From the Pastor September + In the Year of Our Lord + 2012 THE GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH THE NEWSLETTER Two of the most common things pastors hear from the members of their congregaons are: “I don’t know how to pray,” and/or “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?” First and foremost, don’t feel bad or become discouraged. According to God’s Word, we all face the same dilemma when it comes to prayer. St. Paul confessed for us all: “We do not know how to pray as we should” (Romans 8:26) The comforng part is that “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Mahew 6:8). Even if your words are lacking but your heart is full, God’s Word assures us “that the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). Nevertheless, God wants you to know what words to speak to Him in prayer. Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer and this prayer is His perfect guide for you as well. The Lord’s Prayer embodies every proper desire of the praying heart. It combines in simple language every divine promise, every human sorrow and want, and every Chrisan aspiraon for the welfare of others. “The Lord’s Prayer,” Luther states, “is far superior to all others that we might devise. In our prayers, our conscience would always be in doubt, saying, ‘I have prayed, but who knows whether it pleases Him, or whether I have hit upon the right form and mode?’ Thus, there is no nobler prayer on earth than the Lord’s Prayer, for it has the excellent tesmony that God loves to hear. This prayer we should not trade for all the riches in the world.” The Old Testament book of Psalms is a book of prayer. Read through the Psalms and pray them. (This is an excellent form of meditaon to prepare for worship during the playing of the prelude on Sunday morning or prior to any worship service.) Nearly every situaon you might encounter in life is covered by the many pray- ers recorded for you in the Psalms. All of Scripture is, in fact, a prayer book. Through His Word, God teaches us how to pray, what to pray for, and what we can expect in prayer. The wonderful assurance for you in prayer is grounded in and movated by hearing and leaning God’s Word. Through His Word you are assured that God hears you, even when you can’t find just the right words to express what is in your heart. And, through that same Word, God provides for you to learn the most pleasing words that can reach His ears. Why are some prayers answered and others not? Jesus gives a clear and direct answer to that queson: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). To abide in God’s Word means to read and meditate on it more than sporadically, or more oſten than only occasionally for some sort of an inspiraonal upliſt. To abide in the Word means to nourish our spirit and soul on it daily, just as we remember our Bapsm on a daily basis. When Christ’s words abide in us, they are not simply stored in memory, available to be called upon as needed. Rather, when Christ’s words abide in us, they take over our thoughts. God’s living Word has the power to transform our values and re-establish our priories. Consequently, (and this is KEY) we are moved to ask only for those things Christ desires us to have. His Word sweeps from our mind all selfish desires and materialisc lusts. Christ-centered ideas and godly desires are planted in our heart through His Word. Praying for you connually, Pastor von Hindenburg Inside this issue: PERICOPES AND HYMNS 2 MISSIONARY MOMENTS 3 BIBLE CLASS UPDATES 4 PRAYER CALENDAR 5 NOTES ON THE FEAST OF ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS 6 MONTHLY CALENDAR 7 CONTACT INFO 8
Transcript
From the Pastor September + In the Year of Our Lord + 2012
T H E G O O D S H E P H E R D L U T H E R A N C H U R C H
THE NEWSLETTER
Two of the most common things pastors hear from the members of their congregations are:
“I don’t know how to pray,” and/or
“Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?”
First and foremost, don’t feel bad or become discouraged. According to God’s Word, we all face the same dilemma when it comes to
prayer. St. Paul confessed for us all: “We do not know how to pray as we should” (Romans 8:26)
The comforting part is that “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Even if your words are lacking but
your heart is full, God’s Word assures us “that the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).
Nevertheless, God wants you to know what words to speak to Him in prayer. Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer and this prayer is
His perfect guide for you as well. The Lord’s Prayer embodies every proper desire of the praying heart. It combines in simple language
every divine promise, every human sorrow and want, and every Christian aspiration for the welfare of others. “The Lord’s Prayer,” Luther
states, “is far superior to all others that we might devise. In our prayers, our conscience would always be in doubt, saying, ‘I have prayed,
but who knows whether it pleases Him, or whether I have hit upon the right form and mode?’ Thus, there is no nobler prayer on earth
than the Lord’s Prayer, for it has the excellent testimony that God loves to hear. This prayer we should not trade for all the riches in the
world.”
