July 29, 2010 Grace Lutheran Church 6931 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach, CA 92647 (714) 899-1700 contactus@GraceHB.org WORSHIP TIMES:Worship - Sunday 8:30 am, 10:30 am; Wednesday 11 am Children's Sunday School - 8:30 am (3-6 years old), 10:30am (3yrs to 5th grade) Middle School [6th-8th Grade] - Sunday 10:30 am High School [9th-12th Grade] - Tuesday 6:00 pm Adult Bible Study Classes - Sunday 10:15 am
 RUNNING ON EMPTY:The Refusal to Rest
is the Beginning of Injustice
[Matthew 12:1-14]
“Stressed out people stress out those around them.”“People who are addicted to work overwork others.”“Those who refuse to rest make resting difficult for everyone else.”Do you agree with these statements? Is there a direct relationship between how we treat ourselves and how we treat others? Jesus seemed to think so. When he was asked to summarize the Torah—the Law, the Way that God intends for us to live in this world—part of his answer was to link these two relational dimensions together. “ Love your neighbor as yourself.” The practical application of this principle was often a topic of conversation for Jesus during his ministry. This week as we turn the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, we will hear Jesus applying this standard when is he accused of violating the Sabbath command. God’s gift of the Sabbath is expressed for the first time as a command in the book of Exodus. As a part of God’s Top Ten, the commandment to "remember" the Sabbath is grounded in the story of creation. Six days of work followed by one of rest, recognizes the pattern that God has hardwired into creation as the Creator. We worship God by honoring the Sabbath. When we rest in God, we recognize that the Sabbath is not only what made creation complete in the beginning—such sacred time, is also what makes us whole, week in and week out. Later on in the book of Deuteronomy, the commandment is reworded a bit. We are called to "observe" the Sabbath because the experience of resting in the Lord is also connected to our freedom from slavery. In the most basic sense, to be in bondage is to be subject to work without rest. Slaves cannot take a day off but free people can. By stopping our work every seventh day and resting in the work of God, we declare our freedom in the LORD. I invite you to join us this week as we broaden our view of the Sabbath as a gift and a command not just for individuals but the community. Together let us realize that while we are called to remember and observe the Sabbath—we are not to keep it to ourselves! The day, the rhythm of rest, is itself a manifestation of God’s favor and blessings on all of creation. Our challenge in truly honoring the Sabbath, is finding ways to extend the blessing of spiritual, social, mental, and physical rest as widely as possible. Come discover how the path to justice begins on the day of the Sabbath. Resting in Him, Pastor Chris Click here for video streaming of
last week's sermon message.
Church Council Members 2010-2011
Ministry is a team effort. From our Church Council to the volunteer teams within each ministry, Grace Lutheran Church is led by teams. This provides stronger leadership through stability, complementary strengths/weaknesses, decisions made with broader perspective, and greater accountability. Our Church Council is comprised of a group of volunteers nominated from within our Church community, recommended by current board members, and adopted at our annual Church meeting. They each live their lives as an example to all members of Grace and work to shepherd the affairs of the Church in close partnership with Senior Pastor Chris Tweitmann. The following is the 2010-2011 council team.
Rachel ZippwaldPresident Ken Beaulieu1st Vice President FacilitiesCarole Ryan2nd Vice President Adult Ministries & Spiritual FormationTom LivengoodTreasurer FinanceChristine McGrawSecretary Worship, Music and the ArtsBob EgginkCouncil Member PersonnelDebbie GravesCouncil Member Authentic CommunityElizabeth San FillippoCouncil Member Reaching OutJon TimmonsCouncil Member School & Family MinistriesClick here to visit our Church Council page.
