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Seek God.
Serve Others.
Share Life.
This Week
at St. Luke
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Sunday, November 17
, 2019
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St. Luke Lutheran 35th Anniversary
Worship Service and Luncheon
Join us Sunday, November, 17
Pastor David Hood,
the original mission developer, will return to St. Luke.
A free catered meal will be served after service.
If you have not already RSVP'd, please email
Pam
in the church office.
All families are welcome to attend.
We hope you will join us for this celebration!
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Upcoming Events & Services
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Devotion
Building a useful and fulfilling life is not an easy task. With the proper tools,
progress is just a matter of practice.
"You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running,
to work by working; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving.
Begin as a mere apprentice and the very power of love will lead you on to become a master of the art." --
Francis de Sales
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Memphis Habitat for Humanity House Dedication
On Saturday, November 9, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis held their house dedication and St. Luke's was honored as a 2019 House Building Sponsor. There were nine families had homes built and dedicated.
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35th Anniversary Celebration
Consecration Sunday
Pastor David Hood, Guest Preacher
Stewardship Campaign
9:00 am
Sunday School for All Ages
10
:00 am Worship Service of Holy Communion
11:15 am 35th Anniversary Celebration Meal
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Wednesday Night Activities
5:30pm WEB Meal
5:30pm Praise Team
6:00pm Cherub Choir
6:30pm Confirmation Class
7:00pm Adult Choir
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Sunday, November 24
Worship Service of Holy Communion
Bishop Kevin Strickland Visit
Christ the King Sunday
9:00 am Sunday School All Ages
10:00 am Worship Service of Holy Communion
9am-12:30 Vitalant Blood Mobile Blood Drive
12pm Potluck and Q&A with Bishop Kevin Strickland |
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St. Luke's Vision...
Seek God. Serve Others. Share Life.
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Announcements
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St. Luke Christmas Musical
"Light of the World"
Sunday, December 8th //
10am
On December 8th during service, we will present a short Christmas musical titled, "Light of the World." This musical combines original songs and familiar carols from around the world to tell the Christmas story. Through narrative, drama and song, we will share how Jesus came to be the "Light of the World" over 2,000 years ago. The story begins with the story of creation, turns to the prophetic words of Isaiah, and then recounts the events of Jesus' birth.
This project will bring together the adult choir, the cherub choir, elementary school aged children, and members of the church youth to present this special story during worship. Opportunities for children and youth to participate range from larger speaking roles, to small non-speaking roles perfect for younger children.
Anyone interested in participating should contact Jennifer Wright ( [email protected]) for more details. Adults not already singing with the choir that would like to participate should come to Wednesday evening rehearsals at 7pm beginning Nov. 13. (We are already working on it, but it is NOT too late to join us.) The cherub choir is working on their section during their regular rehearsals.
We look forward to sharing this with the congregation on Sunday, December 8th.
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Bishop Kevin Strickland
Visit and Potluck
Join us Sun., Nov., 24 as Bishop Kevin Strickland visits St. Luke after service, for a Q&A and Potluck for local area ELCA congregations. Please email Pam in the office to RSVP for the potluck.
Potluck: A-N, please bring side dish; O-Z, please bring dessert. Church will provide ham and rolls.
We hope you will attend and welcome Bishop Strickland to St. Luke.
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Real Faith for Real Life Begins Gospel of Luke
The Real Faith for Real Life Sunday School Class will begin a verse by verse study of the Gospel of Luke this coming Sunday, Nov. 3. Luke, the physician, has an account that covers of the life of our Lord from a unique perspective.
Please join us if you are not committed elsewhere!
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Thanksgiving Baskets 2019
St. Luke is collecting food items for the upcoming Thanksgiving Baskets. We are hoping to help out 40-45 families, and we will be focusing on families through Tonie Robinson and Peace Lutheran, and of course our Outreach families. We are asking for all the Sunday School classes to participate in this worthwhile project.
St. Luke's Youth will be putting the bags together at the Lock-In on Fri., Nov. 22. Delivery will be Sat., Nov. 23, or Sun., Nov. 24. Each Sunday School student will receive a grocery bag. We ask that you bring the bag back to your Sunday School teacher along with the designated food items assigned to your class.