The Old Testament book of Psalms is a book of prayer. Read through the Psalms and pray them. (This is an
excellent form of meditation to prepare for worship during the playing of the prelude on Sunday morning or
prior to any worship service.) Nearly every situation you might encounter in life is covered by the many pray-
ers recorded for you in the Psalms. All of Scripture is, in fact, a prayer book. Through His Word, God teaches
us how to pray, what to pray for, and what we can expect in prayer.
The wonderful assurance for you in prayer is grounded in and motivated by hearing and leaning God’s Word. Through His Word you are
assured that God hears you, even when you can’t find just the right words to express what is in your heart. And, through that same Word,
God provides for you to learn the most pleasing words that can reach His ears.
Why are some prayers answered and others not?
Jesus gives a clear and direct answer to that question: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask
whatever you wish and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).
To abide in God’s Word means to read and meditate on it more than sporadically, or more often than only
occasionally for some sort of an inspirational uplift. To abide in the Word means to nourish our spirit and
soul on it daily, just as we remember our Baptism on a daily basis.
When Christ’s words abide in us, they are not simply stored in memory, available to be called upon as
needed. Rather, when Christ’s words abide in us, they take over our thoughts. God’s living Word has the
power to transform our values and re-establish our priorities. Consequently, (and this is KEY) we are
moved to ask only for those things Christ desires us to have. His Word sweeps from our mind all selfish
desires and materialistic lusts. Christ-centered ideas and godly desires are planted in our heart through His
On July 12, we were honored at The Good Shepherd to have Rev. James May visit us during his furlough and address our congregation about the mission work he is doing in some 20 African nations through Lutherans in Africa and LHF-Africa “not only teaching confessional Lutheran doctrine, but by training African pastors to be the teachers in their own communities.”
After a very moving and inspiring presentation,
Pastor and Karina took Rev May to the Higher
Things Conference held at Concordia Irvine for
more introductions.
In August, the May family returned to Kenya,
where they neededneededneeded to find a new rental, and
Rev. May immediately went back to teaching. He has just re-
turned from Madagascar to teach on the Augsburg Confession, and then shortly
headed to Zambia for a conference to present the biblical view on women’s ordina-
tion. The Lutheran Church in Zambia is being pressured to ordain women which goes
against holy Scripture and the Confessions of the Lutheran Church.
The pastors and pastoral students in
Zambia also have a great need for Bibles. Some
have only a small new testament to work with and others have only
paraphrases. We will be collecting a freewill offering on September
2 and 9 for this project. Our hope is to collect enough money for at
least 40 Bibles at $11 each—so our goal for these two weeks is
$440+!
We are praying to be able to bring the entire family out in 2014 when
their next furlough arrives. Watch this space every month for updates
from the Mays! To support the preaching of the Gospel and the train-
ing of workers for the harvest, you may at any time make a special
gift to LIA or to our mission fund in general. See Karina with any
questions.
The Rabe Family whom we have help to support 2010-2012 for
their 2-year work in western Kenya have returned stateside.
They will remain in Portland, OR while Rev. Mark Rabe awaits a
call to serve a parish. Please keep him and his family in your
prayers.
All photos courtesy Rev. James E. May and included here by permission.
Learning the Church Year—St Michael and All Angels The Festival of Michael and All Angels is September 29 and dates back to the fifth century.
St. Michael is one of three archangels, the others being Gabriel and Raphael, that are vener-
ated by the Church. He is mentioned twice in the Old Testa-
ment (Daniel 10:13ff and 12:1) as the guardian of the cho-
sen people and twice in the New Testament. The first refer-
ence, Jude v.9, describes his fight with the devil over Mo-
ses’ body; and in Revelation 12:7-9 “War arose in heaven,
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the
great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who
is called Satan, deceiver of the whole world - He was
thrown to earth, and his angels were thrown down with
him."
