HAVE YOU GOT A MINUTE ?

A brief homily preached a few years ago on the Ascension of our Lord:
For forty days He had suffered in the wilderness. He endured hardships greater than any other man has ever known or survived.
He resisted the temptations that we didnt. For forty days, He fought the devil by His weakness in that barren, dusty place. He
overcame Him simply by not giving in, by suffering the abuse and the attacks. That passive resistance led to His ghastly death.
He could have stopped it at any time but it was necessary. It was the price of our rebellion. So the devil did his worst. He had his
way with Him. He raised up the cross beam of hate. He drove in the killing nails. He mocked and spat upon him. All that through
men, his vassals in the Sanhedrin, in the Roman Army, and in the city.
The Lord of Life died, but then He rose. The grave could not hold Him. Death is dead. Life lives. Satan lost. Murderers like us
and Barabbas go free. For forty days, Our Lord walked the earth in His Body and Soul. He ate broiled fish. He invited doubters to
place their fingers into His side. But during those forty days He no longer denied Himself His Divine rights and attributes. He
passed through the stone and through the door in the Body born of Mary. This Man is also God. God comes to us as a Man. God
breathed the Holy Spirit out upon His disciples. God gave them authority to preach, baptize, and forgive sins. Finally, all things
being complete, God ascended to the Father as a Man, forever elevating our nature and opening heaven for us.
But it was still ten days before the Holy Spirit would light upon the Apostles in fiery tongues. And even when that Spirit had
come and anointed them for this preaching, it still was not given to them to know times and epochs. It was but given to them to be
martyrs: to witness unto death.
They could not know that the letters they would write would be heard by hundreds of thousands, even millions; that cathedrals
would be built in their memory; that pious men and women would forever calling their sons by their names. They could not know
all the good their suffering preaching would accomplish. They saw little of it. They followed in the way of the cross. They lived
their lives in poverty. They were rejected by men. They were killed for the faith. It was not theirs, this lightening brigade of
grace, to reason why. Theirs was just to preach. That is what was given them. That was the charge. They were to be martyrs: to
witness unto death.
The Kingdom is not restored to Israel. His Kingdom is not of this world. Instead, the Gospel calls a new Israel forth. He makes
men who hated Him citizens in a kingdom of grace. The sons and daughters of Ham and Japheth are welcomed alongside of
Shems. He raises up praise from stones. These holy apostles are sent to the ends of the earth, to the byways and highways, to the
greatest and the least, to the Jews and the Gentiles. For His invitation is not discerning. There is no strategic planning session, no
vision for the future, no goals, objectives, websites, or brochures. They just preach. God does the work.
The Word of God goes forth. He accomplishes that for which He was sent and it is to the amazement of those who preach it. The
apostles breathe the Holy Spirit back out again. He changes the hearts of men. They proclaim the death Our Lord died and the
Life He now lives. Their preaching is the power of God unto salvation. It raises up new men forgiven by the love of God in Christ
Jesus. A new and greater Israel is born.
Thus you are free even while you yet endure the bonds of this fallen creation and suffer under temptation. You live even though
you die and live the most and the fullest when you are most dead. You do not belong here. Your kingdom is not of this world.
You will rise and you will ascend. Our Lord bids, Follow Me. And where He bids, even to heaven, you go.
In +Jesus Name. Amen.
Peace,
Pastor Fischer











United With Christ We Build Worshiping, Serving, Sharing, Caring Disciples

REDEEMER REPORTER
June 2014
Pastor: David A. Fischer
(801) 463-4352
www.rlcs-slc.org
Redeemer Lutheran Church and School
1955 E. Stratford Ave.
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
MOVIE REVIEW:GODZILLA

(Rated PG-13; directed by Gareth Edwards; stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Brian Cranston, Ken
Watanabe, Sally Hawkins; run time: 123 minutes.)

In whom do you trust? A monster-sized question
Building on the original 1954 Godzilla and other early Godzilla films, director Gareth Edwards has made the
Godzilla movie people wanted to see. He gives the audience a streamlined story that draws the human elements
of the film into the foreground while simultaneously asking some deeper questions. Godzilla remains faithful to
the look of the original film while effectively updating the source material for a modern audience.

