Christ the King Lutheran Church - Escanaba

12/30/2021

Merry Christmas to all our friends and church families! Given the fact that New Year’s Day is on Saturday we will NOT be having service on this day. Sunday’s worship will be the usual 10:30 a.m. We look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

12/11/2021

Our worship service for Saturday, December 11th has been canceled due to the weather conditions. Please help us spread the word especially to those who regularly attend that service.

07/16/2020

Delving Into The Gospel is on a parable you might recognize. Read through this week’s passage, Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43, and take note of which words or sentences stand out to you. Which create questions for you?

Which spark your imagination? Which give you pause or inspire you? This week’s parable of the w**ds and wheat comes right directly after last week’s parable of the sower. It is tempting to look at this parable as ‘us vs them’, the good verses the evil ones. But if we look closer it is actually a cautionary tale.

25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed w**ds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the w**ds appeared as well. The Greek zizania has been translated three different ways. Here it is translated as ‘w**ds’, but it is also ‘tares’, or more specifically ‘bearded darnel’. Bearded darnel in its early stages closely resembles wheat, making it almost impossible to identify. As the plants mature, the roots of the w**ds and wheat intertwine, making them almost impossible to separate—any attempt to pull the w**ds will also pull the wheat. However separation is necessary because darnel is both bitter and mildly toxic. If not removed prior to milling, darnel will ruin the flour. The usual solution is to separate the grains after threshing by spreading them on a flat surface and having people remove the darnel, a different color at that stage, by hand.

The slaves said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he replied, "No; for in gathering the w**ds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the w**ds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.' " In our churches and in the world, we often find bad mixed in with the good. The slaves here want to pick out the “bad” w**ds as soon as possible, but the owner knows that to do so could be harmful to the good wheat. The good wheat might be accidently damaged, or it might be mistaken for a w**d and removed. What might happen if we try to get rid of those we have labeled as “bad”? How might it effect the rest of the people?

37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the w**ds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. You would think that the difference between w**ds and wheat would be obvious. In the parable, the slaves think they notice the difference right away. So why does the householder delay? Is it because we, the servants, are too hasty to judge which is which? Or because we are not in a position to judge (for example, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged”)? Or is it to extend God’s grace still longer? Or is it to allow us time to reflect on whether we are wheat or w**ds? Why might God delay in judgement of us?

40 Just as the w**ds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and
all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let
anyone with ears listen! Jesus calls us to trust that he will separate the good from the bad on Judgment Day. God is the only one
who is to judge us and others. We are like the bearded darnel and the wheat. It is hard to tell the difference while they are growing. They grow together, intertwined. And only on the day of harvest are they separated. While we can try to guess, we cannot know for sure if we are the w**ds or the wheat. We can only try to follow Jesus’ teachings to become wheat in the world. What happens when we try to be the judge of others? How does it help us live in the world today knowing that we are to leave the judgement of others to God? How do we act towards others when we can’t know if we are the wheat or the w**d? Does this parable make you uncomfortable or fill you with hope, or a little of both?

I encourage you to take some time again this week to pray.

Faithful God,
Most merciful judge, you care for your children with firmness and compassion. By your Spirit nurture us who live in your kingdom, that we may be rooted in the way of your Son, in care and love for one another, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen

07/11/2020

This week’s Delving Into The Gospel is on a parable you might recognize. Read through this week’s passage, Matthew 13:1-9 & 18-23, and take note of which words or sentences stand out to you. Which create questions for you? Which spark your imagination? Which give you pause or inspire you?
In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus provides a rationale to help the disciples to understand (and therefore not to be discouraged by) rejection. In this parable, the seeds are the words of God and the soil are people. God’s word is being spread to everyone, but sometimes it is rejected.
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Nowadays when a farmer spreads seed into a field, they use equipment to plant seeds in precise rows the correct distance apart. In first century farming, seed was usually broadcast by hand as the sower walked through the field. The fields were small by today’s standards, and the sowing imprecise. It was natural that some seed would land in unproductive areas. It was also natural that the birds, seeing seeds lying on the ground in abundance, would eat their share.

18 "Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. Pathways interlaced the fields, and were packed hard by many feet. Hard-packed soil makes it nearly impossible for seed to put down roots and grow. How might a person become hard? Have you known someone who was beat down by enough people that they became hardened? How might that make the word of God bounce off of them?

