Check out my @constantcontact newsletter

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God Used Water

Water can bring life and death. It keeps us alive. Plants, animals and humans need it or they will die. Water can be dangerous. Too much of it can cause a person to die. It can be used to make new starts much like God did when he destroyed the earth with great floods in Noah’s time. Water is used to bring new life much like God did after the terrible flood when He promised Noah and his family a new life. “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything…I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.’” (Genesis 9: 1-3, 9-11).

God used water to save His people at the crossing of the Red Sea. “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea…Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived” (Exodus 14: 21-23, 27-28). God used water to show His power in the dessert. When the children of Israel thought there was none He miraculously provided it for His people (see Exodus 17, 17 and Numbers 20). He quenched their thirst and saved them from certain death.

Jesus allowed Himself to be baptized with water by John in order to fulfill the prophecies about Him. He calmed the waters to save His disciples and show how we could live in peace with Him. Water is used for cleansing and growing. In humbleness we come to Him, asking to be made clean again. “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51: 2,7) and we are saved.

Through the waters of baptism our sins are drowned and, through His resurrection, Christ saves us and proclaims us clean.“…and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).

Finally, water is used to remind us what and who we are as we live out our sanctified lives here on earth. “…Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’” (John 7: 37b-38).

Future Looks Good!

I am thinking that the future looks good for us Christians. Especially here at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Bixby, Oklahoma. We just celebrated the Ascension of Jesus. This is when we celebrate the Lordship of Jesus. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

He is all seeing, all knowing, all powerful and always present. He is seated at the right hand of the Father and at the same time right here with us. Cool Huh?

We take comfort in the fact that Jesus is ruling over everything, never parting from His human nature. He knows what we are going through and He has all power to help us. He intercedes for us and He serves as a forerunner, preparing everything an advance for our entry into heaven. All this He does while not denying His human nature. As ruler He gives us gifts so that we can be part of the complete body of Christ. ^“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

O ascended Christ, who reigns on high sitting at the right hand of God the Father, ever knowing, ever seeing and ever powerful, we ask that we may some day be ascended with you in glory, so that we can experience the eternity which you have intended for us since the beginning of time. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen

Prayers at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Bixby, OK

Lot's of stuff happening at Lord of Life that needs covering in prayer.

Update on Little Allison
Continue your prayers for little 6 year old Allison. She has a malignant tumor in her brain. the doctors have never seen one like this. She had her first Proton treatment yesterday. She will need 37 MORE treatments. She and her mother will be there for at least two additional weeks.

The side effects of this treatment are numerous. Please pray against them. Allison only has sight in one eye now and the family is asking you to pray that her one good eye's (left) optic nerve would not be damaged any more.

Don't forget her older sister Sydney. It has been really hard on her too. She is 8. She is feeling overwhelmed that she can't help her and that she is getting so much attention. She would like to be showered with gifts and prayers and attention too. This is so being a little girl! She is so strong but it is wearing on her.
Forward to a Friend
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Pray for Johnny Barfield, Oklahoma District Lutheran Church Extension Fund Vice President. He has recently been diagnosed with B Cell lymphoma. Please keep Johnny in your prayers as he begins treatments in the next few days.

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We had great donations this week to thank God for! He gave us serving pitchers, a mirror and flowers. Our church still has the following needs:
- A lawn mower (or someone to mow our lawn)
- Tea pots for brewing tea
- Coffee Grinders
- Christian books to give away
- Christian videos to give away
- Volunteers to staff the coffeehouse
Forward to a Friend
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Pray for more donors to continue to step forward and offer enough funds to keep our ministry and coffeehouse going. There is no way for our little church to be able to pay for the tremendous ministries that we have taken on. We rely on donors to help. We can now accept donations of stock through the Lutheran Foundation. Pray for people to use this service.

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His Love 4 Kidz

Our Last Mobile Kids Ministry brings many children out to be ministered to. We have ministered to over 12 families and 50 people. This is good news. It means that we continue to reach more families. God is giving the increase.We give away sacks of groceries to the parents. There were lots of prizes, singing, games and fun. Pray the Lord would double the numbers next week. Pray for volunteers to help us canvas the neighborhood each Saturday. Pray for front doors to open. Pray that these underprivileged children will come to know that someone cares for them.

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For our Parents, Kids and Money Matters seminar this Sunday, April 25 at noon (lunch included). Pray for 15 Parent and child teams to participate.

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For our Parents, Teens and Money Matters seminar on April 29 at 7pm. Pray for 15 Parent and teen teams to participate.

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Pray for our New Member Class - Alive In Christ starting on Sunday, May 2 at 9:30am.

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Pray for our GriefShare Class meeting this Sunday, at 6:00pm.

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Pray for our Ladies Bible Study meeting this Sunday and also Tuesdays at 6:00pm.

