Central Lutheran Church

Central Family,

We live in an increasingly dangerous world in which there are fewer and fewer places of guaranteed security.  As Christ followers we know that God is our Refuge, our hiding place, a strong tower in the midst of danger.  Hebrews 6:18 talks about fleeing to the Lord for refuge.  The concept of fleeing to the Lord for refuge is birthed in the the cities of refuge that God set up in the land.  Joshua 20 begins: "Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'Say to the people of Israel, 'Appoint the cities of Refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses..." What do we know about the cities of refuge?

• They were strategically located so that there would be easy access to them for anybody seeking refuge.
• The gates of the cities of refuge were never to be locked.
• The city was to be well stocked to provide for any fugitives who came to stay for however long they might need to be there.
• Refuge was only guaranteed as long as they remained in the  city.
• The cities were designated for all the people of Israel, including the stranger.

Are there any similarities between the asylum found in these cities and the refuge of our relationship to the Lord Jesus?  This is the question we will consider at Central's Sunday morning worship gatherings as we read and reflect on Joshua 20:1-6.  In addition to our 3 Sunday morning worship times you are invited to participate in the WHY CHURCH at the YMCA at 9:30 on Sunday morning or THE GATHERING at 6:00pm on Sunday evening in the Sanctuary.

IN ADDITION I hope you will sign up for two very important things in our life together at Central!

Thanks for your partnership in Making Jesus Known and I look forward to worshipping

In Christ,

Paul Johansson

P.S.  This Sunday Andrew Johansson will give a brief report on the children's sponsorship project with our sister congregations in Southern Tanzania.  Be praying that God will raise up hundreds of families in our congregation to help with the education of children in our sister congregations.

Central Family,

What would happen if I were to say to the congregation, "Would all of the ministers present please stand up?"  

This summer we are on a Joshua Journey.  In the fall we will begin a journey through the book of Acts.  Both books teach us how to move beyond ourselves into a new way of following the Lord.  This coming Sunday we will gather around Joshua 14:6-14.  Three times it is said that Caleb "wholeheartedly followed the Lord God."  More than anything else this is the prayer and desire of Central's leadership for the body of Central.  May it be said of us that we "wholeheartedly follow the Lord our God."

On July 12 and 13 your leadership staff went on a retreat to discern the diagnosis from the REVEAL SPIRITUAL LIFE SURVEY.  In addition to identifying the six specific foci that REVEAL showed us we need to pay special attention to we discerned a primary REVEAL VISION for our life together this coming program year.  Subsequently the Church Council met on July 19 and wholeheartedly affirmed the REVEAL VISION.  What is the vision?

1.    Train and equip leaders to do the work of the ministry (see Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 4:7-16)
2.    Discern God's Design for the Body of Central

In the months to come there will be many specific and tangible ways for you to be involved in the process of discerning God's Design for the Body of Central.  But for now I want to begin to have a conversation with you about where we are moving.  Back to the question that I started with; "What would happen if I were to say to the congregation, 'would all of the ministers present please stand up?"  This little exercise goes along way to show where we are at in the journey of making disciples.  

Central Family,

Last Sunday we gathered around Joshua 5:13 - 6:7.  "Joshua saw a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you one of us, or one of our adversaries?" He replied, "Neither; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped, and he said to him, "What do you command your servant my Lord?"

We heard the third word of counsel from Pastor Isaac and our sister congregations; "Hakuna Mtufkufu ila Mungu pekee," which means "there is no one who is Holy except God." How is the Lord King?  One of the primary themes of God's Word is, "the Lord is King."  In Psalm 93 :1 we read, "The Lord is King; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength."  I wonder if the people of Israel ever scratched their heads and wondered about the Lord being King.  Everything around them pointed to earthly kings.  Through out the history of the people of God it seemed that they lived under the thumb of an earthly king, i.e., Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Assyria, Phoenicia or any number of other foreign empires.  Does the Lord really reign?

YES!  Of course the Lord rules and reigns we say rather piously.  But as we look at the world around us we have to ask how does the Lord rule and reign.  Did you note how the Psalmist began Psalm 93?  The Lord is "robed in majesty, he is girded with strength."  The Lord wears majesty and strength like clothing; God's true nature is beneath the surface, often hidden from the human mind and eye. 

When Jesus came to earth, God shed his majestic clothing and revealed the true nature of his kingship.  Jesus lay in a manger as opposed to a palace. Jesus surrounded himself with poor and disenfranchised people as opposed to the rulers and wealthy. Jesus rode a donkey instead of a stallion, Jesus' throne was a cross and he wore a crown of thorns not gold or jewels. No wonder Pontius Pilate asked; "Are you a king?"  He commanded no armies, called down no heavenly powers to defend him but became weak, humble and lowly.  In Christ Jesus we have a vision of the new kingdom.  "The word of the cross is foolishness to the perishing, but to us being saved it is the power of God." (1 Cor 1:18)

Do you want to see power?  Watch Jesus wash feet and touch the untouchables. Watch Jesus forgive the very ones who spat on him and mocked him.  Watch Jesus surrender his life to the Father. Watch Jesus breath his last and three days later miraculously show up again.  As we move forward in our Joshua journey it is good to pause and reflect who our King is and what type of body does the Lord want to create at Central.  It has nothing to do with earthly power but has everything to do with Jesus who stands before each one of us.  How do you respond to him?  This Sunday will you join your brothers and sisters and fall on the ground, worship the Lord and freshly surrender your life?

Central Family,
 
How is the Joshua journey going during these hot and humid days of July?  Are you reading the Joshua devotionals that have been written by Central members? What a blessing to read Erica Cooper's devotion on Tuesday, July 6 and Pete Stanley's devotion today, Wednesday, July 7!  If you don't have a copy of the Joshua devotional you can visit www.clcelkriver.org and read the daily devotions from Joshua.
 
This Sunday we will be gathering around Joshua 5:2-12 a the 8:15, 9:30 and 11:00 worship.  I encourage you to read this important narrative about the first things that happen after the people enter the promised land.  What are the first two things that occur?  What does God do?  What happens to the manna?  These are just some of the questions that the story encourages us to ask. In addition I want to share two of the three words of counsel from Pastor Isaac Chungala, the Pastor who birthed our partnership with Kibena and Matiganjola over ten years ago.  When Pastor Isaac heard that Martha and I were visiting in Njombe he took a bus for over seven hours to have lunch with us prior to our departure.  He presented us with three gifts to personally thank Central for the partnership.  Can you imagine travelling seven hours just to say WELCOME, THANKS AND GOOD BYE?  We can learn much from the hospitality of our brothers and sisters in Tanzania.
 
Pastor Isaac presented us with three colorful table cloths that each had a Swahili wisdom saying.  This Sunday I will be sharing about two of them and on Sunday, July 18 I will share the third word of counsel and advice from Pastor Isaac.  This Sunday we will hear:

"Lililofunguliwa na Mungu binadamu hawezi kulifunga" and
"Udugu mzuri mpendane sio mnyanyasane."

I know that you will be blessed by the counsel and encouragement from Pastor Isaac. You can translate the phrase yourself or you can wait for worship this Sunday.  Joshua 5 is very significant as God changes the way he provides for his people in the promised land.  There are many lessons for us to learn as we begin a new season of life together as a Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ.  What will our life look like as we die to ourselves and lose our life?  What new things will God be doing in our midst?