The film Godzilla tells the story of enormous, dormant,
strange creatures who, through military and scientific agita-
tion, become active wreaking havoc wherever they go. It
may be too intense for young viewers. (Courtesy Warner Bros.
Pictures) The film tells the story of enormous, dormant, strange
creatures who, through military and scientific agitation, become ac-
tive wreaking havoc wherever they go. Godzilla is one of these
monsters. At one point in the film a media headline reads: Godzilla
King of the Monsters Saviour of Our City? (more on this below).

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who plays Lieutenant Ford Brody, a naval
explosive ordinance disposal officer and the human hero of the film,
is just as much a saviour character as Godzilla. In fact, there are a
number of points where director Edwards consciously links the
monster and the human protagonists. In part, this provides a way
in for the audience; Edwards is saying that the antlike human
characters are not simply cannon fodder for Godzilla but are part of
the equation. Having them as part of the equation becomes im-
portant once the sum of the films parts is added up. There is one
other important detail to consider as the deeper questions in
Godzilla begin presenting themselves. Where the original 1954 film was born out of a specific fear of nuclear
weapons, the current film includes an underlying fear of loss of technology, a fear of having to face nature on na-
tures terms with no tools, no technology. The fear in Godzilla (2014) is not immediate death but rather a dimin-
ished quality of life. The monsters have the biologically induced effect of knocking out electrical power by their very
presence, thereby effectively stripping humankind of its most prized advantages. Being stripped bare of the best
technology reveals one of the big questions underpinning the film: What is mans place in nature?

The answer is left in the viewers hands and will be informed by his worldview.

In the film, Edwards presents two scientists with competing worldviews. These two characters help dig into some
of these deeper questions. The first scientist, Joe Brody (Brian Cranston), the father of Ford Brody, is a nuclear
power-plant engineer who suffered the loss of his wife in a sudden disaster. Joe Brody is suspicious of the official
story of what happened, saying, Youre not fooling anybody when you say that what happened was a natural dis-
aster. Youre lying! It was not an earthquake; it wasnt a typhoon! Because whats really happening is that youre
hiding something out there! And it is going to send us back to the Stone Age! God help us all . In his grief, Joe
Brody introduces God into the equation.

The second scientist, Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe), long embroiled in the exploitation and cover-up of the
monsters, reflects, The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around. At one
point Dr. Serizawas assistant, Dr. Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), says that Godzilla is a god, for all intents
and purposes. Dr. Serizawa and his assistant subtract God from the equation.

Later, God comes back into the picture when a paratrooper prays before a dangerous jump into the path of
Godzillas destruction. His prayer is personal and shows the conviction of his faith within his vocational duty as a
soldier. He is not praying to Godzilla or to nature but to the Lord. This short scene presents a Christian worldview
and is a significant point to consider, because it shows a confession of faith in which God is in control, not nature
or man. This short prayer is a Godzilla-sized neon sign pointing to a traditional Christian order of creation: God is
the
Creator who makes and sustains all things; men and women are the pinnacle of creation; God gives them domin-
ion over nature (Gen. 1:28). This worldview is in stark contrast to one in which there is no God and mankind lives
at the whim of nature.

This brings us back to the films media report labeling Godzilla as Godzilla King of the Monsters Saviour of
Our City? Unlike the irrational gigantic beasts of last summers Pacific Rim (2013), Godzilla is shown as a de-
fender of sorts. Under his scaly exterior there appears to be some kind of moral compass. This nod to a
worldview that includes right and wrong potentially makes Godzilla into a Leviathan on a leash (Job 41:1-11). The
question is, Who is holding the leash? A viewers belief in a Creator God has the potential to inform his outlook on
Godzilla. Gods words to Job may come to mind: Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. In the context
of the film that would include Godzilla, Ford Brody, the paratrooper, even Dr. Serizawa and his assistant, Dr. Gra-
ham, and everyone and everything in the film.

