Alive in Christ to share life in Christ

5200 Lake Otis Parkway · 563-3499 · FaithAlaska.com

The Second Sunday after Pentecost June 14, 2020

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Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

The First Lesson

A word from your pastor about this Word of God

Just like Paul, just like Jesus, Moses lays out the truth of God’s Word plainly and simply. He shows two paths: one of righteousness and one of unrighteousness, one of blessing and one of curse, one of life and another of death. Although Moses never met up with Paul, their messages point to the same place- to Jesus. The path of righteousness, the path of blessing and the path of life leads to Jesus. The path of unrighteousness, curses and death is the one that makes obedience to the Law our own action. The obedience that Moses clearly describes here can only be found in Christ. Neither Moses nor Paul, neither you nor I can provide the obedience God demands. But the blessings of Jesus’ obedience are all ours by faith.

❶ Compare the First Lesson with the Second Lesson. Are the two diametrically opposed or complementary? Explain your answer.

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The Second Lesson

❶ Read Leviticus 16:15-17; 20-22; 29- 33, which speak about the Day of

Atonement. Then, explain of the Day of Atonement and find similarities

between the Day of Atonement and Jesus’ death on the cross.

Romans 3:21-25a, 27,28

A righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.

27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

A word from your pastor about this Word of God

These verses in the Second Lesson have been called “the center and heart” to the whole Epistle of Romans. The Smalcald Articles, one of the 6 main writings of the Lutheran Confessions, use these passages to present “the first and chief article of the faith.” What is that doctrine? Justification by grace through faith. But just what is that? As Paul lays out so clearly here, God requires that anyone who will go to Heaven must be righteous—holy, perfect, blameless, without sin—just like He is. The thing is, none of us are. So God does something completely different but exactly in line with His just requirements: He gives righteousness as a gift. Not only does this satisfy God’s heart for holiness but it’s the beating pulse of His desire to show grace and mercy. He’s been doing it ever since Adam and Eve and He’s done it for you. Now that’s good news!

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The Gospel Matthew 7:15-29

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20

Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of

heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” A word from your pastor about this Word of God

If you want your house to stand, you’ll build it on a firm foundation. If you don’t really care about those living inside the walls of your home, then it doesn’t really matter. As Christians, we want all within the house of God to build on the one sure foundation: the works of Jesus Christ, and to discard

the warped and rotting beams of our fake righteousness!

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Message Notes Living the Gospel: The Beating Heart of Our Faith

A sermon based on Romans 3:21-25a, 27,28

This summer, we’ll be exploring the Book of Romans in a sermon series called “Living the Gospel.” Even more essential than the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat is the good news that God gives us in the Gospel. His undeserved love sustains us even more than the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter. God’s good news about Jesus is what really gives us life!

The pericope, the technical term for each Sunday’s Scripture selections, puts us on a path to encounter large portions of the Book of Romans. As we get to know Romans better this summer, it’s important to know a few more details about the Book as a whole. Romans is Paul’s longest letter with over 7,000 words in Greek. Some consider it to be a doctrinal treatise, a kind of catechism summarizing the most important truths of the faith. When Paul writes to the church at Rome, he writes to a group of people he’d never met before. One of Paul’s main purposes in writing the letter was to ask the church at Rome to finance an evangelism trip to Spain that he hoped to make. He bravely asked people he didn’t know to fund a mission to bring good news to others he didn’t know in a place where he’d never been—a place that was the ends of the earth in his worldview! The good news of the Gospel had fueled him in such a way that he couldn’t help but live boldly!

As we begin this sermon series, we start at the heart of the matter. Few places in the Scriptures speak so clearly, so thoroughly and so precisely about the Gospel as the text before us today. Here God shows us who we really are and who He really is; He shows us what we’ve really done and what He’s done to save us; He shows us what our hearts really look like and how His heart is constantly beating for us. As we study God’s Word today and over the summer, live the Gospel and see God’s heart on display!

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Announcements

Our pastors are ready to serve you in any way consistent with their office. If you have spiritual problems or questions, or are interested in church membership please contact one of them.

Pastor Christopher Ewings - Faith Lutheran Church and Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo - PastorChris@FaithAlaska.com - (907) 792-9788 Pastor Nathan Wagenknecht - Faith Lutheran Church and Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo - PastorNate@FaithAlaska.com - (817) 428-2356 Pastor Pao Moua - Hmong Faith Lutheran Church - PastorMoua@FaithAlaska.com - 891-2640 Faith Lutheran Preschool offers a high-quality education in an environment enriched with Christian teachings and values. For more information, contact the office at 563-3499.

