A Congregation in Mission, Community and Service PILGRIM’S...
Transcript of A Congregation in Mission, Community and Service PILGRIM’S...
PILGRIM LUTHERAN CHURCH
44 CHAPEL ROAD – KENMORE, NY 14217
(716) 875-5485
A Congregation in Mission, Community and Service
PILGRIM’S PROGRESS AUGUST 2014
PASTOR: Rev. Ben Eder SUNDAY SCHOOL: 9:00 AM
EDITOR: Mary Werth TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: 9:30 AM
ASSOC. EDITOR: WORSHIP: 10:00 AM
From the Pastor
The latest conflict in the Middle East raises new questions about the State of Israel and Biblical prophecy.
Without getting into what other Christians believe, I would like to share my views as based upon the Lutheran
faith as it is drawn from Holy Scripture.
What is currently the State of Israel is the product of the Zionist movement of the 19th and early 20th
centuries. As led by Theodore Herzel, the Zionist movement proposed to find a homeland for the Jews
dispersed throughout the world (and largely ejected from the Holy Land). At first they looked at Uganda as a
possible site, but then abandoned that until (hopefully) something opened up in the Middle East. Finally, after
World War II and the Holocaust of the Jews, the United Nations approved a two-state solution – the State of
Israel for the Jews, the State of Palestine for the Arabs. For reasons too complicated to explain here, the
Palestinian state never developed, and the State of Israel was born in 1948.
Many well-meaning Christians see the State of Israel as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, but the fact is that
most of the people living there are not Christians and are not even practicing Jews – they are mostly secular in
their outlook. As the Apostle Paul makes very clear in Romans, it is not being Jewish (that is, a descendant of
Abraham according to the flesh) that makes one right or “just” before God – rather, it is faith in Jesus Christ that
accomplishes our salvation: both Jews and Gentiles (the non-Jewish population) are saved by believing in the
Messiah who is revealed to be Jesus the Christ. Read these inspired words from the Apostle Paul:
“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes
uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be
regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who
have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly,
nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart,
by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” - Romans 2:25-29
Certainly we Christians have a lot in common with the Jews because we share a good portion of the Holy
Scriptures with them (the Old Testament), many common values and ethics, and even a similar geopolitical
worldview. God first spoke through the prophets of Israel and out of their line came the Messiah; so, in that
sense Israel is the “Mother of the Church.” But as the New Testament makes clear, the Messiah Jesus came for
both the Jews and Gentiles, all of whom have access to this same Jesus through faith alone in him...not by race,
heritage, history, or a piece of land.
Writing in Romans chapters 9-11, the Apostle Paul holds out hope that one day, by God's grace his fellow
Jews will be saved. Let us pray that many more Jews will join the vast array of peoples from every nation,
heritage, and tongue who confess Jesus to be their Lord and Savior from sin.
+ Pastor Ben Eder
SUNDAY SERVER SCHEDULE
AUGUST 2014
DATE Aug. 2 Aug. 10 Aug. 17 Aug. 24 Aug. 31
READER Wes Wiers Steven Rodgers
Gary Smith Colvina Colvin
Karen Smith
USHERS Gary Smith *
Eric Fellner
Pat Watkins
* Roger
Watkins
Naomi George
* Harvey Caldow
George Alessi
* Peggy Clark
Colvina Colvin
* Tyrone Bryant
COMMUNION ASSISTANT
Jim O’Brien Gary Smith Jack Hambridge
Frank Alessi
George Alessi
Just come near
Rev. Stuart Sacks was serving in Paraguay when Rafael, a Maka Indian, came and sat on
his porch. Sacks, who’d been inside eating, went out to see what the man wanted. Rafael said,
“Ham, henek met,” which means “I don’t want anything; I have just come near.”
The pastor, not understanding the significance of that statement, again asked what he
could do for Rafael. But the answer was the same.
When Sacks later shared the incident, a veteran missionary explained it was Rafael’s way
of showing honor. He didn’t need anything in particular; he just wanted to sit on the pastor’s
porch. He found satisfaction and pleasure merely by being near him.
Sacks points out that the phrase “Ham, henek met” also reveals the heart of true worship.
When the Lord asks, “What brings you here, my child?” we don’t need to mention or ask for
anything specific. We can reply that we simply want to come near our God.
Mike Eder
Aug. 1
Ruth Innes
Aug. 5
Gary Smith
Aug. 11
Jarrod Clark
Aug. 13
Veronica Keef
Aug. 13
Carol Obot
Aug. 22
Joshua Smith
Aug. 24
Eric Fellner
Aug. 26
Bob Rigerman
Aug. 28
Hans Heckleman
Aug. 31
Aug. 29 Michael & Christine Confer
The next Community Dinner will be on Friday, August 1st, from 5 to 7 p.m. The planned menu
is grilled chicken and vegetables. Come and support this tasty event!
Join us on Friday, August 8th at 6:30 p.m. and test your game skills. Are you really as good as
you think? Come and find out. You may be in for a surprise!
The Pilgrim Active Laymen (P.A.L.s) will meet on Saturday, August 16th at 8 a.m. in the
fellowship hall. All men are welcome to join us!
The Basket Auction will be held on
Friday, September 26, 2014, 4 pm – 7 pm at the
Eldridge Bicycle Club, 17 Broad Street,
Tonawanda
We are looking for volunteers to help put together baskets, donate already
made baskets, and donate new unused items for baskets. These can be put in
the bin at the back of the church. Monetary donations for supplies are also
welcome. Just put it in an envelope, mark it “Basket Raffle Donation” and put it
in the offering plate.
BOOK CLUB
The Women’s Book Club will meet on Monday, August 18th at 7 p.m. to discuss The
Book Thief. If you are interested, please join us.
“The burning of the noontide heat ...”
At a vast zoo one stifling summer day, my family and I got overheated. The only shady spots were off-
limits because signs insisted, “Keep off the grass!” When we finally found a shaded bench, we collapsed,
exhausted.
Likewise, spiritual weariness and thirst can zap us of strength. Elizabeth Clephane’s 1868 hymn
“Beneath the Cross of Jesus” describes the crucified Savior as “a mighty rock within a weary land” in whose
cool shadow we find rest. Christ’s glory shines on us not glaringly but gently — redeeming love to light our
way.
The hymn concludes:
I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place.
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of [Christ’s] face.
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain or loss.
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.
—Heidi Mann
Christian symbol
Burning Bush
In Exodus 3, God speaks to Moses from a bush that is burning but not consumed. When Moses asks
what he should say if the Egyptians question who sent him to lead the Israelites out of slavery, God states, “I
AM WHO I AM.” Centuries later, when people wonder who Jesus is, his answers hint at his divinity: “I AM the
light of the world; I AM the good shepherd; I AM the bread of life” and, perhaps most profoundly, “Before
Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). On Pentecost, God’s Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles as fire. Thus the
burning bush is a powerful symbol of God’s presence echoed through time.
A 90-10 split
When the weather prediction is for a 10 percent chance of rain, do we sigh and grumble and stay
indoors? Or do we go ahead and picnic, golf or hike because the chance of bad weather is so low?
When doctors say our child has a 90 percent chance of full recovery from a deadly illness, don’t we
rejoice at the great prognosis? We quickly decide we can live with the slight chance of some impairment.
When a really tough exam comes back with a 90 percent grade, aren’t we glad to have done well?
When a politician runs for office, 90 percent of the vote would be considered an overwhelming mandate.
Why then, when God gives us 100 percent of our material blessings, are we so horrified at the thought of
giving him 10 percent back?
THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR THE
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER IS AUGUST 25TH.