Jesus Died For Our Sins

Transcription

1 Jesus Died For Our Sins APRIL 2019 If Jesus died for your sins, what does his resurrection do for you? During the season of Lent, the focus of the church is on the physical suffering and death of the Lord Jesus. Come Holy Week, we will retrace his steps from entering Jerusalem, to his words and actions in the Temple area, to his last supper in the upper room, to his night of prayer in Gethsemane, to his arrest, torture, and mock-trial under Caiaphas, to his testimony and torture under Pilate, to his crucifixion at the Place of the Skull, to his death marked by earthquakes, darkness, and the raising to life of many saints. The suffering and death of Jesus is gruesome in its violence, annihilates any notion of innate human goodness (a good creature would not rejoice over the death of its loving creator), and is a teacher whose subject is depravity. The annual corporate contemplation of the suffering and death of our Lord leaves us with tears, a pit in our stomach, and the wonderful inability to fully comprehend the love God has for us and for all. And yet we get it: Jesus died for our sins. We can make sense of all of it; we know what it did. We are forgiven. But when it comes to the resurrection of the Son of God, there is a different kind of amazement and mystery. What happened to Jesus on the first day of the week was more than simply coming back to life. Lazarus came back to life. The widow of Nain s son came back to life. Jairus daughter came back to life. These were all raised by Jesus. Even the Old Testament Prophets raised the dead; as did the Lord s Apostles. As miraculous as resuscitation is, this is not what happened to Jesus. When we say that Jesus rose from the dead, or was resurrected, we do not mean that he simply came back to life. It s more than that. Jesus came back to a life that is free from the possibility of death. What would you do if you knew you could never die, suffer, or be tempted to sin at all, in any way? I d do all kinds of incredible stuff! I d jump out of planes, fight bad guys, and explore the depths of the oceans. There s nothing I wouldn t do! But then a loved one gets sick, a friend is critically injured, and you hear reports of mass shootings, the unborn being massacred, and people reaching the depths of the darkest despair where the nothingness of death is preferable to what they have Continued on page seven

2 That s Not a Laughing Matter I was never much of an April Fool s kind of guy. Never wanted to get back at my parents for making me do chores by saran wrapping their toilet seat. Didn t really want to have my friends mad at me for a week in High School for teepeeing their trees or forking their yard. But, I m to that interesting point in life now where I have friends who are married and are now having children, and also have friends who are single, like to have fun, and say they like it like that. So, when I go on social media, I never know what to expect. Am I going to find the film of another family announcing the gender of their new baby? Or, am I going to find posts from friends doing the newest social media challenge, or videos of people making parodies of those challenges? But, one thing that everyone who is at this stage of life has learned, very quickly, is that you don t mix these two ideas. Specifically, you don t make April Fool s baby announcements. It s not a laughing matter and has quickly become the cardinal sin on social media over the past few years. It s just not something you joke about today: you don t know which of your friends are trying to conceive yet who haven t been able to, or even, which of your friends have conceived children but whose children have died before leaving the womb. For other people, and those in other generations, there were things you just didn t joke about either (you know those much better than I do). But, there are things that you just shouldn t say and do because of the impact they can have on your brothers and sisters in Christ, and the witness it gives to those around you outside of the family of God. Now, while our tendency may be just to tell people who misunderstand our jokes to lighten up a little, or that it was just a joke, is that our best response? Is that the best response from those who have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9) to bear the image of Christ, and put Him on display for all who are around us to see and hear through our words and actions? Paul exhorted the Christians in Ephesus, Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:4). Not only though is Paul letting those who bear the name of Christ in Ephesus know what their lives are to look like, what they should and shouldn t do, but he is also doing it in a way that should be easy for them to remember (the words crude joking and thanksgiving sound similar in Greek, unfortunately not in English though). So, what would it look like for us to do what Paul said? What if, instead of doing our hearts desire and following the example of our culture, making crude jokes to see try and elicit the laugh of another or gossiping about someone else to take the attention off of our lives, we did what Paul said, and gave thanks to God for all the things he has provided us with? What if, instead of spending time on coming up with an April Fool s Day prank and pulling it off on someone close to us, we lifted them up in prayer? What if, instead of making assumptions about the mood of our coworkers, we asked them how life is going and how we could possibly help them? What if we gave thanks to God each day this month for the love and grace that He showed to us through the atoning death and triumphant Resurrection of His, our Lord Jesus Christ? What would our lives look like? What impact would that have on our family, church, neighbors, community, or world? I don t know. Let s try it! In Christ, Pastor Andrew

