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Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Him!

By Vicar Lisa

It is hard to be joyful at times. And, the passing of Pastor Andrea is one of those times. But, as Pastor Carrie said in her sermon last Sunday, there will be joy again. It will be okay.

Some of you may know that Pastor Andrea gave me a lot of books from her library. Some of these are excellent sources for sermon research, some are texts useful for school, and so on. I love these resources so much more than I would if they were new. I like to read her notes in the margins, see what she underlined as important, even bold “What!?” comments scribbled in the margin when she disagreed or questioned the commentator. I also find little treasures like lovely bookmarks, notes to self, and so on.

Today, I pulled out a commentary on Matthew to use in preparing for Sunday’s sermon. And in it, I found a bookmark entitled, Joy! It had various scripture verses about joy. And, finding it, brought me some joy.

What is joy? According to one source, it is the pure and simple delight in being alive. Joy is our elated response to feelings of happiness, experiences of pleasure, and awareness of abundance.

In the Bible, joy is a choice and an essential component of the Christian life. The term joy appears more than a hundred times in the Bible. Biblical joy is choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction because we know that God will use these experiences to accomplish God's work in and through our lives. Joy is also a perpetual gladness of the heart that comes from knowing, experiencing, and trusting Jesus.

Look and find joy, beautiful people of God.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. -- Psalm 28:7

 

Serving This Sunday, Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost,

October 8, 2023

10 a.m. Worship with Holy Communion

Announcements

  • Following Worship Today: Join us in the Fellowship Hall for food and conversation, as well as the start of Adult Bible Study. We will begin a 7-week study about How Lutherans Interpret the Bible, by the Rev. Dr. Mark Allan Powell, a Lutheran pastor and the author of 35 books and more than 100 published articles focusing upon theology and the Bible.
  • Women’s Bible Study: The next Women's Bible Study is at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, in the Fellowship Hall with a study of the parables of Jesus lead by Carol Smith. All are welcome.
  • Memorial Service: A celebration of the life of Pastor Andrea, tentatively is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 3, at Zion’s Lutheran. Comi Funeral Home in Trinidad is in charge of arrangements.
  • Flower Sign Up: There still are Sundays in 2023 available for flower dedications. The recommended minimum donation is $35, and the work of our flower guild is lovely. You can keep the flowers or donate them. The flower guild then divides the bouquet for nursing homes and for the homebound.
  • Now Available: Copies of the October-December Portals of Prayer are available in the back of the sanctuary and in the Fellowship Hall. Large print copies of Portals of Prayer are on the table in the Fellowship Hall.

E-formation - Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 8, 2023

One definition of a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” The gospel for this coming Sunday is a parable about a vineyard, but we understand that the story is really about the call to accept and honor Christ as our master. Come on Sunday to worship Christ, the Son of God, the cornerstone who secures our lives.

Matthew 21:33-46

Matthew’s intention in the parable need not be ours: recent Christian theological discussion attends not only to Matthew’s condemnation of Jewish religious leadership, but also to Paul’s testimony that God remains faithful to Israel, into which believers in Christ are grafted. On Sunday, each biblical reading means to address the assembled Christian community: thus, it is we as the tenants of the vineyard, now interpreted as the church, who are called to heed the Son and to build upon Christ as our cornerstone.

Isaiah 5:1-7

The poem in Isaiah 5 is chosen this Sunday because the gospel’s parable explicitly cites its details, and it is good to know the Old Testament reference that the evangelists assume their audience has. When Christians hear this “love song,” we are to examine to what degree we are yielding only wild grapes, unfit for producing good wine. Looking at us, does God see justice, or bloodshed?

Philippians 3:4b-14

Both today’s readings in Isaiah and Matthew include what Lutherans call “law”—that is, the bitter truth of our own human failings. Paul writes “gospel”: we now know Christ and are found in Christ. Thus, we can respond to God’s call, despite the rubbish—the “shit”?!—of even our devout religious practices.

Zion's Lutheran Church

zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785