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Grace Lutheran Church
Mission Statement
To ANSWER the CALL of our Savior.
To CONNECT with people in their everyday lives.
To ADVANCE the Gospel through God’s Word and fellowship.
To LEND ourselves in service, so that we may become instruments.
that LEAD others to salvation..
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WEEKLY DEVOTION
APRIL 23
Tuesday, APRIL 23, 2024
Pastor Bruce Kischnick, Grace Lutheran Church, New Albany, IN
“The Passover of God”
READING: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-13 – The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the side and tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast……This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into our belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover. On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn – both men and animals – and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”
Today is Passover! Some years Good Friday coincides with Passover; some years it doesn’t. Christianity and Judaism have different dating systems because Christianity uses a solar calendar while Judaism uses a lunar calendar. I’m sure there is some ancient arcane method for determining the dates of Good Friday and Easter. It has something to do with the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, but even after I Googled it I could not determine why they are so different this year. All I know is that the calendar hanging on the wall behind me while I’m writing this says today is Passover, three- and one-half weeks after we celebrated Easter! Go figure!
What is important is that the first Passover (and every one of them thereafter) was full of Jesus. Think about it: the Israelites were to take a year-old male lamb without any blemish, sacrifice it and catch the blood. That blood was to be smeared onto the wood of their doorframes. Then the lamb was to be consumed entirely by the household. When the Destroyer came amongst the dwellings, any home marked with the blood of the lamb would be “passed over” and no harm would come to that family.
Jesus, “The Lamb of God”, was in his prime when taken to the cross. He was without a sinful blemish, perfect before God. Then he was sacrificed on the cross, and by his blood we are “passed over” without condemnation for our sins. He was utterly consumed: physically tortured and bled out; spiritually rejected by the Father on our behalf; and abandoned by nearly every one of his friends and followers. What happened at the Passover was precursor to the sacrifice of God’s Son for the benefit of sinful humanity.
And, of course, the Passover is directly connected to the Lord’s Supper. Instead of pointing back to a sacrifice on the cusp of the Exodus, Holy Communion points back to a sacrifice on the Cross that brings hope and salvation to all who believe on Jesus’ name. When we eat his body and drink his blood, we are remembering and re-enacting his death while receiving its benefits at the present time. Concurrently, we are brought into the very presence of Christ himself in fulfillment of his own words of institution: “This is my body…this is my blood.” Jesus comes to us and joins himself to us In a most marvelous way. The Passover was evidence to Israel that God was with them and leading them out of bondage with a mighty arm. Communion is evidence to Christians that God is with us and leading us out of bondage to sin and death by the “Blood of the Lamb”.
So Happy Passover to you! We don’t celebrate it in the Church, but it is always a day worth remembering because in so many ways it heralded and pointed ahead to God’s deliverance of all people whose hope is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Christians can’t and shouldn’t look at the Passover without seeing Jesus all over it. He is the very Pascal Lamb sacrificed for us and our salvation. It is celebrated once a year by Judaism while the Lord’s Supper is celebrated by Christians often and frequently. And some day you and I will celebrate all of it at the “Wedding Feast of the Lamb in his Kingdom.” Now that’s something to look forward to! Amen.
PRAYER:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1) Please pray for our Junior Confirmands. This Sunday they will be confirmed in the Faith in the late service. Pray for Amelia, Madelyn, Maggie, Breena, Heidi, Knox, Landon, Asa, Kellen, and Lukas as they become communicant members of Grace.
2) ATTENTION IU FANS: we are taking a bus tour to IU Bloomington to take a guided tour of Assembly Hall and a visit to the Fine Arts Building on campus on Wednesday, May 15. The tour costs you $10.00 and you’ll buy your own lunch. Sign up outside the office or call Karen to get your name on the list.
Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/kZ8MbyizpsU
PRINTABLE PDF: WDApril23.PDF
[email protected] — (502) 797-7407
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WEEKLY DEVOTION APRIL 22
Monday, APRIL 22, 2024
Pastor Matthew Woods from Grace Lutheran Church in New Albany, Indiana
“Take Courage In Jesus.”
