'When the steward tasted
the water that had become wine, the steward called the bridegroom and said to
him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the
guests have become drunk. But you have kept the best wine until
now.' St John 2.9-10
Jesus transformed people who
came into contact with him. Water became wine by his gracious will.
The ordinary became extraordinary. Lives were changed. Communities
were blessed.
The church's mission today
carries that same life-changing, life-transforming power of God to people and
institutions. It's worth remembering--and remembering well--that the
Christian congregation is known in the New Testament as 'the body of
Christ'.
As long as we stay faithful
to the mission and vision God gives us, it will always be true of the Christian
congregation, "The best is yet to come!" Water into wine
indeed!!
THIS COMING SUNDAY
LAUNCHES 'CONSECRATED STEWARDS':
On Jan. 21, Redeemer begins the 11 week Consecrated Stewards
program. The first four weeks is called the Preparation Phase. This
is a time of prayer, preparation, and publicity for the program phase.
Ryan McIvor, our Guest Leader from our NW District Office, will be here to meet
with the Redeemer's Leadership Team and begin the process that will culminate in
Consecration Sunday, March 18.
The success of the program relies on the active
participation of all the members of Redeemer. Begin praying now that God,
the great Giver, will give his blessing on our work, begun, carried out, and
ended in Jesus' name.
MY SUNDAY ADULT
CLASS will be viewing a new DVD on the Dead Sea Scrolls this coming Sunday.
It's 60 minutes, and will likely span 2 Sundays. Recently, a major
exhibition of some of the ancient scrolls took place in Seattle. We'll be
viewing this special DVD in relation to our understanding of Jesus, his life and
ministry, and the surrounding historical, political, and cultural context
of 1st century Israel. Join us at 8:45am Sunday!!
STEPHEN MINISTRY
TRAINING: Etta Mae Hitchcock, certified Stephen Ministry
Leader, is training a class of Redeemer people in this servant ministry.
When finished, Redeemer will begin renewing this special, confidential,
one-on-one ministry.
FOOD BARREL, NEWSPAPER
DROP: Continue to 'feed' these two humble, but important,
containers. Food goes to Marion Polk Food Share for hungry people in our
region; newspapers are recycled and the money goes to Lutheran World
Hunger.
FINISHING THE 2ND
FLOOR: A small but active group of people from Redeemer,
under the leadership of Rex Porter, are engaged in finding ways (and grant
money) to finish our 2nd floor. This is a wonderful, unused space that can
help us live out our Vision Statement in the community. If you have ideas
for how this space can be used, talk to Paul Schutz or Pastor Joel or Al
Binder.
'Just as the body is one
and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one
body, so it is with Christ.' 1 Corinthians
12.12
