Bulletin Announcements – March 22, 2015

† Bulletin Announcements †

March 22, 2015

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP:  Mark 10:45:  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Jesus gives everything He has: He gives Himself.  That self-giving is the model for our giving in all aspects of our lives.  In our family, in our church, and in the world at large, Jesus calls us to follow His example in self-giving.  We can only do this if we are connected to His self-giving in faith.

THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS, led by Pastor Lueck, will be studying during Lent: “Singing With The Exiles”, based on the Book of Isaiah.  This Bible Study corresponds with the Wednesday evening Lenten messages.  The class is at 9:15 a.m. in the church basement.

TODAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL:  “The Widow’s Mite” serves as the focus of the Sunday School lesson for today.  Just as the widow gave all she had to God, trusting Him to provide and care for her, so Jesus gave His all for us, who fail to trust in God for all things. Consider discussing, “How was the widow’s offering different from the others?  How has God given us His greatest treasure?”

COLLECTION FOR ORGAN REPAIR:  Today is the second week for our collection for the 20th Church Anniversary Special Project for the Organ Repair and Update.  There is a large container located in the narthex for this contribution.  We will have four more times to make additional contributions so save up your pennies, nickels, quarters and dollars.  Those dates are: Sunday, May 24th;  Sunday, May 31st; Sunday, July 5th and Sunday, July 12th.

MIDWEEK LENTEN WORSHIP SERVICE:  Our final Wednesday Lenten Service is this week at 7:00 p.m.  The Sermon: “One Little Word Can Fell Him”.  As this goes to press there are still slots to sign-up to bring food.  The table in the narthex has the information.  The free-will Offering at the meal will go to the Hilbert’s who work for Lutheran Bible Translators.

PASTOR’S ADULT INSTRUCTION CLASS begins this Thursday, March 26th at 7:00 p.m.

PALM SUNDAY:  Next Sunday, March 29th, is Palm Sunday.  We will celebrate Holy Communion in both worship services.

EASTER LILIES:  If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily for the altar on Easter Sunday there is a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex.  The cost of the Lilies is $9.00 each.  You may pick them up after the late service on Easter.  Please contact Jackie Kwasny if you have any questions at (309) 662-4995.

FROM THE OFFICE:  It is once again time to update the Church Directory.  Please check your entry on the sheets located on the table in the narthex.  Provide any new information by noting it directly on these sheets.  There are two listings: (1) Church Directory; (2) Phone Book Listing of Individual Members.  The Phone Book Listing contains your cell phone, home phone, work phone, household e-mail and personal e-mail.  If any of these are missing and you want them to be included in the directory, please provide that information; if any are listed and you would prefer not, please note that also.  Please contact Janet in the church office with any questions.  Thank you.

PORTALS OF PRAYER:  The April – June 2015 Portals of Prayer are available on the book rack located in the narthex.  Pick up your free copy today.

THANK YOU to our Thrivent members who directed their “Choice dollars” to us in 2014, which totaled $4,010.00.  This is very much appreciated to help with our expenditures.

“JOURNEY TO THE CROSS”:  You are invited to join us for a sensory learning event that covers the last days of Jesus’ life on earth.  Meet the witnesses from the Bible; taste, touch, feel, and be a part of the Passion story.  Take a walking Journey with your Passport in hand and be transported back to the time of Christ.  The Journey takes place at Zion Lutheran Church, 117 N Walnut in Wenona, IL this coming Saturday March 28, 2015 from 1-5:00 p.m.  Please schedule your Journey by calling the church at (815) 853-4479.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR:  “Show Me” is the topic for next Sunday.  The sermon text will be from John 19:17-18.  Jesus really did die and three days later He really did conquer death through His resurrection.  The speaker will be Reverend Ken Klaus.  Hear this Sunday’s message on the Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.  Tune in!  You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org

PRAYER CHAIN:  If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her home # is (309) 661-6522; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582.  The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.

CHURCH OFFICE:  The Office Hours for Janet and Sandy are as follows:  Janet:  Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and others times by request/appointment.  Sandy’s hours are Mondays, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.; and Fridays, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Also, if you stop by the church please let the office know that you are in the building.

