Pastor Cris Birthday photos

Thanks for making the day fun!

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

The Mysterious Disappearance of Moses

Read the whole article at The Mysterious Disappearance of Moses - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

Investigators from the missing persons unit of Christian Theology are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Moses ben Amran, who has gone missing. His last known whereabouts appear to be some time in the first century. His last known associate was Saul of Tarsus, last seen traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus on a secretive business trip. While some witnesses are claiming that Moses has been heard from recently, his public appearances have mysteriously dwindled and investigators remain baffled as to the cause.

Where did Moses go?……………………..

[Bible Study] Chapter 12 | Gospel of Mark

What to Do When You’re Running Low on Faith

Read the whole article at What to Do When You're Running Low on Faith - RELEVANT (relevantmagazine.com)

Faith is walking toward your dreams despite the odds. It’s knowing that your best effort is enough, and that you’ll be provided for through God’s grace. Faith is fearless.

Every person of faith knows we need faith more than food, even. But how do you just magically “get” it? How do you go from not believing that you can even be happy to living out your purpose and fully trusting in God?

I discovered that faith, like most things, is a learning process; and that if you want to leap, you have to walk and hop first.

MY FAITH JOURNEY

I struggled with faith for the first half of my adult life. I just didn’t think that I could take care of myself or be happy, so I didn’t even try……………………………………..

[Sunday] Hope In All Things - In All Things

Questions for the week

1. Describe a song that has impacted you.  What about it made such an impact?

2. Read Colossians 1:15-20.  Paul is writing in poetry.  What other parts of the Bible is this song like?

3. Paul draws us to the wonder of creation and how that creator is with us in all things.  How does that change how you look at the world around you?

---

---

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Sunday] Song of All Things - In All Things

Questions for the week

1. Describe a song that has impacted you.  What about it made such an impact?

2. Read Colossians 1:15-20.  Paul is writing in poetry.  What other parts of the Bible is this song like?

3. Paul draws us to the wonder of creation and how that creator is with us in all things.  How does that change how you look at the world around you?

---

---

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

[Bible Study] Chapter 11 | Gospel of Mark

The Gospel and Butterbeer

Read the Whole Article at The Gospel and Butterbeer - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

My father’s text message came a little past five in the morning. “I think we should cancel our Universal Studios trip this weekend. It’s just going to be too gross in Orlando. It will be storming the whole time.” My bag was already packed in the corner, but I agreed. I was excited to go back to Orlando, but I knew another opportunity for a Florida getaway would come. A weekend at home with my husband and dogs would be good for me.

Still, I was looking forward………………………………..

In All Things (Teaching Series)

View fullsize

While sitting in prison, the apostle Paul receives word of a new church. He pens a letter of encouragement, filled with love and songs, about how Jesus the Christ is in all things. This is a reminder that the Christian story encompasses all things. Nothing -- and no one -- is left out.

---

Reading Plan

• May 29th 22 -
  Creator of All things -

  • Genesis 1, Colossians 1:1-20

• June 5th 22 -
  Redeemer of All Things -

  • Colossians 1:19-28, Luke 23:33-43

• June 12th 22 -
  Lord of All things

  • Colossians 2, Luke 15

• June 19th 22
  Servant of All Things -

  • Colossians 3:12-Ch4, John 13

• June 26th -
  Restorer of all things -

  • Colossians 3:1-11, Matthew 8

[Sunday] Gentleness & Respect - Spiritual Conversations

Questions for the week

1. Think of the last time you had a spiritual conversation.  How did it go?  How did it feel?

2. Read 1 Peter 3:8-18.  What are the Christians whom Peter is writing to facing in life?   

3. How does Peter encourage them to respond?  What has Jesus done that enables them to respond that way?

4. What do you think is important to keep in mind so that you can spark a spiritual conversation while still being gentle and respectful?

---

Past Links and Helps

View fullsize

---

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

Church For Normies

The Whole Article is here but it is from. https://www.bradeast.org/blog/church-for-normies

By Brad East

In his book Hauerwas: A (Very) Critical Introduction, Nicholas Healy raises an objection with Hauerwas’s ecclesiology. He argues that Hauerwas’s rhetoric and sometimes his arguments present the reader with a church fit only for faithful Christians—that is, for heroes and saints, for super-disciples, for the extraordinarily obedient, the successful, the satisfactory. By contrast, Healy argues that the church ought to be a home and a haven for “unsatisfactory Christians,” and that our doctrine of the church ought to reflect that.

That phrase, “unsatisfactory Christians,” has stuck with me ever since I first read it. It’s often what I have in mind when I refer to “normie” Christians: ordinary believers most of whose days are filled with the mundane tasks of remaining decent while doing what’s necessary to survive in a hard world: working a boring job, feeding the kids, getting enough sleep, paying the bills, not getting too much into debt, occasionally seeing friends, fixing household or familial problems, maybe taking an annual vacation. Into this all-hands-on-deck eking-out-a-survival life, “being a Christian” is somehow supposed to fit, not only seamlessly but in a transformative way. So you go to church, share in the sacraments, say your prayers, raise your kids in the faith, and generally try to fulfill the duties and roles to which you understand God to have called you.

I used to be Hauerwasian (or Yoderian, before that moniker assumed other connotations) in my ecclesiology, but over the years I’ve come to think of that style of construing Christian discipleship as a well-intended error, though an error all the same. To be clear, I’m not talking about Hauerwas himself—who defends himself against Healy’s critique in a later book—but about the sort of ecclesiology associated with him and with those who have developed his thought over the decades. I’m thinking, that is, of an approach to church that sees it as a small band of deeply committed disciples whose life together is aptly described as an “intentional community.” These are people who know their Bibles, who have strong and well-informed theological opinions, who are readers and thinkers, who have college degrees, who are white collar and/or middle-/upper-middle class, who make common cause to found or form or join a local community defined by a Rule of Life and thick expectations and rich, shared daily practices. Often as not they meet in homes or move into the same neighborhood or even purchase a plot of land for all to live on together.

I would never knock such communities. Extending the monastic vision to include lay people in all walks of life is a lovely development. Though I do worry that such communities are usually short-term arrangements lacking longevity, and that they are typically idealized and overly romantic, nonetheless they represent a healthy response to the vision of the church in the New Testament and sometimes even work out. Nothing but kudos and blessings upon them.

My disagreement is with the view that this vision of church just is what any and every church ought to be, as though all other versions of church must therefore be (1) pale imitations of the real thing, (2) tolerable but incomplete attempts at church, or even simply (3) failed churches. That’s wrong. It’s wrong for many reasons, including exegetical, historical, and theological reasons. But let me give one closer to the ground, rooted in human experience.

The radical church is not a church for normies. To use Healy’s terminology, it’s not a community meant for unsatisfactory Christians. It’s for Christians who have their you-know-what together: Christians who are both able and willing, given their background, education, financial status, temperament, moral and intellectual aptitude, and personal desire, to enter the monastic life, only here as laypersons. It’s certainly possible to make a case, based on the Gospels and the teaching of Christ, that the church exists solely for such Christians, since the condition for faith is discipleship to Christ, and discipleship to Christ is costly. I believe this to be a profound misunderstanding, however, not least because the rest of the New Testament exists. Just read St. Paul. He’ll disabuse you rather quickly of the notion that the church consists of satisfactory Christians. It turns out the church is nothing but unsatisfactory Christians. And if your Christian community is such that no normie would ever dream of visiting or joining it, because it’s clear that he or she is not and would never be up to snuff, then—allow me to suggest—you’re doing it wrong.

The church has to make room for the unsatisfactory, exactly in the manner I described above: the just-getting-by, the I’m-barely-paying-the-bills, the it-took-all-I-had-to-show-up-this-morning, the I’m-doing-my-best, the just-give-me-a-break folks. The holly-ivy Christians, who begrudgingly show up twice a year. The Kichijiros and Simon Peters and doubting Thomases. The addicts who relapse, the gamblers in debt, the porn-addled who can’t quit, the foreclosed-on and laid-off, the perennially fired and out of work, the ex-cons and adulterers and fathers of five kids by three different moms. Is the church not for such as these? “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”

Our churches may not, must not, fall prey to the temptation that such people have no place in them, because if we believe that, then we will make them such places. Worse, we will inadvertently make them havens for a different kind of person: neither “the least of these” (whom Jesus loves) nor the radical types who flock to intentional communities, but the sort of credentialed professionals who want that sweet, sweet upper-middle-class life alongside others who look and talk and live just like them. Such folks are all unsatisfactory to a person—that’s just to say they’re human—but they present the opposite on the outside. Either way, the undisguised unsatisfactory have nowhere to lay their heads: the well-to-do don’t want them and the radicals can’t receive them.

Does this mean our churches should expect less of their members? Does it mean our churches should restructure their common life? Does it mean churches should function to permit and even welcome the straggler, the good-for-nothing, the failed disciple, the I’m-just-here-to-take-the-Eucharist-and-run type?

