PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP:

Transcription

1 Lost Life for Jesus Sake 13 th Sunday after Pentecost September 2 & 3, 2017

2 Ebenezer Lutheran Church Port Hudson The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 9100 Highway YY Leslie, Missouri Parsonage Church Rev. William F. Zastrow, Pastor Mary Sprick, Secretary ebenezerlutheranchurch.wordpress.com AS WE GATHER: How often might you feel lost lost among the confusion and details and busyness of life? When someone is lost, they forget or do not know where they should be going. When someone loses money, their health, or a loved one to death, everything from anger to despair to fear take over, and we are tempted to think there is no hope. That s why Jesus statement whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it sounds so strange, so backward. We lose our life by daily contrition and repentance as the old Adam is drowned. We find ourselves given the gift of eternal life as the new man daily arises, and we escape death forever! PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP: Gracious God and Father, You have called us and all people to turn away from the darkness of sin, to repent and turn to Your invitation of life. Grant that we turn to You, take up our cross, and follow Christ every step into our future days to Your glorious promised inheritance; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. THE ORDER OF WORSHIP Divine Service I, page 136 HYMNS 169, 379, 238, 239, 241 2

3 OUR MISSION AND MINISTRY Funeral services for Wilma Helling, were held this past Wednesday afternoon at our church. Wilma died in faith Saturday, August 26. Burial was at our church cemetery. Our heartfelt sympathy to her large family, especially to her daughters, Roxanne, Sandy and Sharon. We rejoice with Kelsey and Andrew Schroeder in the birth of their son, Cooper Charles. Cooper was born on Tuesday, August 29. Mother and son are doing well. God bless this family, Andrew, Kelsey, Carson and Cooper, as they grow as a family and in faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Another update on the Harvey Hurricane from our Synodical President, Matt Harrison Be merciful as your father in heaven is merciful (Luke 6:36). It s time to come to the aid of our LCMS friends in Texas. Hurricane Harvey is eerily similar to Katrina. The LCMS responds to disasters constantly. Since Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, we ve trained 15,000 LCMS people as early responders. Every single district has a disaster coordinator. Together we have amazing capacity to help. When we respond, we come alongside our LCMS districts, congregations and church workers as they lead the effort in reaching out to their suffering communities. We have LCMS congregations in 161 communities hit by this storm! 3

4 We ve done this before. We ve responded to hurricane after hurricane. We ve been on site after tornados, floods and fires. The LCMS, strengthening our people in New Orleans, rebuilt 6,000 homes after Katrina. The mayor of that city said that without the Lutherans, East New Orleans would not be rebuilt even today. We need your help to do it again. And when you support this work, you know it s going to be done in the clear confession and name of Jesus Christ, Savior of the World. We are launching a major response to Harvey, and here s how you can help. Continue to pray. Pray unceasingly that Christ s mercy and love are made known to the suffering. Pray for those who are going to share that love and mercy. Pray for our disaster response teams and our leaders, that they make wise decisions. Give. Give as generously as you can, as the Lord allows. If you own a smart phone you can send a text message to , and type LCMSHARVEY in the message field. After sending, you ll receive a link via return text to a phone-friendly, secure donation form. Volunteer. Tell others in your congregation that our Synod is going to work in Texas, and invite them to join you in this response. Forward this to others. Encourage them that there is hope, because Christ lives in them (Galatians 2:20), just as He lives in you. Specific volunteer opportunities will be communicated in the days 4

5 ahead, and you can sign up to volunteer at lcms.org/harvey. Learn more, follow the story, ask questions. Follow our Synod s response online at lcms.org/harvey, on the Synod s social-media outlets, and in our official publications. You can call the Church Information Center at to speak with one of our representatives who will help answer any questions you may have. Please follow this story, because the road to recovery is going to be a long one. I am reminded of what one person exclaimed when we were in this kind of situation before, as he saw the LCMS in action: Thank God! The Lutherans are here! Will you join with others, with me, in helping people near the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana? I pray you will. I know you can. Sub Cruce (Under the Cross), Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison President P.S. Because of the severity of this disaster, you may likely also receive an emergency appeal for donations in the mail. This effort is that important. How you choose to respond, whether to this message or to the letter, is entirely your choice. Please help, as the Lord allows. 5

