"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." - Jesus, John 4:10

SATURDAY, March 26
8 am Men's Bible Study

SUNDAY, March 27
8:15 am Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Holy Communion (WOV 5)
10:30 am Fellowship
11 am Sunday School for All Ages
4:30 pm Colossians Bible Study at Bill and Doris Carlsons' (214 Northridge Ct)
6:15 pm Genesis for Gen-Xers
7 pm Senior High Devotions and Games

MONDAY, March 28
6:30 pm Spring Fling
6:30 pm Prayer Meeting (405 N. Chestnut

WEDNESDAY, March 30
3:30 pm KICK
5:30 pm Lenten Meal at Messiah
6:30 pm Lenten Service at Messiah

FRIDAY, April 1
8 pm Junior High Lock-in

SATURDAY, April 2
8 am Men’s Bible Study (Family Room)
6 pm Council Meals at Everharts', Fergusons' and Haxtons'

SUNDAY, April 3
8:15 am Senior Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Service of the Word (ELW 1)
10:30 am Fellowship
11 am Sunday School for all ages
7 pm Senior High Devotions and Games

John 4:5So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
16Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 19The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."
27Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" 28Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he? 30They left the city and were on their way to him.
31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" 34Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."
39Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."

Which of the woman's physical needs caused this encounter? (v 7)

What were her emotional/relational needs? (vv 17-18)

How did Jesus turn the conversation from physical and relational needs to spiritual ones? (v 10)

Do you think it was a comfortable transition for the woman?

Think about a recent conversation you had. How could you have turned it from physical or relational concerns to spiritual?

What does it mean to "worship the Father in Spirit in truth"? (v 23)

"Where" is the place to worship now?

What is the gift of God and Who is the One who offers it? (v 10)

MELC Weekend Reminder, Sat, Mar 19, 2011

"No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born from above."
- Jesus, John 3:5

Please note that there will be no Sunday School for adults or children tomorrow (March 20). All classes will resume on March 27.









SUNDAY, March 20
8:15 am Senior Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Service of the Word (ELW1)
10:30 am Fellowship

MONDAY, March 21
10 am Staff Meeting
1:30 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry (Sw. Country Inn)
6:30 pm Prayer Meeting (405 N. Chestnut)
7 pm Council
9 pm BYMT

TUESDAY, March 22
10 am [Area 3 Pastor and PMA Study]

WEDNESDAY, March 23
10 am Martha Circle at Eleanor Anderson's
5:30 pm Lenten Meal at Bethany
6:30 pm Lenten Worship at Bethany
7:30 pm Mary-Ruth Circle at Mary Jo Roch's
(Hannah Circle will meet next Wednesday, March 30)

SATURDAY, March 26
8 am Men’s Bible Study (Family Room)

SUNDAY, March 27
8:15 am Senior Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Holy Communion (ELW1)
10:30 am Fellowship
11 am Sunday School for all ages
6:15 pm Genesis for GenXers
7 pm Sr. High Devo/Games (Messiah)

Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church
Lindsborg, KS

Weekend Reminder, March 12, 2011

Don't forget to Spring Ahead!
(when you go to bed tonight, set your clock forward one hour. 10 pm becomes 11 pm; 11 pm becomes midnight; midnight becomes 1 am; etc)

SUNDAY, March 13
8:15 am Senior Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Holy Communion (ELW 1)
10:30 am Fellowship
11 am Sunday School for all ages
5 pm Philippians Bible Study at Sjogrens' 210 West Columbus
6:15 pm Genesis for GenXers at Apels
7 pm Senior High Devotions and Games

MONDAY, March 14
10 am Staff Meeting
1 pm Staff Youth Meeting at Messiah
6 pm Executive Council
6:30 pm Prayer Meeting (405 N. Chestnut)
9 pm BYMT

TUESDAY, March 15
Newsletter Deadline
10 am [Area 3 Pastor and PMA Study]
THURSDAY, March 17
6:30 pm Children&Youth Ministries TaskForce

WEDNESDAY, March 16
3:30 pm KICK at Messiah
5:30 pm Family Meal at Messiah
6:30 pm Lenten Worship at Messiah

SATURDAY, March 19
8 am Men’s Bible Study (Family Room)
6 pm Council Dinner at Haxtons' (744 N. First)

SUNDAY, March 20
8:15 am Senior Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Holy Communion
10:30 am Fellowship
11 am Sunday School for all ages
7 pm Sr. High Devo/Games (Messiah)

MESSIAH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
LINDSBORG, KS

Hermeneutics of Suspicion

"Hermeneutics of Suspicion
'Before we seek to score points against the genetic fallacies and ad hominem arguments of modern atheists, before we 'turn suspicion against the suspicious,' perhaps we ought to adopt self-suspicion 'as the hermeneutics of Lent.' We ought to consider the possibility that in our own religion, 'what presents itself as an altruistic virtue may be, in terms of motive and function, only an egoistic vice dressed up in its Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes.' (Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin, referencing Westphal, 'Taking Suspicion Seriously' - Eerdmans, 1995, p. 111)

