[Sunday] Just a Taste - God's Greater Story - Romans 14

Service [above] Sermon releases at 10pm [under]

Questions for the Week

1.  What is God’s greater story?  What have you learned in this series?

2. Read Romans 14:1- 15:7.  What are the key themes that jump out to you as you read this?

3. According to Paul’s definition, who would you consider to be a weak Christian today?  According to this section of Romans, how should your attitude change towards them?

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---- THIS WEEK AT GRACE - Today August 9, 2020

Worship Service 8:30 AM

Second Worship Service and

  video service www.gracelutheranpsl.com 10:15 AM

Zoom into Fellowship 12:00 PM - Noon

Korean Church Worship 1:00 PM

AA 7:30 PM

Rest of the week August 10 - August 15

Grace Crafters Monday, 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Adopt-A-Mile Tuesday, 8:30 AM

Individual/Family Communion Wednesday 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 & Noon

ZOOM Bible Study Thursday, 11:00 AM

     www.gracelutheranpsl.com

Korean Church Prayer Saturday, 6:00 AM

*Florida Primary next week, equipment set-up on Monday 8/17 and the Primary on 8/18.

For complete calendar information, go to www.gracelutheranpsl.com/calendar

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK: Paul Hasz - 8/10, Hatha Brown & Roy Cuellar - 8/15

THE FLOWERS ADORNING THE ALTAR are given by Gloria Solack in memory of her daughter Theresa.

ADOPT-A-MILE is this Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at 8:30 AM!   Our meeting place will be on the corner of Torino and Conus.  For more information contact: Judy Fredrich (561) 315-9555  pjfred@outlook.com

CARENET - AWESOME SUPPORT!    $436.59 was collected for the CareNet baby bottles!   A huge thank you for all who have participated.  If you still have a bottle please bring it in or if you would like to make an additional donation to CareNet we will accept it anytime.

PLEASE CALL PEOPLE I realize I take for granted that people just come to the church on a regular basis. So that we all don’t descend into madness, let’s call and talk to each other regularly.  Phone directories are available for your convenience.  

Online Giving We have now added Paypal for online donations. We have been approved as a trusted non profit organization. If you would like to give through Paypal, please go to: www.GraceLutheranPSL.com and click the “GIVE” button on the upper right side of the page.

CRAFTERS’ GROUP Will meet Tomorrow, Monday, August 10, from 10:30 AM till 2:00 PM (lunch provided!).   Please wear your mask, and we will keep safe distance while enjoying fellowship and will “craft” new and enjoyable items.  Contact Judy Fredrick pjfred@outlook.com for info.

CALLING ALL BOOKBAGS, PENCILS, AND OTHER SCHOOL SUPPLIES! “Habitat for Children’s Ministry” led by Meschac St. Amour is looking for school supplies to be used by students in Haiti this coming school year.   This week is the last week for collection!

COMMUNION ON WEDNESDAY: If you, or someone you know, would like to celebrate Holy Communion but prefer a small group or unable to attend Sunday service, Pastor Cris has set aside Wednesday’s to celebrate the meal in small/family groups.   Please come by on Wednesday at: 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 or 12:00 (noon) and partake of this wonderful meal.   

SEE YOUR GRACE FAMILY ON ZOOM!  Pastor and Coli will be hosting Zoom to Coffee at NOON on Sunday for those who are worshipping at home, or in person, who would like to join in fellowship “virtually” to see and chat with Grace members and friends safely.  All are welcome!

BIBLE STUDY FOR ALL Pastor Cris is conducting a “live” Bible study online for you to participate in on Thursdays at 11:00 AM.   Directions for participating can be found on the web page www.GracelutheranPSL.com.   ** You are also welcome to attend the Bible Study at church, in person!  ** Seating with social distancing along with wearing your mask is now happening,  at the Bible Study on Thursday at 11 AM and at Worship on Sundays at 8:30 AM and 10:15 AM.

GIVING - Changing over to a social distance model of ministry has been quite challenging. We  needed to purchase new equipment and the overall church’s expenses did not go down even though we were not meeting in person.  We are here to provide “Grace and Peace in this Chaotic and Lonely Time” to those in our church and community.  Thank you for your past and continual prayers and financial support to Grace and your community.

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Who Is My Neighbors - John Nunes

Source article: https://www.canadianlutheran.ca/who-is-my-neighbour/

“11 min Read”

By Rev. Dr. John Arthur Nunes is President of Concordia College (Bronxville, New York).

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As if the loneliness of isolation weren’t enough, now we are gripped by the fear of anarchy and what feels to some like the collapse of western civilization. As tough as these times seem, I believe that the Holy Spirit relentlessly is present to help the Church navigate with confidence and hope these difficult days: “We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Hebrews 10:39).

The twin crises of COVID-19 and rising mainstream awareness of racial injustice have tested our faith and rattled our settled ideas of normalcy. From Port of Spain, Trinidad to Uranium City, Saskatchewan life on our continent is challenged. Yes, I say stretching from the Caribbean, because people from Panama to Greenland geographically-speaking are our North American “neighbours.” Our current moment—whether because of social distancing or social unrest—retrieves for us an ancient question with biblical precedent: “Who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10).

Reimagining Neighbourliness

When I attended Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary (CLTS – St. Catharines, Ontario) in the late 1980s, Dean Roger Humann led a spiritual retreat based on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s work Life Together. How can communities of faith ground our lives together in the place where grace is funded? Humann proposed, only with Christ at the centre! I remember our discussions including this volume’s cautionary note: that there was a destructive power when humans wrongly love even good things. For example, lovers of community, and nowadays, lovers even of diversity end up destroying what they love. Those, on the other hand, who reserve their love for Jesus Christ fortify community.

That principle has stuck with me and worked for me everywhere I’ve been in the ensuing thirty-plus years. Truth endures, doesn’t it? My point is, as we ourselves endure our hard struggles (Hebrews 10:32), we do not need novel strategies; we do need to do old things in new ways, and answer ancient questions, like “Who is my neighbor?” with faithful reimagination.

Our renewed neighbourliness arises only as we continue to orbit our lives around the source and summit of our faith, Jesus Christ. He is the axis that holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). Through the inevitable zigzag course of our days, we hold firmly to the One who holds us in “the confession of our hope without wavering” (Hebrews 10:23). How do we keep being held? By participating regularly in God’s Word, in the Sacraments, and in the fellowship of the faithful. By dwelling in Christ, we will reinforce our habits of faith during these trying times even as we discover innovative ways to be forces for good and for God in increasingly diversified communities. To be the witnesses for peace and the workers for justice we are called to be, we must first “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) in the One who calls us.

