Parish of St. John and Trinity Lutheran Church October 2017

Transcription

1 Parish of St. John and Trinity Lutheran Church October 2017 St. John and Trinity Lutheran Parish, Worship Times: Trinity nd Street NW, [P.O. Box 99] St. John Hillsboro, ND Sunday School: St. John stjohnhillsboro.com facebook.com/stjohnhillsboro Trinity Rev. Jacob Swenson, Pastor trinitystjohn@outlook.com Faith Swenson, Deaconess deaconess.swenson@gmail.com Our Mission Statement: Growing Faith by Sharing God s Word By Sharing God s Word, we: St. John Lutheran Church, nd St NW Hillsboro, ND Ruth Johnson, Secretary secretarystj@rrv.net Trinitystjohn.com Trinity Lutheran Church, th St NE Hope, ND Show God s love in our words and actions, Help others as Christ helps us, Accept responsibility in taking the Gospel into the world, Reach out to people in need, Inspire and teach our youth the truth of God s Word, Nurture a personal relationship with Christ through God s Word and worship, and, Give people the hope of the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

2 October 2017 The first and chief article is this: 1 Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification (Romans 4:24 25). 2 He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), and God has laid upon Him the iniquities of us all (Isaiah 53:6). 3 All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works or merits, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood (Romans 3:23 25). 4 This is necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law, or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us. As St. Paul says: For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:28) That He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. [Romans 3:26] 5 Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls [Mark 13:31]. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) And with His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) Upon this article everything that we teach and practice depends, in opposition to the pope, the devil, and the whole world. Therefore, we must be certain and not doubt this doctrine. Otherwise, all is lost, and the pope, the devil, and all adversaries win the victory and the right over us. The words above were written by Martin Luther in 1537 as part of (what he thought to be) his last will and testament. Nearly thirteen years after Luther posted the 95 Theses, the anniversary we re celebrating this year, the other Lutheran reformers wrote and presented the emperor with the Augsburg Confession. This document laid out for the emperor and, indeed, the whole Church, just what the Lutherans confess - nothing different from what the Scriptures and the holy Church fathers have said all along. When the Lutherans submitted the AC, they also included an invitation for the Church to hold a council - a gathering of the entire church on earth - so that all people could see that the Lutherans were not heretics. That invitation was rejected. Over the next few years, though, talk of a council came up again. Maybe it would be a good idea. The 1530s dragged on and, despite promises from both the pope and emperor, nothing happened. That is, until In June, 1536, Pope Paul III issued the call for a council to be held the following May. For the better part of the next year, the Lutherans debated whether attending this council would be a good idea. In his call for the council, Pope Paul named this as the reason, the utter extirpation of the poisonous, pestilential Lutheran heresy. That would have, very likely, included the imprisonment or execution of the Lutherans - in particular, Luther, who was an outlaw. The Lutherans were divided on the issue, apart from Luther. For his part, he was fully committed to his confession of faith - even if it meant dying for it. He would attend the council. His eager attitude emboldened his comrades, and Luther was directed to draft a confession of what he taught and preached to be presented at the council should there actually be one. Luther did write, and what he wrote is called, The Smalcald Articles, after the name of the place it was written. At its conclusion, it featured the signatures of 44 pastors and professors - more than the Augsburg Confession.

