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The September 2005 Newsletter of
St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church
Edgar, Wisconsin
and
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
Milan, Wisconsin
Click here for archived past editions
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may the grace, mercy, and peace of the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ be with you this month!
Get ready, get set, GO! Remember those words? You probably heard them at least once in childhood, at the start of a race. Get ready, get set, GO! It was a call to action, a call to preparation, a call to go!
Did you know that it is also a Biblical word, too. The word "GO" is used over 1400 times in the Bible. From God the Father's command to Noah ("Go into the ark, you and your whole family") and to Abraham ("Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you") to God the Son's command to the disciples ("Go therefore and make disciples of all nations"), the Holy Scriptures are filled with God's call to action.
September is upon us, and like most Septembers in the Church Year, is the beginning of a new church activity year. It's a time of year when it may help us to reflect on God's command to "GO." We are called to GO Forth in word and deed in precious name of our Savior Jesus Christ.
This September, consider the Lord's call to GO, and consider answering that call by coming coming to Sunday School (classes available for all ages, nursery through adult), to Adult Bible Study, to Youth Group, to worship... the possibilities are there for you to answer the call. In so doing, you will be equipped to truly GO, not just to church, but out into the world, in the service of Christ the King.
In Jesus' name,
Pastor Matthew
The Catechism Corner
The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
How can water [the water of Baptism] do such great things?
Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God's word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
Every Sunday Sermon Preparation
To help prepare for Sunday morning worship. Here are the weekly readings for the 8:15am & 10:15am Sunday services in September.
Sept. 4 Ezekiel 33:79
Romans 13:110
Matthew 18:120
Sept. 11 Genesis 50:1521
Romans 14:112
Matthew 18:2135
Sept. 18 Isaiah 55:69
Philippians 1:1230
Matthew 20:116
Sept. 25 Ezekiel 18:14, 2532
Philippians 2:118
Matthew 21:2332
The Mission Corner
God's mission for us is a simple one, stated so clearly in Matthew 28.19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirt."
Why is something that seems so simple so difficult for Christians to do? Why do most of us seem to turn away at the chance to share Jesus? We truly are unworthy of Christ's love if we can't even share His love with others!
There are many ways to share God's love with others, some more "in-your-face" than others and some very small (but wonderful) ways. This is what the Mission Corner is all about, helping you find ways to share the Good News!
Each month a new mission idea will be talked about in the Mission Corner (and there are plenty out there). Also, take a look at the Mission Corner at St. John or Bethlehem, here you will find more mission ideas and current mission projects. The corner at St. John is located in the hallway by Pastor's office. The location for the corner at Bethlehem has yet to be decided; look in upcoming bulletin announcements for the location.
There is a basket located in each of the Mission Corner's that are labeled "Pennies for Poverty," the funds collected will be donated to a local charity that helps fight poverty. We have yet to decide on a charity, so if you have one in mind please let me know.
Be sure to check out the VBS mission article. There is still time to donate to this project if you would like. You can give you donations to me and I will see that they are sent to LCMS World Relief or you can label them "African AIDS Orphans Mission Project" (AAOMP) and drop them in the offering plates.
Remember... Do everything to the glory of God!
In Christ's love,
Maggie C.
Divine Worship Explained
THE PSALM OF THE DAY
Immediately after the Confession and Absolution in the Divine Service, that is after having been assured of our forgiveness as if from God himself now we are prepared to enter into the Holy Place of God's Presence, and that is what we do next with the reading of the Psalm. A reading from the Psalm is spoken or sung. Sometimes it is spoken responsively by the Pastor and congregation. Other times it is sung or chanted by the Pastor or by the choir or by the congregation. This is fitting since the Psalms were all originally intended to be sung. The Book of Psalms, in fact, was the hymnbook of the ancient Jews and of the early Christian Church. At the conclusion of the Psalm, we will sing or speak together the Gloria Patri (Latin for "Glory be to the Father"). This is included to remind us that all of the Old Testament is understood by us in the light of the New.
A Little Bit of Lutheran Theology
What do we believe about Euthanasia?
First of all, what IS Euthanasia?
Let's get things straight. Allowing a person to die when a disease is irreversible and death is obviously imminent in hours or days is NOT euthanasia. Patients (or, when they are unable to speak for themselves, their families) have the freedom to refuse medical treatments that are overly burdensome and not helpful.
Any deliberate action, however, taken for the purpose of causing or hastening death is Euthanasia... and Christians must reject it. Euthanasia is a violation of God's Fifth Commandment (Thou Shalt Not Kill) and a simultaneous rejection of God's gift of life.
Euthanasia can take many forms, from administering a lethal injection as in physician-assisted suicide... to withholding basic medical to someone who has a chance of recovering... to withholding basic survival care like food or water, without which all people die.
One easy way to remember the difference what Euthanasia is (and what it's not) is to ask yourself: "what's the goal?" "What am I trying to accomplish with this action?" As Christians, especially as Lutheran Christians, the goal must be always to care, never to kill.
For example, when Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed this last Spring, it took her two long weeks to die. This would seem to indicate that depriving her of food and water did not permit her to die but rather caused her to die.
Do we have to preserve life at all costs?