We will be collecting for the baskets Oct. 27, Nov. 3, Nov. 10, and Nov. 17. Again we are asking Adult Sunday School classes to participate with a specific item. There is a sign-up on the Communition Card in the bulletin for turkey donations.
This is a great opportunity as parents and caring adults to teach our children the imporetance of reaching out and helping those less fortunate. Thank you for your help and participation! Any questions, please call Vikki Ernst, 901-378-8829.
2's and 3's: Large cans of Soup and Cereal
Pre-K 4's and K 5's: Large cans of Soup and Cereal
1st and 2nd graders: Large cans of Soup and Cereal
3rd and 4th graders: 4 or 5 lb. bags of Sugar and 5 lb. bags of Flour
5th and 6th graders: 4 or 5 lb. bags of Sugar and 5 lb. bags of Flour
7th and 8th graders: Large jars of Peanut Butter and 5 lb. bags of Flour
High School: 5 lb. bags of Flour and large jars of Peanut Butter
Women of Faith: Cookies
Men of Faith: 4 or 5 lb. bags of Sugar and 5 lb. bags of Potatoes
Pastor's Class: 4 or 5 lb. bags of sugar and 5 lb. bags of Potatoes
Real Faith For Real Life: 5 lb. bags of Potatoes and 5 lb. bags of Flour
Shady Oaks School Children: Cereal
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Are you reading the ENTIRE "This Week"?
Check the end of your email - it may say:
[Message clipped]
View entire message
Don't miss out on the news!!
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Vitalant Blood Mobile will be at St. Luke
9:00AM - 12:30PM in the parking lot
Vitalant is the Memphis region's only non-profit volunteer blood center, dedicated to meeting the needs of patients, healthcare facilities, medical professionals and the community at large. Every year Vitalant supplies more than 100,000 units of blood and blood products for local patient transfusion.
The donation process only takes about 1 hour and takes place entirely at St. Luke. Each donation of whole blood can help as many as 3 recipients - all of them our neighbors.
A sign-up sheet will be located on the bulletin board outside the office starting November 3rd. However, I strongly recommend you sign up at
clublifeblood.us. You can also complete your health questionnaire in advance the day of the drive at this website.
Don't forget you earn points with every donation that can be redeemed at
clublifeblood.us; rewards include t-shirts, movie passes, and gift cards.
Please contact Jon Klein (
[email protected], 901-268-5478), the St. Luke Vitalant Coordinator, with any questions.
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SLY Pies on Sale!
November 17th- SLY Pies on Sale!-
Beginning Sunday, November 17th, our Sr. SLY group will begin taking orders for pies before and after service to help raise funds for their upcoming 2020 Mission Jamaica Trip.
We will be offering pumpkin and pecan pies as well as 1 lb. of chocolates for $10 each. Be sure to get your order in soon to help this great cause! All orders will be baked fresh on December 14th, and will be available for pick up during Brunch in Bethlehem on Sunday, December 15th.
November 22nd-23rd
Mid / Sr. SLY Give Thanks Lock-in
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All Mid and Sr. SLY youth are invited to join us on Friday, November 22nd for our 6th Annual Give Thanks Lock-In.The Lock-In will last from 7:00pm-8:00am. Our theme for this event is based on 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Give thanks in all circumstances; for it is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." The night will be filled with fun, fellowship, and learning to give thanks to our awesome God. This year we will be going through the ELCA Hunger Catechism as a group. This exercise will give our youth an interactive experience about hunger in the United States and around the world. Our service project will be putting the Thanksgiving Baskets together so they are ready to be delivered. We will have all of our favorite lock-in activities as well as some new ones this year. This year we will compete in a new game called Battle of the Instant Dance Crews and have some of our old favorites: a karaoke room, a video game room, photo booth, a craft room, and we will introduce some new games. The church will provide dinner and breakfast. Please bring some snacks to share. RSVP to Jennifer Wright (
[email protected]) by November 17th. If you are interested in helping chaperone (staying the full night or staying for a certain shift) please contact Jennifer Wright.
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Please use the poinsettia order forms and envelopes located in the Narthex to order 2019 Christmas poinsettias.
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Missing Silver Pie Server
If you picked up a silver pie server by mistake, please return it to the church office. The server belongs to Elvin Carlson, and he would appreciate its safe return. Thank you!
