22nd Annual Live Nativity

Join us tomorrow and Sunday, Dec . 10 & 11 for our annual Live Nativity, 4:30 - 8:00 pm
Admission is FREE!  Refreshments are served.  We are handicap accessible.

Every 15 minutes or so, a continuous reading of the Nativity story is revealed beneath a deep starry night sky over a stable in Bethlehem.  Angels will announce the birth of the Savior.  Shepherds and kings will travel to Bethlehem to find the new infant king.  What will you find there?

It’s easy to feel lost at this time of year.  Aside from being overwhelmed by all the secularism that drowns out the whole reason we celebrate Christmas at all, recent years have battered our sense of direction, leaving us wondering if we are on the right path, feeling lost.

But… Because we are children of God, we have been given the greatest gift of all time - the gift of Jesus, God’s Son, our Savior.  Because of this gift, we have hope.  And that hope shines like a Star over a stable in Bethlehem.

In the stable, you will find what your heart seeks.  In an infant king, God’s Son born in a stable, we meet the Good Shepherd who guides our ways and shows us the path to a relationship with God that is full of peace and joy and love.  In this stable we find that we are not lost, but found, loved and cherished…because we, too, are children of God, the sheep of His fold.

The wise men appeared to King Herod and asked, “Where is He who has been born King? For we saw His star and have come to worship Him.”   Even the wise men were searching for something…someone…that would answer their prayers and guide their paths.  They found Him in the stable.

At Easter, we look within the empty tomb, feeling lost, knowing that our Lord has died.  But the angels ask, “Whom do you seek?  He is not here, He is risen!”  In the Easter Resurrection our feeling of being lost is replaced with the joy of being found, claimed by God and deemed worthy of His love.

Be like sheep, follow the sound of your Shepherd’s voice and wander into the stable.  Grasp the gift within… the love of God incarnate in His Son, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.  Our God is a God of abundance, and there is love and hope enough for all the lost and all the found.  

See you in the stable.   Baaaa-baaaa-baaa.

St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave.
Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713

Who Is Jesus?

That question has been bouncing around in my brain for 2 months now as I prepare for our Vacation Bible School program for our Children’s Circle Summer Camp at St. Andrew Lutheran Church.

We are resurrecting a Vacation Bible School program from 1999.  The troubled economy is hitting all aspects of the Church.  Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the ELCA, is cutting all sorts of programming, including the creation of new VBS material, so we’re recycling.   The kids loved it in 1999 and I’m sure they are going to love it again, now.  Of course we’ve made some adaptations as much of the “learner materials” are no longer available, but at least it will cost us less.   

PLUS, what’s an archaeological dig if you don’t find some dinosaurs, right?  (That’s certainly not part of the program, but it’s amazing what a little creativity can bridge together.)  We’ll  just dig a few layers deeper at each site and see what we find.

The Bible stories, and the question which they answer, are timeless and unfettered by any economic woes.  They answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”   THAT’s something we all want to know, right?

The challenge of Vacation Bible School is to make the Bible stories fun.  This Vacation Bible School program is themed around an archaeological dig.  We’re going to go digging in the Bible to find the answers to the question “Who is Jesus?”

We’ll start our archaeological dig at a site where three kings gazed at star maps and found a servant king unlike any before Him, a GIFT from God Himself.

Next we move to an archaeological site near Bethany were we find relics that point to the FRIENDship that Jesus shared with Mary and Martha.

After that dig, we move to a site where we discover ancient scrolls that TEACHERs in the temples and synagogues might have used.

We move on to an archaeological dig where we find the clues that point to a blind beggar and the HELP that he received from Jesus.

And lastly, we visit an archaeological dig site that uncovers a rocky road toward Emmaus, site of the SAVIOR’s appearance to two disciples.

So if Jesus is a GIFT, FRIEND, TEACHER, HELPER, and SAVIOR, what do Tyrannosaurus Rex, Mapusaurus,  Pteradactylus, Maiasaura, and Oviraptor have to do with Jesus?    You’ll have to check back here during VBS and keep reading to find out.

If you know a child up to age 10 in need of a Summer Camp experience, why not investigate Children’s Circle Summer Camp?  You can send that child to camp for one week or several.  The week of our VBS program is July 18-22.  

RRRROARRRR!   We’re going on a dig!  Don’t forget your canteen!  Call the Children’s Circle director at (973) 884-3652 for information, rates and to visit the Center.

Jesus was at our Church Picnic on Sunday

Sunday was the St. Andrew annual church picnic and Jesus was there.  How do I know?

We all had a blast!  This is one of the reasons I love St. Andrew.  We have a lot of fun together…whether we’re worshipping, picnicking, or working together, it’s all good because God is with us, and everyone knows it.   “When two or more are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”  Matthew 18:20

And this picnic was more than just standard hot dogs and hamburgers (which of course were there).  We also were treated to strips of steak, sausages, chicken and pulled barbecue pork.  There were baked beans and salads.   Happily, the people who “man” the grill seem to enjoy their role in preparing and cooking the picnic fare, and we are very grateful for their culinary enthusiasm.

