April 2012 3700 S. Casper Drive, New Berlin, WI (262)786-2900 www.starofbethlehem.org cÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wx cÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wx cÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wx cÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wx Rotten on the Inside Rotten on the Inside Rotten on the Inside Rotten on the Inside Commissioned in 1936, the RMS Queen Mary was the most awe- inspiring ocean-going vessel in the world. She was 1,019 feet long, at 81,237 tons displaced twice the tonnage of the Titanic, had 12 decks (the promenade deck was 724 feet long), and carried 1,957 passengers attended by a crew of 1,174. Transformed from a luxury liner to a troop transport in World War II she carried 765,429 members of the military to and from the European war zones. The Queen Mary was retired from regular passenger service in 1967 after making 1,001 Atlantic Ocean crossings, and is presently harbored in the port of Long Beach, California. Even today, her magnificent and gleaming exterior cuts a beautiful profile against the blue waters of the Long Beach harbor. But when the Queen Mary was retired from active passenger service, it was discovered that part of her gleaming exterior was hiding something far less attractive and substantial. The Queen Mary's three elliptical smoke stacks - 36 feet long, 23 feet wide, and ranging from 70 down to 62 feet in height-were made of sheets of steel over an inch thick. During her decades of service, at least 30 coats of paint had been applied to the massive smokestacks, forming a shell around the steel interior. But when the smokestacks were removed for maintenance after her decommissioning, it was discovered that they were nothing but shells. When lifted off the liner and placed on the docks, they crumbled! Over the years, the thick steel of which they had been made had turned to rust from long exposure to heat and moisture. The beautiful exteriors of the smokestacks revealed a rusty, crumbly interior that spoke not of beauty and elegance but of deterioration and decay. The external appearance was hiding the internal reality. Jesus encountered a situation in Jerusalem where the same inconsistency was present. The Pharisees lives had apparently become like the Queen Mary's smokestacks - gleaming on the outside, rusty on the inside. “Hypocrites,” Jesus called them (Matt. 23:25-28). They were like dishes that were polished until they shone on the outside, but inside had the grease and crumbs from yesterday's feast festering and attracting flies. They were like the tombs outside the city wall that camouflaged the resting places of dead people's bones with coats of bright whitewash. Gleaming on the outside, gruesome on the inside. We may try to hide the rotten sin that is on the inside by covering it with layer after layer of self- righteousness. Other people might even be impressed by our godliness. But a “pretty” outward appearance does not change what is going on inside. Sin, guilt, and shame, will weight us down and causes us to drown in a sea of despair. Only Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross for you and me, can repair the damage that sin has done. Jesus wants to remove the rot and decay, and in himself make you into a new creation, that is clean both inside and out. As a family of believers united in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the members of Star of Bethlehem Congregation are committed, with the help of the Holy Spirit and directed by God’s Word, to glorify God by - SUPPORTING One another in daily living – empowered by the freedom God’s forgiveness brings. REACHING Out with our diverse gifts to bring the lost to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. ACKNOWLEDGING That God’s grace is the only means of saving sinners and God’s Word is the only source of Truth. TEACHING God’s Word to people of all ages so they can continually grow in faith. SERVING The Triune God through regular worship and faithful use of the Sacraments. OUR MISSION
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Transcript
April 2012
3700 S. Casper Drive, New Berlin, WI
(262)786-2900
www.starofbethlehem.org
cÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wxcÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wxcÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wxcÜxààç ÉÇ à{x bâàá|wx Rotten on the InsideRotten on the InsideRotten on the InsideRotten on the InsideCommissioned in 1936, the RMS Queen Mary was the most awe-
inspiring ocean-going vessel in the world. She was 1,019 feet long, at
81,237 tons displaced twice the tonnage of the Titanic, had 12 decks
(the promenade deck was 724 feet long), and carried 1,957
passengers attended by a crew of 1,174. Transformed from a luxury
liner to a troop transport in World War II she carried 765,429
members of the military to and from the European war zones. The
Queen Mary was retired from regular passenger service in 1967 after
making 1,001 Atlantic Ocean crossings, and is presently harbored in
the port of Long Beach, California. Even today, her magnificent and
gleaming exterior cuts a beautiful profile against the blue waters of
the Long Beach harbor. But when the Queen Mary was retired from
active passenger service, it was discovered that part of her gleaming
exterior was hiding something far less attractive and substantial.
The Queen Mary's three elliptical smoke stacks - 36 feet long, 23
feet wide, and ranging from 70 down to 62 feet in height-were made
of sheets of steel over an inch thick. During her decades of service,
at least 30 coats of paint had been applied to the massive
smokestacks, forming a shell around the steel interior. But when the
smokestacks were removed for maintenance after her
decommissioning, it was discovered that they were nothing but
shells. When lifted off the liner and placed on the docks, they
crumbled! Over the years, the thick steel of which they had been
made had turned to rust from long exposure to heat and moisture.
The beautiful exteriors of the smokestacks revealed a rusty, crumbly
interior that spoke not of beauty and elegance but of deterioration
and decay. The external appearance was hiding the internal reality.
Jesus encountered a situation in Jerusalem
where the same inconsistency was present. The
Pharisees lives had apparently become like the
Queen Mary's smokestacks - gleaming on the
outside, rusty on the inside. “Hypocrites,” Jesus
called them (Matt. 23:25-28). They were like dishes
that were polished until they shone on the outside,
but inside had the grease and crumbs from
yesterday's feast festering and attracting flies. They
were like the tombs outside the city wall that
camouflaged the resting places of dead people's
bones with coats of bright whitewash. Gleaming on
the outside, gruesome on the inside.
We may try to hide the rotten sin that is on the
inside by covering it with layer after layer of self-
righteousness. Other people might even be
impressed by our godliness. But a “pretty” outward
appearance does not change what is going on inside.
Sin, guilt, and shame, will
weight us down and
causes us to drown in a
sea of despair. Only
Jesus’ blood, shed on the
cross for you and me,
can repair the damage
that sin has done. Jesus
wants to remove the rot
and decay, and in
himself make you into
a new creation, that is
clean both inside and
out.
As a family of believers united in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the members of Star of Bethlehem Congregation are committed, with the help of the Holy Spirit and directed by God’s Word, to glorify God by -
SUPPORTING
One another in daily living –
empowered by the freedom God’s
forgiveness brings.
REACHING
Out with our diverse gifts to
bring the lost to a saving knowledge
of Jesus Christ.
ACKNOWLEDGING
That God’s grace is the only means of saving sinners and God’s Word is the
only source of Truth.
TEACHING
God’s Word to people of all
ages so they can continually
grow in faith.
SERVING
The Triune God through regular
worship and faithful use of
the Sacraments.
OUR
MISSION
On Palm Sunday, April 1, our
Confirmation Class will be
confirmed in the 10:30 a.m.
Service. All of the Services
this weekend will have a
Palm Sunday flavor. We
welcome our confirmands to
our communicant member-
ship. The confirmands
will receive their First
Communion on
Maundy Thursday.
Members of this year’s Confirmation Class include: Nicholas
Aumend, Rachel Dummer, Drew Foren, Kole Hansen, Jacob Lee,
Hannah Leverence, William Olson, Sophia Pezze, Brittany
Pulkkila, Caleb Reichardt, Talia Treptow, Natalie Yass, and
Stephen Zaborowski.
One
Communion Service will
be conducted on
Maundy Thursday, April 5, at 6:30 p.m. Maundy,
meaning “command” and referring to Jesus’ command to “do
this in remembrance of me,” Thursday is when Jesus first
instituted his Holy Supper. “Receive the Blessings of the Cross”
will be our theme for the Service. The Confirmation Class will
also receive its First Communion on Maundy Thursday.
“Jesus Died Willingly” will be our theme on
Good Friday. Two Services, both the same, will be conducted;
at 1:00 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m. A special medley of anthems and
readings will be presented by our Adult Choir. Join us at the
foot of Jesus’ cross. Please invite family, friends, co-workers
and neighbors to join us for worship on Good Friday.
Our Easter for Kids program was held on Saturday, March
31, from 10:00 – 12:00. Our sincere thanks to all of our
volunteers, and especially to the event coordinator Tracy
Reichardt. Thanks also to those who promoted the program by
distributing fliers in the community, which included our service
times for our Easter Services. May the Lord bless this year’s
Easter for Kids!
Easter Services will be held at
special times;
7:00 and 9:30
a.m. Our children,
choirs, instru-
mentalists, etc.
will provide
special music to
enhance our
Easter celebration. Join us on April 8 for our Easter