hometown news - august 2010

8/9/2019 Hometown News - August 2010

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TO GOD BE THE GLORY

August 2010

1711 Grant StreetHopewell, VA 23860

www.nazluthchurch.com

The Hometown News is

a publication of

Nazareth Evangelical

Lutheran Church.

Member of the

Lutheran Church

Missouri Synod.

Inside this issue:

2011 and Beyond! 2

Historical Theology 4

Missions/Outreach 6

Christian Music Quiz 9

Pastors Corner 11

The Hometown News

The Natural Knowledge of God by Pastor Voss

There is only one way humans can know of Godthat is, by His ownself-revelation. We only observe God through the means that He chooses.To date, no bridge has been built to the heavenly realms and no computerprogrammer has tapped into the mind of God. We simply cant choose to

gather information on God He has not chosen to reveal to us. Has neverhappenednever willwe must simply rely upon God to reveal Himself to

us.

God reveals Himself to us in two ways: First through His Word andanother way, which we dont often talk about, through creation. Creation

bears the unmistakable stamp that says, Made by God.

The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are

clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His

eternal power and Godhead. - Romans 1:20

A LCMS Lutheran theologian by the name of Francis Pieper once con-cluded, The law of nature will never permit anyone to entertain as his delib-

erate and settled conviction the conclusion that there is no God.

We would have to admit that is true. Have you ever noticed that evenif someone doesnt believe in God, they still find the need to talk about Him?Have you ever noticed that there is no peace of mind for those who have

been created by God yet dont acknowledge that fact?The natural knowledge of God is not sufficient to attain salvation, but

what it does do is arouse the conscience of man. God, out of His love, com-pels allto remember Him. Regardless of what someone believes, they aredaily reminded that there is an order to this universe. At that moment, whata wonderful opportunity to tell them about the other way God reveals Him-self, through His Word, which points to Jesus Christ. It is through the revela-

tion of the Word all Gods people receive salvation and peace of mind.


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Page 2 The Hometown News

Happy Birthday!

August 3 McKenna Stewart August 23 Dorothy McLoed

August 11 Lauren Engels August 23 Dustin Petik

August 14 Martha Staples August 23 Annette Lineman

August 15 Wanda Koren August 26 Karen Van Worth

August 16 Clint Rierson August 26 Dawn Appleby Lero

August 18 Evelyn Rayner August 30 Josh Staples

2011 and BeyondChrist at the Center of Church Leadership

We have done a lot of mission planning in 2010 together. We have prayerfully considered what God has planned to reach

our community and how we can be a part of Gods plan. As your pastor, I cannot tell you how thankful I am that, through-out all of our study, prayer, and discussion, we have remained united in Christ. That has been and always will be my primary

concern: that our focus remains on the Cross where we receive Gods blessings, forgiveness of sins, and everlasting life.

We are now moving into action for Jesus, not to earn blessings, but because we have so steadily received them! We wantto share this Good News with our community! What an important year 2011 will be for Gods people in our church and

community! I ask that you do some reflecting as we approach 2011 and prayerfully consider how God is directing you. Spe-

cifically, your role as a leader within this church.

Do you believe that serving on a Board for this church would be a blessing and an honor?

Please note that I did not ask if you thought that serving on a Board would be easy. I can assure you, it promises not to be.Where Gods people are trying to advance the Good News, there the devil will be trying to thwart their attempts. But do

you believe serving on a Board important? Is God asking for you to serve His church in a new way? If not you, then who? If

not your skills, then from where will they come?

Through Abraham we learn that we need to trust Gods push even when we dont know where He is pushing us.Through Moses we learn that we need to trust Gods vision, even if we cannot see it yet. Through David we learn that we

must trust Gods forgiveness, even when we know we do not deserve it.

