PETER WALKS ON WATER DEVOTED DISCIPLES WELCOME TO FAITH LUTHERAN Inviting all people to faith... Come and Worship - Go and Work Lee Laaveg Pastor Phone 580-4316 2912 Hwy. Blvd. N. January 24, 2016 Third Sunday after Epiphany Email - faithlutheran@smunet.net Catch us on the Web: www.faithlutheranspencer.com Like us on Facebook! Faith Lutheran Church LCMC
Prelude Welcome Songs - No Turning Back, My Faith Looks Up To Thee Litany: We gather together as your people with open and expectant hearts, We welcome you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Lord, you have called us to believe in you and follow Jesus Christ, But, we are slow to hear and timid in our response. Forgive us for our lack of faith and our reluctance, Forgive us for our stubbornness and disobedience. Yet, you promise us unconditional love and affirm our value to you, You redeem our lives and call us to serve your kingdom s purposes. Renew our faith and fill us with your Spirit, Give us joy in our journey as we trust and obey. Teach us and guide us as your disciples, Use our lives to build your kingdom, always for your glory. Amen. Prayer of the Day: Lord Jesus you call us to follow you in faith. You call us to walk with boldness. You invite us to participate in miraculous things. Give us strong faith and to keep our eyes on you. In your name, Amen. Baptismal Hymn - Children of the Heavenly Father vs. 1 & 2 Sacrament of Baptism - Landon Edward Voit Baptismal Hymn - Children of the Heavenly Father vs. 3 & 4 Lesson - Psalm 116:1-19 Gospel - Matthew 14:22-33 (Please stand if you are able)
Children s Message Song - Open The Eyes of My Heart, Lord Sermon - Peter Walks on Water Song - Voice of Truth (Offering will be received during this song) Offertory - We Are an Offering Offertory Prayer: Merciful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayers of the Church Sharing of the Peace Lord s Prayer Blessing Song - Standing on the Promises Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God! A SPECIAL WELCOME TO OUR VISITORS THIS MORNING! Whether you are visiting from across town or out-of-state your presence is a blessing to us. Be sure to fill out the blue visitor card at the welcome desk and place in the offering plate or leave it at the Welcome Desk. Please be sure to pick up a copy of the 2015 Annual Report! They are on a table in the Fellowship area.
Lesson - Psalm 116:1-19 1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: LORD, save me! 5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The LORD protects the unwary; Gospel - Matthew 14:22-33 when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. 8 For you, LORD, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living. 10 I trusted in the LORD when I said, I am greatly afflicted ; 11 in my alarm I said, Everyone is a liar. 12 What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. 14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants. 16 Truly I am your servant, LORD; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. 17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the LORD in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the LORD. 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It s a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: Take courage! It is I. Don t be afraid. 28 Lord, if it s you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. 29 Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said, why did you doubt? 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.
1. What in life causes you great fear? 2. When difficulties come in your life, how does it affect your faith? 3. Have you ever longed to experience or participate in a miracle? 4. When has God called you to attempt something risky for Him? How did you respond? 5. Why did Peter sink? 6. As he is going down, what does Peter do? 7. From beginning to end, what do we learn about Jesus in this story? Greeters & Ushers - There is now a template for attendance in the Welcome Desk to be filled out. Thank you for your warm smile and welcome on Sunday mornings! You are appreciated! FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH ANNUAL MEETING Annual reports of ministry teams, officers and organizations will be presented. January 31, 2016 following worship PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND - ALL ARE WELCOME!
Sunday Fellowship Hour Please consider helping on Sunday mornings! The sign-up sheet is on the back table. Thank you for helping! First Communion Classes First Communion classes will be starting for 5th grade kids, and kids whose parents feel they are ready for communion. Classes will begin on Wednesday, February 17 at 5:30 p.m. Please see Eric for more information or to sign up! Mission Day will be Wednesday, January 27, from 10:00-3:00! For our lunch, lasagna and rolls will be provided, if you'd like to bring a salad, dessert or something for coffee that would be great. We have lots of different projects to work on while we fellowship with one another. Looking forward to seeing you for all or part of the day! Mission Day
Are you looking for a place to grow in friendship with other believers, to have a chance to open the Word with others in a small setting, to ask questions, learn, and be encouraged? Early on in Faith s vision, the idea of small groups of people meeting together to study the Bible was a high priority, and it still is. As we consider this facet of our vision in 2016, we encourage you to think about joining and committing to meet with a small group of believers. What can this look like? For you it may mean having a Faith Buddy - a one on one relationship where you mutually encourage each other, share the Word, pray, and grow together. It can happen with just a couple of others-maybe another couple, 2 or 3 mutual friends, or another family whose schedule can coordinate and whose desire to grow is similar. Or consider a small group Bible study of 6 to 12. What is the purpose and fruit of these groups? There can be many but some are growth, friendship, accountability, a closer knit church family inside the large church, getting to know new people and hearing what God has done in their lives, using your gifts to encourage, teach and help others believers grow. They can be a safe place for the interested unbelievers to attend and get to know believers and Jesus before attempting the large church setting. They should be a building block to raise up leaders that are then sent out to start to small groups to encourage more people. They become a safety net of people you can lean on when troubles come. They are a place where you can meet regularly, enjoy deep friendship with shared faith, where we can study the Word together and learn God s heart for our lives as we seek to honor and live our lives for Him. Please take the next week to prayerfully look at your life and consider this. We are all busy enough that we need to proactively pursue godly priorities. Put a daily reminder in your phone to pray about this possibility for the next few weeks. WE WILL BE MEETING AT 5:00 P.M. on SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 for a night of food, some laughs and learning about these sorts of meetings together, and a chance for you to come together as a group or buddy system interested and make your plans on starting officially, or for you to come and join a group of others who would like to grow in this way as well. Lastly, if you are an existing small group, please pray together about coming and sharing with us that night what you have gained and learned. Pray about trusting God and using your experience if God provided a new group that needs a leader with some experience. And ask God if your group could add a few members if spots are needed.
