Lord of life lutheran
AUGUST 2021
C O M P A S S
B E L O V E D by Kirstin Delp (kirstind@lordoflife.org)
What does it mean to experience something? Defined, experiences can include observing, acquiring knowledge or skill, participating in an event that leaves an impression, an encounter, or even a feeling. Experiences are extremely important in early childhood development, and research shows that adolescent experiences shape youth as they become adults.
BELOVED....................................................................2-3 BIBLE 101: IT's GREEK TO ME! .................................4-5 community life / PHOTO GALLERY..................... 6-7 YOUTH SERVE TO SUPPORT FOOD SHELF.............. 8-9 BEING BELOVED...................................................... 10-11 COntact Us ..................................................................11
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B e l o v e d . “God loves you” is the message children and youth not only hear but experience in our Lord of Life children, youth, and family program. Unchangeable, Unstoppable. No matter what—we repeatedly encourage making the sign of the cross on foreheads as we remember whose we are and who loves us conditionally.
Children, youth, and families will experience, learn, and live out the promise that we are all “Children of God, loved beyond measure, sent to serve the world.” —Lord of Life’s Children, Youth, and Family (CYF) Vision
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What does it feel like to be so loved by God? What is unconditional? Volunteers and staff meet each young person with acceptance and unconditional love. We also work to create a community that is safe and has boundaries, so that all who come are free to learn and explore what it feels like to be loved by God.
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Children and youth learn that as we accept this love, we then learn to be love. We can take what we learn from our experiences at Lord of Life and live out a life of love as we grow more and more secure in the love God has for us.
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I T ’ S
G R E E K
T O
M E !
by Dr. Neil Christians (neilc@lordoflife.org)
In the middle of writing the July Summer Stretch curriculum, I was listening to music on Spotify. The curriculum’s theme is “loving” and the song: What’s Love Got to Do with It? by Tina Turner randomly came on. It got me thinking—what does love have to do with it? This is actually a really good question.
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Eros (pronounced AIR-ohs) is used for romantic love. Eros was the name of the Greek god of love. You may be more familiar with his Roman counterpart, Cupid. When thinking of this kind of love, imagine all of the commercials and displays around Valentine’s Day. While eros does not appear in the New Testament, this kind of love is found in the Old Testament, especially in the book Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon.
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Storge (pronounced STOR-jay) is love among family members. Again, this isn’t found in the New Testament, but this kind of love is apparent in Genesis 22, when it talks about Abraham’s love for his son, Isaac.
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Philia (pronounced FILL-ee-uh) is warm affection or love between friends. In fact, the Greek word for a beloved friend is “philoi.” You can see the connection between these two words, as well as Philadelphia, “the city of brotherly love.”
Bible 101
There are many kinds of love. The love I have for my family is different than the love I have for chocolate; but we only have one word for love. In Greek (the language the New Testament was written in), however, there are distinct words for various kinds of love. Let’s learn about them!
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Finally, we have the word agape (pronounced Uh-GAHpay). This is an unconditional love. It’s the kind of love God has for us. I John chapter 4 verse 10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that (God) loved us.” God loves us unconditionally. We can’t do anything to make God love us any more or do anything to make God love us any less. God loves us just the way we are. This is also the kind of love God says we are to have for one another.
At Lord of Life, we end every worship service with the words, “We are children of God, loved beyond measure, sent to serve the world.” God has this unconditional agape love for us because we are God’s children. And because we experience this great love in our lives—it spills over to those around us. God’s love flows out of us to those we encounter throughout our day. This is what it means to be “sent to serve
the world.” We serve, not for what we might get out of it, but because we are so overcome with God’s love that we want to share this love with others. We want everyone to know they, too, are loved beyond measure. What’s love got to do with it? Everything!
reflection •
How does it feel to know God loves you unconditionally?
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How does knowing God loves you make you want to help others know this kind of love in their lives?
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How might sharing the message of God’s love make a difference in the lives of others?
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What’s one way you can share the message of God’s love with someone today?
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C O M M U N I T Y b a p tisms At Lord of Life, we baptize individuals at any age. For the next baptism class or to schedule a baptism, call the church office (763.420.5015) or visit lordoflife.org/baptism.
June 5, 2021 Jayden Tatro Teagan Tatro
L I F E
Jeffrey Byson and family at the death of his grandmother, Annette Nelson Roger Handberg and family at the death of his wife, Carol Handberg Dan Handberg and family at the death of his mother, Carol Handberg
June 6, 2021 Emersyn Rae Allen
Emma Manley and family at the death of her grandmother, Annette Nelson
June 12, 2021 Sloane Allory Johnson Zoey Anne Rudenick
Rae Morgan and family at the death of her father Dale Nelson and family at the death of his mother, Annette Nelson
June 13, 2021 Evan Michael Asmussen
Brian Schroeder and family at the death of his grandfather, Virgil Steinhoff
June 19, 2021 Theodore Robert Goin Mara Marian Moerke
For details on your wedding, visit lordoflife.org/weddings.
June 20, 2021 Finnley Elizabeth Schroeder Masynn Marie Schroeder
w e ddin g s To schedule a wedding, contact Wedding Supervisor Michelle Tomlinson (michellet@lordoflife.org).
June 26, 2021 Kate Lynn Stegmaier
w e lc ome n e w me mbe rs
June 27, 2021 Stella Louise Seeman
Nancy Looft
b e r e avements Prayers of sympathy for those grieving the loss of a loved one; may they be comforted in the promise of the resurrection.
Julie Biorn and family at the death of her grandfather Debbie Bisbee and family at the death of her father, Don Smith
James Moore Membership at Lord of Life means you make a commitment to be an active participant in congregational life. The expectation of not only new members but all members—is to worship regularly, grow in faith, serve others, and support the church and its programs financially. For more information, contact Katie Gartzke (katieg@lordoflife.org or 763.420.5015) or visit
lordoflife.org/membership. You are invited to become a part of the Lord of Life faith community.
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For more delightful photos of children & youth participating in 2021’s “Belove(d)” summer programming events—visit the CYF Facebook & Instagram pages!
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Y O U T H S E R V E T O S U P P O R T F O O D S H E L F
“So the people who show up to our food shop are folks who live in the neighborhood, from the homeless shelters, folks who live in the Camden north Minneapolis area, and even folks outside of Minneapolis but who are just hungry. What we do is we open up the parking lot and first feed them by giving them a well-grilled hamburger or ribs or chicken making sure that their tummies are full before they go into the food shelf to shop for food for themselves and their families. The advantage of this model is that what we’re doing is less about giving out food and more about building life-giving Christian community. This community is lived out in breaking bread with one another, in-service opportunities, and partners in relationship with other churches, and with that—the opportunity it provides wonderful leaders like the youth at Lord of Life to provide tables and chairs for the sake of convenience and hospitality of all who are coming in need.” —Pastor Jeff Nehrbass, Gethsemane Lutheran (at far right in top photo on this page) 8
Along with contributing to the ministry at Gethsemane by building tables and chairs, this event provided learnings around the bigger picture of food insecurity. These groups talked about the power of food to greatly impact lives physically, mentally, socially, economically, and spiritually. For a glimpse of our learnings for yourself, I encourage you to try out the ‘playspent.org’ simulation. —Elizabeth Pedersen, High School Ministry
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Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. —1 John 4:7-8 I have loved these verses ever since I was a little girl going to summer camp as we would sing them in a song, maybe you know it? It is a simple verse, just 33 words, yet it tells us so much! It tells us that we are beloved by God. God loves us so much, and because of that great love, we are called to share love with others. We hear many times throughout the Bible that we are called to love others or love our neighbors. We hear it again in this verse, we are uniquely created by God to share God’s love with everyone so that everyone can know God’s love. How will you show God’s love to others today? —Kelly Rodger, Elementary Ministry
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Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” —Matthew 22:37-40
In this passage, Jesus tells us that we must love God, our neighbors, and ourselves. Often we gloss over loving ourselves. I like to remind myself of who I am in Christ with this quote by Henri Nouwen: “Spiritual identity means we are not what we do or what people say about us. And we are not what we have. We are the beloved daughters and sons of God.” Oh, to start and end each day remembering that we are beloved daughters and sons of God! —Lynn Leisen, Faith in the Home / Milestones Ministry
LORD OF LIFE LUTHERAN CHURCH (ELCA)
7401 County Road 101, Maple Grove, MN 55311-4313 phone 763.420.5015 fax 763.420.7286 web lordoflife.org Visit lordoflife.org/staff for a full staff listing with photos. Prayer requests may be submitted to prayernetwork@lordoflife.org.
PASTORAL STAFF
WORSHIP / CONNECT
Rev. Dr. Joel Wight Hoogheem, Lead Pastor, joel@lordoflife.org
Visit lordoflife.org/worship for the most up-to-date worship schedule.
Rev. Kaitlyn Forster, kaitlynf@lordoflife.org Rev. Dr. Karen Geisendorfer-Lindgren, Pastor Emeritus, karengl@lordoflife.org Rev. Peter Geisendorfer-Lindgren, Pastor Emeritus, peter@lordoflife.org Rev. Karen Greimel, ksgreimel@lordoflife.org Rev. David McCarty, davem@lordoflife.org
lordoflife.org
office@lordoflife.org
To connect with an adult ministry representative, contact Karen Nelson (karenn@lordoflife.org). To connect with a children, youth, and family representative, contact Chelsey Grandstrand (chelseyg@lordoflife.org). For all ministry events and calendar items with the most current dates, times, details, event locations, and registrations—visit lordoflife.org.
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Compass is a monthly ministry by Lord of Life Lutheran Church (ELCA) printed by Wallace Carlson Printing using ecofriendly inks. Paper is the most sustainable natural resource. After reading, please recycle or share with a friend or neighbor inviting them to Lord of Life’s community of faith. You do not need to be a Lord of Life member to receive Compass. Call 763.420.5015 or email office@lordoflife.org to receive Compass in the mail or electronically. Credits: Unsplash Copyright 2021 Lord of Life Lutheran Church
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Lord of Life Lutheran Church
Loved by God. Sent to Serve.
7401 County Road 101
NonProfit Org. U. S. Postage
PAID
Maple Grove, MN 55311-4313
Twin Cities, MN Permit No. 4665
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED TIME SENSITIVE INFORMATION
Name Address City, ST 00000
S U M M E R S u n d a y s
i n
W O R S H I P
p e r s o n
9am: Piano-led music with traditional liturgy 10:30am: Music led by Lord of Life Worship Band 5:30pm: Outdoor worship in the big tent—remember to bring your own chair!
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O n l i n e 5:30pm: Saturdays 9:30am: Sundays