Sunday, September 1st we welcomed Cameron and William to the family of God through the waters of Holy Baptism. “Tate” is the son of Justin and Jasmin, and Samuel is the son of Dylan and Amanda.
Bible Study Archive
Holy Baptism
Posted September 28, 2024 By adminPastoral Devotion for October – A Place at the Table
Posted September 28, 2024 By adminRead: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10, Luke 16:19-31
As baptismal waters washed over his head, the stain of sin was erased forever, and he was made a new creation. At long last he became a child of God, refreshed and brought to new life. So it was for a homeless man walking the streets of Charleston who happened to become friends with this particular pastor. Truly, Greg became the best friend I ever had.
It seemed that at every turn, fortune never seemed to smile upon Greg. He was homeless, friendless, and trusted no one. Yet, tired of being alone, he entered the church. There he found compassion. In time, the compassion he discovered taught him to trust; his trust led him to love. Life remained difficult, but his newly gifted faith would begin to understand this earthly affliction would one day pass, and the kingdom would be his forever. That day came for Greg soon after I left Charleston to serve a congregation in North Carolina.
As Lazarus longed for food from the rich man’s table, not a crumb would fall within his reach. Making a distinction between himself and the needy, the rich man failed in God’s call to care for the poor, thus he lived contrary to God’s mandate to love his neighbor. Upon his death, the rich man was denied the mercy of God. In short, he received his reward for his selfishness and refusal to care for those in need. Many in this world continue to make such distinctions, only helping when they feel the recipient “deserves” to be helped. They make distinctions between people according to appearances. Thus, the lost and hungry often go ignored. But just as God smiled upon Lazarus, all who call upon the Lord will find compassion and take their place at the table of heaven.
Prayer: Father God, give us hearts for love alone, that we might love and serve our neighbor without distinction. Amen.
St. Jacob’s Youth
Posted September 26, 2024 By adminFollowing our Confirmation classes on October 6th, the youth of St. Jacob’s are invited to a time of food, fellowship, fun and games. Since there will be no Youth Handbell rehearsals that day, our Youth meeting will begin upon the conclusion of confirmation class about 4:00PM. All St. Jacobs Youth and their friends in grades 6 and above are welcome. We will meet in the Church office.
Up and Going
Posted September 15, 2024 By adminWe gathered at Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church in Little Mountain at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, August 21st for the annual 4 Churches Meeting. Nineteen members and guests attended from St. Jacob’s.
Mt. Tabor’s Fellowship Hall was beautifully decorated in red and white with a vase of fresh red and white flowers, later given as door prizes. After registration each guest was given a red bird key chain or red bird ornament of their choice.
Welcome was presented by Janice Long. Carolyn Torrence gave the Devotions and the Blessing of the meal. We all enjoyed a bountiful and delicious meal prepared by wonderful Dutch Fork cooks. After the meal, Rev. Dr. Tony Metze presented a delightful magic show. He was most entertaining. Door prizes were presented to the lucky ticket holders. Many from St. Jacob’s were fortunate enough to win a prize. The Meeting closed with the singing of “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” Mt. Tabor used the Red Bird and United in Faith as the themes of the day. Our thanks go to Mt. Tabor for making everything so special for our enjoyment.
The September Up and Going Meeting will be the annual Apple Run on Thursday, September 12th. Please be at the Church ready to depart at 8:30 AM. A sign up sheet will be on our bulletin board. Lunch will be at Harry’s BBQ and Miss Piggy’s Ice Cream Parlor.
Helen
Team Leader for Up and Going
Congo Mission 2024
Posted September 10, 2024 By adminReport Even though I was not able to travel to Congo with Pastor Kalonji, my heart overflows with joy that our shared mission work continues to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. With the help of so many congregations across the NALC, and especially St. Jacob’s, Pastor Kalonji was able to engage in a longer than usual mission trip to Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi, and the village of Merode.
Thank you to everyone here at St. Jacob’s who continue to contribute to the Congo Mission through your offerings and gifts. With help from your donations, forty-seven families welcomed home mothers and their newborn babies, fifty-six families and individuals who had no other access to the Scriptures received Bibles written in their local language, and over six hundred orphaned children enjoyed a healthy hot meal when they would not have otherwise had such a feast.
Of course, one of the projects that brings me much joy is the construction of the first Lutheran Church building in the province of Kasai-Oriental. Currently, all Lutheran Church worship and activity takes place outside, exposed to the weather. With grants from NALC Congregations, we have been able to purchase an acre of land and begin construction. The foundation is laid for the church. Soon, there will be a modest building rising up from the ground to serve as a school for children, education for women, and a house of worship for the surrounding community. We hope to provide for a well to be drilled since all water must be brought in from elsewhere. We trust that God will provide.
As this year’s trip is concluded, we leave behind funds for congregations that they may continue to feed orphans who remain in their care, eyeglasses for people who have such need, and the seeds of faith planted through the love of Christian brothers and sisters in Christ across the ocean. Thank you again for supporting this wonderful and exciting mission. I am so thankful we can all be a part of God’s work together for the sake of our fellow Christians in Congo.
