CHRIST LUTHERAN NEWSLETTER

Official Newsletter of Christ Lutheran Church, Augusta, MO 63332

March 2011

Bible Study/Sunday School:  9:00 a.m.                                                                                                             Church Phone:  (636)228-4642

Worship Service:  10:00 a.m.                                                                                                                                Pastor's Phone: (636)228-4773

Website:  http://clcaugustamo.org

 

 

From the Pastor's Desk......

 

Sam Hawthorne, a 14-year-old from Dudley, England was attacked by a small shark in 2008.  His mother saved him - she heard the boy’s screams and pried the shark, which had clamped down on his cheek, off her blood-covered son.  Hawthorne escaped with just a small scar.  The weird part:  The shark had been dead for years and was mounted on a wall in Sam’s bedroom.  While sleepwalking, he ran into it and knocked it off the wall.  Its teeth dug into his cheek for fifteen minutes before he woke up. 

 

Whenever we are tripped up by one of Satan’s temptations, it’s because we, like Sam, have wandered carelessly into his teeth.  The devil is defeated.  This is the message of Lent and Easter.  Christ did battle with Satan and won.  As Luther puts it, “Scowl fierce as he will, he can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done; one little word can fell him.” (A Mighty Fortress)  The devil cannot harm us because our Savior gave him a fatal wound by His death and resurrection.  Yet great harm is done to us when we walk into his open jaws. 

 

Sam would never have run into the shark had he been awake.  It was his sleepwalking that led to his scary and dangerous episode.  For us also, when we become “sleepwalking Christians,” we can easily fall prey to the waiting teeth of Satan.   A sleepwalking Christian is one who is not in the Word.  “One little word can fell him,” says Luther.  But when that Word of Christ is not in our ears constantly, and before our eyes, and in our mind, and within our heart, we will walk wherever our sinful flesh takes us, even into Satan’s deadly jaws. 

 

Sam was fortunate that his mother heard his screams and rescued him from the shark’s teeth.  So with us, God rescues us from Satan’s teeth through the love and care of our mother, the Church.  Through the Church’s preaching and teaching, through her distribution of Christ’s body and blood in the Sacrament, through her use of God’s Law to warn us, and her pouring out of the Gospel of forgiveness to heal us and save us, the jaws of the devil unclamp their grip on us and we are placed safely back into Jesus’ arms. 

 

If you have been sleepwalking, now is a good time - on Sunday mornings, and also Wednesdays in Lent - to be awakened by God’s message of love and forgiveness in Jesus our suffering Savior.  All that He did, He did for you, that you may live always, not in the devil’s clutches, but in His peace and joy.                                         

In Christ’s service,   Pastor Bell

 

 

Lent begins this Wednesday, March 9.  Every Wednesday in Lent we will have a worship service at 7:30 p.m. which focuses upon our Savior’s work of redemption.  If you have not been in the habit of attending a Midweek Lenten service, prayerfully consider attending this year.  On Ash Wednesday this year we will have the imposition of ashes.  This is a Christian custom and is a powerful reminder of who we are - sinners who will return to the dust, but also of who our Lord is - He who redeems us from our sin and death. 

 

 

Theologian’s Corner ( Rev. Scott Murray, Memorial Moment)

 

Yesterday morning on a local news-talk radio station, the broadcast team interviewed Fred Phelps the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church. Westboro Baptist is the church that pickets military funerals decrying our nation's acceptance of homosexuality. Phelps and company have occasionally picketed LCMS congregations because he thinks the Missouri Synod is too easy on homosexuality by calling them to repentance. I believe that what really incensed Phelps about the LCMS stand was that we said we love homosexuals, as we love all sinners. This is why we are willing to call them to repentance, rather than to let them die in their sins. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that Phelps's church had the right to express its views on public property, no matter how hurtful and inappropriate that speech might be in the circumstances.

