Suburban Bethlehem Lutheran Church Cyber Saints

Immanuel...God with Us!

Pastor Bill Mueller — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 07:15:17 GMT

Cyber Saints - December 17, 2010

Good morning! As I write this our family is getting ready for the last day of school until 2011. I pray that your family as well is enjoying the buildup of anticipation to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Here are a couple of things to share with you this Friday morning:

Immanuel...God with Us!
This Sunday (December 19) is the last of the four Sundays in the Advent season. Advent hearkens us to hear from the prophets of old about the birth of our Savior. One of my favorite prophets - and there are plenty from which to choose! - is Isaiah. In chapter 7 he gives us one of the most remarkable, memorable and powerful prophecies about Jesus - He would be born without the aid of a human father conceiving Him and He would be "Immanuel" which is Hebrew for "God with us." This little child in Bethlehem's manger is God Himself. God, not dwelling in a powerful palace or heralded with trumpets and fanfare, but poor and humble, lying in the feeding trough for some barn animals. He is with us in each and every circumstance we experience, ...

Reformation Sunday and Faith Aflame

Pastor Bill Mueller — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 07:37:07 GMT

Cyber Saints -
October 29, 2010
Faith Aflame: 360
This Sunday / Monday in worship we begin our annual emphasis on Stewardship. "Faith Aflame: 360" is the theme to propel us forward in our understanding and application, by God's grace, of all the gifts He has given us. There are a couple of highlights about this. First, as in previous years, we will have various lay speakers to share their perspective on God's working in their lives. Second, and this is new to this year, each week there will be a set of discussion questions for you to talk over as a family or with your friends. You can find these questions either coupled with the message notes in the worship folder or you can find them online on the church's website. I also invite you to post your thoughts and reflections from these questions on the "Stewardship Blog" on the website. You can access it by clicking here. (Or you can also access it from the home page of the website: www.sblchurch.org) Check back with the blog to see how others are responding to God's prompting through the questions. Share some neat stories to inspire others, ...

Friendship Sunday

Pastor Bill Mueller — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 06:19:47 GMT

Friendship Sunday - October 17, 2010!

A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE!

Share something special with your friends and family…Suburban Bethlehem Church & School!

Immediately following the 11:00 A.M. Church Service in the School Commons

LUNCH AND ENTERTAINMENT BY JAMES BARRON… A CHRISTIAN MAGICIAN

All members are encouraged to bring your family and friends to a service of your choice and join the Outreach Committee as our guest immediately following the 11:00 am service for a fun filled luncheon & event in the School Commons.

Lunch will be provided. Members are asked to bring a dessert to share.

Desserts may be brought to the cafeteria on Saturday Morning between 10 am - Noon or between 8 am - 11 am on Sunday morning

Please call the Church Office (484-7873) to RSVP!

Please note that the new pictorial directories are in and will be distributed at the conclusion of the dinner and event this Sunday.

God bless you and I'll see you in God's house this Sunday!

In Him,
--Pastor Bill Mueller
(Acts 16:31)

October Morning

Pastor Bill Mueller — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:55:54 GMT

Good October Morning to You!
This coming Sunday and Monday in worship we get to hear about the Old Testament character Ruth. She comes across culture and grows in her faith in the God of Israel and is determined to remain with this God. Her statement of faith to her mother-in-law, "Where you go I will go...your people will be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16) has been a favorite OT "statement of faith" throughout the generations.

What can we discover about our own lives - and our own faith - through Ruth? We will dig into that in worship as we have to answer the question about ourselves: where are you going?

Friendship Sunday
God is faithful - this is critical for us to remember as we get ready for our Friendship Sunday on October 17 - just one week away! Who is going to receive your invitation to join you in worship that Sunday and the special activities? (Remember we have a Christian magician coming and a meal after the 11:00 worship service.) How is it that you are going to make the most of your opportunities to share Jesus? When will ...

LWML Sunday

Pastor Bill Mueller — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:55:05 GMT

Welcome to this edition of Cyber Saints - keep telling your fellow members of SBL about Cyber Saints and keep it growing. We're now over 100 subscribers!

LWML Sunday
This Sunday and Monday in our worship services we are celebrating the mission and work of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML). The LWML has a strong international mission presence to encourage all of us to share God's love in Jesus Christ. In worship we will discover more about the transformation that happens when we are "in the mind of Christ" - quoting the Apostle Paul from Philippians 2. We also celebrate as a number of women in our congregation assist with some of the Scripture Readings and ushering.

Body Needs
Scripture calls the gathering of disciples of Jesus Christ at Suburban Bethlehem as the "body of Christ." We are all connected together. There are some needs within the Body of Christ right now. We have a member family who will soon be taking care of one of their family members (this family member is currently hospitalized recovering from surgery). There is a need for either a single or twin bed for this family to borrow during the time ...

Sharing God's Love

Pastor Bill Mueller — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:49:44 GMT

Gathering in Worship
This is a special weekend in our worship services. First, we celebrate the reception of new members at three of our four worship services. Second, our Pre-K through Second Grade students in our school will be singing at the 11:00 service. And third, this weekend we conclude our message series about "Welcoming Sinners and Eating with Them." We have discussed who we are going to invite to worship, we have been prompted to think of how we will invite them - now the last question is when? Our Gospel Reading is the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus from the last part of Luke 16. If you are concerned about your witness - is it good enough? - God's Word will comfort us and direct us about the power of witnessing the truth of God's love in Jesus Christ. Friendship Sunday is October 17.