Since human persons are the crown of creation, all people are offered the saving gift that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose to procure. Humans are able, by grace through faith, to uniquely know and love their Creator. Therefore, we regard all persons as our neighbours—without any exclusions or exceptions! We value all persons as bearers of the dignity accredited to those both made in the image of God, and, in whom, as believers in Christ, the image will be fully restored. Finally, we anticipate the renewal of creation, the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2), where race is finally and fully transcended. 

“Humans are able, by grace through faith, to uniquely know and love their Creator. Therefore, we regard all persons as our neighbours—without any exclusions or exceptions! We value all persons as bearers of the dignity accredited to those both made in the image of God, and, in whom, as believers in Christ, the image will be fully restored.”

North American society seems to be moving in the opposite direction, as we increasingly dishonour, disregard, and disrespect our neighbours with blatant brutality. Social media tends to aggravate our rage and outrageousness. Stuck in a painful state of hyperpartisanship, we demonize each other and impose demands that are non-nuanced and non-negotiable. As religious faith fades, politics gains an inflated sense of religious ferocity. Even among those who profess belief, theology too often gets twisted to form a thin veneer of proof passages as cover for their group’s cultural ideology. We are meant for more than this as a people and as a Church. If we still possess the will to pursue a pathway forward, it will need to include a new neighbourliness led by Christians: respectful listening, principled civility, reasoned dialogue, mutual sacrifice, decision-making with an eye toward the common good, and as James Hankins from Harvard University puts it much better than I: “the ability to recognize the value of what others value.”

I palpably remember as a student how proudly I admired the neighbourliness expressed in the old CLTS Academic Calendar. I was magnetized by what these words suggested as possible: that St. Catharines was located near the urban centers of Toronto, Hamilton, and Buffalo, New York, and that the area congregations were reflective of “the ethnic and linguistic diversity that is typically Canadian.” What a bracing vision, to celebrate pluralism as “typical,” an indubitable fact.

Race as Fiction. Racism as Fact.

The most recent racial unrest in the United States has captured the attention of the mainstream culture in North American life, a stratum in which most Lutherans are located. Many are becoming more aware of what others have long known—the persistence of the structural evil of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, and the chronic lack of access afforded too many African-Americans. Many are recognizing the gargantuan work yet to be done in addressing systemic corruption, unequal economic opportunity, urban violence, mass incarceration, and the treatment of minority neighbours.

“It has always struck me as ironic that the majority of the world’s population qualifies as “minority.” Obviously, this term refers more to power dynamics than numerical demographics.”

There may be similar opportunities in Canada among so-called minorities. I say “so-called” because Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) comprise the vast majority of the world’s 7.8 billion people—conservatively 80 percent. The proportion of “minorities” in the U.S. and Canada will only grow as time goes on. Pew Research already reports that the most common age for white people in the United States today is 58, while for “minorities” it is 27.

It has always struck me as ironic that the majority of the world’s population qualifies as “minority.” Obviously, this term refers more to power dynamics than numerical demographics. Because of this, I have an academic friend who uses the term minoritized rather than minority. He is referring to groups of people who have been assigned minority status. What makes this more ironic for Christians is that race is a theological and biological fiction. Genetic differences are as significant within so-called races as they are between so-called races. Yet, racism is a fact. Racism makes negative judgments about human worth, intelligence, or superiority based on phenotypes, that is, “organic, genetically transmitted differences (whether real or imagined) between human groups” (LCMS CTCR report on “Racism and the Church”). 

Shattering Stereotypes

One opportunity for Christians in Canada to engage in the work of social justice and evangelization is among our First Nations’ neighbours. The word “neighbour” derives historically from near-dweller; to be a neighbour requires proximity, getting close to others in order to get to know them. Social distancing is the opposite of neighbouring.

Rhonda Kelman is the Executive Director of BC Mission Boat Society. She described for me in a recent Zoom conversation what could be acquired only from getting close to those who are different. Her “stereotypes were shattered” through her work among First Nations peoples living in remote communities along Canada’s British Columbian coast. As she shares the love of Jesus in word and deed, she “listens and learns,” and is awakened to the many false assumptions that people have regarding the religious practices of these communities. “It’s not about animal worship,” Kelman maintains, “I’ve heard [First Nations] people ask, ‘How can I have my culture and Jesus at the same time?’”

In other words, how are we to understand the ways in which culture and Christianity intersect? While becoming Christian certainly implies entering into a reverential framework that is distinct from this world, it also always entails cultural forms that are of this world—like language, music, ways of relating to one another, and even notions about time. During this moment of rising intercultural consciousness, we have a chance to learn about our own cultural blind-spots that falsely blur culture and theology. No matter who we are, our way cannot be the only way to come to the only One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 1:14).

Kelman speaks glowingly about experiencing welcome and hospitality among her First Nations neighbours. “I am amazed that we are invited and asked to go into their communities, especially in light of what they have suffered from church-based Residential Schools: sexually, physically, emotionally, having everything stripped away from them, not even being allowed to use their language.” 

It is heartbreaking that Inuit people, for example, have experienced intergeneration trauma which contributes to the highest suicide rates in the world, as Helen Epstein writes in The New York Review of Books, and that in some communities “over half the population uses drugs… including anything sniffable: starter fluid, spray paint, nails polish and gasoline.” Who is my neighbour?

Three Splashes of Inclusion

Irrespective of your politics, Canada seems historically to have striven to be a place of welcome and inclusion. As the former president of Lutheran World Relief, I had the opportunity to travel the world, meeting and getting to know many global neighbours, especially those living in poverty. As a whole, Canada seems unique in valuing hospitality toward new neighbours. My family was blessed to be welcomed to Canada from Jamaica in the 1960s, and then to Pilgrim, Hamilton in the early 1970s.

Sadly, some of this spirit seems to be dissipating. Perhaps this is in reaction to the ideological pressures of aggressive progressives. Perhaps it’s due to the nostalgic streak among some conservative types pining for a mythical era of monochromatic simplicity. Perhaps it’s an unhealthy influence from your politically divided neighbours to the south.

