Remember and Tell

Deuteronomy 4:1a, 9 - "And now, O Israel, listen ... Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children." 

When my son was a newborn, we began the custom of reading a chapter of the Bible each night together, before family prayers. It might sound silly—what can a baby understand of the stories we read? But we adults remembered, and over the years, as my son grew up, we continued. Now he knows the Lord and is growing in His faith as an adult. 

At Lutheran Hour Ministries we get that question a lot: How do I pass on the Christian faith to my children and grandchildren? I trust in Jesus, I know what He has done for me; He is my life and hope and salvation—what can I do to pass on that blessing to my family? Moses was facing the same question in his final speech recorded in Deuteronomy. He knew he was about to die, and Israel would have to pass on their faith in the Lord to the next generations on their own. 

And so he appeals to what they have seen with their own eyes over the years since they came out of Egypt. He reminds them of what the Lord has done for them—the rescue from slavery, the way He parted the Red Sea so they could escape from the Egyptian army. He reminds them of how God provided them with manna to eat and water to drink, out in the barren wilderness—and also the times when God protected them from their enemies (see Deut. 11, 8, and 23). And Moses sums it up this way: They need to remember all the good things the Lord has done for them, and trust in Him without forgetting; and they need to tell those stories to their children and grandchildren, so that they too may trust in the Lord. 

And this is key for us too, isn't it? As Christians, we know and remember the marvelous things the Lord has done for us, how He came into this world as a human being, born to live under the same hardships and suffering that we have. We know how Jesus saved us, laying down His own life on the cross to set us free from sin, guilt, and evil; and we know He rose from the dead, and promises to share that victory with us who trust in Him. We know these stories—now let's tell them to our children and grandchildren, so that they, too, may believe. Let's do it as bedtime stories; when we're in the car for long trips; when they're afraid and need comfort; and when they feel lonely and need to know God cares for them. That way they, too, may know and believe. 

This Daily Devotion for August 27, 2024 was written by Dr. Kari Vo. 

Oktoberfest 2024 in Cabot, PA

Oktoberfest 2024 in Cabot, PA
Haven 1 at 112 Marwood Road, Cabot, PA 16023
Saturday October 5, 2024 from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m.

For Your Enjoyment: The Mikey Dee Polka Band
For Your Appetite: German-themed Menu, Bake Sales
For Your Kids: Bouncy Castle, Balloon Artist, Games, Pumpkin Decorating, Free Food and Much More!
For your Curiosity: Haven 1 Open House
Fireworks at 7:45 p.m.
Flu Shots from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

For more information call: 724-352-8268
www.ConcordiaLM.org

VIDEO: Wednesday September 18, 2024 - Complete Service

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m.
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. — The Book of Hebrews
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

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AUDIO: Readings & Sermon for Wednesday September 18, 2024

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m.
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. — The Book of Hebrews
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

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Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
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Nehemiah 1:1—2:10 
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. 

Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” 

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” 

Now I was cupbearer to the king. 

In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. 

Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. 

1 Timothy 1:1-20 
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 

To Timothy, my true child in the faith: 

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. 

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. 

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. 

The Ten Commandments 
What is the Seventh Commandment? 
You shall not steal. 
What does this mean? 
We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. 

Bulletin: Wednesday September 18, 2024

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m.
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. — The Book of Hebrews
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
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Lutherans Engage the World

“It’s so amazing to see how God just made everything fall into place.” 

David Anderson said these words about Light of the World Lutheran Church, a church plant in DeSoto, Kan. But they could also be used to describe the other projects in this issue of Lutherans Engage the World, from the dedication of a new Lutheran center in Romania, to the opportunity three pastors have had to serve their communities in unique ways, to the staggering array of mercy projects that your gifts and prayers have supported over the past few years. 

Thank you for reading and for walking with us in Christ’s church.

Summer 2024 – FREE DOWNLOAD

Installation of Deaconess Joanna Lee

LINK TO THE VIDEO of Deaconess Joanna Lee at Zion Lutheran Church – the installation begins 44 min. into the service

Deaconess Joanna Lee was installed in her role at Zion on August 4th. Her family was in attendance for the joyous occasion (shown L-R: Joanna's mom, Denise; husband, Richard; children, Leopold & Janna; Joanna; sister, Mary; and Aunt, Deb. A brunch was held between services to celebrate the occasion.