Are you an elder in your church? Then this story is for you!

 

Two elders drove to a nearby Applebee's after an early evening meeting at the church. While waiting for a table, they sat in the bar drinking a beer. When their pastor walked by, one quickly said, "Oh, I hope Pastor didn't see us."  "What difference does that make," asked the other, "God knows we are having a beer."  Sure," replied the first, "But God won't tell my wife."

Have blessed New Year!

Do not be anxious about anything

 Promise yourself you won't worry about:

What might happen tomorrow

What happened years ago

What others think of you

Things you can't do anything about

Whether you're going to fail

What everybody else does

Dr. Kevin Leman, "Why Your Best Is Good Enough," page 214

Instead, read Philippians 4:4-7.

Then read it again.

Then read it again.

Let the Lord have your worries. He'll replace them with His peace.

You'll see.

Words of Encouragement - What will 2021 bring?

 How can a parade help us understand how God sees and knows everything in our lives - and that's a good thing! 

Check out Words of Encouragement today on the Life in Christ Lutheran Church Facebook page.

Have a blessed week!

God's dearest treasure

But God beheld my wretched state

Before the world's foundation

And mindful of His mercies great

He planned my soul's salvation

A Father's heart He turned to me

Sought my redemption fervently

He gave His dearest treasure

Martin Luther
 

Why Jesus came into our world

 In the "The Horse and His Boy," by CS  Lewis, there is little girl by the name of Aravis who has a slave girl.  She treats her slave horribly.  Aslan, the Christ-figure in the "Chronicles of Narnia" series, comes to Aravis and scratches her.  She asked why he did it, and Aslan answers, "I didn't scratch you because you need to be punished.  I scratched you because you needed to know what it feels like."

 That's what Christ did.  He entered time and space.  He walked our dirty roads, and He died in our place.  He learned firsthand what it feels like to be in a fallen world.  Jesus entered time and space, not just to keep you from being lonely or afraid but to be lonely and afraid.  Not just to keep you from dying but to die.  Because He knows what it feels like, like the Bible says.  He is kind and gentle.

 God to Him.  He longs to show you what unconditional love feels like.

Steve Brown

It happened!

 The angel's message is simply what happened - a birth - and the identification of the one born - "a Savior who is Christ the Lord."  Impossible? No, it has happened.  God did not have to wait for clearance from, whether it is possible or not.  It happened.  A Savior born, Christ the Lord.

Selected sermons of Norman Nagel, Christmas 1975

Are we there yet?

 Do you think Mary asked Joseph, "Are we there yet?" Contractions are coming and they need to reach Bethlehem immediately.  Find out more on this week's "Words of Encouragement" available on the Life in Christ Lutheran Church's Facebook page at 8 am.

The Friday Funny

 One balmy evening in the South Pacific, a Navy ship spied smoke coming from one of the three huts on an uncharted island.

 Upon arriving at the shore, the crew was met by a shipwreck survivor.  He said, "I'm so glad you're here.  I've been alone on this island for over five years.

 The captain replied, "If you're all alone, why do I see three huts?"

 The survivor answered, "Well, I live in one and go to church  in another.

 "What about the third hut," asked the captain.

 "That's where I used to go to church."

Collect for the third week in Advent

 Stir up Your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us, and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let Your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom, with You and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory now and for ever.  Amen.

The Inn Keeper Got it Right!

 Did you hear the one about the child who played the inn keeper for the Christmas pageant? He went off script and said the words you and I might have said to Mary and Joseph.  Come and find out how the story ended this coming Monday morning at 8 am.  Words of Encouragement can be found on the Life in Christ Lutheran Church Facebook page.  Check it out!

The Friday Funny - Asleep in church

A husband and wife are in church.  While the pastor is giving his sermon, he notices that the husband has fallen asleep.  The pastor says to the wife, "Would you please wake up your husband."  The wife replied, "You put him to sleep.  You wake him up!" 

What a friend I have in you

 Don't tell me what a friend I have in Jesus until I see what a friend I have in you.

 Dr. Eugene Habecker, quoted in "Meyer Minute," (didn't note the year, oops!)

Receive the Living Water!

 John, chapter four, tells the unforgettable story of Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman.  Through questions and answers, Jesus reveals Himself as God.  The woman is so amazed by Jesus' teachings and compassion that she rushes back to her village to them all that they too need to come and see Jesus.  On this text, William Weedon writes:

The woman leaves her water jar when she runs away to tell the people in town about Jesus.  Get it? She now has the living water! She shouts in the middle of town for anyone to hear, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did.  Can this be the Christ?"  (John 4:29)

From, "Thank, Praise, Serve & Obey," page 118

We're having a baby - next Word of Encouragement!

 I was excited when my wife announced, "We're having a baby!" Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth, was not "over the moon" with excitement when the woman he was to marry, Mary, told him she was with child.  What did Joseph intend to do about his upcoming wedding? What did he do instead?  Join me this Monday at 8 am to learn more.  You can find "Words of Encouragement" on Facebook by searching Life in Christ Lutheran Church.  Check it out!

The Friday Funny - December 4, 2020

One morning a man telephoned his neighbor at four o'clock in the morning and said, "Your dog is barking and keeping me awake."

 The neighbor called him back at four o'clock the next morning and said, "I don't have a dog."

Be like a sponge

 Make God's presence your passion. How? Be more sponge and less rock.  Place a rock in the ocean, and what happens? It's surface gets wet.  The exterior may change color, but the interior remains untouched.  Yet place a sponge in the ocean, and notice the change.  It absorbs the water.  The ocean penetrates every pore and alters the essence of the sponge.

 God surrounds us in the same way the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble.  He is everywhere - above, below, on all sides.

Max Lucado, "You'll Get Through This," page 27