Christ Lutheran Church serves as a Great Commission congregation

Christ Lutheran Church serves as a Great Commission congregation.

· We love our neighbors who need our help inside and outside of the church.

· We attempt to invite those who are “disconnected” from Jesus Christ or from a church home to join us in loving God and loving our neighbors.

We begin by realizing what only God can do, and then what we can do. Only God, the triune God, can convince people of their need for a Savior, forgive sin, give faith, bring people to repentance and conversion, and give people lasting peace and hope.

We can model Christ’s love by building relationships based on trust and caring, and helping others to meet their needs in a culture, where Christian service and friendship can make a huge difference. If our lives reflect more love and caring, then more people would be encouraged, empowered and equipped to act in neighborly ways.

It’s about WE. We will pray. We will invite. We will serve gladly. We will shine!

We will pray, in Jesus’ name, for people “disconnected” from Christ or a church home.

We will pray, in Jesus’ name, that the work of Satan in our community will not disunite more lives.

We will pray, in Jesus’ name, that God’s love will shine through us so that others see that God is good.

We will invite people to meet Jesus with us.

We will pray that the Holy Spirit will be active in all hearts -- to soften the hard-hearted and to ignite the believers to shine the love of Jesus.

We will pray that the Holy Spirit will open all eyes and ears to God’s word and the love of Christ.

We will invite people to come for worship and to serve gladly and help others.

We will pray, in Jesus’ name, to shine God’s love to make new friends and build caring relationships in our community.

We will pray that the Holy Spirit will give people confidence to “connect” with Christ in this congregation.

We will pray that the Holy Spirit will ignite the light of Jesus to shine on others in this congregation and in the community -- to serve gladly and to help others.

It’s about WE. We invite you . . .

· We invite you to an all day public PRAYER VIGIL on Tuesday, April 14. We will welcome you to Christ Lutheran’s new sanctuary -- joining others in the Valparaiso community to thank God for the faithful service of Pastor Jerry Castleman, who will retire on Mothers Day. Pastor Castleman has served as a Pastor of the Great Commission at Christ Lutheran for 32 years. Also, this is an occasion to ask almighty God to continue to look on Pastor, and his family, with grace and favor.

Karen Seykowski - Evangelism Chair, CLCValpo

CHRISTIAN MESSENGERS IN DAILY LIFE...

CHRISTIAN MESSENGERS IN DAILY LIFE... By Sue Schoech

Sharing the Good News in today's world includes caring, sharing, & giving the gifts of hope & peace when we talk & listen to folks & build relationships in daily life. God has opened the door for every Christian to reach out & share their faith stories. Everyone who has been baptized is a walking talking role model. Each of us has a lot of control of how that plays out in real life!

As we walk on our faith journeys together, what can we do to enable ourselves to walk & talk a more Christ-centered life in a noisy culture where Christian messages could make huge differences, if our voices were heard & listeners could be encouraged, empowered, equipped to act in positive ways.

Taking positive action in today's world to make differences can be rather overwhelming - even with the Bible as a guide & Christ-centered believers around us. Then The Holy Spirit seems to lead us on "Faith Adventures" that provide hope. Adventures come in lots of forms. This time I discovered books that provided "AH HA" moments. Lots of things made sense recently when I read Biblical Equipping: God's Word in Your World. Then I read the book Me, an Evangelist? The clues & cues of "Evangelism" have come slowly while I've been serving on the NW Indiana Conference Outreach Team. It was a real joy to receive several insights reinforced by examples & ideas. Insights from the book Me, an Evangelist? provided a reality checklist of "What We Can Do" & "What only God Can Do" (pages 45-46).. .Now I say the Serenity Prayer with more wisdom!

What Only God Can Do

As evangelists, it is important for us to remember the distinction between what only God can do and what we are able to do. Only God can:

• convince people of their sin and their need for a Savior (John 16:8-9);  give people faith (John 1:12-13; Eph. 2:8-9);

• defeat death and give eternal life (John 10:27-29; John 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:51-57);

• forgive sin and free people from guilt (Ps. 51:7; Isa. 1:18; Ps. 130:7; Ps. 32:5; 1 John 1:9);

• bring people to conversion and repentance (John 16:7-11; John 14:6; Acts 11:17-18; 2 Tim. 2:25);

• give people real peace (Ps. 4:8; Isa. 9:6, 26:3; John 14:27, 16:33; Rom. 5:1-2; Phil. 4:6-7); and

• give people lasting hope (Rom. 15:13; 2 Thess. 2:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:3).


