Thoughts for Sunday
Right from the start, humans wondered, hoped, and experimented with what it would be like to be free of God’s Word. It’s so confining and limiting. What if there was a more ‘free’ way of living. Why can’t we just live by our own choices, follow our desires, and find out good and evil on our own? Isn’t there another, better, word by which to live? That’s exactly what happened. In the garden the fruit was eaten, and now the knowledge of evil is unleashed. We can’t control it. Instead, this knowledge is unleashed upon us; it frightens us, causes worry, and troubles all of human existence. What is God to do with such wayward human creatures?
—Pastor Lars Olson
The Prophetic Voice of Christ for a Complacent Church and its American Culture
In our gospel text for this weekend, Jesus says to the great multitudes who’ve been following him: “If any one comes to me and does not hate [one’s] own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even [one’s] own life … cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26; RSV). Really? “Hate”? In Matthew’s account, some of this “bite” is softened with Jesus saying: “[Those] who love father or mother more than me [are] not worthy of me …” (cf. Matthew 10:37; RSV). However, the question still remains: “Why ‘in the world’ would Jesus use such extreme language?! What is he trying to get at here?”
Some questions to be asking for this Sunday’s Gospel Reading from Luke 14:25-35 …
1. Why were the “great multitudes” (Luke 14:25) following Jesus?
2. How might this be contrasted with the earlier verse in Luke’s gospel when we read: “When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be received up [i.e. crucified], he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51; RSV. See also 9:52-62)?
3. There is plenty of “tough news” in this passage; but where is the “good news”?
A Prayer as we prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday: “Teach us anew this week, O Lord, that the deepest mystery of life is that we will only be fully satisfied when we give it all away – our whole lives – as you gave your life upon the cross for us – that we might have life and salvation, always … in you.” Amen.
– Pastor John Christopherson
Healthy Cooking Classes with Sanaa
Come, watch and learn about cooking healthy meals in this two-week cooking series with Sanaa Abourezk, owner of Sanaa’s Gourmet Restaurant. Sanaa shares about healthy eating and cooking while on a budget.
Sanaa is a gourmet chef, author, nutritionist and blogger who is passionate about the art of cooking and teaching great recipes. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering and a Master's degree in Nutrition. Her training includes cooking school in Florence, Italy, and the famous Cordon Bleu Baking School in Paris, France. She has worked as a nutrition adviser for the South Dakota Department of Health, where she advised clients on nutrition, cooking, and healthy eating. A talented creator of healthy and delicious recipes, she has published three cookbooks. Sanaa has appeared and competed on the Food Networks “Beat Bobby Flay” and has been featured in the “Real Food Traveler.”
“I am a person who believes in the role of good healthy eating for our body, soul and our quality of life. I would love for people to go back to the kitchen and start using simple, inexpensive ingredients and start to cook and eat healthy and having pleasure doing it.”
– Sanaa
ABOUT THE CLASSES
Tuesday, Sept. 13, 6-7 p.m. “How on earth do I even start eating & cooking healthy?”
Sanaa will explain eating on a budget, balancing nutrition, how to prepare a proper food pantry and how to choose the healthiest ingredients for your dishes. She will prepare a few fresh and easy recipes for everyone to sample, and answer questions.
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 6-7 p.m. “How do I put all that nutrition information together to make a fabulous meal?”
Sanaa will prepare some of her fabulous healthy gourmet dishes for sampling and teach us how to make those not-so-healthy recipes a little healthier. You may bring some favorite recipes and Sanaa will show you how to make simple changes to make them healthier. She will cover cooking gourmet food on a budget and cooking for one.
Register today! The classes are free but you must register to attend. Please stop by the church Information Desk, call 605-336-3734, or register here. Register early, class size is limited.
Thoughts for Sunday
In Luke 12:49-56, Jesus challenges our thinking with three provocative statements summed up by the words "fire," "baptism" and "division." If these were the only words of Jesus we had, you'd think he was talking about an American political campaign! We're forced to interpret them in light of other things he said. Here is my take: "Fire" can destroy, warm, light the way or fuel great things. Maybe Jesus means all of that and more. He wasn't killed for being bland but clearly challenged as much as comforted. Martin Luther caught this when he divined how the Word of God works in our hearts – sometimes as Law (what we should do or shouldn't and didn't) and Gospel (good news, forgiveness, promise). That would explain why the "fire of God's truth" has a way of stirring things up, saving, inspiring, confronting, even destroying – no wonder Jesus causes divisions. That's not his point, but in a sinful world, that's what will sometimes happen. His "baptism" refers to his coming immersion in the human condition – his death on the cross and resurrection. Interesting that he speaks of "stress" in anticipating it.
– Pastor Peter Strommen
August Communion Video
Pastor John Christopherson interviews Pastor Natanael Lizarazo and Rev. Ruben Ngozo, Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon.