The Grapevine
November 2019 Abiding Savior Lutheran Church
Rev. Gary P. Lissy, Pastor
Phone: 480-947-7495
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.aslctempe.com
A Word From Pastor Gary
“Seeing” “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:15-19)
Whatever else this story may be about, I definitely think it's about sight. Ten men are healed, but only one sees what has happened. And that “seeing” makes all the difference. Not only does the tenth leper change direction, moving toward Jesus rather than the Tem-ple priests, but he also has the opportunity to worship God with thanksgiving and hear the pronouncement of blessing from Jesus: “Go, your faith has made you well.” All this because he recognizes, perceives, sees what has happened; he has not only been healed by leprosy, but has been given new sight. We have all heard the adage,
“Seeing is believing.” We were taught not to be gullible, to want proof, to demand evidence of what people were telling us. But we are old enough to know that, more often than not, the opposite is equally true. That is, what we believe deeply shapes what we perceive. Is the glass half full or half empty? Is the stranger ahead a potential friend or potential ene-my? Is the challenge in front of us an adversity or opportunity? How we answer these and so many similar questions regularly determines our experience of the world. In other words, believing is seeing. For this reason, I think one of the primary functions of Sunday worship is to clarify our vision. To remind us of those words of Jesus: “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
The wonderful gift of faith that we have in Jesus is what makes us well, what forgives us our sins. Jesus has not healed you from leprosy, but He has healed you from some- thing infinitely greater than leprosy: your sin. Knowing these things -- believing these things -- makes an incredible difference to how we view our life, our neighbors, our work, and our world. Our Christian faith helps us see the world differently.
God’s Peace this month,
Pastor Gary P. Lissy
November 3rd ... All Saints Sunday
Rev. 7:(2-8) 9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Matt. 5:1-12
November 10th ... 22nd after Pentecost
Ex. 3:1-15, 2 Thess. 2:1-8, 13-17, Luke 20:27-40
November 17th ... 23rd Day after Pentecost
Mal. 4:1-6, 2 Thess. 3:(1-5) 6-13, Luke 21:5-28 (29-36)
November 24th ... Christ the King Sunday
Mal. 3:13-18, Col. 1:13-20, Luke 23:27-43
November 28th … Thanksgiving Day
Deut. 8:1-10, Phil. 4:6-20 or Tim. 2:1-4, Luke 17:11-19
November
November Altar Guild
November 3rd
All Saints Sunday
10:00 am service
Tamara Hartrick & Linn Palmer
November 10th
10:00 am service
Lori DeVries & Joy Miller
November 17th
10:00 am service
Cree Abbott & Eleanor Brierley
November 24th
Christ the King Sunday
10:00 am service
Cree Abbott & Joy Miller
November 27th
Thanksgiving Day Eve
7:00 pm service
Lori DeVries & Linn Palmer
Abiding Savior Lutheran Church Prayer Chain
General Prayer requests can be made with the office at:
480-947-7495
Voicemail messages will be monitored 7 days a week and
distributed to the prayer chain
Please direct any life threatening situations that need
immediate / emergency attention directly
to Pastor Gary at 480-823-3033
Executive Board
Janet Berge President
Kurt Parks, Treasurer
Emalie Wiley, Secretary
Board of Elders
Worship, Youth &
Education Ministries
Sheila Bitterman & Miriam Emron
Board of Deacons
Church Community and
Neighborhood Outreach
Keith Kelley &
Carol Toll
Board of Trustees
Facilities, Budget &
Staff Ministries
Jay Grant &
Jeremy Jones
Church Council
Abiding Savior Lutheran Church Staff
Please keep our Pastor and Church Leaders
in your prayers.
Rev. Gary P. Lissy, Pastor [email protected]
Morgan Hendershott [email protected]
Pastoral Intern
Dominic Smith, Worship [email protected]
Kurt Parks, [email protected]
Eleanor Brierley, Office Manager_______ [email protected]
Debra Marrero, [email protected]*
Celebrating November Birthdays!
Blessings and Happiness to Everyone!
Kacey Martin….............…Nov. 03
Carol Toll …………..…… Nov. 10
David Bailey .....…...….…Nov. 15
Joy Miller …. ………..….. Nov. 16
Sheila Bitterman ………...Nov. 22
Heidi Frank …………..…. Nov. 22
Jeaniemarie Mason …......Nov. 23
Becky Sherry ...……..…… Nov. 23
Robyn Rider …………….. Nov. 25
Dana Fladhammer ……….Nov. 30
Our New Outreach
ABOUT A NEWLEAF WORKFORCE
Workshops
Computer Lab BankWork$
W turnanewleaf.org
T 602-601-7215
A New Leaf will accept
clothing and food
This can be left in the church narthex
wooden box
THE CREED
Known as the “Apostles’ Creed”
The Word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin word
credo, meaning ’I believe and trust’ The History of the Apostle’s Creed The Apostle’s Creed is a statement of faith. In many mainline churches it is spoken in worship on a regular basis. The Apostle’s Creed is not in the Bi-ble and was not written by the Apostles. The author of the creed is un-known. Background: This creed is called the Apostles' Creed not because it was produced by the apostles themselves but because it contains a brief sum-mary of their teachings. It sets forth their doctrine "in sublime simplicity, in unsurpassable brevity, in beautiful order, and with liturgical solemnity." In its present form it is dated no later than the fourth century. More than any other Christian creed, it may justly be called an ecumenical symbol of faith. This translation of the Latin text was approved by the CRC Synod of 1988. The Apostles' Creed, sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief—a creed or "symbol". It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Catholic Church, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is also used by Presbyterians, Moravians, Methodists and Congregationalists
Billy Graham stated: The Apostles’ Creed, though not written by the apos-tles, is the oldest creed of the Christian church and is the basis for others that followed. In its oldest form, the Apostles’ Creed goes back to at least 140 A.D. Many of the early church leaders summed up their beliefs as they had an oppor-tunity to stand for their faith—see, for example, 1 Timothy 6:12. These statements developed into a more standard form to express one’s confes-sion of faith at the time of baptism. It is not Scripture, but it is a simple list of the great doctrines of the faith. The word “catholic” means “relating to the church universal” and was the word used in the original version of the Creed. It does not mean the Roman Catholic Church, but the church, the body of Christ, as a universal fellow-ship. The phrase, “He descended into hell,” was not part of the creed in its earliest form.
Sources taken from the internet….
www.lyleandally.com
Why do we worship? We do not worship simply out of tradition!
1. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS.
God is Creator and He is worthy of our worship! We worship Him because of His transcend-ence, uniqueness, and holiness.
2. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US.
He created us, therefore we worship Him. We also worship God because He saved us. He sent Jesus to die on our behalf, so that we might be free from sin.
3. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE HE COMMANDS US TO.
Jesus teaches us in John 4 that the Father is seeking true worshipers. And true worshipers are those that worship God in both spirit and truth.
4. WE WORSHIP GOD TO BLESS AND HONOR HIM.
We do not worship just because we enjoy the emotion or sensation of doing so. Worship makes us feel good, but that is not to be our primary motivation for worshiping God. We worship God because He desires us to and it pleases Him. We are beneficiaries of worship, but should not be the primary one. Our motivation to worship should be greater than that. True worship is never self serving or self centered.
5. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE WE LOVE HIM.
When God means much to us, we will worship Him. Adoration, exaltation, and appreciation will be impossible to hide as we fall deeper in love with God.
WHY we WORSHIP
6. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT HE IS DOING ON THE EARTH.
Because of what Jesus has done through His death, resurrection, and soon coming, we worship Him.
7. WE WORSHIP GOD SO THAT WE MIGHT DRAW NEAR TO HIM.
We find God’s presence as we worship Him with music. In Psalm 100, we are taught to come into God’s presence with songs of joy and to enter His gates with rejoicing. God becomes enthroned on our praises. In Psalm 22, the Bible says that God is holy and that He sits enthroned upon the praises of Israel. God literally sits on His praise! Our praise for Him becomes the throne He rests upon. When we praise, God comes. And when God comes into any atmosphere, it changes as He takes dominion. God is worthy to be worshiped!
September 1st, 2019 Luke 14:1, 7-14
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled. (v.11)
Sometimes I think we take Jesus too seriously when he says not to take the place of honor. There are seems to be an unwritten rule the Lutherans sit in the back of worship.
Talking to ecumenical friends, it would seem we’re not alone in this either.
Where do we sit at a ball game? Or a concert? Or a child’s dance recital? The front rows are more crowded there. Neither have I ever seen someone sitting in such a front seat get up and offer to trade with someone fifty rows back. “We paid for these seats!” you might object. Or, “We got here early to save them!” (That last excuse applies to churchgoers in the back pews too.) but Jesus teaches us to make space for those who find it more difficult to get to the table, even the latecomers in our midst.
What does it mean to extend this welcome, to humble ourselves at our ban-quets? It may not always mean giving up our seats, but I believe it begins with taking notice of those seated around us. And maybe even blessing them as well.
God of hospitality, there is room for all at your table. Help me to live in this
abundance, through Christ. Amen.
Prayer concern: Visitors to your congregation
My Favorites, taken from
“Christ in Our Home” booklet
October 23rd, 2019 Psalm 84:1-7
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! (v.1)
I don’t always want to go to church on Sunday. I complain that I’m too tired, but more likely I am out of sync with myself and God and just want to be left alone.
I have learned that when I am feeling this way, the things that could help me most are the things found at church.
The community is medicine for my loneliness, praying is a cure for my si-lence, and the meaningful images and ideas in hymns and sermon are a remedy for my lack of imagination and creativity. The church is my home, I was born and raise here, marked all my significant life events here, raised my own young here, and expect to have my ashes placed here one day.
Jesus came among us to help us see a world larger and more dramatic than the one we believe we live in. He invites us to imagine the possibilities of the coming kingdom of God, a place alive with justice and peace, community and compassion, hope and health. It is already among us, Jesus says, and within us. It is God’s dwelling place and our best home—a lovely dwelling place for our hearts and hands.
Help me truly to pray, O Lord—your kingdom come, your will be done,
through Christ. Amen.
Prayer concern: Homemakers
NOVEMBER
2019
Sun. Mon. Tue. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat.
Office Hours
8a.m.- 2p.m.
Tues.– Thurs.
1
2
3
10:00 am
Service
4 5 6 7 Men’s
Ministry 7 pm
8 9
Healthy Living Class 9 am
10
10:00 am
Service
11 12
Pictures
Taken
130-800p
Hestead
13 14 Men’s
Ministry 7 pm
15 16
17
10:00 am
Service
18 19 20 21
Men’s
Ministry 7 pm
22
23
24
10:00 am
Service
25
26 Council
Meeting 6pm
27 November 28th
Thanksgiving EVE Service
7:00 pm
28
29 30
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