Welcome back to Faith! We invite you to join us once again for worship in person. If you do not feel healthy, however, we kindly request that you remain at home and take advantage of our online worship services. We can provide adequate space to ensure social distancing in the sanctuary as well as in the fellowship hall. Chairs are set up in this room at safe distances. As we celebrate Holy Communion today, we are taking special precautionary measures. The wafers and the wine have both been placed in individual containers for distribution. They were prepared early in the week following COVID guidelines to prevent transmission of any kind of pathogen. When we receive the Sacrament today, we will invite one family to approach the table at a time at the pastor’s invitation. Please take the bread and eat it, take the wine and drink it and then discard the individual containers and return to your seat. Once a family has been seated, the pastor will invite the next family to come up. One blessing will be spoken to the whole congregation at the conclusion of Communion. Thank you for keeping everyone safe!

Our excess school supplies are being offered to home school and private school teachers. If you would like to browse the tables downstairs, you are more than welcome to do so today. It is a free will donation. If you have any questions, please speak with Cindy Z. or call her at 563-3499.

It’s Time for Bible Study! During our summer schedule we will hold a family Bible study beginning at 9:37am. These shortened Bible studies will be beneficial for the oldest and youngest believers alike. We’ll take a look at some of the beloved heroes of the faith from the Old and New Testaments. We hope you can join us!

Put it on your calendar! We will have our annual meeting on Sunday, July 12 at 4:30pm. After rescheduling the typical time due to COVID, we hope that you can join us to share your thoughts on our ministry.

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Announcements

Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church is a member congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Wisconsin Synod Lutherans are Christians who are convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. We are eager to share the comfort, hope and power of the unchanging message of the Gospel: Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the eternal salvation of mankind.

Faith Lutheran Church: 10:30 Worship Service, 9:37 Bible Study Iglesia Luterana de Fe en Cristo: 12:30 Worship Service Hmong Faith Lutheran: 3:00 Worship Service with Sunday School and Bible Study to follow

Although we won’t offer our summer camps this year, we are hoping to offer Vacation Bible School for the kids of our congregation later this summer. We’re planning to hold a 3 day VBS either 1) June 29-July 1, 2) July 8-10 or 3) July 13-15. Your opinion matters! Contact one of your pastors with your preference or if you’d like to help! Let’s rally our youth! The Alaska Circuit is planning to offer the first ever Alaskan Youth Rally on August 6-8 in Denali National Park. We hope to have teens from Fairbanks, Wasilla, Eagle River, Anchorage and Kenai participate in this event. Called workers from different congregations will be serving as chaperones. We hope to keep costs to a minimum and get participation to the maximum. Look for registration details next week. For any questions, or if you’d like to help, please contact Pastor Chris.

Alaskan Youth Rally

Take Me Out to the Ball Game! King of Kings Lutheran Church in Wasilla has invited Faith to play a few friendly games of softball over the summer. The two dates that have been chosen are Sunday, June 28 and Sunday July 26. We’ll play in Wasilla beginning at 4:00pm. If you’d like to join the fun, contact one of your pastors.

Taste and See! The WELS Missions office is partnering with the Lutheran Women's Missionary Society (LWMS) to host an online event called Taste and See from June 27-July 11. This first-of-its-kind FREE event will combine the very best of Taste of Missions and the LWMS national convention to provide all WELS members an opportunity to be an important part of gospel outreach occurring in our synod. You will learn about WELS home and world mission work through various livestreamed events, presentations, daily devotions, and more. Participate in family-friendly scavenger hunts, download coloring pages for kids, and try your hand at making ethnic recipes shared by our missionaries. Visit welstasteandsee.com for details and to register for updates.

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Stay up to date with what’s happening at Faith by liking our Facebook page. You can find us at Faith Lutheran Church Alaska.

Calendar

If you cannot join us on Sunday morning, you may watch our services online. You can view them live or any time after the service is finished. Follow the link on our website at FaithAlaska.com, or go directly to youtube.com and search for “Faith Lutheran Church Alaska.”

Offerings June 7

General: $10,493 Missions: $3,535

Faith Lutheran School June 7

Tuition: $450 Donation: $110

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9:37am

Bible study

10:30am

Worship with Holy

Communion

6:00pm

BLM

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

9:37am

Bible study

10:30am

Worship

Taste and See

begins

28 29 30 July 1 2 3 4

9:37am

Bible study

10:30am

Confirmation

Worship with Holy

Communion

4:00pm

Softball in Wasilla

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

9:37am

Bible study

10:30am

Worship

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

9:37am

Bible study

10:30am

Worship with Holy

Communion

4:30am

Annual Meeting

Attendance June 7

Faith 47 Iglesia 21