The word evangelism is familiar to most believers, but what does it mean personally for each of us? For me, the musician, Samuli Edelman sings it best in his new summer hit “Open Secret” The refrain is:
“It is hidden here, between us.
It is ancient and simultaneously new.
It is always apparent, but only seen by the heart.
It is an open secret”.
Naturally, he is singing about love, but for Christians, evangelism is that act of love. We speak, and sing about God’s love towards us and how we can each personally receive God’s love.
“ It is an open secret” that has to be shared so that it can be revealed to many. Whose mission is it to tell others about this secret? In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,”. Kalevi Lehtinen, pastor, writer and the most internationally well-known Finnish pastor, interprets this verse as “the whole congregation is to take the entire gospel to the world with the complete love and power of the Holy Spirit’.
That is the entire congregation, not just evangelists, or the pastors. That is you and me! We are the witnesses for Christ, because we have received the Holy Spirit and in that way are born again in Christ. For each of us, God has planned out the way and the place for us to share the good news. Your personality, experiences and relationships are what is needed. No one else can have these characteristics on your behalf, they will not meet the criteria, they will not have your characteristics. The secret is also that, you can’t know who is waiting for you at this very moment, who God has planned to offer salvation in him through you.
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Have a blessed October!
Sami Shepherd
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We warmly thank all those who have remembered and supported our congregation through their gifts. We are living through economically challenging times, and we need your prayers as well as financial support, so that our work can continue year round.
May God blesse you and your gift!
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Sometimes our birhtday lists are not up to date. If you notice someone's name missing, or would like your name removed from the list, please notify us. THANK YOU! |
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Final Farewell
It has been a blessing to serve the St. Andrew’s congregation for sixteen years. I would like to thank everyone for their guidance and trust throughout this time.
I am also very thankful for all the wonderful people I have had the opportunity to meet and call my friends, this is the real blessing.
From my time as preschool music teacher to music director, I have seen the church go through many changes, and now it has come time for a change in my own path. Even though this new path may go a different way, it is still the same direction, the one that God has chosen. I am excited to start this new journey and trust in His guidance to lead the way.
I will be in church until the 3rd week of October when we will be welcoming our next music director, who will be with us until Christmas. Her name is Terhi Miikki, and she may be familiar to many of you already. She is a wonderful, energetic person who will bless the congregation with her musical talents on the organ, piano, accordion, and bassoon; as well as being a top-notch choir director. We warmly welcome Terhi and thank her for coming all the way to Florida from the other side of the country where she lives, in Washington state.
I would like to thank the congregation for the nice farewell party on September 25th, and for the nice cards and gifts that I received, it was a very heart-warming occasion. The song that the choir sang there was very touching, and I will leave you with the same words from that song: “God Be with You Till We Meet Again”.
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PIRJO-LEENA KOSKISEN'S COLUMN |
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The older I get, the more often I remember my Mother and especially her teachings. Today when I am writing these thoughts it happens to be my Mom’s birthday. She passed away thirteen years ago but her sayings and anecdotes are with me every day. When she was giving me her advice, sometimes indirectly in the form of jokes or funny stories, she started with same words ’Papa always used to say…’ It felt like she was leaning on her own father’s wisdom, which perhaps gave more authority to the message. Papa was an important person to her after her mother’s early passing and her being the youngest in the family. As a teenager it wasn’t always easy to follow the advice of my Mom – of course I thought I already knew a lot, almost everything. Having a conversation with a teenager is not the easiest task in the world… ‘I know, I know’, was probably my most common answer. Later in life I noticed that I was remembering those sayings and started using them with my own kids. Many of those wisdoms were about how to be economical, like ‘Those who have a patch on top of a patch on their clothes have a penny on top of a penny in their savings’. ‘Who saves money when he gets it, has money when he needs it.’ The sayings from Papa also included many wise thoughts about treating other people with kindness, how to behave, so to speak. Honesty was one of the highest values of all. You can be whatever or become whatever, but you must be honest. Still a very useful piece of advice, don't you think? I hope my sons will remember those old sayings and forward them to their children. |
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Have a Blessed Fall season!
Pirjo-Leena
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Tuesdays and Thursdays lunches have been a success!
We have had about 30 customers each day.
Thanks for coming together everyone!
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The Lepokoti has enjoyed the singing of Marianne Maenpaa once again. Marianne has already had a chance to delight residents two times during the past month. Thank you, Marianne! |
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CLICK HERE TO GET TO OUR FINNISH
PARTNERS WEBSITES:
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St. Andrew's Lutheran Church | (561) 582-0554 | 928 South E Street, Lake Worth, FL 33460 | www.standrewsfl.com |
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