3 Junior Youth Bible Study All 6th-8th graders are invited to Café Diem for Bible study and refreshments! You pick your day: Wednesday mornings, April 3 & 10, 7:55-8:55am Friday afternoons, April 5 & 12, 4:15-5:00pm Friends are always welcome! Simply show up or contact amy@stpaulankeny.org for info. Senior Youth Bible Studies Sunday, April 7, 6:30-9:00pm, all high school youth are invited to Bible Study, games, and unusual snacks at Chris and Amy Schmidt s house. Need directions? Please contact (515) Join us in the Senior Youth Room (last classroom on the right) at church for Bible study every Sunday, 9:30-10:30am. Wednesday night Senior Youth resumes on April 24, 7:30-9:00pm at church. Easter Breakfast The youth will serve Easter Breakfast between our worship services on Sunday, April 21. We will set up on Saturday evening, April 20, at 6:30pm. We will spend time preparing, serving, and cleaning up from the breakfast from 5:45am to around 10:45am on Easter Sunday. All Families of youth in grades 6-12 are asked to help for a couple hours; any time that works best with your worship plans. The most help will be needed very early in the morning right at 5:45 and again at the end as we clean up. Thank you for providing this service to our congregation and for helping us raise funds for the National LCMS Youth Gathering! Stay Up-to-Date - -

4 Walk With Jesus - Please join us as we Walk With Jesus Palm Sunday Afternoon, April 14 -

5 Introducing John Ritchey, Director of Youth Ministry We d like to welcome John Ritchey as our part-time Director of Youth Ministry! Keep reading to learn more about John and his family. John grew up moving all around the United States. Most of the time was spent in Ohio with a bit of California and a side of Illinois. He has two older brothers and parents living in Grand Junction, CO. Mandy grew up in Elgin, IL, with one older sister. They both attended Judson University in Elgin, where John majored in Youth Ministry and Adolescence, and Mandy double-majored in General Math and Science and Biology. John and Mandy were married on February 27, Lisolette (Lilo) arrived on May 24, 2015, born in The Kingdom of Bahrain three months early. She is a little miracle and spent 60 days in NICU. They moved to Des Moines in September of John has been on staff with Young Life for just over eight years. Some of the things that I am most passionate about would be; teaching teens to engage with scripture, breaking down barriers with laughter and sharing unique experiences with teens, John said. When did you know you wanted to do church work/young Life work? In High School, I realized I had a passion for working with youth in a Church and unique environments. Things like, summer camp, ski trips and service projects significantly impacted my faith as a youth and it was during one of those camps that I had a sense that I should go into full-time youth ministry. It wasn t until college that I heard about Young Life, commented John. Any other favorites, things you want the youth and people of St. Paul to know about you? We love to travel, camp, go on road trips and most anything Disney. We like to spend our free time outside or playing board games. I am a huge Star Wars fan and would happily debate the best star wars movie, said John. Mandy is currently in Paramedic school and is loving it. I am so excited for Young Life to be partnering with St. Paul and can t wait to get to know the youth and families at St. Paul. Over the next few weeks, make sure to introduce yourself to John, Mandy and Lilo. We feel extremely blessed to welcome them into the St. Paul family. Kathy Olson

