October 2019

3 8 0 1 O a k w o o d Av e n u e N W—H u n t s v i l l e , A L 3 5 8 1 0

I N S I D E t h i s i s s u e

Page 1 Updates

Page 2 SW Corner

Page 3 Missional Outreach

Page 3 Birthdays

Page 4 Elder’s Story

Page 5 DCM Notes

Page 6 Assimilation

Page 7 Thank You Note

Page 9 Kids’ Corner

Page 10 Stewardship

Page 12 Calendar

VISIT US ONLINE FirstAnyChurch.org

A PUBLICATION OF FIRST ANY CHURCH

REFORMATIAON SUNDAY

October 27, 2019

October 2019

Reflections A PUBLICATION OF ASCENSION LUTHERAN CHURCH

Fall is Here!

Worship Times

Sundays - 8:00 and 10:45 AM Mondays - 6:00 PM Bible Study Classes Confirmation Class Sundays - 9:30 AM (All Ages) Sundays - 9:30 AM Tuesdays - 10:00 AM Last Saturday - 8:30 AM (Men’s Prayer Breakfast) Missional Outreach Events Wednesdays Sundays - 9:30 AM (Regency) 10:00 AM - HHR 10:15 AM - Regency

What’s Inside

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There’s an old saying among pastors

that “A home-visiting pastor makes a

church- going congregation.” I’ll

examine that idea later in this article

to see if it is still appropriate. But

first, a few other remarks.

The end of the summer has come, but

we cannot tell it by the Fall

temperatures. They haven’t begun,

yet. The ending date of summer was

confusing, too. It was September 23.

It seems to me that in past years the

end of one season and the onset of the

next always occurred on the 21st. This

i s p e r h a p s w h y w e n e e d

meteorologists. They help us

understand the details of the change

of seasons.

That reminds me. We had special

visitors at our Monday evening

service a week ago. David and Jessica

Ernst were in town for a few days.

They were members who regularly

attended our Monday services during

the several years they lived in

H u n t s v i l l e . D a v i d w a s a

meteorologist with Channel 48 before

they moved to Green Bay, WI, to take

a similar job with a TV station there.

Jessica said they came to our service

last week because they missed us and

wanted to see us. That was

heartwarming. We had a nice visit.

On the same subject! Kathy Kiehl

just spent a week visiting Ascension.

Kathy now lives in Las Vegas with

F R O M T H E P A S T O R B e r n a r d A n s o r g e

SouthWest Corner

her daughter Jill and A. J. She has

traveled some since her husband Jim

died and wanted to come see us, where

she had served previously for seven

years as our director of children’s

ministries. She and I spent several hours

just to talk. I had made the point of

welcoming her back home, which she

appreciated. She had liked us and her

service here at Ascension. But now,

some five years have passed since she

retired and moved away. She said nice

things about Ascension. She observed

the growth we have experienced in that

interval and commented of the “new”

people she did not know…she talked

about the increased numbers of

“younger” people who have made

Ascension their home. All of this brings

me to the next subject.

I’d like to propose something that will

involve me with you. I would like to

make home visits with you at your

convenience. During the earlier years of

my pastoral ministry, I enjoyed visiting

with our members in their homes. I

haven’t done as much of this lately.

Doing so again will require some

intentionality. I recall a program I

started 50 years ago right after I was

installed here. I called it, “A Night with

the Pastor.” With the help of some

members, we divided the congregation

into smaller groups and invited each

group to meet with me at church for a

“get to know you and me” evening. It

worked well, and one of the outgrowths

was my intention to visit with members

in their homes. I told them then I would

like to do that with pre-arranged visits. I

would like to reinstitute them now.

I think there is value for you and

me just to sit down informally

and talk to each other, even with

no pre-planned agenda. Just to

visit and to get to know each

other better, inasmuch as we are

all members of the Body of

Christ.

Making such visits is not as

spontaneous as they once were.

The days are gone when we

would just drop by others’ homes

to visit. Times have changed.

Everyone has his own needs for

privacy. One does not just stop

by. Schedules need to be

consulted. There are times we just

don’t want people over. That’s

true for you and also for me. We

have to prepare to host, even one

visitor.

I’m proposing a voluntary way of

Pastor Bernie making home visits.

If you would like me to visit you

(and your family) in your home at

your convenience, just call me

and tell me when you would like

to invite me. We can then agree

on the time and make it happen.

