NEWSLETTER OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH. April Without Jesus Without the risen Savior in our hearts, life is like:

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1 OUR SAVIOUR LUTHERAN CHURCH NEWSLETTER Pastor Al Muck 751 N. Maple Grove Ave. Hudson, MI April 2018 Without Jesus Without the risen Savior in our hearts, life is like: April 1 Easter Service 8:00 AM April 1 Easter Breakfast to follow service No Bible Class April 1 No late service Church Council Church council meets Sunday, April 8, following service. Note the change of date due to Easter. Ladies' Guild Ladies Guild meets on Thursday, April 5, at 7:00 PM at the church. Thank You Thank to the Ladies Guild for all the goodies at the Bake Sale. Thank you for the donations of $ for the Prayer Garden. A chocolate Easter Bunny empty on the inside; An Easter bonnet easily blown off kilter; Last year's Easter outfit it doesn't quite fit right; An Easter lily it soon withers and dries up; A bag of jellybeans sugary and sweet but lacking substance; An unfound Easter basket full of gifts that spoil and go to waste; A colored Easter egg looks great but cracks under pressure; The Easter bunny always hopping here and there; Marshmallow Peeps becomes hard when opened up; Easter parade a long journey with no destination; An unopened Easter card a message of love unclaimed. David Patterson Find rest I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. St. Augustine

2 The Family of Wes Boyd The Family of Alice Taylor Raelene Prothero strength and healing Shirley Klinger in remission, strength Eric Lewis healing of his body Kay Peterson declining health Todd Risedorph hospitalized, diabetes John Boehk healing from surgery Jaykob Robinson autism Kylee Claeys loss of her third child at birth Mike Sanborn heart attack Grayson Rupley sensory disorder Margaret Runnells broken leg complications and cancer Allison Stickel health & anxiety issues Greg Dorfmeyer heart problems Mark Stubli personal and medical problems Josef Kuckelkorn healing from spinal surgery Nadine Padden for direction in making life and medical treatment decisions Lisa Daub s grandson, London, who suffered a leg injury at school Jim dementia Kerry Hartman recovery from a fall Evelyn Smith recovery from congestive heart failure Diane Jackson blood clots Church Council Ladies Guild Our Saviour Lutheran Missionaries Following God s lead Jazz musician Thomas Dorsey traveled an unlikely road to become the father of black gospel music. At age 11, he dropped out of school to be a vaudeville performer and blues pianist. While Dorsey recovered from a nervous breakdown at age 21, his mother urged him to serve the Lord with his talents. It took several years, but the musician committed to composing spiritual songs rejected by many mainstream churches as the devil s music. In 1932, after Dorsey s wife and infant son died during childbirth, he channeled his grief into the piano, writing Precious Lord, Take My Hand. Known to be a favorite song of Martin Luther King Jr., it ends with these lyrics: Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home. Easter is eternal truth If Easter means anything to modern man, it means that eternal truth is eternal. You may nail it to the tree, wrap it up in grave clothes and seal it in a tomb. But truth crushed to earth shall rise again. Truth does not perish. It cannot be destroyed. It may be distorted. It has been silenced temporarily. It has been compelled to carry its cross to Calvary s brow but with an inevitable certainty, after every Black Friday dawns truth s Easter morn. Donald H. Tippet