Where movies like last years Man of Steel failed to deal with the human side of tragic disasters, Godzilla does
a better job. From first responders, to school-bus drivers, to military personnel, to FEMA, people are shown work-
ing faithfully on behalf of others in need. The concrete nature of the film drives that point home in a unique and
positive way. As in the recent film World War Z, there is also a positive depiction of a traditional family in which
ultimately the family is strengthened not broken in the midst of trouble.

Overall Godzilla will be too intense for many young or sensitive viewers. However, in the middle of the spectacle
that is Godzilla, viewers of every stripe will have an opportunity to ask where they place their trust in God, in
man or in nature?

The Rev. Ted Giese is associate pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; a con-
tributor to The Canadian Lutheran and Reporter; and movie reviewer for the Issues, Etc. radio program.

COME CELEBRATE WITH US!

PASTOR FISCHERS
40 YEARS IN THE
MINISTRY

Sunday, June 29
th

2:00-4:00pm

We invite you to join us as we honor Pastor Fischers 40 years in the ministry.

LUNCH BUNCH

The Lunch Bunch will meet at 12:30pm on
Friday, June 13th at Little America. (500 S.
Main St.

June CELEBRATIONS
Robert and Lola Gill 4
Brad and Laurel Wilkinson 4
Andrew and Nicole Brunisholz 7
Doug and Kathy Morrison 8
Michael and Diana Suddreth 13
Ed and Ruth Lewis 14
David and Carol Frymire 19
Lloyd and Paula Johnson 19
Robert and Tanji Northrup 20
Russ Bowker 1
Tammy Humphreys 1
Ed Lewis II 1
Nick Schroeter 1
Ashley Fujinami 3
Jeffrey Hansen 12
Ron Humphreys 13
Jacob Morrison 13
Tiernan ORourke 13
James Cochran 19
Jolene Kingdon 19
Mark Briesacher 26
Ava Trujillo 26
Jesse Williams 28
Perry Williams 28
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL/CAMP
PERKINS DAY CAMP
June 16-20, 2014 Cost: $50.00

Redeemer will again be offering Vacation Bible School/Camp
Perkins Day Camp for students entering Kindergarten through
those entering grade 6. The program will run from 9:00 a.m.
3:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9:00 a.m.noon on
Friday. Participants should bring their lunch and a drink for the
day. A snack will be provided.

The camp will be run by staff from Camp Perkins. We will
need adult and youth (entering grade 7 or older) volunteer help-
ers for the week. We will also need volunteers to feed them an
evening meal Monday-Thursday.

Registration forms are available in the school office.
Andrea Gardner 2
David Bowker 3
Ian Suddreth 3
Andrew Brunisholz 4
Cameron Barenbrugge 6
Mark Briesacher 6
Kris Brunisholz 6
Elijah Morrison 8
Patti Beekhuizen 9
Kim Harley 11
Jeff Leonard 13
Beth Fischer 14
Bill Tatomer 15
Joe Sorg 16
Bonnie Thoen 18
Linda Tatomer 19
Paula Johnson 20
Sonja Peasley 23
Sybille Young 23
James Beekhuizen 24
Megan Carter 24
Melody Barenbrugge 26
Ava Trujillo 26
Carl Trujillo 28
Hank Brunisholz 30
HOST FAMILY
NEEDED

We are in need of a family to host three-
four Camp Perkins counselors on June 15-
20. The counselors will be running our
VBS/Camp Perkins Day Camp. If you are
able to help or have questions, please con-
tact Kris Brunisholz at 801-549-8121.
OFFICE REPORT
April 2014
CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP
Received by Infant Baptism: Theodore Graham Fischer
Removed by Death: Mildred Brunisholz
John Birkeland
Removed by Transfer: Mark Williams to Grace Lutheran, Sandy, UT
Hannah Gerber to St. Pauls, Ogden, UT
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
(4 Sundays in April 2014, and 17 YTD)

8:00 a.m. Service total 226
8:00 a.m. Service average 57
10:30 a.m. Service - total 261
10:30 a.m. Serviceaverage 65
Total year to date 1791
Average year to date 105

COMMUNION ATTENDANCE
Total for the month 382
Total for both services 96
Total year to date 1426
Average year to date 84


