Outreach Archive

Pastoral Devotion for November

Posted November 1, 2018 By admin

Christ the King

For just a few seconds, close your eyes and relax. Get comfortable, clear your mind and imagine seeing Jesus. Imagine actually seeing his face, imagine being there with him. What image did you see? Did you see him as a baby born in Bethlehem? How about as a shepherd, or blessing little children? These are often the images we see of Jesus in our mind. Such images provide us with popular metaphors associated with Christ. Jesus our friend, Jesus our brother, Jesus our comforter. We learn to see Jesus as the one who walks with us and talks with us.

I would imagine that few if any saw Jesus as King. Kings aren’t normal images for too many folks these days. In folklore, Kings wore long purple robes and golden crowns. Today’s kings mostly wear suits and look like presidents, or wear military uniforms and look like soldiers. Jesus doesn’t fit these descriptions. He doesn’t wear gold around His neck or rings on His fingers. He doesn’t wear a suit and certainly not army fatigues.

I’m curious, when you imagined seeing Jesus, how many saw a man beaten to within an inch of his life, his outstretched hands nailed to a cross beam and gasping for breath with bystanders mocking and taunting him? Oh…and as for his crown? Thorns, sharp and pointed; digging into his forehead. When a few finally recognized Jesus as King, this is the image they had before them. Yet, in this image we see the glory of our King Jesus.

Jesus came to earth to save His people from sin. He came to rescue those who believe in Him from eternal death. In the stripes of His wounds runs the blood from which we are saved. From His dying words, “It is finished” we have the proclamation that Christ has won the victory, God and creation are reconciled through His innocent death on the cross.

So once again I invite you to close your eyes, picture Jesus in your mind. What do you see? Yeah, me too. I see the babe of Bethlehem, the Good Shepherd and the one who feeds the hungry and cures the sick. But that’s ok, that’s who Jesus is as well. And next week Matthew will begin telling us the story in his words; the story of Christ our King.

Thanks from The Lutheran Women

Posted October 31, 2018 By admin

The Lutheran Women would like to thank all of you for your generous support for our Congregational Luncheon Fund Raiser on Sunday, September 23. It was such a big success. The total raised was $2,053. God bless all of you for your continuing support throughout the year. Without your help, our group could not help those in need. We have had a great year and have put smiles on many faces. We will also be helping some families at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Thank you and God bless,
Phyllis, President

Children’s Christmas Program

Posted October 31, 2018 By admin

This year’s Children’s Christmas Program will be 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 kindergarten through 5th 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. The deadline is to let us know is November 4th if your child(ren) will be participating; it will help us greatly in our
preparations for the first practice.

NALC Disaster Response

Posted October 31, 2018 By admin

With the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Florence and now the recovery efforts from Hurricane Matthew, there is an urgent need for disaster response items. As we are able, St. Jacob’s should help meet the needs of others just as we would hope our neighbors would come to our aid. Our congregation’s focus is on three items for recovery; flood buckets, health kits and cases of bottled water. Please provide these items as you are able. We can store them on the stage in the fellowship hall and then deliver them to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Lexington. If you are not able to put together a flood bucket or health kit, you may donate a gift card from either Lowes or Home Depot. Gift cards can be dropped off in the church office or placed in the offering plate on Sunday.

 

Click here for the Current NALC Flood and Health Bucket contents list.

 

Lutheran Men

Posted October 31, 2018 By admin

Our next meeting will be Sunday, November 18 at 6 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Ken has devotions.  Our cooks will be Eddie, Ken Smith, and Don. Also, don’t forget following the Thanksgiving Eve Service to bring your cakes or wrapped cakes slices and meet the Lutheran Men in the fellowship hall to prepare the cakes to be taken to the HUB so families in our community can have a Thanksgiving Meal.

Pastoral Devotion for October

Posted October 1, 2018 By admin

Render unto God

Read Mark 12:1-17

Scheming to find a way to get rid of Jesus, the Pharisees asked him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” The Pharisees’ question suggests there are things that belong to this world and things that belong to God. The Church often falls into this same trap. Bring this text up within a meeting or Bible study and almost immediately people will say everything belongs to God, even our money. Our behavior concerning our possessions and our money would suggest we feel otherwise. The power of money is deceptive and deadly.

