St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church
Trenton, New Jersey
St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church is a community of believers that is rooted in God’s unconditional grace and love, striving to share God’s light of hope and salvation to scatter the darkness wherever it is found, through word and deed.
"Not Just Going to Church, but BEING the Church"
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Reopening information &
Upcoming Events!!
In Person Protocols for Worship
Beginning Advent 1 November 28th 11AM
Church activities open for more than 50 people (Federal Guideline Phase 3):
· Maintain increased sanitation/cleaning and hygiene measures at church.
· Resume in-person worship with other members (insofar as they feel comfortable doing so).
· Continue online worship for those who still cannot gather.
· Communion, with additional precautionary measures. (we will stay in prepackaged format in which communion will be found in front of you with bulletin)
· Physical distancing may be relaxed and masks may become optional in some places based on various factors and recommendations from officials.
Advent Worship
December 5th
11:00AM
Sunday Bulletin (Click on PDF)
As a Lutheran church body, Saint Bart's professes belief in the "priesthood of all believers" as reflected in Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, that all baptized persons have equal access to God and are all called to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. All are welcome here and we embrace the diversity of the beloved community.
At the same time faith does not close our minds to the world and our hearts to others. We continue to listen to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We listen to the witness of others and we watch for the ways God is active in the world around us. Faith opens a place for engaging others in conversation, for seeking the truth, for asking questions and speaking love in word and deed.
Faith A living, daring confidence in God’s grace. When we about faith, we are talking about the relationship God’s Holy Spirit creates with us. It’s a relationship where God’s promise of steadfast love and mercy in Jesus opens us to a life of bold trust in God and joyful, generous service to everyone we know and meet in daily life.
As a Lutheran church body, Saint Bart's professes belief in the "priesthood of all believers" as reflected in Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, that all baptized persons have equal access to God and are all called to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. All are welcome here and we embrace the diversity of the beloved community.
Worship
Sundays
In Person &
FB Live:
11:00am
BIBLE STUDY
UNTIL WE’RE ABLE TO MEET AT CHURCH AGAIN, THE GOSPEL READING FOR THE COMING SUNDAY AND SOME QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT WILL BE POSTED EVERY WEDNESDAY. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU SHARE YOUR OWN ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS BY EMAILING THEM TO:
ALL OF OUR RESPONSES WILL BE COMPILED (ANONYMOUSLY) AND ADDED TO THE POSTING ON SATURDAY. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE GOSPEL READING EACH WEEK AND CHECK OUT THE RESPONSES EACH SATURDAY!
BIBLE STUDY FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2021
PRAYER: Holy Father, by the power of your Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts and minds to receive all that You want us to learn. As we read your word, shine on us the light of your truth. May we gain a deeper understanding of who You are and what your will is in each of our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
CONTEXT: While we have a linear view of time, the church’s calendar is cyclical – patterns of events repeating themselves. As we enter Advent, the lectionary puts in front of us this passage about the end of history, before moving in later weeks to prepare us for the beginning, the coming of the Christ child. Advent is directly connected with the return of Jesus. We celebrate his birth on Christmas, but we also wait for his second coming. We are reminded that Jesus’ prophetic words apply to our age as well as to the church in the first century. We know that God will make all things new someday, but we are also called to consider how we can help make things new right now.
READING: Luke 21:25-36
25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Why do you think God would choose to preface Jesus’ second coming with the kinds of upheaval and violence described in verses 25-26? How does the description make you feel? How does your faith enter into that feeling?
2. What does Jesus mean in verse 28 by “standing up and raising our heads”? How does one do that in the face of every instinct to do the opposite?
3. Share a time in your life when you experienced a time of “fear and foreboding”. How did you respond, and how did your faith play a part in your response?
4. Give some practical examples of the things Jesus refers to in verse 34, that can weigh us down. Which of these behaviors in particular do you need to avoid?
5. What is Jesus saying in verse 34, and why is it so important for us to remember?
6. What difference does it make in our life and ministry when we live expectantly, anticipating the second coming of Christ? What might be the result, in the here are now, if all of us were to do this?
7. How can this reading enlighten us a community here at St. Bart, as we look forward to, and make plans for, the new church year?
8. How will you put to use the truths in this reading during this season of Advent?
Services will be held in person and streamed
on our Facebook page live.
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ADVENT 2021 NEWSLETTER
IS HERE!
Click on the link Below!
