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From Pastor Jay For the past few weeks we've had quite a few of these days where the thunder comes out and everything looks like it's going to rain, but then it doesn't. Not a drop. I have a pretty good idea of when it actually rains because it washes all of the chalk and chalk dust off the chalkboard sign in front of the church. The chalkboard sign was pretty dusty this morning. The last time I had a "sign washer" rain was last Friday. The Old Testament reading for this coming Sunday is from I Kings 19. Very few people read I Kings, even if they read their Bibles, which is a shame - so I will give you the gist of the story. Elijah is hiding from evil queen Jezebel who has been trying to kill him and every other prophet of the true God since they have tendency to make her look bad (because she is bad...really bad). Jezebel has actually done a pretty good job of killing all of the prophets of the true God. Elijah even mentions that he's the only one left. He's huddled up in a cave, whining like 3 year old at a toy store or ice cream shop. He's asking why God has let this happen. He's wondering when the miracle is going to happen. He's saying, in effect, "there's all this thunder from You, where's the rain?" Maybe you've been asking God that question too. Maybe you've been wondering where the blessings are, when the miracles are going to occur. Maybe you have been listening to His Word - His thundering voice in Scripture, and you've been asking, "Where's the rain?" I really love this part. You know what God's response is? "What are you doing here?" It's not placating Elijah's self-centered sense of injustice. It's not coddling him. With His almighty sense of irony, it is as if God says to Elijah, "you know, you might have seen the rain if you hadn't been hiding in a cave hundreds of miles from where I told you to be." Then, after hearing Elijah whine a little more, God says, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness..." It's as if He tells Elijah, "there's rain out there. Trust me. But you're not going to see it if you're stuck in your little fixer-upper cave here, so let's take you back to where you were supposed to be in the first place." That's what happens in our lives with God's forgiveness. He promises us that there is going to be rain in our lives, that He will rain down blessings. However, before He rains those blessings down, He has to rain down the greatest blessing - His Son. Jesus comes to us like a "sign washer" rain and washes all of our dusty sins away. He comes to us and even washes us away, away to where we're supposed to be, to where and who God created us to be. I hope it actually rains today. My sign is dusty. I hope it rains in your life too. I hope that rain washes all your sins away. I hope it washes you back to where you see God's blessings rain down every day. In Christ, Pastor Jay p.s. Elijah does end up outliving Jezebel...he even shows up in the sequel to First Kings... Clear
Your Calendars! New and
Important
Calendar Items! August 9th - Work Day at ULC! It is almost time for the Fall Semester. Please consider helping us spruce up the church for the Fall, football, and students. Plenty of indoor (air-conditioned) work will be available. August 10th - Council Meeting Council Members, please clear your calendars for a Council meeting after church on Sunday, August 10th. August 15th-17th - Peer Ministry Retreat Pastor Jay and the Peer Ministers will be preparing for the upcoming Fall Semester with a planning and reflection retreat. August 20th-24th - Seminole Sensation Week Seminole Sensation week is a half-week before classes begin on August 25th. Dorms will open and students will begin to come in this week and weekend. University Lutheran will be running many programs during this time period. Please consider attending and/or helping. Helping ULC Grow - Overview Interested in helping University Lutheran be more hospitable, being a good neighbor to people moving into the area, and bringing the Gospel of Jesus to non-churched people? Were you not able to make it to the meeting last Sunday? Click this link to view the Helping ULC Grow archives (bottom of the page), and email Pastor Jay with any questions. Sign up to help at HOPE Consider signing up to help serve food at HOPE Community on August 14th! No one is signed up yet, so sign up a friend with you! Seminole Sensation Week Schedule! Interested in what is going on for
Seminole Sensation Week (August 20th-24th) here at ULC? Click this link! LSSNF
and Ten Thousand Villages Join Forces Aug. 28th Lutheran Social Services of North Florida
and Ten Thousand Villages are teaming up on August 28th from 5pm to 8pm
for a community shopping day. 20% of the net profit from sales
that day will go to the Inn Between program of Lutheran Social
Services. Please consider shopping! More information
available, click here. Missed a
sermon? Send
a Card Consider sending a
card or celebrating with the following people in some way this week:
Good
Stuff
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University
Forget Your Checkbook Last Sunday? Send in your offering via University Lutheran's web site. Prayer List (Please consider including the following in your
prayer life this week) That God may feed us through the multiplication of gifts. Larry Lee, Cheryl Dance's father who appears to be nearing the end of his time in this veil of tears and will soon rest with Christ. Thanksgiving for all those who are currently thinking and praying about the Helping ULC Grow program. Our student leadership and the Peer Ministers, that they may be effectively supported through prayer and deed. All students of Tallahassee Community College, that we may be used by God to spread the news of Jesus to TCC and beyond. The Culps as they deal with pain. Bill Lueck's Aunt Margaret who is dealing with shingles. For the friends and family of Anna, a friend of Holly Lustila. Anna's father is currently dealing with a critical diagnosis. Dale II and Julia Landry as they travel this week. All students taking exams this weekend. ...and that our prayers may be joined with the prayers of all God's saints here on earth. Weekly
Events Sunday @ 11am
- WORSHIP Wednesday @ 5:30pm - Dinner at ULC Wednesday @ 6pm - Click
here for ULC's Calendar of Events Email
Links: Get This
In Your Email Box! LutherNOLE T-Shirts Peer
Minister Corner We finalized plans for Seminole
Sensation Week after FSU changed their schedule on us. We began planning for next month's
activities which will include going to Rock the Universe and a service
project. Your Peer
Ministers are Adam
Douthwaite, Randee
Garrett,
and Crystal Berner. Last
Sunday In Perspective
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