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10:00 a.m. - Sunday School
11:00 a.m. Worship Service
Pastor John Stoudemayer
email address: silverstreetlutheranchurch@gmail.com
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ONLINE BULLETIN FOR VIEWING....................................
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******************************* Scriptures Readings for: September 19th, 2021 Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost First Reading: Jeremiah 11:18-20 Psalm: Psalm 54 Second Reading: James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Gospel: Mark 9:30-37 ******************************* 
WEEKLY
DEVOTIONS MESSAGE FROM PASTOR JOHN:
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?. I will stand at my watchpoint, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come and will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE BY THEIR FAITH. (Habakkuk 1:2 & 2:1-4) The verses I'm using today are from the readings appointed for the Sunday between October 2-8 in year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), and the RCL is the source for our lessons each Sunday. Now I know that this particular set of readings won't come up for us till October of next year. I'm referencing this lesson from Habakkuk because I have a history with it. In August of 1986, my internship at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Tallahassee ended and Stephanie and I packed up our apartment, loaded our cars and a rented U-Haul and headed back to Columbia and the seminary. When we got to the seminary, I went to work on the Maintenance Crew and Steph went to work at the Highway Department. I don't remember how many days there were between arriving back and starting class, but there couldn't have been many. Soon after classes started the Senior Class met with Dr. Richard Hoeffler, who was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Homiletics (Preaching). One of the requirements for seniors was that they would plan the worship service and preach to the seminary community on a Thursday night, the night that we worshiped together. I thought I'd be smart and sign up for an early date and got the first Thursday in October, not knowing what the lessons were. When I got home that day, I looked them up and groaned. What, I thought, am I going to do with these? But I got the service planned: chose the hymns, solicited lectors, got an ordained pastor to preside at communion. I was very nervous - like a cat on a hot tin roof. On the appointed night, we processed in, I got in place to begin the liturgy, when in walked the Board of Directors and the Long-Range Planning Committee, which included three Bishops. I don't remember much after that, though one of my classmates did compliment me on making several gestures while preaching - an unlooked-for action. Every year as Fall approaches this lesson from Habakkuk calls to me. I'm reminded of that Thursday night, of how anxious I was, how sort of scared I was when those three Bishops appeared, how relieved I was when the service was over. More than that though, the words of Habakkuk remind me that there is always hope, that God does not abandon us, even when we cry out and seem to hear no reply. In ways I did not understand that October Thursday, these words got me through, along with the help and encouragement of my classmates. In this last year, when I have often felt isolated, they have given me hope. I am reminded, again and again, hope comes to us. In these verses, when God instructs Habakkuk to write his words on tablets so that a runner can read them, I always have in mind one those great big, electronic billboards on I-126 as I head into Columbia. We cry out. We wonder where the voice of God is. We don't lose hope. The RIGHTEOUS LIVE BY FAITH! Amen. |
Youth Sunday September 12, 2021. God wraps us with His love through His words of scriptures like His children wrap the May Pole.
Blessing of the Book Bags!
Drive through Nativity!
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Prayer RequestsDRIVE-THRU NATIVITY
Silverstreet Lutheran Church will present its Live Drive-Thru Nativity on Saturday, December 18, 2021 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm. (Rain date: Sunday, December 19th.) The congregation is excited to offer this free opportunity for the entire family to safely experience the true meaning of the Christmas season. Nine different narrated scenes will depict the prophecies being fulfilled through the birth of the Christ Child. Those visiting the drive-thru will witness the angel's visit to Joseph and Mary, Simeon and Anna in the temple, Elizabeth and Zechariah, Caesar Augustus and his soldiers, Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, the shepherds and the wisemen, and Jesus' entrance into our world. Narration will again be available on cds or as a link on youtube. We realize that many people waited patiently in line for a long period of time last year. Because of the wonderful community response and in an attempt to keep traffic moving this year, there will be golf carts leading several groups of cars at one time on the route. This should facilitate a shorter waiting time for everyone. The route will be posted on in late November. (Please note the photos on the left are from last year.} |
