40.... Ding, Ding, Ding!

OSE NEWS  March 10, 2014               That number "40".   ding ding ding!   As Pastor Shelly said in her sermon (click to listen) this past weekend, seeing that number should make bells go off.  Something significant happens.  40 days, 40 years... throughout the Bible, that's a significant number.   That's why Lent is 40 days long.  It's a season for us to reflect, repent, prepare for Easter, maybe make some changes in our lives, etc.     Much of the time our lives are just on "auto-pilot".    We don't often stop and think about the "whats" or "whys" of daily life. But during these 40 days of Lent, we are reminded to step back...take a look...take a listen...see the big picture...ask where and how God is (or isn't) a part of it all.       Sounds like an important 40 days!    ding ding ding!         See you in church!      Pastor Jack +       _____________________________________    A few host families are still needed for the Lenoir-Rhyne musicians on Sunday Evening after their concert.  If you are interested in helping but do not have the facilities or needs to host students you may sponsor a hotel room for four students!  Email Music@oursaviorelca.com or call the office if you can host or sponsor accommodations!  Check out www.oursaviorelca.com for more!      Lenoir-Rhyne College Choir and Brass Ensemble Concert This Sunday!      March 16th at 7:00 p.m.     Music by Bach, Mendelsohn, Christenson and more!              Eileen Call joined the Saints Triumphant on March 6th, 2014.     A memorial service will be held at The Brennity, Pointe West, March 23rd at 4:00 p.m.   Trudy Schmidt joined the Saints Triumphant on March 10th, 2014.  Services will be announced at a future time.      This coming Sunday, we set off along with Abraham, as he journeyed to the Promised Land, and with Nicodemus, when he visited Jesus in the night, for we are heading through Lent to arrive at Easter. Come: join the people of God in prayer and praise, word and meal. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Shifting Gears!

OSE NEWS  March 3, 2014                This time of the year always reminds me of a major shifting of gears as we move from the "Season of Light", culminating yesterday with the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountaintop, to the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday this week.  That's a major shift!  To go from that mountaintop experience, seeing Jesus in all his glory, to, within a few days, wearing ashes, reminding us of our mortality, that we are from dust and to dust we shall return.  Ouch.  That's not the most pleasant thing to think about.  After all, we have little reminders of that everyday...especially as we get older.  (Insert your own list here.)   But while that's not something we like to dwell on, there is also something freeing about just accepting that reality and not having to try to live in denial about it, as the world does.  Instead, as Christians, who can look ahead to Easter, we know that the Last Word is not Death, but Life. So we begin the countdown, starting on Ash Wednesday, where we stop dancing around the reality of our mortality, look death in the eye, put on ashes, then look down the road to the rest of the Story.     Here are some particulars about Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.  During this season there will be 2 services each Wednesday, one at 11am and one at 7pm.  On Ash Wednesday the services will include the imposition of Ashes. There will be no meals on that day.  On the following Wednesdays in Lent, the service times will be the same, 11am and 7pm, but a light lunch will follow the morning service, and a light supper will be served at 6pm, preceding the 7pm service.  The setting for the evening service will once again be Holden Evening Prayer.  The messages during these weeks will be based on "conversations" with some of the objects surrounding Jesus' last days and hours:  the Thorns, the Robe, the Nail, the Spear, the Shroud.  If they could talk, what would they say?   Come and see.     And finally, speaking of shifting gears, the TIME CHANGE is this coming weekend!  So, move your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday or you'll miss church (or come in at the end of worship) this coming Sunday!      Have a blessed week.     Peace and Joy,   Pastor Jack Diehl +       Check out www.oursaviorelca.com for more!      Each year on the first Sunday in Lent we hear about Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, and we pray that we may be able to resist the temptations that come to us here and now. Come to worship, to receive the Spirit's strength to live in light of your baptism. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Eye for an Eye

OSE NEWS  February 24, 2014             We heard in worship this weekend more of Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount, particularly his words about loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us, and moving toward forgiveness. We were reminded that as hard as these things can be to do we are able to move towards doing them by the grace and help of God. And we seek to move in this direction because of what it does to us if we don't. And because of what our world would look like if no one ever forgave. As Ghandi said, "An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind."   Along with worship this weekend, the WELCA women put on a wonderful Rummage Sale on Saturday. The whole campus was filled with people. All of the proceeds of the sale go to help local charities. Thank you to the women for all of their hard work and hospitality to all who came through the doors.   Looking ahead, can you lend a bed? Host families are needed for the students of the Lenoir-Rhyne College Choir who will be here to put on a concert at the church on March 16th. The students will be given dinner here at the church, they just need a place to sleep. We need host families for 40 students! So if you can help out, reply to this email.   May God's grace and peace and forgiveness be yours this week, +Pastor Shelly Satran     SAVE THE DATE !    OSE DAY CAMP JUNE 16-20 - Grades 1-8         This coming Sunday we conclude the time after Epiphany by celebrating the Transfiguration of our Lord, when Jesus went up a mountain and showed himself to be divine. Then next Wednesday we observe Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, as Jesus walks up another mountain and shows himself to be human. Come to worship, to praise this Jesus Christ, to hear him speak, to look at him in Icons and to partake of his body. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

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Compassion....

OSE NEWS  February 17, 2014                      If we listened deeper to this past Sunday's hard to hear Gospel reading, we heard a word of compassion; compassion that God has for his world and people. That is at the heart of the 10 commandments and Jesus' commentary on the commandments "You have heard it said, but I say...".    Although on the surface these words sound a lot like judgment, as St. Augustine said, "Any interpretation of Scripture that leads to hatred or contempt of another is illegitimate. One must not leave an interpretation of Scripture until one finds compassion."  It is that understanding that lies behind an effort begun by a former nun, Karen Armstrong, called "Charter for Compassion".  (Visit www.charterforcompassion.org for more information about this movement.)     It's also what lies behind a local initiative by many of us clergy in Vero Beach called "Compassion Vero".  (Visit  for  www.compassionvero.org more information about this local initiative.)   This is all just another way of living out the grace and mercy that God in Christ has shown to us.   For more ways to help you live out that new identity we have as people who have been death with compassionately by God, check out our website at www.oursaviorelca.com.      Have a blessed week and we'll see you in church!      Pastor Jack Diehl +             HOST FAMILIES NEEDED!    Our Savior will be hosting 40 musicians of Lenoir-Rhyne College after their concert on March 16th.     Please send a note to Music@oursaviorelca.com if you are able to help in this wonderful opportunity of hospitality.   The gospel reading for this coming Sunday is familiar to many people: let the evildoer strike also your left cheek; give to everyone who begs; love your enemies; be perfect. These commands in Matthew 5 are hard to hear. Come to worship to receive both these words and God's blessings of forgiveness. Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

Forward this email This email was sent to oslcvero.godsamazinggrace@blogger.com by info@oursaviorelca.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Our Savior Lutheran Church | 1850 Sixth Ave. | Vero Beach | FL | 32960