The Christ Courier Christ Lutheran Church, Mustang, OK August 2015

What is Your Legacy?

Over the last six months we have heard a lot on the news about President Obama and his legacy. Apparently

someone has given him a grade on certain items. It seems his marks are not high on race relations or on

playing well with others. One of the talking heads suggested that the only thing he could hang his hat on was:

The Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which is commonly called Obamacare. And even then I am sure there

might be a discussion on whether this is a good or a bad legacy.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a legacy as: something transmitted by or received from an

ancestor or predecessor or from the past. Almost all of us to leave a good legacy and if it is a good legacy want

you could also call it an inheritance. We want to be remembered favorably and we want to make an impact on

this world. What we don’t realize is that we are impacting our world right now by what we say, think and do.

Eyes are watching us, little eyes, and they notice what we consider important or not by our actions. Even

though we have never met them Mother Teresa, Adolph Hitler, President Nixon and Billy Graham all have left

an impression on the world and on us-some good and some bad. They created a legacy whether they

intended to or not. What we may not realize is that you and I are also leaving a legacy, but will the legacy be

one that is only in this world or will it transcend this world on into eternity?

Too often we are tempted to only consider a legacy from this world’s perspective: money, power,

prestige, popularity. But those things will not transcend this world; only what you do for God will last for

eternity. The good news is that you, with God's help, can decide to pass a positive legacy on to your children

whether you received one or not. Today, if you don't intentionally pass a legacy consistent with your beliefs to

your children, our culture will pass its own legacy on to them. It is important to remember that passing on a

spiritual, emotional and social legacy is a process, not an event. As parents and grandparents, we are

responsible for the process. God is responsible for the product. We cannot do God's job, and He won't do ours.

Parents who successfully pass along a spiritual legacy-that is faith- to their children model and reinforce the

unseen realities of a Godly life.

A spiritual legacy should be a clear record of your walk of faith and that record needs to be communicated to those you care for. Living your life for Jesus is of utmost importance. We must recognize

that passing a spiritual legacy means more than just encouraging our children to attend church, Sunday school, and other religious activities. The church is here to support parents in raising their children but that is difficult in only an hour or two a week. The church does not do the raising; only parents can and that shows in

the next generation. So what can you do? Well acknowledge and reinforce spiritual realities. God is real and He still rules this world. Do you children know Jesus loves everyone and wishes all to be saved? Do they know that many will not be saved? Do you take them to church and Sunday school? Do you feed them God’s Word daily? Do they know that God’s Word shows what is right and wrong? Do you share with them how God has impacted

your life in the past- and today? We are talking about leaving a spiritual inheritance. IS IT NOT IMPORTANT TO YOU WHERE THOSE YOU LOVE SPEND ETERNITY? Don’t we want to pass on to the next generations a legacy with eternal value

or is our interest only in leaving them a temporal inheritance. Scripture agrees: 1 Timothy 4:8 “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (Also Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:15,16) Don’t sacrifice your relationship with God for material

things and don’t let you children and those you love do so. Priorities have to change because our eternity is of much more value than our short time in this world. If you surrender to God’s will-your legacy will live on

eternally. Pass that legacy on to those you love. Don’t wait until it is too late! Pastor Dave Owens

Greetings Dear Christ Courier Readers, Isn’t it great to be alive? I had my heart set on telling you about a new song I had heard on the radio

this week, but this morning God sent me a different one, an older one. I heard a song I’ve heard lots of times, but since I didn’t understand it, it quickly faded from memory. I had listened to some of the words and asked myself, “What does that mean?” Today, the light bulb went off. “Living and loving as if on borrowed time”, Jason Gray sings this song, “Good to Be Alive.” He is talking about not taking our days, our moments, our lives for granted, but giving everything to God as a thank-you for this gift of life. Jason sings his song wondering if this could really be his life, a life he doesn’t feel he deserves; he knows that every breath comes from God, so he wants to live like there’s no tomorrow, love like he’s on borrowed time….

Yeah, that last phrase, that’s where I would get stumped, love like I’m on borrowed time. When I heard him sing this I would stop my singing along, shake my head, and ask, what does that mean anyway. In my life, I hate to admit it, but I tend to say “Tomorrow. I’ll get to that “Tomorrow”. Starting “Tomorrow”, I’ll do things better.” Friends, I may not have a tomorrow; I know and have known this for years, but, I still say such silly things. This song is reminding me to live and love like there is no tomorrow. I should say things like I love you and thank you, say I’m sorry, please forgive me. I should let my loved ones know things as if there won’t be a tomorrow. I should ask the Lord what He wants of me today, like it’s the last day of my life. I should smile and share my blessings with those around me, like there is no tomorrow for me, or for them.