In the summer of 2009, Rob Bell hosted Poets, Prophets, Preachers, a conference on reclaiming the art of the sermon. One presenter at the event, Peter Rollins, convenes an 'iconic' collective that offers experiments in transformance art, sometimes also called theodramatic events. The collective, called Ikon, defies easy or simple definition. However, it is fair to say that what they are up to, at least in part, is to offer a radical, postmodern form of worship for those on the margins of faith and the church. To learn more about Ikon, visit http://www.ikon.org.uk or http://faithasawayoflife.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/atheism-for-lent-practicing-music-video-divina.html.

For our purposes, we consider one exercise Ikon engages in that can inform our Lenten worship preparations. They call it 'Atheism for Lent.' Each year, they read a book influenced by, or about, the prominent hermeneuts of suspicion: Feuerbach, Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche. This practice, though radical, resonates with Cornelius Plantinga's idea in Not the Way It's Supposed to Be, quoted above, and may be a fruitful approach to Lent in 2011.

Why? Because our own religion can easily become an egoistic vice dressed up in Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes, and our own people, and especially our neighbors, know this. Pastors and church leaders are not unfamiliar with the critique that the church is full of hypocrites who act one way on Sunday and another way the rest of the week. And truthfully, even the leaders of the churches - are guilty of this. So Lent, the season of repentance, begins with a reminder of our profound sin and mortality (Ash Wednesday), and walks us all the way to a cross which, if we are honest, we recognize as the place where we crucified the Son of God. It is not at all out of place, during this time, to listen to those suspicious of religion, and suspicious of the church, precisely in order to encourage and develop our own self-suspicion.

There are other ways to exercise self-suspicion during Lent. One is to recommit to the practice of confession. Encourage regular corporate confession. Encourage regular corporate confession in the assembly, but also exercise the rite of individual confession and forgiveness. Being with yourself and your leadership. Do not encourage the members of the congregation to schedule time for individual confession and forgiveness if you have not first confessed yourself. Remember also to take small steps in this, because individual confession and forgiveness is a rite that has fallen into disuse in most of our churches, and so can be intimidating in even small doses. Teach it and discuss it in small groups and with key leaders. Ask a neighboring pastor to hear your confession if you are the sole pastor in a congregation. Find a monastic community or religious order that practices individual confession and find out whether opportunity is available to learn about and make use of the confessional. Seek out a neighboring pastor also if you feel uncomfortable confessing to your own pastor. And remember that all the baptized are welcome to hear confession and speak words of forgiveness."

- from Sundays and Seasons, Augsburg Fortress, 2010.

Mary's Article

MESSAGE FROM MARY…
This is taken from an article in the March issue of Lutheran Women Today. The article, Lenten Disciple─ing was written by Julie A. Kanarr who serves as co-pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Port Angeles, Washington. Her suggestions for Lent disciplines seemed to put a new spin on an old practice.

May your Lent be blessed, ME

SERVING, NOT SUFFERING
Classic Lenten disciplines such as fasting, prayer, and almsgiving focus on identifying with Christ’s suffering on the cross through personal actions of devotion or deprivation. The ancient practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays is rooted in this idea. Given this, one might ask whether such acts as giving up chocolate trivializes the practice of mirroring Christ’s suffering. If you are planning to give something up for Lent, reflect on your motivation and the personal meaning for your choice. Will this be too easy for you? Will it be too difficult? Is this a form of repentance—of turning toward God? Are you trying to let go of a bad habit so that you might become a better steward of the gifts God has entrusted to you? Is it only a trivial deprivation of pleasure or is this a personally meaningful sacrifice or change in your life?

A carefully chosen Lenten discipline leads us to focus on our call to love God and serve our neighbors. Honest reflection can help us see how some disciplines can be more about serving than suffering. For instance, instead of giving up chocolate to identify with Christ’s sufferings through personal deprivation, you might give up desserts so that you can donate what you would have otherwise spent on treats to help those who are hungry, whether through the ELCA World Hunger Appeal or your local food bank.

Consider Lenten disciplines that combine saying no to one thing (such as watching television or going to the movies) in order to say yes to something else (such as Bible study, prayer, volunteering, building relationships with family). And ask yourself what that "yes" means for you.

Changing your leisure habits? How will you use your newfound time to serve God and neighbor? Changing your eating habits? How does this change your awareness of how God provides you with daily bread and the relationship between the food on your plate and God’s command to be caretakers of the land, ocean, and air, and to care for our hungry neighbors? Changing your spending habits? How does that deepen your understanding and practice of stewardship?