To serve in a Board, you do not have to be perfect, you simply have to be trusting in Goda gift that comes from the faithyou have been given in Christ. 2011 is a year that will require for us to trust in Him as we, like Abraham, are going to ven-ture into new lands as we reach out to our communityand we, like Moses, are going to see things we have never seenbefore, as we implement what we have thus far only talked aboutand we, like David are going to continually rely upon theforgiveness that comes throughJesus Christ in everything we do. In 2011, in what role will it be an honorfor you to

serve God?

Lord, it is my prayer that our people do not wait to be asked to serve you, but that you move their hearts to eagerly pro-

claim, Here I am, send me, send me into service and leadership at our beloved Church. Amen.


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ABLAZELets Fill the Bucket!

The Hometown NewsEDITOR: Susan SkallebergASSISTANT EDITOR: Pastor David VossPRODUCTION EDITOR: Karen Van WorthThank you to all who submitted articles and information to thisnewsletter.SUBMISSIONSWe encourage you to submit your articles and ideas electronicallyto: [email protected] or call 731-6959Newsletter information is due in by the third Sunday of the month.CONTRIBUTORSWe are looking for regular contributors to the Hometown News.If there is a certain article you would like to write on a regularbasis, please let us know so we can discuss it with you. Young andold are encouraged to volunteer for this very important newslet-ter.SAVE MONEY AND PAPERThe Hometown News is posted online at the same time it ismailed. Please consider reading it online so we can save on post-

age and paper. It can be found on the home page of our churchwebsite: nazluthchurch.com

Page 3August 2010

We are half way through our 5 year commitment to financially support the work of Ablaze!However, our contributions have fallen way off with only $205 received for the year against ouryearly commitment of $2170. It is time to get those contributions back on track so we are bringing

back the ABLAZE! BUCKET!

Perhaps we should call it the Amazing Ablaze! Bucket because when that bucket was outfront where we could see it, contributions were very good. Remember, our contributions are sup-porting the districts mission work being planned, the work being implemented and the work ongo-ing to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the unchurched in our district includ-ing our very own community of Hopewell. Envelopes in which to place your Ablaze! offerings are

Glory to God on the highest and praise to the lead-ers of each Committee who have provided updatesto the congregation this month. Our communica-tion with one another not only keeps us united in

Mission, but engaged with each other and the op-

portunities to serve in our church.


4/12


A note from Pastor Voss: In 2008-09, I was blessed to serve as a vicar at Grace Lutheran Church in Durham, NC. While I was servingat Grace, I made a good friend by the name of Jan Graham who writes wonderful articles on church history. She has been kind enough

to share her articles with us and she will serve as our syndicated columnist once and a while.

Hymns of Bernard of Clairvaux-By Jan Graham

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) is commemorated in August as a Cister-cian abbot who was profoundly spiritual in his approach to God. Born into anoble family, he entered a French monastery at the age of 17. At 25, he wassent by senior monks to establish another monastic site accompanied byothers in his order. As Abbot of the new monastery, Bernard was adamantthat his monks follow the Benedictine rules regarding asceticism, prayer,

contemplation, and action in reforming the Church and its leaders when nec-essary.

He was very critical of one of the great thinkers of that time, Peter Abelard,who questioned theology in terms of rationalism and scholasticism. Bernardwas active in the Church council of 1121 which condemned Abelards bookon the Trinity as heretical and some 19 years later convinced another coun-cil to pronounce Abelard as a heretic.

Martin Luther called him "the most pious (best) monk that ever lived, whom I admire beyond all the restput together." Luther also said "Bernard is superior to all the doctors in his sermons, even to Augustinehimself, because he preaches Christ most excellently." Bernards writings show humility, devotion toChrist, and a reliance on grace that was rare before the Reformation.

Several hymns have been attributed to Bernard although present scholars are still debating this topic.One that he probably penned that reflects his piety and love for Christ is O Sacred Head, Now Wound-ed (LSB 449). Others attributed to him are: Jesus, the Very Thought of You, O Jesus, Joy of LovingHearts, Wide Open Are Your Hands, and O Jesus, King Most Wonderful! (LSB 554). O SacredHead was translated from Latin into German by Leo Hassler in the 1600s and set to music by Paul Ger-hardt. The rest were translated from Latin into English and set to music during the nineteenth centurywhen many ancient hymns were brought to light through translation and published in various hymnals.

