Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Next month we celebrate the 500th

Anniversary of the Protestant

Reformation. What should we do to

commemorate this historic event in

Christian history? We could have a

regular service with a Reformation

emphasis followed by a meal. If we do

that, we may want to think about

beginning church at 10 a.m. on October

29th, which is REFORMATION SUNDAY.

Or, we could have a combined

Homecoming / Reformation

commemoration that day with church

beginning at the regular time, an

afternoon program of some sort, and a

meal following. Perhaps someone might

have other ideas. Whatever you, the

church, decides will be all right with me.

As we think about the Reformation, we

also think about the perils Martin Luther

and other Reformation leaders faced:

Threats, death, torture, ridicule,

excommunication, etc. There were many

trials they endured. We may never face

those kinds of trials, but we will face

trails. How do we effectively handle the

trials of life?

P a s t o r a l L e t t e r

S T . J O H N ’ S L U T H E R A N C H U R C H ( F I S H L A K E )

September, 2017 Volume 3, Issue 9

1. Take Responsibility - - Quite often,

difficulties we face are results of our bad

decisions and choices. We need to take

responsibility for those choices and

decisions and not engage in blaming

others. Remember the story of Adam

and Eve? Eve blamed the serpent;

Adam blamed Eve. Neither took

responsibility. When we don’t take

responsibility, we lie to ourselves. And,

blaming gets easier and easier while

taking responsibility gets more and

more difficult. We begin a downward

spiral for which we may never recover.

2. Take Action - - What can we do once

we have taking responsibility? If the

situation is due to our own bad

decisions or choices or if due to others

or circumstances, we can still take

action. We can look at our options. We

can list those options looking at the

pro’s and con’s of each option and the

consequences of each option. Then, we

chose the best option. Taking action,

any action, will give us a sense of

control.

3. Leave the Details to God - - Once we

take action, get a sense of control, then

we leave the details to God. Many years

ago, the psychotherapist Richard

P a g e 2 S t . J o h n ’ s R e v e l a t i o n s

Carlson, wrote “Don’t Sweat the

Small Stuff.” Sometimes we are our

own worst enemies when trials come

our way because we try to figure it all

out. Do what we can with the

information we have, and leave the

rest to God.

P a s t o r a l L e t t e r

“The aim and final end of

all music should be none

other than the glory of

God and the refreshment

of the soul.”

- - Johann Sebastian Bach

L u t h e r a n Q u o t e

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 9

M O R A L D I L E M M A S

Imagine you are walking to a store with your friend Gia.

She tells you that Kayla, a student at your school, stole

money from the cafeteria and blamed Gia for it. As a

result, Gia was suspended for two weeks and had to pay

the money back.

As you and Gia walk into the store, you see Kayla. Gia

pushes Kayla slightly and drops a pair of earrings into Kayla's purse. The alarm

sounds once Kayla tries to walk out of the store. She is pulled aside by security for

shoplifting, and they call the police. Kayla tells them that she is innocent and that Gia

dropped the earrings in her purse. Gia calls Kayla a liar and asks you to back her up.

If you tell the truth, Gia will get in trouble again and will face consequences from the

law and her parents. Kayla will go unpunished for originally stealing money from the

cafeteria. If you do not tell the truth, Kayla will finally be punished for stealing, and

Gia will have her revenge. However, you may be committing a crime by lying to the

police officers, and Kayla's punishment will be more severe than it would have been

for stealing money in the cafeteria.

The police arrive and ask for your version of the story. What do you say?

S t . J o h n ’ s R e v e l a t i o n s P a g e 4

D o u b l e p u z z l e

UNSCRAMBLE the letters into the the boxes at the right of each set of letters. Copy the letters in the numbered boxes to the other boxes with the same number in the phrase below

V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 9 P a g e 5

P A S T O R A L C O U N S E L I N G - - “ S a d n e s s ”

Sadness is natural human emotion. We all feel sad, we all experience sadness, and we

all handle sadness in different ways. Some are sad for a short period of time while

others are sad for a lifetime. Sadness can be minor or it can be major. How do we deal

with sadness? Do we allow it to defeat us, to rob our joy, or to distance us from God?

1. Don’t focus on the Sadness - - The more we focus on the sadness the sadder we

will become and the less likely we will take action to alleviate or minimize the

sadness. Additionally, not only will be continue being sad, the sadness will intensify

and we may end up being bitter as well as spiraling into a deep, dark depressive

state.

2. Choose to Be Happy - - Happiness is a choice. Taking control over our emotions

works best but it is hard work and we have to do so whether we feel like it or want

to or not. We can choose to be happy or we can choose to be sad. Remember,

happiness comes from within and that is the main issue with sadness. We look to

externals for happiness. We will never be happy if we expect people, life,

circumstances, situations, or material possessions to “make us happy.”

3. Move - - Don’t sit and stew. Don’t sit and have a private pity party. Get up. Move.

Do something. Do something for someone else. There is always someone we know

who needs help in some way.

4. Engage in Self-Soothing Activities

a. Seeing - - Walk in a pretty part of town. Look at the nature around you. Go

to a museum with beautiful art. Buy a flower and put it where you can see it.

Sit in a garden. Watch the snowflakes decorate the trees during a snowfall.

