This month I hope to welcome some new members into our family at Redeemer. We will
have another adult class in the fall because some perspective members could not make
classes for various reasons. While we welcome new members, it is also important that we
be concerned about our present members who are not present with us. We need to
reach out to them and invite them to return to worship with us. It is also important that we
be cordial to our guests and to our members each week that we come together in
Christian love and unity. We sing of being bound together in love, and we need to
practice what we say. If you are upset with someone, please take it up privately, not
publicly. We do this in our own homes when we have disagreements among ourselves
and we don’t want to hang out our dirty laundry for all to see. More importantly, we want
to show we come together as sinners forgiven by God and to raise our voices up in praise
to God and to be nourished by His Word and Sacrament.
During the summer months we have been singing favorite hymns you submitted to me and
have also been reflecting on what the hymns say to us. I also find that many times the
history of the hymn and why it was written can also have a big impact on how we reflect on
the hymn. Most importantly, I’m glad to hear how many find themselves singing the
selected hymn during the week and reflecting on what God is saying to them, not just in
the hymn, but in their everyday lives.
Hymns can also speak to us of how God cares for us physically and spiritually. It can be
as simple as thanking God for the beauty of nature that surrounds us to how far we have
fallen from God’s Grace; yet we praise God that he is always there to welcome us back
through all Jesus has done for us. I always try to choose hymns that relate to the theme
of the sermon so our whole service is centered on one theme. With our contemporary
service I have to depend on others to help me because I am not a musician, and while I
may like the words, I am told we can not sing it.
I encourage you to use the hymns in your private devotions. They can be used as a
prayer to God, or as a way to express your thanks and praise, or as a meditation on what
God has done for you, or as a primer of ways that you can reflect on God’s almighty power
and grace. After this summer is over, I hope that you seriously ponder on what you are
singing and not just the words, thinking that was a catchy tune or what a dirge that song
was to sing.
I close with the words of the doxology that we sing after each of our services. “Praise
God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him
above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
have another adult class in the fall because some perspective members could not make
classes for various reasons. While we welcome new members, it is also important that we
be concerned about our present members who are not present with us. We need to
reach out to them and invite them to return to worship with us. It is also important that we
be cordial to our guests and to our members each week that we come together in
Christian love and unity. We sing of being bound together in love, and we need to
practice what we say. If you are upset with someone, please take it up privately, not
publicly. We do this in our own homes when we have disagreements among ourselves
and we don’t want to hang out our dirty laundry for all to see. More importantly, we want
to show we come together as sinners forgiven by God and to raise our voices up in praise
to God and to be nourished by His Word and Sacrament.
During the summer months we have been singing favorite hymns you submitted to me and
have also been reflecting on what the hymns say to us. I also find that many times the
history of the hymn and why it was written can also have a big impact on how we reflect on
the hymn. Most importantly, I’m glad to hear how many find themselves singing the
selected hymn during the week and reflecting on what God is saying to them, not just in
the hymn, but in their everyday lives.
Hymns can also speak to us of how God cares for us physically and spiritually. It can be
as simple as thanking God for the beauty of nature that surrounds us to how far we have
fallen from God’s Grace; yet we praise God that he is always there to welcome us back
through all Jesus has done for us. I always try to choose hymns that relate to the theme
of the sermon so our whole service is centered on one theme. With our contemporary
service I have to depend on others to help me because I am not a musician, and while I
may like the words, I am told we can not sing it.
I encourage you to use the hymns in your private devotions. They can be used as a
prayer to God, or as a way to express your thanks and praise, or as a meditation on what
God has done for you, or as a primer of ways that you can reflect on God’s almighty power
and grace. After this summer is over, I hope that you seriously ponder on what you are
singing and not just the words, thinking that was a catchy tune or what a dirge that song
was to sing.
I close with the words of the doxology that we sing after each of our services. “Praise
God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him
above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.”
| Pastor's Message August 2008 |
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Redeemer Lutheran Church
| 37 Newton-Sparta Rd Newton, NJ 07860 Map & Directions Phone: 973-383-3945 Fax: 973-383-3954 Email: greatgod@earthlink.net |
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Verse of the Day
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