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Bulletin Announcements – March 15, 2015

† Bulletin Announcements †

March 15, 2015

TODAY:  We are blessed to have with us today Seminarian Chris Suggitt and his family.  Chris is in his fourth and final year of schooling at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  We have supported Chris both this year and in his 2nd year of school.  Last year he served his vicarage in Palo Alto, California.  Chris will receive his call into the Holy Ministry in April.  Our door offering after both services will be for Chris and his family.  At our 9:15 a.m. Bible Class in the basement, Chris will discuss his time at the seminary, vicarage, upcoming call and we will have time for questions as well.

THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP:  Ephesians 2:10:  “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  Even the good we do in this world is a gift from God, prepared beforehand for us to do. And this too is a gift!  For isn’t doing good also good for the one who does it?  So from first to last, from the Lord’s free salvation given to us to the good works He’s prepared for us to walk in, it is all a gift of God’s grace.

TODAY is the deadline for items to be submitted for the APRIL NEWSLETTER.  Mandy Kluender is our Editor for the church newsletter and any announcements you want to be published in the Newsletter should be submitted to her at mgkluender@hotmail.com or you may call her at (309) 838-9868.

COLLECTION FOR ORGAN REPAIR:  Today we have a large container in the narthex for you to leave off your contribution for our special project which is the Organ Repair and Update.  You may also bring your contribution next Sunday, March 22nd.

OUR MIDWEEK LENTEN WORSHIP SERVICE will be on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.  The Sermon that night is: “Get Out”; continuing with our theme from the Book of Isaiah.  We would like to encourage members to sign-up to bring food for the meal at 5:30 p.m.  We especially want to open it up to members who do not serve on a Board and have not served yet.  The Offering at the meal will go to support the important work of “Lutherans For Life”.

EASTER LILIES:  If you would like to purchase an Easter Lily for the alter on Easter Sunday there is a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex.  The cost of the Lilies is $9.00 each.  You may pick them up after the late service on Easter.  Please contact Jackie Kwasny if you have any questions at (309) 662-4995.

PASTOR’S ADULT INSTRUCTION CLASS:  Because of scheduling conflicts, the Adult Instruction Class will not begin until Thursday, March 26th at 7:00 p.m.

FROM THE OFFICE:  It is once again time to update the Church Directory.  Pleaes check your entry on the sheets located on the table in the narthex.  Provide any new information by noting it directly on these sheets.  There are two listings: (1) Church Directory; (2) Phone Book Listing of Individual Members.  The Phone Book Listing contains your cell phone, home phone, work phone, household e-mail and personal e-mail.  If any of these are missing and you want them to be included in the directory, please provide that information; if any are listed and you would prefer not, please note that also.  Please contact Janet in the church office with any questions.  Thank you.

THANK YOU to our Thrivent members who directed their “Choice dollars” to us in 2014, which totaled $4,010.00.  This is very much appreciated to help with our expenditures.

YOU ARE INVITED:  In celebration and thanksgiving to God, you are invited to attend the Installation Service for Reverend Jeremy Latzke next Sunday, March 22nd, at 3:00 pm at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, 800 S. Division St.,  Chenoa, IL 61726.  A reception will follow the service.

“JOURNEY TO THE CROSS”:  You are invited to join us for a sensory learning event that covers the last days of Jesus’ life on earth.  Meet the witnesses from the Bible; taste, touch, feel, and be a part of the Passion story.  Take a walking Journey with your Passport in hand and be transported back to the time of Christ.  The Journey takes place at Zion Lutheran Church, 117 N Walnut in Wenona, IL on Saturday March 28, 2015 from 1-5:00 p.m.  Please schedule your Journey by calling the church at (815) 853-4479.

THE LUTHERAN HOUR:  “No Regrets? Follow Jesus!” is the topic for next Sunday.  The sermon text will be from Matthew 16:21-26.  In the end, sinners will not regret having followed Jesus.  The speaker will be Reverend Gregory Seltz.  Hear this Sunday’s message on the Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.  Tune in!  You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org

PRAYER CHAIN:  If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her home # is (309) 661-6522; her cell phone# is (309) 532-2582.  The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.

