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Pastor Gary Hedding of
Bethlehem Lutheran Church,
in Cedar Falls, Iowa, relates a
wonderful story about sacrificial giving:
Adeline (in her 60s) was a developmentally dis-
abled woman who lived with her mother, and the
two survived on their combined Social Security
benefits. Her mother (90+ years old) died, re-
moving half of their joint income. Adeline con-
tinued to give the same amount of money in her
offering each week, even though her income was
half what it used to be. People were concerned
because Adeline wasn’t very good at math, and
they suspected that she didn’t realize what she
was doing. I talked to Adeline about how she
could reduce her giving and still be a good stew-
ard. Her amazing response was that she had only
asked for two things in life. First, that her mom
would live a long time, and she did. Second, that
God would let her mom die peacefully when she
became ill, and that happened. This convinced
Adeline that “God would take good care of her,
and that God would use the money better than
she would.”
Adeline’s hope and security is in God. So is
ours. We are called to be good stewards of our
resources, so that does entail saving for retire-
ment and emergencies. It means making prudent
choices. Yet we often accept the world’s procla-
mation that our hope and security is in what we
have, how much we make, and what we have
stored away. Again, we are to make sound finan-
cial arrangements, but we also need to recognize
that our ultimate hope and security is in God
alone.
In our stewardship theme verses for this year we
have looked at the poor congregations in Mace-
donia. Despite their poverty, they were eager to
give. I assume Adeline didn’t have much, living
on Social Security, but she gave what she could,
joyfully. That’s what St. Paul emphasizes in 2
Corinthians 8:12: If you are eager to give, God
will accept your gift on the basis of what you
have to give, not on what you don't have. Ade-
line may not have had much to give, but she is a
wonderful example for all of us of generous giv-
ing
I pray that as we close out our look at Steward-
ship and the example of the Macedonian congre-
gations that you have not seen it as fund raising.
That’s not the purpose. Rather, it is designed to
help us grow in faithful discipleship that all our
life is an example of the generosity of God.
Thank you for your faithful stewardship,
Pastor Jon Christenson
Volume 49—Number 2 February 2019
Voice of Redeemer
Redeemer Lutheran Church
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REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
2525 BELLE TERRACE, P O BOX 13132-93389, BAKERSFIELD, CA 93304
Pastor: Rev. Jon Christenson ………... 832-7881 ……………. Secretary: Phyllis Elrod
E-mail address: [email protected] Web site address: www.bakersfieldlutheran.org
O ne of the most misquoted verses in the entire Bible is First Timothy 6:10. Most people misquote this verse as follows: "Money is the source of all evil."
Actually, the Scripture says, "For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil." There's quite a difference between the two.
Money in and of itself is not wrong. The Scripture gives no indication that it is wrong to have money. In fact, many people in the Bible who sought to put God first
in their lives were people of wealth. Names like Abraham, Esther, Job, David, Solomon, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea come to mind. Money is not the source of all evil; money is simply a commodity that enables us to buy and sell goods and services. Money is neutral; it is neither good nor bad.
What counts is how we view money. Paul wrote to Timothy that " . . . The love of money is a source of all kinds of evil." What does it mean, then, to love money? To love money is to desire it above all else in your life. It is to make it your primary focus. It is to seek to acquire it at any cost. The only problem with that philosophy is that it does not work.
Remember this: God is our source! All that we have comes from His bountiful hand. For our good, God wisely instructs us to put Him first in all things, including how we obtain and use money. However, when we make money our primary focus, and when we spend our waking hours planning, scheming and laboring to acquire more and more money, it becomes the main object of our affection. Our love for God then takes second place to our love for money.
Solomon gave some advice concerning those who love money. He said, "If you love money, you will never be satisfied. If you long to be rich, you will never get all you want." In contrast, Solomon ob-served that it is better to have only one handful of material possessions accompanied by peace and tranquility than always to be struggling for more, which he said is sort of like chasing after the wind.
So, you see, money can be a blessing or a curse, depending on our attitude toward it. If we view it as merely a means to an end, then it can be used of God to be a blessing in our lives and in the lives of those around us. It can be used of God in our lives to glorify Him. However, if we see money as an end in and of itself, something to be grasped and hoarded, then it will become a curse in our lives and will adversely affect us and others.
Listen to this solemn warning found in First Timothy 6 ‹ " . . . those who want to get rich fall into temp-tation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows."
How do you view money?
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BAKE SALE RELAY FOR LIFE
FUNDRAISER
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10
11:30—FELLOWSHIP HALL
Sponsored by
REDEEMER’S
MGHTY FORTRESS
If you have any church keys that
you no longer have any reason
to have in your possession,
please return them to the office.
It is imperative to the security of
our facility that extra keys that
are not being used are in safe
keeping in the office.
Thank you!
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AREA OF SERVICE February 3 February 10 February 17 February 24
Altar Guild Lyda & Vernon
Flowers Laura Haywood Lemley Family Laura Haywood Clayton Family
Assistant Minister Jan Lemley
Communion Assistant Laura Haywood
Lector Karen Musgrove Jan Lemley Judy Peterson Mike Jacobsen
Greeter Karen Musgrove
Coffee Hour Linda Cohen Judy Peterson Mary Ellen Karen Musgrove
Please know that your prayers are so very much appreciated. Thanks and Blessings to all!