3 I rarely go back to a past sermon and add to what was already said but a recent sermon warrants a return visit. You may remember a sermon that focused on Paul s letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 2:3-4,. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The question was that was at the center of the sermon was, Is it truly my desire for all people to be saved? When we look at the evil in the world, we can easily come to the conclusion and judgment there are those who are not deserving of the grace and mercy of God, the same grace and mercy that raised us from the depth of our sin and restored our broken relationship with God. Acknowledging and confessing that we do not possess the same heart of God who desires all people to be saved, we seek His forgiveness and God who is faithful and just, forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Paul then writes to Timothy that to be in sync with the heart and desire of God, we must be in prayer for all, including those who we might consider to be our enemies. As important, those who our lost, the ones known to us and those we have not yet encountered. It is through prayer that the power of God begins to work. The power of God begins to work in the hearts of the lost we lay before His throne, but His power also begins to transform our hearts to have a desire for all people to be saved. We pray in Jesus name who is our mediator through whom we gain access to the Father. When you pray in Jesus name, you are saying to God: I have faith to understand that you will answer this prayer in Christ. And through Christ, I trust in Christ to help me know what that will look like for my life and for your will. At the last church council, it was suggested and agreed upon that Our Saviour should enter into an intentional practice of being in prayer for the lost, especially those that God has placed on our hearts. Beginning in April, small cards will be available in the lobby of the church. There will also be a small box in the same location. You are invited and encourage to write on the card, the name of a person that God has placed on your heart who does not know Jesus. These cards will be placed in a larger prayer box and placed on the altar. The names on the cards will NOT be public knowledge, seen only by the pastor. Each Sunday during the Prayers of the Church, we will pray for the individuals that have been identified and wait upon the Lord as we express our desire to have the heart of God that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of His truth. Pastor Al

4 OUR SAVIOUR Ladies' Guild Meeting March Meeting held 2/26/18 Attending Meeting: Mary B., Janice B., Linda R., Betty C., Dody F., Gloria S., Betty R., and Diane S. Devotions: lead by Betty R., Portals of Prayer, Acts 2:38 with a song, Onward Christian Soldiers Secretary s Report: Motion to accept as given by Dody and seconded by Gloria, motion passed. Treasurer s Report: given by Betty C., motion to accept by Janice and seconded by Betty R., motion passed. Old Business: Bake Sale will be after service on 3/4/18 with a donation for the Prayer Garden. Soup Supper: needing more people to sign-up. Easter Flowers: A sign-up sheet will be posted for anyone wanting flowers for Easter. Easter Breakfast: discussion on menu. A sign-up will be posted for the food. Easter Egg Hunt: people needed for help to bake cookies, registration and stuffing eggs with candy etc. A box will be put out for the collection of old stamps for LWML. New Business: The District Board meeting will be March 17 th at Hope. Betty C. will try to go. A motion to adjourn by Gloria, Mary seconded. Adjourned. Secretary: Janice B.

5 4 Jayme Lohr Sandra Mayberry 6 Joey Shaffer 7 Paige Butts Scott Popejoy 9 Cherie Fowler 13 Lee Ann Minton 14 Bronson Butts 15 Jason Butts 15 Sam Klinger 20 Tracy Padden 23 Joshua Heistan Jaxson Pickford 24 Emily Daub Sue Minton 25 Kay Peterson 26 Grayson Rupley 27 Sara Elledge God s Richest Blessings To All Our true power source The story is told of someone who plugged a power strip into itself and then couldn t understand why the system wouldn t turn on! We get a kick out of such tales, yet how often do we try to power our own lives? We frequently think we need to be the source of our own strength, joy, peace, energy and wisdom. Jesus doesn t teach us to find life within ourselves or in any human being or earthly circumstance, object or philosophy. Rather, calling himself the good shepherd, Jesus says, I have come that [my sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). We don t access that abundant life by plugging into ourselves. Instead, Jesus invites us to plug into his power and joy, peace, hope, truth through prayer and Scripture, worship and service, fellowship with other Christians and the beauty of God s world.

6 Mrz 2018 April 2018 Mai Easter Sunday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :00 AM Holy Communion No Bible Study Easter Breakfast to follow Service No late service 2nd Sunday of Easter 10:15 AM Holy Communion Church Council meets 9 10 MOPS at 6:00 PM Ladies Guild meets 7:00 PM rd Sunday of Easter 10:15 AM Worship Service Newsletter deadline th Sunday of Easter 9:00 AM Kingdom Kids 10:15 AM Holy Communion 29 Special One Offering 5th Sunday of Easter 10:15 AM Worship Service MOPS at 6:00 PM