Dennis Prager, radio host and author of the Rational Bible, has a strong opinion about courage. In His Rational Bible commentary on Exodus he says, “I am convinced courage is the rarest of all good traits. There are far more kind and honest people than there are courageous people. Unfortunately, however, in the battle against evil, all the good traits in the world amount to little when not accompanied by courage.”
I would agree that courage is fundamentally critical if anything good is accomplished. When we visit Acts chapter 4, we discover very different kinds of disciples than the ones we met on Easter morning, namely ones with courage. In Acts 3 Peter and John heal a beggar over 40 who had been crippled from birth. It was his daily routine to go to the Temple to beg. Peter and John heal the beggar who immediately follows the disciples into the Temple. His dancing and glorifying God for his healing gets the attention of those who always knew him as the beggar at the gate. Peter and John are quick to identify Jesus as the source of the miracle. They are also quick to speak of Jesus resurrected from the dead. Speaking so boldly at the Temple gets the disciples arrested and thrown in jail for the night.
Enter chapter 4. Peter, John, and the former crippled man stand before the same men who crucified Jesus. Verse 5-6 reveal the political players by name. “The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.” The list of names are Sadducees, and members of the same family. The Sanhedrin was very nepotistic as it seems. These men not only represented the aristocracy, but also the religious group that did not believe in a resurrection and hated Jesus. Now they hate Jesus’ disciples and especially their message. They had put Jesus to death on the cross and now they were looking for ways to “cancel” or silence Jesus’ disciples.
This is where we want to take special notice. In Acts 4:13 we hear, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” “They took note that these men were with Jesus” reveals why they have the courage that they held—they were with Jesus. Peter and John knew whom they followed and what Jesus had done and will do. The evidence was literally standing next to them dancing about praising God. These were not the same men that were hiding behind locked doors on Easter morning, huddled in fear of these very men that they were so bold to witness to by Acts 4. Peter and John were no longer afraid of what may happen to them and boldly chose to follow Jesus rather than heed any threats or warnings not to preach. In this one case we see elements important to courage. Courage deals with the truth and reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Fear only deals with possible scenarios and uncertainties such as the notion of religious leaders combing the streets looking for the disciples. Courage deals with certainty, truth, and gets noticed and respected even by one’s enemies.
We’ve seen it before in Daniel 3 where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the golden statue. Verses 16-18 displays a bold faith. “16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Courage here says the idol isn’t real and Nebuchadnezzar’s power is limited even if in the moment he seems so strong.
Laster in Daniel 6 that it was Daniel’s turn. Daniel was set up by other leaders who were jealous of Daniel’s position with the king. These leaders convince the king to make a law where all Persian citizens could only worship the king for the next 30 days. They knew Daniel would not abide by the decree. The plan didn’t phase Daniel who went and prayed as he always did. He was hauled before the King and the king, bound by his own law, threw Daniel into the Lion’s Den. An angel shut the mouths of the lions and saved Daniel much to the king’s relief.
In all three examples these men remained bold in their faith. In each case the followers of God were ready to give their lives. Any man willing to sacrifice himself for the cause is hard to stop. Their courage developed from a deep communion with God. Each one was willing only to worship God alone and serve him only.
What we should all come to realize is that the devil has no new tricks. He will threaten God’s people. He will try to silence them in fear. There will always be someone trying to outwit and shut down the church. Courage that is founded in a deep communion with God drives away fear. It doesn’t necessarily avoid fiery furnaces, or Lion’s dens, or even abuse from the religious leaders but it does have guts to say, “Even if the Lord does not save us from you, we want you to know that we will not serve your stupid idols or buckle to your evil ways.”
Courage is the ability to stand your ground refusing to stop even if one is wounded. Courage is inspired by whom we are associated with, namely the resurrected Jesus. Peter and John were no longer afraid of evil men because these same evil men couldn’t stop Jesus from rising. The contrast is stark. On the one hand Jesus is resurrected from the dead. On the other hand, there were a bunch of rich, entitled men who thought they could outsmart God but failed miserably. They failed again with Peter and John. The message of Jesus is what gives courage then and what gives us courage today. The circumstances have not changed.