IN HIS SERVICE
NOTE: THIS SCHEDULE DOES NOT REFLECT CHANGES MADE AFTER JANUARY 26
Bruce
Bev
Suzie
Margaret
Patty
Carlotta
Lilian’s niece
Karen Manes
Ralph
David
Marge
Nathan
The family of
Dixie Kellogg
January Prayer Requests
ALTAR
GUILD
TRAINING
Pastor Jon will
hold an Altar
Guild training session after
second service on Sunday,
February 10, in the Fellowship
Hall. Anyone interested in
being a part of the Altar Guild
is invited to attend.
In loving memory
Pearl Dixiana Vaage-Kellogg (Dixie)
April 28, 1932—January 9, 2019
5
Dallas and Mary Thompson
(pictured left) from Glenwood, MN
are busy making lefse for coffee hour
Sunday, Jan. 13.
Redeemer is so grateful that these
“snow-bunnies” found our church to visit
during their annual trek to CA to escape the
cold and visit their son in Bakersfield—-
and treat us to “Norwegian tortillas”,
more commonly know as lefse.
This is now an annual event, which we will look
forward to with great anticipation!
Mange Tusen Takk !
Pictured above is Bob Lansford celebrating birthday
#89. Cake and all the trimmings thanks to Rosie
Baker and Christy Schroeder.
REDEEMER COUNCIL
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
JANUARY 14, 2019
Dixie Kellogg passed away – Service February
7, 2019 @ 11:00 a.m.
$20,000.00 in donations have been made to-
wards the Loan payment.
Stewardship Focus:
Debt Repayment :
1)Commitment ; 2) Generosity ;
3) Abundant Joy ;4) Gratitude
Annual Meeting – January 27, 2019 with
potluck.
Charities : Tijuana
Staff Evaluations completed
Nori Eakes, secretary
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss
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ASH WEDNESDAY
March 6
Lenten Services with soup
suppers will begin March 13
through April 10
February 21
6 pm
DATES TO
REMEMBER
Saturday
Feb. 09 @ 9 am
Monday
February 10 @ 6 pm
Everyone is Welcome
WINE & DINE : is Thursday, February 28,
2019 / 6:15 pm. at Cafe Med, 4809
Stockdale Highway. Please make reservations
with Linda Cohen.
FEBRUARY
ACTIVITIES
LUNCH BUNCH IS Wednesday 2/6/19 @
11am, Marie Callender’s, 3801 Califor-
nia Avenue. Everyone is invited. Please
make reservations with Judy Olson-
Peterson.
PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY/QUILTING will meet on
Wednesday, 2/13 from 9 am to 2 pm in the Fellowship
Hall. All are welcome to join us in making quilts/ knit-
ting/crocheting prayer shawls. Bring a sack lunch and
enjoy fellowship with friends. Judy will furnish snacks. Kathy McKnight 02
Azeadra Johnson-Haley 10
Hollie Schindler 13
Ella Dommer 14
Anne Benson 16
Carlos Romirez 21
Susan Petty 22
Phyllis Elrod 25
Asher Schindler 26
Bill Schroeder 26
John Werts 28
Neil & Becky Barsanti 14
Mike & Sharon Jacobsen 22
RUTH CIRCLE will meet February 4, 6:30 @ the Lemley
household. Pastor Donella will continue our study/appreciation of Handel’s Messiah. Please plan to join us.
AFTERNOON CIRCLE is Wednesday 2/20/19 @ 1:30 pm
in the Fellowship Hall. We are discussing Meetings with
Jesus from John 3-6 & Gather magazine. Judy Olson-
Peterson will lead the discussion & Anne-Marie Truax will
provide refreshments.
TEHACHAPI CONFERENCE
The Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin
Southwest CA Synod Bishop
Saturday, February 2
Emmanuel Lutheran
1900 Baker St.
Beginning with coffee @9:30 am
Conference meeting 10:00—noon
a light lunch will be served @noon.
Everyone is invited to attend.
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SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THRUSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1 2
3
Praise Worship
8:30 am
Sunday School
9:30
Worship 10:30
Fellowship 11:30
4
Ruth Circle
6:30
5
Pacifica 3 pm
6
Lunch Bunch
11 am
Brown bag
supper 5:30
Bible Study 6
pm
7
Pacifica 10:15
8 9
Work Day 9 am
10
Praise Worship
8:30 am
Sunday School
9:30
Worship 10:30
Fellowship 11:30
Altar Guild
meeting
11
Worship &
Music 6 pm
12
Pacifica 3 pm
13
Prayer Shawl
& Quilting
9—2
Brown bag
supper 5:30
Bible Study 6
14
15 16
Martin Luther
11/10/1483—
2/18/1543
17
Praise Worship
8:30 am
Sunday School
9:30
Worship 10:30
Fellowship 11:30
18 19
Pacifica 3 pm
20
Afternoon Circle
1:30
Brown bag
supper 5:30
Bible Study 6
pm
21
Pacifica 10:15
Council 6 pm
22 23
25 26
Pacifica 3 pm
27
SS&T 12 noon
Brown bag
supper 5:30
Bible Study 6
pm
28
FEBRUARY 2019
24
Praise Worship
8:30 am
Sunday School
9:30
Worship 10:30
Fellowship 11:30