A Letter from Pastor David Tinker

Dear Members and Friends of Martin Luther Lutheran Church of Carmine,

As most of you have heard, there is a hurricane hitting Texas this weekend.  The northern part of the storm is already bringing rain to the Carmine area.  After consideration of the safety of all, Blake Dooley (Council President) and I have decided to cancel the worship services, Sunday School and all activities this weekend (August 26 & 27, 2017).  There were already some activities, such as the Blood Drive, which had been cancelled or postponed due to the storm.  Although we will not be receiving the worst part of Hurricane Harvey, we will be getting a significant amount of rain, likely at least 10-20 inches.  As there are many low water crossings of roads in the area, including Luther Lane, just down the block from MLLC, we felt it was the right thing to do.

Our Shared Ministry Partner Church – Waldeck Lutheran Church – has also cancelled their weekend worship and activities.

Please share this information with others in your life, especially people who are less likely to use the internet or social media.

As you are able, please do these things throughout these days of this difficult storm:

1. Please tell others, as noted above.
2. Pray for those who are helping the victims of the storm, and for those victims.
3. Pay attention to those who are more vulnerable in the community, especially the elderly or sick, as well as families with small children.  See if they need any assistance.
4. Be ready to serve and help others in the community who are in need.
5. As you are able, know that the church will receive financial donations to help with hurricane relief.  We will work with our synod to make sure these funds are brought to our partner agencies which will help the victims.  We will publicize other opportunities for helping with hurricane relief as we learn of them.
6. Take time to pray and read God’s Word this weekend.  At the end of this email I have included our Prayer of the Day and Readings for this weekend.
7. Plan on gathering for worship this next weekend – September 3.  This will be our Labor Day Weekend worship (in the Fellowship Hall) and picnic.  We will have the Rally Day events on this Sunday as well – blessing of Sunday School teachers, Sunday School Awards, Rally Day Party, etc.
8. Please remember to make up your missed offerings from this weekend.  You can bring them with you when you are at worship again in the coming weeks, mail them in to the church office, or use our church web site to make your offering to God by credit care, debit card, or bank account.  Remember, all the usual expenses continue even when we have these rare cancellations.  Our online giving link is:   https://mllccarmine.com/online-giving/

Feel free to contact me with any questions.   We look forward to seeing you at worship on September 3 and beyond.

Yours, in Christ’s Service,

Pastor David Tinker

___________________________________

Pastor David J. Tinker

Pastor of Martin Luther Lutheran Church

and Waldeck Lutheran Church
Martin Luther Lutheran Church

211 Luther Ln

P O Box 362

Carmine, TX 78932-0362

979-278-3388 – office in Carmine

979-278-3387 – fax in Carmine

979-278-3380 – Martin Luther Lutheran School

pastordjt@industryinet.com

http://mllccarmine.com

Waldeck Lutheran Church

6915 Waldeck Church Ln

Ledbetter, TX 78946

979-249-3802 – office in Waldeck

Readings and prayer of the day

for weekend of August 26-27, 2017

PRAYER OF THE DAY

O God, with all your faithful followers of every age, we praise you, the rock of our life. Be our strong foundation and form us into the body of your Son, that we may gladly minister to all the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

First Reading: Isaiah 51:1-6

Just as God had called Abraham and Sarah and given them many descendants, so now God offers comfort to Zion. God’s deliverance will come soon and will never end.

¹Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,

you that seek the Lord.

Look to the rock from which you were hewn,

and to the quarry from which you were dug.

²Look to Abraham your father

and to Sarah who bore you;

for he was but one when I called him,

but I blessed him and made him many.

³For the Lord will comfort Zion;

he will comfort all her waste places,

and will make her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the garden of the Lord;

joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the voice of song.
⁴Listen to me, my people,

and give heed to me, my nation;

for a teaching will go out from me,

and my justice for a light to the peoples.

⁵I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,

my salvation has gone out

and my arms will rule the peoples;

the coastlands wait for me,

and for my arm they hope.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and those who live on it will die like gnats;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my deliverance will never be ended.

Psalm: Psalm 138

¹I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with | my whole heart;

before the gods I will | sing your praise.

²I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name, because of your steadfast | love and faithfulness;

for you have glorified your name and your word a- | bove all things.
 ³When I called, you | answered me;

you increased my | strength within me.

⁴All the rulers of the earth will praise | you, O Lord,

when they have heard the words | of your mouth. R

⁵They will sing of the ways | of the Lord,

that great is the glory | of the Lord.

⁶The Lord is high, yet cares | for the lowly,

perceiving the haughty | from afar.

⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you | keep me safe;

you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; your right | hand shall save me.

⁸You will make good your pur- | pose for me;

O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon the works | of your hands. Amen

Second Reading: Romans 12:1-8

In response to God’s merciful activity, we are to worship by living holistic, God-pleasing lives. Our values and viewpoints are not molded by this age, but are transformed by the Spirit’s renewing work. God’s grace empowers different forms of service among Christians, but all forms of ministry function to build up the body of Christ.

¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
  ³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20

At a climactic point in Jesus’ ministry, God reveals to Peter that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus responds with the promise of a church that will overcome the very gates of Hades.

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.