Dear Fellow Children of God,
When it comes to your Christian faith, what do you
believe? The Apostles Creed is a good
summary of what Christians believe.
Perhaps you, like me, “believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of
heaven and earth.” If you are a
Christian, a believer in the Christ, then you “believe in Jesus Christ, His
only Son, our Lord.” If you are a
Christian, then you also believe God works in your heart through the Holy
Spirit. “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”
But what do you believe about The Church? In the Third Article of the Apostles Creed we
say “I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Holy Christian Church.” It may be one thing to believe in God, the
all loving, all powerful, Creator, Savior, and Comforter. But it is something else to believe in the church!
When I served as volunteer chaplain on a regular basis at Mat-Su Regional Hospital
and introduced myself to patients as the chaplain, I often heard. “I don’t
believe in organized religion.”
My response was, I’m not here to talk about a specific religion, but I
will talk with you about God.” Sometimes
they were then willing to have a conversation.
There is a reason for such feelings of skepticism about
the Christian Church. Two weeks ago we
read in worship from Luke 5, about Jesus calling Peter and Andrew, James and
John, to follow Him. After a miraculous
catch of fish, we are told of Peter, “when Simon Peter saw it, he
fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man,
O Lord." (Luke 5:8) Jesus never
denied Peter’s sin. But, even knowing
Peter’s failings, Jesus still said, "Do not be afraid; from now on you
will be catching men." (Luke 5:10) The work of spreading the kingdom
of God, of ‘fishing for men,’ is a HOLY work. Yet, surprisingly, in grace, God
uses sinners like Peter, like you and me, like other members of The Holy Christian
Church! I understand why people have trouble
with The Church. Yet, mysteriously and
graciously, God chooses to do His holy work through sinners. That sounds like a
recipe for disaster, and often we see a mess.
BUT, Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) Jesus does call sinners to faith and
forgiveness through His Church. And,
Jesus uses sinners to do the work of the church! That’s Amazing Grace!
Please know that the church is not the idea of human
beings. After Peter confessed that Jesus
is “The Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16), we read, “17
And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And
I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’"
(Matthew 16:17-19) The church belongs to JESUS. Jesus BUILDS HIS church through the
administration and sharing of His forgiving love. Jesus’ church will accomplish bringing many
to salvation through faith in Christ because, “the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it!” Throughout the
rest of His ministry on earth Jesus instructed His disciples, and called them to
bring others to faith in His love, found in Jesus death and resurrection.
That is a LONG WAY TO GO to share that I saw Jesus
working in His church this past Sunday evening, February 16. The people of First Lutheran Church in
Gainesville, Florida, had been without a full-time settled pastor since the
first Sunday in August 2023. They
studied, and met, and called two other men, who declined the request to be
pastor at this congregation. But, after
prayer they were then led to call Pastor Chris Kollman. He said, “Yes.” On
Sunday evening Pastor Kollmann was installed as the new man called to shepherd
the sheep of Jesus in this place.
I told Pastor Kollmann in front of the congregation, “The
people of First Lutheran have been praying for almost a year and a half for God
to send a man to lead then in following Jesus.
They did not know who this would be.
You are that man. It is a
wonderful thing to be God’s answer to prayer.”
Surprisingly, God works to share His saving love in Jesus
with the whole world through men and women who are sinners. I do believe in the mystery of God’s work
through The Holy Christian Church. I saw
God working on Sunday night!
A Child of God, Believing in The Holy Christian Church –
Watching the Mystery of God at Work,
Pastor Rockey
P.S. I served as
vacancy pastor at First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, Florida, until they received
a new permanent full-time pastor. Last
Sunday, February 16, Pastor Chris Kollman was installed to serve First
Lutheran as full-time pastor. Here
are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/YrU1rrX42QDaQAPQ6
·
In response to the request of First Lutheran
Church, and at the request of Pastor Kollmann, I will continue to serve 1/4
time with Pastor Kollmann until Kathy and I return home to Alaska in early May.
·
WE TOOK A SPECIAL OFFERING DURING THE
INSTALLATION SERVICE – There is a shortage of pastor in the Lutheran
Church, in most churches. But, First
Lutheran has two young men who attended worship here already in seminary. There are also 3 other young men, Jonathan
Albertin, Patrick Bier, and Will Starr, who are planning to go to seminary and
study to be pastors in the Lutheran Church.
