Good Things at St. Jacob’s for January:
• Sunday attendance was up
• Bill Nuottila funeral service was beautiful
• Visitors from out of Chapin
• Record high of 16 views for on-line service
The Lutheran Women will meet on Sunday, March 20th at 4 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Looking forward to seeing you all.
Worship and Music will once again be accepting orders for Easter Lilies to be placed in the church for our Easter Services in honor and/or memory of loved ones. The cost for each plant is $14.00 and orders must be placed on or before Sunday, March 27th . If you’re interested in purchasing an Easter Lily, please pick up an order form on the “Offering Table” or at the church office. The completed form and payment should be turned in to Marie on or before the deadline date. Also, the form is on the next page in your newsletter and you can use it as well.
Do you have enough faith?
Read Mark 7:24-30
Do you have enough faith? Do you have enough faith to pray even when it seems God is not listening? It is not always easy to maintain faithfulness, especially when it seems God is silent to our pleas for help. Just as the Psalmist wrote; “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest…” (Psalm 22:2) many feel they experience silence from God. On the night he was handed over, Jesus himself prayed that the cup of suffering might be removed from him, yet he remained faithful. The fact remains that Jesus’ crucifixion was God’s greatest silence.
We have all experienced this silence of God. We pray for something, and the opposite seems to happen. We pray for healing yet still suffer. We pray for companionship, yet we remain lonely. This is where faith enters. Having faith means understanding and believing that Christ was, is and always will be Emmanuel, God with us. Even as we do not understand God’s ways, through faith we are enabled to believe that God’s mercy endures. Even as we don’t always seem to get what we want, the Holy Spirit leads us through faith to realize God gives us what we need.
In the text listed above, the Syrophoenician woman pleads for her daughter’s healing; she believes the crumbs from the Master’s table have the power to save. It is all she needs. Even as we plead, “Lord have mercy”, Christ reaches out and fills our empty hands with this same bread from heaven. Christ is our only source for forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life. Through faith in him we are saved.
Do you have enough faith? What do you think? Do you believe that God’s blessings are for you even if you are an outsider? Having enough faith is not hoping we will get what we want; it is knowing Jesus is Lord. Having enough faith is believing that no matter what chaos threatens us, we are not alone in a storm. Having enough faith means knowing Christ is our Lord and our God, and through him only is the way to eternal life.
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila
The Church office will be closed on Monday, February 21st in observance of Presidents’ Day. Have a great day!
Part of worship planning is choosing the liturgy that we will use during the different seasons of the church year. I grew up Lutheran like most of you. I know that we are a liturgical church. We follow a liturgy in our worship each Sunday, and our church year and lessons are based on the liturgical seasons. It all got me thinking about liturgy, what it means and where it comes from. Like all good Lutherans, I have learned about this throughout the years, but I could use a refresher. I’ve always heard that liturgy means “the work of the people” so, I was prepared to ask myself “how hard am I working?” I mean do I show up each Sunday ready to give one hundred and ten percent or am I keeping my head low hoping the boss doesn’t realize that I’m just not feeling it this week? Being a retired librarian, I decided I ought to do some research. To my surprise I found that the word liturgy does not mean the work of the people.
The word liturgy comes from the Greek, and it translates as “work done for the people.” What? Well, there goes the newsletter article I’ve been composing in my head for the last two weeks! On the bright side, I’m off the hook. I don’t need to worry if I’m praying fervently enough or listening closely to the sermon. If someone else is doing the work, does it really matter if I am there or not? And whose job is it anyway, the pastor’s?
No. The work done on behalf of the people is done by Christ. Christ leads our worship. He comes each Sunday and opens the scriptures for us just as he did for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection. Luke 24:27 tells us that “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.” We gather on Sunday on our own road to Emmaus weighed down by all our fears and confusion just like these disciples, and Christ is right here at St. Jacob ’s. He opens the Word for us and helps us to understand all that God has promised and done for you and me. And then he breaks the bread and opens our eyes.
Does this mean that I am off the hook? Not at all! Each Sunday do I give my full attention to Christ on that road as he talks to me or do I walk away thinking that Christ ’s words left me flat this Sunday, I couldn ’t really follow what he was saying? And just like those two disciples, do I rush to tell my friends of the encounter I have had with Christ? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12 that through our baptism we have been made a part of the body of Christ. Every part of the body works together and not one part can be left out. We are all essential to the work of God. Christ has saved us, Christ opens our eyes and explains God ’s word to us. United with each other and Christ we roll up ours sleeves to get the work done for the people, all of God ’s people.
Our mid-week Morning Bible Study will resume on Wednesday, February 2nd beginning at 10 AM. Our topic will be a based on a book “Reviving the Aging Church” written by our friend, Pastor Brad Hales from the NALC Staff. We will take a close look at the scriptures pertaining to God’s blessing the faithful with long life and many years. This will be a great study and produce good fruit for our congregation as we live into the “golden” years. There are no special materials needed, just bring your Bible and a desire to explore God’s Word with members of your church family.
St. Jacob’s Kids for Christ will meet immediately following Children’s Choir rehearsal on Sunday, February 13th from 4 PM – 5 PM. Acolyte training will be a part of this event but shouldn’t take too long. KFC will take on a project to reach out to our church family members. All children from grades 1st through 6th are welcome to participate. Parents are also welcomed to come and sit in on the fun.
Pastor David is calling all St. Jacob’s Ministry Team Leaders to a meeting on Saturday, February 12th from 9AM-12 Noon in the Fellowship Hall. There will be several important items to be discussed concerning ministry team functions, financial responsibilities, communications, and record keeping. Please plan to attend. If you are not able, a member of your ministry team should be in attendance.
Training for children who would like to serve as Acolyte during our worship services will be held immediately following the Children’s Choir rehearsals on Sunday, February 13th. All current acolytes should also attend this training session so that everyone will be on the same page when it comes to serving. Please contact Pastor David with any questions you may have.
