Dear Fellow Children of God,
What will you go through as you wait for someone special? Kathy and I were at the Ted Stevens
International Airport in Anchorage on Tuesday evening, December 2. We picked up our grandson, Jake, who had been
in Washington with family. As we awaited
Jake’s arrival we did some ‘people watching.’
We did notice a young lady dressed in red plaid pajamas. Another young woman impressed us with all the
luggage one person carried. She had a
LARGE roller suitcase, a large duffle bag, and two large backpacks. Nevertheless, in spite of all her baggage,
she moved around well.
However, the person who really caught our eye was a
mature woman, perhaps in her 60’s, who was picking up someone she obviously
cared for. This woman met another, more
elderly lady, in a wheelchair. At the
luggage carousel she strapped together two large suitcases on wheels. She put a carry bag on top of the
suitcases. She laid the cane of the lady
in the wheelchair across her lap. Then,
she pushed the wheelchair with her right hand and pushed the luggage with her
left hand. As she walked away, with
everything seemingly under control, she acted like she did this all the time.
This feat of physical organization by this woman was
impressive on its own. But what really
struck me was that the woman pushing the lady in the wheel chair must really
love her. I wonder how long she
waited for her arrival in Anchorage. Imagine
going through all this effort to bring her friend home!
Who are you waiting for?
Some parents await the return of a student from college. Other await the visit of a parent or other family
members. A young couple may be waiting
for the arrival of a new child. Who are
you waiting for?
This coming Sunday in many Christian congregations the
Gospel reading will be from Matthew 3.
John the Baptist calls the people of his day to get ready for the
arrival of the Messiah, the promised Savior, for Jesus. John proclaims, “Prepare the
way of the Lord; make his paths straight." (Matthew 3:3 ) Actually, the people of God had long awaited
the promised Messiah. John instructs
them to take steps to spiritually and physically prepare for the coming of Jesus.
Waiting for God to come into our lives is a common theme
in Scripture. God comes in many ways: in strength to help and deliver, in mercy
to comfort and forgive, in love to save.
Because God’s presence brings such blessings, we do wait,
fervently. Listen to Psalm 130, one of
my favorites. “1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! 2 O
Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for
mercy! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could
stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. 5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my
soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen
for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the
LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. 8
And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” (Psalm 130:1-7) Because of all the blessings
God brings, we wait for Him . . . “more than watchmen for the morning!”
Christians are now observing the church season of ‘Advent.’ Advent means ‘coming.’ We await the coming of Jesus as the Son of
God takes on human form, to save us. We
long to celebrate His birth. We prepare
to receive Him through His Word and Sacraments.
We await the time when Jesus will come again to take us home. We rejoice in His blessings. We share the coming of God’s Son into this
sinful world so that others too may rejoice.
That woman in the airport who pushed 3 pieces of luggage
with one hand, and her loved one in a wheelchair with her other hand, must have
been longing for her arrival. Are you
preparing this Advent for the Christmas arrival of God’s promised Messiah, for
the arrival of our Savior from our sins, of Jesus the Son of God? How are you preparing?
A Child of God, Awaiting the Arrival of my Savior, Jesus!
Pastor Rockey
P.S. I am now
serving Our Redeemer Lutheran in Chugiak, AK, as part-time Vacancy Pastor.
· SPECIAL
HOLIDAY WORSHIP SERVICES: In
addition to regular Sunday worship at 10:00 each week, Our Redeemer has planned
special worship services through the Holidays.
There are services every Wednesday, AND Christmas Day. You might note these on your calendar
o
Mid-Week Advent 1 Worship, The Angel and
Zechariah - Wednesday, December 3, at 6:30 p.m.
o
Mid-Week Advent 2 Worship, The Angel and Mary
- Wednesday, December 10, at 6:30 p.m.
o
Mid-Week Advent 3 Worship, The Angel and Joseph
- Wednesday, December 17, at 6:30 p.m.
o
Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship
§
Focus on Children – Wednesday, December
24, 5:00 p.m.
§
Christmas Eve for all – Wednesday,
December 24, 7:00 p.m.
o
Christmas Day Worship – Thursday,
December 25, 10:00 a.m.
o
New Year’s Eve Worship – Wednesday,
December 31, at 6:30 p.m.
·
The Our Redeemer Call Committee includes
Elder and chairman, Jerry Simpson, also Heidi Enlow, Theo Lee, Jacob Lewis,
Scott Roelfs, and Martha Wilkins. They
have met numerous times.
The first step
in the call process has been to complete a congregational self-study. The Northwest District has shared the study
and tools to help in this study. The
committee asked for and received input from ORLC for this study. Nomination forms for names for a new pastor were
also distributed. The self-study, and
nominations for pastor, were indeed sent to the Northwest District by October
1, 2025.
