Thirteenth Annual "Adopt a Grandparent"

During the Holiday season, I enjoy brightening the lives of residents in local assisted living and nursing home facilities in Allegheny County. Many of these people have few, if any, visitors and receive little, if anything, during the Holidays. Last year, through the generosity of local businesses and friends, I helped deliver over 1000 gifts to residents of John J Kane Regional Hospital, Scott Twp and McKeesport, and several other nursing and assisted-living facilities. This year I hope to help deliver 1000 + gifts again.

By partnering with me, your $15 will provide each of two residents a fragrance-free hand cream and help them have a very Merry Christmas. These items are specifically requested by caregivers for the benefits the residents receive. The lotions will soothe their hands and bring joy, as well, by the simple "touch therapy" of applying them. Donations must be received by Nov. 30th … they will be delivered in early December.

Please consider what a blessing this is for the men and women in these facilities who once lived and worked in our local communities. Let them know they are remembered! THANK YOU!

Make your check payable to Ginny GrankeKimberland. If you have questions about how you, your school, or your business can become a sponsor, please contact me at:

Ginny Granke-Kimberland , 7082 Clubview Dr., Bridgeville, PA 15017 412-427-9013

Christmas Ornament Exchange

SAVE THE DATE:
Zion’s Women’s Ministries Christmas Ornament Exchange
Sunday, December 15, 2024 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Napoli’s Italian Restaurant
Napoli’s Restaurant Website

President’s Perspective

A Life of Gratitude for God's Will 
Thank you to all the members who attended the Voter Meeting on October 20th! If you missed the meeting, suffice it to say that on behalf of your Council, we're certainly thankful for all the support you have given us throughout the years, especially as I wrap up my second term as President and hand over the gavel to Bob Schmidt in January. I'm grateful for absolutely everything the members of our church have done to support the ministries at Zion since 2019. We've accomplished a lot and we endured some serious "testing", (like the covid episode), but we have remained steadfast in our resolve to keep the foe behind us and enjoy a Christ-centered ministry. May God continue to bless us. 

If we pause and take a look at our past and present conditions, we can't help but be thankful to our Lord for the blessings we've received from our first breath until this moment. Good, bad, ugly -- if we ponder all that has transpired, surely we have to admit our cups are full. As we press onward, we have the assurance we're part of a new covenant in Christ and no matter what the world would press upon us, we are "free" from the sin that might have destroyed us, because Christ is written on our hearts. The victory is won. In 2Cor. 3: 16-18, we read: "But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." Hopefully we'll become more and more like our Lord as time goes by each day and our thankfulness will be a result of that transformation so that when we celebrate a holiday like Thanksgiving, we're celebrating hearts that are Christ-centered and growing in that likeness each day! 

We can find solace and confidence in knowing that God will not forsake us no matter the events that might occur in our lives or what the world might throw our way. The phrase, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" is a wonderful petition in our prayer. We can be assured that our God's "will" has been done and shall absolutely be "done" as history unfolds; be assured we, as devout Christians are part of that history! Luther writes that God's will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world and our sinful nature. We're chosen, blessed and saved. We will fight the good fight! So, we just need to keep the faith, keep praying and know as is written in 1 John 5:14, "And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will he hears us." Pray for the Christian church, our LCMS, District and Circuit churches and your home here at Zion. Let's pray for the lost souls -- for salvation for everyone who would hear and believe. Our country and the world needs that prayer. Our prayers are being heard and whatever the future holds, know that it is going to be just as our God "will" have it. Amen. 

-- Paul Klemash 

VIDEO: Sunday November 10, 2024

View the bulletin for Sunday, November 10, 2024
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

AUDIO: Announcements, Readings & Sermon for Sunday November 10, 2024

View the bulletin for Sunday, November 10, 2024
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

Old Testament Reading -- 1 Kings 17:8–16
Then the word of the Lord came to [Elijah], “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Epistle Reading -- Hebrews 9:24–28 
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. 

The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the twelfth chapter
In his teaching [Jesus] said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” 

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” 

Zion Goes to the Movies: Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin
A new movie is out in selected theaters about the WWII-era German Lutheran theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Zion has purchased a dozen tickets for the showing on Sunday, November 24 at 3:30 pm at the Cinemark Theater in Robinson Township. Tickets are only $5 each. If you are interested in one or more of these discounted tickets, please contact Susie at the church office at secretary@zlcb.org. 

We hope to have a group from Zion for ride sharing to the theater. 

Children’s Activity Pages

Parents … children’s activity pages are available in the baskets at both church entrances. They reinforce the themes for that week’s worship in a kid-friendly format. Use them during church, or take them home to use later! Also, be sure to guide your child through the “Kids in the Divine Service” page found in the back of each bulletin.