Southwood Lutheran Church

God Does Not Call the Qualified....

He qualifies the called!

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

In these verses we understand how it is possible that a variety of people with vastly different gifts and talents can come together to do God's work. A group of people just like that will be traveling to Honduras in August of 2008. See their pictures and learn more about them here.

This mission team will give dental and medical assistance to small villages in Honduras. An exciting part of this trip is that it will include several people from another church in Lincoln, First Plymouth, who are interested in getting global missions started at their own church! This group also includes a number of youth traveling with family members -- what an incredible experience these families will share!

Just like every other mission team from Southwood, the August team will focus on continuing Christ's ministry through bible school, professing our faith, teaching, serving people's needs and encouraging people of all ages during the clinics. God does not call the qualified He qualifies the called! If you feel called to serve (or just called to learn more), please contact Chuck Wall.

Storms

Who was that person in the current poll who said they liked thunderstorms? I normally enjoy them also, but our facility hasn't enjoyed them!

When we arrived here on Tuesday morning, we were greeted by shingles in the north parking lot. This was from the storm that blew through on Sunday night. The shingles were from the southeast portion of the lower sloped part of the roof over the sanctuary. We had a little bit of water in the sanctuary, but not anything major.

However, when we got here this morning (Friday), we were greeted by more shingles! This time we had some in the front lot, and many in the north lot. Our area from the storm earlier in the week was a little bigger, plus we lost shingles from the east portion of the building, right over the library. We were not as fortunate with the water coming in this time - the tar paper underneath blew away, and we had water in the library and some in the sanctuary.

Thanks to Ben and Jackie Schroetlin, our custodians, and to Diane Kacvinsky for picking up the shingles in the parking lot! We probably lost somewhere between 200-250 between the two storms. The roofing contractor will be out sometime next week to make repairs. The insurance company has been notified as well.

I'm praying for sunny skies this weekend!

Reading Celebration!

Yesterday afternoon I attended a recognition celebration for City Impact's Impact Learning Center. 27 1st - 5th graders were recognized for their achievements in reading skills during the past school year. Many of them graduated from the program, which means that they are reading at or above their current grade level. The best part was seeing the smiles on their faces as they received their awards and thanked the volunteer tutors who had worked with them.

KOLN was there and did a story on the event - Reading Program Helps Children's Confidence.

It was fun to see the names of 19 Southwood People in the program as reading tutors! Several of them were there to cheer on the kids! There was cake and lemonade, there were balloons, there was music, there were smiles and laughter, and there was prayer - thanking our Heavenly Father for making it all possible.

Rhoda Claridge with her student. (Rhoda's not that short, she is sitting down while her student is standing!)

This is the student I tutor - you may remember her infamous "pickle juice hands" - no pickle juice here - she's all smiles at her graduation.

If you'd like to know more about City Impact and the Impact Learning Center check out their website - or talk to me I'd be happy to tell you all about it - I'm ready to tutor again next fall!

Pastor Sara

Its a Dirty Job!

Doing a Dirty Job for Jesus

Recently 15 high school and college students and adult leaders canvassed a neighborhood in east Lincoln. We walked door to door and asked residents if we could clean up their doggie droppings, free of charge, no strings attached. The responses we received were priceless! The most common question was, “Why?” To that we gladly told them that we wanted to show God’s love in a practical way.

We ended up cleaning up about a dozen yards total. Some people were even taken aback by our act of kindness and couldn’t accept our help. Our youth group organizes a servant evangelism project for the second Sunday of every month. In June we are planning a game night at a local retirement community.

Check out the attached video for footage of our recent doggie dropping experience!

Chip

This Is My Father's World

“ . . .for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” (Psalm 50:12b KJV)

Maltbie Babcock was arguably the most remarkable student Syracuse University has ever seen. Hailing from an aristocratic family, he was a brilliant scholar with a winning personality. Tall and steel-muscled, he was an outstanding athlete, expert swimmer, and captain of the baseball team. He also directed the university’s orchestra, played several instruments, and composed original compositions. A proficient vocalist, he directed the university glee club. He entertained other students by drawing and doing impersonations. On the side, he was an avid fisherman.

He would have been successful in any profession, but God called him to the ministry; and after further training at Auburn Theological Seminary, he became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Lockport, New York. It was a beautiful area—midway between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, not far from Niagara Falls—and Maltbie enjoyed hiking and running in the hills outside town. Telling his secretary, “I’m going out to see my Father’s world,” he would run or hike a couple of miles into the countryside where he’d lose himself in nature. It was during his pastorate at Lockport that he wrote a sixteen-stanza poem, each verse beginning with the words, “This is My Father’s World.” After his death, his wife compiled his writings into a book entitled “Thoughts for Everyday Living, published in 1901. Included was Maltbie’s “This Is My Father’s World.” [From Then Sings My Soul, Robert J. Morgan, Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Then-Sings-My-Soul-Greatest/dp/0785249397/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210999989&sr=8-1 ]

This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!
(Text: Maltbie D. Babcock, 1858-1901)

Empty Bowls

This noon I ate lunch from four different Lincoln restaurants and went home with an empty bowl.  Let me explain.

