November 2004
Grateful To Be A
Lutheran
I love celebrating the
Lutheran Reformation, commemorating the day in 1517 when an Augustinian monk
nailed 95 theses in Latin on the door of the
Luther never intended to start a new
denomination. He was merely interested in correcting abuses that had arisen in
his beloved church. The pope was not pleased with this German monk’s writings
and ordered him to retract them. Luther refused because he believed his
positions were based solidly on Scripture, the only norm for faith and
Christian teaching. He was declared an imperial outlaw and excommunicated. His
followers were first called “Lutherans” by his enemies. That is how a lot of
religious groups get their names. They don’t choose to be called “Methodists”
or “Presbyter-ians.” “Christians” were first dubbed
with that name in
I gladly bear that name now even
though I know it was first intended as a title of derision. I also gladly
identify myself as a “Lutheran” because I believe that God has revealed some
precious truths through the ministry of Martin Luther, even though there are
some tracts that he has written that I find embar-rassing,
intemperate and unacceptable. I don’t find all of his personality quirks worth
emulating either. I don’t worship Luther. I don’t pray to him. But I do
appreciate profoundly some of the insights that he formulated which have
informed my faith.
I have often heard Christians profess
with a certain smugness, “I’m just a Christian. I’m not a denomination.” As
open-minded as that may sound, I have good reason to remember with gratitude
that I am not “just a Christian,” but a Lutheran
Christian. I learned my Christianity in a Lutheran church, from a Lutheran
family, who had been instructed in some of Luther’s most valuable insights that
he has passed on to others. Here are just a couple of the distinctive teachings
of Luther that I don’t often hear in other denominations or the
non-denominational groups of Christians.
#1. His first of his 95 theses asserts
that the life of the Christian is to be one of daily repentance. I believe that
such an approach to life is absolutely crucial. Through repentance I claim the
forgiveness of sins that Christ has earned for me. God gives me the ability to
repent through the Gospel as the Holy Spirit uses it to work saving faith in my
heart. I have the daily courage to confess that I have sinned, knowing that
Christ has earned eternal life and forgiveness for me through His sacrificial
life and death on the cross. I cannot be a Christian without being repentant,
because repentance is, as Luther’s Small Catechism says: “the contrite sinner’s
faith in the forgiveness of sins.” What makes us distinctively Christian is not
that we do works of charity, that we try to love God, serve God and our
fellowman or love our neighbor as ourselves. Plenty of religions urge their
people to do that. But my willingness to admit that I am a lost and condemned
creature by nature and that I need the gift of God’s righteousness to be
acceptable to God—THAT is what makes me a Christian. I did not come to that
realization by my own reason or strength either. The Holy Spirit has worked
that understanding in my heart and soul through the Gospel Word of Christ. And
now, whatever good I do is not credited to me, but I hope that others will see
my good works and “glorify my Father who is in heaven.” I have learned that
humility before God through parents, family and a church that learned that
emphasis on a repentant way of life from Martin Luther. That way of life
protects me from self-righteous, do-gooding pride
and, on the other extreme, hopeless despair.
#2. I stand acceptable before God,
NOT because I have tried to live a
Christian life, NOR because I have tried to
be a good dad, husband, son, brother, friend or neighbor. I know I stand before
God as holy and righteous in His sight because Jesus Christ has imputed His holy, perfect righteousness
to me, so when God looks at me, instead of seeing all of my sin, He sees the
righteousness of my Savior Jesus. That emphasis on the imputed righteousness of
Christ is a Gospel revelation that you do not hear much in other Christian
denominations. You will often hear that “Jesus died for your sins.” Or “Jesus
saved you with His death on the cross.” But taking our punishment is only half
of the story of salvation. He was also “tempted in every way as you and I are
tempted, but He never sinned once.” He lived the perfect life that you and I
have never lived and God holds that righteousness out to us as a free gift of
His grace, inviting us to accept it and trust that He truly accepts us for
Christ’s sake.
I do not have to be terrified that on
Judgment Day, God will be waiting with some leftover punishment for some of my sins so He can drop it on me.
Why am i so certain? Because Jesus took all of it,
every last drop, as my substitute.
But He also did something else as my
substitute as part of God’s plan of salvation, equally important. As my
substitute, He lived the perfect,
righteous life required by God’s law. In my baptism, God clothed me in
Christ’s righteousness. He has pledged to me over and over again through His
Gospel that I AM RIGHTEOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. That is the confidence that the
“imputed righteous-ness of Christ” works in me by the power of the Spirit.
When I am vividly aware of my
unrighteous thoughts, words and deeds, I flee for refuge to the righteousness
of Christ and claim the acceptance that it offers me before God. I learned
those truths in the
selected
Some Compelling Thoughts
·
When
he spoke of what happened to him on the
·
Whoso,
then, has been baptized into Christ's death has formally surrendered the whole
state and life of sin, as in Christ a dead thing.
·
The
believer, if spiritually buried with Christ, is dead to the desire of any
such power. "What!" say you, "do not godly men have sinful desires?"
Alas, they do. The old nature that is in them lusteth
towards sin; but the true man, the real ego, desires to be purged of
every speck or trace of evil.
·
If we
take seriously Paul’s words in Romans 6, every day there should be a funeral in
the life of the Christian. None of us have been completely conform-ed to the
image of God, but every day, we ought to lay to rest something that is not like
God, which hinders us from having a closer walk with God.
Hey Blockhead, I Love You
I remember reading a Peanuts cartoon strip in which Lucy comes up to her brother Charlie Brown and does something that is very unusual for her. She says--I love you. But Charlie Brown keeps responding by saying: no you don't. And each time Lucy answers a little louder: yes I do, I really love you. But Charles Brown has been rejected so many times he keeps saying: it can't be true. So in the last square, Lucy has reached the limit of her patience and she screams out in a loud voice: Hey stupid, I love you.
I wonder if
God has to do that with us sometimes. I mean, what does it take to get through.
Does he have to yell out: Hey blockhead, I love you. Can't you see that God
will literally turn this world upside down in his search for one human soul.
Maybe you feel like God has been turning your world upside down a little bit
lately. Well, that's love at work. And the supreme sign of that love is the
gift of Christ Jesus.
selected
The Ungrateful Scorpion
One morning,
an old man saw a scorpion floating on the water. When the scorpion drifted near
the old man he reached to rescue it but was stung by the scorpion. A bit later he tried again and was stung
again, the bite swelling his hand painfully and giving him much pain. Another man passing by saw what was happening
and yelled at the mediator, "Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with
you? Only a fool would risk his life for
the sake of an ugly, evil creature.
Don't you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful
scorpion?"
The old man
calmly replied, "My friend, just because it is in the scorpion's nature to
sting, does not change my nature to save."
It is in
God's nature to save - because it is in God's nature to love. God seeks the
lost, heals the wounded, forgives the offender, and gives hope to those who are
in despair.
It is what
God does.
Henri Nouwen
It's A Big Ocean To Be Lost In
H.H. Staton in his book, "A Guide To the Parables of
Jesus" tells the story of having been on an ocean liner headed to the
Nine hundred miles
out to sea a sail was sighted on the horizon.
As the liner drew closer, the passengers saw that the boat - a small
sloop flying a Turkish flag - had run up a distress signal and other flags
asking for its position at sea. Through a faulty chronometer or immature
navigation the small vessel had become lost. For nearly an hour the liner
circled the little boat, giving its crew correct latitude and longitude. Naturally there was a great deal of interest
in all the proceeding among the passengers of the liner. A boy of about 12
standing on the deck and watching all that was taking place remarked aloud to
himself - "It's a big ocean to be lost in."
It is a big
universe to be lost in too. And we do get lost - we get mixed up and turned
around. We despair, we make mistakes, we do evil to each other. We deserve the
wrath of God. But Jesus came to seek and save the lost. It is Jesus who rescues us and who sets us
back on course.
Richard Fairchild
The Church Squirt
The sea squirt
is a strange creature. It seems to be a backward oriented creature. The
juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or
hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. When it finds its spot
and takes root, it somehow figures it doesn't need a brain anymore. So it eats
it.
The analogy between the sea squirt and some tenured professors has been pointed out on numerous occasions—but the church ought not laugh too loudly. It does the same thing. It finds a home and then settles in. When this happens, it enters what is known as a PVS—persistent vegetative state. That is, it eats its brain. The church grows inward, no longer following its God-given mission.
Someone has
criticized the ingrown church with these words: Today, we in the church speak
and act on little but that which relates to ourselves. We refuse to learn the
language of the culture. We are reluctant to trust the Spirit already at work
in the world. What is born out of this retreat is a kind of indoor spirit that
does for the body of Christ what an ingrown toenail can do to the human body:
It becomes diseased and infected and is a danger to the whole organism. An
ingrown spirit can ground a church just as much as an ingrown toenail.
Charles Revis
Dr. Peil's
Science Corner
Where did all the different races
of man come from? First of all, race is
a "soft" sociological category that is generally not recognized
within the "hard" scientific community. Our skin color runs, well, only skin
deep. But in answer to the question, with
no geological or language/cultural barriers prior to the flood, man would have
freely interbred. Because of the lack of
any genetic isolating mechanisms, the majority of humans would have maintained
a maximum diversity potential for skin color (i.e., most humans would have had
a mid-brown like skin color, similar to Italian-like skin color). Prior to the flood, all human skin color
would have roughly been the same with a few people at the extreme colors. At
A Long Flight
The first
transcontinental flight across the country from
On September
17, 1911 he left
The airplane
was forced down by weather and mechanical failure more than 30 times resulting
in “light crashes” to crashes that required major repairs.
When Rodgers
landed in
I would have given
up the first time I lost my wings.
How Is John Quincy
On his 80th
birthday, John Quincy Adams was walking slowly along a
The former
president replied graciously, "Thank you, John Quincy Adams is well, sir,
quite well, I thank you. But the house in which he lives at present is becoming
dilapidated. It is tottering upon the foundations. Time and the seasons have
nearly destroyed it. Its roof is pretty well worn out, its walls are shattered,
and it trembles with every wind. The old tenement is becoming almost
uninhabitable, and I think John Quincy Adams will have to move out of it soon;
but he himself is quite well, sir, quite well."
That is the attitude we need to cultivate so that when the call home comes we may say with Paul: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
There are many
who are bored, burned out, lonely and empty. Many people have tried to
substitute the accumulation of things for good relationships, but no matter how
much they get, something is still missing in life. Their pipe does not go down
deep enough to draw living water, and they feel lost.
There was a
little boy who got separated from his parents in a large shopping center. The
Security Department quickly located the child, and took him to an office while
the frantic parents were paged over the public address. One of the security
guards got a large ice cream cone for the boy, so when his parents arrived at
the office, there was their little son happily eating his ice cream.
Suddenly, as
his parents embraced him, the child burst into tears. One of the security
guards said, "Gosh, I guess he didn't know he was lost until he was
found!"
Many folks
are desperately lost today. They just
don’t know it.
Most nice
respectable American churches don't talk about sin, judgment, or hell anymore.
Why? Because they are post-modern. Most Americans read the Bible selectively,
omitting those parts they don't like.
The first
thing many American churchgoers throw out is the concept of hell, because (in
their view) a nice, well-behaved God wouldn't let anybody go to hell. After you
lose hell, you lose a sense of sin. Nobody is guilty of anything. Everybody is
just a victim. Finally, the call to repent has no meaning.
Dr. Calvin Miller of the
When Charlie
Brown did something wrong, he felt humility. But when Bart Simpson does
something wrong, he feels entitlement. What a huge moral slippage this reveals
in our culture.
If We All Gave Till It Hurts…
The question of “fundraising” came up in a recent
“In my
church we did no fundraisers of any kind, but I tried very hard to disallow the
idea that they were wrong or sinful. But
I am convinced, and enough others became convinced, that fundraisers in the
church are usually unwise… We don't want to be asking the general public to
support our mission work, and we don't want to give the impression that the
church is hard up for money. I'd add
four others to that -- ones that I consider to be even more important.
“First, many
people outside the church have the opinion that the church is always looking
for money. If the one time that people
hear the most about the church or from the church is when they are having their
annual rummage sale, doesn't that encourage that opinion? We never wanted to be seen as people going to
the community only when their hand was out.
We wanted to make sure that when people thought about our church, they
never had the opportunity to think "that's the church that was asking for
my money the other day."
“Second, we
found no example in Scripture to support fundraisers as we currently envision
them. Paul had his "tent
ministry," but I don't see any time he sold tents to raise money for the
poor in
“Third, we
tried to treat the budget as a spiritual document, and an important decider of
priorities. If it was important enough
to do, then it was important enough to put in the budget. Youth group stuff, school stuff -- if it's
worth doing, then it's worth budgeting for.
And if it's in the budget, then there is no need for a fundraiser. If we can't decide to put it into the budget,
then maybe we shouldn't be doing it, or maybe we haven't convinced enough
people of its worth yet.
“And finally,
we saw it (at least potentially) having a detrimental effect on
stewardship. One thing that makes
teaching proper biblical stewardship so difficult is that in every other area
of life, you give something, and you get something in return. The idea of giving without the expectation of
getting something in return makes biblical stewardship so different and
difficult for us sinful humans. In every
other area of life, people look at their budget, at how much they can afford to
spend, at the value of what they're getting in return, and on the basis of
that, decide how much money to part with.
Stewardship MUST be VERY different from that. But when the church gets involved in that
‘buy and sell’ mentality, then it becomes that much more difficult for the
church to turn around and teach proper stewardship. ‘You can give your money in church and get
nothing, or you can give your money out in the narthex and get a delicious
pie.’ When the same entity is making the
plea in both cases, and (to some degree at least) the money from both goes to
the same place, that sends a very confusing message, and makes it that much
more difficult to teach proper biblical, ‘give not to get, but because you've
already gotten’ stewardship. That's just
an opinion, but one that I've become entirely convinced of, and one that I feel
is easily defended.
“Again, I'm always very
careful NOT to say that fundraisers are wrong or sinful, but I am completely
convinced that in nearly every case, they are very unwise, and do much more
long-term harm than short-term good.
“Just one
man's opinions…”
A lady then wrote in response:
“…I think the
bottom line is, if we all gave (our offerings) till it hurt, we would have
plenty of money to fund all the programs and future programs in our churches
and this discussion would not be neccesary.”
AMEN!
Being
a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes
all the dirt off of you.
He opens you up, touches
you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff -- including the seeds of
doubt, hate, greed, etc.
Then He carves you a new
smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.
Ø
The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute
for blood plasma.
Ø
No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven (7)
times.
Ø
Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.
Ø
You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching
television.
Ø
Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty (50)
years of age or older.
Ø
The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.
Ø
The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.
Ø
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one
(1) olive from each salad served in first-class.
Ø
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
Ø
Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in
the morning.
Ø
Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.
Ø
The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung
cancer. So did the first "
Ø
Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
Ø
Pearls melt in vinegar.
Ø
The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that
order.
Ø
It is possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.
Ø
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
Ø
Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least
six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the
flush.
Ø
Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first
Now you know every thing there is to know.
received via email
People over 35 should be dead. Here's
why:
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who
were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, or even maybe the early 70's probably
shouldn't have survived.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets,
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we
took hitchhiking.)
As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
Horrors!
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar
in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and
no one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then
rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into
the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we
were back when the street lights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. NO CELL PHONES!!!!!
Unthinkable!
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo
64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies,
surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat
rooms.
We had friends!
We went outside and found them.
We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there
were no lawsuits from these accidents.
They were accidents. No one was to blame but us.
Remember accidents?
We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and
learned to get over it.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and
although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor
did the worms live inside us forever.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the
door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade
and were held back to repeat the same grade.
Horrors!
Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
Our actions were our own.
Consequences were expected.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and
problem solvers and inventors, ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new
ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we
learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of them!
Congratulations!
received via email
If You
Have To Tell Them Who You Are…
The famous
actor Gregory Peck was once standing in line with a friend, waiting for a table
in a crowded
Peck's friend
became impatient, and he said to Gregory Peck, "Why don't you tell the
maitre d' who you are?"
Gregory Peck
responded with great wisdom. "No," he said, "if you have to tell
them who you are, then you aren't."
The Fields are Ripe
For Harvest! Attendees at the 41st annual LWMS convention held in Sioux Falls,
SD, June 24-27, were encouraged by seven mission presentations, seven workshop
and Bible study opportunities, and the joy of fellowship with other mission
minded women of the WELS. We were implored to “Look at the Fields” of Africa,
to “Relive the Reformation” in Southern California, and to rejoice with our
LUWO sisters in
God has graciously given us harvest to
reap; one by one, at home and abroad. Let us continue to be the workers in
these fields.
Our membership harvested a record
$70,348.56 in mission offerings. Administrator for Home Missions, Rev. Harry Hagedorn, accepted a check for $35,174.28 to be used for Hispanic Outreach in
submitted by Mae Schmidt, reporter
October
13, 2004
Following coffee and
registration, the opening devotion was conducted by Auxiliary Pastoral Advisor,
Craig Engel asking how many of the ladies present had done any “canning” in
their lifetime. He related that to this
year’s theme from Numbers 6, “The Lord will bless us with his preservation …”
looking back on the history of the Auxiliary.
Theckla Schultz, Auxiliary President, welcomed everyone to
the meeting and proceeded with following introductions, reports and business:
·
A word of
welcome was given by the Student Government President, Charles Habeck; thanking us for our support of the students through
the gifts given to the college.
·
Leah Dosh, freshman and new recipient of the Auxiliary
Scholarship, which is renewable for four years, thanked the Auxiliary for this
aid.
·
Secretary, Treasurer,
and Endowment Fund Chairman commented on reports found in our meeting
folder. Project and Officer Ballots were
taken.
·
Revision of
Auxiliary was discussed and approved.
After lunch, Professor Paul Wendland, Faculty Represen-tative
to the Auxiliary, reported the status of the college. Enrollment was down from
the previous year. He commented that this was a trend due to fee increases;
which were necessary because of less assistance from Synod Budget. Even with the fee increases, the college will
operate in the red this year. Back-up
funds will be used to meet this shortfall. However, if this trend continues for
3-4 years, our college of ministry will be in a very difficult financial
condition. He asked for prayers that
this situation can be corrected.
Scenes and musical selections were
shared from “My Fair Lady” which will be presented at the college, October
29-30 and November 5-7.
Election Results and Announcements at
end of Business Meeting:
·
Elected Laurie
Silfies Secretary and Marley Kuckhahn
2nd Vice President
·
Order of
project funding for the 2004-05 depending on monies available
1)
Furniture for the Children’s Literature Room $3774
2) Two
Wireless Microphones for Music Dept $750
3) Tuba
for Music Dept $3500
4) Ellison
Alphabet Cutting Shapes $675
5) Ellison
Die Cutting Shapes $625
In addition $2000 is given in scholarships and
$1250 to the library.
Approximately 130 were in attendance;
Project offering was $1624.
Theckla Schultz, current President passed the gavel to
Elaine Steffen who will serve until the next annual meeting.
The closing devotion featured the MLC
Choir.
"THANK YOU" to those who
donated non-perishable items for the MLC food bank here at Mt Olive. Eleven filled bags were delivered the day of
the Auxiliary meeting. Betty Loose,
Jean Brown
Learn More About
You
are invited to attend a special presentation "Today at
This is not a solicitation. It is
hoped that you can attend this presentation. Other dates and times can be
arranged as requested. Presentations at 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM include a
light lunch. Presentations at 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM include dessert.
·
Tuesday,
November 9th at 11:30 AM
·
Tuesday,
November 23rd at 11:30 AM
·
Tuesday,
December 7th at 7 PM
·
Tuesday
December 14th at 11:30 AM
Please
call Jim Pasbrig, Director of Resource Development at
651.455.1521 Ext. 113 if you would like to attend one of these presentations or
make arrangements for a different date and time.
Harold Brown
So how’s your church?
Today is my wedding anniversary. Actually, since I wrote this article awhile
back, it really isn’t today, but it probably wasn’t too long ago. Anyway, since it is my anniversary, I was
thinking about my marriage, the good, the bad, etc., and I realized something
very important. Love.
If we are old enough, we should remember the time
when we first realized the existence of someone special of the opposite
sex. Adam realized it when he first saw
Eve and exclaimed, “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” I guess that may be a little hard to relate
to, but the first infatuation is a very special time in one’s life. Your mind is disoriented, distracted, and
dreamy. You spend considerable time,
creative energy, and even money in trying to please this special person. You give no thought about getting something
back, except maybe the realization that you made the other person happy. In essence, you expend tremendous effort
simply to do something pleasing in their eyes.
