Th

e N

et

Au

gu

st 20

19

ST. A

ND

RE

W L

UTH

ER

AN

CH

UR

CH

1353 W

itte R

oa

d - H

ou

ston

, TX 7

7055

713-4

68-9

565 · o

ffice

@sta

nd

rew

-lcm

s.org

ww

w.sta

nd

rew

-lcm

s.org

According to NCEI, National Center for Environmental Information, August is the hottest month in Texas. I hope you have a working A/C in your home and car. While there is a lot of discomfort and dangers associated with the scorching heat, there is one good aspect of the hot days. Those hot days can remind you of what you should not live for and what you should live for. Hot days can remind you what you should not live for, namely wealth and what it promises to deliver. James 1:11 says, 11 ….the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. In other words, don’t bite the lure of driving your life for the flash luxurious rich lifestyle. Why? It’s because they will perish as the grass and flowers perish in the scorching heat. On the other hand, hot summer days can remind you what you should live for instead, namely God. In Revelation 7:16, John saw what God will do for those who lived their life pursuing God. “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. In other words, live for God because God will give you eternal life and there will be no suffering in that life because God will protect you. Your life will be like someone who is inside of a building with a blowing cold A/C on a hot August day in Houston. He is well protected from the heat. And you know how good that is.

The Net Published Monthly by

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

and Early Childhood Center 1353 Witte Road, Houston, Texas 77055 , Tel: 713-468-9565

Now you can see, how the hot summer days of August in Houston can remind you of the truth about your life: not to live for wealth, but to live for God. With that said, it’s a good time to ask yourself a question: what are you living for today? What is the center of your life? What is the dream destination that you are driving toward? Are you pursuing a wild grass and flower that will be withered by a scorching Sun? Or are you pursuing God who will protect your life from withering by the scorching Sun? A great question to think about on a hot summer day. Enjoy your August and you’re A/Cs. That’s a great picture of life with God.

David Jung Pastor

August 18, 2019

Sunday, August 18th

Church Wide Potluck , 12noon in the

gymnasium. Everyone bring you favorite

dish to share. Meat & Vegetables, Meat

& Pasta, and bring your favorite dessert.

Congregation Meeting will follow in

the auditorium.

Have you ever noticed the subtle ceremony of receiving the offerings during the Di-vine Service? The offerings are collected in plates or baskets, and they are brought forward and given to the pastor or an assistant. The pastor turns toward the altar, and, as he slightly bows his head, the offerings are raised slightly to the Lord and placed on the altar or an adjacent table. Why do we have this ceremony? And what does it teach us? For that is what cere-mony does – it teaches, as the Augsburg Confession tells us what we need to know about Christ (AC XXIV, 1–3). Originally, this ceremony included more than simply bringing forward what was col-lected in the offering plates. The elements for the Holy Communion – the bread and the wine – were brought forward with the offerings. The offerings and elements were lifted toward the Lord and placed upon the altar. The altar, now made a table, would be set for the Lord’s Supper. Gifts brought to the altar come from the sweat of His people’s brow. They are the bread and wine, the fruits of His people’s labor in this fallen world. After six days of labor and toil, the people are to bring a generous proportion for the Lord’s work. Gifts set upon the altar are offered to the Lord for Him to take up and press into ser-vice for His gracious work. For what is offered to the Lord from the sweat of His people’s brow – the bread of anxious toil – comes back to us as the bread of life. The bread comes down from heaven that whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup will receive life through the forgiveness of their sins. This is not unlike what the Lord did for His people in the Old Testament:

“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire – oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever

Stewardship Corner - Edie Bourland

Stewardship Corner - continued

your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household.” (Deut. 14:22-26)

What a blessing! God provides for us in all things. He provides bread from the sweat of our brows. He receives this from us in the first-fruits offerings we give to Him in thanksgiving and praise, and He turns these into spiritual bread. He gives this heavenly bread – the bread of eternal life – back to us so we might have joy. So, the next time you are in the Divine Service, watch this ceremony in wonder. The offerings we have given to Him, the Lord gives back to us in His supper so that we may rejoice in the salvation He won for us upon the cross.