What if we (unlike Terri) should enter irretrievably and unquestionably, without the shadow of a doubt, into the process of death? Do we have to do whatever it takes to keep ourselves alive? No! We worship the Lord and not life. We accept that in this sin-filled world we live in our sin-defiled flesh will die. We always have the option of refusing medical for ourselves or for our loved ones if the point has been reached where medical intervention is no longer an effective expression of care but instead becomes burdensome... if it involves an unnatural prolongation of a person's life and artificial delay of the natural process of death. Christians always strive to protect and preserve life. Again, our aim is always to care, never to kill.
At the same time, we are not required by God's Word to stretch out or unnaturally delay the dying process for as long as modern technology can keep a heart beating. When the God-given powers of the body to sustain its own life can no longer function, and doctors in their professional judgment conclude that there is no real hope for recovery, even with life-support instruments, a Christian may in good conscience let nature take its course.
Of course, many good-intentioned Christians may disagree about when this point has been reached. Christians often disagree about how the principle "always to care, never to kill" applies to specific situations. They may conscientiously take different positions on what involves care and what is overly burdensome. As the LCMS's Commission on Theology has stated, "Any decisions made in this highly complex area, and any actions taken that may later appear to have been wrong, have been redeemed by that forgiveness which is available to all who put their trust in the work and merits of mankind's Savior and Redeemer."
Life Quote
Abortion is a great evil... laying siege to and attacking God and his Church. But, as with all such attacks, abortion provides opportunity for great faithfulness... Abortion provides opportunities to share the truth about the God-given value of life. Abortion provides opportunity to proclaim a 'peace' that the world cannot have or understand. It is peace with God through Jesus Christ. This peace reigns even in the midst of difficulties. This peace motivates making good choices. This peace comforts when bad choices have been made.
Rev. Dr. James I. Lamb,
Executive Director, Lutherans For Life
From the Book of Concord
What is the Book of Concord? A collection of the Lutheran confessions, containing:
The three Ecumenical Creeds
The Augsburg Confession and Apology
The Large and Small Catechisms
The Smalcald Articles
Treatise on the Power & Primacy of the Pope
The Formula of Concord
All LCMS congregations have pledged themselves to believe, teach, and confess the truths of God's Word as they are summarized and confessed in the Book of Concord.
This Month's Reading:
from the Smalcald Articles, Part III "Concerning Repentance"
33] In the same way Paul also preaches, Rom. 3, 10-12: There is none righteous, there are none who understand, there are none that seek after God, there are none that do good, no not one; they are all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable. 34] And Acts 17, 30: God now commands all men everywhere to repent. "All men," he says; no one excepted who is a man. 35] This repentance teaches us to discern sin, namely, that we are altogether lost, and that there is nothing good in us from head to foot [both within and without], and that we must absolutely become new and other men.
36] This repentance is not piecemeal [partial] and beggarly [fragmentary], like that which does penance for actual sins, nor is it uncertain like that. For it does not debate what is or is not sin, but hurls everything on a heap, and says: All in us is nothing but sin [affirms that, with respect to us, all is simply sin (and there is nothing in us that is not sin and guilt)]. What is the use of [For why do we wish] investigating, dividing, or distinguishing a long time? For this reason, too, this contrition is not [doubtful or] uncertain. For there is nothing left with which we can think of any good thing to pay for sin, but there is only a sure despairing concerning all that we are, think, speak, or do [all hope must be cast aside in respect of everything], etc.
37] In like manner confession, too, cannot be false, uncertain, or piecemeal [mutilated or fragmentary]. For he who confesses that all in him is nothing but sin comprehends all sins, excludes none, forgets none. 38] Neither can the satisfaction be uncertain, because it is not our uncertain, sinful work, but it is the suffering and blood of the [spotless and] innocent Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.
V.B.S. Mission Project Follow-up
Jambo! Our mission project for this year's VBS was to collect offerings for the African AIDS Orphans Mission Project. This project provides shelter, basic needs, education and Christians instruction for the children at Emmanuel's Lutheran Orphanage near Matongo, Kenya. As this project develops, gifts may provide staffing, additional space and supplies as well as assistance for other AIDS orphanage associations. Every dollar given went directly to the African AIDS Orphans Mission Project.
The services of this Christian orphanage are very important to people near Matongo. It is a place where poverty is common and where many people are unskilled or poorly educated. AIDS compounds these economic problems, even for those who are not infected. People who are sick can no longer work. They cannot support local markets and businesses. Instead, they must depend on others to help them. Families struggling to care for themselves often also care for orphans of relatives or neighbors. Many children simply have nothing. Emmanuel's Orphanage helps!
Churches are becoming involved by teaching how to reduce the spread of disease and by helping individuals learn skills to earn a living. These churches welcome the help of people with resources to share people like us!
This year we set our mission goal at $100.00. The kids broke it on the second day! We raised our goal to $250.00 and the kids broke it on the fourth day! The total offering for this year was $479.34. If you see any of the kids from VBS make sure to tell them how wonderful if was for them to help others in need. Thank you to everyone for helping us beat our mission goal!
God's blessings to everyone!
Maggie C.
Bethlehem Sunday School
Join us for the "Rally Day" on Sunday, September 11, following the morning worship service. There will be singing, fellowship and refreshments to start the Sunday school year out with. Weather permitting, this event will take place outside. We are offering Sunday school classes for all ages starting at 3 yrs and including high school and adults. Everyone is welcome!
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