Knoxville, TN March 2014

#1. We have freedom!

The chains of evil desires that afflict all human kind have been cut loose for the Christian. The grace of Jesus Christ has taught and empowered us to say “No” to ungod-liness and worldly passions (Titus 2:12)... We can in the Spirit’s power defeat our addictions! We are free from guilt and we don’t have to live ac-cording to its dictates. We are free from it because we have forgiveness of sins. We are free from worry and fear because God will meet all our needs in Christ Jesus and because His love has the effect of casting out our fears. #2. It is guaranteed that everything will work out well for us in the end!

It is one of my ten favorite Bible verses…Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His pur-pose.” What this verse means is that every Christian’s story is going to have a great ending. No matter how things look now, even if they seem hopeless and miserable, you can count on God taking all of it and weaving it in such a way that it comes out beautiful and right. #3. We have an invincible joy!

If the circumstances are right we can be happy. Hap-piness comes from the word “happenstance.” In other words, things have to align right for us to be happy. There-fore happiness is a very fickle thing. It fades away quickly when trouble comes.

Joy is totally different. When you walk with Jesus, you can have great joy even in bad circumstances. Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians where he told them to rejoice and rejoice again, while he was in prison. His cir-cumstances were terrible but his joy was intact. If you stay in the presence of Jesus you will know much joy. It is a satisfaction that nothing else can fulfill. Jesus is joy and to remain in Him is to experience it. #4. We have insight into why things are the way they are.

A Christian has the veil removed. God reveals to us the state of the world, where things are going and how it will all end. The Bible dissects and discloses so much about hu-mankind and about God. He makes us wise. Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” Without the light of faith all the so-called intelligent people, the philosophers and teachers, are really still in darkness and in ignorance. Jesus said of Himself: “I am the way, the truth and the life…” The Christian sees the truth and walks in its light. The non-believer walks in darkness and inevitably trips on the stone “that the builders rejected.” (Matthew 21:42) #5. We are in for a big inheritance!

Believers are promised eternal life and heaven. When Peter stated that he and his fellow disciples had left every-thing to follow Jesus, Jesus replied: I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glori-fied throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones…And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for My sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:28-29) We should not be under the mistaken notion that heav-en is ethereal and beings there will sit on clouds and strum harps. Instead we will be in the presence of God, the same God who made all the good things on earth for us to enjoy. Heaven will be unimaginably good! ~ Pastor Rich

5 Reasons 5 Reasons Why It’s Great Being Why It’s Great Being

a Christiana Christian

Page 2 March 2014

GraceNet is published monthly by

Grace Lutheran Church – LCMS 9076 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville, TN 37923

Phone: (865) 691-2823 Fax: (865) 691-4895 E-mail: glc@visitgrace.org

Reverend Richard M. Elseroad, Senior Pastor Reverend Justin A. Bell, Associate Pastor

Reverend Mark Bushuiakovish, Associate Pastor

Website: http://www.visitgrace.org

Articles for GraceNet are due by the 1st of each month for the following month’s edition.

GraceNet Staff Debbie Booher, Editor Linda Jaekel Nancy May Joan Scraggs Email to Editor: dbooher@knology.net

Is Religion Losing Ground to Sports? By Chris Beneke and Arthur Remillard Chris Beneke is an associate professor of history at Bentley Uni-versity and the author of “Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism.” Arthur Remillard is an asso-ciate professor of religious studies at Saint Francis University and the author of “Southern Civil Religions: Imagining the Good Society in the Post-Reconstruction Era.” “Some people go to Jerusalem. I go to Pittsburgh.” So remarked Brent Osbourne in 2012 after his homemade Pittsburgh Steelers banner made him a winner of the NFL’s “Fan Flag Challenge.” The Army veteran, then 35, lived in North Carolina at the time, but his attachment to the team abides. Osbourne’s devotion is hardly unique. American sports fans have forged imperishable bonds with the people, places and moments that define their teams. You might even call this attachment religious. But that would be unfair — to sports. While teams and fans are building powerful, cohesive communities — think Red Sox Nation or the legions of Uni-versity of Alabama faithful who greet one another with “Roll Tide” — churches are losing followers. According to a 2012 survey by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and Duke University, 20 percent of Americans “claimed they had no religious preference,” compared with an unaffiliated population of 8 percent in 1990. Roughly two out of three Americans, a 2012 Pew report noted, are under

