All Members, Winter Residents, Family and Friends,
Good Monday morning to you all! It is hard to believe that we are already into March 2024! So much has already happened here at Trinity already in 2024 where I am praying for “just a little more in 2024!” We have seen “just a little more already in 2024” with such wonderful Sunday morning attendance and even our Mid-week Lenten services are doing great! I am so thankful for the faithfulness of our year ‘round members as well as so many winter residents who faithfully and joyfully support the overall ministry of Trinity Lutheran Church and Trinity Tots Preschool!
Trinity Tots enrollment and registration opened on March 1st, 2024 for the 2024-2025 school year. Additionally, “Baskets Galore” ticket sales has also started. There are 18 different baskets that have been put together and donated to benefit the scholarship fund of Trinity Tots Preschool!
Tuesday the Heartland Circuit will be meeting at Faith Lutheran Church, Sebring. This is our monthly meeting where we come together for study and fellowship. We will also be discussing a Spring Convocation for the entire circuit with a possible topic of “Human Trafficking” which is so prevalent here in South Central Florida. Rev./Chaplain William Trucano and his wife Carolyn sit on the regional board for Human Trafficking here and if we decide to go this way will be the primary presenter.
Wednesday Mid-week Lenten series will have Nicodemus cross examined this week. The service will be followed by our soup and sandwich. We have had great attendance for these services so let’s keep it up and attend this Wednesday.
Friday at 10:30AM Trinity Tots Preschool will have the marriage of “Q and U” 2024. This is a cute way to teach the students about the important of Q and U in the English language. Anyone can come to the ceremony.
Saturday morning starting at 8:00AM through 12:00Noon there will be a “parking lot” sale for anyone who wants to set up a table and sell items you no longer desire to possess.
Saturday morning in the Trinity Life Center starting at 10:00AM there will be a “leaving a legacy” seminar to help you consider distributing your estate when that time comes. Mr. Brian Heip from Thrivent Financial will be here to look at different options and how you may be able to bless you family and maybe Trinity Lutheran Church in the years to come.
Please do not forget to set you clocks ahead Saturday night as Daylight-saving time begins Sunday March 10th, 2024.
Sunday morning Bible Study begins at 8:30AM as we continue to study Joshua. This is a great study, but it is coming to an end soon and we will be starting something new in a few weeks. Sunday worship begins at 10:00AM. Rev. Olckers will be preaching again this Sunday morning giving me yet another break as we gear up for the end of Lent and Holy Week coming up very quickly. We are blessed to have three Pastor’s here at Trinity and so I am trying to utilize them to the best of my and their abilities.
Monday morning the Church Council will be meeting at 10:00AM.
Please pray for our family as we are facing some real challenges with my Aunt Helen’s health crisis. At the present time she is at Blake Hospital in Bradenton where today they are determining some very important aspects of her care. Also please pray for Susan and I as we are both struggling with sinus and allergy issues. And on top of all that I have a tremendously painful gout flare up in my left wrist and left heel of my foot. We appreciate your prayers all the time but especially during this busy time of the year.
Below is an interesting devotional thought from “Sparkly Gems from the Greek”.
Jesus Cleans Up Peter's Mess!
When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite them with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
- Luke 22:49-51
Have you ever had a time when it nearly broke your heart to see what a mess a friend had made of his life? Because you loved your friend so much, you were willing to do anything necessary to assist him in getting his life back in order again. Although you knew it would be difficult, you were nonetheless willing to step into his disorder, chaos, and confusion to help him because you knew he'd never get out of his mess by himself.
Let's see what Jesus did for Peter that night in the Garden of Gethsemane after Peter chopped off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest. There is something we can learn from the example Jesus gave us that night.
What Peter did to Malchus was not only scandalous - it was against the law and therefore punishable. Peter's actions were criminal! First, Peter stole a sword that didn't belong to him - and not just any ol' sword either, but the sword of a Roman soldier! This, then, was actually a military violation that could have sent Peter to prison for many years. But besides stealing military hardware, he defied the honor of a Roman soldier - a deed that would have assuredly led to his own physical execution by the Roman government.
