August 4th, 2024
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Heart for the Luther Park, Sunday, August 4th, Noon. Auction is both online and in-person. Go to www.lutherpark.org for more details.
Pie & Ice Cream Social August 18th, 10 am till 4 pm. Join us for hot beef and pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, pickles, homemade pie, and ice cream. Bring a friend and join us for lunch and a slice of pie – everyone is welcome!
We need your help! Check out the sign-ups in the Narthex for the Pie & Ice Cream Social! We are looking for donations and workers for this annual Trinity tradition. Everyone is needed for whatever time you can give!
Float riders needed! We are looking for riders of all ages! Come join on at Noon on August 18th to ride the float in the big parade. Youth get their own candy bag! If you have a Hawaiian shirt, wear that. PB also has some you can use as well! Contact PB if you are interested and willing!
It’s back to school time!! The WOT will be collecting items for our local schools and for kits to go to Lutheran World Relief. There are two different boxes set out for collection so make sure you put yours in the box you want your items to go to. The bags you take off the pews are the ones that go to Lutheran World Relief and each bag has a printed copy of all items needed to fill that bag. There are copies of items needed for our local schools on the display table by the kitchen. Thank you for helping us help others!
Luther Park Golf Outing, Sunday, August 25th, 12:30 pm, at Sioux Creek Golf Course, Chetek. You can sign-up at www.lutherpark.org or talk to PB. Hole games, raffles, and more! Come join PB in a fun afternoon of golf!
Lagers with the Lord August 26th, 6 pm at Buckshots
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
The other day, the great song, “You’ve Got a Friend In Me,” popped into my head. That song, of course, came from the movie “Toy Story,” and is a great song about friendship. I started to think about my awesome friends and how great they are and the fact that I’m also amazed that they hang out with me at all. I thought about my really amazing wife Amy who somehow has endured me for 19 years. Baxter is a smart enough dog to only really hang with me only when Amy isn’t around! He is a smart dog.
And then a thought popped into my head: I wonder if Jesus would hang with me. I wonder if Jesus would be my friend. Of course, my first instinct was yes. I bet that would be your first instinct as well. We do say that Jesus is our friend. But then I asked myself this question: why? Why would Jesus be my friend? Why would hang out with me? Frankly, how we answer that question for ourselves is far trickier and can actually be very dangerous. I believe there may be only one really acceptable answer, and it might not be the answer you think.
If we put that question out there into the world, to many Christians, asking them to give reasons of why Jesus would be their friend, why Jesus would want to hang out with them, this is what I believe is the only acceptable answer. Because Jesus loves us. Jesus is our friend because Jesus loves us. Jesus loves us and that is why Jesus is our friend, that is why Jesus dies for us, that is why Jesus saves us. Full stop. That’s it. I actually don’t think there can be any other reason. But then again, what do I know? I’m not God.
However, I have a sneaky suspicion that many Christians have another answer. They believe that Jesus would be their friend because they are faithful. Or righteous. Or morally perfect. Or because of this of this choice or that choice. I think that is totally wrong. The Gospels are full of examples of the fact that Jesus didn’t hang out with the religious elite, those considered righteous. He hung out with the sinners. His disciples included a tax collector, a denier, and the one who would betray him. Jesus went to the lepers, the lame, the blind, children, widows, the sick, the poor, and those who were outcast from society. He was constantly getting criticized for the people he hung out with. For his friends.
So maybe, just maybe, we might want to take a beat before we start making pronouncements about who Jesus would be friends with and who Jesus wouldn’t. Who Jesus would hang out with and who Jesus wouldn’t. Who Jesus would reject and who Jesus would accept. Because once I start deciding who I think Jesus would be friends with, once I start deciding who is worthy of the love of God in Jesus Christ, I am no better than those who criticized Jesus for who he hung out with. Once I start putting myself above others, thinking that I deserve the love of Jesus more than someone else, then I am no better than those who condemned Jesus to die.
After all, we are not God. Judgement is God’s alone and not us. The only I do know is this: I am a sinner. I do not deserve the love of God in Jesus. And yet, Jesus loves me anyways. And I believe that Jesus loves my neighbor. And my enemy. And the person I disagree with most in the world. It is not for me to decides who Jesus hangs out with. But I do believe that Jesus is my friend through the witness of scripture. And through that same witness, this same Jesus constantly goes to the people the rest of the world wants to throw away and forget, wants to shun and demean. So maybe, just maybe, everybody has a friend in Jesus, whether we like it or not.
Just something to think about. I know I do.
May God bless you today and always.