Worship at St. Matthew
“Empowered by the Holy Spirit, We share our Faith, by Loving and Serving our Neighbor.”
Sunday Worship: 9:00AM
St. Matthew Holiday Worship Services
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Ash Wednesday: 7:00PM
MaundyThursday: 7:00PM Good Friday: 12:00PM Easter Sunday: 9:00AM Thanksgiving Eve: 7:00PM Christmas Eve: 7:00PM |
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Holy Communion
The Lord Jesus welcomes everyone to share in his real presence with us in Holy Communion. The method of communion is intinction ( the action of dipping the bread in the wine at a Eucharist so that a communicant receives both together.) Holy Communion is served every Sunday.
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This week's Gospel Message
July 7, 2019
LECTIONARY 14The Kingdom Comes
A man experiencing homelessness enters the church on Sunday morning, and the pastor greets him. As though to provide some sort of evidence that he deserves to be there, the man reaches into his wallet and hands her a yellowed, worn-out-from-folding piece of paper. The pastor’s eyes move from the man to the paper, and she reads, “Certificate of Perfect Sunday School Attendance at First Lutheran Church.” It is his most prized possession, carried through every crisis on a difficult journey.
Decades before, Sunday school teachers in the classrooms of First Lutheran Church had loved and served a little boy. Planning lessons on Saturday evenings, teaching him stories and songs about God’s love each Sunday morning, they planted in him a sense of belonging, of being beloved by God. The kingdom work they started in that little boy still stirs in him as he crosses the threshold of a church and reaches into his wallet, handing his certificate to the pastor.
When Jesus sends the seventy out to proclaim the good news of God in every town, he makes it clear that whether they are welcomed or rejected, they are to say plainly that “the kingdom of God has come near” (Luke 10:9). As we move about our lives, we are called to love and serve where we are, trusting that when we leave, the Spirit remains.
The work of the Spirit is not finished when we leave a place. The in-breaking of the kingdom does not depend on our remaining or being present to continue the work. God will keep breathing life into people long after we have moved on, maybe even years after Sunday school teachers have awarded stars and certificates. The love we offer and the stories and songs we teach are just some of the ways we declare that the kingdom of God has come near. The Spirit moves, and we get to participate!
Love. Serve. Proclaim the good news: The kingdom of God has come near!
From sundaysandseasons.com.
Copyright © 2019 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
LECTIONARY 14The Kingdom Comes
A man experiencing homelessness enters the church on Sunday morning, and the pastor greets him. As though to provide some sort of evidence that he deserves to be there, the man reaches into his wallet and hands her a yellowed, worn-out-from-folding piece of paper. The pastor’s eyes move from the man to the paper, and she reads, “Certificate of Perfect Sunday School Attendance at First Lutheran Church.” It is his most prized possession, carried through every crisis on a difficult journey.
Decades before, Sunday school teachers in the classrooms of First Lutheran Church had loved and served a little boy. Planning lessons on Saturday evenings, teaching him stories and songs about God’s love each Sunday morning, they planted in him a sense of belonging, of being beloved by God. The kingdom work they started in that little boy still stirs in him as he crosses the threshold of a church and reaches into his wallet, handing his certificate to the pastor.
When Jesus sends the seventy out to proclaim the good news of God in every town, he makes it clear that whether they are welcomed or rejected, they are to say plainly that “the kingdom of God has come near” (Luke 10:9). As we move about our lives, we are called to love and serve where we are, trusting that when we leave, the Spirit remains.
The work of the Spirit is not finished when we leave a place. The in-breaking of the kingdom does not depend on our remaining or being present to continue the work. God will keep breathing life into people long after we have moved on, maybe even years after Sunday school teachers have awarded stars and certificates. The love we offer and the stories and songs we teach are just some of the ways we declare that the kingdom of God has come near. The Spirit moves, and we get to participate!
Love. Serve. Proclaim the good news: The kingdom of God has come near!
From sundaysandseasons.com.
Copyright © 2019 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.