Money buys material goods, material goods provide personal comfort, personal comfort leads us to a false notion that we are in control of our lives. The more goods we have, the more we feel we need. Luxuries become necessities; extravagance becomes essential. Even worse, the more we have, the more we feel we deserve, when in truth, because of our sin the only thing we deserve is death. Thankfully, the power of God’s love is stronger.

Jesus says, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” All we have, even our very lives belong to God. Yet our Father provides all we need for life. As we render taxes and other payments, we do so understanding the authority and responsibility of the institutions also come from God.

O Lord, our provider, we thank you for your many gifts, especially the gift of your grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Wednesday Morning Bible Study

Posted September 25, 2018 By admin

Morning Bible Study will resume on Wednesday, October 31 at 9:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. The focus of our study will be taking a look at several of our favorite hymns. We will discuss the origins of hymns, why we love them so much, and study their biblical references. Being October 31st is Reformation Day, our first beloved hymn under study will be “A Mighty Fortress.”
Plan on attending as you are able.

Blood drive for Hannah

Posted September 25, 2018 By admin

St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church will be hosting a blood drive for Hannah, granddaughter of St. Jacob’s members Stanley and Lucy. Hannah had an elevated heart rate and went to Parkridge Baptist Hospital October 29, 2017. While there, her platelet count was down to 2000 (normal range is (150,000-450,000) which required her first transfusion. The transfusions continued and on October 30 she was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, which is a rare disease in which the bone marrow and hematopoietic stem cells that reside there destroy themselves. Hannah was referred to Levine Cancer Center in Charlotte and started receiving treatments as well as regular blood and platelet transfusions. Hannah estimates that since being diagnosed, she has received over 170 units of blood and platelets.
The St. Jacob’s congregation has been with Hannah from the beginning. The Lutheran Women provided various gift baskets during her earlier hospitalization. The Lutheran Men, the Lutheran Women and the Outreach Team also provided monetary donations. Of course, many prayers have been offered. Phyllis, President of the Lutheran Women, says, “Hannah is one of the strongest and bravest people I know. She has been through so much but doesn’t complain about her condition and is very upbeat. She has a very positive outlook.” Information on Hannah’s personal journey can be found at ‘Hannah’s Healing’ on Facebook. The St. Jacob’s Church Council approved the use of the Fellowship Hall for a blood drive. The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas from Charlotte will send staff to St. Jacob’s on Monday, October 29 from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. to conduct the drive. The goal of the drive is a minimum of 50 units of blood. St. Jacob’s will be joined in this drive by Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church in Pomaria and St. Matthews Lutheran Church, also in Pomaria.
More information will be provided about appointments at a later date.

Up and Going News

Posted September 25, 2018 By admin

The August Up and Going Meeting was the 4-Churches meeting held on August 23, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. Mt. Tabor hosted the meeting. There were 15 members and guests from St. Jacob’s. President, Eloise welcomed the group. We gave the Pledge of Allegiance to the U. S. Flag. Devotions and the Blessing were given by Carolyn. She reminded us that our homes are like gardens. We should strive to plant and nurture seeds of kindness, love and peace. These are gifts from Jesus and we should give them to others. A delicious meal was enjoyed by all.
Entertainment was provided by Nikki from St. Paul Lutheran Church. She sang beautiful songs of faith and popular songs. There were drawings for gifts. On departing, everyone chose a plant or seeds to take home. We enjoyed a blessed time together with old and new friends. The 2019 4-Churches Meeting will be held at Holy Trinity in Little Mountain. The October meeting will be held on October 18th.

