St. Luke Lutheran Church

This Sunday, we will consider the fourth petition of the Lord’s prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.”  In the petition, we entrust our physical needs to our loving heavenly Father, who knows us well. With the Fourth Petition, we express our thankful trust that God will give us whatever we need, whenever we need it. But has God really given us all that we need? You’ve been praying for a job with better pay and benefits, but nothing has come along. You asked for a Mercedes Benz but got a Mitsubishi instead. You also asked to be spared the flu bug, but it still put you flat on your back for a couple of days. Is the Fourth Petition a request that God does not intend to answer all the time? It may seem that way, but remember, Jesus taught us to ask for our daily “bread” and not our daily “cake.” Nowhere has God promised to provide us with the luxuries of life, and much of what we ask for are luxuries. Instead, the Apostle Paul said that if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that (1 Timothy 6). And so, with the Fourth Petition, we pray for God to supply our needs, not our greed.

The bottom line is that God will take care of you whether or not there is bread around. Didn’t he demonstrate that in the life of Jesus? When Jesus went without food for 40 days in the wilderness shortly after his baptism, Satan came to him and suggested that he turn stone into bread to feed himself. Jesus refused however, not because the suggestion had come from Satan, but because Satan was trying to get Jesus to start relying on himself instead of his heavenly Father. But for 40 days, his heavenly Father had successfully sustained Jesus without bread; why would he stop now? That’s why Jesus replied: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). When a friend invites you over for dinner do you pack a few sandwiches in case your host fails to feed you adequately? Of course not! You know that your friend will feed you something good and that there will be plenty of it! If we can entrust ourselves to our friends who are weak and frail human beings, we certainly can trust that our heavenly Father will give us what we need since he has promised to do so.

Faithful Lord, abide with me
Savior, lead; I follow Thee

Lord, now as the pastor we called prays, meditates, ponders on how You are leading him may Your Word speak to his heart. Holy Spirit move his spirit to come into harmony with Your counsel. Jesus You are the Lord of his life, may his desire be one with Yours. May he and his wife seek only to please You and follow the path You lay out before them.

Lord, as we lay Your St. Luke church at Your feet may our prayers, our petitions find favor in Your sight. Help us to lay aside our demands and focus only on Your heart. Thank You for ministering to the needs of the Call Committee as they have toiled to seek the man You would want us to call. May they find rest in You Jesus as they can cease from this work. Holy Spirit Your counsel has led them to this Pastor and we praise You for Your wise counsel and that each one could listen to Your leading.

We ask Father God that You shore up our staff and leadership. It has been many months of extra work …. we pray You would lighten their loads helping them to take Your yoke upon them that they will be sustained by Your easy light burden. May the peace that passes understanding settle in their hearts calming any disturbance that might threaten the stillness.
As You hear our prayer, oh Lord, we thank You for listening to our petitions.
May we completely surrender, as Jesus did, to ‘Thy will be done’
Amen

Through the Bible Study: An abbreviated version of the Adult Bible study will take place on Sunday mornings from 9:45 to 10:10 in the West Wing.  We will continue our study of the Bible texts from the week’s assigned Bible readings. Please join us each Sunday as we study God’s Word.

For those of you who garden, please consider planting a little extra vegetables or flowers now, to share with our Gardens for Growth Harvest weekends that start the first Sunday in August. Many St. Luke members enjoy conversing at the G4G tables while picking up some fresh produce and/or cut flowers each week.

Craft Day - Baby Card Photo 

To help us plan for the event, please sign up here. However, please feel free to attend even if you didn’t have a chance to sign up.

Join us this summer for LIFT (Living in Faith Together).  We will meet for 4 intergenerational experiences as we explore the Psalms.  Research shows students who develop meaningful intergenerational relationships have a higher likelihood of sticking with their faith after high school.  We all have a part to play in passing the faith on to the next generation.

LIFT is designed to foster intergenerational community by bringing generations together around tables for four activities: sharing a potluck dinner (Breaking Bread Together), enjoying fellowship (Playing Together), worshipping (Praying Together), and studying the Bible (Studying God’s Word Together).  This summer, we’ll meet for 4 weeks, from 6PM-7:30PM in the West Wing.  We need all ages and generations to make these experiences a success.  Please mark your calendars for the following dates and plan on joining us!

• Week 1 – Wed. July 17: Give Praise - Psalm 150
• Week 2 – Wed. July 24: Look to God - Psalm 121
•  Week 3 – Wed. July 31: God is Always Present - Psalm 139
•  Week 4 – Wed. Aug. 7: How Majestic is God’s Name - Psalm 8