Southwood Lutheran Church

USE it on Wednesday.

This week Chip preached on the spiritual fruit of Goodness. You can hear his sermon here.

Today I read a quote from Pastor Tim Keller who said that the good news of the gospel is that:

"human beings are more broken and sinful than they could ever imagine, and more loved and cherished than they could ever dare hope."

He says:

"Christ gives us a radically new identity, freeing us from both self-righteousness and self-condemnation. He liberates us to accept people we once excluded, and to break the bondage of things (even good things) that once drove us. In particular, the gospel makes us welcoming and respectful toward those who do not share our beliefs."

Ultimately cultivating the spiritual fruit of Goodness is about seeing what God has done for us, and then refusing to let anyone else miss out on the power of that message. The good "things" that we do are a response to the greatest thing that God did for us.

How is goodness being cultivated in you? Have you already stopped to thank God for His goodness in your life which allows you to seek goodness elsewhere?

Pastor Sara

Back Pack Update

We got an email this week from Scott Young the director of Lincoln's Food Bank with some updates on the Backpack program.

Last year at this time as the Food Bank began to look at the 2007-08 calendar they planned on serving 719 BackPack kids and their families at 14 area schools.

A year later, they are working on serving 1,495 kids and their families at 28 partner schools. They will be adding 8 LPS schools, 1 Lincoln Catholic School, schools in Beatrice, Crete, and Waverly. The Seward BackPackers have brought a Catholic school, and a Lutheran school to the fray as well.

He also told this great story:

With all of the big numbers we send around, it’s still the little things. At the end of the school year, I was invited to one of our BackPack Partner schools, where I was presented with one of those big ceremonial checks for $100. This gift was generated by Destine, a 4th grade student, who was leaving Lincoln and felt a bit of a calling to do something for someone else. With the support of her teachers, she had set up a table at an evening school event, and taken donations for the Food Bank. Destine was not a BackPack student, but she is a little girl who has faced significant challenges in her 10 years, and has some more hurdles to cross. That check adorns my office door. We can all work this summer to honor Destine’s generosity.

Learn more about Southwood's involvement with the Backpack program here and here and here and here and here.

For those of you who have been volunteering with the backpack program either packing, delivering, or distributing backpacks - what are the "little things" that keep you volunteering in this program? What have you seen making a difference? Consider adding a comment to this blog post - you just might inspire one more volunteer to get involved!

Pastor Sara

Volunteer Spotlight

Check out this story by Heidi Longe, one of Southwood's Clinic with a Heart volunteers. This was the Volunteer Spotlight for Clinic With a Heart's 3rd Quarter Newsletter. Learn more about Clinic With a Heart.

“Last month at clinic we had 2 patients who spoke Vietnamese, and we did not have an interpreter. The intake volunteer did the best she could, but indicated to me that it may be very difficult for the physician because the patients spoke very little English.

I have spent a lot of time with my friend Lis's mom (Be) who speaks Vietnamese and lives in Oregon. I knew that Be often took her family to the doctor and interpreted for them. I found Be's phone number and called her from my cell phone to ask her if she would interpret over speaker phone for us. She was happy to help. So, when Dr. T was ready to see the two Vietnamese women, I put Be on speaker phone all the way from Oregon. We even called her again when the patients went through checkout.

It was great listening to them talk back and forth in Vietnamese. After we were done, the 2 women practically pulled the phone out of my hands to thank Be. They were so grateful to be helped! They continued to thank me as they checked out. We could not help them with everything, but they were very grateful!

The next week, Be came to Lincoln to visit us and said that she really enjoyed helping them over the phone. She still remembers the women's names and wanted to know how they were doing. It is so nice to be able to pull everything together to help the patients at CWAH.”

Heidi, Southwood

What a great reminder of the kindness our volunteers give to our patients. Thank you!

Heidi Longe is also Southwood's new Clinic Coordinator - if you would like more information about volunteering at Clinic With a Heart contact Heidi. Heidi takes over this position from Jo Sheets who has coordinated Southwood's clinic night for more than two years. Jo has been a dedicated and passionate leader, and we thank her for all she has given to bring hope into the lives of many, many people (patients and volunteers). The coordination of Southwood's clinic is being handed off from one faithful leader to another. Thanks Jo and Heidi!

Southwood volunteers staff the clinic on the third Tuesday night of every month. Consider devoting some of your time to volunteering in this way - it is an experience in "reaching out" right here in our community.

Pastor Sara

VIDEO of the Week: Parenting

In this video Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend talk about setting boundaries with teenagers. They answer the question: How late is too late?

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.

Multiplying Money

Yesterday we saw money multiply! We started out with 85 children and gave each of those 85 children 4 quarters, for an initial investment of $85. By the end of the day that money had more than tripled. Here's how:

Each child received a card like this -

We gave those quarters to them as a gift. We talked about the ways in which they could spend those quarters and then I invited them to consider donating them to the food bank's backpack program.

Many (but not all) of the kids took me up on that invitation depositing all four quarters in the offering basket. The decision was left up to the kids as to how to spend the money. When the morning ended we had $97.65 in quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, and $195 in ones, fives, tens, and twenties, for a grand total of $292.65. Wow!

Here's my take on it. Remember the story of the feeding of the 5000 from the gospels? One small boy gave up a fish and a few loaves of bread and Jesus was able to use that to feed a multitude. Now perhaps the miracle wasn't a magical multiplying of bread and fish - but maybe it happened more like what happened at Southwood today.

