Pastoral Message: “Come and See – Thoughts on Your Personal Evangelism” Week of the First Sunday after Epiphany January 11, 2023
Pastoral Message:
“Come and See – Thoughts on Your Personal Evangelism”
Week of the First Sunday after Epiphany
January 11, 2023
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
On the Feast of the Epiphany, we celebrated Christ being revealed and made known to the nations with the visit of the Magi from foreign lands. Now we’ve entered the season of Sundays after Epiphany which feature gospel stories that contain still more epiphanies, that is, revelations about who Jesus is. This Sunday we’ll hear about John the Baptist pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God to a couple of guys who would become Jesus’ disciples. When the two began to follow him, Jesus turned to them and asked, “What are you looking for?” “Rabbi,” they responded, “where are you staying?” Jesus replied, “Come and see.” So, they went and stayed with Jesus that day, and then became his disciples.
“Come and see” is at the heart of any faithful, personal evangelism strategy. “Come and see” is a simple, straightforward invitation that doesn’t involve argument or “winning souls for Christ.” We’re simply called to invite folk, and then we leave the rest up to God’s Spirit to work in people’s lives, calling them forth to discipleship. We are called to invite people whose paths cross with ours to “come and see” what’s going on in our life together in church, happenings which offer their own epiphanies, revelations of Jesus in our midst.
Happily, we’ve begun receiving a small, but steady stream of new visitors to services and events at Faith-La Fe. Perhaps that’s the result of places opening back up for more activity as this point in the pandemic. Perhaps word is getting out to the wider community about goings on in our congregation. In any case, here’s your chance to the do the work of an evangelist in reaching out to these visitors for conversation about what they have come to see at Faith-La Fe.
Do you have in mind what you might say to these visitors, encouraging further visits, talking points extolling the virtues of our congregation that point to Jesus Christ? And what about others in your walk of life, those in your circle of friends, neighbors, co-workers, relatives, and other acquaintances who have not yet come to see, but who might? What are we inviting others to come and see? I encourage you to consider and plan your own personal answers to these questions.
But here’s a listing of what I have come to see in our life together, features of our congregational life which play a role in directing our attention to Jesus Christ and his central role in this congregation:
• As I wrote about last week, I have seen the beauty of holiness in our worship, music, and architecture which ground us in the central things, God’s word and sacraments, that reveal Christ and which, Sunday after Sunday, season after season, point to the significant events of Jesus’ life, mission, and ministry.
• I have seen and experienced the good vibe in our communal climate and spirit reflecting Christian dispositions of love and humility and compassion and mercy, and more – all dispositions which reflect Christ, his life and witness, and the fruit of being in relationship with him.
• I see a campus that has a complicated schedule of groups from the wider community who have a welcome place here for their healing, a contemporary incarnation of the healing ministries of Jesus.
• I see a former parsonage that now welcomes and houses refugees from one of the most war-torn countries in the world, an expression of Jesus’ high regard for the outcast and marginalized and his commitment to welcoming strangers.
• I see a well-regarded preschool which welcomes little ones as Christ welcomed the young children and would not hinder them from direct access to him.
• I see a community garden that is poised to be planted to feed others as Jesus fed the multitudes in the miracles of the loaves and fishes.
• I see in our community a cadre of disciples committed to praying for those on our prayer list, even as Jesus took time for long periods of prayer, even as Christ continues to intercede for us to the Father.
• I see a community of people hungry to be taught and to be formed and informed in the faith, even as teaching was a central feature of Jesus’ ministry as crowds gathered around him to hear what he had to say.
• I see a congregation that likes to eat and to party, as Jesus did his fair share of the same with his followers, eating even with sinners and tax collectors!
• I see a congregation committed to the full inclusion of all people, seeking to break down barriers that divide and exclude, even as Jesus constantly reached out to those marginalized and excluded for welcome into the dominion of God.
• I see a congregation connected to the wider community and wider church, even as Jesus traveled the highways and byways in his public ministry as he proclaimed the good news far and wide.
• I see a cadre of capable lay leaders, better known as disciples, who in the spirit of the original disciples, seek faithfully to follow Jesus in their own ministries in daily life.
• I see a congregation committed to a vision of the Christly dominion of God that includes many nations, in our case with a special focus on Spanish language ministry alongside and increasingly co-equal with, I pray, our English language ministries.
• I see a congregation committed to deepening spiritual life, even as Jesus was committed to, and indeed, embodied the fullness of life in the Spirit.
So, there’s a lot for people to “come and see” at Faith-La Fe, and many points of entry into deeper relationship with Christ made known in the means of grace and other activities of our common life.