But the icing on the cake, so to speak, was the dessert competition.  Each year those who enjoy a baking challenge sign up to bring a dessert to enter in the “Sparkling Spoon Competition.”  The prize?  A sparkling spoon, of course…a wooden spoon (or some other variation) decorated with all the sparkle and baubles of a truly coveted trophy.

This year’s winner was a truly delightful person who is always willing to serve the St. Andrew community and our God…a worship leader, choir member, scheduler of worship servants, member of the Worship Team, and all-round good sport when asked to help with any ministry project.  Totally unassuming, when Sandy won the Sparkling Spoon she was completely surprised and her surprise quickly turned into a dance of joy and laughter that was eagerly enjoyed by everyone in attendance. 

We enjoyed sharing in her joy.  This is what being a part of the body of Christ is all about…sharing in each other’s joys and sorrows.

There was a water balloon toss (actually two games of it) and I don’t think I remember ever seeing as many people join in the fun.

The kids were playing on the playground equipment, and running around with Super Soakers and Bubble Blowers.  They had a piñata game administered and provided by the Youth Group.

The biggest kid of all, Pastor Fred, made sure to wear his bathing trunks so that he wouldn’t miss a minute of the Super Soaker fun.

There was bingo, with all sorts of goofy prizes, probably picked up at our recent Youth Group Yard Sale.

We didn’t even get to the guitar sing-a-long.

We have a lot of fun together.  And Jesus is with us.

We were once given a charcoal drawing of the laughing Jesus.  The pastor that gave it to us said that St. Andrew epitomized this side of Jesus that few people acknowledge…the Son of God who enjoyed life and could laugh.

I’m proud that this is how people see St. Andrew.   Too often Christians are seen as stern-faced and judgmental people.  Too often church or worship is seen as drudgery and couldn’t possibly be fun. 

What’s not fun is trying to live life on your own.

“When two or more are gathered in my name, I am there is the midst of them.”  If we remember that Jesus is with us, then being together will get us through the worst of times and help us to enjoy the best of times with a laughter that must certainly please our Father’s heart.

Come and join us for worship this Summer at 9:30 am on Sundays.

www.elcaAndy.org

Have you ever seen people having fun and felt that Christ was with them?  Leave a comment and tell us your story.

Jesus is a gate

Picket or wrought iron?  How about human flesh and bone…?

Yesterday was commonly called “Good Shepherd Sunday” for the reference to the Gospel lesson of the day.    In this Gospel lesson (John 10:1-10), Jesus says in verse 7, “I am the gate.”

We’ve often seen pictures of Jesus carrying lambs or walking with a shepherd’s staff, but, as Pastor Fred noted on Sunday, “it would be interesting and I doubt we’ll ever see Jesus pictured as a gate.”

In his sermon, Pastor Fred explained that this phrase would have created a different image for the people of Jesus’ day than for us.  Instead of a gate swinging open and shut, envision the shepherd lying across the doorway between large stone walls that would encompass the sheep pen.    In this way, Jesus tells us that He will be that shepherd guarding the opening in the wall, sleeping across the threshold,  the gatekeeper through whom everyone and everything would have to pass by in order to get to the sheep.

We can take comfort in this image of Jesus as “the gate.”  No one will be able to get past Him into the fold to harm us.  Not one of us will be able to stray away from the fold without His knowledge.

Stubborn, nudging and stinky sheep that we are, we may push through the gate and go astray; but Good Shepherd that Jesus is, He will know where we have gone and will find us and guide us back to His protection.  We will follow Jesus because we know His voice.  The familiarity and love of the Good Shepherd will comfort us and call us back to the safety of His care.  “The stranger, they will not follow,”  John 10:5

Thank you God for giving us such a devoted shepherd that He would lie across the threshold to keep away the bad guys and keep us safely within the fold…always on watch.  

He stretched out upon a cross to be a gatekeeper to death.  What better shepherd could we want?

What do you think of this image of Jesus as “the gate?”

www.elcaAndy.org
Come worship with us: 8:30 & 10:45 am Sunday
One service 9:30 am beginning Memorial Day weekend

Devotion - Recreating the Temple in Jerusalem

Holy Week will soon be upon us.  Palm Sunday is this coming Sunday, April 17.

We will hear a multiude of stories about Jesus' time in Jerusalem beginning with His entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.

I thought it might be a good time to contemplate what the temple in Jerusalem might have looked like.

Follow the link below and look at the amazing creation of Alec Garrard.  It is remarked to be the most realistic reproduction of the temple and its various levels.  After you read the news story and look at the pictures, contemplate the heartfelt dedication to God of a man whose wife says he is mad.

What are you passionate about?  Does it include God?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1155962/Pensioner-spends-30-years-building-amazing-model-Herods-Temple---admits-wont-finish-it.html

www.elcaAndy.org
Easter Egg Hunt, Sat., April 16, 10:00 am, Rain or shine.  FREE!  Don't be late.  Refreshments served.