An Online Book Study with Pastor Voss begins January 1Join Pastor Voss as he moderates discussion during the reading of SimpleChurch, a highly regarded book that helps congregations consider how they can

transition towards a church structure that simplifies life and serves their mission.Order the book on your own (on sale at Amazon.com for under $10) and thenaccess the study group online, anytime, at our website at

www.nazluthchurch.com.

We will read through the book together in January and February of 2011 and dis-cuss via our online forum. Then, if we glean some good ideas from it, we will

formulate suggestions for the church from our discussions.

Register for this study anytime between Sept.1 and Dec. 31 on our website!

Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger


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Page 5August 2010

For our brothers and sisters in Christ in nursing homes -

Velma Fleming, HHCC (227)

For our brothers and sisters in Christ who are home-

bound-

Mary PetikFor our members and friends serving our country in the military -

Bruce Layne Danny Petik Chris & Jenny Graham Dustin PetikJames Eckenrode David PetikJeff & Stacey Crosson Courtney Williams Mike McKinzieJeffrey Head Steve & Bonnie Foxx Brandon Edwards

For our members and friends away at college Landry Doane Casey Davis

For our members who are sick, hospitalized, in need of spiritual care or recuperating Evelyn Rayner Rowena Carter Andy Petik Cierra ThomasTina Doane Annette Dry Jordan Layne Kathy Beahm Jenny Graham

Hobo Logan Marilyn AntunesFor our friends who are sick, hospitalized or recuperating -Jonathan Weston Rita Joyner Joann Miller Jeff Walter Phyllis KaneSuzie Hilton Dorothy Kunkel Freddie Gonzalez Kay Slade Bernard Carter

Garland Moss Joseph Hilton Austin VanWorth Jerry Van Worth Connie WilliamsonPamela Heithaus & Heithaus Family

For the families of the Saints departed

Pray for One Another to UPDATE Prayer List updated as of July 25, 2010

Bible Study, Youth, and Adult Confirmation

our church, please contact

Arnie to join in.WEDNESDAYS 7:00 PM

Steve Foxx leads a Bible

Study on Revelation in the

Old Church Room.Youth Conirmation begins

September 15, 7:00 PM with

Pastor Voss in the sanctuary

(parents invited to this

meeting).Join us at 6PM on Wednes-

days for a meal and fellow-

ship!

Whether you are young or old,

visitor or pillar, we have a Bible

Study for you!SUNDAYS 9:30 AM

Meet in the Old Church Room

at 9:30 AM for a Bible Study on

Hebrews led by Al Schneider.

Pastor Voss leads a discussion

and Bible Study on the oficial

LCMS position on current

events, called This We Be-

lieve in the conference room.

We discuss everything from

abortion to capital punishment.

Be prepared to share, lis-

ten, and learn from Gods

Word. This is an entrylevel class, we keep it

simple.

Arnie Slimmen will lead an

eight weekadult conir-mation class in the

church basement meeting

room. The start date is

TBD, but will begin within

the next month. If you are

new to the Lutheran faith

and/or would like to join


6/12


The Shepherds Place

Board of Missions and Outreach

has a special mission project for August:

Sandras Closet

Sandras Closet was developed in memory of Sandra Smith Williams who was a member of Naz-

areth Lutheran in the late 60s and 70s. She attended with her sister Karen Smith (Habb) . Sandrascloset was developed in memory of Sandra after she passed away from breast cancer in 2002. The Jun-

ior Womens Club has placed a closet in each Elementary School in memory of Sandra.

Sandra loved to shop, and she often bought items on sale for many children that could neverhave afforded them. These closets are now being stocked with school supplies for children in the citythat can not afford to have the supplies needed for their education. Some of the many items that are inthe closets are: pencils, paper, note-books, glue, crayons, scissors, book-bags, markers, colored pencils, fold-ersJust any thing that is needed by

a student.

