ASLC Devotions - Friday

Ephesians 1:7-8

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.

Wow! Cliff Notes for Lent; Cliff Notes for Christianity. The eponymous study guides were first published when I was a freshman in college. (I might have done better had I used them.) I can’t find one for the New Testament, but Paul published one for the church at Ephesus in the first century A.D. And it works for us today. We are redeemed through the Crucifixion; we are forgiven through his grace. That’s it. God loves us so much that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

Tom Germuska

Join us for the Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Full calendar is available at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org 

ASLC Devotions - Thursday

Ephesians 1:3-6 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

I'm tired. Just keeping to my schedule is tedious.  When I'm rushing to get things done, I sometimes miss getting everything right.  Being somewhat of a perfectionist, this is really a strain on my nervous system. 

This passage offers me great hope. Because we are "predestined for adoption through Jesus Christ", I don't have to live a life trying to earn God's approval. I don't have to worry that because I didn't do something perfectly God is out to get me. It doesn't work that way. He alone is the soul/sole determining factor. God will not love me today and hate me tomorrow.

I would much rather my adoption be determined by the unchanging decree of God than based on my job performance.

Carole Graesser

Join us for the Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Full calendar is available at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org   

ASLC Devotions - Wednesday

 Mark 11:17 Jesus was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations?  But you have made it a den of robbers.”

I remember that during my childhood, many times my father would come home from work and start sweeping.  He'd see the mess four kids made (already cleaned up several times by my tired mom) and, after a frustrating day of diplomacy, he tried to bring order where he could.  I inherited this gene and can tell you that sweeping is therapeutic!

I think Jesus was clarifying his priorities and putting his life in order when he “cleaned house.”  He cleansed the Temple, the center of worship, during his last week, right after he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to glad shouts of “Hosanna!”  He had hinted several times about the danger he faced.  He had things to do, with no time to waste.  A  previous verse tells us that the day before, “He had gone into the Temple and looked around at everything,” then left because it was late.  What he saw there must have really upset him, because the next day he went right back and drove out those who soiled God's house with dishonest religious businesses that robbed the Temple of dignity.

What do we need to clear out of our temples this Lent?

Linda Foltz

Join us for midweek Lenten supper and worship TONIGHT on Wednesday. Soup supper at 6:15 and worship at 7. This week, we will encounter a reflection by Isaac about the day his father Abraham nearly sacrificed him. Then, join us for the Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Full calendar is available at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org  

ASLC Devotions - Tuesday

 Hebrews 9:28 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgement, so Christ, having offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

This has been, needless to say, a tough year for me. After reading the verses for this day, I focused on the above because it gives me hope. I am waiting for that second coming, whether it is when Christ returns or when I pass on.

It gives me hope that the ones that have gone before me (Son and Mother this past year, and Father and Brother previously) will be there to greet me. Christ’s sacrifice allows all of us the chance to be with Him as he took away our sins. Because we do not know the day, time or place when He will call us, we must always be ready.

Of course, you’re never ready to say good bye to your loved ones. We can only hope that they are at peace in the arms of Christ. He will never leave us. We are only here on this earth for a relatively short time (some shorter than others, which we don’t understand) before we are claimed by God.

I hope that each of you use the time here to thank Christ for His sacrifice and remember to hug, kiss and love those who are in your life.

Michael Nedzel

Join us for midweek Lenten supper and worship on Wednesday. Soup supper at 6:15 and worship at 7. This week, we will encounter a reflection by Isaac about the day his father Abraham nearly sacrificed him. Then, join us for the Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Full calendar is available at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org 

ASLC Devotions - Monday

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

It’s the middle of Lent.  20 days past and 20 more days of no chocolate. Today is also the 100^th anniversary of Girl Scouts of the USA.

The entire 13 verse assigned passage (1 Corinthians 3:10-23) is long.  It talks about a skilled master builder laying a foundation that someone else builds on.  Chocolate doesn’t make a good foundation, for health or a building.  Girl Scouts is one of the many materials we can use to build on our foundations and on the foundations of those around us.

You and I build on the foundation we received at Baptism.  We choose how to build on it and with what materials.  Our work will be tested with fire but we will survive, “saved only through fire.”  The fire makes us strong.

The reading continues with the building metaphor, “God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.”  If anyone destroys the temple, God will destroy that person.  I’m glad I’m on HIS team and not anyone else's.

My favorite part is verses 21-23. What a great message for the middle of the long Lenten season:  our work will be tested but God stands by us and “… all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”  

 

We belong to God; there is hope.

Adrienne Bolbot

Join us for midweek Lenten supper and worship on Wednesday. Soup supper at 6:15 and worship at 7. This week, we will encounter a reflection by Isaac about the day his father Abraham nearly sacrificed him. Then, join us for the Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Full calendar is available at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org 

ASLC Devotions - Saturday

 Mark 9:2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them. 

What was your “ah ha moment” or have you ever had one?  That event, good or bad, changes your course of action or direction. Maybe it occurred when you lost your job or were hired for a new one. Could it have been after your recovery from as serious illness or an accident?  It might be something as simple as reading a meaningful book, listening to a sermon, attending a lecture or retreat, or as tragic as a death, divorce or personal addiction.  Whatever the event you are changed forever.   

I think the transfiguration in Mark 9 is an “ah ha moment” for the three disciples and Christ.  This event on the mountain-top reinforced to everyone that Jesus was the Son of God, the Savior of the world.  This was not the first time the disciples and Christ had heard God’s voice, but the message was the same, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”  The Father repeated the announcement from Jesus’ baptism.  His divinity was confirmed,  shining brightly through the clouds. Christ’s life was about to change, going from preaching and healing to a path headed toward Jerusalem  and directly to the cross. His confused disciples were to follow but only Christ knew where He was going. Peter, James and John would have their “ah ha moment” in the days following the resurrection. Let Lent be our “ah ha moment” as we choose to follow Christ to the cross and celebrate His resurrection.

Sandy Drucker

Join us for worship this Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar.  

ASLC Devotions - Friday

 Acts 7:35 It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ and whom God now sent as both a ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

To me, this passage is the story of someone ordinary who was called to greatness. And not just ordinary but already rejected by the very people he had been called to lead away from persecution – to rescue.

As we are told so often throughout our growth in the Christian faith, we are all called by God to do great things. The question is—will we answer the call? If you are like me, even a burning bush might just escape my attention as I move from task to task throughout my day. I’m busy, as are we all, and I tend not to force myself to slow down and smell the flowers. As Ferris Bueller says, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

On that note, I challenge you all to slow down and live in the moment. Take the time to actually listen to the person talking to you, with eye contact and everything. Take the time to find out how someone really is rather than settling for ‘fine’. Take the time to do something for someone out of the blue just for the heck of it—like the gal who, just a few weeks ago, paid for my Starbucks coffee and handed me a “pay it forward” card in honor of her birthday—how cool!

How can doing these things help us answer the call? We will be more aware of the needs of others, of our surroundings, of our needs, and then we can better help ourselves and others be and feel the best we all can. It’s not easy—this being “on call”—but God promises us it will all be worth it. And I believe Him.

Margo Ban

Join us for worship this Third Sunday in Lent at 8:30 and 11. Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar.