Please and Thank You: Words of Grace from
My Childhood by Pastor Bob Rusert
Parting words of wisdom… famous last words… last
will and testament… these phrases came to mind as I
pondered what I’d say in my final article for the June
CONNECT.
“THANK YOU God!” are the first words that came to
me. THANK YOU, God, for the privilege and blessing of
serving as one of the faithful shepherds of Minnetonka
Lutheran and Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities. I
am humbled, Lord, by the grace you have given to me, Lori
and our family in the hundreds of beloved members and
faithful mission and ministry partners of this now one
church with two campuses. I thank God for you all in my
prayers as I recall and celebrate the courageous, faithful
and even sacrificial risks we have taken together. I am also
thankful that the Spirit has given me great peace and joy
in knowing that we have been in the center of God’s will in doing the right and
obedient thing in growing God’s church for others and for one another.
Two treasured words from Colossians and 1 Thessalonians, attributed to St. Paul,
reveal his love for those with whom he served and led and labored. He clearly
penned these words to help God’s Spirit in securing his readers in faith and grace.
I confess to you that I have been steeped in the Word of God my whole life long.
I commend you to be steeped as well:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all
wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to
God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:16-17
I am not a lucky man, but I am a blessed man and child of God. As one who
has been willing to “stand under the Word to understand the Word” (with St.
Augustine) I say to you, PLEASE, “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” and
you will be blessed. God’s Word will never fail you or forsake you!
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labor among you,
and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; esteem them very highly
in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you,
beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak,
be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always
seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything;
hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. - 1 Thessalonians 5:11-22
I have been so respected, esteemed, and loved by you and so empowered,
inspired, and emboldened by your love. PLEASE bless your pastors and lay
leaders and one another and you will be blessed. And PLEASE “do not quench
the Spirit.” God’s Spirit has shown the way and is calling you, Bethlehem
Lutheran Church Twin Cities, to keep on opening new doors, keep on being God’s
witnesses here in Minneapolis and Minnetonka and to the ends of the earth,
to keep on caring for the least and lost and lowliest of God’s children. Let God’s
Spirit have God’s way with you! PLEASE keep me and mine in your prayers and
know that you will always be treasured and kept in my heart and my prayers.
2
ON THE COVER:
Be Holy? Ugh, the
phrase smacks of
pretension. Be Holy.
And for those few that
can avoid spouting a hypocritical piety,
they set a standard saintliness that no
one could possibly come close to. Be
Holy? No thanks, it’s not for me. But
God says, “You shall be holy, for I the
Lord your God am holy.” So maybe it’s
less about us and our own piety, and
more about the God who is at work in
and through each one of us. Can you
be holy? You already are.
During the course of this series we’ll be
inviting guest preachers to the pulpit from
a variety of our mission partners to share
with us what holiness looks like.
June 11
Isaiah 58:6-8 (MPLS)
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 (MTKA)
June 18
Mark 5:1-20 (MPLS)
John 13:31-35 (MTKA)
June 25
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 (MPLS)
Colossians 3:12-17 (MTKA)
July 2
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Pastor Bob Rusert
Farewell Reception
Sunday, June 11 (MPLS)
Sunday, June 25 (MTKA)
Next CONNECT deadline:
June 10, 2017
[email protected]
CONNECT newsletter online
bethlehem-church.org