Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Passion According to Mark - with reflections by Martin Luther



READINGS FOR PASSION SUNDAY 2015                      
Reflections from Martin Luther – Day by Day We Magnify Thee (Fortress Press, 1982).


Reading 1: Mark 14:1-25

Reflection:
Anyone who wishes 
to receive the Holy Sacrament
must offer to God Almighty
an empty, single, and hungry soul.
           
Therefore it is most fitting 
when the soul is least fit,
which means,
when the soul feels altogether wretched, poor, and devoid of grace,
it is most receptive for God’s grace 
and most fitted to receive it.
       

Saturday, March 28, 2015

The Great and Holy Week

Worship Schedule

Palm/Passion Sunday:        6:30 pm         Sat. March 28
                                           10:30 am        Sun. March 29
Individual Confession          7:00 pm – 8:00 pm    Sun. March 29
                                            7:00 pm – 8:00 pm    Mon. March 30
                                            7:00 pm – 8:00 pm    Tue. March 31
Wednesday Evening Prayer    7:30 pm        Wed. Apr. 1
Maundy Thursday                    7:30 pm        Thurs. Apr. 2
Good Friday                            12:30 pm/7:30 pm    Fri. Apr. 3
Easter Vigil                              6:30 pm        Sat. Apr. 4
EASTER SUNDAY                     10:30 am        Sun. Apr. 5
    (Easter Breakfast 9:00 am, Children’s Egg Hunt 9:30 am)   

Monday, March 23, 2015

Sermon Lent 5, March 22, 2015





Friday nights were special at Camp Nawakwa.
The entire camp would trudge up
through one of the apple orchards
that dotted the Adams County landscape
to a small stone amphitheater known as ‘Upper Temple,’
from which one had a glorious view of the sun
setting over the hills.
There we would hold a worship service,
and then the campers and staff
trudged back down the hill for the end-of-week campfire.
When everyone had gathered
at another stone amphitheater in the woods,
a staff member would kneel inside the stone
as another one said,
http://www.stjames-cathedral.org/Events/2012/triduum12/fire.gif
‘Kneel always when you light a fire;
kneel reverently, and thankful be
for God’s unfailing charity.
And on the ascending flame
aspire a little prayer,
which shall up bear
the incense of our thankfulness.
Kneel always when you light a fire;
kneel reverently, and thankful be,
for God’s unfailing charity.’

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Discipleship Moment #2 with Bishop John Bradosky

Bishop John Bradosky's meditation on the hospitality he received while visiting NALC missionaries in India:

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

For earlier discipleship moments, click here.



Thursday, March 12, 2015

NALC 'Discipleship Moments'

“Discipleship Moment” videos from Bishop John Bradosky and other executive staff members will be published regularly to the NALC’s website.  These short videos can be used before worship on Sunday mornings, as an introduction to Sunday school or Bible study times, or for personal use.
Reflections on what the word “discipleship” really means, the vision for the NALC, and what it means to be “mission-driven” are just a few of the many topics you will hear about. Personal stories from local congregations, international missions and personal ministry experiences will also be featured.

The first Discipleship Moment - by Bishop Bradosky.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Sermon Lent 3 - March 8, 2015: 'The Freedom of the Commandments'



3 Lent Year B – March 8, 2015
Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
St Stephen Lutheran Church
The Rev. Maurice Frontz, STS

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

During the Paris student riots of May 1968,
a phrase entered the French lexicon,
spray-painted on doors and crudely lettered on placards.
The phrase was Il est interdit d’interdire,
which I cannot pronounce.
‘It is forbidden to forbid.’
The phrase was perfect for that generation
which had been radicalized
and was ready to raze the foundations
of French society, a society that had failed to live up to its promise.
Socially, politically, and morally,
the young French had had enough of strictures,
and they wanted to tear down everything that stood in the path to freedom:
la liberte.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Sermon 2 Lent 1 March 2015


2 Lent Year B – March 1, 2015
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:22-30 (LBW) Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38
St Stephen Lutheran Church
The Rev. Maurice Frontz, STS

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To enter into a covenant is to bind oneself by one’s word;
to let the word that is spoken in the present moment determine the future.
Last week we heard of God’s covenant with Noah,
that the human race, sin and all,
would continue on the earth.
Genesis tells us that rather than flood the sin of the world out of existence,
destroying humanity in the process,
God would be patient with sinners,
finding another way to deal with the sin and evil of the world.