Knoxville, TN May 2014

I n the last couple of months I’ve had the great pleasure of reading three good books which I am recommending for you. There is also a fourth one that I will briefly mention. Currently I am reading another great book that I will

reference in a future GraceNet. It is unusual, at least for me, to read five straight books that are as good as these. gods at war by Kyle Idleman

I use a strange hieroglyphics of asterisks, circles and underlining’s with a black pen when I want to review significant insights. I have marked up this book so much that it is an absolute mess! In simple language Idleman dissects the false gods of our age. He has a serious and Biblical approach but also uses hu-mor effectively. Though many of us would say that there is no major idol in our life, I dare you to read this book and make that same claim. Idols like to hide themselves deep within us. We also deceive ourselves regularly. This book, in a sense, opens us up to expose the idols that strive to possess our heart. As Idleman says, our heart is a battleground. He helps us see that we are often pursuing something or someone else rather than the true God. Here are the gods, the idols, he explores: the god of food, the god of sex, the god of entertainment, the god of success, the god of money, the god of achievement, the god of romance, the god of family and the god of me. The book was so powerful that we are going to do a Wednesday night sermon series using this book beginning May 28. The series is entitled: “Defeating the gods.” You won’t want to miss it! Follow Me by David Platt

Platt, a Birmingham, Alabama, pastor follows up his book Radical with this equally challenging volume. What I like so much about his writing is the great balance he maintains between what we Lutherans call Law and Gospel. His explana-tion of the Gospel is so right on. My only criticism is if he only understood the value of the Sacraments and confession and absolution, it would be complete. Unfortunately he misses these important components to our lives as Christians. Never-theless, he has many, many important things to say to us as Christians living in America. In reference to the Gospel he writes, “To be a Christian is to be loved by God, pursued by God, and found by God. To be a Christian is to realize that in your sin, you were separated from God’s presence, and you deserved nothing but God’s wrath. Yet despite your darkness and in your deadness, his light shone on you and his voice spoke to you, inviting you to follow him.” His unique challenge might be caught up in the phrase: “Local Church, Global Purpose.” He takes on how we use our personal resources and church monies mainly for ourselves without con-sideration for Jesus’ command to make disciples of the whole world. He likes the word “leveraging” and shows us with a great many exam-ples how we truly can make disciples throughout the world. I am greatly affected by both of Platt’s books and trying to think how we, too, at Grace can do some of the fantastic things they do at The Church at Brook Hills. Both of his books are in our church library. The Prodigal by Brennan Manning and Greg Garrett

This is Brennan Manning’s last book and it is a work of fiction. Manning has had a huge effect on me, and his book The Ragamuffin Gospel is one of the best books I have ever read! If you want to fully

Three Good Three Good Books Books

+ 1+ 1

(Continued on page 2.)

Page 2 May 2014

GraceNet is published monthly by

Grace Lutheran Church – LCMS 9076 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxville, TN 37923

Phone: (865) 691-2823 Fax: (865) 691-4895 E-mail: glc@visitgrace.org

Reverend Richard M. Elseroad, Senior Pastor Reverend Justin A. Bell, Associate Pastor

Reverend Mark Bushuiakovish, Associate Pastor

Website: http://www.visitgrace.org

Articles for GraceNet are due by the 1st of each month for the following month’s edition.

GraceNet Staff Debbie Booher, Editor Linda Jaekel Nancy May Joan Scraggs Email to Editor: dbooher@knology.net

If you have a spe-cial event you would like to have publicized in GraceNet, please submit the information to

Debbie Booher by the 1st of each month for publication in the follow-ing month’s newsletter.

J ack McGee has to be most grateful that he now endures the much milder climate of East Tennessee after having lived in the cold tundra of Schenectady, New York. At

least that is what those northern residents are feeling as they describe this past winter! But are those summers delightful! Jack is married to Kristin and dotes on his “mostly Black Lab, Riley.” We might be reminded of Tom Cruise after knowing that Jack's most memorable job experience in-volved briefing, coordinating, and leading a 50-plus aircraft package against aggressor aircraft ground threats at the USAF Fighter Weapons (Top Gun) School. So it is most un-derstandable that working in his yard, building “something,” reading, and baseball are relaxing times for Jack. And to indulge himself at home or in any restaurant, he would cer-tainly select good seafood, especially when served with drawn butter! We all have incidents in life we look back on which changed our outlooks. Jack recalls that in second grade, he was the fastest runner in school until a “new guy” left him behind. His gym teacher called him over, stuck a finger in his face and gently said “Jack don't ever quit!” That advice has remained entrenched in his memory bank. Perhaps this real-ization led to his desire “to start a new school which teaches ‘reading, writing and arithmetic, and leaving the parenting to the parents’”. Can you hear our local teachers applauding? Or-ganization and task manage-ment to reduce saturation are his best assets, so don't be sur-prised if his facial expression does not always reflect what his true feeling involves. We will remember that in our encounters with Jack!