Yes. That is exactly what I’m saying. Radicals hate the medieval distinction between the evangelical counsels of perfection and the “lower” universal teachings of Jesus meant for all Christians. But the distinction arose for a reason, and it’s an essential one. Further, it’s why the church, especially in patristic and medieval periods, developed such a strong account of the sacraments as the heart of lay Christian life. The sacraments are pure reception, pure gift: grace upon grace. That’s what a sacrament is, the material sign and instrument of God’s grace, and it’s what the Blessed Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood enacts and encapsulates. God willing, the Spirit so moves in the regular, daily and weekly, reception of Holy Communion that a believer is drawn into a lifelong journey of sanctification, what is unsatisfactory (this plain and unimpressive water) being transformed into that which pleases the Lord and edifies his body (the miraculous wine saved best for last). But that’s up to God, and it begins, it does not end, with initiation into and partaking of the liturgical and sacramental life of God’s people.

We need churches that offer and embody and invite people to that, making clear all the while that the summons is for all—especially normies.

[Bible Study] Chapter 10 | Gospel of Mark

[Sunday] Eager - Spiritual Conversations

Questions for the week

1. What do you think you would need to be able to talk about your faith more effectively?

2. Read Ephesians 6:10-20.  Who does Paul encourage us to find our strength in?  What does it look like to be strong in the Lord in your life? 

3. How does getting ready by putting on the armor of God equip you to share your faith?

4. Review Lutheran Hour Ministries description of an “Eager Conversationalist” at www.lhm.org/eager. Take the “Eager Inventory” found on that website.  Which letter are you strongest in?  Which can you most improve in?   How can spending more time with Jesus help you grow in those areas? 

5. BONUS:   Visit www.lhm.org/eager and begin the free LHM Learn course “Eager to Share.”

View fullsize

---

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

5 1/2 habits of Remarkably Ineffective People

Read Whole article at 5 1/2 Habits of Remarkably Ineffective People - Mockingbird (mbird.com)

Hi Was Jesus successful? I guess it depends on your definition and criteria. The gospels themselves swing between accounts of Jesus drawing a crowd then preaching it down to a dozen (e.g. John 6:1-13; John 6:66ff).

Recently I was preparing to preach on the rich and strange story of Jesus’ temptation in Luke 4. Clearly the Devil is offering Jesus a highly effective path to glory — to trade his Passion for praise and recognition. Had Jesus done exactly what the Devil said, there would have been no question a……………………..

[Bible Study] Chapter 9 | Gospel of Mark

Remembering Patricia Hessee

Patricia Moye Hessee, a loving wife, family woman and local philanthropist, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 5th in Winter Park, Florida. She was 81 years old.
Patricia was born July 3, 1940 in Jacksonville, Florida to Thomas and Louise Moye. She graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in 1958. After school, she worked for the City of Jacksonville for seventeen years before retiring as a budget analyst at the City of Jacksonville Electric Authority.
Patricia was a woman of faith who was passionate about giving back to those less fortunate than her. In partnership with her late husband, Claude Hessee, Patricia spent decades serving the local community through her work with several Lutheran Churches along the Florida East Coast. She helped to spearhead numerous projects including the development of the Cedar Creek Life Center for Faith Lutheran Church, Open Arms Childcare Center for Trinity Lutheran Church, and the Alzheimer's Community Care Center for Grace Lutheran Church. She was also active in serving the local homeless at meal centers in the Treasure Coast area.
Amongst her family and friends, Patricia was known for her outgoing personality, quick-witted sense of humor, and boundless compassion. She loved to travel with Claude and her family, visiting countless countries across all seven continents during her lifetime. More than anything, she loved God and her family. Her family has cherished time spent with Patricia. As a wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and aunt, she was loved by many, and she will be dearly missed.
Patricia was predeceased by her husband, Claude Hessee, and her younger sister Kathryn Fertig. She is survived by her sister Deanne McWilliams; her daughter Karen Hood; and her grandchildren Martin, Matthew, and Patrick Hood.

[Sunday] Shattered Beautiful - Spiritual Conversations

Questions for the week

1. Thinking back over your life, what’s the most pleasant, interesting or delightful spiritual conversation you’ve ever had?  Where were you?  How did the conversation start?

2. Who in your life is a non-Christian friend?  How much time per week do you spend nurturing a friendship with a non-Christian?

3. Read Isaiah 52:7-12.  What makes spiritual conversations beautiful?

4. Think about the last spiritual conversation you had with a non-Christian.  Are you glad about that conversation?  If so, why?  If not, what do you think could have changed the trajectory of that conversation to make it more enjoyable?

View fullsize

---

What Had happened at Grace this week. 

A Window, A War, and a Metaphor in Winchester Cathedral

Read whole article at https://curiousrambler.com/a-window-a-war-and-a-metaphor-in-winchester-cathedral/

The huge west window over the entrance to Winchester Cathedral isn’t what you would expect to see in an 11th century church. It’s filled with stained glass, but instead of showing scenes of Biblical events as most church windows do, this one is abstract and quite modern looking. There are jumbles of colored glass put together in what seems to be a haphazard pattern. You might see partial faces or bits of scenes here and there, but mostly it’s just a random mosaic of color. Let’s find out why…

The Big Picture in Ukraine by Scott Yaunt

a van loaded up with aid.