While on the radio yesterday, Phelps defined the gospel of Jesus Christ as God's wrath against sin and said that the Bible speaks much more about God's wrath than God's love. Needless to say, I was not very happy with this characterization of the divine revelation. While the Bible has a fair amount to say about the divine wrath against sin, even the purpose of the divine wrath is to drive the chastened sinner to the grace of God in Christ Jesus. The law is our "schoolmaster" to teach us our depravity, and with suffering, if necessary. "The law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith" (Gal 3:24). Even God's wrath in the world is targeted to break down our faulty views of self-righteousness and thus leave us naked before God except for the clothing of the righteousness of Christ (Gal 3:27). For Phelps the law is a naked expression of the divine hatred of sin, and worse yet, he calls the law "the gospel!"

Phelps also ignores the express purpose of the divine revelation given in Holy Scripture. John, the Apostle, puts it so simply at the end of his Gospel: "These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (Jn 20:31

). Phelps would rewrite this word of God to read, "These are written that you might fear the God who hates sin." Um, something is lost in the translation. What? Oh, yeah, the gospel! The Bible says that its purpose is that we would believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Phelps disagrees. It is unfortunate that this is what is set before the media-consuming population of our country as an expression of Christianity.

Certainly, we need to preach against all sins; including all forms of adultery. However, the thing the world both needs most, and has no natural knowledge of, is the gospel, that is, the message that God has become reconciled to the world in Christ (2Co 5:18-21). God has given the fallen creatures of the world up to their practice of wickedness; so that when they hit bottom, they, through an understanding of God's wrath against sin, might give themselves over to God's mercy for poor sinners. When we hit bottom there is nowhere to look but up. This is when we preach Christ. Unfortunately, someone like Phelps gets the airtime, while the message of sin and grace is ignored in the cacophony of either condemnation or moral permissiveness. Lord, have mercy!

 

 

FROM THE BOARD OF LAY ACTIVITY:

 

Upcoming Fish Fries:  Our second annual Fish Fries are coming up on March 18th and April 8th.  Thank you to all who are able to help work these dinners.  We welcome all members to encourage friends, relatives, neighbors and yourselves to attend these fish fries.  Not only is it a good meal to enjoy with all of these people, but it also helps in our purpose to raise money for our church ministry.

 

Flea Market Fund Raiser:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!  CLC is going to have a flea market on Saturday, July 16th!  Just in time before school starts or kids go away to college.  Attached in your Newsletter is a Registration/Reminder Sheet if you are interested in selling your items at the flea market.  The only cost to you is the space; all monies collected on the day of the market are yours to keep!  Or you may decide to just attend the flea market and see what you cannot live without!  We are also still looking for volunteers for Advertising, Food Booth and Vendor Booth organization.  Perhaps if it does not work out to help with the fish fries, please consider being on one of these committees for the flea market.  Remember: Many hands make light work! If you are interested in helping, please contact Julie Figura: 987-2127; Amy Nadler: 228-4111 or Carol Wissmann: 987-2275.

 

FROM THE SUNDAY SCHOOL:

You may have noticed the picture of Dadius Otieno on the bulletin board in the Educational Building. Dadius is one of over 1.4 million orphaned children living in Kenya. Concordia Lutheran Ministries supports a program through LCMS World Relief and Human Care called "1001 Orphans". This program provides home based care, food, education support, and spiritual care for one child for one year (Lutheran Witness, November 2009). The Sunday School children chose this mission project in 2009, and were able to raise money through their offerings over the past two years to sponsor Dadius. The children are excited to be able to make a positive difference in this child's life and share their faith in Jesus.

FROM THE BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION:

 

Our congregation would like to continue offering the Lutheran Witness subscription to those who are interested.  If you would like to continue receiving the Lutheran Witness please put your name on one of the slips of paper located in the Board of Education box on the wall in the narthex prior to March 31.  Please note:  If you do not give us your name, you will no longer receive the Lutheran Witness. 

 

 

Church Attendance:  February 6 - 65  February 13 - 82  February 20 - 84  February 27 - 63