Looking for Help
With the air conditioning / heating project moving forward it is time to remove the old boiler. If you are interested in helping please come to church tomorrow - Saturday - at 12:00 Noon to help with the project.

Trivia
Congratulations to Marilyn Arnold for being the first to ...

Margin of Error

Pastor Bill Mueller — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 06:09:14 GMT

Margin of Error
What is your "margin of error" where you work? For a precision machinist it can be very little. One member who is such a person told me many of the jobs his company does has to have a margin of error of less than - and I hope I remember the stats right - less than .015 of an inch! That's small! I remember back in college, when I worked for a painter out of Monroeville in the summers, that when painting a window I was supposed to get "about" 1/8- 1/4 of an inch of paint on the window in order to make a tight seal between the window pane itself and the glazing compound. I sure am glad that most of those windows were barn windows because I'd hate to be judged by the accuracy of the "1/8 - 1/4 of an inch." It's hard for me to imagine the accuracy of .015 of an inch!

What is God's "margin of error"? That is, what (who?) is God willing to lose just to get the job done? Fortunately God's "margin of error" is 0! He isn't willing to lose even the smallest amount - ...

Labor Day

Pastor Bill Mueller — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:16:14 GMT

Labor Day
This weekend brings the unofficial end of summer with Labor Day. Sure, those of us with kids in school have felt that summer ended two or three weeks ago! Labor Day, for the Christian, can be a great reminder about how God has called each of us into a variety of vocations. It's not just church workers who are called - all of us have "God's call" upon us. The UPS driver, the factory worker, the lawyer - and YOU - are all callings prompted by the Lord. Whatever label addresses your vocation God's Spirit moves upon each of us to be faithful in what we do and to let the light of Christ shine through us. Remember how the Lord has called you this weekend!

Upcoming Bible Studies
We have two great Bible Study options for you beginning Sunday, September 12. Please note that both Bible Studies meet at 10:00 a.m. each Sunday morning. First, in the School Commons I will be facilitating "Discovering God's Vision for Your Life" - an in depth study of God's Word on the topic of Spiritual Gifts. Part of this study will also be an inventory to assist in ...

Seeing Home from the Sky

Pastor Bill Mueller — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:52:00 GMT

One of the most memorable sight when traveling back from Viet Nam was flying east across the Pacific. We had left Taiwan at midnight and since we were flying east the 12-13 hour flight encompassed a sunrise, full day of sun, and then sunset behind us. About 30 minutes after the sun you could see the distant lights of northern California in the distance. Other than seeing my family when we got home, it's hard to remember a better sight on that trip. Nothing looked better than returning to our home nation. Yes, there were many memorable events and people we had met, but I will never forget the scene of the lights of the good old USA out the China Airlines window.

You and I, through faith in Jesus Christ, are citizens not of an earthly kingdom but of the heavenly kingdom. This Sunday in worship we will read from Philippians "our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." (Philippians 3:20-21) We are ...

Lent - 40 Days

Pastor Bill Mueller — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:25:00 GMT

This past Wednesday (February 17) we entered the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. The forty days of Lent are patterned after the forty days our Lord spent in the wilderness suffering temptations by Satan. The book of Hebrews reminds us, when speaking about Jesus our High Priest, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) Imagine the worst temptation you have ever faced - Jesus has faced that for you! At every turn where you or I were tempted to give in....Jesus never did. And as we live in relationship with Jesus, as His Spirit works in us through His Word and Sacraments, we have the victory. We'll talk more about this on Sunday in worship.

School Ministry Related Items

School Open House - this coming Sunday, February 21, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. Invite your friends and coworkers to discover more about the ministry of Suburban Bethlehem Lutheran School
Staff Ministry Anniversary Recognition - As part of our worship services on March 7 - and at a special coffee ...

This is a Good Place to Be

Pastor Bill Mueller — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:36:00 GMT

Worship this Sunday brings us to the time when Jesus revealed a glimpse of His glory to three of His disciples: Peter, James, and John. While basking the view from the mountaintop Peter says, "Lord, it's god for us to be here." Truer words have never been spoken. But the thought is true no matter where we are, as long as Jesus is with us. Wherever Jesus is is a good place to be. This means Jesus has something to say no matter where we are or what the circumstances of our life may be. We'll talk more about this on Sunday.

Ash Wednesday - February 17

This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Each Wednesday during Lent we gather for worship - two service opportunities are available for you: 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. There will be a light supper offered in the School Commons from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. each Wednesday. Our Ash Wednesday services will include celebration of the Lord's Supper.

The theme for our Wednesday worship services is "Overheard: Conversations at the Cross." Each Wednesday the message will include a conversation that might have happened that first Good Friday. On Ash Wednesday the "overheard" ...

Jesus - Football - Discipleship

Pastor Bill Mueller — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:40:00 GMT

So, there's a football game this Sunday? I can hear your chuckles already! Yes, the game certainly would have been much more exciting (at least for some of us!) had it been a Favre - Manning match up. But, instead it's a Breese - Manning. Those Boilermaker fans will have a tough time - follow an alum or go with the home team. Personally, I hope for a good game - and a Colts win.

With the big game this Sunday I came across a song written by a former member of SBL who is now principal in Kendallville. The song - put together with some interesting video - is out on You Tube. "Jesus is better than football" - the song's title - sounds like a fun parody, but it can actually force us to think about the role / place we want Jesus to have in our lives. Are we guilty of placing Jesus into our own hand-crafted "boxes" or "compartments"? And when those boxes are crushed it can be painful and embarrassing...we can learn that from Peter in Luke 5. Peter, when he realized there was something more to this Jesus than meets the eye, begged Jesus ...