Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church

Transcription

1 December 2017 Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church The Faith Lutheran Newsletter is a monthly publication of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Volume 78 Issue 12 Weekly Schedule: & Adult Bible Study 8:15 am D & T Classes Sundays 11:00am 5th & 7th grade Thursday Men s Bible Study 6:00am Special Activities: Board of Ed. December Board of Elders December Church Council December 7:30pm Lutheran Hour 7 a.m. Sunday KILJ FM KOKX :30 a.m. From Pastor Scudder s Desk Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. (Ps. 50:2) Yes, it is December already! With December certainly come thoughts of Christmas. Are you ready for the onslaught of holiday special events? The visits from family? It s a good thing that you have some time to prepare. And, as we prepare to celebrate our Savior s birth we are given a season of preparation called Advent. The word Advent means coming. The Lord is coming. The advent of judgment is coming: the Lord is coming to judge. Psalm 50 declares that He s coming with tempest and devouring fire, to judge His people with justice and righteousness. That ought to ring a bell: it sounds an awful lot like Sinai (Ex. 19:18-19), where the Lord declared His law to Moses. Moses read it to the people, and the people responded, All the words which the Lord has said we will do. Moses took the blood of a sacrifice and sprinkled on the people, and the covenant between God and Israel was sealed. The rest of the Old Testament records how terribly the Israelites broke the covenant and were judged, eventually carried off to captivity. We are made of the same sinful flesh that they were. In other words, the Lord s proclamation that He is coming to judge with righteousness and justice isn t a comforting thing, for we deserve His condemnation. Thanks be to God that the Psalm doesn t stop with this message, though, for it has two more advents to proclaim. For one, the Lord calls for a sacrifice of praise from the people, not a sacrifice of blood; and covenants are sealed by the shedding of blood. If the people do not make that sacrifice, it means that the Lord is making the Sacrifice instead. This is the reason for Jesus advent at Christmas: He has come to shed His blood for the sins of the world. Because of His sacrifice, God, the righteous Judge, declares you forgiven and righteous. But where is this forgiveness between Jesus advent in Bethlehem and His advent on the Last Day. Psalm 50:2 points to Zion. Zion is wherever God is present to save His people. It was in the temple in the Old Testament. Today, it s His church, wherever His Word is proclaimed and His Sacraments given. The Lord comes in this advent of grace until the Last Day, speaking of forgiveness, cleansing of sin, and giving you the Blood of the new covenant. You will find the same theme in Hebrews 12:18-24: For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them any more... But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. And this is your reason to rejoice: the Lord is indeed coming to judge. But before He does, He has come meekly to die in your place. And until He comes back, He comes with gifts for you (Yes! Christmas every day!) Forgiveness, Life, & Salvation yours in His Word and Sacraments. Merry Christmas! The Lord be with you!... Amen. Pastor Scudder

2 6 7. Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church Page 2 December Duties: Elders Marty George Dana Kuster Altar Guild Claudia Eldridge Acolytes 12/3 Isaac Lehman 12/10 Brody McCall 12/17 Carson Andreasen 12/24 Katie Bacher 12/31 Isaac Lehman Ushers Gregg Hall Cal Bloebaum David Towne Kirk Hillman Coffee Servers SonShine Academy News Son Shine is getting ready for Christmas. This year, because we have more children, we will be having two children s programs. Both 3 year old will together have their program, Sunday, December 17 at 3:00pm. The PreK class with our children will have their program, Sunday, December 17 at 6:30pm. Son Shine will be on Christmas break from December 21-January 3. Please continue to keep the children of Son Shine and their families in you prayers. Don t forget, HyVee gift cards make wonderful stocking stuffers! You can get your Christmas shopping done and support Son Shine also! Thank you for you continued support of the SonShine script program. When you purchase the Hy Vee Gift Cards & Certificates, the preschool will receive 10% for the shopping cards, & 15% for the certificates. Someone from the preschool board will be selling the cards and certificates after church, each Sunday, or you can stop in at the office Monday thru Thursday 8:00 am Noon. 12/3 12/10 12/17 12/24 12/31 A big THANK YOU to all members who served as organists, ushers, and coffee servers last month. This is just another part of STEWARDSHIP in action at Faith. Serving Next Month Elders Jeremy Andreasen??? Altar Guild Claudia Eldridge Acolytes 1/7 Brody Mc Call 1/14 Carson Andreasen 1/21 Katie Bacher 1/28 Isaac Lehman Please include in your prayers this month December 12/3 Isaac Johnson son of Cory & Sarah Addison Schroeder daughter of Jacob & Sheldon 12/10 Autumn Rains daughter of Melissa & James Kaden McDonnell son of Shannon & Jason 12/17 Emmy Klein daughter of Jared & Marianne 12/24 Grace Calhoun daughter of Elizabeth & Chad 12/31 Cole Kruse son of Jake & Jennifer Each week there will be a family listed in the bulletin these are Son Shine families, please add them to your prayer list. Youth News (Grades 6-12) Youth will be filling candy sacks for the Christmas Program on Sunday, December 17 during Sunday school. Also we will be passing out the candy sack after the Christmas program on Sunday Night.. Any one able to help do this please let Sue know. Thank you