This was the 6th annual Empty Bowls luncheon to benefit the Food Bank of Lincoln. 

   Fourteen of Lincoln's finest restaurants offer tempting soups, breads and desserts. Plus each person attending leaves with a hand-crafted pottery bowl of their choosing from Down Under Pottery. The empty bowls symbolize the bowls our community has filled over the years, and the bowls that still need filling.

Here's what I had for lunch:

• Thai-Green Curry Coconut from Dish
• Turkey Pot Pie from Embassy Bar and Grill
• Prime Rib & Potato from Fireworks
• Roasted Butternut Squash from The Parthenon  (I voted this one the best!!)

I saw several other Southwood folks there too!  If you were there which was your favorite? Here are a couple of pictures from the event - it was great to see a ballroom full of people supporting the Food Bank.

Who voted for Thunderstorms?

I put a new poll up last week - What's your favorite thing about Spring? (check out the right hand column of the blog) What I want to know is - who voted for thunderstorms???  I hope you had a great weekend!  I guess I won't complain - I slept right through Friday night's storm.

While Lincoln is mostly cleaned up and recovered from the weekend of storms, we know that many other places were much less fortunate.  We continue to pray for those areas in the Midwest affected by greater devastation.

Pastor Sara

VIDEO of the Week: Goals and Sucess

Where does your motivation come from? Dr. Townsend talks in this short video about what fuels us. A good question to ask is - Does your motivation come from others or from God?

We're real people - a simple solution doesn't often work for our deepest struggles and questions.  Tune in each week on Tuesday to watch a series of videos by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  Here you will find advice from seasoned leaders about everything from parenting and marriage, to spirituality, goals, and leadership.

For over 1800 other free videos check out the Solutions for Life website.

Prince Caspian - part two

I did go to Prince Caspian last Sunday - wow what a movie!  If you liked the first one (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) you'll like this one too!  If you're not already standing in line to see the new Indiana Jones movie - I'd say put Prince Caspian on your agenda for this weekend.

In this movie we meet up with the four Pevensie children once again - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.  When we left them in the last movie they had discovered and saved (with the strength of Aslan) Narnia from the White Witch.  In this movie they are discovering the sacrifice and strength that it takes to continue to believe in and follow Aslan.

This is a movie about faith, plain and simple. Who has it and who doesn't.  Who is looking for it and who isn't.  Who will look outside themselves and who will remain self-centered.  Aslan challenges all of the children as well as Prince Caspian, the creatures of Narnia, and even the Telmarines to think about what they are willing to do to bring Narnia back to its former glory.

There is a moment in the movie where the children are lost, they are searching for Prince Caspian and they cannot decide on the route to take to get there.  Lucy sees Aslan, but no one else does.  Lucy tries to convince the others to follow her as she follows Aslan, but they vote to go in a different direction.  As you sit in the theatre you begin to wonder if she saw him or not, if they should follow him or not.  She did see him, but we find that she is not bold enough in her faith to convince them to follow.

Check out this link for more description of the story, the characters, and the themes.

Just a word of caution: If you're going with children, be forewarned that the movie culminates in a battle, and leading up to this is an intense scene with the White Witch.   

Let me know if you go and what you thought!  I hope you enjoy your journey into the land of Narnia and the exploration of faith that comes with it!

Pastor Sara

Fruit Identification Test

Can you identify all of the fruit in these pictures?

I'm stuck on the first three in the top row (although I think the third one is a peach) . . . any ideas? Also, I'm not quite sure about the third one in the third row because it seems to be the same thing as the second one in the second row. Okay... are you thoroughly confused yet?

If I haven't lost you yet - try this one. Can you identify the fruit here:

Here's a hint - Galatians 5:22. See if you can figure out which of the images above goes with each of the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5. Then, spend some time with these questions:

Which of these spiritual fruits am I bearing abundantly?
Which one is the most difficult for me to live out in my life?
What steps could I take in order to bear more fruit in my life that honors God?

On Sunday, June 1st, our summer preaching series will begin - we'll spend time thinking about the Spiritual Fruit that followers of Christ are called to bear out in their lives. Learn more here. Be sure to join us each week for a different fruit. Children will be invited to come forward for a children's message at all three services all summer long!

See you on June 1!

Pastor Sara