The Eagle April If all fall away, I never will! St. John Lutheran Church & Preschool 122 Cheyenne Mesa Hamilton, TX 76531

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1 St. John Lutheran Church & Preschool 122 Cheyenne Mesa Hamilton, TX Phone: (254) Preschool (254) Fax: (254) Pastor Secretary Preschool Website: May we continue to be used by God and share the Gospel with A Heart for Hamilton County and the World!! If all fall away, I never will! These are the words of Peter after Jesus told his disciples, right before they went to the Garden of Gethsemane, that all of them would fall away. Peter was certainly the bold disciple who always had something to say. He reminds me of a situation where everyone is thinking something, but there is only one person that is willing to ask the question or speak up. We see this in Peter after Jesus told a parable. Everyone had to be asking themselves what Jesus was talking about, but Peter was the one who boldly asked Jesus to explain the parable. We also see this in Peter s words If all fall away, I never will. Once again, you know that all of the disciples were probably thinking the same thing, but Peter was the one that responded with his words. Not only was Peter bold with his words, but also with his actions. Think about the time when Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water and the time when he was up on the mountain with Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Peter was the one that stepped out of the boat. Peter was the one that wanted to put up some tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. If you recall, Peter was also the one who was going to protect Jesus by cutting of the high priest s servant s ear when they came to arrest Jesus. As bold as Peter was with his words and actions, there were times when Peter was not able to follow through with what he said or believed. During Jesus trial, he flat out denied even knowing Him three times. As a sinful human being, he caved in to the pressure and denied the one that he so boldly professed the be the Christ. I believe that Peter is someone that we can really relate to. It is easy for our words and actions to be bold for Christ when we are around Christians and people like ourselves, but there are a lot of times when we cave in when we need to take a stand for our Savior when we are opposed by others. Peter wept bitterly and was ultimately restored after Jesus resurrection. The same is true for us. As Christians who are sorry for their sins and know that Jesus died for them, we have been restored to new life. Sure, we will continue to fail no matter how hard we try not to, but Jesus died to forgive us. Live daily in the assurance of the forgiveness and life that Jesus gives. May we continue to be used by God to share the message of our risen Savior with A Heart for Hamilton County and the World!

2 Birthdays, Baptisms & Anniversaries The Eagle April 2017 Birthdays 1 st Barbara Cook 2 nd Brody Brown Pat Keekley 3 rd Brenda Schrank 4 th Kathryn Coleman Bryson Marwitz Mark Sellers 5 th Paul Odom 7 th Kristen Payne 8 th Amen Abdou Norma Marwitz Rita Oldham Maxine Wenzel Baptisms 1 st Glenda Peace Emma Tyson 5 th Michelle Cantara Kameron McKandless 8 th Lee Kirkland 9 th Juanita Seider 10 th Ricky Payne Breanne Turner 11 th Dickie Coleman 13 th Pat Keekley Skylar Schofield 14 th Tootie Schoen 15 th Nolan Zschiesche 17 th Liz Graves 18 th Mischelle Bottlinger Emma Polster 19 th Andrew Chorenziak Joshua Chorenziak Elisha Squyres 22 nd Johanna Jeschke Sandy Olsen 9 th Cole Bauman 10 th Robert Dellaughter Clay Hurst Shirley Sellers Nicole Wenzel Grace Zschiesche Kris Zschiesche 11 th Gayla Squyres 12 th Devyn Glimore Alice Pietzsche Julia Stanley 14 th Kolten Kensing Bobbie Young 16 th Abbie Housden 23 rd Alex English Caitlyn English Karah Niemann 24 th Anna Beber 26 th Kathy Coleman Aaron Hungerford 27 th Sonny De La Garza 17 th Sonny De La Garza Jason Roberts Bonnie Williams 18 th Stacey Creek Cody Whitt 21 st Mary Jeffers Ed Moyers Frances Schrank 22 nd Taylor Clark Sabrina Sellers 23 rd Kym Jeschke 25 th Kimberly Clark 28 th Tegyn Martin 30 th Paul Christensen Kadie Tyson 20 th Brad & Sherri Tomlinson 21 yrs 22 nd Gene & Shirley DeLoach 53 yrs 23 rd Clayton & Kadie Tyson 6 yrs 2

3 Opening/Breakfast Sundays 8:30am Sunday School Sundays 9:00am Monday, April 24 6:30 pm Church Worship Sundays 10:00am B.L.A.S.T. Wednesday 3:30 Pre-K thru 2nd All members are encouraged to attend! Pre-Confirmation Wednesday 3:30 3rd thru 5th Jr. Confirmation Wednesday 5:30 6th thru 8th Men s & Ladies Bible Studies Wednesday 6:30 $ 230,000 $ 200,000 Bible Journaling Class 6:30 Ladies of All Ages Interested? Contact Shawna $ 150,000 $ 100,000 $ 50,000 $ 9,644 Current 3