My interests in doing this are

general. As your pastor I would

enjoy the opportunity to get to

know you better, especially if you

have more recently come to

Ascension. We could talk about

family, job, or faith - or any

subject you would like. If you

want me to conduct a “home

blessing,” I will be happy to do

that. Or, whatever. And don’t feel

you have to go all out to have me

over. I don’t need to be fed or

impressed. I’ll even come

wearing jeans.

When it comes to schedule, you

might be aware of the overall

3

October BirthdaysOctober BirthdaysOctober Birthdays Corwin Fick 10/1

Jordan Strain 10/1

Eric Dunn 10/3

Cameron Lee 10/4

Glen Huling 10/6

Mary Eckert 10/7

Jeremiah Burhans 10/8

Susan Bridges 10/12

Gerald Heape 10/12

Jessica Cowart 10/15

Stephanie Lee 10/16

Alexander Burhans 10/16

Margaret Johnson 10/16

Susan Thomas 10/18

Rebecca King 10/20

Hank Alewine 10/22

Scott Patterson 10/23

Elise Patterson 10/25

Samson

Mwakabumbila 10/26

Tyler Arends 10/30

Viera Malcomb 10/31

schedule of Ascension and its times of worship, Bible study, and meetings.

There yet remain many other times each week to make visits.

So, let’s try this plan if you would like. To begin

with, you may contact my office at 256-536-

9987 or my cell 256-361-6732 and we’ll take it

from there.

Just one more thing: During the past year, the

Southern District has elected a new president,

Rev. Eric Johnson, who resides in Slidell, LA.

We have invited him to Ascension to meet our

Elders (and others too, we’ll let you know) on a

Saturday afternoon and to preach for us the next day. We want him to meet us,

since he has not yet made a visit to Ascension. He plans to meet with us

Saturday afternoon, November 16, and will preach both services Sunday

morning, November 17. We’ll announce specific meeting times for that

Saturday.

Keep praying that we receive a Fall placement Vicar, if there are any to be

assigned in November.

Love, Pastor Bernie

MISSIONAL OUTREACH MINISTRY

Members of the Missional Outreach Ministry go to two separate locations to

preach, pray and sing. The schedule of these groups for October is:

October 2 – HHR at 10:00 AM

October 9 – Regency at 10:15 AM

October 16 – HHR at 10:00 AM

October 23 – Regency at 10:15 AM

October 30 – HHR at 10:00 AM

The worship service consists of the following:

Welcome by Pastor or Vicar

Song 1

Song 2

OT Reading

Song 3

Song 4

NT Reading

Song 5

Song 6

Gospel Reading

Song 7

Message

Song 8

F R O M T H E P A S T O R B e r n a r d A n s o r g e

INSIDE this issue

4

obliterated by a great fire, to

undergo whatever disaster

God deems as just for our

iniquities. We don’t deserve

to avoid this punishment and

we surely don’t deserve to be

rewarded for our sinful

existence with eternal life.

Nevertheless, this is exactly

what God has done for us,

that Jesus, through His

perfect life and atoning death,

has opened the kingdom of

Heaven to all believers.

As Christians, we can never

repay God for His incredible

mercy and grace to us. We

can only give Him thanks and

praise that He chose to do

this! We can only humble

ourselves in grateful

adoration for His boundless

kindness! We can only share

this wonderful news of

salvation with others! We are

so undeservedly blessed that

we should rejoice in all

circumstances. Nothing in

this life, no illness, no loss,

no suffering can compare

with the undeserved rewards

that await us.

Jesus Christ is our ark of

salvation. He is the means by

which we escape the fate that

we deserve. Like Noah’s ark

was for Noah and his family,

Jesus Christ is our only hope

for survival, for avoiding the

second death, for not paying

for our mistakes now and

eternally. Therefore, let us

never forget His incredible

act of humility, of love, of

mercy, of undeserved grace.

Let us be forever thankful

that God has chosen to save

us!

“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence

prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the

world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to

faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

Joanne and I recently made a trip to the Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky.

This life-size replica of Noah’s ark is impressive, 1.5 times the length of a

football field (including the end zones), half the width of a football field and

forty-five feet tall. Even more impressive than its size is the engineering (how

to feed and water than many animals, how to vent the ark, how to dispose of

waste, how to land safely once the water subsides without tipping over, etc.)

and logistics (planning for all the needs of the animals and humans for an

extended trip) that went into the original ark. Adding to this amazing work is

that Noah and his family built the ark without the benefit of modern tools or a

large work force.

