Yesterday we worshiped
at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 2147 Ridge Road Ext., Ambridge, PA 15003,
724.266.1169, www.christoursaviors.org, Rev. Jill E. McGregor, Pastor.
Scripture
– ESV
Proverbs
8:1-4, 22-31 –
Does
not wisdom call?
Does
not understanding raise her voice?
On
the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the
gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
"To
you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man.
"The
Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,
the
first of his acts of old.
Ages
ago I was set up,
at
the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When
there were no depths I was brought forth,
when
there were no springs abounding with water.
Before
the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth,
before
he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.
When
he established the heavens, I was there;
when
he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when
he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its
limit,
so
that the waters might not transgress his command,
when
he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then
I was beside him, like a master workman,
and
I was daily his delight,
rejoicing
before him always,
rejoicing
in his inhabited world
and
delighting in the children of man.
Psalm
8 –
O
Lord, our Lord,
how
majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the
heavens.
Out
of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of
your foes,
to
still the enemy and the avenger.
When
I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the
moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what
is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet
you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and
crowned him with glory and honor.
You
have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you
have put all things under his feet,
all
sheep and oxen,
and
also the beasts of the field,
the
birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever
passes along the paths of the seas.
O
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Romans
5:1-5 –
Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace
in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but
we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not
put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
John
16:12-15 –
"I
still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the
Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not
speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will
declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will
take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine;
therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
Bob’s
thoughts:
It
has been some time since we last worshiped here and it took a while to realize
what was different: there were some children in worship. It seemed so much more
alive with them there…I felt Christ was welcoming them to come to Him. I often
feel Christ’s Presence in worship but don’t always know why; today the children
with their smiles breathed life into the congregation.
A
question was raised in the children’s message: can you get oranges from an
apple tree? It brought back pleasant memories from my childhood.
There
were two dump sites near where I grew up. One was used mostly by a hinge
company, and we would dig through the sawdust piles to find brass hinges to
take to the scrap yard. On the side of the dump was a large yellow delicious
apple tree that was easy to climb from which we brought tons of apples home to
Mom. But back to today’s message. There was a tree that someone had grafted
others into, so we picked pears, apples, and plums from the same tree.
On
the opposite dump there was a gnarled old peach tree that always reminded me of
the fig tree that Christ cursed. It produced large, juicy fruit. When our son
was killed it was like my memory banks were erased, so I am thankful for this
inadvertent jog to a pleasant memory.
There
was a contemporary song I didn’t remember ever hearing that I enjoyed, “Come,
Join the Dance of Trinity.” The well-developed message on the Trinity was
explained and supported biblically.
I
sense exciting things coming for this church and pastor and I look forward with
hope and optimism.
Jan’s
thoughts:
It’s
been way too long since we last worshiped at this church…8½ years to be exact. The
pastor is a friend and greeted us warmly, as did many others. The pastor serves
this church and another Lutheran congregation nearby so I was glad we’d arrived
early and had time to catch up before worship.
I
was also glad for the open windows and fans and that the humidity was
reasonable.
I
appreciated the order of worship printed in the bulletin as it provided all the
liturgy in an easy-to-follow format.
Most
churchgoers are familiar with the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed; today
we read the Athanasian Creed. If you would like to learn about how God can use
one person, I’d suggest reading up on the work of Athanasius and his defense of
the divinity of Jesus Christ and later of the Holy Spirit. I sure learned a
lot.
The
pastor lamented the current shortage of pastors and then thanked all the
fathers and father figures present with the reminder that we can’t have enough
good men in the lives of children. Amen to that.
As
it was Trinity Sunday, the untitled sermon focused on the Holy Spirit, hence
the reading of the Athanasian Creed. She stated that humans in general find it
difficult to explain the Trinity due to limitations of our language, but the
concept is Scriptural and worth consideration. Martin Luther preached about the
Trinity more than any other reformer.
The
pastor characterized the Trinity: The Father is the Speaker, the Son is the
Word, and the Holy Spirit is the Hearer, and stated that the Trinity is indeed
a mystery, but one we can trust.
I
was grateful to participate in Holy Communion.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray Your continued blessing on Your church and that their hearts are always
open to Your leading. Amen.
Today we worshiped at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 2147 Ridge Road Ext., Ambridge, PA 15003, 724.266.1169, www.lutheransonline.com/christoursaviors, Rev. Jill E. McGregor, Pastor.
Bob’s thoughts:
It is interesting when we get to revisit a church. On a first visit I try to remember to note the atmosphere and surroundings of the church and make note of unusual features, and while this church has great woodwork and stained glass, today I was free to just absorb the atmosphere. The other aspect of revisiting: it leaves me more time to pray for the church and pastor.
I am not well versed in Lutheran worship, but there was a lot of liturgy and, pleasantly, Scripture. Today’s sermon wove the Nicene Creed with John 1, how the Creed amplified the words of John’s Gospel of Christ.