I can still see myself at the kitchen sink doing dishes yet being very
happy thinking of that special person.
That crudely typifies what consuming love is all about, where even the
most deplorable drudgery is elevated to a task of great pleasure.
Yes, we can remember, but we actually do not
remember do we. We so easily let
ourselves take the special people in our lives for granted. We so easily become selfish. We so easily focus to glorify our own
contributions and so easily criticize those of others. Today, I will go home, and try again to be
the husband that I promised I would be-this of course must be more than some
intellectual exercise, but love in action.
I pray that I do not forget.
But the main point of this article is not about my
marriage. It is about love. God certainly loves us, but how much to we
love God? Do we spend our time, talents,
and treasure in a God-pleasing manner?
Can we carry out even the most drudging chores for our brothers and
sisters in faith with a joyous heart because we know of God’s love? We often
pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,”
but do we have enough love to overcome our fear to announce the saving Grace of
Jesus to the dying unbeliever?
Pastor Bob Battle came to our Sunday morning
education hour and talked about a group of people that have enough love to come
from the suburbs every week to tutor children in the inner city as part of an
outreach effort. We seem to have trouble
getting enough people to stay 30 minutes after church to distribute a few
flyers. Our Elder’s group is thinking of
visiting with everyone in our church, in part to hear what you, the members,
want in our church. However, the biggest
obstacle will be to find those among us with enough love to help do the
visiting. They say the last thing in an
unbeliever that is converted is the love of giving, but I wonder whether it is
the person’s love for service. This was
further reinforced by Mr. Kruse’s thanks for those attending the recent
So dear brothers and sisters, do you love
Jesus? Feed the sheep!
Tim Wiedmann, President,
Sunday
School
News & Notes
Our “Learning
in the Olive Grove” is going very well. The children like the new format as do the
teachers. The variety of lesson presentations and V.B.S. type songs keep the
children involved and eager to attend each Sunday.
The children
will be singing in church on November 7th for our Reformation
weekend. They and their families are invited to the potluck which will follow
our “Learning in the Olive Grove” time. Check your Parent Page for more
information.
Looking ahead
to the Children's Christmas service, the Saturday practices will begin on
Dec.4th and continue on the 11th and the 18th of December with the children's
service on Sunday the 19th of December. The Birthday Party for Jesus will
follow the service. The practices will begin at 9:30am and end at 11:00am with
a snack break during the practice time.
Parents,
please reserve these Saturdays so that your children can participate in each
practice.
A big
thank-you to all those people who donated Fiskers
scissors or money to buy the scissors. We now have 50 pairs and everyone is
enjoying being able to cut things with ease.
The staff and
I pray that you will all have a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends.
Linda Henkel, Superintendent
Reformation Renewal Weekend is here! Professor Arnold Koelpin of Martin Luther College, New Ulm,
MN will be speaking at
You are
invited to attend any or all of the following presentations:
Friday evening (November 5) -- 7:00 to 8:30pm:
"Luther
on Education: Breakthrough and Baseline in Education: Part I”
Includes
time for discussion, questions and snacks
Saturday (November 6) -- 10:00am to 12 noon
"Luther
on Education: Breakthrough and Baseline in Education: Part II.”
Includes time for questions, followed by lunch at noon
Sunday (November 7) -- 9:00 AM
Worship service Prof. Koelpin preaching
"The Ongoing Reformation of the Church" Romans 10:8-13
Sunday (November 7) -- 10:30 to 11:45am
"Luther's
Journey to Reform - a Lutherlands on-site slide tour
-biographical, geographical, doctrinal" (Potluck
dinner at noon.)
Professor Koelpin, a native of
This year
marks the 475th anniversary of the Luther's Small and Large Catechisms and the
Reformation weekend focus will be insights into the Reformation as an
educational movement. Prof. Koelpin notes that Luther
was very progressive for his time, advocating sending girls to school and other
progressive ideas. Luther’s ideas on
education will be explored as to how they fit today’s educational climate.
Prof. Koelpin has led 14 study tours to