However, by far the most amazing thing

about the ark is that it ever existed, that

God warned Noah about the upcoming

flood, that God waited patiently until

Noah had completed the ark, that God

closed the door of the ark before

releasing the flood on the world, that

God protected the ark for the duration

of its voyage. Mankind at that time was

so evil and violent that God, in His wrath, decided to destroy all human and

animal life on the planet. However, in His mercy, God saved Noah and his

family, as well as pairs of all the kinds of animals and birds.

Lest you think that God’s actions in unleashing the flood were harsh and

unfair, bear in mind that the fate that hit everyone other than Noah and his

family at this time is the same fate that you and I confess every week that we

deserve! In our weekly confession, we declare that we deserve God’s temporal

and eternal punishment. If we truly believe that temporal and eternal

punishment is the fair result for our sins, then we must surely believe that God

was completely justified in punishing the evilness of mankind in Noah’s time.

Mankind at Noah’s time deserved to be wiped out. Mankind at our time also

deserves to be destroyed. Our nature is every bit as corrupt as the nature of

mankind at Noah’s time. What is amazing is that God doesn’t do this; that,

instead of taking out His justified wrath on us, He chose to become man, to

suffer and die on the cross and thereby take on this wrath Himself, all so that

we could be reconciled with Him, that we, through saving faith, could be

adopted to be His sons and daughters, that we could, when we die, join Him in

everlasting bliss. To be honest, if this weren’t true, it would be crazy.

Almighty God, who, in the flood, has already shown His willingness to destroy

all mankind, out of infinite love, mercy and grace chose to take on our

punishment, to become man and take on the Father’s justified wrath as

punishment for our sins! We so don’t deserve this! We deserve the same fate

as those souls at the time of Noah. We deserve to be wiped out in a flood, to be

F R O M T H E E L D E R R i c k H i l s t

Jesus, Our Ark of Salvation

5

There are personal changes—

children leaving home, the

passing of dear friends, and the

slow, steady decline in our

vitality and health. Sometimes

we feel outdated at work.

Amid all the changes, one

thing, one person, never

changes - our eternal God.

Remember this verse from

“Abide with Me”?

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s

little day; Earth’s joys grow

dim; its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all

around I see; O Thou who

changest not, abide with me.

--Henry F. Lyte

God does not change. His life

is always the same. His

c h a r a c t e r i s a l w a y s

dependable. His truth, ways,

and purposes do not change.

His Son does not change. He’s

the same yesterday, today, and

forever (Hebrews 13:8).

His children will enjoy His

fellowship a million years from

now. The world may fade, the

stars may fall, the seasons may

change, and winter may come.

But the God who has been our

help in ages past is our hope

for years to come. In Him we

have permanence, stability, joy

unshakable, and life unending.

The autumn of life is a great

time to focus on God’s

wonderful blessings - family,

friends, strength, shelter,

provision, guidance, care,

fruitful ministry, opportunities

to serve, more time to pray and

study His Word, and eternal

life still to come.

Even if you can’t feel it – it is fall. Fall Sunday School is underway. Our teaching

staff consists of Nursery: Sue Ellen Smith, Sharon Damron, Linda Cutler, Donna

Stoddard, and Amanda Damron. Kindergarten through second grade teachers are

Kathie Malcomb and Sarah Heritage. Third through fifth grades are taught by

Kelly Aschenbrenner and Carla Jo. Alan King is teaching sixth through eighth

grade confirmation class. Cameron and Stephanie Lee are teaching the high school

class. The college age class is being taught by Aaron King, and Ken

Aschenbrenner is leading the adult class. We appreciate the dedication and time

these people are giving of themselves.

We have purchased new toys and equipment for the nursery. It is open to any

child age three and below. There is a log book for you to sign your child in and

out, and leave any special instructions. We plan to keep the nursery staffed for

first service, Sunday school and second service. If there are no children in the

nursery by 11:00 AM on a Sunday, our attendant has been given permission to

leave.

We will begin acolyte training with the third through fifth graders this month. The

Confirmation class will also serve as acolytes. The schedule will come out later

this month.

If any group wants to use the bus for an outing, please check the wall calendar in

the secretary office. If that date is available write your name down. Carla Jo has

the keys to the vehicle, and she will let you know what you need to do to check

the bus out and back in.

Autumn

The autumn of life is a strange mixture of nostalgia, blessings, and potential. It

yields the harvest of seeds we’ve sown throughout life and braces us for colder

days to come. When life’s

autumn arrives, we look back and

better understand the way God

led us; but we still have work to

do—the best and fullest. It’s a

good transition time.

