To learn more about Advent Lutheran Church click here!!
From Justin´s sermon: "But we can learn from the message of musician Macklemore that: Since we are church, we need to teach something else. If we preach grace, forgiveness, and acceptance at the service, those words are anointed. That holy water that we soak in has then been cleaned of the poison. When we refuse to be comfortable remaining voiceless. And we fight for humans that´ve had their rights stolen. We might not be the same, and that´s what´s important. There´s no freedom until we´re equal, and those are rights we support. No law is gonna change us, only God can change us....So, strip away the fear...underneath it's all the same love, and about time that we raise up and join Jesus´ movement."
To learn more about Advent Lutheran Church click here!!
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From Justin´s sermon: "The greed of the abundance of possessions caused the rich fool fall prey to the first sin of incurvatus in se, of being turned inward on oneself: living his life “inwardly” for himself rather than “outwardly” for God and others. With the confusing enticement of SO...MUCH...STUFF, he never thought about how he could share his abundance with his community and he forgot that we when we die we take none of the “stuff” with us. The very nature of this possessive greed comes between us and our neighbor, between us and Jesus; it gets in the way of our most important relationships."
To learn more about Unity Lutheran click here!! From Justin´s sermon: "The reign of God enacted by Jesus is a vision for the wholeness of life. In the prayer he teaches his disciples, Jesus says that when God´s reign comes to realization, we`ll have food to eat and all our needs will be met; God won´t count our sin against us; right relationships will be restored between us and our neighbor; and will give us perseverance in the times of struggle, trials, and tribulations. For the Lukan Jesus salvation isn´t just the forgiveness of sins, it´s God´s whole mission of reconciliation between people in holy community."
A photo of our Latin America and Caribbean Group during SMC!! Click here to learn more about the SMC, to listen to some of the presentations we heard and to read a summary of our accompaniment narrative discussion. From Justin´s sermon: "And it was Jesus himself who lived out this “Mary Martha” lifestyle of serving those most in need through his healing, miracles and teaching, but he was also able to authentically be present with them in a way that they knew God loved them. And this is Jesus message to you and me today, to stop all the running around doing things to to impress God or keeping busy with chores or worries and just be, just be with your neighbor and just be in the presence of God. So when your faith is borne out of a deep trust in God´s unconditional mercy, you can imagine these words to you from Jesus, “don´t let all the doing get in the way of you being with me...you don´t have to impress me by running around, just love me and let me love you; listen to me and let me teach you, for in putting your preoccupations down to more fully be in my presence, you´ll find freedom and rest.” A message from Justin: "For two weeks I was at the ELCA churchwide offices with my colleague from Central America Stephen Deal and our Latin America & Caribbean team. It was time spent learning about budget processes, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, and the different ministries of our companion Lutheran churches in South America. I also met many people and learned about their jobs and how they impact the overall vision of the ELCA Global Mission."
From Justin´s Sermon: "And in understanding the power of transformational love, Martin Luther read in this parable that it´s Christ, who is the true Samaritan and has shown his love toward God and neighbor by taking the poor man to himself as his own; going to him uninvitedly, and not requiring the helpless one to come to him; for here is no merit, but pure grace and mercy; and he binds up the man´s wounds, cares for him and pours in oil and wine, lifting him up and restoring him, this is the whole Gospel from beginning to end. In short, he did no work that centered on himself alone, but all his acts centered on his neighbor." From Justin´s Sermon: "Hospitality is welcoming the ones who are rejected by others. Hospitality is at time terrifying and can cause us to tremble. Hospitality is being Jesus with skin on. Hospitality is a gift from God to the church so that we can do what is right and serve God in the world through love, justice and peace for the poor, oppressed and marginalized. Our radical hospitality be it at home, at work, at school or at church begins first with Christ and his love for us. For we love because God first loved us and we welcome because God first welcomed us." From Justin´s sermon- "In God's kin-dom, we aren´t defined by our past, but rather by our future. For Luke, and for Jesus, "the way" only goes forward. Yes the path that God leads you on may not always be clear, may not be without rocks and debris; it may take you far from family and force you to trust more fully in God. But this missional walk that you´re invited to take with God, continually moves forward to where there is freedom, and life, and love. A friend of mine once told me, “you can´t stop your future.” And in this context she´s right, as baptized Christians, we can´t but trust in God´s freedom and walk in the light of God to love and serve those around us." From Justin´s sermon- "When you believe you´ve been reconciled to family and friends, church and community, you can hear Paul´s words to the Galatians differently, “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female [there is no longer crazy or sane, there is no longer able or disabled, there is no longer included or excluded]; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” It´s God through Jesus who makes us whole, who makes us one. Our differences no longer separate us because we are united in one Christ." |
Home Assignment 2013 ScheduleMay 19: Grace Lowerstone Church- Rockwell, NC Archives
August 2013
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