This month I would like to focus on an important truth as God’s people who are in Christ. That truth is this: “Everything we say, think, and do communicates something about our God to everyone else.” So what is it that we communicate and tell others about God and his parish, Atonement Lutheran Church?
When we greet our fellow parishioners warmly and give them a friendly handshake or hug on Sunday morning, we communicate something about our fellowship with that person. We communicate something about our care for one another as fellow members of Atonement Lutheran and the body of Christ. When we donate to a local food pantry we communicate that we are a people that have received great mercy and compassion from our God and so, in return, we give it to all who have need. When we come together for a Bible Study we communicate that we are about knowing Christ and his love more and more. When we come together as a parish to organize and present a vacation bible school curriculum, a car show, or a living nativity event for the community, we communicate that we are about helping others to know and share Christ and his love. When we come together in the Divine Service on Sunday morning to worship with an order of service out of the Lutheran Service Book and receive the grace of God through the pronouncement of the forgiveness of sins, the reading of the Holy Scriptures, the preaching of a sermon, the singing of hymns, the praying of prayers, and the reception of the body and blood of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper, we communicate to others that we are a community of believers that is about receiving what we need from our God and then living in and giving that much needed grace, mercy, and forgiveness to others.
“Everything we say, think, and do communicates something about our God to everyone else.” This important truth helps shape my decisions as your Pastor and leader here at Atonement. “How can we communicate better who we are as the people of God in Christ? How can we communicate better through our Divine Service, the aesthetics of our church property and sanctuary, our education activities, our fellowship events, and our evangelism and outreach attempts, that we are about caring for the whole person with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”
As we continue in this new year, let us each consider this question for ourselves as well as for our parish: “How can I/our parish communicate better our care for the whole person with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?” This coming year will be the celebration of Atonement’s 50th anniversary. This coming year we will also decide together as a parish our vision for ministry in the next one to three years. It is my prayer that God, through the work of his Spirit, will use such a question to prepare us to approach these two big events together as a congregation.
In Christ,
Pastor Josh
“Everything we say, think, and do communicates something about our God to everyone else.” This important truth helps shape my decisions as your Pastor and leader here at Atonement. “How can we communicate better who we are as the people of God in Christ? How can we communicate better through our Divine Service, the aesthetics of our church property and sanctuary, our education activities, our fellowship events, and our evangelism and outreach attempts, that we are about caring for the whole person with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”
As we continue in this new year, let us each consider this question for ourselves as well as for our parish: “How can I/our parish communicate better our care for the whole person with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?” This coming year will be the celebration of Atonement’s 50th anniversary. This coming year we will also decide together as a parish our vision for ministry in the next one to three years. It is my prayer that God, through the work of his Spirit, will use such a question to prepare us to approach these two big events together as a congregation.
In Christ,
Pastor Josh
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