In Jude 1:12, false teachers are

compared to “autumn trees

without fruit,” implying that

autumn should be a fruitful

season, the most abundant of the

year. How can we take advantage

of the “autumn of life”? Even as the seasons come and go our God remains

unchanged and unchanging. “LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all

generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the

earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm

90:1-2).

There’s a lot of unwelcome change in our world. Moral and societal changes

bother us most when we turn on our television or glance at the magazines. We’re

painfully aware our kids are growing up in a world far different from the one we

knew as children.

F R O M T H E D C M C a r l a J o B r a k h a g e

Seasons

https://www.godtube.com/popular-hymns/Abide-With-Me/http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=niv&q=heb+13:8http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=niv&q=jude+1:12http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=niv&q=ps+90:1-2http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?t=niv&q=ps+90:1-2

6

Calling all HS Students!

According to Carla Jo, this

has been cleared with the

teachers of the high school

Sunday morning class, so,

here we go!

Starting Sunday morning,

October 6, during the first

half hour of the class time,

we will have handbell

practices for the Sunday

School program, which will

be held the second Sunday

of December. That will give

us NINE rehearsal times ,

which is 4-1/2 hours to

learn five pieces that will be

relatively challenging.

Are you up to it?

I’ll see you in the handbell

room on Sunday morning!

Get your refreshments

before coming into the room

and try to be early/on time.

30 minutes isn’t very much

time to get the music

together, so it will be a

focused 30 minutes - no

goofing off! We will have

fun. . .

Judy Burhans

PTO: The PTO is active and well. Our officers for this year are as follows:

President – Deborah Chavers, has a grandchild in the infant room

Vice president – Delicia Draper, has a child in the preschool class

Secretary – Margaret Graham, has a child in the toddler 1 class

Treasurer – Charla Moore

O u r P T O i s s p o n s o r i n g a

pancake breakfast again this year. It will be held on

S a t u r d a y , November 2, from

7:30 to 9:30 AM. It will be held at

Applebee’s on north Memorial Parkway. Tickets are $5.00

each. The classes are having a contest

to see which class can sell the most tickets. Tickets can be purchased at the CDC. Carla Jo will also have tickets available on Sundays for purchase.

Come out and enjoy breakfast, and a time of fellowship! Proceeds will go towards licensing expenses.

SUNDAY SCHOOL:

Does anyone notice the Sunday school Mission offering chart that is hanging in the hall? The children decide upon a mission project, and then

track their progress on the way to $100.00 to send. The offering selected for this cycle is purchasing a lamb through Lutheran World Relief. After $100 is raised the children select a new project.

The Christmas program for this year is entitled: “Ring Out the Good

News.” The high school Sunday school class will feature a hand bell choir

to enhance our worship service the morning of the program.

Carla Jo Brakhage

F R O M T H E D C M C a r l a J o B r a k h a g e

7

From the Treasurer: Mortgage

donations received thus far

total $28,170, and the

mortgage balance is now

$194,866.49. A check may be

placed in the offering with the

designation of “Mortgage

Offering.”

A Funeral Team is being

formed to provide meals for

bereaved families. Members of

the congregation will be called

to ask if they would like to

participate in volunteering to

help in a certain function. A

list of functions is being

formed such as setting up,

cleaning up, serving, cooking,

shopping, etc. Call Betty

Fischer or Marsha Carden if

you would like to be a

volunteer.

Our beloved Donna Stoddart

as well as her mother, Anne

Sims, over the years have

faithfully set up the Altar for

communion for each Sunday.

They are retiring at the end of

the year. Marsha Carden will

be taking her place. She would

like to form an Altar Guild of

women who will learn how to

set up, take down, etc. Another

area of the Altar Guild is

taking care of the banners

making new ones, repairing

old ones, etc. For those

interested, call Marsha.

The 38th Biennial Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) Convention

held on June 20-23 set a 2019 to 2021 Mission Goal at $2.1 million, which

includes 21 mission projects. Kathy Linden, Joanne and Jim Hildreth attended

the convention. One of the projects was Lutheran Hour Ministries’ “Mission

Outreach for At-Risk Young Women in Africa” in the amount of $100,000.

The monies for the LWML missions come from the Mite Boxes filled with

change that is turned in by women from their respective LWML women’s

groups all over the country and abroad. If you would like to have a Mite Box,

there are extras on top of the mail boxes in the hallway. The filled Mite Box

can then be given to Betty Fisher, Treasurer of our LWML.

