New Year New Opportunities to Exercise Your Faith

Transcription

1 January 2017 New Year New Opportunities to Exercise Your Faith With the beginning of the New Year 2017, many of us will be making resolutions. You know, like these: lose weight, exercise more, read more books, save more, etc. Of course, it is good to improve your physical, intellectual and emotional health. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). And unless the Lord returns in our lifetime, even the healthiest among us will someday have the last second tick over our physical bodies. But what about our spiritual health? What about the exercise needed for strengthening our faith? Just like a good routine of physical exercise, which often includes working out alone and then spending time at the gym, spiritual exercise has two parts to it as well. One is taking time alone with God in study of his Word and in prayer. The other is spending time in his Word with fellow followers of Christ, in study, prayer and worship. As you begin this New Year 2017, pursue those activities that bring health to your body and your soul, for the Lord has blessed you with both of them. And let these words from the Word be your resolution for 2017: I have stored up your Word in my heart. (Psalm 119:11) and I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord! (Psalm 122:1) Inside This Issue Notes from Pastor...1 Activities & Events 3 Articles of Interest.5 Birthdays & Anniversaries.. 7 Calendar. 8

2 Living Savior Lutheran Church is Expanding in 2017 to Make a Living Savior Lutheran Church Better Space for YOU!! 2017 Church Expansion Project Key Elements Sanctuary Complete remodel inspired by original 1908 style inside and out Steeple rebuilt reflecting original prior to 1918 storm Expansion of seating for up to 255 State-of-the-art audio/visual components Narthex/Foyer Summer Porch north entry for guest and handicap parking Friendly gathering place for before and after worship services Nursery with dedicated bathroom Quiet Room to participate in the service with young children Reception/Office Lobby/Waiting Area Guest information Center Covered access to Parking Area on west side of property Efficient work spaces Family Life Center Elevator access to second floor Large Multi-Purpose Meeting/Classroom Youth Room Additional Classroom Space New siding and other design elements to match Sanctuary Westside Parking and Play Area Children s Play Area with fencing and lighting About 100 paved spaces for regular and handicap parking Access from Church Road and Caroline Street Effective lighting for evening event access Expansion Beyond 2017 Recreation/Fellowship Hall on west side of Family Life Center Additional offices and classrooms within current building

3 MARK YOUR CALENDAR January 1 New Year s Day Ladies Lunch Bunch Thursday, January 5 at 11:30am We will be lunching at The Skinny Pig on 105 in Montgomery. Please visit our website to sign-up or sign-up in the Fellowship Hall. Contact Bonnie McCaleb for more information. January 5 LWML January 8 Ladies Lunch Bunch January 8 Blood Drive January 8 Kids' Ice Skating Trip January 13 Youth Lock-In Thursdays at 10:00AM The Thursday morning Ladies' Bible Study is studying Under His Wings: Indecision/Certainty. On Thursday, January 12, we will take a deeper look at Psalm 20 and its relevance to our lives. The lesson is entitled God's Answer for Indecision. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact the church office or Annet Riley (asriley@ymail.com or ) so that we can have materials available for you. Please prayerfully consider joining us as we look to God for answers in our lives. Blood Drive Sunday, January 8 9:00a - 3:00p January 18 Women s Bible Study Need a good New Years Resolution? How about Committing for Life! We are hosting our quarterly blood drive at the Brookshire Brothers parking lot on January 8. Contact Brian Angerhofer at or schedule online at Hope to see you there!

4 Coming Events Ice Skating Sunday, January 8 at 12:15p Cost: $12.50/person All children up to 6th grade are invited to go ice skating. We will be meeting at Living Savior following the late service and carpool to the Woodlands. Parents are encouraged to attend and don t forget to invite a friend! Please RSVP to Cheryl at cgbailes@livingsaviortexas.org by Wednesday, January 4 so we can plan transportation. Flood Ingathering Update During the month of September, our congregation conducted an ingathering of funds for the victims of flooding in southern Louisiana and Mississippi during August, 2016; as described by the Governor of Louisiana as "historic, unpresented flooding event" and declared a state of emergency. Many rivers and waterways, reached record levels, and rainfall exceeded 20 inches in multiple parishes. It is estimated 146,000 homes were damaged in the flooding - thousands were forced into shelters, with more than 11,000 in state-operated shelters. The ingathering, by our congregational members, resulted a total of $11, dollars. $5,000 of this amount was allocated from the congregations Thrivent Financial Choice Dollars which is donated to our congregation by our members that have Thrivent Financial products. These funds are being forwarded to The Lutheran Church - Missouri Church's Disaster Response Partnership which coordinates the Synod's response efforts to disasters. Thank you for your response done in the name of Christ Jesus! PRAY UP MONTGOMERY Friday, January 20 Pray for safety in our country for all large and small events occurring, particularly in our Nation s Capitol with the Presidential Inauguration. Pray for safety for all first responders and military who remain ready everyday. Pray for a smooth transition in our government as an example for the world to see. A Great Big Thanks! Thanks to everyone who helped with the Advent meals. Thanks also to everyone who came to eat and support the groups providing the meals. Everyone was very generous in providing food and supporting the meals.