Speaking of smiling and sharing, I saw a lot of that during VBS this past month. It was a great week to be alive; cookies, cheese, nachos, cheese, s’mores, cheese, whipped cream, gummy bears, sprinkles; yes, did I mention cheese-it was a great week to be alive. The children were taught that Jesus works through us. Jesus gives us courage and boldness, like David when he fought Goliath. He gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, like Deborah when she held office as judge. He gives us faith to trust Him and believe His promises, like blind Bartimaeus did and he was healed. And Ananias needed all those gifts when Jesus asked him to go talk to that persecutor of Christians, Saul. God teaches us that we are to love because He first loved us! The men who faced death in the book of Daniel said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Did they say God would positively deliver them? No, they said He is able to deliver them, and He will deliver them from the king’s hand; and no matter what, they would not serve any other god! How many times does He deliver us and either we are unaware of it or we just let it fade from our memories because we don’t understand it? Or, how often do we think God is too slow delivering us? Remember, the Israelites had been in exile for years and yet some of them still believed God would deliver them. They trusted God to deliver them out of the king’s hand, and they knew that deliverance could possibly come through a death in the fiery furnace or even after several more long years in bondage. However, they would only serve their God!

Wow, did you feel that? How did the Oklahoma winds move my chair and computer while inside the church? That wasn’t the wind, it was an earthquake! Thank you, dear Lord, for protecting me from all these falling objects. I could have been squashed like a bug in a rug or like a mouse in an elephant house, ouch!! Every day we face possible disasters; our homes, families, jobs, and even our lives can be taken from us, but never our God. Do you have a close and personal relationship with Jesus? If you have, it’s so much easier to trust Him and believe His promises for you. Those disasters will come and go much more smoothly as you decide to serve Him Who is able to deliver you. May God bless you! My cheese dip is boiling over; gotta go for now.

Respectfully Submitted, C.M.

The Church Mouse

Daily Bible Readings

ELDERS NUMBERS

Darryl Poole 376-6492 Robert Doepel 308-0176 Jerry Shipman 344-9036 Danny Brown 265-0672 Alan Winter 206-0076 Martin Castaneda 308-8145 Johnny Phipps 863-1000 Jerry Coghill 850-5549 Robert Neese 664-5675

Food Pantry

We are in need of a few things…. Canned meats, dry cereals, chili, crackers,

can fruit, and peanut butter.

If you can help please leave on the counter in kitchen and I will sort. Thanks for you

support of our Food Pantry

Happy Birthday Vic Braunschweig 8/1 Susie Brewster 8/7 Elizabeth Roberts 8/7 Pam Owens 8/9 Joe Haller 8/12 Skylar Merrill 8/18 Trae Doepel 8/19 Bessie Wessler 8/21 Rod Rumer 8/22 Joseph Machinski 8/23 Janice Anundsen 8/25 Kyle Phipps 8/25 Brandon Shepherd 8/25 Brayden Witt 8/25 Molly Doepel 8/26 Dick Boughner 8/28 Colton Cope 8/28 George Danielson 8/29 Herb Danielson 8/29 Christopher Merrill 8/29 Eileen Pollard 8/29

Happy Anniversary Mark & Vickie Wiedemann 8/4 Brandon & Karol Shepherd 8/12 Robert & Jene Machinski 8/14 Frank & Barbara Stegall 8/15 Beverly & Eugene Colangelo 8/18 Bruce & Carole Hunnington 8/26 Lonny & Doris Mahan 8/30 Keith & Lou Ann Wiedemann 8/31

Aug 1: Is 23-27 Aug 2: Is 28-30 Aug 3: Is 31-35 Aug 4: Is 36-41 Aug 5: Is 42-44 Aug 6: Is 45-48 Aug 7: Is 49-53 Aug 8: Is 54-58 Aug 9: Is 59-63 Aug 10: Is 64-66 Aug 11: Jer 1-3 Aug 12: Jer 4-6 Aug 13: Jer 7-9 Aug 14: Jer 10-13 Aug 15: Jer 14-17 Aug 16: Jer 18-22

Aug 17: Jer 23-25 Aug 18: Jer 26-29 Aug 19: Jer 30-31 Aug 20: Jer 32-34 Aug 21: Jer 35-37 Aug 22: Jer 38-41 Aug 23: Jer 42-45 Aug 24: Jer 46-48 Aug 25: Jer 49-50 Aug 26: Jer 51-52 Aug 27: Lam 1-3:36 Aug 28: Lam 3:37-5 Aug 29: Ezek 1-4 Aug 30: Ezek 5-8 Aug 31: Ezek 9-12

