Sunday, October 17, 2021 @ 11:00 a.m.
Pacific Coast Mission District Retreat, October 15-17, 2021
Holy Cross Lutheran Church, PacificaSunday, October 17, 2021 — (Ignatius)
Bible Study in Ezekiel 38 at 9:45 a.m.
Holy Communion Worship at 11:00 a.m., featuring Bishop Emeritus John Bradosky,of the North American Lutheran Churchdirectly from Sarasota, Florida
the scriptures
“…He was pierced for our transgressions, Hewas crushed for our iniquities…the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and byHis wounds we are healed…” (Isaiah 53:5)
“…He will call upon me and I will answer him…I will be with him in trouble…I will deliver himand honor him…” (Psalm 91:9-16)
“…He is able to deal gently with those who areignorant and are going astray, since He himselfis subject to weakness…” (Hebrews 5:1-10)
“…not so with you…instead…whoever wants tobecome great among you must be your servant,& whoever wants to be first must be slave of all…” (Mark 10:43-44)
Would you pray with me this morning?
Gracious Lord, this is a weekend to learn and to fellowship in your presence. This is a time to drawtogether and share our faith in you—and—our kinshipto each other. As we do so, forgive us all our sinsand direct and guide us along the path you choosefor us. Help us to see what that path and directionis. Help us to know how to effectively show ourreflections on the faith life supporting us to others,especially those in desperate situations in life. Lord,we commend our lives of service and gratitude intoyour care and keeping. We know you will help us andequip us to enrich and extend your Kingdom.We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
the message
This is a special weekend for a group of Christians whowant to draw much closer in fellowship despite being some distance from each other in Central California…and at the same time…develop a more refined and defined sense of what it means to follow Christ indiscipleship. The occasion is the Discipleship Retreat held at our church in Pacifica. We have invited the remarkable Bishop Emeritus John Bradosky to share his insights on the subject of discipleship to us, coming all the way from Sarasota, Florida. It seems as thoughhe’s enjoying his stay and doing what he does best.
At the Friday meeting, involving also the Toot Sweet JazzBand and Gospel singer, Gloria Scott, Bishop Bradoskysuggested—in reaching out to others in the name of Jesus—nobody needs to receive our good advice. Everybody,he suggested, knows what to do, what needs to be done…our job in the Lord is to be present, present to the person,or the persons involved. It seemed to be suggested thatthe Holy Spirit would take care of the rest.
A great start for learning how best to follow Jesus.
This thought brought me back to the comment Saint Francissaid in the 12th Century…”Preach Christ Jesus, and then,sometimes, open your mouth to supplement your witness.”
I would like to add to that…the importance (while remaining present) of trusting in the superlative teaching that God is involved in the pernicious and trying situations of life. We don’t need to assume God abandons us along the way.
Again, the transformative thought in discipleshipprovided by Saint Paul, “…and we know that in all thingsGod works for the good of those who love Him, who arecalled according to His purpose…” (Romans 8:28)
God does not cause evil and harmful things to happen, butthe Lord uses them for His purpose. That means that wecan, and should, “…rejoice in the Lord always, and again Isay, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident unto all. Donot be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition,with thanksgiving, present your requests unto the Lord, andthe peace of God which transcends human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus…”(Philippians 4:4-7)
God wants us to have the courage to stand strong in the midst of difficulty, even tragedy…to develop a substantial spiritual backbone. We may normally be inclined to withdraw from the challenges of life…and the opportunities are endless…but one of the great secrets of the full life promised by Jesus is to have courage…to not turn away…to know God will allow us to grow into a “Spiritual Giant” if we just stand our ground, and, as is said often,
“stand on the promises”.
stand fast in overwhelming circumstances
sense the fear in your heart and stand nonetheless
allow God His day…you don’t need to test Him toremain present so He can deliver victory to you and your consuming concern in life
anticipate victory
As the old revivalist hymn goes: “O, victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever, He taught me and bought me, with His redeeming blood…”
In short, this may be the beginning of the journeywe could call “discipleship”…to follow Jesus bybeing present…not telling people what they knowalready…but walking with them through theirdifficulties as Jesus walks with us through ours.By learning ourselves, how greatly we can relyupon the Lord in the awesome realities of life.
In the meantime, we at Holy Cross will bask inthe sunlight of great teaching as a result of anextraordinary gathering of sincere and delightfulChristian people…
Cordially,Tom
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