Our Savior Lutheran Church
  • Home
  • I'm New
  • Worship
    • In-Person
    • Watch Live Online
    • Watch On Demand
  • Connect
    • Kids >
      • Sunday Kids Connect
      • VBS
    • Youth >
      • Middle School
      • High School
      • Confirmation
    • Adults >
      • Life Groups
      • Bible Studies
      • Men
      • Women
      • Young at Heart 50+
    • Find Care >
      • Prayer
      • Marriage
      • Aging Well
      • Mental Wellness
      • Coaching
      • Justice
    • Get Baptized
    • Become a Member
    • Faith Milestones
    • Parenting
  • Serve
    • In Our Church
    • In Our Community
    • In Our World
  • Preschool
  • Resources
    • Events
    • Calendar
    • Podcasts
    • Right Now Media
    • Parenting
    • Church Center App
    • Pastor Tim's Blog
    • Church Business
    • Employment
    • Links & Files
  • Give

Pastor Tim's Blog

connecting leadership, community, wellness, and faith
​

conectando el liderazgo, la comunidad, el bienestar y la fe​

Merry Christmas!

12/24/2019

 

Merry Christmas, OSLC Family!

We're about 2 hours away from welcoming services-full of people. It's my first OSLC Christmas and I couldn't be more excited to spend it with many of you! Before I join our Worship Team for our sound check and walk-through, I wanted to just drop a short note to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas.

So much has changed since we last sang these carols, lit the candles, and heard the story. Three different homes. Fewer loved ones to wish Merry Christmas. New babies to make "googely-eyes" at for the "perfect" picture. A whole new church family. A cross-country move. New friends to sing "Silent Night" with as we share good tidings of great joy in Jesus.

I think about how our community has changed, too. Just in the last month, we experienced the sudden tragic loss of Officer Cooper Dyson, church family members, and for some - scary medical and financial news, employment and relationships with family and friends.

With all of life's changes, I'm so glad that the Christmas message remains the same. I like how author Sally Lloyd-Jones puts it: And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift. The baby that would change the world was born. His baby Son (Jesus Storybook Bible, p. 182).

And change the world He does. . . for the better. Sin is forgiven. Hope is restored. We can go through life with God and each other.

Wherever you find yourself tonight, my prayer for you tonight is that you would experience the joy, hope, love, and peace of Emmanuel - God with us in body, mind, and spirit.

Good and loving God, in the middle of life's changes, may we experience joy tonight as we celebrate Jesus' birth. You came as a human being to live among us and bring the riches of your healing grace to a broken world. Surround Officer Dyson's family and all those who are missing loved ones tonight with your song of hope and rescue. In our weakness, give us your strength to sing your song again. As you have given yourself to us, may we continually learn what it means to give ourselves to others. With all of the mountains and trees, the animals and all of heaven and earth, may we repeat the sounding joy because Jesus is here. Amen.

Merry Christmas. Love you more than you know.

Pastor Tim

Sing Choirs of Angels

12/5/2019

 
 AfterIf you have kids, you remember the excitement around their birth. You couldn’t wait to tell someone. You can’t keep good news quiet. I know that I can't...

The truth is that we live in a bad news world. And, in a bad news world, there isn't much to talk about, so we do keep quiet. We keep to ourselves. It gets cold. Dark. Restless. Anxious. Just turn on the news, open your newspaper, or log onto your news feed... it’s all around us.

But the Christmas story is great news... and the angels can’t keep quiet!

When I was a college student, I heard Tony Kadavil tell the story of three men who were nervously waiting in the father’s room at the hospital as their wives prepared to give birth to their first children. The men were too scared to go in. Soon the nurse arrived with good news from the birthing rooms. She said to the first father to be, “Sir, you are the father of twins!” 

“That’s great,” he said. “I’m a baseball player and I’m going to sign a contract with the Minnesota Twins. This will be good press.”

Soon, the nurse arrived and said to the second father to be, “Sir, you are the father of triplets.” “Fantastic,” he said, “because I work for the 3M company. This will be great press.”  

The third father got up and ran out of the room. He was moving so fast that he didn’t even bother to take the elevator. Finally, the nurse yelled out the window as the man entered the parking lot. “What’s wrong? Where are you going?” The poor father to be yelled out, “I’ve got to resign real fast. I am the Vice President of Seven up!”  

He felt a bit overwhelmed.

Maybe that's kind of how you feel today. Overwhelmed.

That’s why we need the good news of great joy that is for all people (that's you!). That's why we need this Jesus story in our lives. Jesus overcomes our being overwhelmed by giving us hope for a future with Him and his never-ending peace. After all, He is our Prince of Peace.

Bring your family and invite your neighbor or friend to join us this weekend as we align our hearts and assume a posture of praise - and like the angels, give glory to God for this good news of great joy! Details can be found at www.oslc.com/christmas. I can't wait to see you all there.

Love you more than you know.

    Meet Pastor Tim

    Tim Bayer has served as Our Savior's Lead Pastor since September 2019. He also serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Concordia University - Irvine, a National Leadership Facilitator and Resource, and a Community Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Tim studied sociology, psychology, and theology prior to earning his M.Div at Concordia Seminary - St. Louis. He has also is a candidate for an Ed.D (ABD) in Transformational Leadership. He is married to Beth and they have three young children. Together, they enjoy exploring the outdoors, experiencing culture, and pizza and movie nights.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

OUR CHURCH

Service Times & Location
Mission & Values
Staff
Resources
Contact Us

GET INVOLVED

Connect
Serve
Grow
Give

OUR SCHOOLS

OSLC Preschool
Concordia Christian Academy (K-12)
© 2023  |  Our Savior Lutheran Church  |  253.531.2112
4519 112th St E, Tacoma, WA 98446
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30-3:00
Sunday Services: 9:00 & 10:30am
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Well Water Design

Privacy Policy

  • Home
  • I'm New
  • Worship
    • In-Person
    • Watch Live Online
    • Watch On Demand
  • Connect
    • Kids >
      • Sunday Kids Connect
      • VBS
    • Youth >
      • Middle School
      • High School
      • Confirmation
    • Adults >
      • Life Groups
      • Bible Studies
      • Men
      • Women
      • Young at Heart 50+
    • Find Care >
      • Prayer
      • Marriage
      • Aging Well
      • Mental Wellness
      • Coaching
      • Justice
    • Get Baptized
    • Become a Member
    • Faith Milestones
    • Parenting
  • Serve
    • In Our Church
    • In Our Community
    • In Our World
  • Preschool
  • Resources
    • Events
    • Calendar
    • Podcasts
    • Right Now Media
    • Parenting
    • Church Center App
    • Pastor Tim's Blog
    • Church Business
    • Employment
    • Links & Files
  • Give