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 Men’s Breakfast

@ 9:00am

2 8:00 am-Divine

Service w/ Lord’s Supper

9:15 Bible Class

10:30 am-Divine Service

3

4 Elder’s Meeting

@ 7:00pm

5

6

7 Pastor off

8

9 8:00 am-Divine

Service

9:15 Bible Class

10:30am- Divine Service w/ Lord’s

Supper

10 Council

Meeting @ 7:00 pm

11 Preschool Open House 6:30 pm

12

13

14 Pastor off

15 Women’s Bible

Study @ 10:00am

16 8:00 am-Divine

Service w/ Lord’s Supper

9:15 Bible Class

10:30 am-Divine Service

Voter’s Meeting

17

18

19

20 1

st Day of School

21 Pastor off

22 Discover Real Love Waits @

Trinity (Edmond) 9:00-3:30 Pastor on Vacation

23 8:00 am-Divine

Service 9:15 Bible Class 10:30 am-Divine Service w/ Lord’s

Supper Pastor on Vacation

National Youth Gathering Meeting

24

Pastor on Vacation

25

Pastor on Vacation

26 Board of Day

School Meeting @ 3:30 pm

Pastor on Vacation

27

Pastor on Vacation

28

Pastor on Vacation

29

Pastor on Vacation

30 8:00 am-Divine

Service 9:15 Bible Class 10:30 am-Divine

Service Pastor on Vacation

31 LWML

Meeting @ 6:30pm

Pastor on Vacation

Attention Youth of Christ Lutheran Church

The 2016 National Youth Gathering is July 16th – 20th.

New Orleans is the destination with the theme being "In Christ Alone".

We will be having informational meeting to gather interest and get tentative

commitments on who is going and how much we will need to

raise to get there on August 23rd

following late service.

PRESCHOOL NEWS

The beginning of the 2015-16 school year for Christ Lutheran School is fast approaching and your Board of Education has been meeting this summer preparing for an exciting and successful school year! We are happy to announce that Mrs. Marian Hodge will be returning as our 3 year old Preschool teacher assisted by Mrs. Barbara Coghill also returning as her aide. After careful deliberation and prayer, the decision had to be made that our school was not able to offer a 4 year old pre K class this year but remains a firm goal for next school year. Open House is scheduled for August 11 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Our school follows the Mustang PSD school calendar so our first day of preschool is August 20, 2015 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Welcome letters and school handbooks have been sent to parents of our new enrollees.

In other business conducted over the summer, the board welcomed new member LaRhonda Winter; the board elected Alane Jordan to co-chair; and, final accounting indicates that we ended the fiscal year in the black! We give thanks to God for his guidance and blessings!

Quarters For Christian Education, the first fundraiser of the new school year will kick off during the month of August. Look for the big water bottle jug welcoming your spare change and quarters. It all adds up! Finally, there are a few openings left for any child who is 3 years old by September 1, 2015 and who is potty trained. School hours are 8:30-11:30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Christ Lutheran Church 501 N Clear Springs Rd

Mustang, OK 73064 Phone 405-376-3116

www.christlutheranmustang.com Publication Deadline:

25th of each month Pastor: David Owens

256-6554 home 625-5992 cell/text

Email: themustardseed7@gmail.com Secretary: Lenora Lopez

376-3116 Email: christlutheranmustang@gmail

.com Sunday Worship Services:

8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m Sunday School for all ages: 9:15 a.m.

Confirmation Class/Midweek: 6:00 p.m Wednesdays

ON THE FRONT PORCH

On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?" And God saw it was good. On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span. "The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?" And God, again saw it was good. On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years." The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?" And God agreed it was good. On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years." But the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?" "Okay," said God, "You asked for it." So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. Life has now been explained to you. There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service. If you are looking for me I will be on the front porch.

(Thank you Curt Wright for providing this!)

SCHEDULE OF THOSE WHO SERVE GOD AND YOU

August 2rd, 2015 August 9, 2015 Elder of the Day – Early Service Elder of the Day – Early Service Darryl Poole Robert Neese

Elder of the Day – Late Service Elder of the Day – Late Service Robert Doepel Jerry Coghill Ushers Ushers Greg Barta Don Tidholm Jacob Merrill Leonard Mahan Lector Lector Pam Owens Johnny Phipps Counters Counters Gail Kautz Dorothy Prophet Jene Machinski Kim Novotny Greeter Greeters Sandi Keig Coghill family Organist – Early Service Organist – Early Service Barbara Brewster Barbara Brewster Organist – Late Service Organist – Late Service Mabel Mailand Ivy Douglas August 16th, 2015 August 23rd, 2015 August 30th, 2015 Elder of the Day – Early Service Elder of the Day – Early Service Elder of the Day – Early Service

