Atonement Lutheran Church 9242 Kiefer Blvd Sacramento, CA 95826 916-363-8642 AtonementLutheran @comcast.net Mailing Address: P.O. Box 276245 Sacramento, CA 95827 Pastor Holly Feather Staff: Doug McGill-Office Manager Mark Heimlich-Organist/ Pianist Krista White -Pianist / Choir Accompanist Joyce Moss-Choir Director Voice of Atonement F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 5 Notes from Pastor Holly... During the Sundays after Epiphany, our Adult Education Class has been looking at the Bible using the resource, “Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers,” by Martin Marty. As a part of that conversation, I wanted to share another perspective on the Bible, this one by an author named Peter Enns (The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It). For several years, Enns has been hosting a conversation on, as the title of his blog has it, “rethinking biblical Christianity.” While I do not agree with everything he says, I appreciate his willingness to delve into this topic. Recently, he was asked to list ten things he wished everyone understood about the Bible, this was his answer: 1. The Bible doesn't answer all - or even most - of our questions. Many of our questions, even some of the more pressing questions we face daily, aren't answered in the Bible. The Christian Bible isn't an answer book but a story of how Jesus answers for us the biggest question of all: what God is like. 2. The Bible isn't like God’s version of Apple's “Terms and Conditions” agreement. The Bible doesn't lay out before us God's terms and conditions, where failure to adhere to one clause in the middle of page 87 will cause a breach of contract and banishment from God's graces. The Bible is more like a grand narrative that reorders our imaginations and holds out for us an alternate way of seeing reality - with God at the heart of it rather than ourselves. 3. The Bible isn't a sourcebook for fighting culture wars. The Bible isn’t a club we use to gain political power or a way of forcing secular culture to obey our rules. America is not God's country and the Bible isn't its constitution. Stop it. 4. The Bible doesn't guarantee “success in life.” Don't listen to those T.V. preachers. The Bible isn't a step-by-step guide to success, as if buried there are deep secrets for being happy, healthy, and rich. It is a book that shows what dying to self and surrendering to God are about. The Bible crushes our egos. 5. The Bible is open to multiple interpretations, not just one meaning. The Bible is ancient and obscure, and its stories are “gapped” and flexible, which allows, even demands, that readers to interpret the Bible legitimately in various ways. This is exactly what has been happening among Jews and Christians for over 2,000 years. 6. The Bible invites debate. An extremely important lesson for Christians to learn from Judaism is that the Bible invites debate. In fact, it can't avoid it, given how open it is to multiple interpretations. Winning Bible feuds with others, getting to the right answer, isn't the end goal. The back-and forth with the Bible, and with God, is where deeper faith is found. (Cont. on Page 2) P AGE 7. The Bible doesn't “record” history objectively but interprets it. The biblical writers didn't try to get history "right" in the same sense an author of an academic textbook does. Instead, they interpreted the past in their place and time, for their own communities, to answer their own questions of faith. That's why the Bible contains two very different "histories" of Israel and the four Gospels that recount Jesus' life differently. 8. The Bible was written by Jews (and at least one Gentile in the New Testament) in ancient times. This may sound too obvious to say, but it's not. The biblical writers were ancient writers expressing their faith in God using the vocabulary and concepts of their ancient cultures. When we transpose our language and concepts onto biblical writers, even if we are trying to understand the Bible, we will actually distort it. 9. The Bible isn't the center of the Christian faith. Some form of the Bible has always been a part of the life of the church, but the Bible isn't the center of our faith. God is - or, for Christians, what God has done in and through Jesus. The Bible doesn't draw attention to itself, but to God. 10. The Bible doesn't give us permission to speak for God. At least not without a lot of wisdom and humility behind it. Knowing the Bible is vital for Christian growth, but it can also become intoxicating. We don't always see as clearly as we might think, and what we learn of God in the Bible should always be first and foremost directed inward rather than aimed at others. Ash Wednesday Service Wednesday, February 18 6:00 pm 2 P AGE Worship Servants for February 2015 Date Assisting Minister Lector Communion Assistant Altar Guild February 1 Beverly Olson Rich Keegan Bodil Drucker & Beverly Olson Bodil Drucker & Beverly Olson February 8 Doug McGill Lucy Taylor Hilda Deterville & Mary Wudel Hilda Deterville & Barbara Hansen February 15 Jim Weber Nelson Predoehl Mary Wudel & Dolores Hull Jan Heimlich & Dolores Hull February 18 Beverly Olson Doug McGill Ash Wed. February 22 Lucy Taylor Hilda Deterville Beverly Olson Barbara Wildrick & Mary Wudel February Flowers February 1...…………Walt & Barb Wildrick In Memory of Larry Wildrick February 8…………………..Hilda Deterville February 15….…………………...OPEN February 22……………….Joyce McColgan In Memory of Wes McColgan February Birthdays Barbara Wildrick & Jan Heimlich Counters February 1 Michael Borgg & Doug McGill February 8 Judi Phelps & Lucy Taylor February 15 Mary Wudel & Phyllis Ransom February 22 Hilda Deterville & Barb Wildrick Rich Keegan…………………………….11 Estella Winch…………………………..15 Janice Schwartz………………………...16 Joyce Moss………………………………22 Spaces available to sign up for flowers, lectors, and coffee hour refreshments for February 3 Winter Sanctuary Wednesday, February 4, 2015 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm Location: Lutheran Church of the Master 1900 Potrero Way Sacramento, CA 916-429-0451 Men ’ s 12 step study group ( AA ) Meets in the Multi-Purpose Room 6:30—7:30 pm Mondays . The Knitters are once again meeting at Atonement! The second & fourth Thursdays 1:00 pm in the Multipurpose Room Crocheters welcome also!! Stewardship Devotion for February During the coming months, we will be sharing a series of devotions on Stewardship. These re not writings about money (although money may occasionally be mentioned) but thoughts on stewardship in the broader sense of care for self and creation. We hope you will find these of value on your spiritual journey. Devotion 1 Realizing How Much God Loves You – Luke 15:11-32 How do you see God’s love in your daily life? Jesus’ parable of the prodigal is an example of the deep and profound love between a father and his son (and, God with God’s people). This parable could also be named the parable of the prodigal father. It is the father who is a central character. The selfish and jealous behavior of the two sons is a sharp contrast to the loving behavior of the father. Similarly, God’s most basic character is love. What experiences in life are brought to memory by this parable? Has there been a time in your life when you wanted to go off to a far country? It was not unusual for younger Jewish sons to venture into the Dispersion. Centuries later in colonial England, it was not unusual for younger sons to venture to the colonies to start their life. And in our own country, it was not unusual for younger sons to respond to the challenge, “Go west, young man.” These ventures were often undertaken because there was sense of love and security at home, and a loving relationship with God. The life of Jesus was a venture to live in a “new creation”, a “new age.” It was difficult for the disciples to leave their settings and follow Jesus. It was even more difficult to grasp the significance of Jesus’ teachings. Yet as their experiences evolved there were revelations that showed God’s love and presence in every day life. The older son struggled to see the loving relationship with his father and brother upon the brother’s return. Yet the father’s love was free, unmerited and unconditional to both sons. It is this kind of love that God has for God’s people. The breadth of this love is expressed in words penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an asylum Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade: To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, tho’ stretched from sky to sky. “The Love of God” Lillenas Publishing Co, Kansas City, MO 1917 In reflecting on the breadth of God’s love, what steps might you take in your life to enhance your realization of God’s love? Let us pray: Lord God, you are a loving Creator and Provider. Help us to see your presence in our daily life, in the gift of life, in the gift of your Son Jesus Christ and in the Body of Christ. Give us the vision to look beyond our personal desires and needs. Give us the sensitivity to hear your word above our daily activity. Open our eyes too, to the times when we are like the older son, looking for the best robe and the fatted calf, only wanting for ourselves. May the Holy Spirit give us guidance to see your loving presence and will in our life. Amen. Thoughts On An Age-Old Lenten Practice So many people during the Christian season of Lent give up something. It is what we are supposed to do, right? In preparation for celebrating Easter, we give up Starbucks or chocolate, or fast-food, and the list goes on. And so we ask each other, “What have you given up?” Almost like it’s the newest fad – it is “in” to not eat chocolate for 40 days. Or it is “in” to not drink caffeine for 40 days and be a beast of a person because you did not get your morning caffeine. And the count down to Easter begins when you can have caffeine or chocolate again. The tradition of fasting during Lent is an ancient tradition. But is our modern-day fasting in the sense of the ancient practice? The spiritual practice of fasting typically involved not eating while the sun was up (in some cultures, there is a ritual of a feast in the evenings). In place of worrying about our physical needs, we focus on our spiritual needs. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I see people who have given up Starbucks or chocolate for Lent, I see that their lamenting is focused on Starbucks or chocolate. That leaves me wondering, is this what Lent is about? I wonder, “What would the spiritual life and a relationship with Christ would look like if instead of giving up something, we added something?” There are lots of ways in which we express our faith and our relationship with Christ. John Wesley talked a lot about works of piety and works of mercy. Works of piety include worship, prayer, Bible study, daily devotions, and participation in the sacraments. Works of mercy include doing good, helping a neighbor, and caring for the poor. Perhaps, we can start Lent by considering ways we can add a spiritual practice or discipline to our lives. A practice or discipline that is different from our norm. Lent is a powerful time of encountering the Christ who lived, died, and rose again for us. Lent forces us to see the wounds, the bruises, and the scars that lead us to Easter. And it is uncomfortable. Lent is about being uncomfortable. When we step out of our comfort zones, through our piety and mercy, we encounter the Christ of Easter. When we take that risk to step out of our normal routine, we open ourselves to powerful encounters with Christ that transform us. Consider works of piety you might add to your spiritual life. If you have never attended the Lenten services at your local church, consider participating in the Ash Wednesday and Holy Week services. If your church has a Lenten Bible study or small groups, consider joining one as a way to grow in your discipleship. If you have been slacking in your prayer life, consider finding a friend with whom you can be accountable with in your prayer life. If your church offers a Lenten devotional in addition to the Upper Rooms, use them both! Or maybe you just need more quiet time in your life. Carve that time out and maximize your time with God. Consider works of mercy you might add. What areas of need are there in your community? What areas make you uncomfortable? Are there areas of service within your congregation that you have never served before? Maybe it is volunteering to be a greeter or usher. Maybe it is volunteering to lead children’s church or help out with youth group. Maybe it is volunteering at a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Focusing on our spiritual lives and our relationship with Jesus Christ provides us with time to consider how we are living our lives. Do our actions and words reflect our faith? Are we striving towards perfection? Are our hearts warmed and our hands dirty? Why not consider what you can take on for Lent this year. Jason C. Stanley is an Ordained Deacon and Associate Pastor of Youth and Education at Peakland United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Megan and Jason now live and work in Lynchburg, Virginia with their rescue greyhound, Roux. For more, check out his web site: JasonCStanley.com Article Source: http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/devotions/lent-dont-give-up-add/