taking a “vacation” until September on Rally Sunday, September 8, 2024. This doesn’t mean that you should be taking a “vacation” from studying the Bible and the love of Jesus.
Adult Sunday School finished with an overview of the New Testament. I hope it sparked some curiosity to pick up your Bible this summer and look at the Books of the New Testament and what might come in September.
Children’s Sunday School ended the year with discussion on the nine FRUITS of the SPIRIT. Each child went home with summer homework so we can review them starting in September and moving forward.
It might be summer, but I pray that you will take some time and ENJOY some FRUITS or be refreshed from the heat by WATER…LIVING WATER!
Director of Christian Education
Joyce
______________________________________________________________________________
Greetings! May the Peace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, dwell in you richly!
The summer season is coming to an end. I know that is not exactly a “news flash,” but where did summer go! It seems like it was just a couple weeks ago that many of you celebrated a picnic in our backyard, blowing bubbles and eating all kinds of summer time picnic foods!
I have already started planning for the season of Advent and Christmas. Granted I am only looking at the various worship and devotional materials available to support our local planning for the end of the church year. But, after we worship on the last Sunday in the Church Calendar on November 24th, we will again be decorating the church in preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth over thousand years ago! That is followed by our Wednesday evening meals, bible study, and worship service.
Now, my purpose in mentioning all this is not to jump in line ahead of “Back to school” celebrations by parents, Labor Day, Rally Sunday, Halloween, All Saint’s Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving or any other holidays that I missed.
No, My reason for talking about Christmas, Christ’s birth, is that His birth should be on our minds ALL Year Long! Jesus’ mission to come to earth in human form was literally to bring the Word of God down to save the world. Including all the sinners, like you and me. Jesus told the crowds in Galilee, Jerusalem and literally everywhere He taught and preached, “I am the Bread of Life.” This is the daily bread for which we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. This Bread is the Word of God that we are to eat and digest each time we read the Bible, each time we pray to God, each time we ask His forgiveness for our sins. This Bread from Heaven is what we eat each time celebrate the Eucharist!
This is the Holy Spirit of Christmas Past, Present and Future that we should keep in the front of our minds and deep in our hearts all year long! We need to keep ourselves; our families and our neighbors close to God. As summer ends and we prepare for “the holiday season” that most of the world sees as the end of the calendar year, we should keep in mind that we are also drawing closer to a new beginning. Yes, the beginning of a new calendar year, but also closer to the New Eden, the New Paradise that will be when God’s Kingdom is established here on Earth for eternity. All those things that God has promised will be reality. It is coming! Let us be ready! Amen.
PS- Have you read your Bible today?
****************************************************************************************************************
Deacon’s Doodles
Greetings and Summer Salutations!
We have made it through another Memorial Day Weekend, hopefully you found time in between picnics and bar-b-ques to remember that Memorial Day is the Holiday to acknowledge the men and women who have passed on either in battle to defend freedom or since their service ended during the peace for which they made the ultimate sacrifice. That is a frequent misunderstanding made by non-military citizens who confuse Memorial Day with Veteran’s Day. Both call for recognizing military service and duty to country, but Veteran’s Day honors those who are still alive and is celebrated in November. We owe big “Thank-yous,” in both cases! May God Bless all service men and women, past, present and future!
We have several other U.S. holidays coming up in June and July. One that is often overlooked is Flag Day on June 14. I have always liked this Holiday because beside the Patriotism it always falls on the same date! Then, there is Independence Day on July 4, again it always falls on the same date. It seems to overshadow Flag Day, maybe that is because there are no fireworks? More likely it is because only federal employees are guaranteed a day off from work. Later, as Summer draws to a close, we will celebrate the American Work Force on Labor Day, which changes dates but it always on the first Monday in September so that everyone gets a long weekend.
Some of the feasts and festivals in the Church Calendar shift dates as well, while others are always on the same Date; Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension and Pentecost are always the same. While the dates of Advent, Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Easter change. These events are mostly controlled by humans and perhaps that is why there is some uncertainty or changes from year to year.
This “calendar tinkering” is all in contrast to things that are set in stone, literally by God. He has created the universe and determined its beginning and end. His laws are unchanging. The Human perspective and interpretation of God’s Word may have changed due to our ability to understand His words partly due to the translations that have been done. These translations have been done in order to make the Gospel available to all people in their native tongue (Remember the Day of Pentecost). Great care has been taken to keep the meaning intact, though some words and their importance, or emphasis, do not translate very well. But it is more likely that it is our hardheaded brains and hardened hearts that have made us unwilling to accept God’s Words than our ability to understand the words we read.
The Holy Scriptures themselves tell us NOT to add, change or delete anything to what has already been written. This is what I and other leaders in the church body are cautioned against doing. We are not to implant our opinions into the scripture. We are to study God’s Word and, through the power of the Holy Spirit as our guide, we are to speak the Word as it is written and, if needed, explain its meaning. This is where it is sometimes necessary to go back to the commentaries and research the original Greek or Hebrew terms and cultural context to understand what we read in English.
Worship leaders, meaning not just pastors but also Bible Study and Sunday School teachers can then offer application of Scriptures to the lives of those who we teach, minister to and comfort.
In the end, we should be celebrating what God has provided for us: our daily bread, the Sabbath, the birth of Christ, the resurrected Christ and His Ascension, His coming again to establish God’s Kingdom here on earth once more and forever, but mostly God’s Promise of eternal Salvation through Faith in His Son who has paid for our sins and transgressions by His death on the cross and descent in to Sheol followed by His resurrection to eternal life. All this has been done because God’s love for us is unchanging, just like His Word. Amen.
God Bless!
Deacon Ken
__________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Redeemer Church Family,
We would like to take this time to thank you for supporting the efforts at our church in reaching those in need by opening our outreach Open Pantry on the second Wednesday of each month.
While we were able to help everyone, we have really depleted our pantry items and hope you will be able to help us open our doors next month with a full pantry. Having easy open cans or packets of items makes access to food for those experiencing homelessness.
Peanut Butter, Jelly, Crackers, tuna, instant coffee, applesauce, canned pasta, ready to eat dinners, protein bars, toothpaste, toothbrush, tissue packets, body wash, socks ...
Anything else you might think would be helpful is always welcome!
Thanks,
2nd Wednesday Outreach Servants
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Christian Education
Here we are in June and the beginning of summer! By now you all know that Sunday School is taking a “vacation” until September on Rally Sunday, September 8, 2024. This doesn’t mean that you should be taking a “vacation” from studying the Bible and the love of Jesus.
Adult Sunday School finished with an overview of the New Testament. I hope it sparked some curiosity to pick up your Bible this summer and look at the Books of the New Testament and what might come in September.
Children’s Sunday School ended the year with discussion on the nine FRUITS of the SPIRIT. Each child went home with summer homework so we can review them starting in September and moving forward.
It might be summer, but I pray that you will take some time and ENJOY some FRUITS or be refreshed from the heat by WATER…LIVING WATER!
Director of Christian Education
Joyce
______________________________________________________________________________