Stewardship Corner March 2015

Stewardship Corner

Why does giving seem so difficult? In reality, it isn’t. But we make it difficult. We make it difficult because we’re afraid. We’re afraid that it isn’t worth the investment. We’re afraid that what we give to the church might be wasted, or that we could use it for something better, something more enjoyable, something more real, more tangible, more immediate, even more important, something more important than God and His gifts.

The point is this: We struggle with giving because we don’t believe as we should. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. And so we fail to give because we don’t love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind. We fail to give because we don’t fear Him more than we fear other things. We fail to give because we don’t trust Him more than we trust the things we can more immediately see, taste, and touch. We don’t trust that He will give us everything (EVERYTHING!) we need to support this body and life. For if we did fear, love, and trust in God above all things, we would see and know that all the other things that vie for our time, our talents, and our treasures pale in comparison to the joy of the real, tangible, immediate love God has showered upon us in the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins on account of His Son’s death, resurrection, and ascension.

The only proper response to this is repentance: to confess our sin, our stinginess, our lack of fear, love, and faith in God’s promises, and to trust in Him to help us bring our desire to do better to fruition. For God is not holding out on us. He never has. He never will. For if He has given you His only Son, how will He not also give you all things? He will. It is His promise. And these promises are sure and certain.

The reality is that God doesn’t need our giving. He doesn’t need our time, our talents, our treasures. He is God. We are not. He can do all things without our help. And even what we do give, even the good and righteous things we do accomplish, these are but filthy rags, as the prophet Isaiah tells us (Isaiah 64:6). Our gifts to God and to the Church are like a child’s gift of dandelions to his mother. They are weeds, which most of us spend an entire summer trying to rid our yards of them. And yet despite the fact that they are weeds, mothers always receive them with a smile and with joy. They will even put them in vases and display them on tables and countertops. They will recount to friends and other family members how their child gave them “flowers,” just to say I love you and I’m thankful for all you do.

Our Lord, too, receives with joy and a smile the gifts we give in thanksgiving and praise of what He has done. Even though these gifts are but weeds, filthy rags, and despite the fact that He doesn’t need them to accomplish what He wills, He receives them and puts it to use for our and our neighbors good. That is the real joy of giving. He doesn’t need us. Yet He makes use of us, He employs us in His service despite it. He makes all that we do—our giving, our work, our service to our family and friends and neighbors—holy. And He blesses it for their and our good and to the glory of His name.

So is giving so hard? Nah, it’s like giving dandelions to our mothers. And when dinner is ready, when the food is on the table, she’ll gladly have a vase full of them right in the middle. The Lord has prepared a table for you. Dinner is ready. The table is set. His Body and Blood is given to strengthen and nourish you. And right there, where Christ is with us, are the dandelions we gave. He has put them to use for our good, for our forgiveness, for our life in Him.

Acolyte, Usher, and Elder Schedules for March 2015

Date
8:00
Elder
10:30
Mar 1Charles Nottingham, Gerald Semelka, Joshua Parry, Paul GerikeCraig CulpRyan Kleiboeker, Travis Henson
Mar 8John Hardy, Matthew HollandCurt KesslerGreg McNeely, Holden Lueck, Theron Noth
Mar 15Jeff Piper, Mike Field, Nathan Kluender, Steve DavisPaul GerikeBud Kessler, Curt Kessler
Mar 22Gene Fuller, Richard RossMike FieldBrian Dirks, Karson Lueck, Mike Huth
Mar 29Daryle Schempp, Gerald Semelka, Joshua Parry, Steve ParryNathan KluenderGreg McNeely, Ryan Kleiboeker, Travis Henson

 

Date
8:00 AM
10:30 AM
Mar 1Anna HollandPastor/Elder
Mar 8Pastor/ElderIsabella Kessler
Mar 15Lucas PiperPastor/Elder
Mar 22Pastor/ElderWill Dowell
Mar 29Katey ParryJustin McNeely

Celebrating March 2015

Birthdays

  • Michael Anderson           3/1
  • John Isaac                       3/1
  • Laura Kessler                  3/2
  • Anita Contois                   3/3
  • Vanessa Biddle               3/4
  • Steve Parry                     3/4
  • Taylor Dirks                     3/16
  • Ruth Alvis                        3/18
  • Jillian Sompong               3/21
  • Jennifer Cloyd                 3/25
  • Sherry Parker                  3/26
  • Dawn Jirovec                   3/26
  • Mary Anne Kirchner        3/29
  • Robert Bier                      3/31

Baptismal Birthdays

  • Lucas Schempp              3/1
  • Jennifer Parry                  3/3
  • Betty Bier                         3/4
  • Linda Dirks                      3/11
  • Mollie Hitch                     3/13
  • Ryan Hitch                       3/13
  • Johana Kirchner              3/16
  • Ruth Alvis                        3/18
  • Luanne Huth                    3/20
  • Carol Schroeder              3/24
  • Carin Henson                  3/31

Pastor’s Notes, March 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We begin with what I consider an easy question:  Do bad things happen to Christians?  From the Scriptures and our life experiences we can answer with a resounding:  “Yes!”  We all quantify bad things differently, but it still does not change the answer.