20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. Rocky soil can include enough good soil to encourage a seed to sprout—but not enough good soil to sustain the plant once it begins to grow. Everyone experiences trouble in their life that tests their faith. The person who becomes a Christian assuming that life will thereafter become easy is bound to be disappointed. Having never truly understood the demands of discipleship, that person is likely to leave the faith, looking for greener pastures elsewhere. They lack the staying power to deal with the rocky parts of Christian and church life. When the going gets rough, they go into retreat. Have you known someone who has jumped from religion to religion, church to church? How can you help someone who only wants following Jesus to be easy? When things become difficult how can you work on your faith to give it root and make it stronger?

22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. Borders of fields would be infested with thorns, and w**d seeds would blow onto freshly plowed ground, invisible to the sower but ready to sprout and to choke out good seed. In our church life today, spreading the Word is not always easy. In some cases, the sower spends a lifetime on the mission field without seeing substantial response. The soil filled with thorns easily translates into our overcrowded lives; there is no room in an already overplanted plot for anything more, even with double-digging the beds. What in the world today might be choking out the ability to hear God’s Word? What in our world is contradicting to Jesus’ message of loving and putting our neighbor’s needs before ourselves?

23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." Good soil takes years to cultivate. It must be fed and nurtured and replenished, as seeds grow and draw on its nutrients. Jesus’ words about the harvest, then, seem designed to encourage disciples who work hard with few apparent results. The parable assures us that God is at work below the surface, causing growth that will manifest itself in due time. We need not despair if the results are not immediately apparent—or if some of our efforts produce no gain. How can you help someone else become good soil? How can you feed and nourish their life and their faith? What do you need to be nourished in your faith so that you can hear and understand the Word of God?

Soil can change over the years. A rocky field can become good soil if the farmer picks rocks, fertilizes and waters it. Good soil can become a hard path if too many people continually pound on it. So too do we change over the course of our lives. Sometimes it is easy for us to hear and understand the Word of God. Sometimes it seems to bounce off of us when we are distracted by worries of the world. It is ok to sometimes not be good soil, because God is always scattering his words of love and forgiveness. So we can come back to once again nourish others and be nourished in our faith until we once again are ready to have the seed of the word planted in us. What type of soil are you today?


I encourage you to take some time again this week to pray.

Almighty God, We thank you for planting in us the seed of your word. By your Holy Spirit help us to receive it with joy, live according to it, and grow in faith and hope and love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen

07/08/2020

Good Afternoon All,

Just a quick note to invite you to coffee with the pastor by way of Zoom, tonight at 7:00 p.m. The topic for this evening is "Fireworks". Hope to visit with you online.

Arlene

07/02/2020

This week’s Delving Into The Gospel is from the finale of Matthew’s gospel.
Read through this week’s passage, Matthew 11:16-19 & 25-30, and take note of which words or sentences stand out to you. Which create questions for you? Which spark your imagination? Which give you pause or inspire you?
This text is about being in balance with God, with Jesus, and with the world.
16 To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 17 ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
Jesus is comparing “this generation” to children who refuse to play with each other whether the game is happy (a pipe) or sad (a dirge) the children refuse to play together.
How would you describe our current generation?

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Jesus is challenging his critics to look at the effects of his ministry. The ones sitting in Jesus’ marketplace see how Jesus is doing, but do not see clearly. They think they are seeing and they don’t like what they see, or maybe missed seeing John and Jesus as they truly are.
When have you seen, but did not see clearly? What is God seeing when God sees our world these days?

We are living in a world with a stubborn virus that does not respect our needs and wants. It interrupts our routine of socializing and getting together in person to worship and continues to threaten us is severe illness if we ignore guidance on how to stay healthy. On top of that when we do connect to the outside world through tv or internet, we see violence, and division and heavy news.
It is currently a very different world than we are used to seeing. All that is going on can knock us off balance. Our first instinct is to fight back, to defend ourselves and our understanding. But then Jesus steps in, not to offer the old world back, but a new vision.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus offers us his yoke, which is not the absence of any conflict or burden but his vision of what might be. Jesus doesn’t promise us a life without problems or difficulties, but with a way of coping with them. A yoked team goes where the driver leads it. It doesn’t get to sit and sprawl in the shade, but it goes where the driver needs it to go. It doesn’t lead us to the normal we were used to, but to a new destination.
What might it be like in today’s crazy world, if you took Jesus up on the offer of his yoke? Where might God lead you? How might God lead you to act?

I encourage you to take some time again this week to pray. Please contact me with any prayer concerns you would like added to next week’s prayer. [email protected]

O God ,
You are great and greatly to be praised. You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Grant that we may believe in you, call upon you, know you, and serve you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

07/01/2020

Unfortunately there will be no Wednesday evening Zoom coffee gathering this day. Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July.

