TO GOD BE THE GLORY
SEPT./OCT. 2011
1711 Grant StreetHopewell, VA 23860 www.nazluthchurch.com
The Hometown News isa publication of Nazareth EvangelicalLutheran Church.Member of theLutheran Church
—
Missouri Synod.
Inside this issue:
Bulletin Board 2Support Our Schools 3 Missions & Outreach 5
Pastor’s Corner
7 Mission Prayer Partners 8
The Good NewsThe Newsletter of
The Story Begins
by Pastor Voss
If you simply judge books by their covers, you might pass this book by. It has apicture of newlyweds on the front. It is filled with faces that are surely unfamil-iar to you. Children, adults, grandparents, all enjoying themselves, but nonelook familiar. This book of mine means a lot to me. I was hooked as soon as Isaw the cover and when I open it up, I see people who are dear to me.
My father, who was a confident man.
My mother, who is a soft-spoken and patient woman.
I see Joy’s entire family, who are rooted deeply in the true faith.
I see all of our nephews and nieces who have the look of youthful inno-cence.
This book is a photo album of our wedding day. It’s not just any book, it’s abook about family. Each picture has a story that probably wouldn’t interest you
too much, but mean the world to me.
That’s what happens when you see a book that contains
your story. Somethingthat seems lifeless comes to life. Something that looks dull becomes dynamite,firing up your heart and igniting your imagination. You are reminded that youare part of something bigger than you are, a family that began before you andwill continue on after you.
That is why God wants you to know His story. It’s found in the Bible. He wants
to show you pictures of your family. He wants to share with you:
Stories of a family patriarch named Abraham whose faith was as great asany.
A matriarch named Ruth with courage that would make the most hardenedwarrior proud.
A stubborn Jonah and his improbable, but true, fish tale.
Defiant Peter and his troubles and victories.
Persistent Paul and his adventures in preaching.Yet who God wants most of all for you to meet in his story is His Son. He de-sires for you to look long into the eyes of Jesus Christ and hear His claims thatwhat He began in the first chapter of creation He will realize at the last chapterof the New Creation, where a perfect people can live in a perfect place withtheir perfect Lord.We are reading, studying, and worshipping through the Bible together as a con-gregation. If you have joined us, surely you have benefitted from reading about
your Spiritual family. If you haven’t joined us yet, it’s not too late! We are stillin Genesis and just beginning to hear our story in God’s Story!
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