Darryl Poole Danny Brown Darryl Poole Elder of the Day – Late Service Elder of the Day – Late Service Elder of the Day – Late Service Jerry Shipman Martin Castaneda Alan Winter Ushers Usher Usher Alan Danielson George Danielson Jacob Merrill Rod Rumer Herb Danielson Don Tidholm Lector Lector Lector Glenda Berry Mati Wood Bill Allen Counters Counters Counters Sandi Keig Shannon Brown Debbie Tidholm Shannon Brown Chandler Brown Alane Jordan Greeter Greeters Greeters Desiree Webber Phipps family Sandi Keig Organist – Early Service Organist – Early Service Organist – Early Service Barbara Brewster Barbara Brewster Barbara Brewster Organist – Late Service Organist – Late Service Organist – Late Service Mabel Mailand Mabel Mailand Ivy Douglas Alter Guild for August – Debbie Phipps

The Saturday morning women’s Bible study group is sponsoring a school supply drive to assist the Youth & Family Services of El Reno and also some of the Christ Lutheran members who teach in the public schools. Many of the school systems have grown in student number but state funding is not keeping up, so teachers end up buying school supplies that assist the students in their learning process. Please look over the list which is included in this month’s newsletter and in the weekly church bulletins and help them out. We will distribute the supplies at our next Bible study which will be held August 15 at 10:00 a.m. We will also be concluding our four part study of Donna Pyle’s Unveiled Faces, a study on 2Corinthians 3:17-18. Man was made in God’s image and we should quit hiding that image behind a veil and let His glory shine through our lives radiating and reflecting to our friends, families, and neighbors.

2015 SCHOOL SUPPLY COLLECTION Collected supplies will be divided among the teachers in our congregation and the Youth & Family Services of El Reno. Please let us know of all teachers in our congregation. WISH LIST OF PREFERRED ITEMS; ANY & ALL SUPPLIES APPRECIATED!

PENCILS COLORING PENCILS –BOX OF 8 PENCIL TOP ERASERS CRAYONS WASHABLE MARKERS – BOX OF 12 DRY ERASE MARKERS SMALL PLASTIC SCHOOL BOX WATER COLOR PAINTS (SMALL) 3-RING 1” BINDERS LOOSE LEAF PAPER – WIDE RULE 3-RING CLEAR SHEET PROTECTORS SPIRAL NOTEBOOKS (1 SUBJECT) POCKET FOLDERS - GRAPH PAPER WITH & WITHOUT BRADS KLEENIX TISSUES COMPOSITION NOTEBOOKS HAND SANITIZER CONSTRUCTION PAPER GLUE STICKS POST IT NOTES – ALL SIZES

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFTS AND YOUR PRAYERS FOR OUR CHILDREN!

We would like to give a huge thank you to

all who volunteered their time or

donations to help with Vacation Bible

School. The word of our Lord and Savior

was heard because all who served.

Many Thanks!

Kendra and Sue

Did you know that we are on facebook?

Like us at Christ Lutheran Church, Mustang, OK and at Christ Lutheran School.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR OCTOBER 25TH – MORE INFO TO COME.

It’s just around the corner! I wanted to see if anyone was interested in holding trunk or treat again this year. I felt it was a success last year and enjoyed dressing up like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. Let me know if you would like to participate this year. Lenora

School's back in! Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" is coming to Lutheran Church of Our Savior this fall! Did you know that the AVERAGE family pays off $5300 in debt and saves $2700 in just the FIRST 90 days?

This is exciting stuff! Anyone — from the financially secure to the financially distressed — can benefit from learning God's way of handling His money. Classes will be held each Thursday evening starting September 10th

– November 5th at Lutheran Church of Our Savior, 6501 NW 23 St. in Bethany. Class times will be from 6:30 - 8:00 pm. Babysitting will be provided on-site and Lutheran Church of Our Savior is subsidizing the normal $99 cost (you pay $49 for the materials and a lifetime membership for your family unit). Contact Mark Walpus at

(405) 887-6067 for more information.

Christ Lutheran would like to “Thank” Bobby Smith for maintaining the Church grounds. He endures the heat to ensure the church grounds look good.

Thank You!

It’s that time of year again when we start our confirmation classes. We will have a short meeting September 2nd @ 6:00 pm and then start classes on September 9th @ 5:55 pm. There will

be memory work, tests, and other things required for completion. This will help prepare our young people to learn more about the God that should be the most important thing in their lives.