3 At the center of the document, Luther laid out in no uncertain terms what our confession is, and what he was willing to die for: All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works or merits, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood. That is, all men are equally sinners, both by birth and action. And, just as all are sinners, all men are freely justified apart from works, by God s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, in His death on the cross for our sins. This is the Lutheran faith. This is our faith. It s been 500 years since Luther posted the 95 Theses, and we re still here. Or, rather, by the grace of God and through the work of His Holy Spirit, the Good News of Jesus Christ continues to be spread throughout the world. From one small German monk, the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ has once again gone out into all the world, even to us. Soli Deo Gloria. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Cor. 1:20-25) Mercy Musings: Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice (LSB 556) As we learn about the reformation throughout our life and learn about Martin Luther s struggle with sin, we can understand where this hymn comes from. We see in autobiographical form his torment against the devil, the world, and his sinful nature (vs. 2-3). Fast bound in Satan s chains I lay; Death brooded darkly o er me. Sin was my torment night and day; In sin my mother bore me. But daily deeper still I fell; My life became a living hell, So firmly sin possessed me. (Vs. 2) My own good works all came to naught, No grace or merit gaining; Free will against God s judgment fought, Dead to all good remaining. My fears increased till sheer despair Left only death to be my share; The pangs of hell I suffered. (Vs. 3) These verses, so dark and despairing, really show the state of Luther s and our own souls without faith. However, Luther brings in the big, important word: but But God had seen my wretched state Effort the world s foundation, And mindful of His mercies great, He planned for my salvation. He turned to me a father s heart; He did not choose the easy part But gave His dearest treasure. (Vs. 4) The Son obeyed His Father s will Was born of virgin mother; And God s good pleasure to fulfill, He came to be my brother. His royal pow r disguised He bore; A servant s form, like mine, He wore To lead the devil captive. (Vs. 6)

4 The hymn continues with Christ speaking words of comfort to us, His children. As in all Luther hymns, there is so much comfort for us as we face the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. That comfort is him. All this good news gives us so much joy! And together we can, one and all, rejoice as the first verse states: Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice, With exultation springing, And with united heart and voice And holy rapture singing, Proclaim the wonders God has done, How His right arm the vict ry won. What price our ransom cost Him! (Vs. 1) THANK YOU We would like to give a big thanks to all those who donated to or worked at the Mission Festival Dinner. All the money raised at the dinner is donated to missions with the LWML paying the expenses. That is why we ask for donations of items, money and time. May God bless these dollars as they support themissionsof ourdistrict and synod. The Mission Dinner Committee We re kicking off the fall for KIC and LYF with a bonfire at the parsonage. Families are welcome too! Come for s mores and fellowship with some fun activities Sunday, October 1 at 6 PM. The address for the parsonage is 322 3rd Ave. SE This year KIC (grades 3-6) will be every 2nd Sunday of the month after church and LYF (grades 7-12) will be every 3rd Sunday after church. First meetings will be KIC: October 8; LYF: October 15. See you there! Wanting a way to celebrate the reformation? Come to Reformation Hymn Festval on Sunday, October 29 at 4 p.m. at St. John. Our organists and other musicians will be leading the congregation in hymnsof the reformation as wellas somereadings interspersed by Pastor Swemspm amd Deietemeyer (Mayville s Pastor). It s time to make joyful noises! Choir rehearsal starts for reformation/allsaints season on Wednesday, October 4 at 7 p.m. We ll practice for around a half hour every Wednesday of October. Invite as many people as you can. Any and all are welcome to join!

5 1 2 * Jim & Kay Andre Gary Pedersen *Ken &Sharon Kroeplin 8 9 *Joel and Roxy Fuglestad 3 Andrea Votava 4 James Johnson 5 Alex Nelson Nicole Haffely 6 Violet Hamre 7 Jacob Aasen Charlene Ludwig Rylan Votava Tanya Buethner *Marlen & Deb Kroeplin Stacey Riemer Isaac Steinke 20 Chad Elbert Jesse Fulgium 25 * Melissa and Jeff Stuart Olivia Sand 26 Kyle Haffely Roxy Fuglestad Dean McDonald **Greeters *Anniversaries

6 pm LWML at Hope Communion PM NH Devos 7:30 PM Board of Education 6pm Confirmation :15 am Coffee 9:30 am LWML 15 7 pm CFC 16 MOW 17 MOW 18 MOW 2 PM NH Devos 8 pm Youth Board 6pm Confirmation 19 MOW 20 MOW Communion PM NH Devos 6pm Confirmation LWML Fall Rally at Beautiful Savior, Fargo 29 Communion 30 31

7 Parish of St. John and Trinity Lutheran Church PO Box 99 Hillsboro, ND Church Staff Pastor: Rev. Jacob Swenson Deaconess: Faith Swenson Parish Secretary: Ruth Johnson Website: stjohnhillsboro.com and facebook.com/stjohnhillsboro