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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
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"Now is the Time" Stewardship Emphasis Sunday #1 -VISION 1 Peter 2:4-10 October 5, 2008 Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Today we formally begin a series of five stewardship emphasis Sundays in connection with our Now Is The Time Capital Campaign for our proposed building program. The emphasis for today is “VISION” – about who we are and what God is calling us to be. The scripture that I would like to reflect upon is our first reading from 1 Peter. As we heard: “Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” As we have been remembering during this Centennial Year, our congregation was begun in 1908 by a group of settlers from Denmark – who felt a strong need to worship God in their own native language. They named this congregation “PELLA” – meaning “a place of refuge”. The “place”, however, was not a physical building – at least not at first. It was rather a fellowship – a community – of believers in Jesus Christ who were united together by their love for him and for one another. Built on the foundation of Christ, these people when they gathered together became – as our scripture reading from 1 Peter puts it – a “spiritual house”. This “house” at first did not exist physically, but it was nevertheless very real to those who belonged to it. In this “house” they experienced God’s love and forgiveness, God’s joy and peace, and also faith and hope. This “spiritual house” truly became their “place of refuge” and source of strength as they faced all of the challenges of life. Later, of course, Pella’s members also built a physical house to meet in for their worship, learning, fellowship, and service. The first building was constructed in 1909 on a plot of land which is now the modern day Sidney Cemetery. In 1913 the building was physically moved to a new location on the corner of Central Avenue and 5th Street SE. After thirty-five years there, in 1948 the congregation then undertook a major step of faith and commitment by purchasing this property and constructing this building in which we are now meeting today. We are grateful for this building and all that it has meant to us and to so many people down through the years. But may we always remember that what is really and truly most important – what makes Pella a “place of refuge” – is not the building itself. The essence of who and what we are is that we are a “spiritual house” of God’s people which is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ – and we individually are its “living stones”. And each of us with our unique talents, gifts, and personalities is helping to make this church what it is right now in this time and place. And as we worship together, and learn together, and love and serve each other and our neighbors – we are offering to God what Peter in our scripture passage calls “spiritual sacrifices”. Or as we say in our Mission Statement: “With Christ we welcome, nurture, equip, and serve.” Each and every time we do this as a congregation, we are serving as a “holy priesthood” because we are indeed doing God’s work in this community and world. Indeed, that is the reason for our existence! And this is also the reason for our proposed building program and the “Now is the Time” capital campaign. A physical building does not necessarily make us a church – but it can certainly serve as a place that can help us to better accomplish what God calls us to do and be as his “spiritual house”. Most of you have probably already seen the proposed plans and sketches for our new building that are in the Now is the Time brochure – and they are also available for you to look over at both of our sanctuary entrances. As you consider these plans, I invite you to imagine how this new facility will help our congregation to be an even more welcoming and hospitable community in the years to come – such as by having a “gathering-commons” area for us to meet and greet each other in, by being a single level building that will be much more accommodating to people with special physical needs, and by having Sunday School, youth, and other meeting rooms that are larger and better lit than many which we have right now! Think about how we will be able to use the proposed fellowship-activity hall both for our own ministries and also to serve the entire community! I hope that you are or will be as excited as I am about all the opportunities for ministry that this new facility will help us to do! No, a physical building in and of itself is not the church – the people are! But a building can help us to more effectively accomplish what God calls us to do as we minister together and offer “spiritual sacrifices” in Jesus’ name. And so, it is my hope that as we begin our Now is The Time Capital Campaign, we will each do our part to help make our proposed new building a reality – through our prayers, work, and financial support as we are able. Just as each stone in a building – even though different – is important, so is each of us as God’s “living stones” in this “spiritual house.” And together, we are building the kingdom of God – now and for the future. And so as we at Pella Lutheran Church celebrate one hundred years of ministry in this community, may God bless and empower us as we now prepare to build – physically and spiritually – for the next one hundred years. And to God be the glory now and forever, in Jesus’ name! Amen! -------------------- Pastor George R. Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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