Our Grace Family Meet Jack McGee

understand the grace of Jesus Christ then read Ragamuf-fin, The Signature of Jesus, and Abba’s Child. I have referred to these books often in my sermon writing. Brennan died in April of 2013, and this book came out in 2013. Essentially it is Garrett’s book inspired by his associa-tion and collaboration with Brennan. It is the story about Jack Chisholm “the people’s pastor.” He is the pastor of the mega church, the Grace Cathedral, with all its trappings and is a bestselling author. The slogan of his ministry is “we have got to do better.” Jack really and truly knows nothing about grace. Then he is involved with a scandal and loses everything, including his wife and child. He is rescued by his long es-tranged father and begins the long road to understanding the true nature of grace. Brennan himself shows up in the person of Father Frank, the moral center of the entire story. It is a quick read and gets to the themes of Brennan’s most appreciated ministry. It is a fitting memorial to his life’s work. I want to briefly mention Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. I enjoyed the book greatly and only a few occasions would I take issue with it. It is obviously written by Christians and those who vehemently criticize it (at least the ones I’ve seen) are generally anti-Christian or very liberal Christians who have problems with the Bible. Much of the book is about Roman history and how brutal they could be. The last half of the book really comes from the Gospels or their interpretation of events. My caution on the book is this: if you really want to know Jesus and who He was and is, then read the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then you should read Paul’s letters. Only then can a book like this be helpful because, in the end, this is O’Reilly’s and Dugard’s interpretation of the facts. ~ Pastor Rich

Three Books +1 (Continued from page 1)

Page 3 May 2014

Grace Family Bios We hope you’re enjoying our new feature on Grace Family Bios. If you’d like to participate in the article—it’s easy! We have included a form on the Grace website to enable Grace Lutheran members to provide fun and interesting information about themselves for short biographies to be created and shared with the Grace community. Paper forms are also available if you would like to participate but do not wish to do so online. If you have questions about the biographies, please contact Pat Kopp. If you have questions about this online form, please contact Erin Colbert.

Your responses are private and will not be shared outside the Grace community. (Keep in mind that if you fill this out, your biography may be published in our church newsletters and/or other publications!) This is a fun, voluntary project. Please do not feel compelled to complete this form if you have any concerns.

Here are the steps to access the online form:

Go to www.visitgrace.org Select the “Media” tab Select “Bulletin and Newsletter” Click on the link for “Grace Biography Questionnaire” Click “Submit” button at the bottom of page

Please remember to click the “Submit” button at the bottom. We’ll take it from there by developing an article based on your answers!! We hope you’ll participate and help us learn more about the members of our Grace family.

Please join us in congratulating and praying for our 2014 confirmands:

Confirmation 2014

Daniel William Augustus

William Lee Baker

Laura Anna Bretscher

Zachary Allen Cook

Amber Mae Duenckel

Aurora Grace Frizzell

Logan Daniel Gardner

Morgan Noelle Grebe

Skyler MacKenzie Lee Hembree

Kyle David Larson

Nicholas Aaron Mackley

Elise Bailey Murphy

Sarah Elizabeth Roth

Rebecca Denise Straub

Rachel Elizabeth Theilen

Brayden Chase White

These young people will be confirmed on Sunday, May 18, at our 11:00 a.m. service. Please keep them in your prayers as they begin a new chapter in their Christian walk.

Page 4 May 2014

5/1 Heather Grebe 5/1 Madison Hicks 5/1 Jim Thompson 5/2 Kathie Dobbins 5/3 Jeff Grebe

5/4 Christine Harness 5/4 Alaiah Miller 5/5 Haili Dew 5/5 Kaitlyn Fisher 5/5 Desaray Frizzell 5/6 Paul Angelino 5/6 Pressy Marjonen 5/7 Jon Callies 5/7 Nina Dodson 5/8 Tim Gardner 5/8 Skyler Hembree 5/9 Jan Wuornos 5/10 Gracie Frizzell 5/10 Lauren Hoag 5/10 Stacy Hoag 5/10 Alissa Kennedy 5/10 Austin Sweet 5/11 Scott Connor 5/11 Jeff Spradlin

