Our first annual Married Couples Retreat will be held at beautiful Camp St. Christopher on Seabrook Island just south of Charleston. During this retreat we will explore the vocation of Christian marriage, discuss ways of growing in faith together and strengthen the commitment of husbands and wives in their life together. The retreat will take place from 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 25 through 11:00 a.m. Sunday, January 27. Registration fee is $300.00 per couple. Participants may check in to the camp as early as 3:00 p.m. on Friday and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. We still have room for several couples to join in. Please register as soon as you can in case we need to arrange for additional lodging. Registration forms are available in the Narthex. Please contact Pastor David Nuottila if you have any questions.
Archive for September, 2018
Married Couples Retreat
Posted September 25, 2018 By adminBudget for 2019 is due to the Finance Team
Posted September 25, 2018 By adminThe deadline to turn in budget information is Sunday, October 7. Budget information can be placed in Caroline’s box in the church workroom. Her folder is above the printer.
Confirmation instruction
Posted September 25, 2018 By adminConfirmation instruction will be held each Sunday for youth members in grades 7-9 who have not been confirmed. Classes meet at 3:00 pm in the Middle/High school classroom. If you know of a member of our church family that has a child of confirmation age and is not attending, please extend an invitation not only to join us in worship; but, also have their child(ren) attend confirmation classes.
Coffee Fellowship
Posted September 25, 2018 By adminWe will have our Coffee Fellowship on Sunday, October 7 after the service in the Fellowship Hall.
Worship and Music news
Posted September 25, 2018 By adminThis year’s Children’s Christmas Program will be on Sunday, December 16 at 6 pm with a short reception following the performance. The program, “O Come Let Us Adore Him”, is based on the hymn “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
All children from preschool through 6th grade are invited to participate.
Practices will be on the following Sundays from 4 – 4:45 (immediately after Children’s Choir rehearsal): November 11th & 18th and December 2nd & 9th, with a dress rehearsal on Saturday, December 15th at 10 am.
Adult volunteers are also needed; please contact Angela or Laurie if you would be willing to assist us with this program.
REMINDER to Children’s Choir: we sing during the worship service on October 28th and December 2nd.
Also to note, the Thanksgiving service will be held on Wednesday, November 21st at 7 pm.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Laurie
Yard Sale
Posted September 25, 2018 By adminDon’t Forget our yard sale on October 13th 8:00am -1:00pm
Plan to join us for some shopping and fellowship. Proceeds from our sale will benefit the St. Jacob’s Youth Ministry and the Congo Ministry.
Please continue to bring your donated items to the church.
YARD SALE: furniture, glassware, books, CDs, gently used clothing (please sort clothing into separate bags – boys, girls, men and women), household items, dishes, outdoor items, small appliances, tools, games and toys.
Please NO televisions, computers, printers or computer related items.
FARMER’S MARKET & BAKE SALE:
Homemade baked goods – bread, cakes, cookies and pies; home canned goods – jam, jelly, pickles and veggies; handmade crafts – crocheting, knitting, cross stitching and pottery.
If you have questions, please contact Larry, Margaret, Melissa, or Brenda.
From the Pastor’s Heart
Posted September 1, 2018 By adminDisciples
By: Pastor David
In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives his disciples, and thus his Church, the mandate to go into the world making disciples and teaching all he commanded. For years and years, Christians viewed this “Great Commission” as Christ’s invitation to ministry but it is nothing of the sort. The Great Commission is a mandate from God to God’s people. Jesus said “Go.” But, in order to make disciples, one must first become a disciple, and this is not an overnight process.
Our NALC Bishop has placed this mandate from Jesus at the feet of our pastors and congregations. We are to be a disciple making Church. With this understanding, I have initiated a discipling program here at St. Jacob’s. The program is based on small group ministry and includes one on one accountability and faith sharing. In NALC terms, it is Life to Life.
If you have not been asked to be part of a small group, please to not take it personally. The initial process goes much like Jesus calling his first disciples; it is through an invitation to follow our Lord and grow into a new identity. Over time, our small groups will expand, and more church members will become a part of this ministry. The goal is to create a discipling culture where individuals are equipped to come alongside others and disciple them in the faith.
For now, I ask that those who are invited will remain committed to the journey. I also ask for the prayers of our congregation as we begin this Life to Life process. Truly, as we begin to immerse ourselves in the Word of God, following our Lord Jesus, and supporting one another in prayer our collected efforts will bear fruit for God’s kingdom.
Acts 19:2-6 [Paul writes] “…Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered, “No we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”….v.6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them…”
This month, I wrote my newsletter article during our annual NALC Lutheran Week and Convocation. Our theme was centered upon our life with the Holy Spirit. In this context, I remembered a devotion I once read that was offered by fellow NALC pastor Gemechis Buba. It was written with reflection upon the above verses in scripture. Pastor Buba suggested we answer the question proposed by the apostle Paul: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” The people of the church in Ephesus were quite honest in their answer to Paul. They informed him that they not even heard of the Holy Spirit. Reading this passage again with this in mind, I have to wonder how we as a congregation might address our receiving God’s Holy Spirit.
As Lutheran Christians, I don’t think we talk enough about the Holy Spirit, much less talk about being blessed with spiritual gifts. Yet as baptized people of God we truly are blessed with this same Spirit of God that Jesus’ disciples, Paul and the saints at Ephesus received. We Lutherans tend to be more reserved when it comes to acting in what we perceive to be a “spiritual way.” But Pastor Buba is right when he says “the truth of the matter is Christian life becomes powerless, meaningless and dull” without the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit fills the hearts and minds of Christian people with the joy and hope of God’s amazing grace. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a tremendous blessing, a life-giving blessing…a life SAVING blessing.
Think about it for a moment. As Lutherans we have been taught that it is the Holy Spirit that brings us to belief in Christ Jesus. As sinful creatures we cannot, by our own power, come to believe, let alone have faith in the resurrected Lord. By its very nature, our sin seeks to drive us away from having a relationship with God. Yet, as we are baptized and the pastor lays hands on us (as Paul laid hands on the saints at Ephesus), God pours out his Holy Spirit upon us, cleanses us from the stains of our fallen humanity and clothes us in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This, my friends, should bring us to loud shouts of thanksgiving. It is at this particular moment in time when we are brought to new life in Christ. Through this gift of the Holy Spirit, God calls us to live differently; He calls us to live as children of God. Such a Spirit filled life is both joyous and exciting.
My question to you this month is, how does the Holy Spirit lead you to express your faith and the joy of salvation? What spiritual gifts are you blessed with and how do you use them for the sake of the gospel, especially as you consider Jesus’ mandate to go into the word making disciples?
Friends, as baptized children of our loving God, we are invited into a deep and rich relationship with the One who created all there is. If we are honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that each of us could enjoy a little more spiritual awareness. Believe me, when you realize the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, your life will certainly not be powerless, meaningless and dull. The joy of faith brought through the power of the Holy Spirit will fill your
heart and spill into the lives of others.
Let us be honest with ourselves and admit we need to experience the love, hope and peace the Holy Spirit brings to us. Let us all welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives and not be afraid to show others just how joyful we are to be God’s children. I promise you that as you live in the power and love of the Holy Spirit, God will satisfy the hunger and thirst of your souls and pour out blessings upon you. Express this joy as often as you can so that others can see how God changes the lives of people. Now go ahead and welcome this precious Holy Spirit of God into your life, in Jesus’ name!
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila
Pastoral Devotion for September
Posted September 1, 2018 By adminBearing fruit Read: Luke 13:6-9
If you read the above scripture passage, you would have noted that in Jesus’ parable the fig tree isn’t expected to do anything miraculous. It’s in a vineyard, but it isn’t asked to produce grapes. The owner of the vineyard doesn’t demand that it become something it is not. He only asks it to do what fig trees do…bear figs. When these expectations are not met, the owner orders the tree cut down.
The parable of the fig tree makes one point very clear; God has expectations for his people. God expects that his children will bear fruit for his kingdom. What is said concerning the fig tree, can be said for those who profess a faith in Christ. God does not expect his people to become something they are not. He merely expects that they share his love with others, producing good fruit for the kingdom. Sadly, many Christians feel that if they simply attend worship regularly, they are meeting God’s expectations. They are like the fig tree, putting out branches and leaves, but no fruit is produced.
In the twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explains that each Christian is blessed with certain gifts for ministry. These “spiritual gifts” given at the time of our Baptism enable us to do the work God sets before us. God expects that each of us, as individuals, and as members of his Church, to use these gifts for the sake of others. In doing so we produce fruit for God’s kingdom.
From Pastor David’s blog “In The Beginning” found at http://in-the-beginning.org