4 Sign Up Sheet in the Narthex! 4

5 Mark Your Calendars All Ages Welcome Saturday, April 8th Time 6pm-8pm Bring a snack to share! The Education Board is in need donations of candy for Easter Resurrection Egg Hunt will be Easter Sunday during Sunday School! 5

6 The teachings of Luther and the Reformers can be summarized in three phrases: Sola Gratia (Grace Alone) Sola Fide (Faith Alone) Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) 6

7 Dear friends in Christ Jesus, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our crucified Lord Jesus Christ! God forbid that I should glory in anything except the cross of Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14). Notice the weight of Paul s words to the church in Galatia. God forbid. When you and I use such a phrase, it is often flippant, devoid of any real meaning. Yet Paul wants it to be made perfectly clear that we should not boast in anything nor glory in anything of man, but of Jesus Christ alone, and Him crucified. I preached on the Transfiguration of Our Lord which is the last Sunday before we enter the holy season of Lent, a season of penitence and sorrow over sin, but, and I say this emphatically, God forbid, we glory in anything else except our crucified Lord and Savior even in our penitence. Our world is a world of suffering. We ourselves are struggling with our own sinfulness, imperfections, hurts, and jealousies. We cry out, as Moses did, Lord, show me Your glory! We desire those moments like Peter on Mount Tabor. If we could just catch a glimpse of God s glory then we will make it through the toughest of times. The reality is that we have in fact seen the glory of God! Nowhere else is the glory of God made truly known but in the suffering and death of His Son. Why? It was on Mount Calvary, not Tabor, where the Father s wrath meets His love, His anger meets His joy, His Law meets His Promise. They all meet upon this holy mount in divine conversation. For you. That s the joy of the Gospel and the joy we have during the Lenten season. Yes, we are called to repentance, a turning away from the sins of the Old Adam, but we are never without the hope of the forgiveness of sins. When that hope is steadfast and unwavering, even in the fiery trials of this life, God is glorified. Amen! Vicarage is going extremely well, but the work is difficult. I serve two congregations, one that has about 30 in attendance on a weekend and the other with about 40. I truly am blessed because I get to see the joys and struggles of ministry in a variety of settings. And I preach almost every Sunday! I cannot thank you all enough for your continued love and support. While financial assistance is greatly appreciated, it is your prayers that sustain me. May God richly bless all of you, especially during this Lenten season, and God forbid we glory in anything else except the cross of Jesus! Peace be with you, Dagan W. Siepert, Vicar Memorials Given in Memory of Dewayne Polster General Fund: Bert Schrank Memorials Given in Memory of Gary Krueger General Fund: R H Martin, H C Wenzel, Marc Foerster, Gail Ashby, Sherry Woodyard, Charlene Sheman Glimp, David & Becky Melde and William Kopp 7

8 The Eagle April 2017 Thank you for all of your help and involvement this month! All of the classes had spectacular Valentine s day parties! We enjoyed celebrating with everyone! Important Parent News Dates March 6th: Easter Ham Fundraiser begins March 13th 17th: Spring Break Week of March 20thMarch 24th: Preschool and Kindergarten Roundup March 21st Family Night from 6pm-8pm 8

9 The Eagle April

10 Were You There This spiritual comes from a rich American tradition, developed in the early 1800s by African-American slaves. The words are simple, seizing one central theme. Music Notes by: Gary Gromatzky Spirituals often have a lot of emotional appeal. As a result, this hymn, like few others, put the singer there, Were you there? it asks. We experience the tremble as we sing it. And in the triumphant final stanza, we experience the glory of a risen Lord. No longer is it just a Christian discussion; now it is stark reality. We hear the nails pounded into the cross, we see the onlookers wagging their heads, we smell the burial spices, and we feel the rumble of the stone rolling away. And we tremble tremble tremble. Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? O! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble! Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? O! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble! Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? O! Sometimes it caused me to tremble, tremble, tremble! Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb? Sunday 8:30 Come and join us! Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb? Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb? O! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble! Were ou there when God raised Him from the tomb? 10

11 The Eagle April nd Tuesday April 11th 1:00 pm Family Life Center Come join us for fun, games and snacks! The book of Current Bible Class and Sermon Series MAY THE LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU THIS COMING MONTH. 11

12 Pre-Orders Only $35 each Order by April 4 th Orders may be placed with a preschool student, in the preschool office or in the church office. Monday, April 6:30pm- Church Council Meeting Monday, April 6:30pm- Church Voters Meeting St. John Lutheran Church & Preschool 122 Cheyenne Mesa Hamilton, Texas