5/13 Alfred Ashley 5/13 Stephen Elseroad 5/15 Jim Phillips 5/15 Dylan Smith 5/16 Dennis Nivens 5/17 Andrea Gardner 5/17 Tim Kipp 5/18 Sarah Dew 5/18 Harlow Otto 5/18 David Parkman 5/19 Luke Heidel 5/19 Mallory Moore 5/20 Andrew Caddle 5/21 Jimmy Fanning 5/21 Stephen Hovan 5/21 Nathaniel Smith 5/22 Tim Collins 5/25 Leah Copelan 5/26 Katie Copelan

5/26 Mike Zurakowski 5/27 Paul Bretscher 5/27 Dana Fulkerson 5/27 Susan Lewis 5/27 Steven Peterson 5/28 Zachary Cook 5/28 Allie Dew 5/28 Gary Krueger 5/29 Marilyn Griggs 5/29 Dennis Laneman 5/29 Ashley Smith 5/31 Mark Anderson 5/31 Marilyn Caddle 5/31 Mary Louise Evon 5/31 Brenda Krohnfeldt 5/31 Ryan Newport 5/31 Glen Wright

5/1 Chris & Beth Jaekel 5/1 Mark & Susan Klemmer 5/6 Ted & Jill Murphy 5/7 Drew & Laurie Martin 5/9 Terry & Rosie Turner 5/10 Harvey & Debbie Booher 5/11 James & Michele Blair 5/12 Keith & Carol Hipps 5/13 Mack & Jeanette Webster 5/15 Mark & Donna Anderson 5/16 Troy & Alexandria Howe 5/16 Larry & Barbara Osterman 5/16 Bill & Anne Smeltzer 5/17 Herman & Sherry Pauley 5/20 Will & Chantel Deichert 5/20 Pam & Jim Phillips 5/23 Mark & Margie Frizzell 5/23 Edwina & James Jackson 5/24 Chris & Kelly Dodson 5/24 Jim & Anna Thompson 5/27 Davis & Janice Ishee 5/29 Robin & Cheryl Carow 5/30 Bob & Pressy Marjonen

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May Scripture of the Month

Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

~ Deuteronomy 5:16, NIV

Bible Quiz ? ?

Answer: B (see Proverbs 15:1, NIV)

Complete the following Bible verse: “A gentle answer turns away ___________, but a harsh word stirs up ____________.”

A. an argument; obedience

B. wrath; anger

C. jealousy; resentment

D. falsehood; truth

Page 5 May 2014

New Christian Life Books Non-Fiction

Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others by Steven Furtick (248.4 Fur): Inside our heads and hearts is a chatterbox that relays lies which keep us from realizing our full potential. Furtick focuses on four key areas: insecurity, fear, condemnation, and discouragement--each stifles our attempts to fulfill God’s plans for a meaning-ful Christian life.

Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff (248.4 Gof): Goff has led an impact-filled life fueled by love that takes action. Drawing on his personal experiences, Goff’s light, unique and pro-found lessons may inspire readers to do the same.

AHA, Awakening. Honesty. Action: The God Move-ment That Changes Everything by Kyle Idleman (248.4 Idl): Insightful author, Idleman, draws on Scriptures to reveal how Awakening—the reality of our true spiritual con-dition; Honesty—our need for a Savior; and Action—following the example set by Christ; can draw us closer to God and transform our lives for all eternity.

How to be Rich: It’s Not What You Have. It’s What You Do With What You Have by Andy Stanley (248.4 Sta): Dave Ramsey comments on this book about handling money and your God-given wealth, “If you don’t have the spiritual and emotional backbone to carry that wealth, it will destroy your life…Andy lays out clear principles for carrying that load, making sure your wealth remains a blessing not just for you, but for your family and community for generations to come.” (Preface) New Amish Fiction

The Amish Groom by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner (Fic Cla) Book 1 in The Men of Lancaster County series.

Adoring Addie and Minding Molly by Leslie Gould (Fic Gou) Books 2 and 3 in The Courtships of Lancaster County. Book 1 is Courting Cate.

The Memory Jar and The Promise Box Books 1 and 2 in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series by Tricia Goyer (Fic Goy).

The Promise of an Angel and Brush of Angel’s Wings by Ruth Reid (Fic Rei) Books 1 and 2 in A Heaven on Earth series.