Last week, Our
Redeemer received a list of names of possible future pastors for Our Redeemer from
the Northwest District. The next meeting
is Tuesday, December 9 at 6:30 p.m.
OTHER EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES AT OUR REDEEMER:
·
There are two opportunities a week for exercise
and wellness.
o Matt
Keith leads Chayon Ryu Martial Arts Class on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30
a.m. in the Our Redeemer Fellowship Hall
o Matt
then teaches an Elder Momentum Class, attended mostly by seniors, at 10:00 a.m.
in the fellowship hall.
·
A “Mom’s Group” meets on the first and
third Mondays at 10:30 a.m. at Our Redeemer.
·
An Adult Fellowship Potluck is held the
first Tuesday of each month at 11:30 a.m.
In December this takes place at Bobby’s Café..
- Youth Group
meets after worship on one Sunday each month. The
will NOT meet in December. Return in January.
·
A Memory Café for families dealing
with the issues of dementia was held at Our Redeemer on Friday November 14. There was good attendance, including some
families from the community. The next
Memory Café is scheduled for Friday, December 12 at 11:00 a.m..
·
There are other events planned as
well. Watch the Our Redeemer calendar
and newsletter for information.
Regular Bible Studies and Sunday School
·
Adult Bible Study continues on Sunday
mornings at 9:00 a.m. The class FINISHED
studying “Basic Christian Teachings.” We are now be enjoying Bible Study’s
based on Garrison Keillor monologues, specifically for holiday issues. On Sunday, December 7, Keillor’s monologue
is entitled, “The Christmas Tree.”
Come and join us!
· Sunday
School is held each Sunday beginning at 9:00 a.m.! This is a blessing for ALL children and
adults.
·
“Deeply Rooted Small Group” Is held at
Our Redeemer on the first and third Sunday evenings at 5:45 p.m.
·
Confirmation classes began on Sunday,
October 12, after worship services. We
have 1 more class left this Fall on December 7.
Watch for more information.
Other Activities of Faith:
· MANY
CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES WITH ME IN 2024 and 2025 using
the “Today’s Light Devotional Bible.” On Wednesday, December 3, we read
1 John 3. We will soon have completed reading the Scriptures in a 2 year
period.
Feel free to
contact Pastor Rockey at 907-841-4066 if you have any questions about these
readings. Or send an e-mail question to jonrock53@mtaonline.net I have
recently received questions and comments. It is always good to consider
our Lord’s love and guidance. I will TRY to answer, but some things only God
knows!
P.P.P.S. Family Fun
and Fishing!
·
Thanksgiving – Three of our 4 children and
others joined us for Thanksgiving. We had
a table of celebrating, thankfully. Here
are a couple of pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/5HxgjTDUKurHMQQc9
·
Ken and Sandy Schauer – Some good friends of
Kathy and me from our time in Alaska are Pastor Ken Schauer and his wife
Sandi. They worshipped with family at
Our Redeemer on Sunday, November 30. Here
are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/TPS3HmHJA7f2efa3A
·
Here is a picture of Kathy and me waiting in the
airport for Jake, on Tuesday, December 3. https://photos.app.goo.gl/EUuXjRNgDMMLqaP19
·
Christmas Tree – We have a LARGE blue spruce
tree which we planted in our front yard when we moved into our current house about
20 years ago. Then it was about 3 feet
tall. Now it is about 30 feet tall. This year for outside decorations I paid to
have lights put on the tree. (I used to
do it myself, but the tree grew too tall for me.) We will place a new lighted nativity scene in
front of the tree for our outside decorations.
Here are a few pictures so far. https://photos.app.goo.gl/4tbeA2qNG8opaPYDA
·
While I was busy and did not go fishing this
past week, I received a gift from Kathy.
She gave me an advent calendar. A
FISHING Advent calendar. Here is a
picture. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wb2BwUHUy4imHDXH6
*******
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I
retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as full-time senior pastor of
St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, AK. I was writing a weekly devotion
previously entitled, "Thoughts from the Pastor." When I retired
many asked me to continue writing these devotions. So I have continued
writing. However, with life's changes I now call this weekly devotion
"Journeys Through Life as a Child of God." Since I am no longer
senior pastor at St. John, I felt it right to only send this message to those
who asked to receive it. (However, I am currently as Vacancy Pastor for
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Chugiak, AK.)
So, if you
stopped receiving these devotions and wondered why, now you understand.
And, if you are now receiving these devotions and do not wish to receive them,
please let me know, and I’ll gladly remove your name from my distribution
list. My e-mail address is jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer is
that these devotions help each of you in your daily walk with our Lord, Jesus.
*******
Jonathan Rockey
Child of God
Husband, Father, Son, Grandfather
Vacancy Pastor, Our Redeemer
Lutheran Church, Chugiak, AK
Pastor Emeritus, St. John
Lutheran Church, Palmer, AK
“How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 a)