As evangelists, we can:

• listen with accepting love; • build a trusting, caring relationship;

• model Christ's love by helping others who are sad, lonely, depressed, or who have other needs;

• try to understand the feelings, needs, beliefs, ideas, and hopes of others;

• pray for others;

• witness assertively when others seem open to hearing; and

• invite others to attend church or to begin a relationship with Jesus when they are ready for such an invitation.

Realizing this can be very freeing. God doesn't hold us responsible for the results of our witness! It is our job to care, to witness, and to live the love of Christ for others as much as we can. It is God's job, not ours, to bring these people into a relationship with Jesus. What a relief to leave this responsibility in God's hands!

Another awesome book is:

Organic Outreach for Ordinary People – sharing good news naturally!

The Triune Hypothesis by H.E. Eickleberry, Jr.

One of our members has a NEW Book published!

If you browse Amazon.com this Christmas season, you may come across one of our own members here at CLCValpo and his new book:

The Triune Hypothesis by

H.E. Eickleberry, Jr.

"The Triune Hypothesis" is a guide to reading the Bible prophetically in all three dimensions of interpretation-the horizontal axis in time (what was, is, and/or is to come), the perpendicular axis in application (literal, figurative, and/or spiritual), and the vertical axis in context (thesis, generality, and/or antithesis).”

The book is also available to download in Kindle Version as well.

It’s nice to see another local Valparaiso, IN author’s book make the Amazon list!

You can visit The Triune Hypothesis Website

or

The Triune Hypothesis Facebook Page for more info.

Congrats & Blessings to Mr. Eickleberry this Holiday Season!

Prayers For Svitlana Mayboroda and her Missionary Ministry work in Russia!

At our Tuesday Evening Ladies Bible Study @CLCValpo we had a special guest visitor.

Svitlana Mayboroda is a Christian Missionary who visits state orphanages in Khabarovsk, Russia bringing children the word of God and Bibles (Bibles For Russia).
In winter, she travels from Khabarovsk to remote parts of Siberia on frozen river beds to deliver the word of God!

It was fitting that she came and shared her ministry (including many photos)with us the week we studied Yahweh Tsuri - The LORD is My Rock.


Sveta's work is challenging, needing a firm foundation of faith and prayer that only God can provide...and he does!

We were blessed by her story and thankful for people like her who devote their lives to spreading God's word to children who have no homes.

Please keep Sveta and her missionary work in your prayers.

Mary of Nazareth–A Musical Dramatization by Keri Burman Yadah Praise Productions @ CLCValpo- Public Welcome!

Mary of Nazareth – A Musical Dramatization by Keri Burman of
Yadah Praise Productions @
Christ Lutheran Church in Valparaiso, IN 46385 on Tuesday, 12/7/10 @ 7pm – Public Welcome!

If you attended the presentations of Queen Esther, or Mary Magdalene, then mark your calendars, because you won’t want to miss Keri Burman of Yadah Praise Productions perform a Musical Dramatization of Mary of Nazareth!

Through songs and monologues,

one woman tells the story of the birth and death of the Savior of the World.

Scripture:

Matthew 1:18-25,

Luke 1:26-38, 46-55, 2:1-52

Songs:

"Sing We Now of Christmas"

"Mary, Sweet Mary"

"Breath of Heaven"

"My Son or My Savior"

"Bethlehem Morning"

Come join us on Tuesday Evening, December 7th at 7:00 pm for this 45 minute presentation in the sanctuary followed by refreshments (Homemade Christmas Cookies) in our gathering space!

There is no charge to attend - (free will offerings for Keri Burman are appreciated).
We just ask you RSVP in advance by Sunday 12/5/10.
To RSVP please call Paula Starek at Christ Lutheran Church. tel # 219-462-6660 or
or email - >
CLCValpo@frontier.com

Come Join Us...All are welcome here!

Christ Lutheran Church is located @ 2610 North Campbell St. in Valparaiso, IN 46385

Follow us @ CLCValpo on Twitter, Facebook, You-Tube or our Website or BLOG

CLC Valpo Sunday School Stewardship Focus = Operation Christmas Child - Won't You Join Us & Give This Christmas Away !

The next Sunday School Stewardship Focus at Christ Lutheran Church in Valparaiso, IN is to collect small items (toys, hygiene items, hard candy, small books) to be packed in shoe boxes and shipped overseas as a part of Operation Christmas Child which is a global ministry project of Samaritan's Purse.

Additionally, we are collecting donations to cover the shipping of each gift wrapped shoe box as well.

To learn more about this wonderful ministry, please watch the video below and consider joining the CLCValpo Sunday School Children and their families in collecting items for the shoe boxes through November 22nd, 2010 or consider a donation for shipping costs. Give This Christmas Away!

God Bless You!

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