Suspense Fiction

For those who enjoy suspense and international espionage, check out one of Don Brown’s titles in the Pacific Rim Series (Fic Bro): Thunder in the Morning Calm, Fire of

the Raging Dragon, and Storming the Black Ice. For Mystery Readers

Those who enjoy mys-tery stories with an element of stolen identity and romance may like a new series by Kathleen Y’Barbo set in the late 1880’s. The series is entitled, The Secret Lives of Will Tucker (Fic Y’Ba) and the titles in the series include Flo-ra’a Wish, Millie’s Treasure, and Sadie’s Secret.

Romance Tales

A new collection of romance stories is the Smitten series (Fic Cob); each volume containing four separate but inter-twined novellas by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter set in the town of Smit-ten, Vermont. The small group of women in their book club share friendship, romance, and a long-held secret. Choose Smitten, Secretly Smitten, and Smitten Book Club.

Historical Fiction

If historical fiction is your choice in reading, Tamera Alex-ander’s A Lasting Impression (Fic Ale), book 1 in her Belmont Mansion series, is available for check out. The series is set at Nashville’s historic Belmont Mansion, an an-tebellum manor, when a nation is mending following a dev-astating civil war.

Life Lessons for Our Youngest Readers

Our youngest readers can learn important lessons from a series entitled Elf-help Books for Kids. Titles available are:

Bye-Bye Bully! A Kid’s Guide for Dealing with Bullies by J.S.Jackson (J152.4 Jac);

Mad Isn’t Bad: A Child’s Book About Anger by Michaelene Munday (J 152.4 Mun);

Sad Isn’t Bad: A Good Grief Guidebook for Kids Deal-ing With Loss by Michaelene Mundy (J 152.4 Mun); and

Happy to Be Me! A Kid’s Book About Self-esteem by Christine Adams (J 155.2 Ada)

All these books will be on the cart in the library throughout the month ready for you to check out. ~ Mary Schultz

Page 6 May 2014

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From Pastor Justin . . .

Ruth Meyer recently wrote an article on why it was important to make your kids go to church despite their complaints. This article she wrote in response to those that said what her article suggested was “brainwashing.”

To Brainwash a Child? by Ruth Meyer

…To have a decent discussion about brainwashing, one has to start with a common definition. So let’s start with the dictionary’s definition of the word “brainwashing:” A method for systematically changing attitudes or alter-ing beliefs, originated in totalitarian countries, espe-cially through the use of torture, drugs, or psychologi-cal-stress techniques. Hmm. That doesn’t sound like anyone I know. Not one single Christian parent I know fits that description. Think Hitler Germany. The Hitler Youth? Brainwashing. How about the David Koresh’s infamous cult in Waco, Texas, which ended in a final and fatal standoff on April 19, 1993? Brainwashing. Loving Christian parents teaching their children about a loving Savior? Not brainwashing.

Okay, maybe brainwashing is a bit too strong a word. But at the very least, you’re denying your children the right to “free thinking” and the beauty of exploration and choosing their own set of beliefs.

Let’s explore that a moment then, shall we? Let’s change things up with this blog format and have some interactive participation. I’m going to list different scenarios and I want you to answer for yourself whether each instance is denying a child the beauty of exploration and the gift of choice.

1. A parent who passes on loyalty to a certain sports team, giving their child apparel, pennants, and gear from the team of the parent’s choice from a very young age, thus raising their child to be a fan of the same team the parents like.

2. A symphonic violinist who starts his child on violin lessons at the age of 5, thus ruling out the possibility of the child explor-ing woodwind or brass instruments.

3. A Olympic gymnast who signs up her child in gymnastics from the age of 3, thus denying the child the chance to explore other options like ice skating.

4. A parent who teaches his child the theory of evolution as fact, thus denying the child the choice of learning about creation as well.

5. A vegetarian parent who passes on the vegetarian lifestyle to her children, thus denying them the exploration of many types of meat.

I could go on with other examples, but let’s stick with five for now. Your answers may be different from my own, but here’s the bottom line. If you believe that a Christian par-ent who passes on their beliefs to their children is denying their children the “beauty of choice,” then you have to agree that all the examples above are denying their children the beauty of choice as well.

You see, I cannot do anything other than pass on my faith. Living out my faith and passing it on to my children is just what I do. It’s like speaking English. It just comes naturally. It’s my “native tongue,” so to speak. Am I denying my kids free choice by speaking English in the house? What if they’d rather speak Italian? Do you see how ridiculous this gets? Just as I speak the English lan-guage without a second thought, so do I speak my language of faith, Christianity.

Some of the comments from last Monday’s post accused me of threatening or scaring my kids into behaving by talking about hell. This is simply untrue. If there are parents out there who do this, it’s a dangerous tactic that will almost certainly backfire. My husband and I do not threaten them with, “You know, you’re gonna burn in hell for lying to me like that.” Absolutely not. That’s unthinkable. So what do we teach them? I’m glad you asked. It’s quite simple, actually. It comes down to two main categories.

