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Bethlehem Lutheran Church

14531 Old Olga Rd.

Fort Myers, FL 33905

Phone: (239)694-3878

www.blcefm.org

Week 41 Friday October 10, 2014 - Thursday October 16, 2014

I Will Say it Again.... Rejoice!!

Sunday, October 12, is the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. My 9am Sunday morning ser-

mon at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 14531 Old Olga Rd., Ft. Myers, FL (and my 5:30pm, Sat-

urday evening, Oct. 11, worship message at Faith Lutheran Church, 1160 SW 31st Ave., Ft.

Lauderdale, FL) is drawn from this weekend's Epistle lesson, Philippians 4:4-13.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and pe-

tition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which trans-

cends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally,

brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is

pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen

in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you" (vss. 3-9).

Some of you know that years ago, I chose Philippians 4:8 as my "life verse" from the Bible.

Before choosing a "life verse", I had been impressed that others that I knew had chosen

"life verses", and I had asked them how they went about selecting them. Several people en-

couraged me to look at the Bible verses that corresponded to my birth date..... to search

the Bible for the chapter of a book in Bible that was the same number as the month of my

birth.... and to look for an individual verse that was the same as the day of my birth..... In

my case, the fourth month (April)... the eighth day.

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As I went looking, I had a few "less than exciting" verses pop on to my radar screen.... I had

began in the Old Testament. For example... "He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprin-

kle some of it seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain of the sanctu-

ary" (Leviticus 4:8). This was an interesting verse, but not a very uplifting "life verse".

But when I got into the New Testament (probably where I should have started look-

ing!! Duh!!).... Philippians 4:8 simply jumped out at me... "Finally, brothers and sisters,

whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,

whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things".

So, when our appointed lessons for this upcoming weekend included my "life verse".... I

certainly took special notice!!

A key word for this coming weekend's Epistle lesson is... REJOICE!!

And so, this weekend we will be singing a number of wonderful "REJOICE" hymns, such as...

"Rejoice, the Lord is King" (vs. 1) "Rejoice, the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore; Re-

joice, give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore; Lift up your heart, lift up your voice; Re-

joice, again I say, rejoice!"

So, how's your ...REJOICING in the Lord... coming along today?? The above hymn verse in-

structs well... "Rejoice, give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore!!"

Another song we will sing is "Brothers and Sisters in Christ" (vs. 1) "Sing, Alleluia! Amen! --

Let your prayers and your praises ascend. Lift up your faces and sing -- to our Lord God and

Savior and King! Here brought together by grace; We are gathered as friends in this place.

And assembled as one -- in the name of the Son. Lifting hearts, lifting hands, celebrating as

friends. And proclaiming the Lord, All our praises afford. We are brothers and sisters in

Christ."

So, brothers and sisters in Christ... please join fellow believers in worship this weekend,

and ...... REJOICE!!

Pastor’s Weekly Devotion (Cont.) Friday October 10, 2014 - Thursday October 16, 2014

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Bethlehem Lutheran Church

14531 Old Olga Rd.

Fort Myers, FL 33905

Phone: (239)694-3878

www.blcefm.org

Week 42 Friday October 17, 2014 - Thursday October 23, 2014

Hat's Off.... and Kneel!!

Sunday, October 19, is The Ninteenth Sunday after Pentecost .... My 9am Sunday sermon at

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 14531 Old Olga Rd., Ft. Myers (and my 5:30pm, Sat., Oct. 18

worship message at Faith Lutheran Church, 3040 SW 11th Ct. (at SW 31st Ave.), Ft. Lauder-

dale) is drawn from this weekend's Gospel lesson, Matthew 22:15-22.

(The Pharisees, trying to entangle Jesus with a question about paying taxes, asked Him)

"'Tell us then, what is Your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?'' But

Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, 'You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show

me the coin used for paying the tax.' They brought him a denarius, and he asked them,

'Whose image is this? And whose inscription is on the coin?' 'Caesar’s,' they replied. Then

he said to them, 'So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.'” (Matt.

22:17-21).

Over the past weeks, our weekend Gospel lessons have focused on Jesus' parables... specifi-

cally directed to the Scribes and Pharisees. This coming weekend we have a Gospel lesson

that shares an interaction .... between the Scribes and Pharisees... AND JESUS!!

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As you read the New Testament Gospel Books (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), you be-

come aware that the Jewish leaders (the Scribes and Pharisees), at the time of Jesus... DID

NOT LIKE HIM!! They were threatened by Him!! They wanted to discredit Him!!

The above account from Matthew 22, is one of those interactions... when the Scribes and

Pharisees thought they had trapped Jesus in a "no-win" situation. Either answer they as-

sumed Jesus would give (that He would tell them to either.... avoid paying taxes to Ceasar...

or ... to willingly pay taxes to Ceasar), would get Him into trouble.

But read Jesus' response to them, in the above Scripture verses. He refused to be trapped in

their "no-win" argument.... and instead shared with them...AND US... a powerful truth.

This weekend in worship, we will sing "Before You Lord We Bow" (vs. 1) "

Before the Lord we bow, the God Who reigns above, And rules the world below, boundless

in power and love. Our thanks we bring, in joy and praise, our hearts we raise, To Heaven’s

high King."

