Zion's Messenger

Volume 12 Issue 3
March 2007




“Not Forsaken”--A Lesson for Lent

     Reading.    Deuteronomy 30:11-16 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.” Psalm 38:21-22 Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

     A Thought.    Here in Deuteronomy we have the walk of faith laid out for us. The blessing of our Heavenly Father comes through listening to His Word. Lent began with Ash Wednesday on February 21. Here in March we have already had two Mid-Week "Soup and Sandwich Suppers" followed by two "Vespers Services." We are well on our way with a series of meditations dealing with the encouragement of Christ Who does not forget His church. He has given us His Word in the Book of Revelation, the focus of our Mid-Week Lenten Series.

     Indeed, we often look at the letters of the Book of Revelation as very mixed and being more negative than positive. But what we find when we begin digging into the Scripture is that the Lord Jesus is very faithful and encouraging in His letters to the churches of Asia Minor.

     And, don't we need encouragement in our walk of faith? As we continue through this Lenten season, may we see the haste that the Lord makes to help each of us. The Bible tells us that God is very close to us.

     A Prayer.    Lord Jesus, thank You for Your suffering and death on the cross for my sins and the sins of the whole world. May I understand the anguish that You suffered as You sought to fulfill the Father's plan of redemption for this fallen world. Thank You, Heavenly Father, that it pleased You to be close to mankind and love us through Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

~ Pastor Dave




Click here to see our schedule for
Lenten Services


CHOIR

     Join us on Sunday, March 11 at 9:45 a.m. for our first rehearsal for this year's Easter Choir. Each year we choose a well-known hymn to sing Easter morning.  We only practice for a few weeks before Easter so hopefully all that want to sing may fit us into their Sunday schedule. We rehearse  for ten to fifteen minutes in the Fellowship Hall before our regular worship service. Our choir is open to all men and women who enjoy singing and making a "joyful noise" unto the Lord!


“I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

~ Psalm 121:1,2

A Lenten Story:
A Sermon Without Words

     (Excerpt from Focus on the Family’s Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, March 9, 2007)

     As we continue in the Lenten Season, I am reminded of a story of a parish priest in rural England who announced in the morning that, at the evening vespers, he would deliver a sermon without the use of words.

     At the appointed time, when all the congregants were seated, he proceeded to the crucifix that was very prominent in the chapel. The place was void of light, so he took a lantern and stood beneath the suffering Jesus. He held the lantern to the feet of Jesus. The nail prints were obvious. Next, he raised the light to the part of Jesus' body that had been pierced with a sword, then to the hands - each side. The image of the blood of Christ flowing freely from the vicious hammering of the nails ... and then to the head of our Savior, he moved. The crown of thorns roughly placed. The blood coursed down the side of His face and into His matted hair. He lingered there for awhile and slowly moved his lantern into place so that the agony on our Lord's countenance was almost too vivid to watch. It was a sermon preached without words and very powerfully delivered.

     Then the parish priest blew out his light, leaving the people in darkness as he quietly exited the little church. A sermon without words — unforgettable!

     Before that triumphant morning, there was the agony of the cross. We must never forget that.

     "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isa. 53:5).

     "One of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear" (Jn. 19:34).

     "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb.9:22).



Click here to see
Pastor Dave In India


Email from Around the World

     Subject: Gift (from Feb 6, 2007 e-mail)

     Dear Pastor Johnson,

     I believe you are in India as I write this, but I wanted to write and express my thanks for the gift you sent to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Uganda.  The timing of the gift was nothing less than a miracle from God.  The Saturday before the funds were received (before we knew they were coming) we were made aware of the Pastor’s Bookset Conference which was to be held in Kampala at the end of January.  It included four days of training and a case of 58 books for a pastors library.  We committed the matter to prayer as the const of the conference was 140,000 shillings ($USD 80) per person.  I got an email from Rev. Palmer that Tuesday to inform us that your gift had arrived.  We have seven pastors and the gift was exactly the amount needed to send all seven.  So we have been very blessed.  I also attended the conference with the seven pastors and our president, David Natema.  The training was excellent and the books are priceless.  They include a concordance, Bible dictionary, atlas, Africa Bible Commentary, books on leadership, discipleship, ministry to Muslims, and many other wonderful resources.  These will help us very much as our pastors are also involved in training up new leaders from their villages.  So we say thank you to you and your congregation for your generous gift.  It will be used for many generations as these books will impact many lives.  May the Lord bless you!

     Nate Jore


     Subject: Greetings (from February 15, 2007 e-mail)

     Friends at Zion-- Yes, they do bypass surgery in India and yes, it is expensive, but many costs come under the health care system there. Raju's father is a pastor in the AFLC-India church and is scheduled for bypass surgery March 16. Please add him to your prayer concern list. Pastor Del Palmer reports his name is Viswanathapalli, Prabhudass. Remember too Raju's request for God's grace in his exams.

     --Pastor Dave

     Dear paster David son,

     how are you , are you fine,how is your jerney from india to your country,

     I thinking that you reach there safely ,did you remember me ,I am Raju from india,you came to my church dedication,your minstry is well , Lord will anoint you all in your ministry

     my family members and my church members convey their greetings to you, now I am giving one prayer request to you , my father suffring from the heart proublam

     I allready told that to you ,march 16th ,we have to go to hospital for oparation, so remember in your personal prayers,  march 2nd onwards I have to write my examinitions, so plese remember that in your personal prayer,

    I lookford for your mail,

    your spiritual friend , Raju




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India Mission Work