Maybe, after one small child was willing to give up of what he had, a parent was inspired to do the same. The child dropped in 4 quarters and the parent added a $5 bill. Maybe another couple of children visited Southwood with their grandparents and the grandparents saw those children selflessly adding their coins to the food bank collection and grandma and grandpa added a $20 bill. Or, maybe an older brother saw a younger sibling adding 4 quarters to the pot and so they thought to add a dollar or two of their own in order to "outdo" that younger sibling.

I wonder if the true miracle started with a child's generosity which inspired the generosity of a gathered congregation. Regardless of how it happened (in our story, or the feeding of the 5000) it could only have happened with Jesus being present in the hearts of those who would give. As we heard yesterday, generosity is not about money, it is about mercy.

Parents, I hope this was a good opportunity for you to talk with your children about what it means to give to God. You might ask questions about why they did or didn't give, or talk about your own giving, or even find ways as a family to practice generosity together.

As you practice generosity in your own life, I pray that you will know that Jesus is working within your own heart and whenever that happens it is a true miracle.

Pastor Sara

HEAR it on Sunday. USE it on Monday.

The reward of responsibility – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
By Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.

There is an interesting principle in the scriptures which is often misunderstood. It is the principle that faithful service receives God's reward. At the most basic level believers often think that faithful service here on this earth will be rewarded in glory with God's bounty. "God will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness" in eternity, depending on the worth of your service here on earth. "In my house there are many mansions" describes a scale of reward based on faithful service. Although an interesting idea, it is far from the truth.

In fact there can be no greater reward than union with Christ. There is no greater reward than knowing Jesus as our friend, and that reward is freely given on request. What then is the reward of faithful service? The principle of reward in the scriptures is a simple one. Those who act responsibly are rewarded with greater responsibility. God makes grace abound in us that we may abound in every good work, v8. The store of seed is increased to enlarge the harvest, v10. We are made rich that we might be generous, v11.

This is not the rather flawed notion that when we give away a dollar we get two in return. Rather this concerns the spiritual resources that are ours in Christ which are increasingly available to us as we use them wisely and well. If we are found trustworthy in little things, then we can be trusted with greater riches, Lk.16:1-18. As we "walk by the Spirit", "keep in step with the Spirit" (cooperate with the Spirit's renewal through faith), then increasingly we will not "gratify the desires of the flesh". On the money front, selfishness subsides and generosity increases. It is then our prayer "give us this day our daily bread" can be answered. Greater resources will be directed our way to use toward the realization of the Kingdom of God.

Questions to think about:

1. Why was Paul so focused on the collection for the "saints"?
2. If generosity derives from the heart, how do we prompt generosity?
3. What value is there in the use of our resources if use or non use has no bearing on our standing in the sight of God?

If you didn't get a chance or want to hear it one more time, listen to our guest preacher's (Pastor Roger Sasse) sermon "The secret of a five letter word that begins with “M” and ends with “Y”.

Community

I saw this great quote today:

For more on this quote - Check out this post. At Southwood this makes me think about small groups. Keep in mind the Small Group connection event on September 21st at Noon in the fellowship hall.

If you've never been in a small group before, or if you're looking for a new small group this event is for you. Come and connect with new people. You just might find yourself caring about them more than you should!

Pastor Sara

What if Church was Illegal?

What if it was illegal to worship? What if the government said that "this" particular church is the only one you are allowed to participate in? What would you do? Where would you turn?

Check out this Frontline video entitled Jesus in China. There are about 4 different segments, (all available at the link above.) This would definitely be worth your time to watch. As you do think about the question above - which church would you be a part of, the state sanctioned Christian Church or the Underground House Churches?

A devotion I read this morning said this:

One of the keys to a healthy, vibrant and flourishing congregations is the shared willingness to take risks and make incredible personal sacrifices.

Even among Jesus and his disciples, there was a tension between fidelity to the task and fear of the consequences. There was always a question of power and position. Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem even as some of his disciples wanted to stay in the safety of the outlying areas. Jesus reminded them that their purpose was mutual service and not positions of power and authority. The disciples watched as Jesus was willing to suffer and die to further the Kingdom of God.

Risk taking and sacrifice have always been at the heart of Christian cross bearing.

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? Matthew 16:24-26

Where would you go to church if going to church was illegal?

Pastor Sara

Excuse #943 for not going to church

My New Grandmother

A couple of weeks ago I met my new Grandmother Esther. Let me explain. We hosted an event at Southwood on June 7th to welcome about 20 visitors from Tanzania. One of these visitors was the Bishop of the Northern Diocese Bishop Martin Shao and his wife Esther.

I had seen the bishop and his wife when I traveled to Tanzania in January of 2005. In fact I sat in a worship service with them and I'll admit that at one point in the service I was so enamored by Mama Esther's dress that I was distracted from worship. (In my defense it was a four hour long worship service in a language that I don't understand.)

This time as Esther Shao was introduced we were told that back in Tanzania Esther is a midwife in Moshi. I perked up because my own grandmother, whose name was Esther, was a midwife as a young woman in Minnesota. When I was personally introduced to Mama Esther I shared with her about my grandmother and she graciously responded "now you have another grandmother."

The thing about Tanzanians is that this wasn't just a "nice" thing for her to say to me - she really meant it. I really believe that if I were to visit the Shaos in Tanzania they would welcome me into their home as their own granddaughter.

Everything I know about hospitality I learned from meeting people from Tanzania. They live out in a very real way what the Bible means when it talks about Love. It says:

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 9:9-11

It makes me think about what I am doing to "outdo another in showing honor." What are you doing?

Pastor Sara

p.s. Faye, if you are reading this while you are in Tanzania this week please greet Mama Esther from her granddaughter in Nebraska!