OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH REV. KURT VAN FOSSAN

1000 PIONEER ROAD, DELTA, CO 81416 874-3052 EMAIL: RLCLCMS@DELTALUTHERAN.ORG

WEBSITE: DELTALUTHERAN.ORG

Pastor’s Corner

Fighting the Good Fight Against Spiritual Boredom

I’m currently reading a book written mainly for pastors called, The Care of Souls - Cultivating a Pas-

tor’s Heart, by an LCMS pastor, Harold L. Senkbeil. But since pastors are people just like you, who are

called by God to vocations just as important as the pastor’s vocation, much of what he writes applies to

all of us.

In a chapter on “Invisible Powers-Spiritual Warfare,” Pastor Senkbeil reminds us of what Scripture

says about the persecution that Christians are up against, especially when they are faithful in their vo-

cations as Christian pastors and workers of all kinds. While we normally speak of persecution in the

physical realm, where other people attack us because of our faith, God’s Word reveals to us that there is

a whole other dimension to the conflict and hardship we face in this world. “The source of dissension, dis-

tress, and difficulty in [our lives as Christians] ultimately is satanic in origin and spiritual in its es-

sence.”

This is especially important to remember when there is a conflict in our lives individually and/or cor-

porately as Christ’s body, the Church. In all our conflicts inside or outside the Church, remember who

we’re ultimately fighting against. It’s not each other; it’s the forces of evil in us and around us. That’s

why God through St. Paul tells us to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand

against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces

of evil in the heavenly places.”

This doesn’t mean that we should be looking for devils under every rock. “The demonic realm is just

one front in this spiritual battle. The ungodly world and the impulses of our own sinful nature are also

in league with the devil. Misbelief, idolatry, and despair constantly stalk everyone, even fervent Chris-

tians. The sinful heart stubbornly refuses to let God be God and causes all kinds of havoc in the church.”

We know from personal experience that we can always count on other sinners to sin. So when they do,

don’t go at them with both barrels blazing. Remember that the ultimate enemy remains unseen.”

“If there’s to be a fight in your church, make sure it’s a good one. Fight the good fight, not the bad

fight. [A bad fight is with each other.] The good fight is against the devil and his minions, not against

human flesh and blood.”

One spiritual enemy that tempts us and is often successful in the lives of God’s people—sinner/

saints—is what the early church called acedia. This is one of those Greek and Latin words that have

made it into our English language. Acedia is usually defined as sloth, laziness. The early church saw

that superficial sloth and laziness has a spiritual dimension: dissatisfaction with “God’s divinely or-

dained gifts, be they in the realm of creation or redemption.”

“Acedia means a lack or absence of care. And that’s deadly. Whenever we grow numb to Christ’s sav-

ing work and the Father’s gracious gifts by which He makes us and preserves us, spiritual boredom

takes hold, followed by apathy and subsequent despair. Where acedia takes root in the soul of a pastor

[or his flock], the church suffers greatly.”

One of the telltale signs of acedia is when the Word and Sacraments of God, along with prayer, be-

comes more and more of a chore and less and less of a personal treasure. Acedia is certainly not child’s

play. “Here’s how it usually unfolds: It’s as if your soul has been injected with spiritual morphine. You

become listless and unresponsive to the work of the Holy Spirit through His means of grace [God’s Word

and Sacrament]. A pervasive numbness prevails; a numbness not just of emotion, but of heart and soul.”

Wanting to feel something again, the person suffering from acedia often turns to other things—other

ways of restoring what has been lost.

But remember, “ultimately this whole struggle is a spiritual battle, beyond the range of our puny in-

tellect and feeble willpower to curtail.” That’s why we can’t fight this battle on our own or by using the

solutions of the world around us. Our only defense is to call in the champion to fight for us, Christ Jesus,

who by His blood and cross has conquered in the fight already, and intercedes for us at the Father’s right

hand.

So, please, call upon Him in every trouble! He is good, and His mercy endures forever. “Whenever you

are at the end of your rope—mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted—He will be your strength

and stay.”

God enables us to stand against the attacks of evil in us and around us through the protective armor

of His word of truth, His righteousness, His Gospel, His Faith, and His salvation in Jesus Christ. “Wield

the sword of His Spirit with prayer and supplication, knowing that your Father in heaven delights in

hearing your prayer and will most surely deliver you in His own time and way from all that ails you.”

Never ever give up, but be just as persistent in meditation on God’s promises and prayer as the devil is

in his attacks against you.

