Author Archive: Leesa Bell

Our Role in the Kingdom of God

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As we know what the Kingdom of God is, how it works and that that it has the ability to be visible through us, what is it that we are supposed to do?  Is just being in the Kingdom of God enough?

I think that if we see the Kingdom of God and are part of it, then it is pretty hard to keep this discovery to ourselves.  We can’t go around like pious angels and say we are worthy because God has revealed himself to us.  We can’t be satisfied that God is here and we all are happy.  Frankly, I do not think God would be satisfied with that either.  In fact, biblically, Jesus says so—a zillion times.  Today, Jesus tells us to go be fishers of people.  We think of the happy pictures of a great catch and we think that it is all fun and joy.  We may even think if we don’t catch a fish that we are not cut out to be a fisher of people.  But what is fishing like really and what do you think Jesus said and the disciples understood about fishing for people?  Today we may find out a little more and we hope it makes us be better fishers ourselves.

Pastor Gerry

The Gospel Reading: : MATTHEW 4:18-25

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

KingdomOfGod, Virginia… Where is it?

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The Kingdom of God is within you.
To be clearer, maybe we should say the power of the Kingdom of God is revealed through you.  Yes, God works through all of us to reveal his kingdom.  Sometimes we know it.   Sometimes we don’t.  Most of the times it is after something happened that we look back and say, “What just happened there?  That wasn’t my intent.  That wasn’t me that made that happen—there were too many other factors.”  That is the power of the Kingdom of God.
When we realize that we are the vehicles that the work of God gets done, we pause and we start asking questions.  What is God doing through me now?  What is it that God could do through me?  How do I make myself ready to do what God needs to spread the gospel?  These are all the tough questions that prime us for our next mission whether we know it or not.
Today, we talk about the parable of the mustard seed ( an underestimated parable of the Kingdom of God)  to lead us in an understanding of the power of the Kingdom of God within us.

Pastor Gerry

Nats Game

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Take Me Out to the Ball Game!
The L.A. Dodgers are the hottest team in the National League and were the Nationals nemesis in last year’s post season.  We will go the Nats/Dodgers Game on August 16, 2017 at 1:05pm.  If you are interested in going, please let Pastor know by August 13.  He will explain his praying technique for home runs.

KingdomOfGod, Virginia

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Kingdom of God, Virginia
 
On Sunday June 18, June 25, and July 3 we will have a Sermon Series on the Kingdom of God. The reason that I picked this topic is that I think that we need to be reminded that the presence of God is around us and part of us---or at least part of what we are trying to do individually or as a church.  If we understand that God is trying to show himself in his kingdom, here in Leesburg, VA through us that may help us in our self-understanding as we begin our planning process.
 

What is it like?

More than anything else, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is like….this.   But it is still so fuzzy.  We feel the need to ask the come down to earth questions: Who? What? Where? Why? And How?  That is because Jesus doesn’t give us a tangible picture.  Why is that (oops!)?   The next Three weeks we will talk about that. We will explore how God works among us and how God is revealed to us in all the Kingdom of God moments that we experience.  
This week, we will be talking about what the Kingdom of God is like.  Where is it? How do we see it?  And maybe it is more tangible than we thought.  So maybe the Kingdom of God will be near this Sunday morning, you won’t know unless you see for yourself.  Let us find out together.
 
Pastor Gerry

What is the Holy Trinity?

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Did you ever think about what the Holy Trinity is?  Yes, we know it is the God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Yes, we know that it is three persons in one God.  But really, besides that what are they?  They are the way God reveals himself to us.  We see Him in the result of creation.  We see Him in our Savior, Jesu Christ, and we see Him in the good that surrounds us.  God is everywhere.  Always coming, always breaking out, always finding new ways to reveal to us that something else besides ourselves is going on.  Also, in the Trinity, the most important characteristic about God is revealed: Relationship.  God enjoys and thrives in the eternal relationship of God in the Trinity.  Perhaps that is a good example for us as we enjoy and live in our relationships too.
As we celebrate our Holy Trinity birthday party, think about what the Holy Trinity mean to us.  What is about the Holy Trinity that guides us or grounds us?  What do we have in the guiding light of a name for our community as Holy Trinity Lutheran Church?