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Multi-Media Help Needed
Our Multi-Media Team needs a few more volunteers to help create the slides used on Sunday mornings during worship. It's pretty simple: take the script that's provided, make up slides, save the file! Sometimes you'll create, other times you'll proof what someone else created. The more people we have on the team, the fewer times per month you'll be asked to do one of the jobs.
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Stewardship Sermon--Nov. 10, 2019
Did you know that most pastors don't like to preach about money? Just as it is a sensitive issue today, so it was in Jesus' time. That didn't stop Jesus from talking about it though. Did you know that more than half of Jesus' parables relate to stewardship? Brian Sluth, former president of the Christian Stewardship Association, said, "There are 2,350 passages in the Bible dealing with money and material possessions - more than on any other subject - but it's the least talked about subject in the church." One out of every six verses in Matthew, Mark, and Luke deals with money. I get the impression God wants us to deal with this issue regularly.
The goal of Christian financial stewardship is the faithful management of all that God gives,
so that God can use
our
gifts to transform us spiritually and to reach out to others with Christ's transforming love. I'll reiterate what we just heard. The apostle Paul spells out this goal in the definition of stewardship in his letter to the second Corinthians: Remember this: "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that
in all things at all times, having all that you need
, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." Jesus himself summed up the spiritual connection between money and God this way:
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Luke 12:34)."
Financial stewardship is treasure management that helps us escape the trap of selfishness by keeping ourselves spiritually focused on God.
Why do I believe in financial stewardship?
My biblical and theological beliefs are foundational to my convictions about Christian giving. Three of these convictions are especially important. First, I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe that Christ has the greatest potential to change the lives of people more than anything they can take a hold of. Second, I believe in the church. I believe the church is the Body of Christ and has great potential for changing, improving and enriching people's lives. Third, I believe in stewardship. Financial giving enables a church to do what God calls it to do. To help people and to serve Christ.
And,
financial stewardship helps individual Christians to grow spiritually.
Why are annual stewardship campaigns needed?
People don't drift into good giving habits.
Good giving habits are planned and prayerfully considered a
nd often the reason people decide to give is because
someone, like me, asks them to decide.
I'm asking you to please take the time to consider what percentage you currently give, and then join my wife Susie and me to take a STEP UP from there. You might also consider electronic giving as it can help you give regularly and consistently. The fact is, every year more St. Luke members enroll in automatic giving.
Our Annual stewardship campaign at St. Luke is much more than fund-raising. As I mentioned, it helps each of us to grow spiritually in our relationship with God through the faithful management of all that God gives us. Speaking of spiritual growth, to get to the point of delivering this talk, I have poured over several books on stewardship with heavy reliance on author Herb Miller. He's the guy who came up with the STEP-UP narrative. But when it comes down to it, the best authority I've found on these matters is God's inspired word contained in this book right here... I'm reminded of the only place in all of Scripture where we are given permission to test God:
Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."
Now, as I wrap-up, since its right around the corner, let's talk a bit about Thanksgiving. It was developing Pastor David Hood who pitched to his own congregation the need of this congregation to build a permanent facility. By the
work of the Holy Spirit, St. Luke Lutheran Church elected to take out mortgage on their property, earmarking monetary gifts for the Sanctuary in which we worship today, thirty-five years later. Do you see the thanksgiving here? Do you see the sacrifice of energy, time, and funds to expand God's kingdom then? Do you see what God is calling us to do today which will require the sacrifice of energy, time and money as it did to our fathers and mothers in the faith? As we consider our own stewardship response to all that God in Christ has done for us - all that He has placed into our hands both as individuals and as a congregation - Don't let your thanksgiving stop there - STEP-UP -
"in the company of the upright, in the congregation."
Let your thanksgiving overflow into love and good works to your neighbor where you live, and be that blessing to those around you in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Dave Carlson
Stewardship Temple Talk--Nov. 10, 2019
This morning I am going to talk a little about the topic of serving and giving to St. Luke. Most of the time we think of the giving part to the church as financial. However, serving and giving go hand in hand. Serving and giving simply means spending yourself-your time, your gifts God has blessed you with, your resources and not just monetary resources, your energy. In other words spending or giving of yourself.
