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Past issues of the Paraclete can be found on the RFL site in the Life Advocate Training section. |
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To receive the latest and most up-to-date information on the life issues, visit the LFL Life Blog. The link can also be found on the main page of the RFL site. |
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Do you have a “For Life” event in your area? Let us know. Send the information to info@lutheransforlife.org. |
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| Life Advocates, we now have in-depth, word-based Life Team Leader training available to help guide you in your For Life ministry. If you haven’t formed a Life Team but would like to, contact Jeri Richard at the Life Center (jrichard@lutheransforlife.org; 888.364.LIFE) and she will help you get started. We also have training available for Life Teams once they are formed. | |
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| FORUM Prayer Wall: Do you have a special prayer request? You can post your requests in the FORUM by clicking on the group you are involved in (pastors or Life Advocates). Then click “Add Prayer” on the right-hand side of the page. You can add your own prayer request or encourage others with a verse or prayer thought. | |
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Devotional Thoughts by Dr. Lamb From the entire Life Team, I wish you a blessed celebration of the birth of our Savior and a New Year filled with His blessings. Posted above is a photo of the Team taken at our retreat at the end of October in Hawaii. Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but it was tropical at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens, the true site of the retreat.
In case you are wondering who we are, from left to right: Me, executive director; Kim Nessa, administrative assistant; Jeri Richard, director of Renewal For Life; Jim Schroeder, part-time Christian planned giving counselor; Katie Friedrich, part-time data entry; Kay Meyer, part-time director of development; Amy Rosenberg, administrative assistant; Trisha Adams, business manager; Lowell Highby, director of communications. Not shown: board of director members; state presidents; hundreds of chapter members, Life Ministry Coordinators, Sponsor members, donors, annual members, and YOU. All of us together really make up the greater LFL LIFE TEAM! These are people “teeming” with a passion For Life and “teaming” together to uphold the God-given value and dignity and purpose of every human being. Together we are making a difference. Thank you for being such a vital part of the FOR LIFE TEAM. Again, a blessed Christmas to you. Speaking of Christmas, have you ever thought whether Jesus’ birth was the beginning or the end of something? As with any birth, “beginning” seems the obvious answer. But the biblical account describes it as an end. The New American Standard Version translates Luke 2:6 as, “And it came about that as they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.” The King James Version translates this, “And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” Literally it is “the days were filled.” The same word is used in Luke 1:41 to describe Elizabeth “filled” with the Holy Spirit and also of her unborn son, John, who was “filled” with the Holy Spirit while yet in the womb (1:15). So, Jesus’ birth is described as days “filled,” “completed,” “accomplished.” It was the end. Every birth is the end of a pregnancy, the end of one stage of our developing life, not the beginning of our life. We just don’t think that way or talk that way very much. (Well, maybe the birth mother does after the delivery, “Thank heavens that’s over!”) We say, “Sally is expecting a baby,” as if birth is the beginning and when the baby is going to show up. When in fact baby has been hanging around and swimming around and kicking around for nine months. Pastors—and I include myself— stand at the altar on Sundays and thank God for the gift of new life at the birth of a baby when in fact we should be praying that prayer when we know someone is pregnant. We bless children at the communion rail and pass over those in the womb as if they are not around yet. It is easy to be caught up in the prevalent attitude that sees birth as the beginning, the beginning of life. But Jesus was Jesus, the God-man (more precisely the God-embryo) from the moment of conception. Six-month-old unborn John the Baptist recognized this through the Holy Spirit and leaps for joy (Luke 1:15; 1:41). The Holy Spirit enables Elizabeth to identify this embryo as “my Lord” (Luke 1:41, 43). And remember, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was only days after the miraculous conception and incarnation of Jesus, so He is but a speck just beginning to implant in Mary’s uterine wall. Thus, Jesus’ birth did not mark the beginning of His incarnate life, but the end of Mary’s pregnancy and our incarnate Lord’s development in the womb. His conception and time in the womb also marked the end of something else—thousands of years of waiting. The promise of a Messiah given to Adam and Eve and passed along by the Patriarchs and Prophets was “filled,” “completed,” “accomplished.” Jesus’ conception and birth also made way for the end of a few other things— the power of the devil, the slavery of sin, and the fear of death. Jesus life, death, and resurrection stripped the devil of his power, freed us from sin’s slavery and punishment, and destroyed death and brought eternal life. As He put it from the bloody, God-forsaken cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30), “filled,” “completed,” “accomplished.” So, Jesus’ birth brings with it a lot of “end thoughts.” These in turn also produce “beginning thoughts.” Because of what He has “finished,” He makes us new people (2 Corinthians 5:17). He gives us new life and immortality (2 Timothy 1:10). He gives us new and living hope (1 Peter 1:3). He gives the new and abundant life of following Him as our Shepherd (John 10:10). All of this translates into a powerful, life-affirming and life-changing message. Above all else, this is the message of the Lutherans For Life Team. We want people to know what Jesus ended and the new beginning that flows from that ending. Thank you again for being such a valuable member of the team. |
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Renewal For Life Resources |
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NEW! Life Sunday 2012
“Choose life!” (Deuteronomy 30:19)
The word “choice” in connection with life raises all kinds of questions and controversy. The Christian view of “choice” differs greatly from the world’s view. The world chooses based on what they want. We base our choices on being chosen by God in Jesus Christ. As chosen people, we are called to first and foremost trust God and His will as we make our choices. Click here to find out about all the new resources that are available from LFL so your congregation can share the idea of Christian choice as it relates to the sanctity of human life.
Life Sunday is January 22, 2012. This year it falls on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, January 22, 1973. Our materials, however, may be used at any time during the year. |
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The Renewal For Life site has a number of Life Sunday themes should you choose to have a different focus this year than Trust God! Choose Life! OR you can supplement with a variety of articles, Bibles studies, and more, in conjunction with the Trust God! Choose Life! theme. If you have any questions or need help finding what you need, please contact Jeri at jrichard@lutheransforlife.org. You can click on any category to find a variety of Life Sunday topics. One example is under the Creation Category using the topic of Cherish the Children. Bible Study: Cherish the Children by Dr. James Lamb Essays and Articles: Why Jesus Cherishes the Children by Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs Teaching Tools: Cherish the Children power point presentation by Lutherans For Life Worship Resources:
NOTE: We are currently having a one-cent sale on past Life Sunday bulletin and Just For Kids inserts. NEW to Renewal For Life: FOR LIFE SKITS! Written by LFL’s Director of Development, Kay Meyer. Go to Life Advocate Training/Teaching Tools/For Life Skits! We love to hear feedback if your congregation uses one of these skits! |
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Other resources:
Note: Every category on the RFL site now has references to outside sources for more information and resources for your use. Look on the main page of each section in the right-hand corner for more information. |
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Life Quotes and Life Thoughts can also be found on the Home page in the Renewal For Life library.
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