The most powerful part of courage is how it focuses on purpose. In 2016 the movie Hacksaw Ridge came out. It’s about Private Desmond Doss, a pacifist and a 7th Day Adventist, who saw himself serving God as a medic in WWII. Many called him a coward. He endured many moments that were cruel and unfair. He even faced a potential dismissal from the military itself but finally won the right to serve without even carrying a gun.
His courage was proven at the Battle of Okinawa. In one of the worst fights the Allies were forced into retreat leaving behind many wounded and many casualties. Doss remained behind. Throughout the night under the cover of darkness Private Doss roamed the battlefield searching for survivors amongst the carnage of bodies and craters. He crawled around careful not to get caught by the Japanese who were wandering about finishing off the wounded. When he would find a wounded man, Doss would drag him to the cliff they climbed up and lower them down to safety where medics would get them to a hospital. By the time he was done he saved 75 soldiers.
The line made famous in the movie was what Doss would say to himself as he went searching for more. “Lord, give me one more, just one more.” His courage was motivated by a trust in the Lord. He was in a hostile place willing to give his life surrounded by many who wanted to kill him. This is a picture of courage. Although Doss wasn’t saving men for this purpose, but Doss would go on to earn the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Courage by any account is always admired and it gets noticed by the faithful and the unfaithful alike. Courage makes us respectable and powerful. But the last aspect of courage is its impact. Courage will always bring attention to the person who exercises courage. However, that person will likely use this courage to highlight a message and purpose greater than Himself. Doss’ message was Jesus and the Gospel. Peter and John’s message was Jesus and the Gospel. The three men in the fiery furnace, was the God of Israel as the only true God. For Daniel the message was the God of Israel alone is worthy of worship.
A faith that has courage is an unstoppable faith. This combo will inspire and transform the landscape. May the Lord give us courage to believe and boldness to proclaim it like Peter and John.
Pastor Matthew Woods
John 3:30
PRINTABLE PDF: WDApril22.PDF
Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/i-WFIDiE0tE
[email protected] — (502) 523-9327
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WORSHIP SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, APRIL 27 — 5:00 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 28 — 8:00 & *10:30 AM
SATURDAY, MAY 4 — 5:00 PM
SUNDAY, MAY 5 — *8:00 & 10:30 AM
SATURDAY, MAY 11 — *5:00 PM
SUNDAY, MAY 12 — 8:00 & *10:30 AM
SATURDAY, MAY 18 — *5:00 PM
SUNDAY, MAY 19 — *8:00 & 10:30 AM
SATURDAY, MAY 25 — 5:00 PM
SUNDAY, MAY 26* — 8:00 & *10:30 AM
* = Communion
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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast. — Ephesians 2:8-9
Welcome to the Grace Lutheran Church and School web site. There is a variety of information here regarding our congregation and our beliefs. Lutherans are Bible-believing, sacramental Christians who trace their roots back to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. There have been Lutherans since 1517, particularly in Germany and Scandanavia. Lutherans in America followed large immigrations from Europe in the 1840’s and 1850’s.
The congregation at Grace was founded in 1927 in a small room over a pool hall on State Street in New Albany. The congregation moved to Tenth and Oak, then to Charlestown Road, before building its current facilities on Klerner Lane in 1974. The congregation now numbers just over 1100 souls. We worship at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday evenings. The pastors are Rev. Bruce Kischnick and Rev. Matt Woods.
Grace Lutheran Church
Mission Statement
To ANSWER the CALL of our Savior.
To CONNECT with people in their everyday lives.
To ADVANCE the Gospel through God’s Word and fellowship.
To LEND ourselves in service, so that we may become instruments.
that LEAD others to salvation.
Rev. Bruce Kischnick, Senior Pastor
[email protected] — (502) 797-7407
Rev. Matt Woods, Associate Pastor
[email protected] — (502) 523-9327
Rose Ebling, Part-time Interim Youth Director
[email protected] — (502) 442-1474
Mitzi Lyon, Family Life Director
Helen Bohannon, Music Director
Georgianne Weathers, School Administrator (812) 941-1912
E-Mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
www.gracelutheran.school
Karen.Meredith, Church Secretary