They will be traveling to St. Louis in April to attend a ‘Vocatio
Retreat’ to learn about studying to be a pastor.
THEREFORE,
during the Installation Service on Sunday, February 16, we TOOK an offering to
help these 3 young men in the trip.
·
SUNDAY SCHOOL IS IN FULL SWING until
May. Children begin in worship at 10:00 a.m.. Early in the service, after
the Children’s Message, children leave for a lesson, for a craft, and a
snack.
Parents,
Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, Neighbors, PLEASE bring your children to
Sunday School.
Also, as our
Sunday School grows, we need 4 more teachers, so students can be separated by
ages in classes. PLEASE SIGN UP ON
THE TABLE IN THE BACK OF THE CHURCH.
THANK YOU
Sunday School Teachers and staff!
·
COLLEGE STUDENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS meet on
Tuesday nights in the student house at 7:00 p.m. We are studying “The
Case for Christianity” and discussing defending our Christian faith. Come and join us!
ALSO,
there will be College Lunch for students in the Fellowship Hall after worship
beginning on February 9.
·
STEPHEN MINISTRY – First Lutheran is
re-activating the Stephen Ministry program at First Lutheran. Angie Burr, Jean Halabrin, and Dana Lucas STARTED
leadership training on February 10. In
addition, those who are committed to training as supervised Christian Care
Givers include: Julie Dicks, Tina Gorske, Patti Holloway, Debbie Jones, Marge
Polkowski, Kathy Rockey, Stephanie Smith, and Jon Visscher. Stay tuned for more information as the
training process progresses. Please pray
for this caring ministry at First Lutheran.
·
WE CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE IN
2024 and 2025 using the “Today’s Light Devotional Bible.” On Wednesday,
February 19, we read through Jeremiah 33.
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!
·
We will begin A New Member Class at First
Lutheran on Sunday, March 2. Three people
have indicated a desire to attend, but others can join us, if for no other
reason to refresh your / their faith.
Class will be
held on Sunday mornings at the same time as the Adult Sunday School Class, from
8:45-9:45, in one of the church offices.
Pastor Chris will teach the class on The Pastoral Epistles, and Pastor
Rockey will teach the new member class.
·
AN ACOLYTE CLASS will be held on Saturday,
March 1 for children in second grade and older who would like to light the
candles and help in worship in other ways.
After class we will take a trip to McDonalds! 😊
P.P.S. Family Fun:
·
On Friday
and Saturday, February 14 and 15, Kathy
and I had the privilege of visiting with some long-time (and 0ld) friends from
Alaska. John and Ruhiyyia Baker have a
home in Chipley, Florida, north of Panama City.
Pastor Denny and Sue Neels flew south to visit. We all spent time together visiting, eating ,
and enjoying some state parks. Here are
some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/rEKtuDbCJM6WDDKq7
·
Kathy and
I left for Key West after the
installation of Pastor Kollmann. We saw
a show by a favorite, Garisson Keillor. Here
are some picture from the show https://photos.app.goo.gl/hJrUp46JpytV56VcA
.
o Here
are pictures from touring the city. We think
the architchture reminds us of St. Augustine, but the nighth life reminds us of
New Orleans. We went home early. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Q1Ex1R4qK17nfmDm7
o We
stayed for two nights on a houseboat https://photos.app.goo.gl/nqQ7T7WGrwgRj86a9
o I
did fish on Tuesday, February 18 and Wednesday, February 19. I caught more fish from the bridge than from
the $400 charter boat. But fishing is
fishing. I LOVE being on or near the
water! https://photos.app.goo.gl/TFCsDXcg7fG5KymUA
·
On our way down to Key West, Kathy and I stayed
with long-time friends, Rick and Kris Armstrong. We did not get any pictures. :-(
·
Driving home to Gainesville we are stopping to
see Paul Forsyth in Bradenton.. She was
our next door neighbor in Gainsville, and now lives with her sister Doris.
·
After Port Charlotte we are stopping to visit
Alaska friends, Fred and Kelly Vasilie.
You sometime see pictures of Fred and me fishing, in Alaska, AND in
Florida. 😊
*******
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
First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL.)
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, First Lutheran
Church, Gainesville, FL
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)
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