06/24/2020

This week’s Delving Into The Gospel is a continuation from the Matthew scripture from last week.
Read through this week’s passage, Matthew 10:40-42, and take note of which words or sentences stand out to you. Which create questions for you? Which spark your imagination? Which give you pause or inspire you?
Our reading this week is a continuation of Jesus’ commission to the disciples. He had told them to not take anything with them, and warned them of the dangers they would face. Jesus’ disciples cannot expect comfort or safety as they go about carrying out their commission.

40 "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
In the ancient world identity was tied to family and community. It was understood that in showing hospitality, one welcomed not just an individual, but the community who sent the person and all that they represent. Therefore, welcoming a disciple of Jesus would mean receiving the very presence of Jesus himself and of the one who sent him, God the Father.

Who do you welcome into your home? Your life? Your church? What is it like to be welcomed by others?

41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;
Prophets were revered as spokespersons for God. Righteous persons were those who obey God.
The prophet and righteous person were taking risks for Christ, and those who help them assume similar risks. In addition to providing food, clothing, shelter, and money, the ones welcoming them are demonstrating personal support for Christ and his church, and they are serving as encouragers of those going out to spread the Gospel.

How do you welcome others? How could you support those who are sent by God or doing God’s work in the world?

42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."
Little ones can have various meanings—children, the poor, those who are vulnerable, those young in faith, the disciples being sent out. A cup of cold water is the smallest of gifts. A gift that almost anyone can give. But a cup of cold water is precious to a person who is really thirsty.

Where else do we hear Jesus talk about giving water to the thirsty? Why is it important that we do it?

There were costs associated with welcoming prophets, righteous persons, and little ones:
One cost is financial. It could be expensive to feed the disciples or to provide money for their living expenses. Another cost is personal. When we have guests invade our personal space and limit our privacy. For those of us who are set in our ways, such changes are difficult. Another cost may be danger to oneself and one’s family. Jesus warned the disciples that they could expect opposition—persecution. Host families could find themselves caught in the crossfire.

But there are rewards as well. Jesus says “Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you..." That is the reward given to both the one welcoming and the one doing the work. To receive Jesus is to receive the one who sent him, and to become heir to all that the Father has to give.

What might it cost you to welcome and support those doing God’s work? What might be your reward? Today are you the one doing God’s work, or the one welcoming and supporting them?

I encourage you to take some time again this week to pray. Please contact me with any prayer concerns you would like added to next week’s prayer. [email protected]

O God,
You direct our lives by your grace, and your words of justice and mercy reshape the world. Mold us into a people who welcome your word and serve one another, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen

06/17/2020

Unfortunately due to Pastor Bethany feeling under the weather today there will be no coffee gathering via zoom this evening. We do encourage you to join the group next Wednesday evening at the same time (7:00 p.m.). Sorry for being unable to spend the hour with you.

06/11/2020

This week’s Delving Into The Scripture is focusing on the book of Romans.
Read through this week’s passage, Romans 5:1-8, and take note of which words or sentences stand out to you. Which create questions for you? Which spark your imagination? Which give you pause or inspire you?
1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
This peace means that God walks with you every step of the way. The peace we have with God is ultimately what gives us peace no matter what the situation.

2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
Through our faith, we have an absolute certainty about God’s promises, what God will do and what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. We know that we have forgiveness, we know that we are never alone, we know that we will join together in God’s kingdom. How are you finding ways to strengthen your faith during this time?

3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings,
Another word often used in different translations replaces the word ‘boast’ instead using ‘rejoice’. In these translations Paul is telling us to rejoice in our sufferings. However rejoicing doesn’t mean that we must smile when we’re suffering. It doesn’t mean that we can’t ask God to take our suffering away. Rather, a better way to look at it would be that we acknowledge that God is using our suffering to produce good things in us. If part of your current suffering is not gathering together in church, feeling isolated, not getting to do what you would like to; then what good things can you produce out of your suffering? How can you use your experiences to help others who might be feeling similar?
knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Endurance is the idea that when we’re afflicted with trials and temptations, when we suffer, our faith doesn’t lose its strength, rather it grows stronger.
Character is the idea that we take that stronger faith and make it a part of ourselves every day. Character is the Christ-like attitude that stands with Jesus and says, “Thy will be done”. Not my will, by thy will.
Hope is knowing that we all struggle under our sufferings, but you have the Holy Spirit, the one who brings you to faith and assures us that our faith in Christ is sufficient.
What trial are you facing today? How are you suffering? How are you enduring that suffering for Christ?