Campus Renovation
The Divine Conspiracy
 Wednesdays, September 15 - October 20Pastor Joe Johnson invites you to join him and renowned teacher and writer Dallas Willard (one of today's most brilliant Christian thinkers) for this new six-session DVD study— The Divine Conspiracy—where Willard will offer a timely and challenging call back to the true meaning of Christian discipleship. Gracefully weaving biblical teaching, popular culture, science, scholarship, and spiritual practice into one cohesive group study, Willard shows Christians everywhere the necessity of making profound changes in how we view our lives and live out our faith. This video-based group study will capture the core of Christ's teachings in a fresh, relevant light, revealing a revolutionary way to experience God … by knowing Him as an essential part of the here and now, rather than only as a part of the hereafter. Make plans to join us this Fall for this 6-week study led by Pastor Joe and Connie Randall. Invite your friends, family and small group to come along as well. Contact Pastor Joe Johnson [714-899-1600 or jjohnson@gracehb.org] RSVP on our Facebook event page and share with friends.
DISCIPLE Bible Study
Help Expand Our Podcast Reach
 We need more people to rate and review our podcast in order to increase our visibility and presence on iTunes. God has blessed Grace with gifted teachers like Pastor Chris. In an effort to highlight our teaching ministry and increase its exposure in our community, we would appreciate your help. 1. Click to visit our sermon podcast page. 2. Click the " view in iTunes" button on the left side to open the iTunes program. 3. Once in iTunes, sign-in to your iTunes account. 4. Scroll to the bottom of the page. There you can rate our podcast (1 to 5 stars) and write a Customer Review (200 words or less). 5. You can click the drop-down arrow next to the "Subscribe For Free" box on the left for an option that allows you to share our podcast on Facebook and/or email the podcast link to specific friends. Please share on Facebook if you are willing and email the link to five of your friends. That's it! Thanks for your help!
Second-Half Ministry Trip: Architectural Tour of LA
 Tuesday, August 17, 8:15am
Grace's Second-Half Ministries in conjunction with the HB Rogers Senior Center invites you on an architectural tour of Los Angeles with lunch at the San Antonio Winery. Bus leaves the Rogers Senior Center parking lot at 8:15am. Everyone is welcome. Sign-up on the patio this Sunday. Cost is $48 (lunch extra). Contact Pastor Dale Johnson [714-899-1722 or djohnson@gracehb.org]
Greet Our S.H.I.P. Guests
 S.H.I.P. is docking this month at Grace from July 31 - August 21. For these three weeks, Grace offers housing, meals and fellowship to homeless men and women while they develop life skills and hunt for jobs.
Summer Reading 2010
 If you'd like to understand the future vision for Grace as well as be a part of the ongoing conversation, please add these three books to your summer reading list. Each of these books addresses a crucial dimension of the challenge that lies before us.
" Who Stole My Church?" by Gordon MacDonald offers insight into what it means to be a multi-generational church in a changing world. If you're wrestling with some of the recent changes made at Grace--this is a MUST read!
" The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns broadens and challenges our typical understanding of what it means to share the Gospel in word and deed both in our community and across the globe. Whether you're satisfied, dissatisfied or indifferent about efforts in missions and evangelism, this book is a blueprint of how things must and will change at Grace.
" UnChristian" by David Kinniman and Gabe Lyons puts a face and a story on the two generations that we most need to reach but that are also the most hostile and resistant not to Jesus or to faith but to the church. If every church is truly one generation away from extinction, we need to understand and respond to the perceptions and criticisms of those who will be coming after us. Is it possible that as the church we have taken our eyes off Jesus and that is why the upcoming generations cannot perceive Christ in the church? I challenge each of you to answer this question after reading this book!
Read these books. Listen to our recent discussions online. Talk to your family, friends and neighbors about them. Be informed. These books will be the basis of further small group conversations that we will be having at Grace. Visit our SUMMER READING 2010 page for more info and to hear MP3 audio from past book discussions.
The Grace Congregational Survey
 WHO WE AREWHAT WE BELIEVEWHERE WE STANDThe Grace Congregational Survey is coming this Fall.
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Pardon our mess!