Whatever the socio-political motive, our identity in Christ’s mystical body must transcend categorization. As baptized believers, we are new creations! And that matters more than any label. Likewise, we have a new view of our neighbours, seeing them not merely as labelable categories. Reborn, “we regard no one according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:16). What God does for us in three splashes of water obliterates all distinctions. Who we are daily remade to be in the name of Father, Son, and Spirit outweighs any category like Métis, fundamentalist, racist, single-parent, Quebecois, steelworker, Latina, divorcee, Marxist, bishop, learning-disabled, or any of the pigeonholes in which we find ourselves placed. We are called into the world from that eternal-life-giving font by the perfect love that drives out fear (1 John 4:18).

Despite what feels these days like chaos and crisis, the Holy Spirit keeps our eyes riveted on Jesus Christ. The ordinary places in which we pray, play, live, love, and work comprise the neighbourhoods in which God has assigned us to live out our baptismal identities. We follow our Redeemer and Rabbi who was, as my former professor Rev. Dr. John R. Stephenson eloquently puts it, “the carpenter’s son, becoming not a garrulous member of the chattering classes, not a businessman in search of quick profit, not even mayor of the town, but a quiet, methodical, reliable carpenter alert to the needs of His neighbours.”

Forgiveness Forty-Eight Years After John Lewis Was Attacked

Source Article: https://mbird.com/2020/07/forty-eight-years-after-john-lewis-was-attacked/

Astop-you-in-your-tracks story of (and reflection upon) sin, repentance, reconciliation, and hope from the late congressman John Lewis’ final book, Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America, which we discuss on the forthcoming episode of The Mockingcast. Even if you’ve heard about the incident elsewhere, it’s worth reading Lewis’ own words on the matter:

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Diffusing the fury of violence by obstructing and redirecting the intention of an attacker is itself an act of love … Having compassion for your attacker means you harbor no malice and seek no retribution for the wrong that has been done. It is an offering of love that asserts the victim’s self-worth. It makes room for the inner working of his or her soul that has a way of invoking a quiet insistence to do what is right.

This brings to mind the one and only attacker, of the forty times I was arrested and jailed, who apologized to me for his actions. Almost forty-eight years after that now famous Freedom Ride stop in Rock Hill, South Carolina, that left Albert Bigelow and me so badly bruised and bloodied, Elwin Wilson, one of our attackers, wanted to come to meet me.

Wilson had apologized to other Freedom Riders during ceremonies honoring them in South Carolina and had mentioned his wish to find the men he had beaten up that day in Rock Hill. I welcomed him to Washington and as we sat, Wilson looked deep into my eyes, searching my expression, and said he was the person who had beaten me in Rock Hill in May of 1961. He said, “I am sorry about what I did that day. Will you forgive me?” Without a moment of hesitation, I looked back at him and said, “I accept your apology.” The man who had physically and verbally assaulted me was now seeking my approval. This was a great testament to the power of love to overcome hatred …

Wilson has said publicly that he is glad to be able to count me as a friend today, and he has expressly mentioned his gratitude that we did not press charges that day. His life and the life of his family could have been changed forever if South Carolina had actually tried and convicted him. But beyond that, had he been tried, it would have added a layer of justification to the rationalization that always accompanies guilt. If he had been publicly vindicated, which would have been the likely outcome, it would have been more difficult for him to come to the point where he eventually believed an apology was in order, and more difficult for him to feel love.

Elwin Wilson also said that he was glad we did not have any weapons that day. If Albert Bigelow and I had inflicted harm in Rock Hill, we would have fueled the flames of violence instead of putting them out. Any sense of remorse would have had to compete with the fire of anger. Instead of a possible reconciliation, revenge would have been the product of that violent confrontation in Rock Hill. But because we met this man in love and offered him our respect despite his obvious hatred, it gave him nothing to justify his anger. He left that day only to review it in his mind so many times over the years. The resonance of our innocence made room in his own soul for the realization that he needed to ask for forgiveness. I was surprised to hear him clearly restate forty-eight years later the essence of what I had said to the police officer as I declined to press charges almost half a century earlier: “We’re not here to cause trouble. We’re here so that people will love each other.” That was how he put it. The impact we left was undeniable.

What Elwin Wilson did took courage. He could have simply made amends in his heart, but to publicly put aside his differences and admit his error is unique and bold. By doing this, he demonstrated so poignantly for all to see that love that opens its arms to help heal the pain of another’s suffering — not violence in self-defense — has the power to ultimately disarm the attacker, preserve his or her integrity, and enable the truth to do its work. Love that meets the separating action of violence with forgiveness affirms that our ultimate and eternal unity is transformative.

[Sunday] Under Roman Roads - God's Greater Story - Romans 13

Service [above] Sermon releases at 10pm [under]

Questions for the Week

1. What do you think makes a good political leader?

2. Read Romans 13:1-14.  How does Paul offer a different perspective of our leaders?  Who ultimately is in charge?

3. What does knowing that “there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1b) enable you to do?

4. What would the world look like if Chrstians focused more on loving our neighbors, one on one, rather than fighting over politics?

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---- THIS WEEK AT GRACE - Today August 2, 2020

Worship Service 8:30 AM

Second Worship Service and

  video service www.gracelutheranpsl.com 10:15 AM

Zoom into Fellowship 12:00 PM - Noon

Korean Church Worship 1:00 PM

AA 7:30 PM

Rest of the week August 3 - August 8

Grace Crafters Monday, 10:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Individual/Family Communion Wednesday 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 & Noon

ZOOM Bible Study Thursday, 11:00 AM

     www.gracelutheranpsl.com

Korean Church Prayer Saturday, 6:00 AM

For complete calendar information, go to www.gracelutheranpsl.com/calendar

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK: John Linderman - 8/4, and  Alexia Tsikoudis - 8/5

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES THIS WEEK: Brian & Shari Blizzard (27 Yrs)

THE FLOWERS ADORNING THE ALTAR are given to the glory of God by Laura Peeler.

AWESOME SUPPORT!    $436.59 has been collected for the CareNet baby bottles!   A huge thank you for all who have participated.   Last Sunday was the final day for the fund drive, however, if you still have a bottle please bring it in or if you would like to make an additional donation to CareNet we will accept them anytime.

PLEASE CALL PEOPLE I realize I take for granted that people just come to the church on a regular basis. So that we all don’t descend into madness, let’s call and talk to each other regularly.  Phone directories are available for your convenience.  

Online Giving We have now added Paypal for online donations. We have been approved as a trusted non profit organization. If you would like to give through Paypal, please go to: www.GraceLutheranPSL.com and click the “GIVE” button on the upper right side of the page.

CRAFTERS’ GROUP Will meet Tomorrow, Monday, August 3, from 10:30 AM till 2:00 PM (lunch provided!).   Please wear your mask, and we will keep safe distance while enjoying fellowship and will “craft” new and enjoyable items.  Contact Judy Fredrick pjfred@outlook.com for info.

(We will also be meeting next Monday, August 10th.)

CALLING ALL BOOKBAGS, PENCILS, AND OTHER SCHOOL SUPPLIES! “Habitat for Children’s Ministry” led by Meschac St. Amour is looking for school supplies to be used by students in Haiti this coming school year. 

COMMUNION ON WEDNESDAY: If you, or someone you know, would like to celebrate Holy Communion but prefer a small group or unable to attend Sunday service, Pastor Cris has set aside Wednesday’s to celebrate the meal in small/family groups.   Please come by on Wednesday at: 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 or 12:00 (noon) and partake of this wonderful meal.   

SEE YOUR GRACE FAMILY ON ZOOM!  Pastor and Coli will be hosting Zoom to Coffee at NOON on Sunday for those who are worshipping at home, or in person, who would like to join in fellowship “virtually” to see and chat with Grace members and friends safely.  All are welcome!

BIBLE STUDY FOR ALL Pastor Cris is conducting a “live” Bible study online for you to participate in on Thursdays at 11:00 AM.   Directions for participating can be found on the web page www.GracelutheranPSL.com.   ** You are also welcome to attend the Bible Study at church, in person!  ** Seating with social distancing along with wearing your mask is now happening,  at the Bible Study on Thursday and at Worship on Sundays at 8:30 AM and 10:15 AM.
GIVING - Changing over to a social distance model of ministry has been quite challenging. We  needed to purchase new equipment and the overall church’s expenses did not go down even though we were not meeting in person.  We are here to provide “Grace and Peace in this Chaotic and Lonely Time” to those in our church and community.  Thank you for your past and continual prayers and financial support to Grace and your community.

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

City of PSL Dedicated Hurricane Page

UPDATE: The City now has a dedicated page for Hurricane Isaias updates and information: www.cityofpsl.com/isaias

Important information about shelters and evacuations from St. Lucie County, as well as the 8 a.m. update from the National Weather Service:

⬇️⬇️⬇️

Emergency Management staff is urging residents to shelter in place during #HurricaneIsaias, as there are no immediate plans to open shelters or issue evacuations.

The City of Port St. Lucie is closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Isaias. As of 5 p.m. Friday, July 31, we have the following update:

The Community Center, MIDFLORIDA Event Center, and Minsky Gym will close to the public at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. These facilities will not reopen to the public until Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, at normal operating hours.

All parks will close to the public at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. All parks may reopen to the public at noon Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, barring weather conditions.

The Saints Golf Course will remain status quo with events and golf as scheduled through Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. However, the facility may reopen to the public at noon Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, barring weather conditions.

Hurricane Announcement July 30th 2020

No In-Person Service August 2nd

Online Service released at 10:15am

There they were, placing another Christian friend in the catacombs under the roads of Rome. They were facing persecution from all sides, and things looked bl...

Here's what you need to know about the City's stormwater system

Heads up, Port St. Lucie: Our area could see some wet weather this weekend, so here’s what you should know about the city’s stormwater system and how to maintain the swale on your property.

Learn more about the City's stormwater system at www.cityofpsl.com/swale

May My Virtue Signals Be Transformed Into Love

Article Taken from Mockingbird Ministries https://mbird.com/2020/07/may-my-virtue-signals-be-transformed-into-love/

by AMANDA MCMILLEN on Jul 13, 2020

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

— 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

There is a difference between being motivated by love and being motivated by self-justification, and we can usually feel the difference. When we send an email to a co-worker that was a bit harsh, we may be extra nice and accommodating to them the next time we interact — maybe to apologize in humility (a motivation of love), but also maybe to feel like we aren’t terrible people (a motivation of self-justification). These motivations are hard to pin down, and the things we do could be motivated by both forces at once — they often feel that way to me.

I remember complaining to my husband once about the ways that politicians drive me crazy by divisively deciding they’re right with no room for conversation or listening to other points of view. He listened and then reminded me that sometimes people aren’t trying to be divisive — sometimes they’re trying to be loving and they just think their policies are the most loving, and so they fight for them. His reply gave me pause and reminded me that whether it is politics or everyday life, there are different motivations for the things we do. And it isn’t necessarily up to us to determine if someone else’s motivations are right or wrong — God is very capable of knowing the hearts of others without our input. (Though as soon as He asks for my input I am READY to give it.)

But no matter our ability to differentiate between good and bad motivations for the things we do, we are still guilty. This is what the law tells us: “No one is righteous, no not one.” We are guilty of selfish motivation and self-justification. Feelings of guilt convict us of sin, a blessed and painful reminder that we are humans in need of a savior. But if we forget (as is so easy to do in this world) that we do in fact have a forgiving savior, we may do whatever we can to feel less guilty than we are.  Here we find our never-ending tit-for-tat approach to balancing the scales and desperately trying to feel like good people. But this is a tiring game with no end in sight that only starts fresh the next day, with the next mistake we make. (The internal dialogue is anxiety-inducing: “Did I offend that person? How do I prove to them that I’m ‘good’?”)

I have been seeing this lately all over social media. There are a lot of great conversations happening around racial inequities in our country — conversations that are rooted in love — and there are also a lot of puffed-up shows of solidarity that are more about being seen as righteous. Resounding gongs and clanging cymbals. It’s not always clear which is which, and I don’t know that it’s my place to decide, but we all know they’re both out there. I am certainly guilty of being another clanging cymbal. Again and again we see the human urgency to self-justify and prove our worth “that I may boast.”

Guilt can convict us of real sin that invites repentance, but self-justification likes to see that feeling fade, and naively hopes it will never return. Feelings of guilt do return because, of course, we are guilty of many things. We feel convicted of sin, self-justify by doing something that makes us seem moral to others, feel better about ourselves (via “virtue signaling”), and then the feeling of guilt dissipates, and we hope we are on the “right” side again. Then it’s back to normal life.

This pattern of guilt, self-justification, boasting, and then indifference, is cut to it’s core with the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians about the nature of love. Good works that come from guilt or self-justification are not patient or kind. They are not selfless, but rather fully focused on self. They will not bear all things or even last very long because as soon as we feel that false relief of self-justification, we can drop the act.

But good works coming from love — those are the real deal. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, these are the kind of good works we don’t think twice about, the kind of good works that don’t puff up, because they are born of love — genuine interest in our neighbor’s well being — instead of self-promotion. This kind of love is an act of God in us, a death of self and a resurrection within.