Light a candle and watch the flame. Look at a book with beautiful scenery or

beautiful art. Watch a travel movie or video.

b. Hearing - - Listen to beautiful or soothing music, or to tapes of the ocean or

other sounds of nature. Listen to a baby gurgling or a small animal. Sit by a

waterfall. Listen to someone chopping wood. When you are listening, be

mindful, letting the sounds come and go.

c. Smelling - - Smell breakfast being cooked at home or in a restaurant. Notice

all the different smells around you. Walk in a garden or in the woods, maybe

just after a rain, and breathe in the smells of nature. Light a scented candle

or incense. Bake some bread or a cake, and take in all the smells.

d. Tasting - - Have a special treat, and eat it slowly, savoring each bite. Cook a

favorite meal. Drink a soothing drink like herbal tea or hot chocolate. Let the

taste run over your tongue and slowly down your throat. Go to a potluck, and

eat a little bit of each dish, mindfully tasting each new thing.

e. Touching - - Take a bubble bath. Pet your dog or cat or cuddle a baby. Put

on a silk shirt shirt or blouse, and feel its softness and smoothness. Sink into

a really comfortable bed. Float or swim in a pool, and feel the water caress

your body.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of

anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or

in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow

down before them or serve them. For I, the Lord, your

God, am a jealous God…” - - Exodus 20:1-5

Author and Date: The general consensus is that

Moses wrote the Book of Exodus and Scripture itself

confirms this (Exodus 24:4).

Background and Setting: Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt is the setting for Israel’s

dramatic departure.

Historical and Theological Themes: The Exodus marked the end of the oppression

of the Israelites. The purpose of the Book of Exodus is to trace the growth of Jacob’s

descendants from Egypt to the establishment of the theocratic nation in their

Promised Land.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens

above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow

down before them or serve them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God…” - -

Exodus 20:1-5

We are probably more familiar with the King James Version: “Thou shalt not make

unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or

that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not

bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”

Why would anyone have graven images or likenesses of God? In these passages of

Scriptures the Israelites are being warned because they had just come out of an

idolatrous background and were now surrounded by idolatrous nations. They needed

to be warned. This Commandment was to ensure true spiritual worship.

Now, back to the question: Why would anyone have graven images or likenesses of

God? There are many reasons and we may want to look at ourselves as we explore

these reasons.

1. Materializing God - - Many of us are not content to have a God “out there, up

there, everywhere.” We want a tangible God. A God we can touch. God is Spirit

but we have a hard time thinking of Him like that. A material God makes it easier

to think of God. This may be why so many Christians who believe in the Trinity

B i b l e S t u d y

P a g e 6 S t . J o h n ’ s R e v e l a t i o n s

(Jesus is God.) wear crucifixes, have pictures of Jesus on their walls, have statutes

of Jesus on their desks or in curio cabinets or on coffee tables.

2. Visualizing God - - Primitive people found it hard to worship a God they couldn’t

see. When they prayed, there was nothing. We are like that to some extent. They

wanted to make the invisible God visible. We do to, at times. For many of us, what

we are actually doing is reducing God to “manageable terms.”

3. Localizing God - - A far-off God is difficult to approach so primitive people wanted

to localize Him. So do we. We want to confine God to a specific area. This way we

think He is more accessible and more involved with us.

4. Symbolizing God - - We have issues with the unknown or the mysterious. So did

primitive people so they put a symbol (idol, graven image) in place of the mystical

reality. Eventually, the focus is on the symbol and not on the reality of God’s

omnipresence.

5. Characterizing God - - People want God to be conformed to their own image.

Instead of us being like God, we want Him to be like us because it is so much easier

to make God like us then us like Him. This is called Anthropomorphism: The

attribution of human traits, emotions, and intentions to non-human entities. It may

be interesting to note that many Christians in the Near East, Jews, and Moslems do

not have pictures or statues or relics of any kind in their houses of worship or in

their homes portraying deity.

B i b l e S t u d y ( c o n t . )

V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 9 P a g e 7

Doublepuzzle 3 solution

SHOUT, TEMPT, WHIP, FORCE, DIVINE, ALONG, SIGH, LIFE WISDOM IS THE PRINCIPAL THING (PROV. 4:7)

S t . J o h n ’ s R e v e l a t i o n s

62437 East County Line Rd,

Goshen, Indiana 46528

www.stjohnslutheranchurch.info

Pastor: Rev. Dr. James (Jimmy) Clifton

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Address: P.O. Box 237

Millersburg, IN 46543

Phone: (574) 584-6330

S T . J O H N ’ S

L U T H E R A N C H U R C H

A small country church with a

traditional worship service.

September Birthdays

3-Roger Condict

8-Phil Whitehead

13-Joan Micelli

13-Duaine Noble

P a g e 8

F a l l S e a s o n

Autumn leaves speckle the forest floor

Leaving a mottled view.

The river lazily provides a path for leaves

To journey through.

Determined trees continue to hang on,

Will not, yet, let go

So the leaves can gently fall away,

Instead, they glow

With tans and grays and reds and gold

Makes a glorious show.

These breath-taking beautiful scenes

After summer’s gone,

Is the Creator’s designated plan,

This season’s ‘song’.

And so it is in life our seasons

Do come then go,

Each with a particular purpose:

God’s plan to know.

~ D e l R e ~ Copyright © Oct. 17, 2013