the impression that religion is losing influence in the country. Sports are on the opposite trajectory. Fifty years ago, just three in 10 Americans considered themselves sports fans. By 2012, that proportion exceeded six in 10. Tens of millions of U.S. viewers tuned in to regular-season National Football League games last fall, with the most popular match-ups attracting upwards of 30 million viewers. Nearly 3 million people watched the National Basketball Association’s Christ-mas Day games. And for devotees of these and other sports, lifelong loyalty to a certain city and team is de rigueur. “Once you choose a team,” sports commentator Bill Sim-mons says, “you’re stuck with that team for the rest of your life.” Simmons was half-kidding, but sports are clearly attracting strong adherents as religion is shedding them. This raises the question: Are Americans shifting their spiritual allegiances away from praying places and toward playing places? Of course, there’s no shortage of religion in American sports. Witness Tim Tebow’s famous genuflections, David Ortiz’s raised index fingers to heaven, Phil Jackson’s invoca-tions of Zen Buddhism, and Muslim high school football players choosing to maintain their Ramadan fast in the midst of a playoff run. Roughly one in five Americans is con-vinced that God influences game outcomes. NFL games often end with midfield prayer circles. There is a certain wisdom to former football and baseball star Deion Sanders’s observa-tion that faith and athletics go together “like peanut butter and jelly.” But high-profile displays of piety belie a deeper reordering of spiritual priorities. Modern sports stadiums function much like great cathedrals once did, bringing communities together (continued on page 3)

From Pastor Justin . . .

The following article was recently printed in the Washington Post. It is very thought-provoking and presents a picture of the cur-rent status of religion in our country.

If you have a spe-cial event you would like to have publicized in GraceNet, please submit the information to

Debbie Booher by the 1st of each month for publication in the follow-ing month’s newsletter.

Page 3 March 2014

and focusing their collective energy. This summer, the Arch-diocese of New York is expected to outline plans to close or merge some of its 368 parishes; 26 Catholic schools in the archdiocese have ceased operation. By contrast, the city and the state of New Jersey spent hundreds of millions to build new baseball and football stadiums. And while the public display of religious imagery such as the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes remains highly contested, the stars, swords, bears, lunging felines and mus-cled birds associated with sports teams bolster communal unity. After the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in October, the championship trophy was paraded through the halls of the Massachusetts Statehouse while the governor donned a team cap. Outside, a colossal Red Sox banner hung from the building’s portico. Spiritual leaders have long feared that religion and sports would vie for loyalty — and that sports would win. Before the Civil War, clergymen and devoted lay people regarded sports as needless distractions and gateways to moral dissipa-tion — clear competitors for sacred time and attention. A 17th-century English Puritan named Thomas Hall expressed a common view when he suggested that “gaming” was among the surest means to “debauch a people, and draw them from God and his worship to superstition and Idolatry.” “We came into this world not for sport,” a Christian mag-azine opined in 1851, but “for a higher and nobler object.” The fact that sports were often played on the Christian Sab-bath made them all the more damnable. As the 20th century approached, however, attitudes to-ward sports pivoted. Baseball, tennis, golf and football gained respectability among the aspiring middle classes. Meanwhile, a new breed of Protestant ministers extolled their virtues under the banner of “muscular Christianity.” Many echoed the Rev. Washington Gladden, who in 1898 called sports “a means of grace” and a training ground for “a godly life.” James Naismith, a Presbyterian minister, invented a game he called “basket ball” in 1891. And across the nation, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) added gyms to its facilities, with countless houses of worship following suit. Today, those old YMCA — now nicknamed the nonsec-tarian “Y” — and church-basement gyms seem like offerings to a rival deity that conquered the world. In a 2013 survey of shrinking congregations, eight out of 14 pastors “identified

sports as the main culprit for low Sunday service attend-ance.” According to a newly released study by the Public Religion Research Institute, a quarter of Americans “report that they are more likely to be in church than watching foot-ball” on Sundays, though almost as many say they are more likely to be taking in gridiron action than sitting in pews. In short, sports are succeeding by the measures that have traditionally defined success for religious institutions: regu-larly immersing people in a transcendent experience and keeping them ardently committed over the long term. It could simply be that faiths do not stir the same competitive passions they once did. Tolerance for other religions and ac-ceptance of intermarriage have risen sharply since World War II. Both trends correlate with flagging religious attach-ments among many groups. This may be a salutary change. Religious adherents once hung heretics, discriminated against dissenters and tangled with those of other faiths. Methodists defined themselves against Episcopalians; Catholics defined themselves against Protestants; Christians defined themselves against Jews; and vice versa. We are better for having put such interfaith hos-tility behind us. But religious institutions may not be. As faith attachments weaken, sports fill a psychological and cultural vacuum. Rooting for the Sabres, Lions or Bron-cos — and against the Bruins, Bears or Raiders — allows us to display unwavering devotion. Team attachments license us to love and hate in the most dedicated ways. And happily for sports aficionados, these antagonistic feelings are largely contained within games. St. Louis Cardinals fans who saunter around Chicago’s Wrigleyville should expect some badgering, but not physical harassment or abuse. Americans remain believers of one sort or another. Less than 10 percent say they are atheists, and even the unaffiliat-ed tend to profess spiritual inclinations. That compares very favorably with Europe’s withered religious culture. Moreo-ver, American faith institutions can justifiably claim that their missions transcend mere competition — that they are charged with fostering goodwill between people, nudging in-dividuals toward salvation and spiritual fulfillment, and bringing about the kingdom of God on Earth. But when it comes to the passionate attachments that sustain interest and devotion, it’s time to acknowledge that sports have gained the edge. And they show no sign of relin-quishing the lead.

Is Religion Losing Ground to Sports? (continued from page 2)

Unconditional Love No matter what sin we have committed, no matter how terrible it may be, God loves us. ~ Billy Graham

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3/1 Beth Johnson 3/1 Isaac Smith 3/2 Nicole Cox 3/2 Debbie Harper 3/2 Gary Pruett 3/2 Mack Webster 3/3 Betsy Bushuiakovish 3/3 Pauline Christiansen 3/3 Wendy Kruger 3/3 Levi Smithey 3/4 Penny Perry

3/5 Pam Baker 3/5 Mary Belle Early 3/6 Barbara Sears 3/7 Ella Rolen 3/9 Hunter Johnson 3/11 Sydney Poker 3/11 Teri Stoddard 3/12 April Calcutt 3/12 Gary Krohnfeldt 3/12 Deborah Rowlands 3/12 Brianna Stock 3/12 Becky Strickland 3/13 Bob Harrison 3/15 Rheagan Haynes 3/15 Mike Murphy 3/16 Olivia Kennedy 3/16 Anne Smeltzer 3/16 Patricia Strickland 3/17 Alli Duenckel 3/17 Erik Kabela 3/17 Rebekah Satterfield 3/17 Ella Stone 3/17 Cole Turner 3/18 Olivia Baserman 3/18 Mark Bushuiakovish 3/19 Sam Stone

3/20 Kenny Blankenship 3/20 Scotty Krempasky 3/21 Abigale Baserman 3/21 Gilbert Smith 3/22 Nicholas Mackley 3/22 Steven Mees 3/24 Jennifer Crisp 3/24 Morgan Grebe 3/25 Elizabeth Augustus 3/26 Kendall Johnson 3/26 Scott Surprenant 3/26 Carol Voorhees 3/27 Keith Hipps 3/28 Dale King 3/28 Alyssa Riggs 3/28 Michelle Scamard 3/29 Sandra Arnold 3/30 Chris Jaekel 3/30 Samuel Landon 3/30 Elaina Riggs 3/30 Evan Thompson 3/31 Amy Baserman 3/31 Christian Collins 3/31 Nancy May 3/31 Sherry Schoolcraft

