St. Luke Lutheran Church

The Nature of our Godly Life in Christ- Romans 14:13-23

This Sunday’s section of Romans contains several powerful statements.  In verse 13 Paul tells us to “Stop passing judgement on one another.” In verse 14 Paul states, “nothing is unclean in itself.”  In verse 20 Paul reminds us that our actions can “Destroy the work of God.”  And verse 23 ends with this amazing statement, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.”  Each of those statements would require at least one sermon each to unpack the depth of their meaning for our lives.  However, the verse upon which I want us to focus is verse 17, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Paul’s mention of “eating and drinking” are referencing the issue we mentioned earlier, eating meat offered to idols.  In the first part of verse 17 Paul asserts that our outward observances don’t benefit the kingdom of God.  Practicing outward forms of holiness like abstaining from certain foods or observing outward traditions do not advance the kingdom of God.  In fact, as attested to by verse 20, our attempts to be righteous can contradict the work of God’s kingdom.

The second portion of verse 17 explains why, “The kingdom of God is a matter of …righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  When we rely on outward acts of piety like abstaining from certain foods, observing traditions of man, or trusting in ceremonies and rites, we betray our trust in Jesus and our dependence on the Holy Spirit.  In verse 17 Paul tells us that the “work” of the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  By righteousness Paul is referencing our outward obedience to the Word of God.  Our actions will not make us “Righteous” in the sense of being blameless and with out sin.  Our actions make us righteous in the sense of living a life that follows Jesus.  Peace is more than the absence of conflict, it is the absence of division.  Through Christ we have been united with God the Father and, as important, we have been born again into the community of faith. Notice that joy is on Paul’s list of godly things.  We have every reason to be filled with joy.  Jesus gave His life for each of us.  He chose each of us to be participants in God’s plan of deliverance.  There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  We can rejoice, celebrate.

The point is, we can be sour faced people who are obsessed with trying to create holiness by our outward actions or we can embrace God’s boundless love and perfect mercy and live a life of peace and joy.

Monday, October 16 // 11:30A-1:30P // St. Luke Ann Arbor (West Wing)
55 Alive is the senior ministry for St Luke and area churches. Though mainly comprised of folks 55 and older, anyone is welcome! October is Pastor Appreciation Month and we have the honor of welcoming Michigan District President Rev. David Davis for a presentation "Engaging Ministry in Our Day" along with about a dozen other pastors as our guests. As a nod to the Reformation, this lunch is German-themed, centered around Sauerbraten and stuffed peppers. The remaining German dishes are potluck style—please bring a German dish to share and let Arthur know you’re coming at .

Meal Team Needed for First Fridays!

Grab your small group, your work colleagues, your ragtag bunch of revolutionaries and sign up for this once-a-month commitment. We’ve seen food insecurity rise over the past three years to become one of our area’s most pressing needs.

Where Hope Clinic served 2 meals/week in 2018, we now serve 6 meals/week.
Where we used to serve about 40 meals per night, we now serve around 150.

This is an intense upward trend in food need.  But time and time again we’ve seen people rise up to meet these needs.

What to expect: you’ll serve first Fridays from about 3/3:30-6pm. (You can split this into two shifts, a cooking team and a serving team if this makes more sense for your group.) We provide the food and tools, and we’ll train you!

Your team will need to nominate a Captain*—they’ll be the main contact person with Hope, and your team assumes the responsibility of ensuring a full complement of folks to cook and serve. It doesn’t have to be the same group of people every time! This should be considered a long-term commitment; our meal teams are integral to Hope’s mission and we rely heavily on folks showing up to help. People love serving on meal teams; it is rare that an opening becomes available! “Choose wisely”—drum up a motley crew and volunteer!

Contact Megg Geiger for more information.
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MOPS
Ann Arbor MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meets at ULC twice a month for fellowship and to support each other in raising our little ones. Many St. Luke moms have been members over the years! To keep costs down for our moms, we are selling boxes of Paperpie greeting cards for our fall fundraiser. Each themed box is $32 (tax included) for 30 cards (50 cards in the holiday box). Please follow this link to order online through October 31st: https://form.jotform.com/232613640713146
Contact Pam Kamrath at to arrange delivery/pickup of your greeting cards, or with any questions.  Thank you for supporting our ministry!

Office Administrative Assistant Sought
We are seeking an office administrative assistant to work part-time
from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The position will be responsible for answering phones, interacting with the public as they visit the church during the week, and assisting in the clerical duties associated with our communications. Please contact Susan Jones at if you are interested in learning more about the position. Please pass along the information to someone you know who might be a good fit.

Church Extension Fund is Hiring!
Please consider this job for yourself or pass it along to someone you know that wants to use their experience and skills to help build God's Kingdom!Mortgage Loan Processor
Church Extension Fund is a ministry-based financial institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with total loans outstanding exceeding $160 Million. CEF seeks qualified candidates for the position of Loan Processor. This position handles all facets of loan processing, post-closing loan functions and monitoring of open loan accounts. The position reports to and assists the CEF Assistant VP-Loan Manager. Opportunities for advancement exist.

A complete job description is available on CEF’s website: mi-cef.org/news. Applicants should mail or email a cover letter with resume and any salary requirements no later than October 31, 2023 to: Ms. Kris Nowak – Executive Assistant, Church Extension Fund, 3773 Geddes Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105,