Plymouth Apostolic Lutheran Church, Pastor Joel Baker May 2013 11015 County Road 15, Plymouth, MN 55441 Telephones: 763-544-7248 & 763-544-9170

Revelation 5:9 reads: “A new song was sung by the four living

creatures and the twenty-four elders: ‘Worthy are You to take

the book and to break its seals; for You were slain and

purchased for God with Your blood -- men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.’”

The Lamb that was slain is Jesus. By His blood, we have been purchased for God. If we accept this gracious gift, we will live with Him forever. We will belong to that royal priesthood in the Kingdom of God. Have you reflected upon how precious you are to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? It cost Him everything he had – His whole human life on earth. He willingly went to His death on a painful, disgraceful cross to purchase your redemption. You have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

What does it mean to you that Jesus is worthy, as Revelation 5:9 says? Does it mean to you He is worthy of worship, honor, praise, glory, and blessing as verses 12 and 13 in the same chapter state? If it does mean those things, how has that impacted your life? Are you changing in how you live your life? Are you purposely living for Him? If you are purposely living for Him, is it because of what He’s done for you, rather than by trying to earn His favor or your salvation? Since He has freely purchased salvation for you, it is not possible for you to earn His favor or salvation by your own efforts. If this were possible, then Jesus Christ would not have had to come to earth and die for sinners.

If you are purposefully living for Him by responding in thankfulness and joy to His free gift by honoring His Name and His sacrifice and His breaking you free from the bondage to sin, this will give you the most wonderful purpose in life you could possibly have. You are one of the most blessed people on earth.

If purposefully living for Him out of thankfulness and joy doesn’t describe you, do you want it to? Ask the Lord Jesus to show you how you can make appropriate changes in your life to bring more honor and glory and blessing to His Name.

Pastor Joel Baker

Pastor Baker’s e-mail: shalom2u2@usfamily.net Church website: www.plymouthapostolic.org Church e-mail: secretary@plymouthapostolic.org Prayer Chain: 612-554-6823 or pep59@aol.com

…from the Pastor’s Office

Mt. 5:14: You are the light of the world,

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

May at PALC Sundays May 5, 12, 19, 26

9: 00 am Sunday School 10:30 am Worship & Installation Service w/Pot Luck Lunch

2nd Sunday -11:40 am Prayer in Sanctuary 3rd Sunday Holy Communion during Worship Service 4th Sunday – Holy Communion following Worship Service 2nd Tuesday May 14 5:30 pm Mission Committee meets 6:30 pm Board of Trustees meets

Wednesdays May 1 ~ 9 am Men’s Breakfast at Perkins May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 ~ 9:15 am Ladies’ Bible study May 8, 15, 22, 29 ~ 9:30 am Men’s Bible study May 1 ~ 6:30 pm Bible study last in video series by R C Sproul with discussion; youth Bible studies May 8, 15, 22, 29 ~ 6:30 pm Bible study on the language of Scripture based on book by Lois Tverberg, In the Dust of the Rabbi; youth Bible studies

Choir rehearsals in May ~ Watch bulletin! Thursdays May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 ~ 6 pm Read Through the Bible book discussion – Newcomers Welcome! Saturday May 4 ~ 9 am Higher Perspectives Bible Study; brunch and study; Welcome. 9-Noon Church Clean-up

Scripture & Meditation “…For Christ’s kingdom and power are

hidden under the cross. If the cross were not

extolled through preaching, teaching, and

confession, who could have ever thought of it,

to say nothing of knowing it? But such is His

kingdom and power, that He aided the

fallen, called the needy to Himself, made

sinners godly, and brought the dead to life.”

~Reading the Psalms with Luther

hough the Psalms are replete with praise and thanksgiving, the last six Psalms (145-150) concentrate on praise, singing,

thanksgiving. The hymn, “Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!” reminds us to offer Praise to the Lord.

In one or two or three minutes, recall and remember what God has provided for which you now can sing praises and offer prayers of thanksgiving to Him!

Read through the Bible A chapter per day

Read: Psalm 119 Week of April 28 Psalms 120 – 128 Week of May 5 Psalms 129 – 136 Week of May 12 Psalms 137 – 143 Week of May 19 Psalms 144 – 150 Week of May 26

T

More than one-hundred people signed up to attend. More than half of the audience was invited by members of our congregation.

Celebrate our Congregation

May Birthdays!

Dee Sutphen 05/09 Bev Aho 05/12 Karen Rokala 05/15 Sara Serazzi 05/18 Mary Kay Myrmel 05/21 Earl Rokala 05/23 Emma Johnson 05/28

Wedding Anniversaries in May Marvin & Jennifer Barhorst 5/8/2010 George & Signe Pelto 5/20/1950 Jim & Lorraine Besonen 5/25/1955

Jim & Lorraine

Called Home On April 16, 2013, Ruth Waataja was called to her Heavenly home. She is survived by her eight children, 12 grandchildren & 12 great-grandchildren.

We celebrated Passover in April

In addition to cooks, table setters, cleaners, etc., multiple volunteers donated and prepared the fixings. Music and sound made this an evening of celebration.

Photos by Alisha Walters

CALLING all 2013 graduates and confirmation students. In JUNE PALC wants to recognize and celebrate your accomplishments. Sign the sheet in the Narthex with your high school, technical school college or university. For confirmation students, sign-up, also. Anyone can include a photo. Send to raki@msn.com to be published in the June Rise and Shine.

Missionaries PALC Prays for and Supports

arry and Mae first heard of the work of LBT Lutheran Bible Translators) while Larry was attending seminary. It was a shock to

learn that millions of people were not able to read God’s Word in their own language. The Johnsons stepped out in faith to help meet this challenge and obtained training to prepare themselves for the task. They first attended the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Later, Larry received his M.A. in linguistics at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Larry and Mae Johnson, along with their three children left for Liberia December 31, 1972 to work as Bible translators. There were several ethnic groups in Liberia that did not have a Bible in their language. After much prayer they began work with the Kisi people who live where Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea meet. Kisi people live in all three areas so the Bible they would work on would have an impact in all three countries.

Since Kisi had never been written down and there was no language school to go to in order to learn the language, their first task was to move into a small remote village (remote, like no electricity, no running water – except for running down to the spring and carrying water up in a bucket) and after building a mud house with a zinc roof

to live in, be with the people, learn their language from them and while learning the language develop an alphabet and writing system for the language.

Larry and Mae feel it was a wonderful place to raise their family. All of their children, as adults, have thanked their parents for the opportunity to grow up in Africa. They are much more appreciative of life in America, having grown up in Africa. Yes, they missed opportunities in the arts, sciences and sports, but there is no comparison to what they gained living in a third world culture.

Their first term of Missionary service was four and a half years. During that time they learned the language, developed an alphabet and writing system, started work on developing literacy materials to teach the Kisi people how to read and write their own language (the bulk of the literacy work was completed by a literacy team), had a baby (Sara, their third daughter was born in Liberia in 1975) and started on translating the New Testament into Kisi. During this time they were able to complete the book of Mark.

On subsequent terms in Liberia, besides continuing with the translation work, Larry and Mae were involved in mission activities, serving as Pastoral Counselor, being on the Executive

Committee, etc. which consumed much of their time. It was not until 1989 that they completed the Kisi New Testament. To see Kisi people using this New Testament has been a highlight in the Johnson’s ministry. Today thousands of Kisi people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are reading God’s word. Many more thousands are hearing it read in church in the language

which speaks to their hearts. God’s Word is going forth and touching lives.

The desire of the church was to have the entire Bible in

their language. Therefore the translation of the Old Testament was started shortly after the

L

Today thousands of Kisi people are reading God’s Word.

dedication of the New Testament. The entire Bible was completed in Kisi in 2012 and is presently being prepared for printing.

In 1989 Larry was asked to become a translation consultant with Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) and the United Bible Societies (UBS). That meant working with various languages on their translations mainly in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Before beginning his work as a translation consultant, he completed a Th.M. degree in missiology and did much of his work on a PhD in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. In Larry’s work as a translation consultant with LBT and the UBS, his primary responsibility has been to provide training to national translators in translation principles, to check translation material for exegetical accuracy, and assist the teams in preparing Scripture materials for printing.

Larry and Mae's work in Bible Translation have brought them to several different countries working with many different translation projects. Larry has been involved with not only completing the Kisi Bible but also, the Kpelle (Liberia) Bible, Krio and Themne Bibles (Sierra Leone). In addition he has helped with the translation of Scriptures for the Bandi, Krahn, Grebo, Gola in Liberia; Limba, Kono in Sierra Leone; Yeyi and Kalanga in Botswana and one translation project in Cameroon. Besides printed Scriptures, Larry has assisted in producing Scriptures on cassettes and videos for several of these languages.

Having completed the Kisi and Kpelle Bibles in Liberia in 2012, LBT has asked Larry to work with three translation projects in Botswana, the Khwe, Shekgalagari and Yeyi.

Please pray that God will continue to strengthen and guide the Johnsons. Pray for them in their many times of separation. Pray for safety and good health for Larry in all of his travels. Pray for wisdom for Larry as he works with the translation teams, checking that God’s

Word would be translated accurately. Pray that God would supply all their needs so they can continue to serve Him.

“But these are written that you may believe that

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by

believing you may have life in his name.” John

20:31

Mother’s Day Sunday, May 12

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have

clung to me all my life." ~Abraham Lincoln

"Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of

friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Senior Outing ~ May 16th

Where? Austin, MN to visit the SPAM Museum When? Thursday, May 16 Time? Van leaves the church at 9:00 a.m. Bring? Lunch money Contact? Evy and Larry Walters

Take a walk through history. WWII soldiers know all about SPAM; maybe other Veterans are familiar as well with the product.

(Today, Hawaiians eat more than 6 million

cans of Spam a year, the nation's highest per capita consumption of the processed meat, which is cobbled together from a mixture of pork shoulder, ham, sugar and salt.) ~Seattle Times, 2009

from the Board of Trustees

May 5 Installation of Pastor Joel Baker

t the special congregational meeting on April 7th, the congregation overwhelmingly voted to call Pastor Joel

Baker as our senior pastor. Installation service will be held Sunday,

May 5th at our 10:30 a.m. worship service. The board along with Pastor Ernest Bylkas will conduct the service. Pastor Bylkas of the South Range Congregation is also a member of our Federation's Central Board.

The plan is to have current and former board members participate on that Sunday. Do you know former members or friends of PALC you’d like to invite for the Worship and Installation service? Everyone is welcome.

A potluck dinner will be served after the Service. Bring a dish to share:

A-I Salad J-N Cookies/Bars O-Z Main Dish

Serving Group to Serve the Meal: Myrt & Roger Larson’s Serving Group for Clean-Up: Kris & Noel Walters’

PALC Semi-Annual Meeting

May 19th, following the Worship Service our scheduled Semi-Annual meeting will be held.

A Pot-Luck Luncheon will be held before the meeting. Please bring a dish to share. Last Name Begins with: Please Bring:

A – I Cookies/Bars J – N Main Dish O – Z Salad

Memorial Day ~ May 27, 2013

A

From the Library: Tips for Reading the Bible in 90 Days

Reading the Bible in 90 Days is incredibly rewarding, and definitely a challenge: Make it a daily priority. Pray before reading

Instead if studying your response, just keep reading! Write down your questions as you read rather than take time to investigate them

Carry your Bible with you everywhere

Read an electronic device while on-the-go or online at work, and hardcopy at home. Try reading at various times and lengths of time. REPLACE one or more activities with B90. The distinction may seem subtle, but consciously choosing to watch one hour LESS of TV each day means you are REPLACING TV watching with Bible reading and not ADDING TO a hectic schedule. If you fall behind, here are a few dos and don’ts for getting back on track: This is Bible reading-not necessarily a Bible study. Absorb what you can-highlight what stands out, and move on. Set a goal and write it on your calendar-pick a date, divide the number of pages by the number of days and make catching-up happen. Grab additional reading time whenever possible. Even 10 minutes helps! You are on a mission and it’s not necessarily an easy one. Forces will conspire against you. But He will be there to support you. Take your Bible everywhere, yes, even all over the house and in your car. Take it to meet your friends and read while you wait for them. Read it while in line at the grocery store. Read it instead of chatting with friends. (Let your friends know about the challenge) Read during your breaks at work. Get to church early and read before worship. Read while waiting for the oven to preheat and water to boil. Read while your kids do their homework.

Institute family reading time, even if that just means looking at pictures for your youngest ones-read during that time. Sunday is a great catch-up day. Don’t skip ahead, thinking you will go back. Don’t be unrealistic in best reading will go back. Don’t set unrealistic reading times during the day for your personal schedule. Don’t read without a plan. Don’t give up!

Looking for A Good Read… Not in our church library – but should be. A reader recommends Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler & Lois Tverberg. “How the Jewishness of Jesus can transform your faith.”

What others say about this book: “Spangler and Tverberg, with the rigor of a scientist, the drama of a storyteller, and the passion of a disciple, present a stirring depiction of Jesus as a first-century Jewish teacher that will greatly benefit the scholar and the layman alike…” ~Ray Vander Laan

“This highly readable work is rooted in rabbinic sources and reflects current gospel research. S and T vibrantly introduce the reader to valuable aspects of the Jewish background, lifestyle, and teachings of the Rabbi from Galilee…” ~Marvin R. Wilson, PhD Ann Spangler is a Christian author (Praying the Names of God; Praying the Names of Jesus; and more.)

Lois Tverberg, PhD is a molecular biologist by training. She has shifted her interest and expertise to this emerging field of study, dedicating her considerable intellectual gifts and academic training to the kind of careful, balanced and inspired research that both authors hope is evident in this book.

National Day of Prayer “PRAY for AMERICA”

AMERICANS TO UNITE AND PRAY ON THURSDAY, MAY 2ND, FOR THE 62ND ANNUAL OBSERVANCE OF THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

his year’s theme, “Pray for America”, is based on Matthew 12:21 “In His name the nations will put their hope.” …“The

American people continue to be plagued with challenges that defy simple answers, and our hope lies in humbly seeking the Almighty’s guidance, protection, and blessing – not only on the National Day of Prayer, but throughout the year,” Shirley Dobson, Chairwoman

The Perfect Gift – A Hug

Relieves Tension, Improves Blood

Flow, Reduces Stress, Helps Self-

Esteem, Generates Good Will, No

Batteries Required, Absolutely No

Cost, Non-Taxable, Silent

Performance, Extremely Personal.

Fully Returnable

***New this Month ***

What’s it? Where’s it?

hildren!! Teen@@ Youth %% Young adults## Sharpen your sleuthing skills. Each month your “Ace” photographer,

Alisha W will attempt foul you up with a photo and a hint. Your assignment, should you accept the challenge, is to sleuth around (respectfully). When you think you've discovered the What’s it? Where’s it? Whisper your guess in Alisha’s

ear. She will give the thumbs or the thumbs

. Ready? Go!

Hint: You can find me on the kitchen counter in many homes or in the bathroom.

T C