JULY 19th - 7TH SUNDAY OF PENTECOST

Are comets the weeds or wheat of our solar system?

Maybe you have been trying to get a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE the past few days. Dan Clifton with the DailyTrib interviewed me Friday morning for an article on the comet that came out Friday afternoon. It offers some tips on viewing.

Yet, what is a comet? (Besides a "dirty snowball," as my college astronomy professor proclaimed?)

Comets are leftover fragments from the formation of the solar system...billions of years old...bits of raw holiness quietly minding their own business until gravity pulls them into a violent trip around the Sun. A comet could do a planet like ours great harm. Yet, it is also comets that have made life on our planet possible. They are sources and islands of life-giving water in the large void of space. NEOWISE is named after the satellite telescope that found it, whose sole purpose is to locate near-Earth asteroids and comets that could harm our planet. Comets are yes...weeds...but they are also wheat. Comets, like most things in life, are more this AND that, versus this OR that.

Jesus' parable of the weeds and wheat is quite a complex and intertwined story to chew on. It's a reminder of how most things are not black and white. To pull up the weeds (a good intention) could cause great harm to that which you did not wish to harm (the wheat). We could all name examples of this in action in our lives, and from across history up to the present day.

Pastor Kara, in her message this week titled "Making Room for the Weeds," wrestles with this paradox of the life of faith...that we have both weeds and wheat in us...that this parable reminds us of the raw holiness that intertwines and binds us all together in Christ...in God's love for all, whether we like it or not.

So, as you orbit the SON in your journey of faith, what gravitational forces are tugging on you? How are these forces on you affecting and impacting the celestial bodies around you? What forces pull you in ways that make you shine with the glory of God for all, in a life of thanks and praise?

Clear skies!

Pastor Vanicek

Special thanks to those who helped make our online worship possible this morning, a powerful witness that even though space may separate us, it is the love of God in Christ which connects and re-connects us this day and always (Matthew and Olivia Cheesman, Pat Erickson, Dusty Knight, Arlene Koester, Joan Leake, Dale Moquist, Deborah Vanicek).

LIVE-STREAM WORSHIP

The live-stream worship begins at 9AM on Sunday on YouTube and Facebook. Visit our website ( CLICK HERE ) for links to all our online resources for worship and communication.

Rev. Kara Joy Stewart is Executive Director of Tricounty Family Ministries, a social service ministry in Charleston, SC. She previously served as Campus Pastor at Texas Lutheran University, and served parishes in Flagstaff, AZ, and Summerville and Charleston, SC. She is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, SC, and of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, OH. Pastor Kara is passionate about helping Christians find ways to live out their faith in their daily lives, and to make a difference in their community. She is a certified yoga instructor and is in demand as a retreat leader, focusing on the intersection of spirituality and justice. Pastor Kara has a teenage son who is a Boy Scout working on his Eagle award and also a bassoon player figuring out online band camp.

This Sunday's worship is printed in a downloadable bulletin to aid in your worship this weekend.

DWELLING IN THE WORD

 Martin Luther argued that “the ears are the only organs of a Christian,” since it is through the ear that life begins, through hearing the preached Word of God.

Read scripture from YOUR Bible at home. Remember the story of who gave you or how you got your Bible. May this story remind you of your connection to Christ & others.

READINGS FOR PENTECOST+7

Isaiah 44:6-8 (In the face of uncertainty, God speaks)

Psalm 686:11-17 (A call to God for guidance on what to do)

Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 (Parable of weeds and wheat)



CLICK HERE for various ways to DWELL IN THE WORD .

REMEMBERING OUR COMMUNION

One thing that many miss is sharing in Holy Communion.  This time invites us to turn our question from, "How do we receive Holy Communion?” to “How does the Word of God come to us and how do we receive the Word of God?

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Prayer is central to the life of faith because it connects us to God and each other, a reminder that we are never socially distanced in Christ. Please say these names aloud as a way of lifting them up to God this day. Names in bold were added this past week. You are welcome in this time of prayer to include your own joys and concerns.

MEMBERS

Shanna Murrell

Ruby Sanders

Marci Wilde

Joe Manno

Jim Dipprey

Faith Trapp

Ken Tate

Wyatt Crouse

Jenny Braeutigam

Vondean Schmidt

Vince Wesch

Sandra Conners

Laverne Pullin

Dick Schroer

Jolene Williams

Annie Woods

Nik Schappe

Doris Tate

Linda Williams

Mary Posey

Harold Brueckner

Mary Langehennig

NON-MEMBERS

Larry Fritz

Moe Docherty

Kristen Kuenstler

Kathy Bushrow

Matt Vella

Jon Bohmann

Judy Saxsma

Chris Tretter

Ellen Adams

Philip Salyers

Gil Debner

Mike Knigge

Craig Fields

Julia Reitz

Lincoln Cortez

Wayne Rhoades

Marnie Casteneda

Wade Herrington

Wanda Center

Charles Butle

Diane and Bill Burke

Amanda Morris

Pete Davis

Danette DeMont

Shane Carpenter

Anne Hunnafin

Greg Schoonmaker

Bob Lenz

Toby Green

Tammy Whitman

Sibi & Don Kraemer

Brayden Ybarra

Larry Stahl

Margo Stahl

Bob & Kris Ward

Ron Burke

Greg Butler

Jim and Geri Dipprey in the loss of their granddaughter, Katie Lewis.

Mary Posey in the loss of her nephew, Vance VanDemark.

The Hicks Family in the loss of Bryan’s father, Alan Hicks.

OFFERINGS AND GIFTS TO GOD

Thank you for your continued generosity toward our operating budget during this time.

Stewardship quote for the week:

"The more I think about it, the more I wonder if God and neighbor are somehow One. "Loving God, Loving Neighbor" - the same thing? For me, coming to recognize that God loves every neighbor is the ultimate appreciation." - Fred Rogers.

If you’re not using electronic giving, you can still mail your offering to the church at 1803 Highway 1431 West, Marble Falls, TX 78654 . And if you’re not already a sustaining member of our ministry through our Consecration Sunday process, this is a great time to ask the question, "What % of my income is God calling me to give?" Even a commitment of $5 or $10 a week can make a huge difference in our community.

CLICK HERE   to give online one time, 

or to set up a recurring offering.

Or simply text the amount 

you want to give to 830-460-5757.

( give+text details here )

BLESSING FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,

nor things present, nor things to come,

nor powers, nor heights, nor depths,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us

from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

God, the creator, +Jesus, the Christ,

and the Holy Spirit, the comforter,

bless you and keep you in eternal love. Amen.

GO IN PEACE...TOGETHER, BOLDLY LIVING AND SHARING GOD'S GRACE WITH ALL!

LIVE STREAMS FROM OUR SISTER CHURCHES

If you would like to tune into a live-stream or recorded worship from one of our sister ELCA congregations , click the button below to visit our synod's website archiving a cornucopia of options of how God's people are worshipping.

PRAYER RESOURCES FOR YOUR WEEK

PRAY AS YOU GO

This is wonderfully elegant website with a daily scripture reading, music to go along with the reading, and a reflection.

It's also an app for your smartphone. Search for "pray as you go" and take it with you for a way to recenter your day, anytime.