3/1 Craig & Chris Emerson 3/3 Larry & Diana Holden 3/5 Jim & Margie Atherton 3/8 Jim & Carol Logan 3/8 Shannon & Cody Stone 3/12 Fred & Diane Chaffey 3/13 Don & Holly Mings

3/14 Steve & Sherry Hovan 3/18 Joe & Nancy Lamberth 3/20 Beth & Kevin Tharpe 3/22 Don & Nicole Cox 3/26 Eric & Suzi Schmidt 3/28 Bryon & Linda Mahan 3/31 Any & Marilyn Caddle

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Natalie Eve Dodson

Born: January 27, 2014

Proud Parents: Chris and Kelly Dodson

March 9

March Scripture of

the Month

God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

~ Romans 5:8, NRSV

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Healthline is a 30-minute Medical Educa-tion television show sponsored by the Knox-ville Academy of Medi-cine Alliance, which is composed of physician spouses. Grace’s very own Sheila Wittke is host and interviews medical doctors on various health-related topics. We encourage you to check it out! The show airs weekly and is currently on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. on the following stations:

HOST: Sheila Wittke

AIR TIME: Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m.

STATIONS: CTV COMCAST Cable Channel 12 (Knoxville)

CTV CHARTER Cable Channel 6 (Farragut)

CTV AT&T UVERSE

MARCH 2014 PROGRAMS March 2 - Health Tips & Immunizations for Travelers Dr. Martha Buchanan

March 9 - Melanoma & Skin Cancer Prevention Dr. Paul Dudrick

March 16 - Hiatal Hernia Dr. Michael Kelly March 23 - OMNIPOD Insulin Pump Dr. Casey Page March 30 - Retinal Adhesions in the Treatment JETREA Dr. Matthew D. Lowrance

God, Grace, Grace and Grounds

I have it from a very reliable source: Spring is just around the corner. What that means for you as a member of Grace is that it is now your opportunity

to “give back” to your church, community, and God. As a member of the Grace Grounds Crew, you can take an active role in beautifying Gods’ house of worship for your congregation and community here at Grace. For the last 4 years, members of Grace, young and old alike, males and females, have taken upon themselves, as a group, to serve the members of this church and commu-nity in taking care of the grounds here at Grace. This vol-unteer program saves our church well over $10,000 per year by doing this work ourselves. So you can see how vital this program is to our church. By eliminating these expenses we, in turn, fund other areas of outreach and ministry. However, our group of volunteers declined over the years to the point our group was too small, and we were working harder than we needed to. We have a new and improved grounds program to in-troduce to you this year. With the help of Joe Lamberth, our Pastors, Dale King, Dale Henderson, and me, we have designed a program of 4-5 rotating teams each with 4-5 volunteers that will work on a revolving basis of only once a month for each team. That’s right! For 3 hours a month, each team will be able to mow, trim, and mani-cure the Grace grounds. This way we can avoid one team wearing themselves out every week, but we absolutely need 20-25 volunteers to make this program work and be successful or we will be forced to hire the work out. Who can’t give 3 hours a month? No skills are required and all skill levels are needed. We will provide the train-ing necessary to operate all of the equipment. Do a job you’re comfortable with! Do something you’re good at! Find a hidden talent you didn’t know you had and build confidence in yourself while making new friends in a team environment. By pitching in and helping out, you’ll be surprised at how good 3 hours of work will feel when you look back and see what your team has been able to do with God’s help. Please come to a brief, but informative, meeting in the Sanctuary following the 11 a.m. service on Sunday, March 9, from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m., to find out more, pick your team, and ask questions. For more information, or if you can’t make the meeting, you can contact the church office or me, Darryl Mackley at darrylmackley@gmail.com.

