BROKEN & BELOVED

In Lent, we continue our theme of Journey Inward, Journey Outward. Campus minister Sammy Rhodes says this: “Two of the greatest fears in life come in the form of questions we often ask ourselves but rarely say out loud: “Am I okay?” and “Do you love me?” The answer the Gospel gives us is both surprising and just what we need to hear: “No, you are not okay, and, yes, I love you.”

We believe that we are claimed as beloved children of God in the waters of baptism, and we also encounter brokenness in ourselves and in others around us. This brokenness can be harm that was done to us, suffering due to circumstances out of anyone’s control, or pain that we have caused. As we walk the journey of these 40 days, we hold both truths about ourselves: we are beloved and broken.

WEDNESDAY

SUNDAY

WESTWOOD U

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Wednesday Lent Services

BROKEN & BELOVED

6:30 PM in the Sanctuary + Livestreamed

We will be exploring stories of brokenness and belovedness in our individual lives by hearing the stories of five of our Westwood family members.

Resources

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SUNDAY MORNINGS

9:00am and 11:00am worship: We explore broken and beloved characteristics of Bible characters in the book of John: Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind, and Lazarus.

WE INVITE YOU TO READ (5 minutes weekly)

During Lent, we have some wonderful stories from the Gospel of John. Many are longer than usual, we ask you to dive into John this season as part of your own devotions and to prepare for worship.

Please read it before Sunday, giving special attention to the main character in the story and how they are broken and beloved. During worship, Jen will tell the story for the children, and the sermon will focus on the character.

February 26 Lent 1 Psalm 139

March 5 Lent 2 Nicodemus John 3:1-17- NRSV , The Message

March 12 Lent 3 Samaritan Woman at the Well John 4:5-42 NRSV, The Message

March 19 Lent 4 A man born blind John 9: 1-41 NRSV, The Message

March 26 Lent 5 Lazarus John 11:1-45 NRSV, The Message

SUNDAY MORNING WESTWOOD U

March 5: David Fredrickson, New Testament professor at Luther Seminary; intro to John.

David Fredrickson joined the New Testament faculty at Luther Seminary in 1987 and was promoted to associate professor in 1992. Ordained in 1980, he was associate pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Janesville, Wis., for the next three years.

Fredrickson received the B.A. degree from Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., in 1975 and the M.Div. degree from Luther Seminary in 1980. He then earned the M.A. and M.Phil. degrees from Yale University in 1985 and 1987, before finishing work on the Ph.D. degree in 1990.

He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.

He has published several articles, including: “Human Sexuality and the Christian Faith,” Resource (cassette tape), Augsburg Fortress, (1993); “Three Objections to Hamerton–Kelly’s Interpretation of the Pauline Epistles,” dialog, 32 (1993); “Free Speech in Pauline Political Theology,” Word and World, 12 (1992); “Reading the New Testament,” Augsburg Home Bible Study Series, Dec. 1992; and “Pentecost: Paul the Pastor in 2 Corinthians,” Word & World, 11, (1991).

March 12 & 19: Kris Coffman, New Testament professor at Luther; Two weeks on the John texts thru this lens;

Kristofer Phan Coffman ’16 M.Div. holds a tenure-eligible New Testament faculty position. Coffman completed his Ph.D. in Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Culture at the University of Minnesota and is the first person of Cambodian descent to receive a PhD in Biblical Studies. He served as an adjunct professor at Luther since 2019 teaching New Testament Greek classes and a class on Paul’s letter to the Romans.

He is the author of the book chapter “Christmas Cookies in Cambodia: The Bible and Race in America” in “Dialogues on: Race” and has written several book reviews as well as academic articles on topics ranging from Norwegian-American Lutheran history to biblical interpretation and translation. In addition to his academic work, he has a keen interest in food and farming. Coffman has written popular articles on responsible consumption and agriculture, translates recipes for the award-winning new Nordic chef Mikkel Karstad and served as copy-editor and translation consultant on the forthcoming cookbook “SAOY: The Forgotten Flavors of Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine” by Chef Rotanak Ros.