Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Word
“Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.” (Acts 14:24-25)
Meditation
Today’s meditation is written by Pastor Jeff Cloeter
Pastor John Schmidtke is a mentor of mine. Since 1989 he has been pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in north St. Louis. Once a bustling neighborhood, Hyde Park was gutted by white flight decades ago. By the time Schmidtke arrived, Bethlehem was a dozen older members in a cavernous, empty sanctuary. The community became known for crime, poverty, and decay. It is a forgotten place, avoided by most St. Louisans.
In the midst of all the apostolic activity in the book of Acts, there are a few towns that get a fleeting mention. Perga is one of them. This Mediterranean town gets a footnote compared to the cities of importance like Rome, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Such places are easily forgotten, and maybe even avoided.
Are there “Pergas” in your life, places that you pass by? Are there people you overlook and ignore? We are so consumed with the traffic of our lives that we so easily forget “passed by people.”
Pastor Schmidtke wrote a book last year titled A Place Not Forgotten. It chronicles his 30 year ministry at Bethlehem. When most people forgot Bethlehem and its neighborhood, God did not. Today, Bethlehem is an active congregation, a beacon of the gospel in north St. Louis. The church invested in new housing around its block. It has started two charter schools to serve the children and families around them. They reach youth and children through sports ministries and after school programs.
God has a heart for the forgotten. He loves the overlooked and undervalued. Old Abraham. Baby-of-the-family David. Teenage Mary. Short Zacchaeus. God never forgets you. He never passes you by. Slow down. Pay attention. What can you do this week to stop, notice, and see forgotten people the way God does?
Prayer: O God, you never forget me. You never fail me. Prompt me to notice the overlooked and undervalued. Amen.
Prayer for My Local Church
- For my local congregation. My pastors, leaders, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I name them . . .
- For the Spirit’s power to gather and enlarge our congregation.
- For courage to speak the hope that is within us.
- For our church to serve and bear witness to our city, town, neighborhood, and community.
- For our church to walk together in unity. Quell any division and build us up in love and humility.
Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (II Cor. 13:14)