St. Paul Lutheran Church of Catonsville, MD May 2018 Issue: 153

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

As Christians look at the church today, you sometimes hear them speaking about: if

only the church could be like it was in the "good old days". They are usually referring to a

time in their life when churches were filled with people or that worship was like it was when

they were confirmed or that society promoted and was accepting of Christian morality and

ministry or that .......... . The "good old days" of one group usually refer to the "bad new days"

of another group. The church has been changing since the day after Pentecost, some of it

good and some of it bad. Maybe the only "good old day" of the church was that first day that

began in the street of Jerusalem. On that day the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of those

who were gathered as Peter bore witness to the crucified and risen Lord and lives were

changed, the Church of Jesus Christ began, and Satan began his work to disrupt and destroy

the Church's mission and unity. Over time the Church has gone through cycles of wandering

from the truth, and restoration. As Lutherans we are a product of one of the great Church

restorations called the Reformation.

For Luther and his colleagues, what were the "good old days"? It surely wasn't the

church of their youth or even of their parent's youth. The "good old days" were not about

style or traditions, they were about the Gospel and the mission and ministry of the Church.

The "good old days" were the days of Pentecost and the Church that was formed in the peri-

od that followed. The Church as it goes forward in time is also trying to go back in time, but

most people don't want to go back far enough. We confess that we believe in "one holy

Christian and Apostolic Church". This is the Church we are always striving to be. We strive

to be holy, being the Church as Christ wants it to be, a Church that follows Christ through

His Word, seeking to do His will and setting aside our own. As the Christian Church we

serve Christ as we go forward in His mission of proclaiming the Gospel to all people and

making disciples, remembering that the Church is here to empower and equip Christians for

service not to just serve them. As the Apostolic Church we are the Church as it was estab-

lished by the apostles not as it was recreated by others. These are the "good old days" that

we should always be seeking to return to and rediscover. Sometimes when we want to re-

turn to the past, we just don't want to go back far enough.

The world we live in today is not much different than the pagan, amoral Roman

world the early church found themselves called to reach. We are not the world of the 1950s,

60s, or 70s. As we seek to reach this new generation and our changing society we would be

well served to look and better understand the "good old days", the Church of the 1st centu-

ry, and look at how our other "good old days", the days of the Reformation, focused our

attention once again on the centrality and proclamation of the Gospel. Let's get back to the

Walking Together

Jesus calls us to be a Lutheran community gathered around Word and Sacrament

and sends us to reach the lost, disciple the saved, and care for our neighbors everywhere.

Important Dates in May:

01 Council Meeting, 7 pm 02 Choir, 7:30 pm

03 Leadership Planning, 7 am

04 School Walkathon

05 Men’s Club, 8am

Bible Museum Trip, 9-3 pm

Yth. Night @ St. Paul, 6-8 pm

07 ESL, 7:15 pm

08 Elders, 7 pm

09 Choir, 7:30 pm

10 FROG Youth Group, 3 pm

12 MAYFEST, 11—2 pm

13 Cherub Choir Sings @ 11 am

15 Day School Concert/

Art Exhibit, 6:30 pm

16 Choir, 7:30 pm

18 Spring Fling Dance, 6:30 pm

19 Church/School

Workday, 8 am

Yth. @ Trampoline Jump Park

22 Women’s Guild, 6 pm

23 Choir, 7:30 pm

25 Concordia Prep

Baccalaureate

28 Office, Day School, & ECC

Closed

30 Welcome to New

Students, 6:30 pm

Choir, 7:30 pm

Join us each Sunday for

Worship Services

8:15 am & 11:00 am

Sunday School / Bible Study

9:30 am

"good old days" and be the Church that grasped and personally took to heart the mission of bringing God's saving

grace in Jesus Christ to every person they came in contact with. It's not about programs or a certain style, it is about

loving people for Jesus in each of our lives through our loving words and actions. The mission field isn't in some distant

location, it is right next to you, with every person whom God brings you in contact with. When Christians are loving

one another and those around them, as they proclaim their faith in Jesus as their Savior then we are living in the "good

old days". Let get back to the "good old days"!

Pastor Schafer

WORSHIPING TOGETHER IN MAY

SUNDAY WORSHIP

Note: The sermon texts are in italic print

May 6 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

Theme: “The Power of Praying"

Bible Readings: Acts 10:34-48 1 John 5:1-8, John 15:9-17

Service: Prayer and Preaching - 8:15; Service: Setting 2 - Holy Communion - 11:00

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May 13 - Seventh Sunday of Easter

Theme: “My Greatest Gift to Share"

Bible Readings: Acts 1:12-26, 1 John 5:9-15, John 17:11b-19

Service: Setting 2 - Holy Communion - 8:15, Prayer and Preaching - 11:00

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May 20 - The Day of Pentecost

Theme: “I'm Blessed to Be Here"

Bible Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14, Acts 2:1-21, John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

Service: Printed Order of Service - Communion at Both services

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May 27 - Trinity

Theme: “Whose Church Is It?"

Bible Readings: Isaiah 6:1-8, Acts 2:14a, 22-36; John 3:1-17

Pre-VBS Jobs

Pre-registration

Create and make the set

Assist in publicizing the event

Put posters in the community

Collect Snack Supplies

Gather station supplies

Elementary Station Leaders

Castaway Singing Leader

Bible Discovery (drama)

Ship Rec Games

Tropical Treats (snacks)

KIDVID Cinema (video station about inspiring

true life stories and learning about Haiti Mission

Project)

Imagination Station—Crafts

Sail Away Sendoff (closing)

New friends ● Amazing experiments · Creative games

Lip-smacking snacks · Surprising adventures · Incredible

The best week of the summer!

Five Days of Connecting Kids to Jesus

Mission Project

Growing God’s Love in Haiti

Vacation Bible School

July 9-13

8:45 am-It’s time to Register

$20 per child, After June 15: $25

Forms located in the Narthex

Operation Kid-to-Kid is partnering with World Vision to provide

Haitian families with drought-tolerant seeds—enough to grow food

for the entire family, with additional crops to sell in the community

markets.

During VBS children will learn about real children in Haiti, the needs

they have and how they can help. Donations from the children,

parents, and congregation members will help feed thousands of

struggling families for many years.

STAFF SIGN UP

If you have a specific job that you would like to do,

please request it early.