3 Volume 8 Issue 12 Page 3 DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 1 Mary Raymer 4 Hannah George 5 Elsie Bacher 6 Anna Marie Baxter 6 Verna Ungerman 8 Anita Hillman 9 Stan Stigge 11 Conan Guldberg 14 Whitney Vantiger 17 Dennis Janssen 17 Todd Mabeus 19 Micah Lange 19 Taylor Sammons 21 Alan Raymer 24 Matt Raymer 29 Courtney Rae Andreasen 29 Christopher Raymer LWML NEWS LWML will be doing the cookie walk this year on December 2nd. Please have all donations here by Friday, December 1. Reminder Mite Box Sunday is the last Sunday of the Month. The Birthday Song A glad and Happy Birthday, we wish to you our friends. May God our heavenly Father, a birthday blessing send. A happy, happy birthday, all beautiful with love. And bright with many blessings, from our dear Lord above. *NEW SELECTION* Remember to check out the Christian card selection in the hallway. Cards for every occasion. Birthday, get well anniversary, holidays, and much more. Only $.50 per card. Question: Where does a week come from? For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it (Exodus 20:11) This question is very important! Let s look at some other time references (days, months, and years) first. A day is one rotation of the earth on its axis. A month ultimately comes from one revolution of the moon around the earth. A year comes from one revolution of the earth around the sun. A week (7days) has nothing to do with any astronomical time reference. So where does a week come from? A week comes from the Bible, because God created in 6 days and He rested on the seventh day. God being God, didn t need to rest. He did that for our benefit. In Exodus 20:11, God explains that He created in 6 days and rested for one day as a basis for our work week. This is why everyone works according to this pattern. Moses and the Israelites worked for 6 days and then rested on the seventh day (called the Sabbath ). Exodus 31:17 is another confirmation that God created in six normal days and not over the millions and billions of years taught in the secular media and education sys-tem. God s Word can be trusted over any of these false myths that the earth is millions of years old. Next months question: What are black holes? Remember kids, if you have a question about God, the Bible, Church, please write it down and place it in Pastor Scudder s mailbox, or it to him at pastorscuddermr@gmail.com Bible References: Colossians 1:6, 1:16, Nehemiah 9:6, Revelation 21:1

4 Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church Page 4 Saturday, December 2 8:00 A.M. Noon Donations of cookies, candies, & Christmas treats are appreciated Items should be dropped off at the church kitchen by Friday, December 1 st, 5:00 P.M. Christmas program Sunday December 17 at 6:30pm. This year will be a combination of Preschool and joining together in praising the Lord. Come support the children and celebrate Jesus birth. Proceeds Used to Furnish Youth Room Sponsored by the L.W.M.L. WOW ornament exchange December 11 Kuster s Special Service Times Wednesday Night Advent Vespers at December 6 December 13 December 20 Christmas program December 17 3 year old Christmas program 3:00pm & Preschool Christmas program 6:30pm Christmas Eve December 24 Lessons and Carols Candle Light 11:00pm Christmas Day December 25 9:00am Blood Drive Monday, December 11 3:00-6:00pm Any question please contact Libby or To schedule an appointment go online at Christmas Decorating Committee Families Speidel s Don Spenner Stark s Stigge Towne Would like to have decorations up by December 3 rd Decorations should be taken down by January 7 th

5 December 2017 Faith Lutheran Church Reverend Michael R. Scudder 910 East Mapleleaf Drive Mount Pleasant, IA Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 3 8:15 am 4 Board of Ed :00am Men s Bible Study Elders 1 2 Cookie Walk 8-noon :15 am Choir Sings 11 Son Shine Board Meeting 1:00pm Blood Drive 3:00-6:00pm 12 Church Council 7:30pm Men s Bible Study 6:00am Kuster 6:30pm 17 3:00pm 3yr old preschool Christmas Program 6:30 Children s Christmas Program Newsletter Items Due / Cantata 7pm Lessons & Carols 11pm Candlelight Service 25 Christmas Day 9am Choir Sings / Mite Box Sunday