St. Luke Lutheran Church

This Sunday we will complete our study of the book of Romans with the portion of Romans 16 that addresses divisions in the church.  To be more precise, we will focus on Paul’s warning about divisive people.  Paul wrote, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.  For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.”  Notice that Paul says that the people that he was most concerned about were those who cause division because they were guided by their own agendas; literally “such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.”  We all can probably think of several examples of people who let a personal agenda created conflict within the church.  I am reminded of all the people that have attempted to draw the church into their political wars.  While there may be compelling reasons for the church supporting one candidate or another, one cause or another, Christ did not call the church to be about politics.  Politics is a foreign agenda often injected into the church.

Don’t get me wrong, not all agendas are bad.  If the agenda is shaped by the Word of God and reflects God’s purpose, the agenda can be very helpful.  For example, I greet the congregation on Sunday mornings as “friends in Christ” or “Brothers and Sisters in Christ.”  My agenda is to remind you that I am not above you, I am beside you.  We labor for Christ as a community.

Agendas can be divisive or toxic when they are focused on my wants and my needs.  Often we are unaware when this in happening.  These hidden agendas are more concerning to me.  By their very nature hidden agendas are more difficult to identify.  As a result, hidden agendas can lead us to make assumptions that we take as true.  Our assumptions about the church, about our faith, about our relationship with Jesus can often lead to divisions and conflict.  We all can have hidden agendas.  The most effective way to render them powerless is to recognize them as they begin to generate feelings of anger, anxiety, or fear.  The Spirit does not work through such emotions.  When you begin to feel them, take time for self-reflection.  Ask the following:

What is the object of my fear, anxiety, or anger?

Why do I have such powerful feelings about this issue?

What does God’s Word say about the object of my fear, anxiety, of anger?

Better Together

As Americans we idolize independence.  In America we have the Declaration of Independence.  We like songs like “I’ve Got to Be Me,” “I’ll do it my way,” I don't need anybody to tell me what it’s all about.  We honor the Lone Ranger.  We love the Lone Ranger.  Of course, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto but we like the idea of being totally independent.  We have bought into a myth that says that the key to happiness is independence.  If I have relational independence, financial independence, independence in every other area of my life, if I don’t let anybody get too close to me but I'm totally self-sufficient, then I will be happy.  And yet every year the suicide rate tends to rise.  Obviously, that’s not true.  God says that the key to happiness is not independence but inter-dependence.  We need each other.  We belong to each other.  We need community in our lives.  God wired you to go through life not as a solitary individual but in community. In this sermon series we will talk about what it means for you and me to be in community with each other and Jesus.

Update on the Praise Service Music
St. Luke has not only been blessed with a robust worship band for most of its history, we have also come to expect a full band.  Unfortunately, the number of worship team members have declined over the past few years.  We were thankful that, in the tumult of recent changes, Amy brought a robust band from Brighton and from Concordia University.  While the music was amazing, it hid our underlying need to expand  our music program.  We have asked Dan Stauffer to assist us with this expansion process.  Dan, with help from Amy and the Michigan District’s Worship Arts facilitator, Peter Prochnow, will develop musicians and singers from within our membership, the student body at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, and the general community around us.  Those who are familiar with sports know that development processes take time. We will need to expect some bumps in the process.

We need your help.  First, please pray for Dan as he brings his skills and knowledge while learning the rhythm of worship here at St. Luke.  Please also pray for all the current worship arts team members, they are giving 110%. I am so thankful for their dedication to our worship here at St. Luke.  They have been part of the core of the worship team for many years. The transition has been difficult for them.  Second, volunteer to help.  Our urgent need is for musicians, particularly those who play percussion, strings, and keyboard.  However, we also need people to advance the slides in the service, manage the soundboard, and produce the livestream.  No experience is needed; we will provide the training. Third, be patient and encouraging.  Grumbling prevented most of the Israelites from entering God’s promised land. Grumbling is just as devastating to our community worship gatherings.  God is present, regardless of how many instruments strike a note in the service.  God renewed Elijah’s spirit with a whisper.   God is still active among us as we gather in worship and praise.

MOST Ministries - Quarterly Mission

Prayer - Three teams are preparing to serve in Guatemala in the 1st quarter of 2024. Please pray for the team members, their families, and the MOST Ministries staff as get everything ready for the trip. Also pray for those they will encounter in Guatemala that the Holy Spirit will prepare them to hear God's Word and be open to it.

Sunglasses - If you have any non-prescription sunglasses lying around, MOST could use these to send with their eyeglass teams. Please consider donating them so that MOST can continue to send sunglasses with their teams.

Amazon Wish List - MOST has put together an amazon.com wish list (gift catalog) for the ministry and mission teams. Check it out here.

Contact Kelly if you have any questions.

Membership?
Have you been attending St. Luke Lutheran as a guest?  Now is a great time to contact us about joining the church.  In a few Sundays we will receive people into membership.  We would love to be able to include you into the event.  Recently I finished a membership class and one of the participants asked the question, “Why should I join? I’ve been attending for years, why should I join?  Certainly, there is no requirement for membership with the church.  However, by joining the church, you are giving a public witness of the faith that God has placed in your heart.  We are called to make public professions of our faith, whenever it is possible.  In joining the church, you are expressing a commitment of love to your St. Luke Lutheran Church family.  As important, your St. Luke Lutheran Church family will be able to make a commitment of love and care to you. I would like to invite you to start the membership process by contacting the church office by phone (insert phone number) or via email, .

New Office Hours
Now that Julie has filled the vacant administrative assistant position at St. Luke we will be adjusting our office hours.  The church will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday each week.  If you need to access the building outside of the normal office hours, call the church office (insert phone number) during the regular office hours so that arrangements can be made to accommodate the request. If you drop-by the church outside of the office hours, the staff will not be available to let you into the building.  Julie will be manning the phones from 8:30 to 12:30, Monday through Thursday.  Please call during those hours if you wish to speak directly with someone.  All calls received outside of the set office hours will be directed to voicemail.  You can leave a message and the staff will respond at their earliest convenience.

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!

You can connect with Pastor Todd either by email or cell phone 734-213-4256.