Sam Lanham, is an honorably retired minister from  the Presbyterian Church (USA).  He and his wife, Missie, moved to Salado a year ago, and she is a member of our church. 

Lesson 1 – Introduction to the Hebrews: Written When, Where, To Whom, By Whom, Why / Christ, the final revelation of God, and superior to angels, priests and prophets

Lesson 2 - Christ Jesus, truly the Son of God and truly the Son of man / Christ, the surety of a better covenant: the Covenant of Grace

Lesson 3 - Warnings and exhortations for times of trial and temptation / Do not neglect so great a salvation! Looking forward: yet a little while and the “coming one” shall come

Lesson 4 – Practical Application: Faith, the better Way The Roll Call of Faith - We are part of the continuum of believers / Run with perseverance the race set before us.

The Adult Education Seekers Class meets every Sunday at 9am, before the regular Worship Service. 

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep”.

Crucifixion - Medical Description
What is crucifixion? A medical doctor provides a physical de-scription: The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.

The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees flexed. The victim is now cru-cified. As he slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain--the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, he places the full weight on the nail through his feet. Again he feels the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the bones of his feet. As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to get even one small breath. Finally carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside. Spas-modically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen.

Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. It is now almost over the loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level. The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues. The tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues. Finally he can allow his body to die.

In spite of all this agony, the Bible only records these simple words, "And they crucified Him." (Mark 15:24). What wondrous love is this?

On Maundy Thursday, the church remembers the last evening Jesus shared with his disciples in the upper room before his arrest and crucifixion. Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," Maundy refers to the command Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love one another.

Maundy Thursday marks three key events in Jesus' last week: his washing of his disciples' feet, his institution of the Lord's Supper, and new commandment to love one another.

This year our Maundy Thursday service will be a Tenebrae Service.  We will be celebrating both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday by conducting communion and a Tenebrae service.  Communion will be done informally during a time of light snacks, then we will move into the sanctuary for our Tenebrae service.

The word ‘tenebrae’ is Latin for "darkness" or "shadows”.  The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story.  This is not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion was not happy.

    The Tenebrae service is not a new development in church liturgy.  It has been observed since medieval times.  Originally, the Tenebrae was held in European monasteries on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Holy Week.

    The Tenebrae service always has a somber tone, reflected in the darkness, in the accounts of Christ's suffering, in the music, and in the silence of the congregation as they leave the sanctuary.  But underlying the somber feeling is the anticipation of the resurrection, mirrored in the Christ Candle.

The services will have scripture narratives.  The service starts out with the church in candlelight.  There are eight candles plus a white Christ Candle.  As the Gospel Lessons are read, one of the candles is extinguish until only the Christ Candle remains.

Then the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the cross is read and the Christ candle is put out, leaving the congregation in near total darkness.  At this point, the service ends.  There is no benediction and the people leave in silence.

The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn’t over until Easter Day. I encourage all of you to come out at 6:00 P.M. on March 28 to be a part of this moving service. 

      God Bless you and Happy Easter.  Carl

Jean Teal has been the music director at our church since before it was organized and she has never “missed a beat.” Jean’s philosophy has been to develop the hymns and the choir to be a contribution to the worship experience.

The church’s members and friends are in-vited to join the choir, first and foremost, because they love to sing. The goal is not to be a performance, but to add to the worship service. Our pastor is very involved in helping to select hymns that will add to the message.

Jeanette West has been a faithful pianist/organist for our congregation, and she chose to become a member of this church when she became our full time player in 2011. She plans the music during the prelude, offertory, and postlude.

It is an inspiration to watch our music program partici-pate in our services with joy, love, and fun. God has truly blessed us with this program!

This statement covers: God,
Jesus, Sin, Redemption, the Bible, the Sacraments, and the Church. Jean Teal had a copy of this  statement. It was presented to the committee that first interviewed me for the Stated Supply position here in Salado. She thought it would be a good idea to publish it in this newsletter. I agree with her. With this statement you will have my thoughts on these key theological issues. It was and still represents, where I stand  theologically. So here it is …..
          Carl

“I trust in one triune God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Lord of all and Head of theChurch. I believe God  created the heavens and earth and all that is in them. I believe in the sovereignty of God, that God  reigns in my life and in the world, and that God reigns with justice and mercy. I believe salvation by grace through faith: and that such a faith commitment enables us to do good works, not to earn  salvation, but as an expression of gratitude. I believe God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit has given us the power and dominion to be responsible stewards of all creation and to love our neighbors as ourselves. I believe God sent Jesus into the world to dwell among us. He was begotten not made and grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God. I believe Jesus engaged in a ministry of preaching,  teaching, healing, and praying for and with all those who would listen and learn. God calls us to the same kind of ministry.

Since we are all sinners that rebel against God we try to put ourselves above all else. I believe God, out love for his fallen creation, sent his only Son, Jesus. to save us from our sin and corrup-tion. Jesus, both fully human and fully God, suffered for the sins of the world to save sinners in all times and places. He lay down his sinless life for a sinful hu-manity. Through Jesus' death and resur-rection, God triumphed over sin. It is God's action and God's forgiveness which sets us free. Jesus came to save all those who confess Him as their Lord and Savior.

By God's Spirit we've been given God's Written Word to proclaim. The Bible is God's divinely authoritive and inspired Word. The Bible is our "rule of faith and life" for all we believe and do as a Church. Through the Bible, we learn of the nature of the God we wor-ship. It tells us of God's acts of love and justice for all people. When scripture speaks in one voice, I yield to the author-ity of the Bible over and against any other sources. When Scripture is silent on an issue or when there is more than one voice, I must allow' for diversity. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the confessions of the Church, we must interpret the Scripture wisely.

I believe The Sacraments unite us with Jesus Christ and make us members of God's Church. Baptism affirms that we are not our own, but the Lord's. Through the grace of God we are called into the family of God. Baptism is our response to that call to faith. It is an outward visi-ble sign that acknowledges our intention to live as God's people. Communion is the Lord's feast. In communion we en-counter Jesus spiritually in the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine. Communion is more than just a memo-rial ceremony. Jesus is present, as He promised, sustaining and strengthening us by the power of the Holy Spirit

I believe in God's sovereignty and that God's reign will be brought about through the activity of God in God's own time. This final act of God's love will be through God's grace as God's gift and not on human achievement. I do not need to know the specifics of heaven or the end time, since they are beyond human com-prehension. I know that our future rests in God's loving hands and I am confident in God's finial victory.

The Church's calling is to make visible God's love and declare the Good News that in Jesus Christ the future is secure. The reformed church must be a reform-ing church, constantly reforming itself and the world. The Church universal consists of all people in every nation, who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.”

"David—shepherd boy, king of Israel, man after God’s heart—wasn’t perfect; he was just a person who had an intimate relationship with his Creator, whom he credited with his accom-plishments. Through this study, we will get to know David by being introduced to those who knew him and were impacted by him. By seeing how God enabled David to do great things, we hope to see how God is working in our own lives today."

If you would like to get an overview of these lessons on the life of David, read I Samuel 16-22. You will receive a more detailed reading guide with questions for discussion at the first class meeting, which will serve as an introduction to the study.

Topics and Dates
January 8—David and Jesus
January 15—David and Samuel
January 22—David and Saul
January 29—Fifth Sunday: Questions for Carl
February 5—David and Goliath
February 12—David and Jonathan
February 19—David and Doeg