El Paso, Texas LCMS
“Lessons for Liturgy, Lessons for Life” Pastor Emeritus Howard Patten and Pastor Stephen Heimer examine the upcoming scripture lessons for Sunday, November 8, 2020, the Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost.
Scripture:
Zion’s Fall 2020 – Stewardship Theme
We like to eat. We NEED to eat. We’d never expect to survive on one meal a week at church! “Spiritually Vibrant Homes” means households read the Bible together and pray together at home (among other discipleship practices). Our bodies thrive on good food. Our faith is nurtured in God’s life-giving gifts when we apply spiritual disciplines at home.
Utilizing Barna Group research data, Lutheran Hour Ministries has produced Households of Faith, a four-session video study to help households apply three core habits that foster a spiritually vibrant household. These are 1) applying spiritual disciplines; 2) extending hospitality; and 3) engaging in spiritual conversations. Check it out now or plan to sign up when we offer the small-group study here at Zion.
This week at Zion, we are learning more about #1 “applying spiritual disciplines” at home. The video below offers some guidance to fathers (but helpful to all household leaders) about this vital part of our home-life. Below the video you will find a few of my recommended resources for your home.
May the Lord bless your week and fill your household with His Spirit.
in Christ’s peace,
Pastor Stephen
Here are some good resources you can use to explore God’s Word with the people in your household.
Zion’s Fall 2020 “At Home with the Parables of Jesus”
Zion’s children’s ministry is encouraging families to sit down with their children and grandchildren each week to read from the Best Loved Parables of Jesus book we distributed this summer. (learn more)
Portals of Prayer
Pick up your copy of Portals of Prayer: October-December 2020 this week. Come to the church office or find a copy in the church entryway on Sunday.
Portals of Prayer for Children
Portals of Prayer for Kids: Daily Devotions provides the structure for dedicated time to learn about Jesus and to grow closer together as a family. Each devotion includes: – a meditation based on everyday situations – a Scripture reading – a journaling prompt – a prayer (learn more)
Want to dig deep into the research behind our fall series? The basis for our study this fall is The Spiritually Vibrant Home: The Power of Messy Prayers, Loud Tables, and Open Doors by Don Everts.
The Senior VP of Research at Barna Group explains, “The Spiritually Vibrant Home unpacks the research and what it all means for our households. This book provides Christians with a roadmap to developing intentional rhythms that nurture their spirit, honor their heavenly Father, and pass on their faith to the next generation.”
Find this book and related resources developed by the Barna Group and Lutheran Hour Ministries at https://www.lhm.org/households/
Zion’s Fall 2020 – Stewardship Theme
Last week I shared in our newsletter that God cares not only about individuals but also about entire households. The Bible refers to households 2,100 times! Find my introduction to this topic here.
On Sunday, I shared in my sermon some key Christian disciplines that when practiced together in a household (not just independently) make for a Spiritually Vibrant Home. Find that sermon here.
(First, I have to give credit and praise to Lutheran Hour Ministries and the Barna Group for what I’m going to share below. Fantastic! Check out the book and links below)
Some themes that stand out as we look at those 2,100 uses of the word “household” in the Bible:
1) God sees households. Not just us individuals, God is paying attention to and caring for our households.
2) Households often rise and fall together. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule but we see the effect household members have on each other, for better or for worse. (God wants the better! and probably has you there just for that purpose.)
3) God works through households. We often remember individual names “heros of faith” whose lives are impacted and used by God throughout history. Notice also that God often uses entire households. (Noah wasn’t the only person who helped build and who was saved in the ark. So were his wife and sons and their wives!)
Since COVID separation is persisting and has no end in sight, let’s all try something new at home as Zion households of faith. Let’s each add something from each of these three areas to our home life:
Wondering what this all means? Don’t worry, this is what we will be examining at Zion in a variety of ways this fall. We will find insight and inspiration in God’s Word for the salvation and spiritual vibrance of our households.
God richly bless you and your households today and all this week!
in Christ’s peace,
Pastor Stephen
Want to dig deep into the research behind our fall series? The basis for our study this fall is The Spiritually Vibrant Home: The Power of Messy Prayers, Loud Tables, and Open Doors by Don Everts.
The Senior VP of Research at Barna Group explains, “The Spiritually Vibrant Home unpacks the research and what it all means for our households. This book provides Christians with a roadmap to developing intentional rhythms that nurture their spirit, honor their heavenly Father, and pass on their faith to the next generation.”
Find this book and related resources developed by the Barna Group and Lutheran Hour Ministries at https://www.lhm.org/households/
[…and the jailer asked,] “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
(Acts 16:30-32)
Rejoice! Christ comes to save us – you, me, and everyone in our households. The passage above from Acts 16 could have mentioned only the jailer’s saving-faith and we still would have celebrated God’s miracle and the testimony of His people that led to this saving faith. The passage doesn’t stop there though. It includes the detail about his household also being saved. The Bible mentions households more than 2,100 times. God observes Noah and his household and He lays out for them His instructions for salvation from the flood. God’s covenant with Abraham is a household promise that through them He will bless all nations. God clearly cares about us individually, sees us and loves us individually, AND He sees and cares about our entire household.
How are Our Households Doing?
During COVID, most people are spending more time at home, physically together, with fewer out-of-home activities sucking away time that could be spent together in prayer, reading scripture, and having spiritual conversations. With much more worship and Biblical teaching available online and plenty of print Bibles and digital Bibles at our fingertips, we would expect Christians are living out their faith more and more as vibrant Christian households. This IS happening in many of our homes. Praise God! BUT several recent studies show that in many cases people are actually reading the Bible less during COVID as they find their time and attention drawn into streaming movies and other activities. There is good, bad, and ugly unfolding in our homes and one study found that 30% fewer people are reading the Bible regularly compared to before COVID hit.
A Vision for Vibrant Households of Faith
Let’s you and me all live out the better opportunities this year is offering for the life-giving practices that bring us closer to each other and to God. I’ve heard good reports from many Zion families, about how you are in the Word, in prayer, in conversation, and in worship together, more than ever. New friends of Zion have heard God’s call to draw closer to Him and are enjoying a new season of growth with us in His Word.
Our Fall Stewardship Theme: “Spiritually Vibrant Homes”
Learning from scripture and examining some findings from recent research conducted by the Barna Group and Lutheran Hour Ministries, we will invite God to renew and enliven our Christian homelife. Some of the research findings I am eager for us to examine together include these from the Barna study:
We will invite the Holy Spirit to guide us as we make household plans for the vibrant life of faith to which God has called us. God bless you and all of your households in the awesome love and grace of God Almighty.
In Christ’s peace,
Pastor Stephen
