Our Savior Lutheran, Joliet

It's just a hole - a devotion - 2nd in a series

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:20:00 -0000

So once again we come together to talk about God building up our lives and the building up of a house. This time we want to talk about a hole. That's what I said a hole. I still remember when my dad was building a house being taken out to the property so he could show me a hole. Now let's take a minute and talk about that hole. The first thing you notice about the hole is its shape. It's perfectly formed. There is smoothness to the sides of the hole. It's like someone came along and took out just enough dirt. Not one speck was removed that did not need to be moved. Into this hole would eventually go the concrete to build up the foundations of the building you are building. But that will come later. For now it’s just a hole. But what determined the amount of dirt to remove and how was it taken out. Where did it go? These questions are of course easy to answer big machines removed the dirt and took it some place we hope to be recycled into something useful.

But what about our spiritual house? You know the one God is building out of our lives for Him and His purpose. Well the good news it's in the same way your start with a hole to build up a house God starts with a hole in our lives. I know what you’re thinking. A hole. God starts with a hole. Yes he does. The first thing God does is throws out all the things in your life that no longer matter and are not needed. He throws out malice and envy and pride and anger and all sorts of addictions. (Colossians 3:8) He gets rid of the things that have been keeping you from him. Like it's been said in pop culture, “There is a God shaped hole in all of us.” We all have this hole and ever since we came to Christ, God has been empting it and filling it with his presence and Spirit. Still in order to do that He must first dig out all the things that are wrong in this place. How does he do the digging is a mystery for the ages. He digs out of us the God shaped hole that we have been trying to fill with the way the world wants us to fill it. Like the building of a house he does not throw out one piece of dirt that can be used later on. He is constantly throwing out the dirt in our lives, the sin if you will, and replacing it with His purpose and presence.

Into this hole will go a lot of things we will talk about in the coming months. For now let us just thank God that he has dug a hole on our lives and removed all of the things that needed to be gotten rid of.

OAFC Weekend March 5-7

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:10:00 -0000

OSLC will be hosting an OAFC weekend March 5-7. Watch for more details.

Who? Me? - a devotion

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:40:00 -0000

When Pastor Schlote approached me about doing an on-line devotion for our web page here at Our Savior, many thoughts went thru my head, the biggest one being “Who? Me?” After all there are better people in the church to write than I. My level of biblical understanding is one that borders on knowledge but is not one worthy of such an important task. After all what I write would not only be read by the congregation but by anyone who came to our webpage and was considering our church. I wondered if asking me might be a mistake. Have you ever felt that way when God asks you to do something? “Not me Lord. I am the wrong color, or nationality or age. They like different things than me. How could I be the right person to witness for you in this manor? There are better people and I can name them for you Lord." As I worked through the request that Pastor Schlote gave me I found myself thinking of Moses. Moses was told by God to go tell Pharaoh to let His people go. Moses was not keen on the idea either. In fact he came up with some pretty good excuses as to why he shouldn't be the one to do such an important task. First Moses questioned (as I did) about his place in the scheme of God's will. “Who am I?' (Exodus 3:11) then he called out and proclaimed “What if they do not believe me (4:1) then he pulled up what in my mind is the best defense of things.” O Lord I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue " (Exodus 4:10) finally he just tells God plainly.” O Lord please send someone else to do it." (Exodus 4:13)

Looking at the words of the great Moses gave me strength. After all Moses could tell God to send someone else and certainly God would understand and do just that. After a week or two I began to feel God working on my heart and to think about it. I re-read the passages that I have just quoted and looked at what God had to say. In each case God was patient with Moses and gave him reasons why it should be him. The Lord did the same to me. He reminded me that I have written in the past and that what I have written has been well received. Finally after a long week of looking and thinking I found myself coming back to the Lord and saying. “I know better people who have better things to say.” It was at that moment that the Lord reminded me of something. The Apostle Peter was once asked to stop preaching the word of God and his response is dear to my heart. “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) The only thing this apostle did was speak as God instructed him through the power of the Holy Spirit as to what he had seen. It was God's mission and he took this fisherman and made him speak. So the truth is correct. I am not the right person to do this work. Not on my own power. Yet and it’s a big YET, With God in my plans and direction I can speak about what I have seen and heard. It is therefore my hope and prayer that these devotions will move you in your walk with God. After all it's His mission.

Come back each month as I share with you more of what God wants me to share.

2009 Shoebox Collection - Thank You

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:40:00 -0000

Thank you for your donations. The relay point at Our Savior transported 1197 boxes to the semis that will carry them to Minnesota for distrubution around the world.

If you missed dropping off your shoebox, you can send it directly to operation Christmas Child. Please see their website at http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC

Our Savior is ...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:22:12 -0000

A member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod which is an international church body and the second largest Lutheran group in the United States. It consists of more than 6000 congregations with mission stations in over 30 countries around the world.

We Are a Word and Sacrament Church
We believe that the entire Bible is the Word of God, given by inspiration through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Bible is the only source of our teachings and the norm for our life and practice. (2 Peter 1:20-21) We also believe that Baptism and Holy Communion, as well as the Word of the Gospel, are the means by which the Spirit of God comes to people to create and nourish faith. (Titus 3:5; Matthew 26:26-28)

We Are a Worshiping Church
We believe that the worship of God is central to all that we do together as a body of believers. It is God's desire that we enter into His presence with a sense of awe and praise in response to His grace and to share intimacy with Him through His Word and Sacrament. Our worship of God is to be genuine, from the heart, and not simply going through empty motions. In worship we fellowship with God, with one another, and are built up and strengthened in our faith. (Hebrews 10:25-26)

We Are a Gospel-Centered Church
Our calling by God in the Joliet Community is to bring the Good News to people that God through His Son, Jesus Christ, reunited the world to Himself. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead in order to pay the penalty for our sins and to release us from the power of sin, death, and Satan. His forgiveness is offered to everyone and is received as a free gift from God! (Romans 5:8; John 3:16)

We Are a Caring Church
We care about the whole person spiritually, emotionally and physically. Through our various care ministries we seek to lift up, enrich, encourage, support, and strengthen the lives of those both within and outside our congregation. (Galatians 6:2)
We Are a Spiritual Growth Church
We offer opportunities for Christian Growth and Education for all ages. To that end we maintain a high quality Pre-School, Kindergarten, Sunday School, and a wide variety of Bible Studies for youth and adults. Our ministry is concerned not simply with equipping people with a number of Bible facts, but to facilitate the spiritual transformation of people lives. Our goal is not to simply make people members of a church, but to make disciples of Christ. (2 Peter 3:18; Matthew 28:18-20)

A Mission-Minded Church
We believe that in God's plan "The church is not the mission, rather it has been established by God to accomplish the mission!" To that end we believe that every Christian should be actively involved in serving the Lord and living for Him in every aspect of their lives. We teach that every believer has been gifted by the Holy Spirit with certain gifts and abilities and that they are to use those gifts in order to bring the love of Christ to people in tangible ways. (1 Peter 4:10-11)

A Purpose Driven Church
Our Savior has worked to include the principles of a purpose drive church into all we do. These principles cover five areas - Worship, Ministry, Fellowship, Evangelism and Discipleship.