July 23, 2024
Dear Friends,
A bunch of business items to start:
1) The schedule is normal tomorrow (Wednesday, July 24), but I’ll be away at a conference next Wednesday (July 31), so there’ll be no Bible Class or Vespers next week!
2) The Constitution Update will be on the docket for our Aug. 4 quarterly voters assembly. The District Constitution Committee recommended that we take our edits and incorporate them into the District’s model constitution. You can find copies of this most recent draft on the table outside the secretary’s office or by following this link.
3) We received an update from Seminarian Joe Moore and his family, whom we’ve begun to support while he’s in school! You can read his letter here or on the table outside the secretary’s office.
4) VBS is right around the corner! Grab a copy of the flier at church or copy it below to share with your friends and neighbors! All are invited to pizza at 5:30 pm on Wednesday evening as the kids wrap up their lessons and activities!
And then, to tie together our study of Revelation with the endless stream of sensational events in our world, it is crucial to remember that Christians are pilgrims. By that, I mean that we are on the way. We’re like the people of Israel – drawn out of the slavery and darkness and death of Egypt and headed towards a land flowing with milk and honey.
That means that we live in an in-between kind of way. This world is something, but it is not everything. Our attachment to the things of this world is weak, like dust that clings to our shoes, but easily brushed off or washed away. This world is something, but it is not everything, and so we should give it attention but not devotion.
When you interpret the news or events in your life for that matter, ask yourself: what does this mean in view of everything I know about God?
God is gracious and merciful to sinful mankind. He is just and righteous and will hold the wicked to account. He wants everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, and the blood of his Son has atoned for the sins of the whole world.
And that means that when politics gets hairy (it’s always hairy, isn’t it?) or the nations rage and the kingdoms start plotting, you should not be dismayed. “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
When the world is shocked at the unexpected, you get to be at peace for “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and the Lord knew about it all long before anyone got wind of it. Indeed, nothing happens outside his providence – the same care and concern that he shows for the sparrows and the lilies, except infinitely more so for you, his beloved children.
And all of that is why you can rest easy, for “he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). And it is also why you can be busy with the work in front of you that God has given you – making your home centered on God’s Word and prayer, sharing the Good News with all who still dwell in darkness, showing compassion and mercy to all who are in any kind of need – “for God has already approved what you do” (Ecclesiastes 9:7).
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs
COMING EVENTS:
Wednesday, July 24
9:30 am – Chapel
10:00 am – Bible Study
7:00 pm – Vespers
Sunday, July 28
9:00 am – Divine Service
10:30 am – Bible Study
11:45 am – Ordination Anniversary Celebration
Monday-Wednesday, July 29-31
Pastor @ Conference
No Wednesday Bible Study or Service
Sunday, August 4
9:00 am – Divine Service
10:30 am – Bible Study
11:30 am – Voters Assembly