Empty Bowls – our Sunday school classes are making bowls for STEP’s Empty Bowls event on March 8.  They have created unique bowls and on Sunday Feb 12 these bowls will be blessed during worship. After worship, they will finish their creative process by glazing their bowls in lower fellowship hall.  The bowls will be on display during the After Worship Pancake Breakfast on Feb. 26.   These bowls will be donated to STEP’s Empty Bowls Event on March 8. 
30 Hour Famine – many of our 6th through 12 graders will be participating in the 30 Hour Famine on Feb. 24-25 to create awareness of and raise money for World Vision.  Check out the bulletin board right outside of Kristi and Jean’s office to learn more about what our kids will be doing and how you can help.

30 Hour Famine “Break the Fast” worship and Pancake Breakfast February 26.  Our youth will share their 30 Hour Famine experiences with the congregation during worship and then all are invited to upper fellowship hall after worship to “Break the Fast”.   Don’t forget to check out the finished bowls that will be on display and for sale.  All proceeds from the Pancake breakfast will support World Vision.   All bowl sales will be donated to STEP.

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES AT WOODDALE

VBS – June 18-June 22 9am – noon
· For ages 4yr through 5th grade
· 6th grade and older are invited to be part of VBS staff
· Cost $40 if registered before June 3rd, $60 if registered after June 3rd
· Registration and information available in April

Summer Stretch – dates TBD 7 weeks 1 day/week (Thursdays?) in late June – August
Partner with youth from other churches as we spend our mornings learning about and working at a variety of outreach service projects in the Twin Cities, and afternoons having some serious fun and recreation at a variety of venues around the city. We’ll spend our last day with Summer Stretcher’s from all over the state @ Valleyfair.
· For youth completing grades 5-8
· Grades 9 plus can attend as junior leaders
· Dates and cost TBD – look for more information in Feb. and March.

SUMMER AWAY CAMP OPPORTUNITIES @ WAPO/OX LAKE BIBLE CAMP
All grade school through high school age camps are at Wapogasset or Ox Lake Lutheran Bible Camp located in Amery, Wisconsin (about 90 minutes from Wooddale). Ox Lake, is affiliated with WAPO, but is about 7 miles away from the main WAPO camp. See campwapo.org for details of age specific camps.
REGISTRATION/DEPOSIT DEADLINE IS FEB 12 for guaranteed spot! Registration post-deadline is by space availability.

Seeds Weekend @ Wapo – July 13-15, 2012
· For youth completing 2nd-3rd grade
· Cost – $140, minus $45 Wooddale member scholarship = Your cost – $95!
· Sign-up Deadline & $95 Due – Feb. 12, 2012

Youth Camp @ Wapo – July 15-20, 20012
· For youth completing 4th-6th grade
· Cost – $390 minus $130 Wooddale member scholarship = Your cost – $260!
· Sign-up Deadline & $100 Deposit Due – Feb. 12, 2012

Ox Lake International Village – July 29-August 3, 2012
· For youth completing 7th-9th grade
· Cost – $385 minus $130 Wooddale member scholarship = Your cost – $255!
· Sign-up Deadline & $100 Deposit Due – Feb. 12, 2012

For more information on summer programs, contact Jean Olson wooddalelutheran.jeano@gmail.com

Here are the suggestions he had:

• If you are a Thrivent member, request that your Thrivent Choice Dollars are designated for Wooddale.
• If you contribute to the United Fund directly or at work, request that your contribution be forwarded to your favorite non-profit charity – Wooddale
• If you have any appreciated stocks or mutual funds that you would owe taxes on the appreciated amount if sold, ask your broker or transfer agent to transfer it directly to Wooddale as a charitable gift. You will owe no taxes on the appreciated value and your will be able to receive a charitable contribution for the current market value of the given asset.

The 4th is further explained in the attached Kipplinger article on making direct charitable contributions from your IRA etc without paying taxes on the withdrawls and applying the withdrawal to the minimum required withdrawl when you turn 70 1/2 years of age.

It is always best to check with your tax accountant or financial advisor before making financial investment decisions.

Donating IRA Distributions to Charity
To view the entire article, go to http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/donating-ira-distributions-to-charity.html

Today, we present Bibles to our third grade Sunday school children. Some people in the world today question the value of the Bible for adults, much less for children. They say the Bible is outdated, addressing topics that don’t apply to us any more. And at first reading the section of 1 Corinthians read this morning for our second reading seems very outdated. It’s about something that no longer applies to us. It begins, “Now concerning food sacrificed to idols.” That certainly sounds like something from another time and place.

But what I love about the Bible is that from it we discover truths that are timeless. It may address some issues that not longer affect us, but the way the issue is addressed reveals timeless truths that are valuable to us in our lives today. One such passage is the reading from 1 Corinthians 8:1–13. (It’s on page 178 in your new Bible for you third graders.) The rest of you can follow along in your bulletin. So the question we’ll explore is this: What is the timeless truth that Paul uses to address this question about “food offered to idols” in this church in Corinth, Greece that that can help us today in our lives?

So a little about the church in Corinth that Paul is writing to and this issue of “meat offered to idols.” Imagine there, two families. Family #1 grew up observing strict dietary laws. They found these laws at the least, very limiting and at the worst, oppressive. When they became Christians, they were delighted by the truth that came from a vision Peter had, that “what God has created, no one must call unclean.”

Family #2 grew up in a religion in Corinth that taught that god was an angry, punishing god. To appease this angry god, they would sacrifice animals to that god in worship, and then after their service, they would buy the meat from the animals that had been sacrificed, and by eating that meat throughout the week, they believed they were protected from the wrath of their angry god. When they became Christians, they were delighted to be set free from the fear of an angry, punishing god.

The temple would sell its meat to its members. And meat that the members didn’t buy would then be offered for sale to people in the community. The meat was good quality meat; as healthy and safe as any meat in Corinth. It was good, USDA, choice meat. So, family #1, rather than buy their meat from the local meat market at $9 a pound, would stop by this temple and buy it for $6 a pound. Same quality meat. And since they didn’t believe the angry god worshipped in this temple had any power, they felt free free to buy the meat and enjoy a good steak, at an inexpensive price.

Family #2 on the other hand found it very troubling to eat meat that reminded them of the angry, wrathful god they used to worship. And were confused and troubled upon seeing their new friends from their new Christian church buying meat at their old temple. Family #1 didn’t understand the discomfort of Family #2. They believed that since they had the knowledge that this angry, wrathful god had no power, they were free to eat the meat. Family #2 was confused and troubled by the actions of Family #1.

So, what to do? Let’s look now directly at the text from 1 Corinthians 8 to see what Paul advices about this matter. Paul writes,

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.”

But Paul is concerned that knowledge by itself can be a distructive thing to relationships.

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2) Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3) but anyone who loves God is known by him.

And the “necessary knowledge” that Paul is talking about is knowledge combined with Love. So, there you have the timeless truth that is guiding Paul as writes this:

Knowledge, without LOVE, can become a tool of arrogance. Knowledge combined with LOVE is eternal. That’s the truth that is guiding Paul. So then, here’s how Paul addresses this specific issue of “meat offered to idols” in Corinth.

4) Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” (the quotes here gives us an idea of the argument he was hearing in favor of eating the meat from the pagan temple.)

5) Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as in fact there are many gods and many lords, 6) yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

That’s the rational for why it’s OK for Family #1 to eat the meat offered to idols. God made it. So it’s a gift from God, regardless of where it came from. But Paul doesn’t just stop with this knowledge. Now he asks: if I apply LOVE to this discussion, what will it look like, because …

7) It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge, (that would be family #2)since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

If you grew up, thinking that the food you ate was connecting you to an angry, punishing wrathful god, it would be hard to change that way of thinking. So, in verse 8, Paul acknowledges the knowledge-based rational of Family #1.

8) Food will not bring us close to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

But verse 9 gives us Paul’s Love-based concern for Family #2.

9) But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

Here’s how you think when you are driven by a love-based knowledge.

10) For if others see you, who possess knowledge, (without loving concern for family #2) eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, (family #2) since their conscience is weak, (they are new converts) be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your “knowledge” those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. (revert back to worshipping this angry, wrathful god.)

“Puffed up” by their knowledge, Family #1 doesn’t have to worry that Family #2 is confused by what they see Family #1 doing. If knowledge is the ultimate principle that guides us, we don’t have to worry about how our actions, our freedom, our correct knowledge affects others. But if LOVE is the ultimate principle that guides us, we must take responsibility for our actions and how they are perceived by others.

12) But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

So Paul’s conclusion – this is how he personally would address this issue:

13)  Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Now, is that an understanding that is immediately obvious in this reading? No, probably not, but it is a discovery worth the search. And the Bible is filled with many such discoveries, waiting for us to uncover.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  Mark 1:15.

I did a little survey of what people think when they hear the word, repent. It almost always was described using negative ideas and concepts. I have done something wrong. I need to repent. I have failed in some way. I need to repent. I feel bad about something I did. I need to repent. I’d rather keep doing what I was doing, but I guess I shouldn’t, so I’ll reluctantly repent.

The first person people often think of when we talk about repentance is John the Baptist, who preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But in today’s gospel we find Jesus beginning his teaching ministry and calling his disciples, and it all begins with this very interesting sentence. “Jesus came proclaiming the Good News of God and saying,” – and here you have in a sense, the topic sentence if you will, the summarizing statement from Jesus’ early teaching as he began his ministry, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Good News.” Those two ideas don’t seem to go together in our thinking: Good News and Repentance. Jesus came preaching the Good News of God saying, repent and believe in the Good News.”

So what is the Good News that Jesus came proclaiming? And how does it go with repentance? We usually think of repentance, as being about what changing the things we do. “I gossiped. So I repented, and stopped gossiping.” But the word repent, is not as concerned with what we do, as it is with the direction we are headed. Let me say that again. The word repent, is not as concerned with what we do, as it is, in the direction we are headed. And the question, “what direction are we headed?” is one of the most important questions we ask of life.

For example, how many students have asked the question over and over again, “Why are we learning this?” What value is there in learning grammar? Or the multiplication tables? … Or geography? What possible use will I have for these things? And the fact of the matter is that often, one can live their life just fine, not knowing what the capital of Missouri is. And if you need to know what 15 times 8 is, use a calculator. And if you read the communications of people on social media sites like Facebook, you can see that people are able to communicate their ideas without any sense of proper grammar. So why do we bother learning all the stuff we are asked to learn?

Because in our society, the direction we are headed in life is very closely tied to our commitment to learning. If my grammar is all wrong, there are some jobs I’ll never be considered for. If I can’t add, subtract, multiply or divide, there are some jobs I’ll never be qualified for, even if I know how to use a calculator. So we as a society put tremendous energy into setting our children on the direction of being competent learners, because that’s a direction in life we value. Learning the capitals of the states isn’t going to get you there, but it’s one piece of a very large puzzle that sets us on a course to learn and enjoy learning.

Individuals, businesses, organizations all ask the question often, “What direction are we going? Where are we headed, and will we get there if we keep doing what we are doing?” That’s the question that we as a nation will be giving special attention to with the elections. We will be asking over this next year: “What direction are we going as a nation, and what do we need to do to get to where we want to go?” And elections are about people trying to the right direction we should be going.

So, are we going in the right direction? That brings us to the concept of repentance, and let me repeat it again: The word repent, is not as concerned with what we do, as it is, in the direction we are headed.

Repentance is a word that suggests that we are headed in the wrong direction, and we need to change direction. Repentance is: a change in our course. I was going that direction, but it’s not taking me to where I want to go, so I’m going to change and go a different direction.

Being a normal male driver, I have been known to get lost when driving in unfamiliar areas, but I certainly am not going to stop and ask directions. The result is that I’ll just kind of wandered around for a bit, going in many wrong directions. Well, finally, I have, from time to time, given in, and stop and ask for directions. The asking for directions is not the repentance. Repentance is when I get new information and get back into my car and change directions, and start driving in a way that will get me to where I want to go.

And you know something: Repentance is Good News. Repentance means I give up the futility of going in the wrong direction, and I start going in a direction that will get me to where I want to go. When I give up some of my pride and ask for direction, again, that’s not yet repentance. Repentance is when I actually change my course, and start driving in the right direction. And when that happens, it feels good. It is good news. Now I feel good about where I’m going.

Continuing that example: If after church, you leave the church parking lot, and you want to go to Miracle Mile shopping center, but you leave the church parking lot, and turn south on Wooddale Avenue, you will not get to Miracle Mile shopping center. It’s the wrong direction. Your going the opposite direction from what will get you to Miracle Mile shopping center. But if, as you’re driving south on Wooddale, someone gives you the information that Miracle Mile shopping center is only a block away, but you’re going the wrong direction, in order to get to where you want to go, you have to “repent”, turn around, and go north. The good news is that then, it’s right there. You’ll arrive at your destination in no time at all. That my friends, would be Good News.

And that’s what Jesus ministry was all about. Jesus could see people going in all kinds of directions that were destroying their lives. He looked on the people, the Bible says, “with compassion” because “they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” If we are aimlessly going through life, with no direction, repentance is the good news of finding a direction in life. Good News is discovering a path that will get me to where I want to go.

Education is good news. Often it is also hard work, but always good news as well, in that it sets a path towards the goals we might have in life. And being a follower of Jesus sets us on a course to learn a path that is keeps my life on a positive course, to get me to where I want to go.

So, time and time again, following Jesus means, “I am going to turn from this, which is destructive and is leading my life nowhere, and maybe even getting me into trouble, and I am going to go in this other direction instead; the direction God wants me to go.”

That’s not always easy to do. That’s not necessarily easy to recognize. We may have to give up some of our pride in thinking we can do it all ourselves, but repentance brings us to the Gospel, to the “Good News” of God’s love, not to the bad news we too often associate with “repentance” and the Gospel.

Martin Luther talked of “daily repenting”, not as groveling in the dirt and feeling crummy, but as a joyful exercise of daily seeking to turn in the direction that God would have me go, doing those things that God would have me do, and saying those things that God would have me say.

So what direction is God inviting you, as an individual to go? What direction is God inviting us, as a congregation to go? Those are not always easy questions to answer. Knowing for certain, what the will of God is, is a challenging question to answer, but when we discover a direction to life, as individuals and as a community of faith, the result is always Good News.

Lord, thank you for the gracious gift of your power of healing.  We thank you for giving us the gift of life to live in the image of your Son, our Savior.  We thank you for accepting us no matter where we are in our journey and understanding our humanness.  Thank you for giving us the gift of prayer so that we can be reassured that you are no further away than a simple conversation, a time of quiet, or a song of praise. And in all things your will be done. Amen