What would you add to this listing of that which others may “come and see” at Faith-La Fe? Don’t let this be just a rhetorical question. I am, in fact, interested in your answers and in what you have come to see in our midst!
As people come and see, some will choose to stay, and we’ll grow as a congregation, perhaps not by leaps and bounds, but with the kind of steady growth that’s realistic and in keeping with our charisms, our gifts, as a congregation that does its best work via word of mouth and in personal contacts and relationships.
May God in Christ via the Spirit be at work in our invitations to “come and see,”
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
Interested in Membership at Faith-La Fe?
If you or anyone you know is curious about learning more about Faith-La Fe Church toward perhaps becoming a member of our congregation, kindly reach out to either Pastor Linman or Pastor Veronica. They are more than eager to engage you in conversation for your discernment. We are planning to receive new members at our Easter Vigil this year on Saturday evening, April 8 at 7:00 pm.
Rummage Sale
We are now accepting donations for Faith's Rummage Sale. You may bring smaller items to the church office M-Th, 9:30am to 12:30pm, or contact Carly at carly.c.chamberlain@gmail.com. Then join us to shop on Saturday, January 28 from 8am to 1pm! We are offering a 10% discount per shopper for donations of brand-new men's or women's socks and underwear for Native American Urban Ministry.
Two Annual Meetings on Sunday, January 29! A Feast of Riches!
Plan now to join us between the 9:00 and 11:00 am liturgies for this important work of our whole congregation. One brief meeting will focus on calling Pastor Veronica ¾ time instead of ½ time, because we have received additional grants from the synod to make this added time possible. Then in another meeting, to begin immediately after we conclude the call meeting, we will devote our attention to passing our budget for 2023.
Lutheran Day at the Legislature + Monday, January 30 @ 9:30 - 11:30
Wesley Bolin Plaza
Legislative appointments are between 10:45 - 1:45; Bishop's invocation and introduction on the House and Senate floors is approx. 1:00
PLEASE REGISTER using this link ~ It's extremely helpful to know in advance what district you're in when we're making legislative appointments.
Plans are still underway, but we've invited House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate Minority Leader Raquel Terán to speak, in addition to Bishop Deborah Hutterer and Connie Phillips of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest and our coalition partners. Check-in is at 9:30, remarks begin at 10:00; your legislative visits begin approx. 10:45 ~ details to follow. There are 5 legislative appointments already set, and more to come.
Lutherans and friends of Lutherans from across the state will gather at the Arizona Capitol in Wesley Bolin Plaza for a day of advocacy on Monday, January 30, 2023 from 9:30 am - 11:30 am to learn, to witness, and to voice our common needs in the public square, activating our faith in love.
Meet your legislators, meet congregational LAMA liaisons, meet your LAMA policy council, and meet other Lutherans across Arizona who share a common belief that we are called through our baptismal covenant “…to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”
Mark Your Calendars Now for Upcoming Worship Services
Further detail about the following special occasions for worship is forthcoming, but please note these special liturgies now in your calendars!
February 2 at 7:00 pm + Presentation of Our Lord, Holy Communion and Blessing of Candles
February 22 + Ash Wednesday, Imposition of Ashes at Noon, and Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes at 7:00 pm
March 1 + Midweek Soup Supper (6:30 pm) and Lenten Service (7:00 pm)
(George Herbert, Hymnwriter, 1633)
March 8 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Perpetua and Felicity and Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 202, transferred)
March 15 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Patrick, Bishop, Missionary to Ireland, 461, transferred)
March 22 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Jonathan Edwards, Teacher, Missionary to American Indians, 1758)
March 25 at 10:00 am + Annunciation of Our Lord, Holy Communion
March 29 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Hans Nielson Hauge, Renewer of the Church, 1824)
April 2 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
April 6 at 7:00 pm + Maundy Thursday, Holy Communion, Foot Washing, Stripping of the Altar
April 7 + Good Friday: Noon, Stations of the Cross, and 7:00 pm, Liturgy
April 8 at 7:00 + Vigil of Easter with Reception of New Members
April 9 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Resurrection of Our Lord/Easter Day
May 18 at 7:00 pm + Ascension of Our Lord, Holy Communion
May 28 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Day of Pentecost
May 31 at 7:00 pm + Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, Holy Communion
July 22 at 10:00 am + Mary Magdalene, Apostle, Morning Prayer
August 15 at 7:00 pm + Mary, Mother of Our Lord, Holy Communion
September 14 at 7:00 pm + Holy Cross Day, Evensong
November 1 at 7:00 pm + All Saints’ Day, Holy Communion