Self-justification is not actually what justifies us. It does no good to seem better than we are. As St. Paul writes, “man is justified by faith alone, not by works.” It is the imputed righteousness of Christ to ourselves that justifies us and calls us “good,” whether or not our best and worst actions have pure motives. This is why, when we find ourselves face-to-face with our sin, feeling the heaviness of guilt in our hearts, we can afford to give up the act of self-justification — not because we righted the wrong on our own, or even apologized. Being justification by faith frees us from the anxieties of self-justification and the endless search for perfect motivations. We are given this free gift of grace that we do not bring about, but only accept, dumbfounded, tears in eyes.

Love does not envy or boast, and we do not do it well. But God does it perfectly, on a cross. His righteousness is now ours and there is no need to prove a thing. From this death comes life, and from life comes fruits, like love.

[Sunday] Molded - God's Greater Story - Romans 12

Service [above] Sermon releases at 10pm [under]

Questions for the Week

1. Describe a time when someone embraced you with warmth and love.

2. Read Romans 12:9-21.  Compare and contrast Paul’s words with where we typically find power in the world.

3. Share some times when Jesus embodies the attitude Paul describes in Scripture.  How has he shown you this attitude?

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---- THIS WEEK AT GRACE - Today July 26, 2020

Worship Service 8:30 AM

Second Worship Service and

  video service www.gracelutheranpsl.com 10:15 AM

Zoom into Fellowship 12:00 PM - Noon

Korean Church Worship 1:00 PM

AA 7:30 PM

Rest of the week July 27 - August 1

Individual/Family Communion Wednesday 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 & Noon

ZOOM Bible Study Thursday, 11:00 AM

     www.gracelutheranpsl.com

Korean Church Prayer Saturday, 6:00 AM

For complete calendar information, go to www.gracelutheranpsl.com/calendar

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK: Barbara Morgan - 7/27, 

Al Vollmann & Lucille Mills - 7/28

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES THIS WEEK: Richard & Marie Harms - 7/31 (44 Yrs)

THE FLOWERS ADORNING THE ALTAR are given To the Glory of God.

PLEASE CALL PEOPLE I realize I take for granted that people just come to the church on a regular basis. So that we all don’t descend into madness, let’s call and talk to each other regularly.  Phone directories are available for your convenience.  

CALLING ALL BOOKBAGS, PENCILS, AND OTHER SCHOOL SUPPLIES! “Habitat for Children’s Ministry” led by Meschac St. Amour is looking for school supplies to be used by students in Haiti this coming school year. 

AWESOME SUPPORT!    As of July 9th, $386.53 had been collected for the CareNet baby bottles!   A huge thank you for all who have participated.   Today is the final day for the fund drive, however, we will continue collecting donations for CarNet if you would like to contribute.  

WINN DIXIE BAGS!  As a reminder, this is the final week!  Grace Lutheran Church Alzheimer's Community Care will receive a $1 donation from each purchase of the $2.50 reusable Community Bag at the store located at Winn-Dixie 281 Southwest Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Port Saint Lucie FL.  Thank You To all who have participated so far!

COMMUNION ON WEDNESDAY: If you, or someone you know, would like to celebrate Holy Communion but prefer a small group or unable to attend Sunday service, Pastor Cris has set aside Wednesday’s to celebrate the meal in small/family groups.   Please come by on Wednesday at: 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 or 12:00 (noon) and partake of this wonderful meal.   

SEE YOUR GRACE FAMILY ON ZOOM!  Pastor and Coli will be hosting Zoom to Coffee at NOON on Sunday for those who are worshipping at home, or in person, who would like to join in fellowship “virtually” to see and chat with Grace members and friends safely.  All are welcome!

BIBLE STUDY FOR ALL Pastor Cris is conducting a “live” Bible study online for you to participate in on Thursdays at 11:00 AM.   Directions for participating can be found on the web page www.GracelutheranPSL.com.   Check it out, and if you need assistance, please call the phone number listed. 

AND…. even if you are not computer savvy or do not have computer access, you can participate over your phone.  

GIVING - Changing over to a social distance model of ministry has been quite challenging. We  needed to purchase new equipment and the overall church’s expenses did not go down even though we were not meeting in person.  We are here to provide “Grace and Peace in this Chaotic and Lonely Time” to those in our church and community.  Thank you for your past and continual prayers and financial support to Grace and your community.
Online Giving We have now added Paypal for online donations. We have been approved as a trusted non profit organization. If you would like to give through Paypal, please go to: www.GraceLutheranPSL.com and click the “GIVE” button on the upper right side of the page.

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

#GospelResistance [From MBird.com]

From: https://mbird.com/2020/07/gospelresistance/

Thankful for this post by our good friend, Jason Micheli:

On Twitter today, the hashtag resist trended in dizzying directions, linking causes as disparate as police brutality, cancelling Tucker Carlson, and even cancelling cancel culture. #Resist was also linked to standing up against “oppressive” mask orders in localities hit by surges in the coronavirus. Given the ubiquitous yet ambiguous nature of the word, it would behoove us as Christians, I believe, to ask what it means to resist, biblically-speaking.

The Apostle Peter uses the word to exhort the elect community, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your Enemy, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion … Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” Peter puts it in the imperative, antistete — “Stand against him!”

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands those whom he has called to love their enemies. That Jesus orders his disciples to love our enemies suggests that Jesus expects us, like him, to make enemies. The problem, though, is that too often — at least in a liberal denomination like my own, United Methodism — the enemies the Church stands up to resist are everybody’s enemies: racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia. It’s not that those issues are not urgent. It’s that the distinctive form of our Christian witness becomes unclear if we’re simply resisting what you need not be a Christian to resist.

The negative frame of the word makes it all the more critical we understand, in Gospel terms. It’s riskier to be against something because the very act of resistance, drawing lines between good and evil, righteous and unrighteous, risks obscuring the offensive, counter-intuitive Gospel that God has elected us to proclaim. How do we practice Christian resistance without resisting the radical inclusiveness of the Christian kergyma?

Done, not Do — that is the Gospel.

The Gospel is not Become a Better You. The Gospel is Christ has Died for Unrighteous You. Christ was cancelled for the sake of every last deplorable. While we were yet his enemies, Paul announces, Christ Jesus was crucified for the justification not of the good but of the ungodly.  And notice, the apostolic Gospel is not that Christ Jesus was crucified for the repentance of the ungodly. No, on account of Jesus Christ and his shed blood alone, God declares even the ungodly to be in the right — righteous — before God.

The Gospel is more inclusive than anyone who does not know scripture could imagine.

God is not just a God on the side of the poor and oppressed, the righteous and the peacemakers. The Gospel makes the offensive claim that God is also on the side of the irreligious, the immoral, and the unjust. The Gospel is Good News for victims, yes, but also for the victimizers; for the oppressed, of course, but for their oppressors, too. How many churches have you seen with signs out front that say “Crooks, Adulterers, Liars, and Xenophobes, Welcome!”

The Gospel proclaims the exasperating news that the Living God is for us to such an excessively prodigal degree it’s difficult to know how we are to be against in a manner that does not shroud our message. It’s tricky business, knowing how to be against when God in Jesus Christ has not left us anyone, not a single soul, he is not for — to hell and back. As Karl Barth says, there is not one “No!” we can say to someone to whom God has not already uttered a final and decisive “Yes!” How do we resist the sin of racism, for example, without also resisting the uncomfortable news that every last racist in every one of those viral videos we’ve seen in the news this summer is a sinner whom Christ has not only died for but justified?

Will Campbell was a Baptist preacher and a civil rights activist, who died a few years ago. He’s the author of Brother to a Dragonfly and Up to Our Steeples in Politics. He won the National Book Award for the former. Campbell grew up in Amite County, Mississippi, where his family’s Baptist church had Bibles in the pews whose covers were emblazoned with Ku Klux Klan insignia. Ordained at the age of seventeen, Campbell went on to study at Yale and, upon graduation, he took a position as the campus chaplain at the University of Mississippi in 1954. He resigned two years later in the face of death threats over his support for Civil Rights and school integration.

During the Civil Rights movement, Will Campbell was acclaimed by many and accursed by many for the radically inclusive nature of his ministry. He simply refused to resist racism in the terms of Us vs. Them given to him by the culture. On more than one occasion, he counter-intuitively pastored the families of those victimized by Klan violence but also the victimizers, murderous Klansmen and their families. In his 1962 book, Race and the Renewal of the Church, Campbell was critical of how he and his peers had initially entered the resistance movement. “There were no innocent people involved in the civil rights movement,” Campbell wrote.

All of us — black and white — were guilty in that all of us were sinners. We all stood in desperate need of the message of judgment and redemption. […] Even those engaged in the new and dramatic protest movements, even we must also hear the Gospel of the Lord who burns and heals. We have moved into Christian social action from the wrong point of departure.

Campbell goes on to lament how he and his activist peers initiated their resistance efforts from the wrong starting point, solidarity with the suffering of the victims, “which is no different from the secular view of social action and carries with it a superficial sentimental understanding of the depth of humanity’s depravity.”

Critiquing his own form of resistance early on, Campbell writes that he and his peers should’ve taken as their point of departure, not right and wrong, good and evil, righteous and unrighteous, but the one reality we all share.

Sin.

“We’re all the ungodly,” Campbell said.

All of us are captive to the Power of Sin, Campbell meant. The chains of bondage just appear different depending on our color or creed, our station or situation. Thus, solidarity with victims is not enough. We must see one another, but most of all ourselves, as potential victimizers.

We’re all captive to the Power of Sin.

In Jesus Christ, God has not left us anyone — not a single person — whom God is not for because every single one of us is yet in bondage to an Enemy from whom Almighty God is determined to set us free.

Christian resistance is intelligible only as it relates to the Power of Sin and Death. The Apostle Peter exhorts the elect community to resist not our neighbors or our fellow citizens, not political parties or social policies per se but God’s Enemy. Even the baptismal liturgy presupposes the entrenched opposition of an occupying Enemy, the Devil, against which the human race is powerless without aid from another realm.

Of course, a neighbor’s racism, a fellow citizen’s violence, or a callous social policy can all be ways our collective bondage to the Enemy manifests. But — this is important — they do not make our neighbor the enemy. The enemy is the Enemy. And in one way or another, we are all in its grip. As the Apostle Paul puts it, “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against … the cosmic powers of this present darkness” (Eph 6:12).

Your neighbor is not the enemy.

The Enemy is the enemy.

We’re all prisoners of the same Pharaoh. The Devil’s laid different chains on me than on you maybe, but we’re all in the same situation, waiting on the final redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ. But just because we’re all prisoners waiting on our Rescuer to come back in final victory does not mean that we don’t try to knock down some walls, bust some chains, and dig a tunnel to freedom from behind Rita Hayworth.

Just as we acknowledge at our baptisms, Christ has elected us to resist the spiritual forces of wickedness in our world. But our Christian resistance should never be tinged with self-righteousness or hate but tempered by the knowledge of our own captivity and therefore by humility and pity and compassion.

Priest and author Fleming Rutledge tells the story of how when she was young and newly in the throes of the social justice movement, she complained to Will Campbell about racists. After listening to her rant, Campbell laughed and replied, “Fleming, we’re all racists!”

We’re all racists, or something.

We’re all captive to the Power of Sin.

Will Campbell could laugh at our common affliction because he was convinced that in Jesus Christ God had not only justified the ungodly, he would one day return to redeem the ungodly and, in rescuing us, remake us.

Crosstown traffic signals Changes [PSA]

PORT ST. LUCIE – Drivers on Crosstown Parkway should see improved traffic flow and fewer delays because of a new system that uses real-time data to coordinate traffic signals.

The City’s Public Works Department worked with consultant Rhythm Engineering to upgrade to the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) on Crosstown Parkway that is expected to optimize traffic patterns along this corridor.

“With the completion and opening of the new Crosstown Parkway bridge, the City Council agreed this new signal coordination system should be a priority as we make every effort to keep traffic moving as efficiently as possible on this important corridor,” City Manager Russ Blackburn said.

The new system will utilize “adaptive signal control” at intersections from Fairgreen Road to and including Floresta Drive along Crosstown Parkway. This technology incorporates real-time traffic volumes into the signal coordination plans. It captures current traffic demand data and uses it to adjust signal timing for both the main corridor and side streets. A video about the new system can be found at: https://youtu.be/A4WoR1ya2DY.