OFFICE:  The Office Hours for Janet and Sandy are as follows:  Janet:  Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and others times by request/appointment.  Sandy’s hours are Mondays, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.; and Fridays, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Also, if you stop by the church please let the office know that you are in the building.

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“The Folly of the Cross” Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (March 8, 2015 — 8am service)

 

March 8, 2015 Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Dear Friends in Christ,

Patrick Morley, author of The Man in the Mirror books, writes about the God we want and the God that is. People by nature expect something else from God and create in their minds something different from what He offers them. We have expectations of what we want God to be, how He should act, when He should act, and even what He should look like. We want Him to fit neatly into our plans. We have made our little god in our minds that fits our plans and purposes. This of course goes directly against the First Commandment from our Old Testament Reading. There is the god, with a small g, we want and the God that is.
The God that “is” is the God of the Bible, the one true God, who used what seemed to be pure folly to most of the world – a cross – as the instrument of salvation. Are you willing to leave the god you want behind and trust fully in the God that is, no matter how foolish that might seem to those around you?
“THE FOLLY OF THE CROSS”
What kind of fool do you take me for? Aaron Neville sang the song, “Everybody Plays the Fool.” Remember this line, “Everybody plays the fool sometimes, there is no exception to the rule.” Have you ever played the fool or done something foolish? About five years ago during the winter we had I believe an Evangelism Board meeting scheduled on a Tuesday evening. We had snow the previous days that had built up and the temperatures had stayed below freezing. The city snowplow had left a nice trail in front of our south entrance. It wasn’t that large but I thought I could drive through it. Wrong! My car got stuck. Some folks came along with a shovel and I crawled on my belly to remove the snow and finally extricated the vehicle. I showed up late for the meeting and felt quite foolish. Have you ever done something similar?
We look at others and their actions and find it easy to label them as fools. Just this week another group of people were stranded on an interstate in a snowstorm. We think to ourselves what are they doing out in that weather. We find it easy to judge others’ actions and words as foolish.
Would anyone here today be bold enough to stand up and state that something God has said or done is foolish? It would seem blasphemous, especially in this setting, surrounded by other believers. But the truth is that we often do that by accusing God of not caring, of not working within our time frame, and by allowing His Word to become outdated for these modern times. Are we any different from the Jews and Greeks whom Paul is referring to in our text?
One man’s folly is another man’s treasure. We join the Jews of Paul’s time in demanding signs. Where are you Lord, I’ve been praying? Where is your sign? We join the Greeks of Paul’s time in looking for worldly wisdom in our God, whose kingdom is not of this world. Just listen to how we all talk. We think humans can solve of our most pertinent issues. Benjamin Franklin said something that still fits, “A learned fool writes his nonsense in better language than the unlearned, but still ‘tis nonsense.” Read any government edict and you’ll see what I mean.
We preach Christ crucified. Can we demand signs and look for earthly wisdom when we are dealing with the treasure of the cross and God’s wisdom found in Scripture? Preaching Christ crucified. Why is it a stumbling block and foolishness to so many?
The city of Corinth who Paul is addressing was destroyed in 146 B.C. A hundred years later, Julius Caesar sent a group to rebuild Corinth. Corinth was a center for shipping and trade giving it a diverse population. In Paul’s day it had a population of almost 500,000 made up of free persons and slaves, Jews and Greeks. Over time, the city became known as a wicked place. There were many divisions within the city, the church followed suit.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Paul needed to bring the focus back, in the church especially, to Christ crucified. That is where we need our focus. We get caught up in all the fluff and foolishness and miss the main message. Christ Jesus who died so that we might live. We might understand the offense of the cross within governmental decisions, but what about churches that refuse to put up a cross. Isn’t that foolish?
You see, the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Holy Scripture is God’s Word to the wise. It tells us of the God who is, not the god we want. The God of the Bible is the only true God. Through Jesus’ death on a cross and his resurrection, he has brought us the only way to eternal life in heaven.
Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection three days later and our Spirit-created faith in that seemingly foolish way of salvation, we are forgiven fools. We are fools for Christ’s sake. If proclaiming Christ crucified and living under the truth of Christ’s cross and outside the freedom of his empty tomb is foolishness, then call us fools – forever, forgiven, and fruitful fools for Christ!
Amen.