The KingdomOfGod

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“Fella, don’t you know, you are in God’s country now!” Many people would say that Virginia is God’s country (most of them live in Virginia. I suppose that the same is true for Leesburg people as well.) We may have something special here, but in God’s eyes, we have something special everywhere. It is called the Kingdom of God.

Jesus talks of it coming, it being near, and now it is here! In fact, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God more than anything else.  It is important enough to focus on and talk about for a three week series:

  • June 18: What is the KingdomOfGod like?
  • June 25: The KingdomOf God is within you
  • July 2: The KingdomOfGod, Leesburg, VA

There will be specific readings, prayers, and hymns that direct us in this great message of Jesus. We are part of the Kingdom of God. Let’s talk about it.

Pastor Gerry

This is Pentecost Sunday

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People from the crowd said, as Peter and the Apostles spoke, and people from every land understood them, “How is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?”  What does this mean? 

Let me take a guess: Maybe God wanted others to hear about His Son, Jesus and the love God has for all of us.   There are so many dividing lines between peoples and nations.  Even today, there are so many barriers to just sitting down and enjoying each other’s diversity—or maybe enjoying what we have in common---our faith in Jesus Christ.  Maybe we all have something to learn from each other’s witness to God.  The ELCA has given each synod three sister synods from around the world so that we can do just that.  We partner with Estonia, a breakout of the Russian block; Namibia, the survivor of a segregated Africa; and El Salvador, one of the deadliest countries in the world.  When we witness to each other, we all are made stronger in faith, and our world gets smaller.  The fire of the Holy Spirit spreads.     

If you can breathe, you can sing!

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Thank-you, Chancel Choir, & Happy Summer Break!

Big thanks go to the Chancel Choir, for all the special music, September through May. After singing June 4 (Pentecost) and June 11 (Trinity Sunday,) the Choir gets a well-deserved break until September.

Chancel Choir mid-week rehearsals resume Wednesday, September 6 at 7:15PM. All are welcome! Plus, if you can’t make Wednesdays, we can provide music in advance, and you can run-through it Sun- day mornings. Our motto: If you can breathe, you can sing!

Calling all Summer Singers & Instrumentalists!

You, your visiting relatives and friends, are most welcome to provide any music contributions to Summer worship services, that you would enjoy doing. Solos, duets (trios and more)— vocal and instrumental are all invited. Your talents are most appreciated. Contact us on dates and music ideas.

Luther Hymn for the Summer:

“Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice”

Our monthly “Luther hymn,” in commemoration of the 500th Luther Anniver- sary year, will be one from the 1524 Wittenberg hymnal (the first published hymnal,) “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice.” We will stretch it out over June, July and August, using its 10 verses in various ways. Luther wrote them all, setting them to a melody he claimed he heard from a traveling minstrel.

Have a look at the text of the eight stanzas in the hymnal (ELW 594,) in which you find the story—to be sung with joy and spirit– of Jesus’ coming, death, resurrection, and gift of salvation. ‘Rejoice….God be praised forever!”

Marcia Merry, Organist / Choir Director

Hershey Park

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Bring your bathing suit and your roller-coaster excitement and come on to Hershey Park with the Middle School and Senior High. We will go to Hershey on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at 9:00 for a fun day at Hershey Park, and return home between 7:00pm and 8:00pm. We will need drivers, so if anyone can drive that would be a blessing.

If anyone wants to bring their whole family, they are welcome to take advantage of the group rate. Also, keep in mind any ticket you purchase will not be date specific, meaning you can use them anytime during the summer.

Ticket prices are $39.50 for ages 9-54 (40% off regular price), $30.50 for ages 3-8, $30.50 for ages 55-70

Come on, chill out, and have a great time to start the summer with Holy Trinity Youth. See Pastor Gerry for more details.