6 Maundy Thursday - April 18 7:00 pm Worship Service Good Friday - April 19 4:00 pm Worship Service 6:00 pm Worship Service 8:00 pm Worship Service Saturday, April 20 5:30 pm Easter Vigil Service Easter Sunday - April 21 6:00 am Easter Sunrise Service 8:00 am Easter Worship Service 10:45 am Easter Worship Service Easter breakfast served by the youth from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. April 6 & 7 - Name Tag Saturday and Sunday April 18 - our first article/ad in the April Ankeny Living Magazine April 23 & 24 - Sponsoring Preschool Moms & Muffins Congrats to the Youth Board and the St. Paul youth on a successful Dodgeball tournament! The Evangelism NoCms had a blast! We are looking at new projects...come join us and get in on the planning! Want to learn more about Evangelism...talk to Joy Wehmas or Pastor Coop. Volunteers Needed at Moulton Elementary on April 27 Volunteers are needed for an exciting day of outreach to the children of Moulton Elementary in Des Moines. Of the 515 elementary students (K-5), a large majority are refugees and immigrants from many countries. There are currently 31 different languages spoken in the school. Volunteers are asked to arrive at 8:00 am to set up. Students will arrive at 9:00 am for a quick breakfast. Volunteers can help with a music/crafts camp and a sports camp led by Pastor Hannemann. At 11:00 am a lunch will be served, followed by clean up. Donations needed by the students include: hygiene items, sweatpants, socks and underwear. You may bring those items with you on April 27. Please see Pastor Aaron Hannemann if you have any questions or need more information.

7 Continued from page one in life. And there is nothing your immortality can do about it. All you can do is continue to watch as death takes those you love and wreck havoc on a world you cannot escape. Our February Stewardship message in the Epistle was about Christian Stewardship being a Spiritual Issue. The following words from Jesus, should provide us with amazing confidence. Everything we have or need has been provided to us by God. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. But Jesus is not like you. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth; he is the Son of God. And he can use the power of his resurrection in ways you and I could not. He can do for you what he himself has done; he can raise you from the dead. And not just a resuscitation, a resurrection to a life that death cannot touch and that is unable to feel the crippling effects of sin. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean for us? St. Paul puts it best when he writes: For as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22). We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his (Romans 6:4-5). Even so, come Lord Jesus! Pastor Duncan Matthew 6:25-34

8 Join the Lady Diners All widows and single ladies of all ages are invited to join the Lady Diners on Tuesday, April 2 at 6:00 p.m. at Yanni s in Ankeny. Don t miss out on the fun, fellowship and great food! Call Betty Berlau ( ) or Carol Wenndt ( ) if you have any questions. Cancer Survivors Group Join us on Monday, April 15 at 5:30 at Perkins in Ankeny. Remember it s free pie night! Contact Mary Stratmann for more information at What s the Plan? Join us in the Family Life Center on Sunday, April 28 at 9:30 a.m. for a Congregational Forum where we will discuss the tentative Long-Term Plan for the church. The Planning Committee has been hard at work and prayer to discern what God s will is for our congregation moving forward as we are rooted in Christ, growing in grace, and reaching the lost. God has been good to our congregation and it will be a blessing to share with you where we believe he wants to take us! LWML Updates Our next LWML meeting will be on Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. We will deliver Easter cards to the residents of Courtyard Estates in Bondurant. We will meet at the facility at 5:30 p.m. For those who want to car pool meet at the church at 5:00 p.m. After visiting with the residents we will go to Brick Street Market & Café for supper and a short business meeting. The LWML Des Moines East Zone Spring Rally will be held on Saturday, April 27 at Peace Lutheran Church in Des Moines. Registration and breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m. followed by the business meeting at 9:15 a.m. Please let Sue Stoll know if you plan on attending. Last day to order Easter lilies is April 3. Order forms are still available on the LWML table in the narthex. Please place your completed forms and payment in Sue Stoll s mailbox. Donations for care kits for the Des Moines Domestic Violence Center are still being accepted. Just place them in the basket by the LWML table. Many thanks to all who have donated so far. The team from Hope Lutheran that prepares the kits were very grateful for all the donations and prayers as they minister to these victims of violence. We welcome all the women of the church to join us in our mission. In Christ, Sue Stoll LWML President

