The Body of Christ
Each day I get a glimpse of the Body of Christ in action. St. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, for example, are played out all around us – as are injuries against that body. But yesterday’s meeting was still a wonderfully encouraging eye-opener.
After fifteen months here at Redeemer there were three people taking part in the meeting with whom I had yet to work. The three men and four women came from a variety of walks of life and represented a variety of ages.
The chair of the meeting led us in a wonderful opening prayer and then we had introductions. But in this case, we did not introduce ourselves. Instead, the chair of the meeting introduced each of us to the rest by her recollections and impressions of each of us – and she was exceptionally gracious in her descriptions.
The nearly two-hour meeting flew right by. It was characterized by good, thoughtful discussion, and humor. And the closing prayer was terrific bookend to the time.
Thank you, Lord, for this timely encouragement and reminder. Thank you for the gifts with which you have graced your people.
Veterans' Day, 2019
The generations of my family have been chronologically spaced such that my grandfather was not a part of any branch of the military for World War II. My uncle Jack was a part of the national guard and my father a part of the Army Reserves, post Korean war and during Viet Nam. May father-in-law served in the Army and my brother-in-law, Keith, in the Air Force. For my part, I was in the naval reserves prior to Desert Strom.
It’s my brother, Chris, who is on my mind as we observe Veterans’ Day in 2019. As a part of the army reserves he was deployed three times throughout the war on terror. It took a toll on his growing family and his medical practice, but thankfully God has seen them through it.
Chris had resigned his commission a few years ago and he’s since been working with other physicians to provide further care for our veteran community. But then their son, Peter, entered into Army ROTC in college last year. It has been in that renewed contact that Chris has been moved to rejoin the Army Reserves.
So, today, I want to express how profoundly thankful I am for our veterans, among whom my favorite is Colonel Chris Winter, MD.
To keep in your prayers...
To help enlarge the scope of our prayer life we will be presenting on a weekly basis some suggestions for daily prayer topics. These will be sent out through our weekly Wednesday email to the congregation. On one day we will request prayer for a staff member, on the next a prayer regarding part of our vision statement, beginning with these words “As I belong …”. On the following day we will suggest prayer for one of the missionaries supported by Redeemer. On one of the days we will suggest a prayer that springs from the previous Sunday’s sermon. At the start of each week, we will request a prayer that has to do with our life together in this country. On the next day we will have a branch of ministry that we support through the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. And to conclude the week we will have a portion of our congregation and what they’re experiencing, e.g. a need for healing. If you have something more to suggest for our corporate prayers, please feel free to let us know by phone or email.