Because this system works differently than a typical traffic signal, drivers can expect to see patterns that may not be familiar. For example, the system prioritizes east/west traffic on Crosstown Parkway over side street traffic. This could result in side street traffic waiting at a red light when it appears there is no opposing traffic. Staff will continue to monitor and adjust the system to continue to minimize side street wait times. Signal phasing may also be different than what motorists are expecting. For example, the left turn arrow may come up first or last or both and through traffic could get a green light at varying times during the signal phasing cycles or perhaps even twice. The system is operating as it should and is still “learning” the traffic flows in order to be as efficient as possible.

The same system was installed on St. Lucie West Boulevard in 2017. Studies in both 2018 and 2019 concluded the adaptive signal system effectively lowered travel time and delay within the study corridor overall during most of the year. The result of this improvement has also reduced the number of crashes, thus enhancing the safety and quality of life for the residents and visitors. Reduction in travel times and delays also have the benefit of reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

The Crosstown adaptive signal equipment, which cost about $800,000, originally was not planned to be installed until 2028 and paid for with half-cent sales tax revenue. However, the City Council approved moving up the project timetable following the construction of the Crosstown bridge using funding from the Crosstown Parkway Extension Project.

God's Greater Story [Romans] Sermon Series

Paul in Romans is not speaking of a belief that is only for himself, a personal theology or a record of his personal spiritual journey. Paul is speaking of God and God’s work among his people, a saving work that includes all nations and that extends throughout all time. Paul’s words of faith are not for himself alone but for all peoples. Paul tells the Romans and us God’s greater story.

---

Sermons Playlist

See or Watch a Past Sermon Or Service

[Sunday] Loving - God's Greater Story - Romans 11 + 12

Service [above] Sermon releases at 10pm [under]

Questions for the Week

1.  What are some things that you would have to do to make your garden grow better if you had a garden?

2. Read Romans 11:11-24.  Paul speaks of the Gentiles being the wild shoot grafted into the plant.  Why does he do this?  What is the point of this illustration for you today?

3. How does remembering that God has grafted you into his family affect how you relate to other people?

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---- THIS WEEK AT GRACE - Today July 19, 2020

Worship Service 8:30 AM

Second Worship Service and

  video service www.gracelutheranpsl.com 10:15 AM

Korean Church Worship 1:00 PM

AA 7:30 PM

Rest of the week July 20 - July 25

Crafters Monday, 10:30 AM

Heatherwood HOA Tuesday, 7:00 PM

Korean Church Prayer Saturday, 6:00 AM

For complete calendar information, go to www.gracelutheranpsl.com/calendar

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK: Wilanne Kimball - 7/21, Kimberly Becker-Mattox - 7/23

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES THIS WEEK: Chuck & Janice Kamrath - 7/20 (64 Yrs)

THE FLOWERS ADORNING THE ALTAR are given by Barbara Scheer in memory of her wedding anniversary with Ron on July 17th. 

AWESOME SUPPORT!    $386.53 has been collected so far from the CareNet baby bottles over the past month!   A huge thank you for all who have participated.   We will continue collecting them and Judy Fredrich has a few bottles if someone still would like to contribute.     

PLEASE CALL PEOPLE I realize I take for granted that people just come to the church on a regular basis. So that we all don’t descend into madness, let’s call and talk to each other regularly.  Phone directories are available for your convenience.  

CRAFTERS’ GROUP Will meet Tomorrow, Monday, July 20, from 10:30 AM till 2:00 PM (Lunch provided!).   Please wear your mask and we will keep safe distance while enjoying fellowship and will “craft” new and enjoyable items.  Contact Judy Fredrick pjfred@outlook.com for info.

GIVING - Changing over to a social distance model of ministry has been quite challenging. We  needed to purchase new equipment and the overall church’s expenses did not go down even though we were not meeting in person.  We are here to provide “Grace and Peace in this Chaotic and Lonely Time” to those in our church and community.  Thank you for your past and continual prayers and financial support to Grace and your community.

Online Giving We have now added Paypal for online donations. We have been approved as a trusted non profit organization. If you would like to give through Paypal, please go to: www.GraceLutheranPSL.com and click the “GIVE” button on the upper right side of the page.

COMMUNION ON WEDNESDAY: If you, or someone you know, would like to celebrate Holy Communion but prefer a small group or unable to attend Sunday service, Pastor Cris has set aside Wednesday’s to celebrate the meal in small/family groups.   Please come by on Wednesday at: 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 or 12:00 (noon) and partake of this wonderful meal.   

BIBLE STUDY FOR ALL Pastor Cris is conducting a “live” Bible study online for you to participate in on Thursdays at 11:00 AM.   Directions for participating can be found on the web page www.GracelutheranPSL.com.   Check it out, and if you need assistance, please call the phone number listed. 

AND…. even if you are not computer savvy or do not have computer access, you can participate over your phone. 

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Leadership Podcast with Victor Belton and Scott Gress

In this episode of The Coaching Leader, we welcome Rev. Dr. Victor Belton. He has served for 30 years at Peace Lutheran Church Decatur GA, has served 12 year...

In this episode of The Coaching Leader, we welcome Rev. Dr. Victor Belton. He has served for 30 years at Peace Lutheran Church Decatur GA, has served 12 years on the Board of Directors of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), was Leadership Campus Pastor and Regional Representative of Concordia College Bronxville New York and now serves as Mission Facilitator for the FL-GA District LCMS.

Pastor Belton shares his insights and wisdom related to the injustice and sin of racism. He gives practical wisdom and advice for leaders and church leaders while also broadening our perspective to make the necessary changes.

[Sunday] Grafted- God's Greater Story - Romans 11

Service [above] Sermon releases at 10pm [under]

Questions for the Week

1.  What are some things that you would have to do to make your garden grow better if you had a garden?

2. Read Romans 11:11-24.  Paul speaks of the Gentiles being the wild shoot grafted into the plant.  Why does he do this?  What is the point of this illustration for you today?

3. How does remembering that God has grafted you into his family affect how you relate to other people?

---

---- THIS WEEK AT GRACE - Today July 12, 2020

Worship Service 8:30 AM

Second Worship Service and

  video service www.gracelutheranpsl.com 10:15 AM

Korean Church Worship 1:00 PM

AA 7:30 PM

Rest of the week July 13 - July 18

Adopt-A-Mile Tuesday, 8:30 AM

Korean Church Prayer Saturday, 6:00 AM

For complete calendar information, go to www.gracelutheranpsl.com/calendar

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK: Suzette Hudson and Jim Doran- 7/18, 

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES THIS WEEK: Claren & Jim Kerstner - 7/13 (69 Yrs), Jim & Piper Neagles - 7/14 (47 Yrs), Jack & Pat Gebhardt - 7/14 (13 Yrs), Claude & Pat Hessee - 7/17 (42 Yrs)

THE FLOWERS ADORNING THE ALTAR are given by the Kerstner family in celebration of Jim and Claren’s 69th Wedding Anniversary.