9 Bible Study Opportunities at St. Paul Brothers & Sisters In Christ Bible Study (B.A.S.I.C.) The Bible tells us that all mankind have sinned, fallen away from God and deserve eternal death God s gracious gift through Christ Jesus had the power to undo the damage done through the sin of Adam and Eve. Where sin overflowed, grace overflowed all the more! What a wondrous God we have! Come join us as we learn of God s gift to us! Come join us as we study God s Word on Thursday, April 11 and 25 at 9:00 a.m. in the Youth Room. Homebuilders Homebuilders is a group at St. Paul that provides monthly Bible studies focused on marriage, parenting and families. This year, we have found a great study on marriage from Timothy and Kathy Keller called The Meaning of Marriage. We also plan fun events for families and adults only to help build strong families. We meet on the third Sunday at 4:00 p.m. in member s homes. Lectionary at Lunch Want to hang out with your Pastors on Tuesdays over lunch? From Noon-1:00pm, we will be meeting in the Youth Room, eating lunch and studying the readings for the upcoming weekend services. What s worse than being called on in Bible Class to answer a question? Being called on in Bible Class to answer a question when you ve got a mouth full of lunch! Join in on Tuesdays for Lectionary at Lunch! Men s Fellowship Bible Study Each Thursday at 7:00 p.m. join the men of St. Paul for fellowship and Bible Study. Men s Mission Group That we all die is pretty much agreed upon, it s what takes place two seconds later that makes us wonder. Explore this lively and relevant topic in Death...then what? We meet on Saturday, April 13 at 8 a.m. to have breakfast, Bible study and a discussion of Mission projects. Sunday Morning Senior Youth Bible Study Join us in the Senior Youth Room (last classroom on the right) at church for Bible study every Sunday, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Bible Study Join Pastor Duncan and Pastor Coop as they lead this weekly Bible study between worship services. They meet in the FLC at 9:30 a.m. Thursday Morning Ladies Bible Study In March, the Thursday morning Ladies Bible Study will be studying I Surrender by Donna Pyle. This study examines Psalm 139:23-24, and how God searches our hearts and leads us through anxious thoughts. Join them on April 4 and 18 at 9:00 am in the Youth Room. LUTHERAN LAUGHS

10 *Online Registration Begins on April 1*

11 Children Singing Palm Sunday The children have begun preparing two songs for Palm Sunday, April 14. The lyrics of both songs are provided for practice at home. The children will get to process through the church singing and waving their palms before they assemble up front for their second song. This will happen at the very beginning of both the 8:00 and 10:45 am services, and children are welcome to sing at one or both services of your family s choice! Please have your child meet in the Fellowship Hall five minutes before the services begin that morning. After singing, children may go find their parents for the remainder of the service. We are looking forward to the children sharing their voices in praise of the Lord! Chancel Choir & Special Music As we all reflect and remember the price Jesus has paid for each and every one of us, we begin preparing special music for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. We are thankful for those who have shared and are planning to share their musical gifts during Lent. A St. Paul member vocal quartet will be sharing their voices on Maundy Thursday, and the Chancel Choir will be singing on Good Friday as well as Easter morning. We will be singing Hallelujah Chorus from Handel s Messiah on Easter at 8 and 10:45 services. We ve also been blessed with some special guest musicians joining us Easter morning. We praise God for all that He has done to help further the music ministry at St. Paul, and give thanks for His gift of music in our lives! Arkay Brown, Music Director Preschool Enrollment Underway Preschool registration for the next school year has been open since January 10. We still have a couple openings in most of the classes. Thanks to your generosity we are able to enroll more children with the additional classroom space once the new wall is put in place in the Fellowship Hall. Please contact Alissa McLellan if you need additional information or have any questions. Thank you for supporting St. Paul Preschool! Below is the class schedule for this fall. 3-Year-Old Program Monday/Wednesday 8:30-11:00 a.m. Tuesday/Thursay 8:30-11:00 a.m. 4-Year-Old Program Monday/Wednesday/Friday 8:30-11:0 a.m. Monday thru Thursday 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. PreK Program Monday thru Friday 11:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m. Preschool registration for the school year is now open. Please share our preschool information with your friends and neighbors. Contact Alissa McLellan for more information or to set up a tour at preschool@stpaulankeny.org.

