On Easter morning we will read these words from Luke 24:5.  The women in the story have gone back to the tomb to perform the traditional burial rituals, thinking that Jesus’ life was just a thing of the past.  Now after having heard the end of the story for so many years you’d think we’d begin to behave differently, but some days it seems that we are still behaving as if Jesus’ life is just a piece of the past, a story written many years ago with no impact on our lives today.

Perhaps we fall into the habit of simply doing what is traditional, revisiting old scenes from our own past and expecting nothing different in the future.  Perhaps, despite knowing that endless pursuit of money, pleasure, power, and status are ultimately dead ends, we keep wasting our lives chasing things that won’t last, and can’t bring life.  Maybe we still are intent on honoring old dead bones and thinking that that’s all that lies ahead.  Why do we spend so much time looking for the living among the dead?

The Easter story does not end with that question, but with a declaration:  “He is not here, he is risen!” (Luke 24:5)  We worship and follow a living Lord, who is still at work in our world bringing healing, sight, forgiveness, and life.  We can choose to wallow in the misery of our past, or listen instead to the voice that calls us out into a new day.  Jesus’ life is not a thing of the past, it is our present and future hope, it is a promise that we can never be separated from the power of the one who loves us!

These weeks of Lent are a time to look where we’ve been, but not to give in to hopelessness or apathy, but instead to re-commit our lives to the one who lives at Easter, and lives today.

God’s Peace,

Pastor John Twiton

 

 

Jesus’ parables describe the depth of God’s love as the one who won’t stop searching for the lost, and rejoices greatly when one is found.  We celebrate that love in worship this weekend.

Saturday — 5:00 p.m. Worship in Chapel with Holy Communion

Sunday — 8:30 a.m.  Traditional Worship with Holy Communion — Youth and Cherub Choirs sing

9:30 a.m. Sunday School, Adult Class and fellowship time

10:30 a.m. Contemporary Worship with Holy Communion

5:30 p.m. High School Youth meeting for summer “Faith Ventures” Trip

7:00 p.m.  Youth and Adults – “Christ in the World Ahead”  with guest speaker Rochelle Ripp, Alice in Dairyland, to speak on “Communication in the Spotlight”

 

Parables: A Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Prodigal Son
March 3, 2013
Luke 15:1-32

Key Verse: “We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” Luke 15:32

Time: 27-30 C.E.

Since Last Week: Jesus continued to heal and teach in parables. He also started to indicate that following him would be costly, not only in terms of money and possessions, but also in terms of personal sacrifices. They would need to dramatically change their hearts and be prepared to give their lives for him.

Background: These parables told of the extravagant love God has for God’s people. In suggesting that a shepherd would leave the 99 to find the one, Jesus wasn’t saying he would sacrifice 99. In fact, a flock of that size would have had several shepherds. Jesus was saying that the shepherd wouldn’t be content losing even one. Likewise, God isn’t content losing even one of God’s beloved children.

Community: Who in your community has been outcast or has lost their way? How might you help them become found? What message of God’s love could you bring? How could you support them in their struggles?

At Home: How far from God have you strayed? What will you do this week to spend intentional time with God?

Read This Week:
Monday: The Law of the Firstborn’s Inheritance, Deuteronomy 21:15-17
Tuesday: Stoning a Rebellious Son, Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Wednesday: Penitent’s Psalm, Psalm 51
Thursday: A Righteous Heart, Proverbs 21:1-5
Friday: The Parable of the Dishonest Manager, Luke 16:1-13
Saturday: The Kingdom of God, Luke 16:14-18

Next Week: Parable: A Rich Man Ignores Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31

The entire community is welcome to two seminars on parenting teens on February 26th and March 5th at 6:30 p.m.

These two 90 minute sessions are free to the public lead and will be led by two top child and family therapists.

Session one’s topic will be “Moody Teens” and will address normal adolescent development while outlining the warning signs of adolescent depression.

The second session will be held the following week, with the focus of this session being how to adapt your parenting techniques specifically for the Teenage Years. It will provide guidance on how to help parents set and maintain limits while preserving a positive relationship during these important years.

Each session will be independent from the other and both will be held in the St Olaf room in the lower level of Evangelical Lutheran Church, 315 E Main St. in Mt. Horeb.

Heather Douglas and Jennifer Ebbott will offer a Becoming a Love and Logic Parent^® introductory class on Tuesday March 5th, 2012.

The Becoming a Love and Logic Parent^®curriculum was developed by Jim Fay, Charles Fay, Ph.D., and Foster W. Cline, M.D., of the Love and Logic Institute, Inc., in Golden, Colorado. Heather is an independent facilitator of the Becoming a Love and Logic Parent^®curriculum.

The Church’s Spiritual Growth and Fellowship Committee is sponsoring these sessions.

Invite your friends and neighbors to come a tour our new addition this Sunday afternoon.  There will be coffee and goodies and time to visit.

Be bold, take risks on account of the gospel, but believe more boldly still in Jesus, said Martin Luther. And that’s what we celebrate through Bold Women’s Day: women who are bold, women who take risks on account of the gospel, women who believe more boldly still in Jesus.

We welcome Eleanor Siebert this weekend as she speaks about the ELCA Malaria Campaign.  Eleanor is a member of the South-Central Malaria Prevention Committee.  This grassroots initiative of the ELCA is working with 11 Lutheran church bodies in Africa with the goal to reduce or eliminate death from malaria.  Malaria continues to kill 655,000 people a year, mostly children in Africa. They are having success.  When this program started the estimate was the one child died every 30 seconds, now the estimate is one every 50 seconds, still not an acceptable fact.  Come and listen to what is going on and how we can help.

Worship this weekend:  5:00 p.m. Saturday in the chapel

8:30 a.m. Sunday – Traditional Worship

9:30 a.m.  Sunday School

Adult Study – “Making Sense of the Christian Faith” Continues

10:30 a.m. – Contemporary Worship

 

Sunday afternoon – 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. -Open House for community and friends to tour new addition – Come and bring a friend!

Sunday evening – 7:00 p.m. “Christ in the World Ahead”  a seminar for youth and adults with Chris Rosborough, CPA on “Taxes and You”