1. LAW. In order to have a proper understanding of the second category (Gospel), one must start with this. Here is where many people bristle, and sadly, if you can’t get past the Law, you will never be able to experience the beauty of the Gospel. The Law basically tells us that we are all sin-ners. Yes, I said it. You’re a sinner, I’m a sinner, my kids are sinners. Everyone is a sinner. Does it hurt your pride to hear me say it? It should. No one likes to be told they’re wrong, and here’s where a lot of people fall away. “I don’t need a religion that tells me I’m wrong or tries to make me feel guilty.” Ah, but stay with me, dear ones, because if you stop reading here you miss the best part! When did you teach your kids to lie, hit each other, fight, etc? What’s that? You didn’t teach them these things? Exactly. That’s because we are all sinful. We tru-ly can’t help ourselves. No matter how hard we may try to be “good,” we will all fall short. God demands perfec-tion. 100% of the time. No one can live up to that. Ev-er. But this isn’t the end, because look with me at number 2 now. (Continued on page 7)

Page 7 May 2014

Brainwashing (Continued from page 6) 2. GOSPEL. You see, God wasn’t con-tent to sit in heaven and watch us ruin ourselves. He sent His only Son, Jesus, to this earth as a human being. Imagine, the God of the universe taking on human flesh! It’s unbelievable. I can’t compre-hend it myself, but I believe it and give thanks to God for it! Jesus came down to earth and lived the perfect life we could never live. Then He was crucified for all the sins of everyone in the world, and three days later rose from the dead. His victory over death assures all believers that they will live with Him eternal-ly. Again, I can’t comprehend this. Does this make sense? Well, truthfully, no. And that’s the beauty of it. If some-one had made up Christianity, they would have made up something that was “logical” to our finite minds. Give us a set of rules to follow to gain heaven. Let us earn our own way somehow. But the “foolishness of God is wiser than men,” as I Corinthians 1:25 asserts. You see, God’s “foolishness” is the message of the cross, as I Corinthians 1:18 points out: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Healthline is a 30-minute Medical Education television show sponsored by the Knoxville Academy of Medicine Alliance, which is composed of physician spouses. Grace’s very own Sheila Wittke is host and interviews medical doctors on various health-related topics. We encourage you to check it out! The show airs weekly and is currently on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. on the following stations:

HOST: Sheila Wittke

AIR TIME: Sunday afternoons at 3:00 p.m.

STATIONS: CTV COMCAST Cable Channel 12 (Knoxville) CTV CHARTER Cable Channel 6 (Farragut) CTV AT&T UVERSE MAY 2014 SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND GUESTS

May 4 - Ischemic Strokes and TIA'S (Tran Ischemic Attacks) - Dr. Keith Woodward May 11 - Plantar Fasciitis of the Foot - Dr, Christine Seaworth May 18 - Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms - Dr. Richard Young May 25 - Surgical Options for Endocrine/Thyroid Disorders - Dr. David Harrell

A mother is a special gift, Sent to the world by God. She quietly calms our fears, Sometimes with a simple nod. She play's a very important role, It's not always easy to do. She prays, she cries, she laughs, she smiles, But always helps us through. A mother puts herself aside, Putting her life on hold. To raise and nurture her children, To her it never grows old. She watches over her young ones, Day and night. And then when they’re old, She helps them take flight.

Even when her children are grown, And have flown away. Her motherly instincts, Are there, oh yes, they stay. A mother without a doubt, Is God's special gift. Given to all of us, Our burdens to help lift. So never take that gift for granted, She may not always be around. For God will one day call her home, Her reward to abound. So tell that special mother, How much you care. Because that mother you have, She is special, she is rare.

~ Thomas Sears, Sr. Pastor & Poet New Beginnings Church Lost Creek, WV

A Mother

TO:

Grace Lutheran Church-LCMS 9076 Middlebrook Pike Knoxville, TN 37923-1557 (865) 691-2823 Fax: (865) 691-4895 E-mail address: glc@visitgrace.org Sunday Worship: 8:00 a.m. (Traditional) and 9:30 a.m. (Blended)/11:00 a.m. (Contemporary) Wednesday Worship: 6:30 p.m. (Blended) Sunday School & Bible Classes @ 9:30 a.m./11:00 a.m.

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Honor your . . . mother as the Lord has commanded you . . .

Deuteronomy 5:16

Mother’s Day May 11