Project Connect - New Booklets Now Available The Project Connect booklets are located in the Welcome area near the donuts. There are an assortment of booklets for you to take at your convenience and discretion. Topics include, equipping you to share your faith, forgiveness and the after-life to depression and anger management.

Blessing of the Backpacks Another school year is fast approaching. It is a time for children to return to the classroom and for fall schedules to resume. We are asking that all students/teachers come to church on Sunday, August 11th at 9:30am, with backpacks or any kind of school bag. The Blessing of the Backpacks will require students to be present for recognition and for prayers. Every parent wants his or her child to have all the advantages possible for a good education. This year, that includes a blessing. Thank you!

SaYoga Session Every Monday 10:30 a.m.

& Every Wednesday 4:30 p.m. SALC Gym

FREE! Bring a yoga mat & water bottle.

Coffee money in August will be given to the LCMS Joint Seminary Fund. Synod uses these funds for student tuition help, recruitment, program development, pastoral enrichment seminars, etc., at either Seminary, as needed.

August

At the time of print, pictures of VBS are still being taken. Next month keep your eyes open to see what happen at VBS, a big BLAST OFF this Summer.

Over the last three months, we have spent an in-credible amount of time traveling. At last count, we clocked over 200 hrs and 10,000 miles since April 11.

As a point of comparison, we could have traveled between New York and Los Angeles at least three times with that many miles! When we embarked on our home service journey in April, one of the children immediately asked when we were going to go home. I told them that our van is our new home, but many times it feels that way. And, for the last three months, it has provided a good home for us. We have enjoyed the opportunities to visit with many of you. We have stopped at many congre-gations, met supporters, and thanked you all for walking alongside us during this journey. The road has been exhausting. In the month of June, we suffered with various and sundry illness-es, the consequence of eating poorly and lacking sleep. I think we might have reached our fill of American food too. When we left Taiwan, we didn’t think this would happen. However, this morning, I asked Ezekiel what he was looking forward to in Taiwan.

His response: Taiwanese food. They miss their favorite treats from Taiwan including onion pizza (not my favorite) and pot stickers. Eva Maria wholeheartedly agreed with him. Despite the struggles and the long hours spent in our large white van that currently serves as our house, we have enjoyed our time with family and supporters. We have enjoyed shaking the hands that have, for the last three years, been folded in prayer for us. We have delighted to look into the eyes that read our newsletters. We have relished the touch of fingers that stuck stamps to enve-lopes bearing support for this work. We know that we were not able to visit everyone. We have learned a lot about how to prepare for our home service in the next two years. So, we’re sorry if we couldn’t make it to your part of the USA this time. However, we’ll do our best to find you next time.

For everyone we were able to visit: Thank you. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

2019 Vol. 5 Issue 3 lcms.org/askins The Askins in Asia

So Much Traveling

Please Notify the Church Office When… You or a member of your family is hospitalized.

You have a change of address

Your phone number has changed.

Your email address has changed.

Your board or committee changes a meeting date or time.

Members of your family are students attending school away from home or are living at a different address

Your help with all of the above is very much appreciated!

Miguel & Antoinette Garcia…. August 2 Michael & Gayle Kellar………. August 9 Wesley & Katie Paben………. August 13 Dan & Joyce Leitko………….. August 16 Chip & Dawn Dudley………… August 17 Harold & Jean Fleischhauer... August 17

August 12 , 2019

Angelo Okuma………… August 1 Mary Ann Bryant………. August 5 Marquise Murray………. August 6 Cara Dudley…………… August 7 Carol Stojan……………. August 10 Lola Farmer……………. August 11 Ashley Collins…………. August 13 James Flikkema……….. August 14 Robert Flikkema………. August 14 Brenna Asher………….. August 18 Harold Fleischhauer…... August 21 Charles Hansen……….. August 29 John Lee……………….. August 31

