Hungry?

July 28, 2014               Hungry?       This feels like a confession of sorts.  I'm 65 years old, and I can honestly say that I've never been hungry because there was no food for me.     Oh sure, I've gotten involved in work and kept working through a meal or two, or "just one more cast" has kept me from thinking about eating, so that when I finally got home I was hungry.  Or, I think of when I worked a summer job during my college days in a factory in Detroit, when there was lots of overtime (during the '60s).  When I came home after a 12 hour day in the factory I ate anything that wasn't nailed down!  I was hungry!   But I've never been hungry because I didn't know where my next meal would come from.  I've never been hungry because I didn't have any food or money for food.  That's almost embarrassing in a way.  Because that is not the case for many people around the world and in our own community.     This coming weekend, we will hear the story of Jesus feeding the 5.000, meeting a basic human need.  As a way for us to be a part of Jesus continuing to feed people, we are asking everyone to bring a non perishable food item to worship.  We will gather the food at the altar to help feed the hungry in our community.     So, come, help feed a hungry person and at the same time yourself be fed as we gather together around our Lord's table.       See you in church!     Pastor Jack Diehl +   www.oursaviorelca.com    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Multiplication   Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Astounding!

July 21, 2014               The following reflection comes from a blog by Rachel Held Evens about Jesus' parables:     "It is an astounding detail when you think about it:  the God of all creation, the One who knows every corner of the cosmos and fathoms every mystery, the One who could answer every theological riddle and who, I suspect, chuckles at our volumes of guesses, our centuries of pompous philosophical tomes, debating His nature, when present in the person of Jesus Christ, told stories."   Told Stories. Simple Parables.  About seeds, birds, yeast, vineyards, etc.  That's it?  That's it!   But in these stories and parables, we get glimpses of the Kingdom of God, of Life as God intends, of the Big Picture, of who God made us to be.   It is these stories/parables that we have gathered around in church recently and will gather around yet again this coming weekend. Come, join us, be inspired and astounded.   And this coming weekend, if you come early (8:30am) you can join the Intergenerational/Anybody Choir, prepare to do some special music during worship at 9:30, and be a part of telling these astounding stories.   See you in church!      Have a blessed week.    Pastor Jack +   www.oursaviorelca.com  The gospel reading for this coming Sunday includes six very brief parables about what Matthew calls "the kingdom of heaven." At worship, choose which picture of the mercy of God is most appealing to you, and at the Lord's Supper, take this treasure into yourself. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Comings and Goings....

July 14, 2014                 Comings and goings.   It's that time of the year when so many of our folks are traveling, visiting, vacationing.  This past weekend, Pastor Shelly talked about going out in joy and being led back in peace.  May that be the case for all who are coming and going this summer.    For those of you who are in town,  our worship will focus this coming weekend on wheat and weeds.  Isn't life always a mixture of those things in our comings and goings?!  So, what does God have to say about that?  Come and see.     Finally, speaking of comings and goings, there is a lot of extra activity around the offices as they are being repainted, offices moved, new flooring, etc.  This will continue for the next few weeks, which may even include some days where the office will have to be closed.  So, we ask for your patience and understanding.  Many thanks to our property chairman, Mark Davia for spearheading this whole project, and in fact doing much of the work himself!    See  you in church!     Pastor Jack Diehl +    www.oursaviorelca.com  (and please "Like" us on Facebook!)       The wonderful office staff using the new copy workroom! The parable we hear this coming Sunday is about a field in which  both wheat and weeds are growing-which is a way to describe the church, the world, and even ourselves. Come to worship, so that hearing the word and eating the supper of the Lord can nourish your "wheat" and stifle your "weeds." Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Yoked Together!

July 6, 2014                 One of life's hardest things is being disconnected, going it alone, feeling cut off.   In worship this past weekend (click for the sermon) we had a beautiful image before us, as Jesus said:  "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  This is a picture of Jesus beside us, connected to us, our yoke mate, pulling our loads with us, showing us the way, bearing our burdens.     And in him being connected to us, that connects us to each other. As a people yoked together, when we share our joys, they are doubled and when we share each other burdens, they are cut in half.  It's a wonderful, life-giving thing to be yoked together, with Jesus and each other.     Not all "yokings" are like that.  Some things we get "yoked too" can weigh us down, add to our burdens, be a destructive force in our lives.  When that happens, we need to hear Jesus' words again, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you..."     That's what we do as we gather to worship, or gather for Bible study, such as a new women's Bible study "Restless: Because You Were Made for More", starting tonight (Monday July 7 in the Quiet Room off of the narthex, from 6:30-8pm.) We nurture that relationship with Jesus and each other, as fellow yoke mates. What a freeing, wonderful gift that is!   The parable we hear this coming Sunday likens the word of God to seed that Christ sows into the field that we are. Come to worship, to receive the seed of the word, and at the table, to be nourished for a fruitful life.   See  you in church!     Pastor Jack Diehl +    www.oursaviorelca.com  (and please "Like" us on Facebook!)     Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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