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Last month we made up 1/3 of our short fall but we still have 2/3 to go in our general budget and the coffeehouse funds are still pretty thin. Please do not stop praying for us to catch up quickly. Please say a prayer of thankfulness for Amber Naylor who has been faithful in straightening out our books.

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Pray for Rachael and Hannah Wendelbo's (coffeehouse employee) grandfather. He broke some ribs. One punctured his lung. He has been in the hospital for almost 2 weeks. Pray for complete healing.

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For the Lost, Dechurched and Unchurched - Pray that many would find comfort and hope in Christ Jesus here at Lord of Life.

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Those in Our Church Who Have Lost Incomes - This is due to loss of jobs, decrease in salary or unexpected expenses or all three. Pray that they will be able to see their way through economic hardship.

Things Are Moving Along

WOW things have just heating up at the church and coffeehouse here in Bixby, Oklahoma. We have many groups using our facility for their meetings. Many of them look at our free book exchange. Many Christian books are being read. The Bixby, OK Mobile Kidz Club has close to 50 people being ministered to every Saturday afternoon. Our Ladies Bible study on Esther is now meeting on Sunday nights and Tuesday mornings and our first New Member's class starts May 2. We have a few needs: - A mirror for the men's restroom - A lawn mower (or someone to mow our lawn) - Serving pitchers for serving tea and coffee - Tea pots for brewing tea - Coffee Grinders - Christian books to give away - Christian videos to give away - Volunteers to staff the coffeehouse Please continue to pray for us (and me as I lead them).

A Wonderful Holy Week

It has been a wonderful Holy week at Lord of Life. Bixby, OK Continues to blossom with new growth. the grass, the trees, the church and the coffeehouse. We had a record attendance on Easter Sunday..... Book Your Group Meeting Today--- Over 90 people have attended meetings at Goodies last month. Why not add your group to the fun? we have TV's, DVD players, projector, sound equipment and three separate areas to use for meetings. And the Coffeehouse is always open for you to purchase drinks for your clients or just let them buy their own. Click here to book your group Women's Bible Study---Sunday Nights at 6:00pm---Life Delivers It's Share of Knock Out Punches. You bob. You weave. You try to keep moving. But what do you do when you inevitably find yourself on the ropes? Go into training with Beth Moore's newest study-Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman.Facing heavyweights bent on her destruction, Esther trusted God and landed a blow that saved her people. Her destiny can be yours as you know more deeply the God who is in your corner. Click Here To Sign Up GriefShare Class Sunday Nights---at 6:00pm---Have you recently lost someone special to you?---Are you having struggles coping?---We can help. You can do this. Click to watch videos about GriefShare Click Here To Sign Up

What does it mean to be created in the Image of God?

From Jonathan Schultz at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Bixby, OK. One must consider several things in answer to the question “What does it mean to be created in the Image of God?” First we consider mankind is unique from all the rest of creation. God created all of the other creatures with a simple statement “Let there be” but in mankind’s creation God says “Let us make.” The fact that God also breathed into mans the breath of life further distinguishes man from all the other creatures “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7) Next He says “after our own image.” He said this only about man and not the other creatures “…created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians. 4:24b). Man is not just another category of creature. There is mankind but no animal-kind or plant-kind. Man is unique. He is made in the image of his creator. Animals are not. Next we see that God created man to be in communion with Him. Mankind was created to be His companions. To this end He has given man emotions, the ability to reason, morals, a mind and a memory. Scriptures reveal the fact that God gives specific instructions to man because man can understand and relate to what He is saying. They are responsible to God. He has not given this to any of His other creatures. Man was given the ability to have dominion over all creation. He is to be in charge. “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so” (Genesis 1: 28-30). We see further evidence of man being created in the Image of God in Genesis 9:6 “‘Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the Image of God has God made man.’” This implies that after the fall mankind retains the distinction of God’s image even though we lost the close relationship that was theirs at creation. It is permissible to kill animals but not other humans because they still are created in the Image of God. One is not to speak ill of other human beings. To do so would be speaking ill of God because mankind is created in His image. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be” (James 3: 9-10).