REFLECT AND WRITE
Let your Lenten discipline prompt questions for your ongoing reflection. To ask questions of meaning and purpose is a classic Lutheran practice, growing out of the “what does this mean” question repeatedly asked throughout Luther’s Small Catechism. You may wish to keep a personal Lenten journal to record your thoughts, questions, prayers, struggles, and reflections to be fancy. It doesn’t even need to consist of complete paragraphs. Don’t worry about your writing ability. Some might find it easier to draw or write down words or phrases instead of complete sentences.
As Lent draws to a close, spend time reflecting on questions such as: What have I discovered? What has this meant for me? How have I grown in my appreciation of God’s grace? How has this discipline of Lent engaged me in repentance, in prayer, in living out my faith, in serving my neighbor? And finally, where might this lead me in keeping Lent next year?

Lenten disciplines come to us with an invitation, but not a demand. Remember that God won’t love you more if you practice a Lenten discipline or love you less if you don’t. As we enter into the season of Lent, let us do so both with discipline and freedom, purpose and flexibility. Lent invites us to reflect deeply upon the gift of God’s grace.

Lent is a time for renewal, a time to focus on the gift of Christ’s death and resurrection, and to grow in our understanding of living as God’s beloved children.

Lenten Disciplines

Some ideas from last night about "breaking up your fallow ground."

Lenten Disciplines

1. Confession

a. Read Charles Finney, Breaking Up the Fallow Ground, http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/article_pdf.php?aid=579 and use it as a guide to self-examination (Read and reflect on this sermon with some caution. It is not the specific confession of our sins that saves us, but instead Jesus who does so. Also Finney uses the word "religion" in a 19th century way.)
b. Practice the "Hermeneutics of Suspicion" on yourself. (see the MELC blog)

c. Use the 10 Commandments as a template for self-examination. See Small Catechism on Confession, http://www.bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php#confession

d. Set up a time with pastor Dean for private confession and/or wait for April when he will be in the sanctuary during designated times for confession.

2. The Means of Grace

a. Make it a point to worship in community every Sunday and Wednesday in Lent.

b. Read the NT in 40 days (about 30 minutes/day) http://www.faceofgrace.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=229&Itemid=70

c. Study the verses of Handel's Messiah in context. http://www.messiahcd.com/Information/about_The_Messiah/The_Scriptures/the_scriptures.html

d. Read Matthew 26-27 several times. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026-27&version=MSG;NIV;ESV;AMP

e. Join a Bible study.

3. Love Others
a. Pray every day during Lent for a non-believing friend or relative.

b. Pray for and learn about an unreached people group every day in Lent. http://www.joshuaproject.net/unreached.php

c. Mary Bridges' article in the Monitor (March 2011) (see another post)

"This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" - Matthew 17:5

Listen to the Son with us this weekend.

Adult Forum resumes a series of three sessions on Dietrich Bonhoeffer this Sunday at 11 am.

SATURDAY, March 5
8am Men's Bible Study

SUNDAY, March 6
8:15 am Senior Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Service of the Word (ELW 5)
10:30 am Fellowship
11 am Sunday School for all ages
5 pm Global Mission Committee
7 pm Senior High Devotions and Games

MONDAY, March 7
1:30 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry at Swedish Country Inn
6 pm Executive Council
6:30 pm Prayer Meeting - 405 N. Chestnut

TUESDAY, March 8
5 pm Pancakes for Fat Tuesday (fundraiser for Children's Center)
7 pm Social Ministries Committee

WEDNESDAY, March 9
11:30 am SALT Lunch
3:30 pm KICK at Messiah
5:30 pm Family Meal at Messiah
6:30 pm Ash Wednesday Worship

SATURDAY, March 12
SPRING AHEAD TONIGHT!
8 am Men’s Bible Study (Family Room)
8:30 am Bethany House of Studies/Messiah

SUNDAY, March 13
8:15 am Senior Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Holy Communion (ELW 1)
10:30 am Fellowship
11 am Sunday School for all ages
6:15 pm Genesis for GenXers
7 pm Senior High Devotions and Games

Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Churche
Lindsborg, KS

Matthew 17¹Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. ²And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. ³Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁵While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." ⁸And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. ⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

Why do you think Jesus only took Peter, James and John up the mount of Transfiguration?

What does the Transfiguration signify? What difference does it make that Jesus is depicted here as a (or perhaps "the") source of light?

What does it mean to you personally that Jesus is certified by Moses and Elijah?

How might you listen to Jesus more than you already? Where do you go and what do you do to listen to Him? Is there a difference between "hearing" Him and "listening to" Him?

Do you fear Jesus? Why or why not? Is it a comfort to you that Jesus might want to touch you and tell you not to be afraid?

Why do you think Jesus did not want the three disciples to speak of the Transfiguration until after the Resurrection?