6 In our Prayers We remember the many people afflicted with the waters of Hurricane Harvey and the rescue and service people working with the people in the path of destruction. We also remember Chris Anderson who is in New Haven Care Center and Gail Meyer who is in Grandview in Washington. Ebenezer Ladies Aid would like you to join us for lunch on this coming Friday, September 8 th at Ponderosa in Washington. The meeting will start at 11:30 AM. Our special guests will be Rev. Rudy and Dorothy Schaser. Please see the poster on the bulletin board at the back of Church. It s Thrivent Fish Fry, BBQ & Food Drive Time Again!!! When: Friday, September 8 th Where: Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 3825 Boeuf Lutheran Rd., New Haven, MO Time: 5:00 PM -??? Hosted By: Your Thrivent Representatives, Kurt and Mark Koch Fish, BBQ pulled pork, hot dogs, tableware and drinks will be provided. Please bring a dish to share and donations for the New Haven Food Pantry. Items they are low on include: Coffee, laundry detergent, paper towels, shampoo, canned meats, canned chili with beans, gravy mixes/broth, mayonnaise, syrup, jelly and sugar, but any nonperishable items will be very much appreciated. Please RSVP to kurt.koch@thrivent.com mark.koch@thrivent.com or by calling

7 by Tuesday, September 5 th. Feel free to bring friends and relatives! Kurt and Mark hope to see you there! There is a flyer on the bulletin board at the back of Church. Thrivent Sunday School Rally Dinner Please come to our Sunday School Rally Dinner after Church next Sunday, September 10 th. Please bring a dish to share. Chili will be provided by Thrivent Financial. Homemade Cookie Sale Our Mission Society will have a Homemade Cookie Sale on September 17 th after the Sunday Church service. Proceeds will benefit the Christian Friends of New Americans, St. Louis. This LCMS recognized service organization holds citizenship classes, English as a second language classes, after school tutoring and homework help, and employment training for refugees who have settled in St. Louis. All classes are accompanied by devotions led by Pastors, Vicars, Sem students and Deaconesses. They also provide scholarship assistance, qualified counseling and medical screenings. Currently, two women s Bible study groups from this ministry are meeting in homes. You can read more at cfna-stl.org. Rev. Stanis Stanley who recently led our Sunday worship service is working with this organization. Cookies will be $4.00 per dozen. A Note of Appreciation A Big Thank You to the Beaufort/Leslie Fire Department who gave 2 fire extinguishers to our Church. These will replace the worn out ones here at Church. 7

8 Those Serving Today Organist Saturday Organist Sunday Head Usher Saturday Head Usher Sunday Altar Guild Bell Ringer Laura Nichols Ruth Marschel Tracey Bade Wilbert Baumann Kathy Scheer and Karen Scheer Corey Adams Offerings and Attendance August 26 & 27, 2017 Weekly Contributions $1, Plate Sunday School Recycle Funds Mo Synod Disaster Relief Donation $1, Attendance: Saturday Worship 19 Sunday Worship 57 Sunday School Attendance: Children 8 Adults 19 This Week at Ebenezer Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Labor Day Elders Meeting 7:00 PM Confirmation 6:30 PM Bible Study 10:00 AM Ladies Aid Luncheon 11:30 AM Worship 5:00 PM 8

9 From Thrivent Financial Hurricane Harvey, the most powerful Hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years has left a trail of destruction. Hundreds of thousands of people are affected, tens of thousands of homes are damaged or destroyed, and the emotional toll is immeasurable. When tragic events like this occur, Thrivent Financial members want to know how they can help. As a membership organization of Christians committed to guiding members to be wise with money and live generously, Thrivent is supporting your generosity in the following ways: $500,000 match on personal donations* Thrivent will match up to $500,000 in personal donations made online through Thrivent.com to specific disaster relief organizations responding to Hurricane Harvey. The dollar-for-dollar match is open to Thrivent members and will lead to a total combined impact of up to $1 million. For more details and to see the list of organizations included in the match, visit the Disaster Response page on Thrivent.com. Get involved in grassroots disaster relief by leading a Thrivent Action Team Get your friends, family and coworkers to band together to help raise funds for those affected by Hurricane Harvey by forming a Thrivent Action Team. Use promo code TX Hurricane, and you ll receive your Thrivent Action Kit containing T-shirts, seed money and promotional materials 5 to 7 business days after approval. Get started. Direct Choice Dollars or make a personal donation Thrivent Choice lets eligible members recommend where Thrivent distributes some of its charitable outreach funding. If you have Choice Dollars available to direct, please consider selecting enrolled organizations helping in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Learn more. You have the opportunity to impact your community right here, right now! If you have any questions, please contact the Member Connection Center at and say Thrivent Choice at the prompt or mail@thrivent.com.