Our True Freedom

Summer Monday Worship Services Will Conclude for the Season August 25th

Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ parable of the Samaritan which was the text for Pastor McDowell’s sermon this past weekend. In the training for our Friends of Faith program, we use a slightly modernized version of the story. This version comes from the The Companionship Movement℗ training materials.  A person is beaten, bloody, and unconscious on the side of the road. A pastor comes along, sees the person, and hurries by on the other side of the road. Likewise, a law professor walks along and sees the unconscious man. She stops for a moment, shakes her head, and then rushes by. Soon after, an undocumented woman sees the man and rushes over to see if he is breathing. He is. She picks up her phone to call the police but pauses, considering what might happen to her if she does. The woman calls 911 for an aid car, despite the risk. Riding with the man to the emergency room, she gets him admitted to the hospital and assures him that she will visit him tomorrow. In our training, we certainly talk about how the woman who is providing care is truly loving her neighbor, helping others even if it means risk to her. Then we take a deeper look at the two who did not stop. What is your initial reaction to the pastor and law professor? What if you learned that the pastor was running late to conduct a seminar at his church on domestic violence? How might your opinion change if you knew the law professor is on her way to testify to city council regarding the uptick of homelessness in the city. The goal of this exercise is that we are not to judge the care that others are able to provide but to consider the care that we ourselves can provide. You might not be able to lead a seminar, testify at city council, provide counseling, or heal a wound. However, you may be able to walk alongside someone who is struggling, not fixing the problem but simply showing love and compassion. Notice in our story that the woman does not attempt to provide medical care for the person. She instead guides him to the resources he needs. Companionship, compassion, and love are the focus of our Friends of Faith program. Individuals within our St. Peter’s family have been trained to walk alongside someone in need. They simply listen when someone needs a friend. If you would like to be a part of the Friends of Faith program, please reach out to Pastor Nate or Michelle Leahy (mleahy@stpetersfw.org or 749-5816). One final point about our Samaritan story, our woman who was able to provide help could only do so because she was paying attention. Had she been rushing through her day, thinking only of herself and her task list, she might never have seen the unconscious man. If you really pay attention to the people around you, you will likely find many who need care. The St. Peter’s Community of Care has a wide variety of resources we can offer to help when others are in need. You can be a Good Samaritan, connecting someone in need with resources that can help. For assistance with this, please contact the church office, either pastor, or Michelle Leahy.

Sermon by Pastor Adam McDowell

You are invited!

I want to share a story, actually several stories. I remember when I was young in Tulsa, Oklahoma and in Fredericktown, Missouri, of going up to the altar rail with my parents and receiving a blessing from my pastor. I remember sticking my head in between the posts on the altar rail and the pastor giving me a blessing. I don't exactly remember the words, but I knew it was important and I wanted that blessing. I remember in confirmation learning about what the pastor was actually saying, what those words actually meant. To understand what God was saying in his scriptures and growing in it. Overall, just being absolutely amazed at what my pastors, Pastor Sean and Pastor Beering were teaching me and knowing God better and just the joyfulness of it. And I remember Lyndi going through confirmation, adult confirmation, with Pastor Schueler in Rosenberg, Texas, and then seeing from her eyes what it meant to be Lutheran, to understand the faith. I had grown up in the Lutheran church, so it was all ordinary for me, but for her it was extraordinary to know and to understand and have that time with a pastor. And I'm so thankful for the pastors in my life and all of the other church workers that have been a part of my life who have helped me to understand who God is. I mentioned in this weekend’s sermon that there's an initiative, a program through the LCMS called Set Apart to Serve. It points out that we have a lack of pastors, teachers, and other church workers. Set Apart to Serve reminds us that the Lord asks us to pray for laborers for the harvest, and I encourage you to pray for laborers for the harvest. To pray for those that teach us who God is and to help us to understand how much we need him. If you happen to know some young people considering church work or being pastors, pray for them, encourage them. God has gifted them to us to answer our questions. Pray fervently that the Lord would send workers into his harvest so that we know him. Keep that in your prayers. I encourage you to look for people who would be good to take God's calling into his church. May the Lord provide workers for His harvest that we may know God and how richly He blesses us. Amen.

By Debbie Haentfling & Bobbie Shadle

Sermon by Pastor Adam McDowell

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