MMC: Forth of July Weekend

Good Morning Everyone!  

I hope you are enjoying these beautiful days that God has blessed us with.  

A Few Quick Announcements: 

• Are you traveling this summer?  Let me know when you will be away either for a weekend across the state or a month across the country, so we can include you in our prayers for safe travel.
• Starting this coming Sunday we will be collecting travel size toiletries for Americares in Danbury.  Items needed include toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, and mouth wash.

Book of Faith Puzzler:

Last week’s question was: Where does the word “Trinity” appear in the bible?  A) Genesis B) John C) 1 Corinthians D) All of the above E) It doesn’t appear in the bible. The bible never includes the word “Trinity” though multiple times God is depicted in the same passage as three beings and Matthew 28:19 even uses the phrase “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”  The term trinity was first use of the word “trinity” was by Theophilus of Antioch in 170CE.  Congratulations to Nancy B for winning this week's puzzler.

This week’s question: Today’s Old Testament reading is from the prophet Jeremiah.  Which of these is not another book of a prophet?  A) Ruth B)Amos C)Habakkuk D)Isaiah  If you know the answer or willing to look it up, email me by noon on Wednesday to be entered into this week's puzzler.  

Yesterday's Sermon:

You can read the sermon here, including my mission for us to invite friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc and just mention your faith to them.  and Jesus sent out his disciples to be welcomed by others as they invited others to hear about Jesus. We are sent out to be both welcoming and inviting.  On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate Bethlehem on being a welcoming congregation?  How you would rate Bethlehem on being an inviting congregation?  

Wednesday's Worship

On Wednesday a group will gather for an informal worship at 7pm on the parsonage lawn.  We will hear about the Israelites fleeing Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, talk about what scares us and pray, sing and commune together.  Come early at 6:30pm for dinner.  In case of rain, we will meet in the community room. 

Serving this Sunday:

The following people have signed up to serve this coming Sunday:

Worship Assistant: Ellen G

Reader:Bob MC

Communion Assistant: _________

Ushers: _____________ & ___________

Altar Set up: _______________

Bread baker/bringer: _________

Coffee Hour host: Barbara C

Counter: __________

If you would like to assist in one of the areas that are currently blank, please let me know.  

Sunday's Texts:

Our gospel for this coming Sunday is Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.  Jesus is upset with people who find fault in both his and John the Baptist's ministries.  He then thanks God that wisdom is not needed for faith.  When have you been upset when someone doesn't do something and when someone does that same thing?  When have you found that the more you think about your faith the weaker you faith becomes?  When do you have to understand something like a child in order to understand it at all?

Hope you all have a great week!  

Blessings

~Pastor Becca

Welcome and Inviting

Yesterday's gospel text was the very short Matthew 10:40-42 "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."


So obviously I focused on the idea of being welcoming.  But something we don't quite get from this snippet of text is that Jesus is actually sending his disciples out and instead of them being the ones who should be welcoming, they will be welcomed or unwelcomed in different homes and communities as they tell others about Jesus.  


Enjoy!  And you're welcome!

If you were welcoming someone into your home, what would you do, to help them feel invited and accepted? 

Why do you do such things?  What does it feel like to be welcomed?

Many of us have a moment in our lives, or actually multiple of them, that we can look back on and feel in someway un-welcomed.  Sometimes we were truly unwanted.  We walked into a conversation that you obviously were not allowed in on.  Sometimes we were just excluded, unintentionally as the others gathered were old friends catching up, or a tight-knit group that knew their own inside jokes and you were left out of the loop.  Maybe you felt this way at your spouse’s high school reunion.  Sometimes we are neglected as people just assume you belong.  Have you ever been left to wander the halls of some building looking for the restroom? And other times you are so warmly welcomed, and the people too overly friendly that it turns you off because it comes off as fake.  I sometimes feel this way at restaurants when the waiter is just a little too perky and smiley.

We all have at times felt unwelcomed.  At schools, at gatherings, in people’s homes and even in churches.  Maybe I should say, especially at churches.  One problem that churches often have is that the regular worshippers often become too cliquey and forget to not just greet but help and invite new worshippers into the worship experience.  Or they don’t ask the people on the fringes to help out with things or specifically invite them to special events.  And sometimes we rely too much on that one person who is so great at hospitality, that we let them do all the work and forget that it is each of our jobs to welcome people in the name of the Lord.  Now I’m not saying that Bethlehem has these issues, just that they are often pitfalls of many churches, regardless of location, denomination or size. 

But there is one other problem, that I will say that we at Bethlehem, that we as Lutherans, that we as predominately middle-class people, that we as people who live in this weird mix of rural suburbia have – we sit back and wait for people to come to us.  We expect that if we put up a sign, people will come to us and then we will warmly greet them and welcome them.  We expect that if we keep the doors unlocked or even wide open on a day like today, that someone will just wander in and then we will welcome them. We rely too much on being welcoming and not enough on being inviting. 