Church Family Biographies

W e have all been blessed in so many ways, and we have all lived some really interesting lives. We’d love to hear about some of your life adventures. Pat

Kopp is heading up a project of collecting biographies from our church families that we can share to help the congregation learn more about each other. She has developed a form to aid in preparing your biog-raphy. Copies of the form can be obtained from her. It will also be available on the church website soon. Please complete one and help us get to know you and your family better.

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New Library Additions

T hese new titles will be on the cart for easy check-out during the month.

NON-FICTION

Final Words From the Cross by Adam Hamilton (232.96 Ham): Hamilton explores in depth what are traditionally called the “seven last words” of Jesus, but which are more accurately the seven last statements of Jesus. This title compliments Hamilton’s The Journey which explores the birth of Jesus and 24 Hours That Changed the World which recounts Jesus’s day from the Last Supper through His crucifixion.

Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller (248.4 Kel): Believers and non-believers have debated for years over the question of why God would allow pain and suffering in the world. Keller takes on the issue showing that there is meaning and reason behind pain and suffering. Keller makes a compelling case that this is an essential part of the human experience that can only be overcome with a close, personal relationship with God.

The Proverbs 31 Woman: A Woman Who Fears the Lord Is to Be Praised by Tiffany Chen (305.48 Che): Chen outlines ways in which the modern woman can become a “woman to be praised”. Among the topics she covers: are quiet time with God, giving, fellowship with other Chris-tians, evangelism, and living in faith, love and joy.

Love and Respect in the Family: The Respect Parents Desire; The Love Children Need by Dr. Emerson Egger-ichs (306.874 Egg): Eggerich, who holds a PhD in child and family ecology, is convinced that the Bible holds the key to parenting and achieving a healthy family environment. He segments the book into three areas: The Family Crazy Cy-cle, The Family Energizing Cycle, and The Family Reward-ed Cycle. Using his family-life stories, he gives practical bib-lical insight on turning the family crazy cycle of conflict and strife into an energizing and rewarding life. FICTION

Strait of Hormuz by Davis Bunn (Fic Bun): This third Marc Royce adventure has the U.S. State Department send-ing him on a secret operation that takes him from Europe, to Asia, to the Middle East to defuse the threat of a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz thereby cutting off an essential ship-ping route.

The Spymistress by Jennifer Chiaverini (Fic Chi): This story is based on the real life heroism and patriotism of Vir-ginian-born Elizabeth Van Lew. She pledged her loyalty to the Lincoln White House (despite her state’s loyalty to the Confederacy) gathering military intelligence in defiance of

the Confederate regime. Van Lew was posthu-mously inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Every Waking Moment by Chris Fabry (Fic Fab): Treha Langsam cares for the elderly at the Desert Gardens assisted-living facility. She possess the ability to bring those suffering from dementia back to a worthwhile life, even though it is only for a short time.

The Prodigal: a Ragamuffin Story by Brennan Manning (Fic Man): Inspirational author Manning’s final novel is a powerful retelling of the parable of the prodigal son. Jack Chisholm, pastor of a growing megachurch, can preach a dynamic sermon about God and His grace, but understands nothing about grace until he finds himself broken, hopeless, penniless, and lost.

Stranded by Dani Pettrey (Fic Pet): Book three in the Alaskan Courage series following Submerged and Shat-tered, finds Darcy St. James back in Alaska undercover on the trail of a big story only to discover her friend is missing. VIDEO

The Confession by Beverly Lewis (DVD Fic Lew): Based on her book by the same title.

When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke (DVD Fic Oke): Based on Oke’s novel about a young school teacher in 1910 who leaves the big city for a position in a frontier coal min-ing town.

Lost Books by Lutheran Hour Ministries (DVD 220.09 Lut): Explore with the experts (Dr. Paul L. Maier, Dr. Ran-dall Price, Rev. Gregory Seltz and others) why the Bible contains the texts it does and why others were not included. Complete with a discussion guide.