5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Hope is not some sort of wish; hope is a certainty of Christianity. Hope is the knowledge that things will get better; maybe not in this lifetime, but in God’s kingdom, we’ll live in a way we can’t even imagine right now. We know that God doesn’t forsake us and that God is among us. And the Holy Spirit reminds us of that even in our weakest moments. How does it change if you switch from thinking of ‘hope’ as a wish to instead thinking of ‘hope’ as certainty in Jesus and God’s promises?

8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Your faith is not in vain and your prayers are not in vain for our God is with you. Suffering is never fun, but with God it is also never final. That is the certainty of Christianity, and that is why we rejoice!

I encourage you to take some time again this week to pray. Please contact me with any prayer concerns you would like added to next week’s prayer. [email protected]

God of compassion,
You have opened the way for us and brought us to yourself. Pour your love into our hearts, that, overflowing with joy, we may freely share the blessings of your realm and faithfully proclaim the good news of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen

06/10/2020

Just a friendly reminder that we are posting a worship video on our new Christ the King Church Escanaba YouTube page almost every weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyLhfTzVabEv1dXms8_xb3w
Please check it out!

Also we have our virtual coffee hour every Wednesday at 7 pm.
dial: (312) 626-6799 When prompted enter: 822 7868 3407 #
or https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82278683407 Meeting ID: 822 7868 3407

-Pastor Bethany

Worship Services from Christ the King Lutheran Church in Escanaba.

06/04/2020

This week’s Delving Into The Gospel is from the finale of Matthew’s gospel.
Read through this week’s passage, Matthew 28:16-20, and take note of which words or sentences stand out to you. Which create questions for you? Which spark your imagination? Which give you pause or inspire you?
This text comes after the events of Easter morning, the report of the angel, the women, and the guards. Jesus had told Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, “Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions, as given to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. The order was to go to Galilee, which meant a long walk just to see if what Mary had told them was true. It was a leap of faith to set out on the journey to Galilee. This is the first time in this Gospel that we find the disciples together since Jesus was arrested and the disciples deserted him. It mentions only eleven disciples, so we assume that means that Judas wasn’t with them.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
We should not be surprised at either reaction—worship (bowing down) or doubt/hesitation. It is certainly fitting that the disciples should worship Jesus. They know that he was executed and buried. But now they see Jesus alive again, confirming beyond doubt that he is the Messiah. They see with their own eyes that their teacher is Lord of life, exercising power even over death.
But we can also understand why some would doubt/hesitate. Nothing in their experience has prepared them for what they are seeing. Now Jesus’ own disciples experience a tinge of doubt as they see someone who was dead, now appearing to them alive. We are tempted to criticize the disciples for doubting, but we should not imagine that we would have done better. Jesus does not rebuke the disciples. He understands their doubt, but speaks to their faith.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
A disciple is a learner—a student—a follower—a person committed to learning what a teacher has to teach. The disciple is expected not only to learn what the teacher teaches, but also to practice what the teacher preaches. In other words, the idea is not simply learning, but also living.
Jesus doesn’t command the disciples to preach—to evangelize—to win the world. He charges them with the responsibility of replicating their own learning by creating new disciples—new people of faith.
20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
We are to teach what Jesus commanded rather than our personal opinions. It is important, then, that we carefully distinguish between Jesus’ teachings, which are authoritative, and our opinions, which are not.
Teaching is a slow process that requires patience and personal involvement on the part of the teacher. We must be satisfied with small progress, and trust God to finish the work. We should not miss the importance of the phrase, “all that I have commanded you.” Jesus does not permit us to pick and choose what we will believe or obey.
What are Jesus’ commandments? How could you live his commandments? What are your opinions that you might take for granted that Jesus did not specifically teach?
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
When Jesus promises to be with us “even to the end of the age,” he is promising to be with us now—and in the future—and into that time where the whole idea of time has become meaningless—into eternity.
Are you a disciple who is learning, who is teaching, or both? How could you lean into being a disciple knowing that Jesus is with you now into the end of time?

Bonus: Read Genesis 1:1-2:4, the first creation reading.

I encourage you to take some time again this week to pray. Please contact me with any prayer concerns you would like added to next week’s prayer. [email protected]

God of heaven and earth,
before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time you are the triune God: Author of creation, eternal Word of salvation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom. Guide us to all truth by your Spirit, that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed and rejoice in the glory he shares with us. Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen