Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ JANUARY NEWSLETTER Immanuel Lutheran Church “Grace Happens at the Church on the Hill” P.O. Box 1355 - 411 CR 401 Taylor, Texas 76574 Phone: (512) 365-9494 - [email protected]Sunday Schedule Discipleship Classes 9:15 Worship 10:30 Church Secretary: Sharon Fritz (512) 560-0908 Financial Secretary: Evelyn Remmert Treasurer: Claris Randig, Office: Sandy Trussell (512) 365-9494 Pastor Caleb Bahr Three Days of Prayer - Every congregation, member and pastor in LCMC is being invited to set aside some time each day of January 7, 8, and 9, 2020 for prayer. Our attitude toward prayer has often been characterized by saying, “well, all we can do now is pray!”. Prayer is not the hopeless act of desperation. Prayer is a gift that God has given to us as a means to approach the throne of grace with confidence— like that of a child coming to her parents sharing concerns, victories, defeats and every part of life. It is an opportunity to express the deepest heartache and the greatest joy. Prayer is a conversation between the Creator and the created…and the conversation began with God, for us, in Christ Jesus. Please set aside some time each of these three days to pray. Talk to God about what is going on in your life and don’t forget to listen for His response. Open up your Bible and read His Words. No matter how you structure t his time of prayer, let’s come together as an association of congregations across the U.S. and around the world to pray! I believe that the church will never rise up until we first get down on our knees! Day One: January 7 This is a day focused on confession. We have made our lives, our relationships—and even the church—in our own image. We confess that the church belongs to Jesus and not to us. We gather to lay down our pride, our sin and our agenda and ask the Lord of the church for forgiveness, which He gives freely and with mercy. Day Two: January 8 This is a day of petition. Pray for your congregation, for the pastor, for the leaders, for those who carry out ministries, for the Sunday School teachers, for the Confirmation leaders, for those leading adult Bible studies and for those leading small groups. Pray for those in hospital and nursing home ministries. Pray for all those connected to your church that they might know God’s redeeming love for all in Christ. Day Three: January 9 This is a day for vision. Pray that the Holy Spirit will again move through the hearts and minds of leaders and pastors that God’s vision for His church might be revealed and fulfilled. This is a time of prayer for renewal, revival and encouragement. Pray for God’s vision.
What can your church do to grow? I believe God is calling every congregation to engage in the kind of ministry Jesus did and reach out to the least, the lost, and the left out in your community. Jesus gives us this recipe for community ministry in Luke 15 through the stories of the lost coin, the lost son, and the lost sheep.
In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells a story about a son who does the unthinkable and asks his father for his share of the inheritance while his father is still very much alive! Worse yet, this son goes and squanders all he was given in “foolish living.” He literally financially bankrupted himself pursuing a morally bankrupt life! He hit rock bottom and found himself longing to eat the food he was feeding to pigs. He decides to return home and confess his sin and ask his father for mercy and to hire him. As Jesus tells the story, while the son was still a long way off, the father sees his son, runs to him, throws his arms around him and kissed him! He throws a party to celebrate the return of his lost son and welcomes him back in the family. Oh, the love of the father!
But not everyone was thrilled. The older brother who had never left was bitter and refused to welcome his brother or celebrate his return. He did not share in his father’s joy, but rather had contempt for his wayward brother and for his father. And I’m afraid that the attitude that many churchgoers hold in our hearts is like that of the older brother: we are not really interested in seeing wayward siblings restored to the family. It is easy for us to think that they have chosen their path and deserve what they have coming to them!
But God is calling us to adopt the posture of the merciful and loving father in this story. It is important to note that the father did not go an interrupt his wayward son in the middle of his hedonistic living. The father didn’t go shame or scold him into behaving. Yet the Father also never stopped watching or waiting. And when the son was still a long way off but beginning to make his way home, the father ran to wel-come him home.
What would it look like for your church to actively engage in watching and waiting for wayward sons and daughters who may be longing to make their way back to the Father? How can we cast off the “older brother syndrome” and adopt the mercy and love of the Father? I applaud congregations who prioritize recovery ministries and open their doors wide to all kinds of people. And I would encourage you to gather a group together in prayer to discern what God is calling you to do reach out and embrace lost people seeking to find their way home to the loving embrace of our merciful Father. And when a lost one comes home, celebrate!
Pastor Bryce Formwalt is the Director of Mission Growth for the LCMC Texas District. Residing in Georgetown, Pastor Bryce is available to coach congregations on mission. Feel free to contact him with any questions or comments: 512-942-7776 or [email protected]. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lcmctexas