We were warmly welcomed and greeted, and the congregation seemed to interact well, but I didn’t sense much passion. The service seemed rushed to include all the required elements. After hearing several sermons from this pastor I believe there would be great benefit to restructuring the service to allow a longer sermon and ignite the passion.
Jan’s thoughts:
This past week I was hit hard with the stomach bug that was circulating so, for my first trip outdoors since last Tuesday we opted for a repeat visit to a church that is close to home.
This is a lovely little rural church, very friendly and welcoming, and still decorated so charmingly for Christmas. The Sanctuary boasts a circular stained glass window on the rear Chancel wall and lighter-colored stained glass throughout.
The liturgy still seems strange to me (a lifelong Presbyterian), but after three visits to Lutheran churches, I’m beginning to catch on.
Although there were plenty of Scripture readings – a good thing. The untitled sermon was mostly centered on the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John, my favorite. After referring to Joseph as Jesus’ adoptive father, the pastor noted that this Gospel mentioned nothing about shepherds, a manger, swaddling cloths, or wise men. It only speaks of Jesus’ identity, unity with the Father, and His purpose, i.e., for us to receive grace and be transformed.
This being a Lutheran Church, Martin Luther figured prominently in the teaching, and I learned that Luther believed that, even with everything else he believed was wrong with the church in his time, the creeds were something that was right and should be kept. She then proceeded to read portions of the Apostle’s Creed and identify the Scripture backing up those statements. Luther said that “The Bible is the cradle that holds the Christ.” I like that, but I think I’m still Presbyterian at heart.
Today we worshiped at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 2147 Ridge Road Ext., Ambridge, PA 15003, 724.266.1169, www.lutheransonline.com/christoursaviors, Rev. Jill E. McGregor
Bob’s thoughts:
I think this is probably the closest church to our house; most churches we visit are a half hour or more away, so this was a nice change. I thought they could benefit from signage, but it is a small church and easy to find your way around.
They have a most welcoming social area. The kitchen is at one end of the hall with no barrier, like someone’s welcoming home.
There is a great shade of blue in the stained glass, the same as some other Lutheran Churches I’ve been in. Above the chancel is a round stained glass window powerfully portraying Christ in prayer at Gethsemane, great paraments depicting Advent, and a good central cross. The wood veneer/paneling, ceiling, and beams add a lot of character.
I liked the simple arrows (↑↓) in the bulletin to indicate stand/sit. We were greeted warmly, and a member suggested we sit with him so he could offer guidance through the service. We were able to partake of Communion, and that was my first taste of wine in many years.
To me the Lutheran Church seems to get lost in ritual. I always have trouble finding my place in the Psalter/hymnal. I don’t doubt the heart for Christ, but the mechanics to get there seem overly complicated to me.
The sermon dealt with the necessary human side of Christ, our alienation in sin, and how many excuses we can have. We are bound to Christ with the need to be bound also to each other.
I feel the pastor has a seldom-seen passion for Christ that I’d like to see given free rein.
Jan’s thoughts:
Following an intriguing conversation with Pastor Jill at the community Thanksgiving Eve worship service, we felt called to worship today at one of the churches she serves. (This parish comprises this church and nearby Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church.) We’ve been past this little church numerous times and have always been curious to see the inside.
Most of the parking is on a one-way side street, which we didn’t realize upon arriving. The building itself is small but unique, especially the downstairs fellowship hall area where the kitchen is at one end of the open hall with no walls separating the hall and kitchen. I’ve never seen this arrangement in a church before. It felt inviting and family-like.
The congregation is friendly: most who did not greet us before the service did so during worship or afterward. One gentleman was nearby when we arrived and overhead us tell Jill that we had attended worship at only one Lutheran church before, so he volunteered that we could sit with him and he’d help us if we got lost or confused. (We did pretty well and he was gracious when we needed his guidance.)
During the Children’s Sermon Jill talked about waiting, and how, prior to each of the children being born, their moms waited in love for them in spite of never having seen them. The truth of this struck me on several levels. First, as a mother who waited those long months and loved the children I carried even though I had not met them; second, as a Christian woman who is waiting to see her Savior face to face, and third, as a mother who has not seen her son for more than three years who confidently expects to see his face immediately after seeing that of her Savior.
For the last two months, through my daughter’s church, I participated in Beth Moore’s Bible study, “Breaking Free.” It centers on making liberty in Christ a reality, and obviously freedom was a central concept. Not just freedom, but authentic freedom IN CHRIST, which is why the statement in the sermon that most caught my attention was, “We are not free unless we are bound to a human Jesus.” The sermon was much deeper than that one statement, but it struck such a nerve for me that I made a note of it and have continued to ponder it. And I definitely believe it – there is no freedom without Christ, without submitting to His authority and following where He leads.