SPECIAL SERVICES

Average Lenten Service 49 (2)
Maundy Thursday 65
Maundy Thursday Communion 60
Good Friday 58
Easter Vigil 23


SUNDAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Adults 86
Average 252
Children 47
Average 9
Total for the month 173
Average for the month 29


EMERGENCY FUND
Beginning Balance $331.32
Ending Balance $331.32
StewardCAST
A monthly e-newsleter of LCMS Stewardship Ministry
www.lcms.org/stewardship WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
volunteerism and stewardship?
At a recent meetng with the urban pastors and lay leaders from the Milwaukee Lutheran community an interestng
queston was raised. It is one that is rooted in the core diference between the mindset of volunteerism and the applica-
ton of faithful biblical and confessional stewardship. One person asked: What is the diference between volunteerism
and stewardship?
The answer to this queston is critcal for the 21st century congre-
gaton. At one tme this distncton was far less pronounced than it
is today. For past generatons volunteerism and the service of the
faithful Christan steward could well be seen as interchangeable
terms. But over tme things have changed. There are several factors
that have gone into severing this long-standing connecton be-
tween the two terms. Because of theological, societal and govern-
mental changes, it is now possible to serve organizatons like the
United Way, Big Brother Big Sisters and the American Red Cross
without any concept of it being related to the call that our Lord has
given us to be good stewards of all of life and lifes resources for
the glory of God and the good of our neighbor. This is the world in
which we live. It is also the world in which the Church does minis-
try. In many ways, the separaton of volunteerism and stewardship
has crept into the Church as well with less than desirable conse-
quences.
In order to get a beter grasp of how this change has afected the
local congregatons ministry, it is necessary to look at this diference between the two distantly related topics. The frst
and most clear way is in the area of defniton. Volunteerism is completely anthropocentric. This means the volunteer is
totally in control. When one gets involved in a volunteer situaton, the individual holds all the cards. The triumvirate of
me, myself and I are the driving force. Volunteers choose where they will invest themselves. Because of this, volunteers
are the ones determining which areas are served, the intensity of the service and even the length of service. To volun-
teer like this is a mater of personal choice. If there is an opportunity to serve that gives a positve feeling or a good vibe,
then the volunteer will contnue. The marker of success in this mentality is closely ted to feelings. If people feel good
about their service they will contnue. If they no longer have a good feeling about it they can walk away. Volunteers can
choose to start and stop their service at any tme they choose. This startng and stopping may or may not be related to
the completon of the task. If feelings are hurt, the level of commitment wanes or boredom sets in, volunteers can walk
away from their role without personal consequence. Volunteering is a take it or leave it propositon. This leaves the
volunteer vulnerable to failure. And when a volunteer fails, it opens the door to disappointment. Contnued disappoint-
ment can lead to despair. Volunteerism is not a concept that the Lord calls us to or one to which the Scriptures speak.
This is a very Western concept in general and an American prerogatve in partcular. This is yet another mark of how the
world is defning us and not God.
Stewardship, however, is something totally diferent. Stewards are stewards not by their choice but rather it is a mater
of creaton. The Scripture is clear that human beings were created for the task of stewardship. Gen. 2:15 spells out that
our Lord created man for the task of working and keeping the creaton as a servant. The Lord God took the man and put
him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. This is not a choice. Human beings are called to be what they were cre-
ated to be faithful stewards.
When one gets involved in a volunteer situaton, the
individual holds all the cards. The triumvirate of me, my-
self and I are the driving force. Volunteers choose where
they will invest themselves.
The created nature of stewardship is the great challenge. We were
created for stewardship by our gracious Lord prior to the fall into
sin. There was really only one standard for that stewardship. The
standard was perfecton. In the Garden of Eden while walking and
talking with God, Adam and Eve only knew this kind of steward-
ship.
But the reality is that our day-to-day stewardship is carried out
afer the fall. As we read in Gen. 3, the original stewardship crisis