12 February 2019 Minutes St. Paul Council Meeting Attendance: Pr. Duncan McLellan, Pr. Andrew Coop, DCE Amy Schmidt, Tim Krehbiel, Ray Marvin, Tom Moretti, Jason Buls, Cordell Wabeke, Cari Poock, Libby Wielenga, and Dan Drefke. Meeting was called to Order by Tim Krehbiel on February 25 at 6:36 pm. Pr. Andrew gave the Opening Devotion on 1 Corinthians 13, Paul s chapter on God s love. How Have We Been Blessed? Pr. Duncan talked about PALS (Post Seminary Applied Learning and Support) and the encouragement he found in the desire that new pastors in IDW have for their congregations, and providing for and caring for those whom God has called them to serve. Libby explained how excited she was about the great preschool registration for next year that has happened, and the opportunity that we will have to share Christ with these students and families next year. Tim felt blessed based on the situation that Dave Reddel ed the Council on, concerning the care and support for a homeless man that took place here at our church two Sundays ago. Young Life Presentation - Dave Goy, Regional Director of Young Life Heartland Dave spoke concerning the mission of Young Life: to reach those whom the local church has not been able to reach, by earning the right to be heard, and going to the youth of the community where they are. He also explained what the collaboration between Young Life and St. Paul would look like: John Ritchey, Young Life Greater Des Moines Area Director, would continue to work full-time for Young Life but he would spend of those 15 hours here for St. Paul. We would enter into a Covenant, not a contract, with Young Life, which will be reviewed every 3 months, 6 months, or yearly. The compensation from St. Paul would go to Young Life but go towards his full-time compensation package with Young Life. The exact time each week spent strictly for St. Paul and Young Life would be flexible. He also talked about the difficulty today of finding talent and those who have drive to work in God s Mission Field, so the value of working with John Ritchey would be great. If Council Members have questions they can contact Dave Goy directly at dave@ylheartland.com. Secretary s Report Minutes from the January 2019 Council Meeting were found on Dropbox, submitted by Secretary Dave Reddel. Motion: Ray Marvin and Second: Jason Buls. Motion Carried. Board Reports Cordell reported that Board of Education did not meet yet, but will be meeting this coming week. Jason reported from Finance that he has found two new counters. Beginning this Lent offerings will not be counted after service, but will be counted on a weekly basis, with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Dan reported that Property did not meet this past month. Committee will be finalizing day of Spring cleaning. Many of the items being fixed at this time are reactionary. Preventatively, they will be looking to camera the storm sewer under the parking lot to see if or how many blockages are present. Cari reported that Youth met via and are preparing for the Dodgeball Tournament on Sunday, March 3. A net will be put up to protect the viewers. Libby reported that Preschool met on Sunday with the focus of preparing for the Preschool Family Fun Night on Friday, March 1. New hires will be forthcoming this Spring/Summer for preschool with the additional classes for next year. Other Board reports were found in Dropbox. Motion: Jason Buls and Second: Tom Moretti. Motion Carried. Staff Reports Pr. Duncan reported that there will be two services on Ash Wednesday this year, adding the imposition of ashes to the Wednesday morning Divine Service Chapel. Cari reported that the Lenten cross, on which names of those who we want to invite to Good Friday services is complete. He will also begin hold a Youth Bible Study on Friday afternoons. Pr. Andrew reported he thought things are going well according to the New Mission Statement. People continue to value time in God s Word. He reported that the Congregational Forum on February 10 went fine, and that it was interesting that less people came to that than to a normal Sunday Morning Bible Class. Work with the Evangelism Board and Preschool went well with Drive Thru Coffee and the Parent and Student chapel service during National Lutheran Schools Week. He thanked everyone for coming out to Chick-fil-A night last Monday. DCE Amy reported that Junior Youth Trip to Camp Okiboji went well; the devotions centered around the life of David. February 17 the Sunday School put together care packages for IOWAY. Sunday School is set to go for Spring Quarter. She will also be leading a Wednesday Bible Study before school for Ankeny students. Youth are

13 looking to have a retreat coming up this spring. The Walk with Jesus Event will be taking place on April 14. Amy stated that the youth may not being doing the Easter breakfast next year. Cordell stated he thought it could be a good outreach opportunity. Motion: Dan Drefke and Second: Libby Wielenga. Motion Carried. Treasurer s Report Amanda s Report was found in Dropbox. Motion: Cari Poock and Second: Ray Marvin. Motion Carried. Elders Report Official Acts (Baptism, Confirmation, Wedding, Funeral, Transferred, Profession of Faith): Baptized: Connor Pederson, January 27, 2019, Harrison Heflebower, January 27, 2019 Transferred in: Brittney Hindman, from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Fort Dodge, IA Kathleen McCombs, from Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Polk City Taylor McCombs, from Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Polk City Jeffrey Mohr, from Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, West Des Moines Pam Witt, from Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Polk City Profession of Faith: Edward & Barbara Pittenger, Stephen & Owen Hindman, Ryan & Kameryn Rutter Tom Moretti reported for Larry Robinson, that while the Elders did not meet this past month the Elders continue to make contact with the people in their cottages, and reach out to their inactives. Motion: Jason Buls and Second: Dan Drefke. Motion Carried. Old Business Constitution Committee Update- Tim reported that Pr. Duncan has put forward a Ministry Structure Revision Process. Pr. Duncan explained that this is going to be a long process that has already begun with the Book Report groups. The next step will be going to interview churches smaller, the same, and larger than our congregation to see what their ministry structure is like, and what is working well or not so well for them. The findings of this group would then be brought to the Voters. Again, it will likely be a two year process. Youth Position - John has begun the process of becoming a member of St. Paul along with his wife, Mandy. Cari stated her concern that what Dave Goy explained concerning John Ritchey s position was not what was approved by the voters, and so something that has to be explained to the voters. Cordell voiced that Dave Goy s presentation was beneficial to him, explained any questions he had, and he thought that the way that the Covenant was discussed would be very beneficial for St. Paul. A short special voters meeting will be called on March 10, with updates concerning the compensation and wording of the Job Description for the Director of Youth Ministry. Special Congregational Forums - Tim reported that we had our first Special Congregational Forum on February 10th concerning Worship and Bible Study Opportunities. The next will be on April 28 concerning the Long Term Plan from the Planning Committee. New Business Planning Committee- Ray reported that the Planning Committee has met a few times, and will meet one more time this week. Communications to Congregation for Bad Weather- Amy stated that St. Paul has an inclement weather in place on Dropbox. Motion: Jason Buls and Second: Ray Marvin. Motion Carried. Closing Motion to Adjourn: Jason Buls and Second: Ray Marvin. Motion Carried. Meeting adjourned with the Lord s Prayer at 8:48 pm. Respectfully submitted, Pastor Andrew Coop

14 St. Paul Lutheran Church Board of Elders Board of Elders Meeting March 2019 Official Acts (baptism, confirmation, wedding, funeral): Funeral: Rowene Kracht, February 6, 2019 To be received, transferred or released in March 2019: Profession of Faith: Bryan Knox Average worship Attendance in February: 2019: : 526 Average Worship Attendance YTD through February: 2019: : 459 Total Baptized and Confirmed members: Baptized 797 Confirmed 632 Family Units 313