Granted we do the same things in our personal lives.  We expect that people will invite us to their homes even if we never have invited them to our own.  We expect that people will hold the door for us at the coffee shop, even if we never hold the door for anyone else.  We expect that others will act first and then we can be welcoming. 

Well I hate to break this to you, but Jesus was not telling the disciples to sit back and wait for people to come to them so that then the disciples could welcome them in the name of the Lord.  Instead Jesus was sending the disciples out to various villages and towns to tell others about him.  Just like he tells us today to go and to make disciples of all nations by baptizing and teaching. 

And Jesus’s words today are not a commandment for us to stay here and be welcoming in case anyone shows up, but they are more of a command with both a warning and a blessing.  They are a command because we need to go out and tell others about Christ in order to be welcomed by them. 

They are a warning that when we go out and tell others about Jesus, at times we will be unwelcomed.  That people will not welcome us because they do not welcome Jesus or God.  That at times we will not even be offered a cup of water. 

And Jesus’s words are also a blessing, a hope that we will be welcomed, when we go out and tell others about him.  That we will be greeted warmly, that people will come to learn about him through our actions.  And that regardless if we are warmly welcomed with open arms and great joy or if the person refused to give us even a cup of water for our efforts, we are still blessed beloved children of God. 

So now I have a mission for you: go out in the weeks ahead and invite a friend, a co-work, an acquaintance and welcome them in the name of the Lord.  Invite them into your home for dinner or take them out for coffee or ice cream.  And at some point in the conversation, mention your faith or the church.  It doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be anything more than “I thank God that you are my friend.”  And if they welcome your faith, then invite them to worship with you.  And if they don’t then you are still a blessed, beloved child of God.  And if you choose not to welcome someone, well you are still a blessed, beloved child of God, and we will continue to work together on ways to not just be more welcoming but also more inviting.    

MMC: 1st Week of Summer

Good Morning

Hope you all enjoy this last full day of spring as summer officially arrives tomorrow and as many schools have their last day of classes later this week. 

A few announcements

Summer hiatus has started for many things as Bethlehem but there is still much going on. 

• Starting this Wednesday will be our midweek informal worship service.  Bring lawn chairs or blankets as we worship on the lawn by hearing bible stories, praying, singing and sharing communion together.  Worship begins at 7pm but come early for dinner at 6:30.  If the weather is bad, we will worship in the community room. 
• Next Sunday the worship committee will be meeting after worship.  All are invited as we start to plan worship for the fall. 
• Next Sunday is also the last day to bring in baby and mother items for the Women's Center in Danbury.  Items such as diapers, baby food, feminine hygiene products and baby clothes are greatly appreciated.

Book of Faith Puzzler

Last week’s question was: We celebrate Pentecost as the day the apostles received the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church, but Pentecost was a Jewish holiday long before Jesus.  What do Jews commemorate on Pentecost?  A) The anniversary of the first bris. B) The harvest C) A day of forgiveness D) The anniversary of God giving the Torah.  Pentecost or Shavu’ot is the celebration of the anniversary of God giving the Jewish people the Torah (or first 5 books of the Old Testament).  Shavu’ot is also called the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of Reaping, and the Day of First Fruits.  Congratulations to Tiina H for winning this week's puzzler. 

This week’s question: Where does the word “Trinity” appear in the bible?  A) Genesis B) John C) 1 Corinthians D) All of the above E) It doesn’t appear in the bible.  If you know the answer, email me by noon Wednesday to be entered into the drawing. 

Yesterday's Sermon

If you would like to read it, the incomplete version is here.  How do you feel able to fulfill the great commission to go out and make disciples by baptizing and teaching?  How do you feel unable to do so?  How can you rely on the rest of the body of Christ to help you in fulfilling our commission? 

Wednesday's Worship

The theme for the Wednesday worships this summer is water, and our first summer worship we will hear about Noah having to learn to trust God in building an ark.  I will be cooking up some hot dogs and veggie burgers for dinner beforehand. 

Serving this Sunday

Worship Assistant: Mark H

Reader:________

Communion Assistant: Lillian J

Ushers: Bob MC & ___________

Altar Set up: _______________

Bread baker/bringer: _________

Coffee Hour host: __________

Counter: __________

If you would like to assist in one of the areas that are currently blank, please let me know. 

Sunday's Text

For the summer months, I am going to focus on just on of the passages for the coming Sunday, most of the time this will be the gospel text.  This week's gospel and focus passage is Matthew 10:40-42 which is short enough to just type out here: Jesus said ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

When is a time that you have felt welcomed?  When have you felt unwelcomed?  How do you try to welcome someone into your home?  How do you react when someone comes to your home that you do not wish to welcome in? (and why is it most of the time those people are religious people who are trying to testify to you?)  How can you welcome people in Christ name?  How have you been received by others in Christ name? 

Hope you all have a great week and hope to see you either on Wednesday or Sunday

Blessings

Pastor Becca