was human beings claiming as their own things that actually be-
longed to another, who just happened to be God Himself. The fall
into sin makes the call to faithful stewardship impossible. Man
could no longer perfectly work or perfectly keep the creaton en-
trusted to him because he could no longer keep the Word en-
trusted to him. That which was intended to be a great blessing to
work and keep became a labor and a burden that was too great
to bear. The sweat of the brow, the thorn, the thistle and the pain
in childbearing were marks of the burden of our failed steward-
ship of Gods Word and Gods world. No feeling, no desire, no
choice would be able to restore us to perfect stewardship. That is
untl the Cross. Our Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect steward. He kept Gods Word perfectly as He walked among the fall-
en mess of our world. He died that perfect death to author a perfect resurrecton for us.
Resurrecton is new life. New life in Christ is a renewed call to stewardship. The dead are made alive in Christ. This is true
of every aspect of the life of a Christan. Our sins are forgiven. Our life is restored. So is our life as steward. In our Lords
gracious choosing in the waters of Holy Baptsm we are restored to the relatonship with the Father that our frst parents
enjoyed in the garden. The world in which we live, while stll corrupted by sin, is to be stewarded by those redeemed and
restored by Christ.
This redemptve restoraton in our life as stewards is one that is external. It becomes ours by virtue of our baptsmal ident-
ty. Our drive to serve is not something as fckle as feeling but it is an overwhelming response to serve the Lord who has
served us so mightly in Christ at the Cross. This call to be a faithful steward is one that claims us not for a moment or a
season. It is one that lasts a lifetme in this world and into eternity by the grace of God. In this drive we do not strive for
perfecton. We know that there will be tmes when we will fall. The Scriptures are replete with examples of this call to
stewardship. It lays claim to every aspect of our life. There isnt a secton of our being or existence that is not given new life
as a result of our baptsmal call to stewardship. Stewardship is a baptsmal identty that is always growing, never arriving
and always freeing! It is freeing because even when we fail, and we will fail, the same gracious Lord Jesus brings us back to
the font. There He once again drowns that old Adam who would claim ownership of life and lifes resources and sets us
free in the forgiveness of sins. As a once-again-forgiven sinner we once again set upon our life of being faithful with what
the Lord gives us to do each day.
The main diference between volunteers and stewards is the Gospel! The Gospel
is both the treasure that restores us and the treasure we steward by the work of
the Holy Spirit. Since it is then God at work in our lives, we are freed to do more
than we could ever imagine because all things, even in the area of stewardship,
are possible with God. Because of this the Church should only be seeking afer
that which the Lord speaks about. The Scripture is silent about volunteers. Only
the world speaks of volunteers. The Scripture calls for faithful stewardship. The
Church is called by the Gospel to identfy, equip and deploy those gifed by the
Holy Spirit to be faithful in their stewardship in every aspect of their lives. They
do this for the glory of God. This call is not a task but an identty. We dont volun-
teer for Gods service. He calls us to it and then gives us what we need to carry it
out. Volunteers arent bad. Stewards are just beter. They are beter because of
Gods call.
Resurrecton is new life. New life in Christ is a renewed call
to stewardship. The dead are made alive in Christ. This is
true of every aspect of the life of a Christan. Our sins are
forgiven. Our life is restored. So is our life as steward.
We dont volunteer for Gods service. He
calls us to it and then gives us what we
need to carry it out.
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1

9:00am Worship
2 3 4









7:00pm Choir
Practice
5



10:00am
School
Picnic




6

11:00am Closing
School Chapel

12:30pm
Dismissal
Summer
Vacation
Begins

7
8


9:00am Worship

All Boards Meet



9 10






6:00pm
PPC
(No Gospel Gap)
11






7:00pm Choir
Practice
12 13


12:30pm Lunch
Bunch @ Little
America
14
15



9:00am Worship


16 17 18








7:00pm Choir
Practice
19 20 21
22

9:00am Worship

Special Voters
Meeting
23 24 25







7:00pm Choir
Practice
26 27 28
29

9:00am Worship

2:00-4:00pm
Celebration of
Pastor Fischers
40 years in the
ministry
30
Redeemer Lutheran Church
June 2014

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
CAMP PERKINS DAY CAMP
Monday-Thursday 9:00am-3:00pm
Friday 9:00am-12 noon