For the believer in Christ, we know that our Lord is there.  No matter what might happen to us – sickness, accident, financial challenge, problems with spouse or children, job loss, or just the daily irritants that can really bug us – we are assured through the Holy Bible that God loves us.  That love was never more evident than in the sending of His Son to die in our place on a cross.  Our filthy, damning sin was paid for by Our Redeemer.  He rose again so that we can look forward to an eternity in heaven with Him.  The bad things will cease!

God is always by our side to help us and strengthen us.  Sometimes when things seem to be going along swimmingly, we lose sight of our gracious Savior.  We need Christ each and every day.  Each block of 24 hours has its own challenges.

The Psalmist wrote, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; and I will deliver you.” (Ps. 50:15).  So we pray to Him and ask for His guidance and assistance.  He will answer our prayers.  He will never leave us.

 

In Christ,

Pastor

“R.I.P. – REST IN PEACE?” — Text: Romans 5:1-11 (March 1, 2015)

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March 1, 2015 Text: Romans 5:1-11

Dear Friends in Christ,

Exactly six months from today, the whole world will celebrate again one of the greatest days in human history. On Sept. 1 we’ll reach the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II. Peace. Of course, that peace left millions dead, including over 400,000 Americans, many of whom are buried in Europe or the Pacific in cemeteries marked by rows and rows of white crosses.
Many of these grave markers bore the initials “R.I.P.” for the Latin requiescat in pace, meaning, with the same initials in English, “rest in peace” – words written and spoken on the dead. Is that really peace? Can there be peace when someone lies in the grave – whether death has come violently in war or peacefully in one’s own bed? And what about while we live? Since the world never lives in peace, can we?
“R.I.P. – REST IN PEACE?”
Paul had stated earlier in Ephesians that apart from Jesus, we have no hope and can expect only eternal death. Now here in our text, he continues to describe how desperate we were: “we were still weak” (v. 6). There is never a good time to be weak. Weak in sin, weak in moral fortitude, weak in faith. That does a nice job of describing you and me. Paul goes on to say, “we were still sinners” (v. 8) We know that’s true, don’t we? We still sin. Sometimes it seems as if our lives have wandered into one of those survival shows on television and we are about to be eliminated, or at least have questions about lasting longer than a few more weeks or months. Too many false calculations, too many wrong-headed decisions. Too much time spent looking out for ourselves to the detriment of others.
But it gets worse. We aren’t just weak and sinful; we were enemies of God. Verse 10, “we…were…enemies.” Enemies of God.
Enemies? But God is so nice. He’s the “Big Guy Upstairs,” the doting uncle who gives you daily treats of bread and breath. It’s hard to imagine being a screaming-in-your-face enemy of God. But look at the crowd in front of Pontius Pilate. “Crucify him! Crucify him!” goes the shouting. (Matt. 27:22-23) Yeah, like I said, we’d never do that. Enemies of God?
Yeah, world war. The whole world has been at war with God since the time of Adam and Eve. Enemies. Not buds who occasionally step on each other’s toes. Not allies who occasionally disagree about foreign policy. Enemies. Every one of our sins puts us at war with God. False calculations – enemies! Wrong-headed decisions – enemies! Looking out for ourselves – enemies! Our sin means war. Our indifference isn’t neutrality; it’s opposition. Jesus says, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Mt. 12:30). Enemies of God. No resting in peace for us.
But…but. “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (v. 6) Despite our weakness, Jesus became weak in death. To see in Scripture the almighty Lord and Savior sweat blood and stumble down the street with a cross on his torn back and then his weak hands and feet nailed to the cross – what wondrous love. Jesus wrested the keys of death from the devil and now Jesus holds them in his strong, resurrected hand. You are “died for” by Jesus. Weak and ungodly, yes, but washed in the peace-giving blood of Jesus.
And if he couldn’t preach enough good news, Paul continues, “While were still sinners, Christ died for us” (v. 8). While you were weak, the death of Jesus became your death in Baptism. You did nothing, have done nothing, to be saved. Jesus takes the weak you and makes you strong and redeemed. Is that not a peaceful message, one that can give you rest even in the worst of times?
And while we were also enemies, Jesus in his great love for you defeated your enemies – devil and sin and death. When “R.I.P.” is said of you at death it will be true. But that peace is also yours right now. Reconciled by Jesus, you now have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, which will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).
Wherever we may be buried – in a military cemetery or the plot next to a country church – whatever may mark our grave – polished marble or weathered wood – if our lives have been marked with the cross, we will most surely rest in peace.
Today, Paul celebrates the end of the world war, and we rest in peace because Jesus ended the world war. “R.I.P.” – Rejoice in the peace of Jesus, dear people of God. Fear not, and rest in His peace.
Amen.