St. Patrick's Day History

I found this on History Channel.com. In St. Patrick's honor we will be celebrating a Lenten service tonight at 7pm at Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 13160 South Memorial drive in Bixby, OK. Also our Coffeehouse, at the same address in Bixby, is offering Irish Cream Coffee, Lattes (hot or iced) and Frappe's All can be made Sugar free. Vicar Jonathan Schultz On this day in 461 A.D., Saint Patrick, Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland, dies at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland. Much of what is known about Patrick's legendary life comes from the Confessio, a book he wrote during his last years. Born in Great Britain, probably in Scotland, to a well-to-do Christian family of Roman citizenship, Patrick was captured and enslaved at age 16 by Irish marauders. For the next six years, he worked as a herder in Ireland, turning to a deepening religious faith for comfort. Following the counsel of a voice he heard in a dream one night, he escaped and found passage on a ship to Britain, where he was eventually reunited with his family. According to the Confessio, in Britain Patrick had another dream, in which an individual named Victoricus gave him a letter, entitled "The Voice of the Irish." As he read it, Patrick seemed to hear the voices of Irishmen pleading him to return to their country and walk among them once more. After studying for the priesthood, Patrick was ordained a bishop. He arrived in Ireland in 433 and began preaching the Gospel, converting many thousands of Irish and building churches around the country. After 40 years of living in poverty, teaching, traveling and working tirelessly, Patrick died on March 17, 461 in Saul, where he had built his first church. Since that time, countless legends have grown up around Patrick. Made the patron saint of Ireland, he is said to have baptized hundreds of people on a single day, and to have used a three-leaf clover--the famous shamrock--to describe the Holy Trinity. In art, he is often portrayed trampling on snakes, in accordance with the belief that he drove those reptiles out of Ireland. For thousands of years, the Irish have observed the day of Saint Patrick's death as a religious holiday, attending church in the morning and celebrating with food and drink in the afternoon. The first St. Patrick's Day parade, though, took place not in Ireland, but the United States, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City in 1762. As the years went on, the parades became a show of unity and strength for persecuted Irish-American immigrants, and then a popular celebration of Irish-American heritage. The party went global in 1995, when the Irish government began a large-scale campaign to market St. Patrick's Day as a way of driving tourism and showcasing Ireland's many charms to the rest of the world. Today, March 17 is a day of international celebration, as millions of people around the globe put on their best green clothing to drink beer, watch parades and toast the luck of the Irish.

Just Thought You Would Want to Know

Amazing things have been happening since the coffeehouse opened last month in our church in Bixby, Oklahoma. Your prayers are working! 1. A man came in and told me he was an atheist but now is not so sure. He asked me to visit with him about God. He wants to know all about Jesus!!! 2. Another man came in and asked if I would help him with his fifth step. The sign says 12 steps spoken here. He wants to take me up on it! 3. A man named Bill wants to partner with us to help feed hungry kids in Bixby. 4. God has sent us all Christian employees. One already knows she is going to be a missionary in India when she graduates High School. Another teaches Jr. High girls at her church. Still another texts specially selected Bible verses every day to her friends everyday. An another is very involved at camp Lutherhoma. ALL are active in their churches and want to have a mission and not a job. 5. We asked for a computer for our Children's ministry director and got 3 laptops donated to us. 6. We completed our constitution and have heard that there are no suggested changes. It should be approved next month. 7. We did a funeral where there was spiritualists in attendance. They believe in ouiji boards, reincarnation, talking to the dead. I did nothing but share the good news of Jesus being the ONLY way to heaven. We went right into the enemy camp. 8. We baptize a beautiful baby tonight. His parents are only here this week and will be shipped overseas on military duty. Dad said he just wanted his baby to be baptized in a church like he was. Grand mother called us. Just thought you would like to know how your prayers are being answered. Jonathan Schultz Lord of Life Lutheran Church 13160 South Memorial Drive Bixby, OK

New Church - New Coffeehouse

New Church Opens New Coffeehouse Last April an new church started here in Bixby,Oklahoma. Lord of Life Lutheran Church opened its doors at 13160 South Memorial Drive. “It’s a building that has seen several tenants in the past” said Jonathan Schultz the minister. “There was a paper goods store, tax service and a guitar center before us. We are located just North of Destiny Childcare Center and across the street from Ron’s Restaurant and a beautiful new bank is two lots over to our North.” Lord of Life is the only Lutheran Church within a 5 mile radius. The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod has a vision to reach one hundred million people by 2017. To accomplish this they have determined they will need at least 2000 new churches in the U.S. alone. “The Tulsa area gets to start 6 new churches and we are the second one started” Schultz said. Other plants include starts in Glenn Pool, Broken Arrow, Skiatook, and Clayton. Soon a new Coffeehouse with a familiar name will open in Bixby. “We decided to start our church differently by hosting a community coffeehouse. Lutherans love to drink coffee and they love to visit. Hence the church coffeehouse was a natural.” And when the church contacted Karin Loudermilk about using the Goodies name a plan came together. “We will offer coffees, teas, smoothies, frappe’s, lattes, cappuccinos, espresso’s, Italian sodas, soft drinks and prepackaged treats. There are meeting rooms available as well as free WIFI, printing and fax services. There is even a safe childcare area with glass doors so mom can watch her children while she enjoys her drink and snack” Said Schultz. “Add large screen TV’s with Wii’s and Play Stations and we have something for everyone.” Goodies Community Coffeehouse will be open daily from 6:00 am to 8:00pm Monday through Saturday. The church will have the same hours plus be open on Sundays.