5 Important Information LWML Meetings All ladies are welcome to join us in "serving the Lord with Gladness on the first Thursday of the month at 10:00am. Dime Stocking Thanks to everyone who participated in the Dime Stocking Project. A total of $66.75 was collected. This money will be used for the mission projects in January. We will be doing the project again next year. If you don't have a stocking, a baggie or a jar will do. In January one dime is added to the stocking or container. In February two dimes are added. Each month the number of dimes increases until twelve dimes are added in December. Watch for a reminder in the bulletin each month. World Relief School Kits We continue to collect for School Kit items! A comprehensive list of items is located on our website. A Note from Helga. Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and New Year! Our first meeting in the New Year will be Thursday, January 5 at 10:00. Items on the agenda will include discussing and deciding on distribution of mission donations. Thank you to the Ladies for taking the time during this busy holiday season to provide two Advent meals. A huge thank you to Annet Riley for organizing and to everyone who helped make Breakfast with Santa a huge success. Breakfast was served to over 200 people and 89 pictures were printed. Everyone was very busy. It was exciting to see so many families having their picture taken with Santa and many of them dressed for the occasion. It really was a family affair. The total amount deposited for the morning was $ Thanks to Thrivent seed money, our expenses were minimal. There has been some interest in tying quilts for World Relief. Please contact me if you would be interested. Going forward in 2017 with the help of God, our heavenly Father! Kroger Community Rewards Twenty LSLC households shopped at Kroger between and and have helped to contribute to a total Community Reward of $80.14! Please visit to sign up for Kroger Community Rewards.

6 MUSIC May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. Romans 15:13 We give thanks and praise to God for sending so many willing servants to Living Savior. The results of that show up in our worship services, fellowship activities, witnessing, giving to others, our daily lives, and being blessed by God s abundance in so many ways! For the Advent and Christmas season, there were church and campus decorating, mid-week suppers, Breakfast with Santa outreach, Parade float, Tours and Open House, Christmas bbq dinner, Children s Program, and midweek and celebratory services on top of our regular worship opportunities. The Angel Tree Outreach to local families was outstanding and heart- warming. Special THANKS to all who helped in any way. Particular thanks to our Altar Guild in preparing the altar area and communion elements and all the extras that happen to make our worship time orderly and proper. The CHOIR went caroling on a cold wet afternoon to three locations where the 14 of us who went were blessed with joy as we shared Christmas in word and song to these wonderful folks. At one location, a non-verbal lady joined in singing all 3 verses of Away in a Manger without missing a word, which made our day! Thank you, CHOIR for your faithfulness, diligence, and talent sharing. On another Sunday afternoon, 4 of our choir members went to the Mission Church that Beautiful Savior is planting in the southeast Woodlands area. They had a community open house called Carols and Creches in the cafetorium of Ford Elementary, where they meet for worship. They asked us to sing carols as they have no choir, and sing we did! This is the same church that gifted us with their music library from which we have already sung several pieces. Please remember Beautiful Savior The Woodlands in your prayers. (Just 8 years ago, Living Savior was in the same place as a start-up congregation.) The original folks from the Beautiful Savior Church on West Road are either at the mission location or are now merging with Our Redeemer on Rittenhouse Road. Please pray for these brothers and sisters in the faith who are gathering together in Word and Sacrament and are few in numbers that they remain united and grow together as churches in mission. For the Christmas Eve Services, we were blessed to hear singing and ringing from our Sunday School children, a special trio of Carson, Ruthie, and Hannah Wieghat, and Tiffany Mattfeld in the 4:00 service. At 6, we were privileged to hear and enjoy Claudia and Paul Downing in solo and duet. At 8:00, Kathy Lamprecht and Helga Schuller sang Silent Night in German, and the Choir lifted their wonderful voices to complete the beautiful candlelight communion service. Thanks to each of you for blessing each of us with your talents! Helga, Velma, Lorna, and Earl are to be thanked for doing the inventory for the music we received and Annet for data entry into the computer! A big job well done! There are some empty seats in our choir, so if you have a heart for singing, please visit with Judy. You will be welcomed into a wonderful fellowship of folks who praise the Lord with their voices and hearts! We look forward to a great year in our walk with God and serving the Lord. Come join us! Choir practice resumes on Wednesday, January 4 th at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME! Tell others!! January Bible Readings Sunday, January 1 Isaiah 63:7-14, Galatians 4:4-7 Matthew 2:13-23 Sunday, January 8 Isaiah 42:1-9, Romans 6:1-11, Matthew 3:13-17 Sunday, January 15 Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Cornith. 1:1-9 John 1:29-42a Saturday, January 22 Isaiah 9:1-4, 1 Corinth. 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-25 Sunday, January 29 Micha 6:1-8, 1 Corinth. 1:18-31 Matthew 5:1-12

7 Miss Church? Have you missed church recently due to scheduling, illness, etc? Did you know that there are worship opportunities available on the radio or on-line? The Lutheran Hour, with wonderful pastors from our synod, is broadcast every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on FM radio. The call letters for this station are KHCB (Keeping Him Close By). During the week, this station has commercial free broadcasting of Christian programs and music. You can obtain their schedule at Another closer to home opportunity is available on our website, Thank you to Larry Wunderlich, videos of Pastor Bailes preaching his latest sermon is available for your viewing. Just simply visit our website, click on the button labeled Media at the bottom right of the home page. The most recent newsletters and sermon videos are posted for you! Now, even if you miss, you can still stay current! If you have any articles, photos or news-worthy items, please send them to Carol Bowen at texas.org. The deadline for the December newsletter is Tuesday, January 24. Happy Birthday!! Gary Mattfeld 1/1 Eric Yeager 1/2 Peggy Heintschel 1/3 Kim Howze 1/4 Kenneth Sample 1/5 Tyler Angerhofer 1/6 Joann Mattfeld 1/6 David Schuette 1/13 Mary Cheatham 1/15 Joice Fangmann 1/17 Brilee Busse 1/18 Daniel McEachern 1/22 Zachary Yeager 1/22 Wayne Hollis 1/25 Darlene Brown 1/26 Earl McCaleb 1/26 Wendy Sanders 1/26 Lori Vahrenkamp 1/26 Leslie Schroeder 1/27 Carol Bartel 1/29 Darrell Schoppa 1/29 Tyler Simonsen 1/30 Lorna Lipsey 1/31 Happy Anniversary! Richard & Shirley Wiese 1/1 Frank & Judy Kutach 1/17 Kenneth & Marget Sample 1/29

8 January 2017 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 Happy New Year 10:00a Worship 2 OFFICE CLOSED 3 OFFICE CLOSED 1:00p Worship Committee Mtg 4 3:45p Pre-Confirm 7:00p Choir 5 10:00a LWML 11:30a Ladies Lunch Bunch - Skinny Pig :00a Music Practice 8 8:00a Worship 9:15a Fellow. 9:30a Sun.Sch. & Bible Class 10:45a Worship 12:15p Conf. Class 1:00p Ice Skating 9 6:00p Girl Scout Troop :00p Breaking 200 Barrier Webinar :45p Pre-Confirm 7:00p Choir 12 10:00a Ladies 13 7:00p Youth Living Word 14 10:00a Music Practice 15 Gideon Sun. 8:00a Worship 9:15a Fellow. 9:30a Sun. Sch.& Bible Class, 10:45a Worship 16 7:00p Breaking 200 Barrier Webinar :45p Pre-Confirm 6:30p Women s 7:00p Choir 19 10:00a Ladies 10:00a Houston Area DCE Cluster Mtg :00a Men s Breakfast & 9:00a Confirm Day Retreat 10:00a Music Practice 22 8:00a Worship 9:15a Fellow. 9:30a Sun. Sch., Bible Class 10:45a Worship 23 6:00p Girl Scout Troop :00p Breaking 200 Barrier Webinar :45p Pre-Confirm 7:00p Choir 26 10:00a Ladies :30a Church Council Mtg 10:00a Music Practice 29 8:00a Worship 9:15a Fellow. 9:30a Sun. Sch., 9:30a Voters Mtg 10:45a Worship 30 7:00p Breaking 200 Barrier Webinar 31 1:00p Worship Committee Mtg