Nov 26th - Thanksgiving Eve Liturgy at 7:30PM   |   Nov 27th - Thanksgiving Day Liturgy at 10AM   |   Nov 29th & 30th - Rite of Election (Catechumenate)

Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church - The Bronx, New York

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By the Spirit

If we live by the Spirit, then let us walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

The Christian life involves adventurous and dangerous following.  It involves being led more than it involves leading.  This is not a passive process but is quite active…active in listening and active in following where the Spirit leads.  In this is a subtle yet solid reminder that there is a relinquishment of one’s own liberty which is replaced by the freedom for which Christ has set us free.  It is a freedom to follow Him, to submit to His will, and to serve for the sake of others with one’s dying breath.

The Christian life is one that is embodied in the life of Christ.  It is not that His life is simply a role model for us as much as “we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).   If “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20), then the unity and connection with the life, work and mission of Christ is not ethereally abstract but concretely real.  Christ Jesus lived by following the will of the Father who sent Him, and in doing so graciously led us from death to life.  He lived for the sake of those who could not live, whose eternal destinies were captive to the captivity of sin.  He walked for the sake of those who were in a paralyzed, petrified and ossified state of sin-created helplessness with the sole desire of causing them to stand up in resurrection glory, to “take up” their “mat and walk” behind Him through the grave and gate of death dry-shod into the Promised Land of paradise and peace.  He lived by following the will of His Father, adventurously venturing into peril, knowing that by following He would lead many to life.  As His living becomes our way of living, His death becomes our death and His life becomes our life.

“If we live by the Spirit, then let us walk by the Spirit.”  It has been said that the crowning gift of Easter is the gift of the Holy Spirit, the ongoing and continual presence of Christ in and with His Holy Church.  The Spirit is the breath that we breathe, the means by which we pray in Christ Jesus, the giver of our song of praise and the motivator of our service in the world.  As we confess in Luther’s Small Catechism:
  I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to Him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy, and kept me in the true faith, just as He calls, gathers, enlightens and makes holy the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.  Daily in this Christian Church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine and those of all believers.  On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life.  This is most certainly true.”
This forgiving Spirit leads us into new life in Christ Jesus, an adventurous life of challenges and opportunities for growth.

As we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the gifts of the Spirit, let us open up our hearts to the Spirit’s work in our lives.  Let us open the sails of our boat for the wind of the Spirit to blow us as the Spirit sees fit, wherever that may be.  Let us listen to the “still small voice” of God speaking to us through His Holy Word and Blessed Sacraments.  Let us let the gifts of the resurrection of Christ have their way in our lives as we yield to God, knowing that even if we are led to the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil because Christ has defeated death for us.  Let us live in the presence of Christ and rejoice in His presence in our every day lives as we are present with His presence in the presence of others.

If we live by the Spirit—and we do---then let us walk by the Spirit.  But let us walk, to be sure.  Let us not stand still, gazing up into the sky but let us be led by the Spirit to go where the Spirit leads us.  Let us go to worship our Lord.  Let us go to serve our neighbors.  Let us go to fight the good fight of faith.  Let us live in the One who lives in us, so that the miracle of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost may be proclaimed to the world as we wait in hope for the resurrection of all flesh.

“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people and kindle within us the fire of your love,” so that we may “live by the Spirit” and “walk by the Spirit” for the sake of all who are dying around us.  O ever-gracious Holy Spirit, let the mystery of Easter expressed in the Holy Eucharist shape our life together, radiate into our reason for being and mold our mission in the world!

Peace, joy and love,
Pastor

Worship Service
- Saturday at 7PM
- Sunday at 8AM and 11AM
- Wednesday at 7:30PM
- Healing Service once a month after each Liturgy
Religious Education

60 MINUTES.  We have had “60 Minutes” Bible studies in the past during which our regularly scheduled Bible classes and groups converge for a “60 minute” discussion of a particular topic. Schedule!

What's New?
 

Calendar
Nov 21 - HEARTS Bowling Night in White Plains at 6:30PM
Nov 23 - LIPS Bible Study at 1:30PM
Nov 23 - HEARTS Planning Meeting at 1:30PM
Nov 26 - Thanksgiving Eve Liturgy at 7:30PM
Nov - Thanksgiving Day Liturgy at 10AM
Nov 29 & 30 - Rite of Election (Catechumenate)
Dec 14 - Women’s Guild Holiday Variety Sale after the Liturgies

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Events


Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church

 

 
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Copyright © 2003 - 2008.  Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church.  All rights reserved.
A Parish of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod where “God’s People Pray.”
4360 Rev. Theodore Wittrock Crossing (Barnes and Boyd Avenues) The Bronx, NY 10466-1804
Phone: (718) 324-1288   Fax: (718) 324-2056

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