These wrongdoings were sufficient to ruin Peter's entire life. But in addition to these breaches of law, he could have also been sentenced for physically injuring a fellow citizen! And this wasn't just any citizen. As the servant of the high priest, Malchus was an extremely well-known man in the city of Jerusalem. Had Peter escaped the charges of stealing military equipment and defying the dignity of a Roman soldier, he would have been imprisoned for injuring a person of such stature in the city of Jerusalem.
Jesus had just been sweating blood from the intense spiritual battle He fought in prayer in the Garden. Then He had received the kiss of betrayal from a friend and was therefore facing the prospect of the Cross and three days in the grave. Now a new problem had been thrust upon Him. Because of Peter's impetuous, unauthorized behavior, Jesus had to put everything on hold for a moment so He could step forward and fix the mess Peter had created!
As blood poured from the side of Malchus' head and dripped from the blade Peter held in his hand, Jesus asked the soldiers, "Suffer ye thus far…" (Luke 22:51). This was the equivalent of saying, "Let Me just do one more thing before you take Me!" Then Jesus reached out to Malchus and "…touched his ear, and healed him." Rather than allow Himself to be taken away while Peter was still subject to arrest, imprisonment, and possible execution, Jesus stopped the entire process to fix the mess Peter made that night.
The Bible says that Jesus "touched" the servant. The Greek word for "touch" is aptomai, a word that means to firmly grasp or to hold tightly. This is very important, for it lets us know that Jesus didn't just lightly touch Malchus; He firmly grabbed the servant's head and held him tightly. This is important because it tells us the tenacity with which Jesus prayed! When He laid His hands on people, they knew that hands had been laid on them!
The Bible doesn't tell us whether Jesus touched the stump that remained from the severed ear and grew a new ear or grabbed the old ear from the ground and miraculously set it back in its place. Regardless of how the miracle occurred, however, the word aptomai ("touched") lets us know that Jesus was aggressive in the way He touched the man.
As a result of Jesus' touch, Malchus was completely "healed" (v. 51). The word "healed" is the Greek word iaomai, which means to cure, to restore, or to heal. Jesus completely restored Malchus' ear before the soldiers bound Him and led Him out of the Garden.
That night in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus' very words knocked 300 to 600 soldiers off their feet and flat on their backs. He didn't need Peter's help. He didn't request Peter's intervention. Nevertheless, Peter suddenly jumped in the middle of God's business and tried to create a revolt. Yet rather than walk off and leave Peter in the mess he had made by his own doings, Jesus stopped everything that was happening and intervened on his behalf. Jesus took the time to heal Malchus' ear for two primary reasons: 1) because He is a Healer and 2) because He didn't want Peter to be arrested for his impulsive actions.
The next time you think you are too busy or too important to get involved in a friend's problem, remember this example that Jesus gave us on the night of His arrest. That night Jesus had a lot on His mind, but He still stopped everything to help a friend. He could have said, "Peter, you've made this mess by yourself; now you can fix it by yourself." But it was clear that Peter would never get out of this trouble without assistance, so Jesus stepped in to help Peter get things back in order again.
When you are tempted to be judgmental about other people's self-imposed problems, it would be good for you to remember the many times God's mercy has intervened to save you from messy situations that you created yourself. Even though you deserved to get in trouble, God loved you enough to come right alongside you and help you pull things together so you could get out of that mess. Now whenever you see others in trouble, you have the opportunity to be an extension of God's mercy to them.
Put everything on hold for a few minutes so you can reach out to a friend in trouble; then do whatever you can to help restore the situation. If this was important enough for Jesus to do, then you have time to do it too! Make it a priority today to be a faithful friend to the end, just as Jesus was to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane!
Have a great week! Why not make it a great week for someone else as well!
Rev. Richard A. Norris
Trinity Lutheran Church
25 Lakeview Street
Lake Placid, Florida 33852
863-441-4168
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