In every attack of evil in us and around us, its relentless goal is to destroy God’s good and gracious

work in you. But the truth is that all evil has been judged, and the verdict is in. Jesus cried out in His

dying breath, “It is finished.” “All the work of Satan to destroy, all his lies and accusations, all the sin

and mayhem he has imposed on God’s good creation—all of this has been obliterated and eradicated in

the death of our enfleshed God for the sins of the world. Christ’s dramatic victory was affirmed and at-

tested by His triumphant resurrection from the dead on the third day after His stone cold body was laid

in its tomb.”

So you can be confident dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that there is nothing in all creation that

can ever separate you from the Father’s love for you. Stand your ground, then, in the evil day. Tempta-

tions are sure to come for you and those you love. “Therefore always remain alert to fend them off. Wield

the word, the Spirit’s sword. Pray persistently in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, who sancti-

fies you already now and then in eternity hereafter forevermore.”

And always remember that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory

that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18).

Hymn of the Month

“On Eagle’s Wings” LSB 727

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, Who abide in His shadow for life, Say to the Lord, "My Refuge, My Rock in Whom I trust." Refrain: And He will raise you up on eagle's wings, Bear you on the breath of dawn, Make you to shine like the sun, And hold you in the palm of His Hand. The snare of the fowler will never capture you, And famine will bring you no fear; Under His Wings your refuge, His faithfulness your shield. [Refrain] You need not fear the terror of the night, Nor the arrow that flies by day, Though thousands fall about you, Near you it shall not come. [Refrain] For to His angels He's given a command, To guard you in all of your ways, Upon their hands they will bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. [Refrain] Our hymnal gives the following Scripture references for this hymn: Psalm 91:1-12 - “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”

and

Psalm 103:[2-]5 -“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.” Through the words of these Psalms and this hymn, which is based in part on these Psalms, the Spirit of God inspires our trust in Him as our refuge and strength, and the one who alone can shield and deliver us from all evil. But you may have noticed that neither Psalm mentions “eagle’s wings.” If, however, we consider Exodus19:4 - “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself,“ and Isaiah 40:31 - “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint,” “eagle’s wings” are used in Scripture to inspire this same trust in God’s strong and speedy (according to God’s timing) deliver-ance from all evil. This good news is seen most clearly through Jesus’ death and resurrection on the third day. Because of His completed action on the cross for our salvation, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30), He enables us, whom He has raised up with Him through His Word and Baptism, to “wait” for the Last Day not questioning our salvation but in confident and joyful expecta-tion of our continued and eternal life with Him, joyfully serving Him by serving others in His name.

• The Reformation, Confirmation and New Member Dinner is on Sunday, October 27th following the

service.

• Brats and drinks will be provided. Families are asked to bring a potluck dish to share. Families

whose last name begins with A—M are asked to bring a salad or side dish, families whose last

names begin with N—Z are asked to bring a dessert.

• Our new members that we have received in the last year are: Herb Kruger, Audrey Kruger, Ayla

Kruger, Evelyn Kruger, Holly Kruger and Sarah Tunget. God willing our confirmands will include

Michael Miller and Madyson Scarbrough.

• See also the last page about an interactive workshop focused on how the Reformation is still rele-

vant and useful to engage our culture!

Reformation, Confirmation/New Member Dinner & Reformation Workshop

PRAYER - When You Don’t Know What to Say

It was never intended for us to go it alone. In the book of Genesis, this comes through clearly: “The

Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him (Genesis

2:18). God created us to be in relationships, so He placed us in families and among friends. He has con-

nected us to each other. We need to love and be loved.

Love is a powerful emotion, and the need to be in a loving relationship is one of the strongest needs we

have. But our connections need to be strengthened, and that cannot happen unless we make an invest-

ment in our relationships. We demonstrate and strengthen our love for family and friends when we lis-

ten and speak to one another. Through our conversations we learn more about each other’s true de-

sires, motivations and priorities in life.

We call our family and friends to spend time with one another. Whether this is done over the phone,

sharing a meal, or simply spending time with them, togetherness is the key. We find ourselves sharing

the good, the bad, and the ugly events of our lives. We need encouragement, compassion and valida-

tion, and we draw strength from their support and love.

Spending time with God is the ultimate relationship. Prayer is simply communicating with God, both

talking and listening to Him. Through His Son Jesus Christ, we are free to come to God to share our

deepest and most private joys, pains, thoughts and feelings, without having to impress someone or be

fearful of criticism. And God comes to us in various ways to assure us of His love, peace and help.

