ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Welcome to Zion! We are glad you are here today. After worship, you are invited to a time of fellowship with coffee and snacks in the social hall directly beside the sanctuary.
Communion is offered every Sunday. Wine and apple juice are both available. All are welcome.
Today we welcome Rev. Martin Zimmann to lead us in worship.
Please keep Darlene Cole and family in your prayers. Frank Cole, passed away on Monday, July 27. His service will be held Monday, August 3rd at Friedensaal Lutheran Church (9138 White Church Rd, Seven Valleys, PA 17360.) Visitation with the family will begin at 10am followed by a worship service at 11am.
A message from Pastor Doug DeStephano:
Dear Friends, The other day Jennifer left for a work conference in Chicago and was flying there with the rest of her coworkers. I was asked to drive her and another coworker to the airport. Due to her flight times, we needed to be at the airport at 4:30 a.m. Yes, that's in the dark of the morning. Everything went well and she made her flight on time. I was driving home on terrific 83. As I was driving, there was a beautiful sunrise. It was lovely to see the Susquehanna River, the trees, the birds, a couple of semi's, and the cornfields. That evening, following our council meeting, we walked out of the Hall of Hope and saw a spectacular sunset. If you've never been to church at sunset, please make plans to do so this summer. It is incredible. Also, it would be a good time to visit the prayer walk and pray, just use a spritz of bug repellent. This gave me pause and started my mind thinking about God's creation, something we probably take for granted most of the time. God's creation has always been a concern for the church, since the days of the apostles to our era. St. Paul wrote in the early church, From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. So, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! Of course, we think about this in terms of our lives and just as applying to human beings. What Paul is writing about, though, is that we are to look at all creation. Paul is talking about all of creation being new. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, all of creation is being made new. We are reminded that God created all of creation – the world and all that walks and creeps and swims upon it. That's what we find in Genesis. Yet now through Jesus Christ, God's Son, that creation is being made new. That newness continues into our time. 15 As Christians, how do we live in this new creation? With what we see, hear, and read, so many places in the world are threatened by natural disasters, human destruction, and general chaos. It is hard to see God working to bring about a new creation. Instead, we may be more inclined to believe creation is trying to kill us or God may be trying to exact some revenge on us. At the heart of the matter is the same that has been the problem throughout all of time. Creation is not perfect, not yet anyway. There are still elements of sin and brokenness in our world, not just with humans but with all of creation. As God continues to work, there is still resistance to what God is doing and what the new creation is reaching for. As God's people, we continue to not only look for this new creation, but we help it along. A creation where there is peace and where we actually come together to see God and to live in God's love. Our faith in God helps us to bridge those places where there is sin and brokenness. We share with others the message of Jesus and his resurrection from death. We, as well, look to our faith to care about what is taking place in God's creation today. Those that do not care do not see what God is doing as new and redeeming this world. As Christians, we continue to pray and to keep this new creation in mind. We remember that we are a part of this new creation and that we also have a strong influence in this world, because we share in telling the Good News of Jesus Christ! Pastor Doug
The Loose Change offering plate is available every Sunday. At the end of the month, the total collected for that month will be sent to the chosen organization. Our loose change collection for August will benefit the Southern York County School District Welfare Fund. This fund helps pay off overdrawn lunch accounts within the school district.
Services are recorded and streamed live each week on Zion Lutheran Church’s Facebook page. It is possible during the recording that people attending the service will be filmed. If you have any concerns about being filmed, please contact the office at 717-235-3276.
Announcements for the weekly bulletin are due to the office by early Tuesday morning so bulletin work can be completed by the end of the day on Tuesday.