Music Notes
Posted September 10, 2024 By adminPsalm 104:33 I will singto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
Chancel choir news
We have a great selection of music ready for the beginning of the choir year. The notebooks are filled with all of the music to take us through the end of December, and a new cantata is ready for rehearsal. All we need now are members willing to serve God and bless our congregation with the gift of music. We will kick off our new choir season on Wednesday, September 4th at 5:30 in the church office with a covered dish dinner. The meat will be provided, please bring either a side or dessert to share. After our meal and time of fellowship, we will dig into the collection of music for the new year. Please come join us. It’s sure to be a great year. Children’s choir has started. We meet each Sunday from 3-3:45 in the downstairs music room.
Children’s choir is for children in K-4 grade.
Youth handbells meets at 4pm in the music room downstairs.
Lutheran Women
Posted September 4, 2024 By adminThe Lutheran Women will have a spaghetti meal fundraiser on Sunday, September 22nd following worship. The meal will be salad, spaghetti, bread and dessert and may be eaten in or taken to go. Adult plates will be $10 and child plates will be $5. The funds raised will be used to assist those in our church and community in need of financial assistance for medical issues. There will be a sign-up sheet in the Worship folder on September 8th and September 15th, or you can call Sandra. Please let us know if you plan to join us no later than September 15th.
From Your Pastor’s Heart – Spiritual Gifts
Posted September 1, 2024 By adminFor it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Matthew 25:14-15
Several years ago, I led a “Spiritual Gifts Inventory” for the congregation I served in Salisbury, NC. I have asked several folks here at St. Jacob’s about such an inventory and has there ever been one done here? The answers I got were of a mixed bag, but what I was able to glean from these questions and answers is that, if the congregation has participated in a spiritual gifts inventory, the number of members participating was smaller than hoped for.
God blesses his Church with gifted members for the sake of the church’s ministry and mission. Some of you may have participated in such an inventory, maybe even several times over the years. But it is always worthwhile for congregations to explore how God has gifted them and how or if our collective spiritual gifts are being used. Responding to many questions and statements, the testing group seeks to help the person participating to determine what their gift (or gifts) might be. One of the passages sometimes used in these evaluations is Matthew 25, the parable that tells the story of a wealthy master who went away and left three servants with different amounts of money to invest. Most of us have heard plenty of teaching on this passage even before it became popular to conduct spiritual gifts inventories. For context, Read Matthew 25:14-18.
The most common translation of the word used for what the master left his servants was “talents”. Talents were not a specific kind of coin but were understood to be a prescribed weight of a bag of silver. Each bag of silver would amount to the value of one year’s worth of daily wages. The word “talent”, however, is particularly useful when talking about the various gifts God has given to each of us.
The first two servants in today’s passage took the bags of silver that their master had left them and invested them. Thus, they were able to give their master a return on his investment. They saw themselves as stewards of what had been put into their care. The “wicked” servant, however, did not use what was provided. In effect, he wasted his gift. He provided no return on his master’s investment. Not all the things God has provided to us are monetary; in fact, most are not. We are born with certain “natural” abilities, such as the ability to run fast or an ability to sing well. We also have abilities and qualities that God has blessed us with at the time of our Baptism. These abilities which God has given us which are not necessarily something we could be expected to be able to do on our own, like the ability to know certain things, or possess the gift for compassion, generosity, or having keen insight into certain situations. These are spiritual gifts.
These gifts aren’t simply given to us; they are entrusted into our care to use in serving God. Operating in the gifts God has given us is not optional; it is God’s call to stewardship of what He has put into our care. Many churches use this as a way to staff programs but these gifts are not primarily given to us so we can fill the slots in our church programs; they are ways God has chosen for you and me to serve Him in our world.
Before too long, I am hoping to work with the Stewardship Team to conduct a spiritual gifts inventory here at St. Jacob’s. I am also hoping there will be a significant number of our church family members who participate. If you are reading this, then you are one I am hoping will attend. I pray each church family member will take a few minutes to think deeply about what gifts God has given you to use for Him. Once the inventory is complete, you may be surprised to find how you might bear fruit for God’s kingdom. Most people who participate in such inventories realize they have not been serving in ways God has gifted them. I pray we would all be good stewards using the gifts and talents God provides.
Grace and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila
Men’s Bible Study
Posted August 27, 2024 By adminOur Men’s Bible Study will resume following a summer break. There will be a new time and day for our meeting. In order to include more of our men, Men’s Bible Study will be held on the first Monday evening each month in the church office beginning September 2nd at 6:30PM. With this new time, we hope that those who are not able to meet in the early morning hours will take this opportunity to gather and study God’s Word together. Our Topic will be determined prior to the first meeting.
Youth Activities
Posted August 27, 2024 By adminThe youth had a blast on Sunday evening as we continued some craft activities that were started this summer, played games and enjoyed a nacho bar. The youth are gearing up for a great year ahead. We will meet the last Sunday of each month at 5:00 pm in the fellowship hall for games, fellowship, food and devotions. Currently, our youth are preparing to lead worship on September 29th. Mark your calendars and come join in the fun on the last Sunday of each month.