The LWML Fall

Rally will be held

in Florence ,

S a t u r d a y ,

Oc t obe r 19 ,

starting at 9:00

AM. Anyone

interested in

attending contact

Marsha Carden.

If there are

enough women

g o i n g , t h e

Ascension bus

will be driven.

Lavon Hellebrand has sent a total of 1,830 pill bottles to clinics in need. The

bottles are now going to the Community Free Clinic in Huntsville. The basket

to collect the pill bottles is on top of the mail boxes in the hallway. It is

best if the label is taken off.

Ascension donated 13,000 bottle caps last year for a total of $250 raised

for the Child Development Center. This year the first pick up is in

October. Any bottle caps can be given to Carla Jo or Barbara Hurst.

Barbara has the job of counting all of them. Barbara also takes the soda

cans and recycles them for a donation to the CDC.

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Alan King is teaching 11 for Confirmation. Aaron King is

teaching an average of 9 college/young adults. Ken Aschenbrenner is teaching

the Gospel of John in the Adult Bible class. More than one person has

remarked how good it is to see so many young people & children!

Pastor Bernie will be teaching the book of Ezra for the Women’s Tuesday

Morning Bible Study. They went out to Logan’s for lunch to celebrate Lavon

Hellebrand and Susie Carder’s September birthdays.

F R O M A S S I M I L A T I O N M a r y E n g e l

NEWS FROM ASCENSION

8

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Ascension, I am writing to share my thanks for all the gifts you gave me for my send off the past few weeks. I want to thank you all for the gifts of money you gave me, and also for any other things I will need for my coming year at seminary (all the food is so good, and my dad likes okra now). I am so grateful that I was able to serve a congregation that is so gracious and kind, and also extremely generous as well. And I am grateful to have Pas t o r B e rn i e a s m y supervising pastor, to help and guide me in all I need to know about the ministry. I do hope that I will be able to come back and visit you all when I have breaks from my studies. I pray that the Lord will guide and protect and strengthen you in wh at e ve r ob s t ac l e s o r situations come your way. I love you all, I miss you all, and I pray God's Blessings be with you today and every day. Love, Tyler Arends

Have you heard of Bryan Wolfmueller? Susann Gehring posted a podcast from

him on Facebook. I listened and enjoyed. She said Stephanie Lee knew him.

Ken Aschenbrenner mentioned him in his Sunday School class. Bryan is a

Lutheran Pastor from Austin TX and serves at St. Paul Lutheran Church. He is

an author, publisher, host of YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/

wolfmueller1, does podcasts on Table Talk Radio, Issues etc., Cross Defense.

Find out more about him at https://wolfmueller.co/about/

Kathy Kiehl came to see us! She was the former DCM and Director of the

Child Development Center. Kathy has remarked that the church looks so nice

with all the renovations.

Pastor Bernie baptized his Great Grandson, Alexander. It was good to see his

daughter Jennie and her family.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. We all appreciate and love our Pastor

Bernie!

Advent (already?) devotions, “Call His Name Jesus,” Lutheran Hour

Ministries are available www.lhm.ort/advent . You can receive these devotions

as a daily email beginning December 1. A downloadable version will be

available October 8. Audio begins on December 1 with Rev. Dr. Michael

Zeigler, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour, reading the devotions.

F R O M A S S I M I L A T I O N M a r y E n g e l

http://www.youtube.com/wolfmueller1http://www.youtube.com/wolfmueller1https://wolfmueller.co/about/http://www.lhm.ort/advent

9

KIDS’ CORNER

10

P s a l m 1 0 7 : 2 3 - 3 2 :

“Some went down to the sea

in ships, doing business on

the great waters; they saw the

deeds of the LORD, his

wondrous works in the deep.

F o r h e c o m m a n d e d

and raised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of

the sea. They mounted up to

heaven; they went down to

t h e d e p t h s ; t h e i r

courage melted away in their

evil plight; they reeled

and staggered like drunken

men and were at their wits'

end. Then they cried to

the LORD in their trouble, and

he delivered them from their

distress. He made the storm

be still, and the waves of the

sea were hushed. Then they

were glad that the waters

were quiet, and he brought

them to their desired haven.

Let them thank the LORD for

his steadfast love, for his

wondrous works to the

children of man! Let

them extol him in the

congregation of the people,

and praise him in the

assembly of the elders.”