Our mission in August is tohelp fill these closets in memory ofone of our former members. Moreinformation will be available soon

about how to donate.

Located in downtown Hopewell, the Shepherds Place has been in business as a non-profit thrift store for 31years. The store has the objectives of providing free emergency clothing to residents within an 11 mile radius ofHopewell and making low cost clothing and household items available to the community. Free clothing is provided

upon referral from churches, social services, schools, the American Red Cross, and the Salvation Army. Funds re-ceived from the sale of donated clothing and household items are contributed monthly to the Salvation Army to beused for individual utility bills and rent requests, as well as to the Hopewell Food Pantry. The Foster Care Enrich-

ment Christmas Program is also supported by an annual gift.

The Shepherds Place is sponsored by the Hopewell Ministerial Association and run by volunteers from area

churches. Many ladies from Nazareth support the Shepherds Place regularly and have done so for years.

Visit us at our new location the end of August:

201 Broadway, in Hopewell

Hours will be Monday-Friday 10:00am2:00pm

Phone number is 458-0227.

Directions from Colonial Heights and Fort Lee: Take Route 36 past Cavalier Square Shopping Center. Goleft on Sixth St., then right on Broadway.

Directions from Chester: Take Route 10 past John Randolph Medical Center to Broadway. Go left on

Broadway.


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Page 7August 2010

Praise and ThanksgivingHis Light

by Sue Skalleberg

Dr. Maier Seminar Planning Meeting

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 5:00 PM

CHESAPEAKE DISTRICT

LWML CONVENTION 2010

September 24-26, 2010

Holiday Inn SelectKoger South

1021 Koger Center Blvd.

Richmond, VA 23235

Deadline for Registration: August 23,2010

Church Website Statistics for July (nazluthchurch.com)What is the location of our website visitors? Location and number of individual visitors from that loca-

tion. Be sure to tell people in the Hopewell/Ft. Lee area about our website!

1 Richmond 692 Highland Springs 153 Hopewell 84 Chesapeake 75 Ft Lee 46 Midlothian 37 Hampton 28 Chester 29 Harrisonburg 110 Quanco 1

I am a sucker for light, to the point of being a little

weird. I once worked in a huge building, a manufacturing cen-ter, that had a series of courtyards off the wide main hallway.Tall, two- story windows looked out onto the garden court-yards from the hallway. I enjoyed watching the light change inthe gardens, depending on the time of day or even the time ofyear, noticing a dramatic difference as the earth rotatedthrough the seasons and the angle of the sun shifted in thegardens. There was blazing sun at midday in summer anddeeper and deeper shadows as fall approached. It came to meone day that light is one way our Creator shows His majesty

in nature!

When Christ commands us to walk in the light it is away of telling us to follow His commands and draw close toHim. Gods created world is full of beauty that reminds us of

Him. Look around!

As an artist, I appreciate the shadows as much as thelight. Without shadows in a painting the light would not havethe impact it does. But the Gospel reminds me that Jesusdied and rose so I might be drawn out of the hopeless shad-

ows of sin into His everlasting presence, His Light.

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 1:4


8/12

A New Bible Study Opportunity is Coming


On Wednesday, August 11, at 11:00 AM, we will begin a day time mid-week Bible studydesigned to help and support us as we deal with events that occur in our earthly lives. Our first

study will deal with the grief we face after the loss of a loved one. The study guide is titledLiving with Griefand consists of six lessons - Grief: Facing Your Loss; Grief: The Cry of Pain; Grief:The Cry of Longing; Grief: The Cry for Supportive Love; Grief: The Cry for Understanding and Grief: The

Cry for Significance.

Initially, we are planning to meet every other week. Lunch will be served after Bible

study to provide opportunity for fellowship. This Bible study will be a wonderful opportunity to

invite friends and neighbors to attend with you. If you would like to take part in this Bible study,

please register by placing your name on the sign up sheet posted in the narthex so that a suffi-

cient supply of study guides are on hand. Al Schneider will lead this study.

General Announcements

LWML

Our annual Can Drive for the City of Hopewell has

begun! Please look in your pantry or get an extra

can or two at the grocery store. There are many

adults and children in Hopewell that go without

meals daily. This is a great Christian Outreach to

our community.

VACATION BIBLE

SCHOOL

The theme for this year is

"Planet Zoom" and it is

from Sunday, Aug. 8th

thru Thursday, Aug. 12th

at 6-8:30pm.

YARD SALE UPDATEThe Boards of Missions and Outreach will hold a

Yard Sale Saturday, October 23 at the church, from

8:00am noon. Table spaces will be available for

you to sell you goods, at $10 per space. More in-

formation will be coming later!

NURSERY HELPER POLICY

We surely do need helpers in our nursery! There

are some times when we are almost overrun with

children. However, we have to abide by the

Standards of Operation for the nursery, which

state that helpers must be 13 years old, in the 8th

grade, and be enrolled in confirmation or elsehave made arrangements to be enrolled. This

may rule out a few eager young people, but it

does not rule out adult members. Please contact

Sue Skalleberg at 731-6959 if your are willing to

help out. Thanks.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR

There is a new time for The Lutheran Hour on

your radio. It is now at 8:30am. Find it at 1030

on your radio dial.


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Page 9August 2010

HYMN 3

Mighty, awesome, wonderful Is the holy cross

Where the Lamb laid down His life to lift us from

the fallMighty is the power of the cross

What restores our faith in God?

What reveals the Father's love?

What can lead the wayward home?

What can melt a heart of stone?

What can free the guilty ones

What can save and overcome?

By your wounds we are healed

By your wounds we are saved

Mighty is the power of the crossThank You Jesus for the Holy cross

HYMN 1

My soul rejoices, my spirit voices

Sing the greatness of the Lord!

For God my Savior, has shown me favor

Sing the greatness of the Lord!

With praise and blessing,

Join in confessing

God, who is solely

Mighty and holy

O sing the greatness of God the Lord!

His mercy surely

Shall rest securely

On all who fear Him,

Love and revere Him

O sing the greatness of God the Lord!

HYMN 4

Glory to God, we give You thanks and praise;

Of heavenly joy and earthly peace we sing.

We worship You, to You our hearts we raise,Lord God, almighty Father, heavenly King.

Lord Jesus Christ, the Fathers only Son,

You bore for us the load of this worlds sin.

O Lamb of God, Your glorious victory won,

Receive our prayer, grant us Your peace within.

Alone, O Christ, You only are the Lord,

At Gods right hand in majesty most high:

Who with the Spirit worshiped and adored,

With all the heavenly host we glorify.

HYMN 2

I love you, O LORD, my strength.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,

and I am saved from my enemies.

The LORD has dealt with me according to my right-

eousness according to the cleanness of my hands

he has rewarded me.

Reflecting Upon Christian Music (Part 1), by Pastor VossHave some fun with a music quiz. For the moment, keep your Bible closed and dont pick up a Hymnal (ifyou have one by you). Do the following: draw a square around the hymns that you think come from ourHymnal (there maybe more than one). Draw a circle around the hymns that come from the Bible (theremaybe more than one). Put an X through any hymn that you think does not reflect the truth about God or

our relationship with Him.

Was it easy to pick out which lyrics came from our Hymnal? Was it easy to pick out the lyrics that camefrom the Bible? Did you cross any of them out (that is, did any of these lyrics not speak the truth about God

or our relationship with him)?

Please follow me to page 10.