PARENTS, If you are interested in attending the Parent Night, please contact: Eric Patten (580-4316) or Laura Heikens (260-7373) The cost is FREE
Attention Middle School & High School Students! We will be meeting at church at 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27. We will all drive over to the Events Center together. Parents, please pick up your kids at 9:00 p.m. here at Faith. 2016 GENERAL OFFERING AND ATTENDANCE PROPOSED TOTAL 2016 BUDGET $338,141 MONTHLY YTD BALANCE REMAINING ATTENDANCE JAN. 3 $8,362.78 $8,362.78 $329,778.22 187 JAN. 10 $3,295.73 $11,658.51 $326.482.49 184 JAN. 17 $2,900.31 $14,558.82 $323,582.18 115 Thank you for supporting Faith in 2016! ONLINE GIVING - PLEASE PICK UP A STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON THE BACK TABLE TO HELP YOU THROUGH SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT. EVEN IF YOU AREN T INTERESTED IN GIVING ONLINE, PLEASE CREATE AN ACCOUNT THAT WILL HELP YOU MANAGE ALL OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION!
Coming again February 7! The Dave Ramsey course FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY Dave Ramsey - author, talk show host and personal finance expert - has a simple message for people who want to change their financial lives: It will be hard work, but it will be worth it! No matter where you are in your Total Money Makeover, we're here to help you take that next step. Some of the "how-to's" will include: How to talk with your spouse about money and goals Creating the dreaded "B" word: a budget Committing to stop borrowing money Getting current on your bills Faith will start the Dave Ramsey course, Financial Peace University on February 7 after worship! If this interests you please contact: Greg Lear - 712-260-7675 or greglear@spenceragcenter.com SIGN-UP SHEET IS IN THE BACK OF THE CHURCH - SIGN UP TODAY! Cost for each household is $100.00. Should you not be able to attend because of cost, please contact the office 580-4316. We do not wish the fee to prevent anyone from participating in this class.
Thank you to todays: Worship Leader Dave Simington Vocalists Austin Crew, Delaney Weeks Instrumentalists Denise Laaveg, Nola Gafkjen, Jared Hansen, Kevin Skadeland Lector Jeff Buchan Children s Message Eric Patten Prayers of the Church Jim Paulsen Nursery Attendant Kirby Fueston Camera Rory Schuster Computer Kay Iversen Sound Del Christman Lead Tech Steve Oleson Greeters/Ushers - Troy & Kim McKenney, Gloria, Nathan, Isaac, Andrew, Thad, Simon Next Sunday, January 31: Worship Leader Ross Brockshus Vocalists Dennis & Jan Larson, Marv & Janet Schutter Instrumentalists Denise Laaveg, Nola Gafkjen, Jared Hansen, Kevin Skadeland Lector Cheryl Stueven Children s Message Radina Jansen Prayers of the Church Steve Quattlebaum Nursery Attendant Gloria McKenney Camera Kevin Swancutt Computer Becky Simons Sound Kristine Christianson Lead Tech Steve Quattlebaum Greeters/Ushers - Paul & Kris Behrens, Larry & Shirley Nelson Prayer Requests / Concerns: If you have a prayer concern or request, please email Karol Gafkjen at:kgafkjen@gmail.com
THIS WEEK AT FAITH This Sunday - January 24 8:00 a.m. Prayer time - All are welcome 9:00 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m. Fellowship Sunday School - Adults & Children 2:00 p.m. Women s Via de Cristo Final Kick-off 3:30-5:30 p.m. H.S. Youth Group 6:00 p.m. No Apologies Parent Night @ Events Center Tuesday - January 26 1:00 p.m. Staff Meeting Wednesday - January 27 10:00 a.m. Mission Day 6:00 p.m. Worship Vocalist Practice 5:50 p.m. M.S. & H.S. Students - Meet at church to go to No Apologies @ Events Center 7:00 p.m. Stewardship Team 9:00 p.m. M.S. & H.S. Student pick up at church Thursday - January 28 8:30 a.m. Coffee - Join us! 1:00 p.m. Loopy Ladies 5:00 p.m. Executive Officers 6:30 p.m. Communications Team Saturday - January 30 7:30 a.m. Men s Bible Study Sunday - January 31 8:00 a.m. Prayer time - All are welcome Worship Vocalist Practice 9:00 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m. Fellowship 2015 Annual Meeting 4:15 p.m. Youth Group Outreach at IOLBC Faith Lutheran Church Staff Directory: Pastor: Lee Laaveg - pastor@faithlutheranspencer.com Director of Children & Youth: Eric Patten - cymdirector@faithlutheranspencer.com Technology Director: Lori Krei - techdirector@faithlutheranspencer.com Church Administrator / Financial Secretary: Jenn Schuster - office@faithlutheranspencer.com Custodian: Rich Stueven - custodian@faithlutheranspencer.com