John 3:16: “For God so

loved the world that He gave

His only begotten Son, that

whoever believes in Him shall

not perish, but have

everlasting life.”

Joshua 1:5: “No man shall

be able to stand before you

all the days of your life.

Just as I was with Moses, so I

will be with you. I will not

leave you or forsake you.”

The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all .”

Psalm 103.19

Once upon a time, while driving into

Huntsville from the “other side of the

mountain,” I came from the sunshine

and not a cloud in the sky at my

house, to see the clouds, lightening

and rain in the valley going full blast.

While still at the top of the mountain

and looking down, this was an

awesome sight to see. My first,

uninhibited thought was, “Whoa, what

did the people on this side of the

mountain do (that was so bad)?”

Obviously, nothing more or less different than all of us

on either side of the mountain do. The power of God is

always on display, and if we listen, we may hear Him

in the midst of the storm. As the people in Psalm

107:23-32 learned, God’s wonder is everywhere (See

Side Panel —>). This passage brings to mind the

disciples who were on a ship when the storm came up

and Jesus was asleep. Until the winds picked up and

the rain battered their boat, they were enjoying their

day and looking at the beauty around them. And then

their courage fled and they cried to the Lord. In both

passages, when the people cried out to God, the storms

were stilled, the waters became calm, and “they were

glad.” On the other side of the storm, all was well, once again.

Just as physical and natural storms come upon us and the people in our world,

so do emotional storms. Mary and Martha are an example of how emotional

stress causes us to “act out” when we suffer a loss or a devastating event

occurs over which we have no control. Have you ever pondered how much we

don’t control? Even that could cause us emotional stress. Our children suffer

rare diseases for which there is no cure. Our spouses leave us for greener

pastures. Our parents become older and dementia takes away their memories of

us. These are all real. These things happen and we sit in our boat on the water,

spinning out of control and wondering, “Where are You, God? Why are You

doing this? Why are You letting this happen?”

For a Christian from Ascension (and all others who have faith based upon the

inspired Word of God), that answer is simple. We are all sinful beings,

destined to die after our time on earth is done. The things that cause us anxiety,

stress and sorrow are all part of life on this earth. Many things, we don’t

understand, but that’s okay. We have God’s promise that He will never forsake

us, that He will walk with us in our valleys and shadows of death, and that He

will give us the crown of life when our time comes. (Joshua 1:5)

F R O M S T E W A R D S H I P B o b b i e S c r o g g i n s

LIFE-PASSING STORMS

11

John 16:33 “I have said

these things to you, that in me

you may have peace. In the

w o r l d y o u w i l l

have tribulation. But take

heart; I have overcome the

world.”

The Third Article

Sanctification

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church, the

communion of saints, the

forgiveness of sins, the

resurrection of the body, and

the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my

own reason or strength

believe in Jesus Christ, my

Lord, or come to Him; but the

Holy Spirit has called me by

the Gospel, enlightened me

with His gifts, sanctified and

kept me in the true faith.

In the same way He calls,

gathers, enlightens, and

sanctifies the whole Christian

Church on earth, and keeps it

with Jesus Christ in the one

true faith.

In this Christian Church He

daily and richly forgives all

my sins and the sins of all

believers.

On the Last Day He will raise

me and all the dead, and

give eternal life to me and

all believers in Christ.

This is most certainly true.

Spiritual storms are those that batter us at the very core of our belief system.

The devil doesn’t want to see us living to the glory of God. There’s a saying

that the devil doesn’t have to tempt those without faith, he’s already got them.

It’s on us who live and profess our faith - daily - that he throws his most effort

in to cause us to question what we believe. He thrills when we stumble on our

walk with God; he tries harder to keep us from seeking God when we’re

having the most problems and pain.

However, we need to continue to stand steadfast in what we know is true. As

Jesus says in John 16:33, “In the world, you will have tribulation, but take

heart: I have overcome the world.”

Our faith is that gift which has been given to us by the Spirit of God, sustained

by Him, but not guaranteed to be “once saved, always saved.” (The Third

Article) —> Faith, like life, must be handled with prayer and constant

communication with our Father and Creator. We must be “in the Word,” which

means reading our Bible, studying our Bible daily, participating in Bible

studies that feed us meat, not milk and cookies (which means to dig deeper

than just what’s read out loud). We must get on the armor of God and stand

fast.

In honor of the month of Reformation: Make Luther proud.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the LORD,

how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the chariots with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

The LORD of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 47

F R O M S T E W A R D S H I P B o b b i e S c r o g g i n s

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