Christ's service to us is the model. In Mark 10:45, Jesus says: "for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Dale and I consider St. Luke our home and one of the many reasons is because of all the opportunities that we have had to serve our Lord here. On our first visit to St. Luke the message was on social ministry and all that St. Luke was involved with reaching out into the community. It was at that moment God spoke through my heart and told me you have found what you have been missing. This was a church that truly walked the talk. The St. Luke Saints were God's hands and feet in action. Since joining I have been blessed to be part of so many wonderful outreach ministries, but more importantly I have been blessed by the lives of those that have been touched by these ministries.
But the ministries that I have been involved with may not be your calling. You may be called to be a caregiver to the sick or elderly in the church, a S.S. teacher, someone to work with the Youth, a great cook. You may have a warm and friendly personality to greet and welcome visitors or to serve the hungry or homeless. You may be musically gifted. You may enjoy working in the yard or handy around the house. The Time and Talent sheet that is available for you to fill out has so many opportunities to find and answer your call. St. Luke can use each and every one of you. There is no age requirement or restrictions. Nothing is insignificant when you serve God. When God calls, He has something very definite in mind. Remember He is the one who has blessed you with your gifts. When God calls us, He knows that we can handle the challenge with His help
Is God calling you to serve? Think about your gifts and abilities. How can you offer these gifts in a new way to Jesus? Where can your abilities be used to strengthen or expand the Church? God has been so generous to Dale and I. We trust in God's generosity, but part of trusting in His generosity is letting go, getting out of your comfort zone and being generous in return, whether it is with our money, our time or our gifts from God. Be richly rewarded by trusting in God's generosity. We all can live through the words found in I Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.
Vikki Ernst
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"Tidbits" of the Week - Nov. 17
Up, up and away! Grace Summers treated her mom, Mary Grace, to a flight in a helicopter, Sunday. Congratulations to both of them; Grace for getting her license and MG for trusting Grace!
Thanksgiving Baskets: We will be giving out 45 baskets, this year, so we're asking you to donate food for those less fortunate than us. The due date is Sunday, November 17
th
. Thank you!!
At the December congregational meeting we will be electing new council representatives for the Stewardship and Worship committees. Please consider filling these positions.
It's not too late to let Jacob know that you'd like to participate in our Christmas musical, entitled "Light of the World."
Volunteers Needed! We need a few good folks to help out in the office during the week. If you can spare an hour or two, please share your time and talent! Call Pam to offer.
Have you noticed that Jacob has listed the hymns that we'll be singing in the newsletters? Great idea for those of us who would like to practice before we worship. Thanks, Jacob!
It's not too early to start thinking about Christmas decorating at church. We will be decorating the Sanctuary and Narthex on Tuesday, Nov. 26
th
, at 9am and you will be "treeted" to a chili lunch afterwards.
Stewardship Notes: Many thanks for Vikki Ernst and Dave Carlson for delivering our message, Sunday morning. Vikki reminded us that serving goes hand in hand with serving yourself. St. Luke certainly walks the talk with all the outreach ministries that go on here and Vikki said those we serve are a blessing to us.
Everyone has a special gift from God that is a call to serve others. Nothing we do is insignificant! God assures us that we can handle the challenge; we are to trust in God's generosity. Check out Mark 10:45 and 1 Peter 4:10.
Dave said although speaking about financial stewardship is a sensitive issue, half of Jesus' parables are about that very thing! Stewardship = treasure management. Decide what to give to St. Luke, cheerfully. You will be enriched through your generosity. Financial stewardship drives our church, so prayerfully consider stepping up one step.
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Financials
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St. Luke Financial Snapshot
through October 31, 2019
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Actual |
Budget |
| REVENUE |
(in Dollars) |
(in Dollars) |
| Current Giving |
321,480 |
350,000 |
| Other |
19,789 |
19,896 |
| Total Revenue |
341,269 |
369,896 |
| Expenses |
336,219 |
372,757 |
| Surplus |
5,050 |
(2,861) |
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| CASH |
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| Total |
66,076 |
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| Designated Funds |
19,274 |
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| Net Available |
46,802 |
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| MORTGAGE |
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| Balance at 1/1/2019 |
83,381 |
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| Balance at 10/31/2019 |
40,602 |
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| October Tithe |
25,818 |
35,000 |
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St. Luke Lutheran Church
| 756-8850 |
stlukememphis.org
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