The Big Picture

While I’ve been giving updates about what’s going on here at the youth center in Slovakia with refugees, I haven’t had the chance to share about the big picture. I want to share some of the other ways the Spiritual Orphans Network Ukraine fund has been helping people in Ukraine as well as refugees who’ve left.

View fullsize

Erik Helgesplass delivering aid to a local hospital

As many of you know Ukrainian men between the ages of 18-60 are not allowed to leave the country. Many of the Ukrainian pastors we know have been serving their people in Ukraine for over two and half months while separated from their wives and children who evacuated the country. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult this time has been for them and I please encourage you to keep them in your prayers every day.

A van driven by Pastor Oleg with children written on it.

I’ll start with the Lutheran pastors from the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine, who SON has been partnering with for many years. There is the synod president Pastor Alexander Gross whose daughters will soon join us here in Slovakia to help out with the center and summer camps planned for Slovakia with SON mission teams. Pastor Gross and his wife are in the Odesa area, which has come under heavy rocket attacks over the last month. They run a social kitchen, providing meals to lots of shut-ins and people in need in the villages around Odesa, while also leading worship services and providing spiritual care for his flock.

There is the Bishop Pavlo Shvarts, who serves a congregation in Kharkiv, one of the cities with the heaviest fighting at the moment. He has helped set up humanitarian aid points, visited congregations all over the country including Bila Tserkva, and recently traveled to Vienna to meet with church leaders from all over Europe to give an update on Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis.

View fullsize

Pastor Ihor Shemihon preaching on Easter Sunday

Pastor Ihor Shemihon leads a congregation and ministry in Kyiv. He has also served the congregation in Bila Tserkva for many years and preached there a few weeks ago. He too has been helping provide and transport food and aid to people in need.

Pastor Kostya and Pastor Dennis loading up aid!

Pastor Oleg Schewtschenko is a Lutheran pastor with SELKU (Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine). He has been helping transport women and children to the border, has helped provide food and humanitarian aid near Odesa as well and much more.

View fullsize

Pastor Kostya and Pastor Sergei buying aid in the west of Ukraine

Pastor Костянтин Кисіленко (Kostya) is with Church of Christ in Bila Tserkva and one of my favorite human beings to be around. He too has been helping transport people, food, and humanitarian aid. The congregation in Bila Tserkva has been doing repairs so internally displaced people can temporarily live at the church.

View fullsize

Pastor Oleg and others with a truck loaded with humanitarian aid

Pastor Dennis Sopelnik is also with Church of Christ and helps run the Bear Valley Bible Institute. Dennis has helped drive people to the border, deliver humanitarian aid and even performed a wedding during the war.

View fullsize

A van driven by Pastor Oleg filled with humanitarian aid

Pastor Gross and I back in June.

Pastor Sergey Gritsenko also serves in Bila Tserkva. He has been helping prepare the congregation for refugees as well preaching and leading Bible studies. Sergei is my father in law and has helped take care of our house, watched our dog, and has helped us send money to different pastors and ministries helping out in Ukraine.

View fullsize

Pastor Alexander Gross with a van and trailer filled with humanitarian help

View fullsize

Pastor Ihor's ministry in Kyiv with food packets ready to go.

Finally, while not a pastor, I’ve been touched by the work of Erik Helgesplass, a Norwegian man who lives in the Bila Tserkva region, he has been non-stop driving families to the border and picking up aid. He offered my family and many others the opportunity to stay at their house in the village where it was safer than in the city.

View fullsize

Pastor Pavlo and the congregation in Bila Tserkva

View fullsize

Me with Pastor Oleg and his family back in June

We are blessed to know these men and support their ministry to people in Ukraine in different ways. We’ve also had the opportunity to provide direct financial aid to families in need, help with housing for displaced families and send aid to people in Ukraine. It is because of your generosity we’ve been able to provide funds to these different ministries. I also ask you to pray for Тарас Даниленко a driver from Church of Christ, Vadim, Valery Guk, Sergei, Ruslan, Zhenya and Yura, they are the men from God’s Hidden Treasures who I know have been working hard and doing so much. I know some of their families are abroad as well and they miss them dearly.

Special prayers for safe travel for the family of Kostya and the wife of Dennis, who are traveling to Bila Tserkva from abroad, there stay will be short as they are picking up necessary documents but I know the temporary reunion will be priceless. Please pray for peace, that this war will end and families will be reunited. Next time I hope to share about the many different ways the Slovak church are helping refugees beyond the center where we are staying.

God bless,

Scott

[Bible Study] Chapter 8 | Gospel of Mark