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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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| 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 Another Colorado vacation story to share. One particular point on the hiking trail to Ruby Jewel Lake reminds me of the conclusion of Robert Frost’s The Road not Taken. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” At the point I’m talking about, the trail appears to go straight ahead. The way is wide and well worn. It looks like everyone goes that way. (See picture on left below.) One would not even pause to think about it if it were not for the trail markers on a dead tree to the right of the path. Both indicate you should turn right. (See picture on right below.) |
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Unlike Frost who “kept the first for another day” but doubted he would ever come back, I have taken the easy and wide path. Nice easy walk but it eventually dissolves away and you start wondering where you are and which way to go. And it certainly does not lead to Ruby Jewel Lake! “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 16:25). You are well aware how our culture promotes the “way that seems right.” We label abortion “a simple and easy surgical procedure.” We tell our children, “Safe sex is possible and easy. Just wear a condom.” We call assisted suicide the “compassionate relief of suffering.” Our culture excels at pointing to the easy way out; and it really does appear easy. “But its end is the way to death.”
Jesus gives His Church the responsibility to point one another in the right direction, to share the truth with them and to do so in love (Ephesians 4:15). That is the primary responsibility of Lutherans For Life. We want Lutherans to clearly understand the truth about the God-given value of human life and the importance of upholding that truth. Like grandchildren Jamie and Zane here, we point the way to the truth about life. We also have a responsibility to rescue those who have taken the easy way and end up lost. We do this like Jesus the Good Shepherd did. We seek them out, go where they are, love them, help them, share Christ’s forgiveness with them, and do whatever is necessary to get them back on the path of life. After all, our Father wants all to be saved. He wants all to end up at “Ruby Jewel Lake”–eternal life with Him. |
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Renewal For Life Resources
Video: Creation/Video/Hands that Knit Arms that Hold: Dr. Lamb delivered his Life Sunday sermon for 2011, Hands that Knit – Arms that Hold, at Concordia Lutheran Church in Greenwood, Indiana on July 24. His sermon is based on Psalm 139:13-14 and Mark 10:13-16.
Audio: Adoption/Audio/Russell Moore: Dr. Russell D. Moore, is the author of Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families, and was a speaker at the 2011 LFL conference. He said in his conference keynote address, “If we as pro-life people can understand that the issue of orphan care–whether that’s advocating for unborn orphans, or advocating for born orphans in the United States or around the world–is not simply stopping bad things from happening to children … Instead, there is also a deeper issue here, which is that our advocacy for women and children who are under assault by forces so dark and evil that we cannot even contemplate it, can teach us and show us how to be the Church, how to embrace the Gospel, how to live in the unity of the Spirit–and we see something of what this looks like by what the Spirit is doing in the life of Joseph …” Dr. Moore takes us on a unique journey into the life of Joseph and his role as Jesus’ father, and what we can learn from that. This audio is the Friday night session with Dr. Moore at the conference. November is National Adoption month, this may be a resource to fuel ideas for you to use in your congregation next month. Bible Study: Abortion/Bible Studies/Ancient Pro-life Bible Study, by Dr. Lamb, shows the pro-life concepts in the Apostles’ Creed. Sermon: After the Abortion/Worship Resources/Sermons/Behold the Lamb of God, by pastor Mark Nierman, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Loveland, Colorado. Pastor Nierman used this for his Life Sunday sermon. He points out that John the Baptist is fervent in sharing Christ and how we too need to point others to the cross and away from death.
Directions: The quarterly journal, Directions has up-to-date information on LFL, RFL, and the many projects we have going on. Also included is a Bible study, Faith in Action, news and notes, and more. Check out the latest issues here. L.I.F.E. T-shirts (Living In Faith Everyday) are new at LFL. These are great t-shirts to get for the youth in your church, or any member in your congregation.
Life Sunday 2012: Trust God – Choose Life
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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New Resources available through CPH
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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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