Whenever we read or hear the Bible, He reminds us of His great love in sending His Son Jesus Christ to

live, suffer, die and rise again for our salvation. In the waters of Baptism, Jesus washes away the un-

cleanness of our thoughts, words and deeds, and adopts us as God’s very own children. In His Holy

Supper, Jesus reminds us of the peace He won for us by giving His body up to death and pouring out

His blood for our forgiveness.

The Privilege of Prayer

Have you ever been asked this question: If you could talk with anyone in the world who would that be?

Some would say the president. Why? He is a very powerful and influential person. After all, having

him listen to your concerns and opinions would be an honor, especially if he could use his power and in-

fluence to help solve some of those problems.

If that seems like a true privilege, let me ask you this: Would you like to talk to someone who has un-

limited resources, wisdom, power and who genuinely cares for you? What would you think about talk-

ing to the Creator of the world? He’s the One who created everything out of nothing, who told the ocean

waves they can only come this far and no farther, the One who placed each star in the sky. He’s the

One who conquered death through His Son Jesus Christ. The awesome thing is God has given you this

great privilege; all you have to do is pray.

Each one of us is extended a personal invitation into the very presence of the Creator of all things, the

all-powerful God who knows and is with us every step of our lives. It is an honor and privilege to spend

time sharing everything with God Himself.

Over the years movies and novels have portrayed prayer as our last resort: something you try when all

else fails. The hero uses all his resources to defeat the villain, but he cannot win. Battered and beaten,

he retreats to a solitary place, lifts his eyes heavenward, and begins his prayer, “Lord, it’s been a while

since we last talked. I’m not sure if You can help, but I sure could use You by my side right now.” Well,

we pretty much know the rest, right? In the next scene, the hero is suddenly filled with power and is

able to defeat the evil foes.

Prayer is seen as the “magic bullet” we pull out and use as a last resort. The slogan might sound like

this, “When all else fails, try prayer.”

Of course, there’s always the “bargaining” prayer. Finding oneself in trouble, the prayer sounds some-

thing like this: “God, I’m in a huge mess. I really need Your help. If you get me out of this, I promise I

will ….” We panic and think if we make God a huge, life-changing promise He’ll be more apt to give us

what we want.

Some think God’s really busy, and you have to fight for His attention. He’ll only answer your prayers

after you’ve nagged Him enough. It’s as if each prayer is added to the next, so when the scales are

tipped, God is prodded into action—and maybe, just maybe—He’ll answer your prayer just to get you

“out of His hair.”

These false ideas about prayer misrepresent the Lord terribly. They make Him sound like a God who

sees us as a nuisance, not dear children for whom He gave His Son to suffer and die. The truth is God

does care, and He didn’t mean for prayer to be pulled out as a last resort, or as a means for us to bargain

with Him, or to be the chip we add to the pile, hoping it will finally tip the scales in our favor.

What Is Prayer?

Prayer is a natural part of our relationship with God. Our prayers can be thought, spoken or sung. But

however way we pray, we are engaging in a conversation with God. Now talking to God isn’t quite the

same as calling, e-mailing or texting family or friends. They aren’t with us all the time, so we have to

spend some of those conversations catching them up on what has been going on in our lives. This is not

so when we pray to God.

Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). God is always with

us. He also searches our heart, mind and soul. He knows everything we think, say and do. He knows

exactly what we are going through, and He knows it even better than we do. In our prayers we are nev-

er telling God anything He doesn’t already know. Prayer is not an occasional conversation we have with

God. It is a constant reminder of the eternal relationship we share with God through His Son Jesus

Christ.

But unlike our family and friends, the God to which we pray is almighty and all powerful. He can do an-

ything we need Him to do. He is also all-knowing. He knows the future and everything that will happen

in our lives. Because of His love for us in Jesus Christ He has big plans for our lives—bigger and better

than anything we could ever dream up on our own.

When we pray, we want to remember God’s wisdom. It’s too easy to think we know best and expect God

to bow to our wishes and give us what we are asking for, i.e. what we think is best for us. That is based

on the false notion that God is far away and unaware of everything going on in our lives. Being our lov-

ing Father, God cares about everything concerning us, so He answers our prayers in His way. It’s the

way He knows is ultimately best for each of us. Of course, when God doesn’t answer our prayers the way

we want Him to we often get frustrated. We think He didn’t listen to us very well, or maybe we used the

wrong words, or possibly we need to give something up, in order for God to do what we want.

