No Tricks, No Treats

Not at our church this Saturday.  But don't be disappointed.  We've got something better to give away - the gifts of God!

Word and sacraments - the means the Holy Spirit uses to bring us and keep us in saving faith - will be distributed this weekend at LICL.  Worship with us this Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 8 and 10:45 am.  Bible classes for all ages takes place at 9:20 in the morning.

Have a blessed weekend.  Hope to see you at Life in Christ!

Top Ten Signs You're In a Bad Boy Scout Troop

No, I did not write this one but it really cracked me up.  Drum roll, please...

10) You get a merit badge for picking the trifecta at Aqueduct

9) You help old ladies across the 101

8) First rule in handbook: "Blame the kid who can't speak English."

7) You're part of a very special troop called the Gambino family

6) To become an Eagle Scout, you have to catch and eat a bald eagle

5) Because he can't get time off, the troop leader holds meetings in his Century 21 office

4) You get busted for selling knot-tying secrets to Russian Boy Scout troops

3) The Scoutmaster hands out his favorite campfire treat - Marlboro Lights

2) The troop motto: "Be prepared...to lie on the witness stand."

And the number one sign that you're in a bad Boy Scout Troop?

1) Every year, you have to put on a skirt and go door-to-door selling cookies

Poisonous Weeds

Forbid me Lord
from praying for my enemies
or those who wronged me
while cherishing
the secret wish
that they be hurt
or destroyed
Purge me of bitterness anger
revenge hate
Root out 
the poisonous weeds
of jealously
entangled in my heart
towards those
who have a greater position
than the small place
I occupy
I am self-centered
wooden powerless
Lord 
to make this change
infuse me with
Your Holy Spirit
that I may truly
love my enemies
bless
and not curse them
and pray for them
wholeheartedly
as did Your Son
upon the cross

From "Prayers for People Under Pressure," by Donald Deffner, Northwestern Publishing House, page 58

Love Casts Out Fear

I don't know Brother Nathan.  But I very much admire him.

We believers in America know of persecution.  And yet, we have not yet felt the kind of persecution and hatred that believers in the Middle East feel and deal with every day.

"Love Casts Out Fear," published by Baker Books, offers a first hand account of what it is like being in the religious minority, of suffering on account of Christ, of knowing what is it like to trust the Lord every day with your life.

Learn what it's like to live in a small, Middle Eastern village.  Feel the pain of losing a parent who is gunned down by Muslin extremists.  Experience the desire for getting revenge from those who took away a loved one.

Read of how God replaced the desire for revenge with the peace that passes all understanding. Learn what it's like to trust that the Lord will really provide for all your needs.  Marvel at how a ministry that began with few resources has reached out with the love of God into parts of the world controlled by those who wish to destroy Christian believers.

"Love Casts Out Fear" truly is a "can't put it down" kind of book.  Read it and you'll admire Brother Nathan too.

Trunk or Treat!

Following tonight's 5 pm service, our children's ministry will host a "trunk or treat" event in our parking lot.  Games for the kids start at 6 pm and the trunk or treating will commence at 7 o'clock.

Tomorrow we celebrate Reformation Sunday with two services - 8 and 10:45 am.  At the 9:20 Bible class hour, while the kids attend Sunday school and Confirmation training, we'll continue our study of the life of Martin Luther by going all the way back to October 31, 1517 and the posting of the 95 Theses.

Give God two tomorrow - two hours of your time for worship and study.  Hope to see you at LICL!

Bonhoeffer on Christ and the cross

The wondrous theme of the Bible that frightens so many people is that the only visible sign of God in the world is the cross.  Christ is not carried away from earth to heaven in glory, but He must go to the cross.  And precisely there, where the cross stands, the resurrection is near; even there, where everyone begins to doubt God, where everyone despairs of God's power, there God is whole, there Christ is active and near.  Where the power of darkness does violence to the light of God, there God triumphs and judges the darkness.

From "The Story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" by Michael Van Dyke, page 68.

I'd rather have Jesus

Jesus is always better than a few Jesus-inspired principles.

Daniel Darling, "The Original Jesus," page 102.