PILGRIM LUTHERAN CHURCH

44 CHAPEL ROAD – KENMORE, NY 14217

(716) 875-5485

A Congregation in Mission, Community and Service

PILGRIM’S PROGRESS AUGUST 2014

PASTOR: Rev. Ben Eder SUNDAY SCHOOL: 9:00 AM

EDITOR: Mary Werth TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: 9:30 AM

ASSOC. EDITOR: WORSHIP: 10:00 AM

From the Pastor

The latest conflict in the Middle East raises new questions about the State of Israel and Biblical prophecy.

Without getting into what other Christians believe, I would like to share my views as based upon the Lutheran

faith as it is drawn from Holy Scripture.

What is currently the State of Israel is the product of the Zionist movement of the 19th and early 20th

centuries. As led by Theodore Herzel, the Zionist movement proposed to find a homeland for the Jews

dispersed throughout the world (and largely ejected from the Holy Land). At first they looked at Uganda as a

possible site, but then abandoned that until (hopefully) something opened up in the Middle East. Finally, after

World War II and the Holocaust of the Jews, the United Nations approved a two-state solution – the State of

Israel for the Jews, the State of Palestine for the Arabs. For reasons too complicated to explain here, the

Palestinian state never developed, and the State of Israel was born in 1948.

Many well-meaning Christians see the State of Israel as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, but the fact is that

most of the people living there are not Christians and are not even practicing Jews – they are mostly secular in

their outlook. As the Apostle Paul makes very clear in Romans, it is not being Jewish (that is, a descendant of

Abraham according to the flesh) that makes one right or “just” before God – rather, it is faith in Jesus Christ that

accomplishes our salvation: both Jews and Gentiles (the non-Jewish population) are saved by believing in the

Messiah who is revealed to be Jesus the Christ. Read these inspired words from the Apostle Paul:

“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes

uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be

regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who

have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly,

nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart,

by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” - Romans 2:25-29

Certainly we Christians have a lot in common with the Jews because we share a good portion of the Holy

Scriptures with them (the Old Testament), many common values and ethics, and even a similar geopolitical

worldview. God first spoke through the prophets of Israel and out of their line came the Messiah; so, in that

sense Israel is the “Mother of the Church.” But as the New Testament makes clear, the Messiah Jesus came for

both the Jews and Gentiles, all of whom have access to this same Jesus through faith alone in him...not by race,

heritage, history, or a piece of land.

Writing in Romans chapters 9-11, the Apostle Paul holds out hope that one day, by God's grace his fellow

Jews will be saved. Let us pray that many more Jews will join the vast array of peoples from every nation,

heritage, and tongue who confess Jesus to be their Lord and Savior from sin.

+ Pastor Ben Eder

SUNDAY SERVER SCHEDULE

AUGUST 2014

DATE Aug. 2 Aug. 10 Aug. 17 Aug. 24 Aug. 31

READER Wes Wiers Steven Rodgers

Gary Smith Colvina Colvin

Karen Smith

USHERS Gary Smith *

Eric Fellner

Pat Watkins

* Roger

Watkins

Naomi George

* Harvey Caldow

George Alessi

* Peggy Clark

Colvina Colvin

* Tyrone Bryant

COMMUNION ASSISTANT

Jim O’Brien Gary Smith Jack Hambridge

Frank Alessi

George Alessi

Just come near

Rev. Stuart Sacks was serving in Paraguay when Rafael, a Maka Indian, came and sat on

his porch. Sacks, who’d been inside eating, went out to see what the man wanted. Rafael said,

“Ham, henek met,” which means “I don’t want anything; I have just come near.”

The pastor, not understanding the significance of that statement, again asked what he

could do for Rafael. But the answer was the same.

When Sacks later shared the incident, a veteran missionary explained it was Rafael’s way

of showing honor. He didn’t need anything in particular; he just wanted to sit on the pastor’s

porch. He found satisfaction and pleasure merely by being near him.

Sacks points out that the phrase “Ham, henek met” also reveals the heart of true worship.

When the Lord asks, “What brings you here, my child?” we don’t need to mention or ask for

anything specific. We can reply that we simply want to come near our God.

Mike Eder

Aug. 1

Ruth Innes

Aug. 5

Gary Smith

Aug. 11

Jarrod Clark

Aug. 13

Veronica Keef

Aug. 13

Carol Obot

Aug. 22

Joshua Smith

Aug. 24

Eric Fellner

Aug. 26

Bob Rigerman

Aug. 28

Hans Heckleman

Aug. 31

Aug. 29 Michael & Christine Confer

The next Community Dinner will be on Friday, August 1st, from 5 to 7 p.m. The planned menu

is grilled chicken and vegetables. Come and support this tasty event!

Join us on Friday, August 8th at 6:30 p.m. and test your game skills. Are you really as good as

you think? Come and find out. You may be in for a surprise!

The Pilgrim Active Laymen (P.A.L.s) will meet on Saturday, August 16th at 8 a.m. in the

fellowship hall. All men are welcome to join us!

The Basket Auction will be held on

Friday, September 26, 2014, 4 pm – 7 pm at the

Eldridge Bicycle Club, 17 Broad Street,

Tonawanda

We are looking for volunteers to help put together baskets, donate already

made baskets, and donate new unused items for baskets. These can be put in

the bin at the back of the church. Monetary donations for supplies are also

welcome. Just put it in an envelope, mark it “Basket Raffle Donation” and put it

in the offering plate.

BOOK CLUB

The Women’s Book Club will meet on Monday, August 18th at 7 p.m. to discuss The

Book Thief. If you are interested, please join us.

“The burning of the noontide heat ...”

At a vast zoo one stifling summer day, my family and I got overheated. The only shady spots were off-

limits because signs insisted, “Keep off the grass!” When we finally found a shaded bench, we collapsed,

exhausted.

Likewise, spiritual weariness and thirst can zap us of strength. Elizabeth Clephane’s 1868 hymn

“Beneath the Cross of Jesus” describes the crucified Savior as “a mighty rock within a weary land” in whose

cool shadow we find rest. Christ’s glory shines on us not glaringly but gently — redeeming love to light our

way.

The hymn concludes:

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place.

I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of [Christ’s] face.

Content to let the world go by, to know no gain or loss.

My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

—Heidi Mann

Christian symbol

Burning Bush

In Exodus 3, God speaks to Moses from a bush that is burning but not consumed. When Moses asks

what he should say if the Egyptians question who sent him to lead the Israelites out of slavery, God states, “I

AM WHO I AM.” Centuries later, when people wonder who Jesus is, his answers hint at his divinity: “I AM the

light of the world; I AM the good shepherd; I AM the bread of life” and, perhaps most profoundly, “Before

Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). On Pentecost, God’s Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles as fire. Thus the

burning bush is a powerful symbol of God’s presence echoed through time.

A 90-10 split

When the weather prediction is for a 10 percent chance of rain, do we sigh and grumble and stay

indoors? Or do we go ahead and picnic, golf or hike because the chance of bad weather is so low?

When doctors say our child has a 90 percent chance of full recovery from a deadly illness, don’t we

rejoice at the great prognosis? We quickly decide we can live with the slight chance of some impairment.

When a really tough exam comes back with a 90 percent grade, aren’t we glad to have done well?

When a politician runs for office, 90 percent of the vote would be considered an overwhelming mandate.

Why then, when God gives us 100 percent of our material blessings, are we so horrified at the thought of

giving him 10 percent back?

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR THE

SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER IS AUGUST 25TH.