But that is not the case at all. God knows everything about us, and He is perfect in His ability to see

around the corners of our lives and into our complete future. He knows how anything we ask will impact

us—both immediately and far off in the future. He also knows how those things will impact our family,

friends and neighbors. He knows exactly how they will touch people we can’t possibly even imagine. So

He answers our prayers in the way He knows will be best for us individually, and for everyone whose life

is impacted by ours. © 2013 Lutheran Hour Ministries. By Rich Cohrs, Wayne Palmer & Suzie Sallee

EVANGELISM

125 Years of LCMS Worldwide Missions Continues….. We will watch the short video series before Bible

Study over the next few weeks. Don’t miss these exciting and informative

videos!

MINI MISSION ANYONE?

Have you ever wanted to go on a mission abroad? Evangelism is looking into short-term (8 days or so)

mission opportunities for youth and adults alike. Dates are flexible and they are in places like Peru, Ja-

maica, Dominican Republic, etc, etc. doing things like helping with Vacation Bible School, volleyball

camp, English Bible Camp and construction or renovation. Watch in the bulletin for a meeting an-

nouncement or speak to Amber Miller.

This Photo

THE LORD’S MINISTRY

Redeemer Lutherans attendance figures and financial blessings that were given for the month of

September to further maintain the Lord’s ministry.

Date Attendance Communicants Offerings Received Needed Operating

Gen./Designated Funds Budget

9-1-2019 53 47 $2,896.00/$283.84 $4,455.06

9-8-2019 86 64 $4,585.60/$136.00 $4,455.06

9-15- 2019 88 65 $3,478 75/$1,054.00 $4,455.06

9-22-2019 74 61 $2,578.00/$314.00 $4,455.06

Sandy Holden—October 7

John Koppes—October 9

Kylee Wilbur—October 10th

Jacob Oberheu—October 17

Zach Weber—October 17

Dee Kenimer—October 18

Phillip Dwyer—October 19

Eveli Strassle—October 23

Carissa Sidor—October 25

Nancy Seeley—October 26

Alicia Clubb—October 30

Birthdays

Pastor & Andrea Van Fossan—October 6

Gordon & Karen Wagner—October 11

Doug & Michelle Scarbrough—October 15

Aaron & Mary Clubb—October 24

Wedding Anniversaries

Mary Miller—October 3

Nancy Hofman—October 10

Rachel Gilleece—October 11

Lucy Orros—October 12

Jan Polzin—October 13

Doreen Dwyer—October 25

Devona Sanders—October 25

Amanda Bizer—October 27

Stephanie Nesbit—October 27

Carl Nesbit—October 27

Jacob Oberheu—October 31

Baptismal Birthdays

October 6—Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Jesus warns against equating worth with girth

(Luke 17:6). Mistaking more for better brings catastrophic consequences. Better a millstone

around one’s own neck (Luke 17:2) than causing a little one (literally, of microscopic size) to stum-

ble (literally, caught in a trap and brought to destruction). Raising a child in truth and love, for-

giveness and faith of Christ Jesus surpasses (2 Timothy 1:5-6) gaining even a lifetime of wealth to

give them (Psalm 62:9-10).

October 13—Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Naomi fears becoming burdensome to her

family. She even insists her daughters-in-law let her go (Ruth 1:8-9). But Ruth refuses to abandon

the aging widow for autonomy (Ruth 1:16-18). And they both get to witness God again bringing

treasure from tragedy, as the gifts of community more than make up for surrendering independ-

ence. Will we receive less, if He Who gave King David for their grandson sent us His Son for a Sav-

ior?

October 20—Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost We get to declare and demonstrate the

Word of the Lord even in adversity (2 Timothy 4:2-3). Proclaim the truth of God no matter what

political controversies it intersects. Perform the love of Jesus no matter what personal choices it

interferes with. Speak and show how He creates, redeems, and calls every human life, especially

the least of these. Face discrimination with courage and compassion. Meet ridicule with joy and

hope. God guarantees justice (Luke 18:7-8).

October 27—Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost The Lord swore to defend and avenge Cain

though he had killed (Genesis 4:15). Our Almighty Maker wraps His tender mercy (Luke 18:13-14)

en around those who have taken life. The Lamb of God also sacrificed His life and shed His blood

to release from sin anyone who has participated in abortion or advocated assisted suicide. Only

this same repentance and forgiveness will save even For Life voices who find ourselves superior to

them.

Life Thoughts in the Church Year