Duties Schedule for the Month of August

Date August 4

August 11

August 18

August 25

Duty Name(s) Name(s) Name(s) Name(s)

Altar Guild Irene

Peyton Irene

Peyton Irene

Peyton Irene

Peyton

Elder Doug Emery

Doug Emery

Doug Emery

Doug Emery

Counting Dick & Irene

Peyton Terry Hansen

Dick & Irene Peyton

Terry Hansen

Dick & Irene Peyton

Terry Hansen

Dick & Irene Peyton

Terry Hansen

Trustee Charles Hansen

Charles Hansen

Charles Hansen

Charles Hansen

Greeters Alex & Chris VonSehrwald

Everlyn Register Herta Strobel

Dottie Bonura Vi Howe-Steinsiek

Dan & Joyce Leitko

Usher Team Steinsiek Leitko Rearick Marquardt

2nd Service

Usher Maritza Troche

Everlyn Salgado

Maritza Troche

Everlyn Salgado

It’s hard to believe, but summer will soon be over and our fall program will begin. Back to school time often means changes for children and families. The first day; new classrooms and sometimes new teachers. Making smooth transitions between home, programs and schools can help children feel good about themselves and teach them to trust other adults and children. Helping children adapt to new situa-tions can ease parents’ minds and give them a chance to become involved in their child’s education. How Parents Can Help: Make sure you never just disappear or sneak away when you leave your child at school, explain that you are leaving for work and you will be back. Give a hug and a kiss and say good-bye to your child, then leave immediately. Do not hang back or hesitate if your child shows distress or cries. Allow the teacher to take over and handle the situation. Show confidence in the school and the teacher and your child will feel more confident in the situation. Be assured that most cases of crying are over within five minutes or less. Help your youngsters to have a good start in school by creating habits like reading before play or television, make time each day to look over school papers and notes. Sharing at dinnertime is an activity that can go beyond passing the platter. Ask your child to think of one new thing they learned during the day. It might spark an inter-esting conversation among everyone at the table. I am excited about this new school year. “Train our children in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. This is why Christian Education is so very important. Thank you for choosing St. Andrew.

St. Andrew Early Childhood Center - ECC– Shatha Razzook

SAECC WILL BE CLOSED ON AUGUST 14TH TEACHER IN SERVICE

School Age Parents: Please, let us know as soon as possible if your child needs picked up from the elementary school. Vacation Bible School: The children enjoyed a very exciting week at Vacation Bible School. Thanks to our Leader Mrs. Monica for a very well done job and thanks to all our teachers and Pastor. Bad Weather Notice: School will close if Spring Branch Independent School District closes UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTIFIED. The policy applies throughout the school year! Health Forms: Required of all students. We need immunization updates for our files on all children who have had additional immunizations. Bully or Victim: There’s much in the news about “bullying” these days. Research shows the children who bully do not have, as long suspected, low self-esteem, but are self-centered and think highly of themselves. What they have not learned is that others too have feelings and do not like being bullied. When bulling happened encourage them to show Jesus’ love to each other and care about one another. Help victims realize that they don’t have to be victims, but can tell others to stop what they are doing, say “Id rather be your friend” or if necessary talk to a grown up about it. Helping children understanding and attitude change may take several weeks.

But Jesus said, let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to me: for

the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

ECC continued...

8th

Esther Sanchez 10yrs 19

th Jose Solis 9yrs

24th

Josie Jones 4yrs 26

th Vivaan Bukka 3yrs

27th

Aiden Arevalo 4yrs 29

th Sofia Guerra 5yrs

31st

Alexander Torres 7yrs

Au

gu

st 2

019

ST.

AN

DR

EW

LU

TH

ER

AN

CH

UR

CH

EA

RLY C

HIL

DH

OO

D C

EN

TE

R

1353 W

itte

Ro

ad

- H

ou

sto

n, TX

77055

713-4

68-0

026 ·

ec

c@

sta

nd

rew

-lc

ms.

org

ww

w.s

tan

dre

w-lc

ms.

org