How We Got the Bible by Dr. Paul L. Maier (DVD 220.09 Mai): Consider with Dr. Maier how the Scriptures as we know them today came to be and why we can trust them as God’s true word. Complete with a discussion guide. PICTURE BOOKS

Most children like Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Three picture books by Charles Schulz have been added to the library’s collection: Be Yourself, Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, and You Can Be Anything (J Sch). Enjoy these new additions. ~ Mary Schultz

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Y ou are encouraged to participate in Grace Lutheran’s Prayer Shawl Ministry by pre-senting a free Prayer Shawl to those who are in need of feeling Christ’s love and com-passion wrapped around them. These may be people who are having a difficult time,

emotionally, physically, or financially or someone who may be celebrating a coming birth. When you take one of the shawls, please write the following information in the Prayer Shawl Registry Book (located on the side of the Prayer Shawl rack).

1. Date 2. Name of the person receiving your shawl 3. General reason or circumstance for gift (such as illness, accident, hospital, relation-

ships, loss of a loved one, etc. This helps the Prayer Team and Prayer Shawl ministry know how to pray specifically for each person.)

4. Your name 5. Take a Gift Card (next to Registry Book) 6. Pray for and with them.

My dear friends in Christ, giving your prayer shawl is your tangible gift of sharing God’s love. Most importantly, remember to pray before and as you give this gift of love. May we continue Reaching Out in His Love.

~ Phoebe Linnabary

Before There Were “Selfies”

I can hardly wait until the next generation of dictionaries. I wonder what the unadulterated, politically correct definition will be of the word, “selfie.” I am absolutely sure it will be added to our vocabulary. These electronic self-portraits are found everywhere from some of the most innocuous places and faces in the

world to the highest in the land. They were evident at the funeral of Nelson Mandela. They have been seen most recently when athletes from more than ninety nations gathered for the Winter Olympic Games. It seems to me that “selfies” in some form or fashion are more than not, “selfish.” I said it, and I am not apologizing. I suppose in a way they provide a personal record of a public appearance. But, do you really want everyone to know your per-sonal business in a public way? There is a lot more to you and me than meets either my eye(s) or yours. For many, the month of March brings on the season of Lent. Lent is a time for believers to examine themselves, see their own sin and their need for a savior. Then, looking beyond themselves, they look to the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what this means to them and their lives both now and in the life of the world to come. Over and over again in the Scriptures God’s people have been asked to take a look at themselves. It began with God went looking for Adam and Eve after they sinned. Adam and Eve saw themselves as sinners. They hid from God. They were ashamed. We see what happened when David, the shepherd king, was approached about his sin. He took a look at himself and con-fessed that he had sinned against God. In the New Testament, St. Paul encourages Christians to “examine yourselves” to see whether you are in the faith. (2 Co-rinthians 13:5) Thanks be to God, He continues to invite us to Himself for forgiveness, strengthening of faith, and hope for the life to come. Such an invitation is found in the 1st Chapter of Isaiah: “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white a snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) Jesus Christ, Himself, gives us a gracious invitation when He says, “ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) It is through His Blood, shed on the cross, that we find rest for our souls. It is for this reason; we are led away from our “selfishness” to His “selflessness.” I don’t think I will ever take a “selfie” of myself. If I ever do, I pray it will lead me to look beyond the screen to see Him whose Face is Faithful! ~ Pastor Jim Kirk

TO:

Grace Lutheran Church-LCMS 9076 Middlebrook Pike Knoxville, TN 37923-1557 (865) 691-2823 Fax: (865) 691-4895 E-mail address: glc@visitgrace.org Sunday Worship: 8:00 a.m. (Traditional) and 9:30 a.m. (Blended)/11:00 a.m. (Contemporary) Wednesday Worship: 6:30 p.m. (Blended) Sunday School & Bible Classes @ 9:30 a.m./11:00 a.m.

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