Habitat for Children’s Ministry backpacks 

VACATION TIME Pastor Cris and Coli are leaving today for a much-needed vacation and will return July 22nd.    Therefore, the Zoom Fellowship (7/12 & 7/19) & Bible Study (7/16) events and Wednesday Communion (7/15) will not be held this week or next Sunday.

ADOPT-A-MILE is this Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 8:30 AM!   Our meeting place will be on the corner of Torino and Conus.  For more information contact: Judy Fredrich (561) 315-9555  pjfred@outlook.com

CRAFTERS’ GROUP will meet next Monday, July 20, from 10:30 AM till 2:00 PM (Lunch provided!).   Please wear your mask, and we will keep safe distance while enjoying fellowship and will “craft” new and enjoyable items.  Contact Judy Fredrick pjfred@outlook.com for info.

AWESOME SUPPORT!    $386.53 has been collected so far from the CareNet baby bottles over the past month!   A huge thank you for all who have participated.   We will continue collecting them, and Judy Fredrich has a few bottles if someone still would like to contribute. 

PLEASE CALL PEOPLE I realize I take for granted that people just come to the church on a regular basis. So that we all don’t descend into madness, let’s call and talk to each other regularly.  Phone directories are available for your convenience.  

GIVING - Changing over to a social distance model of ministry has been quite challenging. We  needed to purchase new equipment and the overall church’s expenses did not go down even though we were not meeting in person.  We are here to provide “Grace and Peace in this Chaotic and Lonely Time” to those in our church and community.  Thank you for your past and continual prayers and financial support to Grace and your community.
Online Giving We have now added Paypal for online donations. We have been approved as a trusted non profit organization. If you would like to give through Paypal, please go to: www.GraceLutheranPSL.com and click the “GIVE” button on the upper right side of the page.

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Winn Dixie Bags benefiting community care building

GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH chosen by Winn Dixie to benefit from the Community Care Building Recyclable Bag Program – for the month of July 2020 for our Grace / Alzheimers Community Care Building!

Grace Lutheran Church / Alzheimer’s Community Care Building Project has been selected by Winn Dixie as part of their Community Bag Program that benefits non-profits!

For the month of JULY 2020, we will receive $1.00 for each purchase of the $2.50 reusable Community Bag at the Winn Dixie store located at 281 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard.

The Community Bag Program makes it easy for shoppers to support our project.

Be sure to shop at this local Winn Dixie and look for the display,

Usually near the checkout counters!  All proceeds for this event will go to help us furnish our new building – the church body voted to not include furnishings in the mortgage but to raise them separately.  So, we need your help, and this is one of the ways to do it!

Back Packs for Children in Haiti

• Last Pickup August 9th

• BIG NEED: Backpacks

  • See pictures of possible (simple/basic) bags ideas. 

• Normal school supplies are needed. 

• I have been told Dollar General has a great selection.

The PO Box is incorrect on the handout.
Send Money to the Church with the proper note and we will make sure it gets to Them.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Zoom to Scripture - Romans 11 - July 9

[Sunday] Perspective - God's Greater Story - Romans 10

Service [above] Sermon [under]

Questions for the Week

1. What is something that has changed your perspective over the years?

2. Read Romans 10:1-4.  What were the Jews having zeal for? Do you have a similar zeal?

3. Read Romans 10:5-13.  Who can be saved?

4. Try to look at the world through God's eyes. He loves us all. See the world through a loving Father’s perspective. Does it change how you look at those around you?

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---- THIS WEEK AT GRACE - Today July 5, 2020

Worship Service 8:30 AM

Second Worship Service and

  video service www.gracelutheranpsl.com 10:15 AM

Zoom into Fellowship 12:00 PM - Noon

Korean Church Worship 1:00 PM

AA 7:30 PM

Rest of the week July 6 - July 11

Individual/Family Communion Wednesday 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 & Noon

ZOOM Bible Study Thursday, 11:00 AM

     www.gracelutheranpsl.com

Korean Church Prayer Saturday, 6:00 AM

For complete calendar information, go to www.gracelutheranpsl.com/calendar

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS THIS WEEK: Laura Peeler - 7/8, and Jim Kerstner 7/9.

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES THIS WEEK: Augustyn & Mechelle Arbuzow on 7/6 (18 Yrs) also

 John & Gertrude Behrens on 7/6 (9 Yrs)

THE FLOWERS ADORNING THE ALTAR are given by Claude and Pat Hessee in memory of Claude’s son Kevin and Pat’s birthday on 7/3.

PLEASE CALL PEOPLE I realize I take for granted that people just come to the church on a regular basis. So that we all don’t descend into madness, let’s call and talk to each other regularly.  Phone directories are available for your convenience.  

COMMUNION ON WEDNESDAY: If you, or someone you know, would like to celebrate Holy Communion but prefer a small group or unable to attend Sunday service, Pastor Cris has set aside Wednesday’s to celebrate the meal in small/family groups.   Please come by on Wednesday at: 11:00, 11:20, 11:40 or 12:00 (noon) and partake of this wonderful meal.   

SEE YOUR GRACE FAMILY ON ZOOM!  Pastor and Coli will be hosting Zoom to Coffee at NOON on Sunday for those who are worshipping at home, or in person, who would like to join in fellowship “virtually” to see and chat with Grace members and friends safely.  All are welcome!

BIBLE STUDY FOR ALL Pastor Cris is conducting a “live” Bible study online for you to participate in on Thursdays at 11:00 AM.   Directions for participating can be found on the web page www.GracelutheranPSL.com.   Check it out, and if you need assistance, please call the phone number listed. 

AND…. even if you are not computer savvy or do not have computer access, you can participate over your phone.  

GIVING - Changing over to a social distance model of ministry has been quite challenging. We  needed to purchase new equipment and the overall church’s expenses did not go down even though we were not meeting in person.  We are here to provide “Grace and Peace in this Chaotic and Lonely Time” to those in our church and community.  Thank you for your past and continual prayers and financial support to Grace and your community.
Online Giving We have now added Paypal for online donations. We have been approved as a trusted non profit organization. If you would like to give through Paypal, please go to: www.GraceLutheranPSL.com and click the “GIVE” button on the upper right side of the page.

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Does Wearing a Mask Work? [Video]