10/12

LCMS Convention Election Results

President: Rev. Matthew C. Harrison

Harrison 643 (votes), Kieschnick 527, Mueller 8, Fick-

enscher 5, Gard 1

Vice President: Rev. Herbert C. Mueller, Jr., John C. Wohlrabe, Jr.,

Paul L. Maier, Daniel Preus, Scott R. Murray

Mueller 631 (votes), Diekelman 339, Preus 82, Schulz 81 , Schrank 64

Page 10 Newsletter Title

Reflecting on Christian Worship (Part I) continued

Three of these songs were written in the past 20 years:

Hymn 1Steven Starke, 1991

Hymn 2David, >900 BC (Psalm 18)

Hymn 3Chris Tomlin, 2004

Hymn 4Edwin Le Grice, 1991

Two of the songs are from our Lutheran Hymnal (I and 4) one of them is a Psalm (2), and one of them is fromwhat many consider a contemporary Christian artist (3). Since Hymn 2 is the very Word of God, there is nodoubt these Words have special meaning for us, and they certainly work faith. They are not the only words wecan or should sing in worship. Why not? This is where we need to jump back into history. join me

Regulative versus Normative Principles of Worship

The Protestant Reformation resulted in two conflicting attitudes to hymns: the regulative principle of wor-ship and the normative principle of worship. The regulative principle of Worship considered anything thatwas not directly from the Bible was to be rejected. The normative principle of worship is the principle thatworship in the Church can include those elements that are not prohibitedby Scripture. As a result, the norma-tive principle of worship produced a burst of hymn writing for worship. For example, Martin Luther is notablenot only as our church reformer, but as the author of many hymns includingA Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Obvi-ously, we at Nazareth apply the normative principle to our Worship life. If the Scriptures do not prohibit us, we

have the Christian freedom to sing lyrics either old or new.

Based on this initial review of Christian lyrics, when music was written does not qualify or disqualify it from be-ing sung in worship. Next month, join me for Part II in this series as we discuss what instruments are appropri-ate in our Worship. The following month, Part III we will cover what types of music is appropriate in our

Worship.


11/12

PASTORS CORNER

Worship Time Research

Research into possibly changing the worship time to 10AM is completed. Your

voices have been heard. The vast majority who have spoken to me about this inthe open forums or personally have said they do not prefer we change our wor-

ship time from 11AM and we will not do so.

Church OrganistI have interviewed one candidate thus far and, after sharing the information from the interview

with the Elders, we collectivity agreed we must continue our search. Please pray that the Lord pre-

sents us with the right candidates for this very important role within His church.Mission Planning Meeting IV Debrief and DiscussionSaturday, August 7, 9-noon

We have added an hour to the time of this meeting. It will now go to until noon. Light snacks will be

provided. The goal of this meeting will be to look at what we have planned thus far and agree upona uniied vision moving forward. Please consider joining us! We need your input!Gospel ContactsAnytime you share the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord with someone, please add a paper ish to

our ish net. Simply write your irst name, the date, and if you want, the irst name of the person

you shared the Gospel with. Our goal, as a congregation, is to have 240 ish in our net by the end of

the year! Can you share the Gospel with someone this month? The Lord will provide the oppor-

tunity, and the words. Trust in GodHe will use you to grow His church.

Youth Confirmation Begins September 15

All confirmation students and their parents are invited to a 7PM meeting in theSanctuary with Pastor Voss. We will discuss expectations for the coming year, goover the schedule of studies, and discuss how parents can support their children intheir Confirmation studies. Pastor Voss will then meet with the Confirmation stu-

dents every Wednesday at 7PM.

Pastors Calendar for August

August 15VBS Themed Worship Service (includes VBS readings, hymns, and themes)

August 20-27Pastor and Family on vacation to the Midwest

DR. MAIER IS COMING SOON, HAVE YOU PURCHASED YOUR TICKETS?

On September 18, from 93:30 PM, Dr. Paul L. Maier will be giving a presentation on JesusChrist that will truly amaze you. The question is, have you bought your tickets yet? We areon the verge of announcing this event to our circuit and to churches in the area, so if youhave not purchased your tickets yet, now would be the time. Seating is limited! We are notaccepting reservations for seats, so please purchase them through the office or online as

soon as possible and receive your $5 Nazareth Member discount today.


12/12

TO:

Nazareth Lutheran Church1711 Grant StreetHopewell, VA 23860

Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church"Reaching out to all in faith and love, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, and serving joyfully!

hometown news - august 2010

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