We will also sing "I Am Thine, O Lord" (vs. 1) "I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me; But I long to rise in the arms of faith, And be closer drawn to

Thee. Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me

nearer, nearer, nearer blessèd Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side."

May we bow before the Lord, as we worship this weekend!!... SEE YOU IN CHURCH!!

Pastor’s Weekly Devotion (Cont.) Friday October 17, 2014 - Thursday October 23, 2014

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Bethlehem Lutheran Church

14531 Old Olga Rd.

Fort Myers, FL 33905

Phone: (239)694-3878

www.blcefm.org

Week 43 Friday October 24, 2014 - Thursday October 30, 2014

I am Justified.... By What??

Sunday, October 26th, is Reformation Sunday ....My 9am Sunday sermon at Bethlehem Lu-

theran Church, 14531 Old Olga Rd., Ft. Myers (and my 5:30pm, Sat., Oct. 25 worship mes-

sage at Faith Lutheran Church, 3040 SW 11th Ct. [at SW 31st Ave.], Ft. Lauderdale, FL) is

drawn from this weekend's Gospel lesson, John 8:31-36.

"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really

my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free' They answered

him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you

say that we shall be set frfree? Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a

slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forev-

er. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed'" (vss. 31-36).

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

One of the blessings as we focus on the central message of the Protestant Reformation, is

that we focus on the "heart" of our Christian Faith...

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GOD'S GRACE!!.... JESUS ACCOMPLISHED IT ALL!! .....THROUGH HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS,

AND RESURRECTION ON EASTER SUNDAY.....JESUS HAS WON THE ETERNAL VICTORY FOR

EACH ONE OF US!

The wonderful thing about the Protestant Reformation, was that Martin Luther and the

other Protestant Reformers in the 1500's didn't come up with anything ... NEW!!

Instead, they went back to God's Word... THE BIBLE... and believed the message of God's

grace.... and shared it!!

Many of hymns we will sing this weekend have much focus on ... GOD'S GRACE!!

We will sing "A Mighty Fortress is our God" (vs. 1) "A mighty fortress is our God, a sword

and shield victorious; He breaks the cruel oppressor's rod, And wins salvation glorious. The

old satanic foe, Has sworn to work us woe, With craft and dreadful Might, He arms Himself

to fight, On earth He has no equal."

This hymn, written by Martin Luther, is often referred to, as the "theme song" of the

Protestant Reformation.

We will also sing "The Church's One Foundation" (vs. 1) "The Church’s one foundation, Is Je-

sus Christ her Lord, She is His new creation, By water and the Word. From heaven He came

and sought her, To be His holy bride; With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He

died."

So, as we worship this Reformation Sunday weekend, may we be directed back to the

"heart" of our Christian faith!!

SEE YOU IN CHURCH!!

Pastor’s Weekly Devotion (Cont.) Friday October 24, 2014 - Thursday October 30, 2014

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Bethlehem Lutheran Church

14531 Old Olga Rd.

Fort Myers, FL 33905

Phone: (239)694-3878

www.blcefm.org

Week 44 Friday October 31, 2014 - Thursday November 06, 2014

I Shall Reach Home at Last!!

Sunday, November 2, is All Saints Sunday ...My 9am Sunday sermon at Bethlehem Lutheran

Church, 14531 Old Olga Rd., Ft. Myers (and my 5:30pm, Sat., Nov. 1, worship message at

Faith Lutheran Church, 3040 SW 11th Ct. [at SW 31st Ave.], Ft. Lauderdale, FL) is drawn from

this weekend's Gospel lesson, Matthew 5:1-12.

"(Jesus) said: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are

those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the

earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for

they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of

God.Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the king-

dom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all

kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in

heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you'" (vss. 3-

12).

Over the years, I have often referred to All Saints Sunday weekend, as .... OUR HEAVEN FO-

CUSED WEEKEND!!

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It truly is the weekend that we direct our eyes towards .... HEAVEN!!

We will sing "Soon and Very Soon" (vs. 1) "Soon and very soon, We are going to see the

King, Soon and very soon, We are going to see the King, Soon and very soon, We are going

to see the King, Hallelujah, hallelujah, We're going to see the King."

During the last several weeks as a Christian Pastor, I have REALLY been reminded of the

powerful truth of the above song...... as I have been in the midst of walking a number of

folks through the days, after the death of their loved ones.

Nothing brings each one of us "face to face" with our own fragile lives.... and the fact the

earth is not our eternal home..... AS THE DEATH OF THOSE WE LOVE!!

Who will you be remembering, as you worship this All Saints Sunday weekend?? Even as I

am writing this devotion, I see the faces of loved ones, who have gone on ahead of me,

passing through my consciousness. These are the people who shaped my faith and my life.

We will also sing "For All the Saints" (vs. 1) "For all the saints who from their labors rest,

Who Thee by faith before the world confess, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest, Alleluia!

Alleluia!"

"Who Thee by faith, before the world confess!!"

But clearly, the KEY QUESTION for each one of us is.... who will be able to say "we know Je-

sus" .... BECAUSE OF OUR LIVES, AND OUR WITNESS TO THEM??

Come on, fellow saints..... WE HAVE WORK TO DO!!

SEE YOU IN CHURCH!! .... (lets get nurtured to share that witness)

Pastor’s Weekly Devotion (Cont.) Friday October 31, 2014 - Thursday November 06, 2014