The name Michael means “Who is like to God?" and this was the battle cry of the good angels in their fight against Satan and his followers. Christian legend describes Michael as the Captain-General of the heavenly host, the Protector of the Christian Nation against the devil. God has given Michael many great privileges, it is he who will sound the last trumpet at the final resurrection and conduct the souls to God. It is his responsibility to receive the souls of the departed when they are released and
to weigh them in a balance; “Thou are weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." (Daniel 5:27)
Scripture describes St. Michael as, “one of the forces of heaven in their triumph over the powers of hell." He has been
honored and invoked as patron and protector by the church from the time of the Apostles.
In art, he is often depicted as young and handsome, wearing a raiment of gold, with sword and shield; wings rising
from his shoulders. Frequently, he is pictured with the dragon or serpent beneath his feet in reference to his defeat of
Satan.
There are traditional foods served on September 29, St Michael’s Day, and they include roast goose with apple stuffing,
oatmeal bannock, and blackberry crumble. Here is a simple recipe:
Blackberry Crumble (serves 4)
Ingredients:
2 c. washed blackberries (thawed, if frozen) 2.3 c. sugar 2Tbs lemon juice,
or juice of one lemon 3 Tbs butter 2/3 c. all-purpose flour 1/3 tsp salt
How to make:
Put blackberries in a 1-quart baking dish with half the sugar. Sprinkle with lemon
juice. Cream butter, flour, salt and remaining sugar together; sprinkle over ber-
ries. Bake at 350° F for 40 minutes. Serve with cream or ice cream.
St Michael and the Dragon,
Albrecht Durer, 1497-1498
7
CHURCH CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER 2012
Repeats Weekly Sunday
Bible Study—8:30 a.m. Divine Service 10:00 a.m.
Tuesday Matins—9:00 a.m.
Bible Class following Wednesday
Hymn Sing—6:30 p.m. Bible Class—7:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 2—Mite Box Sunday: Bring your change to drop in the LWML Mite Box to help support LWML projects Tuesday, September 4—no Matins or class Thursday, September 6, 6:00 a.m. —Men's Devotional Breakfast, Denny’s in Hawthorne - see Norm Morton for details Sunday, September 9, after Service—Voters’ Assembly Meeting Thursday, September 13, 9:00 a.m.—Board of Elders meet September 14—Holy Cross Day Tuesday, September 18, 6:30 p.m. —Church Council Wednesday, September 19, ALL DAY—Pastor at District Meeting Friday, September 21, Noon-3 p.m.—Private Confession and Absolution Monday, September 24—St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist Monday, September 25-Wednesday, September 27—Pastor at District Pastor’s Conference Saturday, September 29—St. Michael and All Angels Saturday, September 29, 9:00 -10:30 a.m.—Vanguard meets at The Good Shepherd Sunday, September 30—LWML Sunday Please call the church office with any questions. Dates in italics commemorate immovable feast days of the Church Year.
The Newsletter
8
902 S Maple St.
Inglewood, CA 90301
310-671-7644
Royce Morton, Administrative
Assistant (M-Th: 9-2)
Jay Rogers, Organist
thegoodshepherdinglewood.org
+ Join Us for Liturgical Worship +
Reverend Bruce J. von Hindenburg, Pastor
Sunday morning Adult Bible Class—8:30 a.m.
Sunday Divine Service—10:00 a.m.
Friday Matins—9:00 a.m.
+ + +
Wednesday Bible Class/Midweek Service—7:00 p.m.
Private Confession and Absolution—3rd Fridays and By Appointment
+ + +
Preaching God’s Word to Inglewood and beyond since 1935
T H E G O O D S H E P H E R D L U T H E R A N C H U R C H
President—Norm Morton
Vice President—Mary Flett
Secretary—Stephanie Thorn
Treasurer—Clinton Galloway
Financial Secretary—Dick Huhn
Board of Elders—Leon Tarr, Chair; Jim Weishaar
Board of Trustees—Jim Weishaar, Chair; Leon Tarr
Board of Evangelism—Karina Lindsey, Chair; Royce Morton; Marlene Wood
![cels.org.arcels.org.ar/common/CELS - Newsletter (September 2015).docx · Web view[newsletter]September 2015 [newsletter] September 2015 September 2015 [newsletter] September 2015](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5b1d07b47f8b9a06758bbf53/celsorg-newsletter-september-2015docx-web-viewnewsletterseptember-2015.jpg)