October is STEWARDSHIP month

Posted September 25, 2018 By admin

October is STEWARDSHIP month here at Saint Jacob’s, the time of year when we prayerfully consider how we can use our God given gifts of time, talent and possessions to serve God and our neighbors as STEWARDS of His Kingdom here on earth. The stewardship team has chosen this year to use the offertory prayer as our theme for STEWARDSHIP month.
Merciful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us – ourselves, 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.
In these words, we declare to all that STEWARDSHIP is a way of life, not just something that we talk about, but something that we live out in our daily lives. These words declare our true belief that all that we have is a gift from God, and we give back to Him only a portion, asking Him to “receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord” – the GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!
There is much work to do and many ministries that require our time, talent and abilities here at Saint Jacob’s. We need teachers, grass cutters, cooks and dish washers, lay readers, acolytes and greeters, team leaders and council members, computer geeks, singers and musicians, bell ringers and bus drivers, prayer warriors and accountants. The list can go on and on, but you know what is needed, and you also know what you are capable of and willing to offer.
It has been said countless times by some, “I would like to do that, but I just don’t think I am the right person”, or “I would do that, but there are others here who can do it better than me.” You are a child of God, and He has given you one or many gifts. Remember, you are the STEWARD of that one, or those many gifts. Do not be afraid to use them in service to our Lord. Offer them with joy and thanksgiving!
We have provided a brief description of our teams, the name of the 2018 team leader, and the Council Representative for each ministry group. Please pray about how you will use your time and talents at St. Jacob’s in 2019 and fill out the Time & Talent form on the reverse and place it in the offering plate on any Sunday up to and including October 28th, the final Sunday of the month.

Thank you.
Your Stewardship Team

ST. JACOB’S LUTHERAN CHURCH
MINISTRY TEAMS

2018 Team Leaders & Council Representative

SHORT TERM MINISTRY TEAMS – Ministries that have specific goals to accomplish with definite beginning and ending time periods. These teams are active on an as needed basis – Council Rep: Don

Audit Team – Responsible for auditing all church expenses which includes all auxiliary groups (Lutheran Men, Lutheran Women, Up & Going and St. Jacob’s Youth). Team Leader: Frances

Building Team – Assists in the planning, evaluation and guidance needed in the call to build or expand the property of the church and its ministries. Team Leader: Don

Constitution Team – Reviews the church constitution and makes recommendations for amendments as needed. Team Leader: Robert

Historical Team – Maintains and stores historical books and records of St. Jacob’s. Team Leader: Kayla

MINISTRY TEAMS FOR WITNESS – Ministries that include community outreach and participation; and shares with the community what’s happening at St. Jacob’s – Council Rep: John

Outreach Team – Reaches out and shares God’s love and good news by organizing opportunities of Christian service within our community and beyond. Team Leaders: John and David

Publicity Team – Publicizes church news to make the congregation and the surrounding community aware of events and activities at St. Jacob’s. Team Leader: Walt

MINISTRY TEAMS FOR PARISH LIFE – Fellowship ministries for congregational members – Council Rep: Frances

Congregational Care – Responsible for demonstrating Christian love and providing for the well being and care of the congregation. Assists with congregational fun events including Homecoming, 5th Sunday Fun Night and 1st Sunday Coffee & Lemonade. Team Leader: Billy
Congregational Safety Team – Responsible for the safety of the church and congregation. Team Leader: Jeff

Other fellowship groups for our Congregation: Lutheran Men (Billy); Lutheran Women (Phyllis); Up & Going (Helen); and St. Jacob’s Youth

SUPPORT OF MINISTRY TEAMS – Ministry teams that support the financial and physical assets that belong to our church. – Council Rep: Barry and Brandon

Long Range Planning Team – Studies and evaluates the demographics, spiritual culture in our area and our ministries. Makes recommendations on how we as a congregation can respond to needs in ministry. Team Leader: AJ

Property Team – Responsible for the care and maintenance of all church property at large including all church buildings, the church bus, and cemetery grounds. Team Leader: Chad

Stewardship Team – Encourages the congregation to recognize all they have is a gift from God and to help them understand the Bible tells us a portion of what God gives to us should be returned to Him. Team Leader: Larry

Technology Team – Responsible for the care and maintenance of all office equipment and systems; manages the sound system for all worship events and ensures that the sermons are recorded. Team Leader: Brandon

STAFF SUPPORT MINISTRIES – Ministries that support paid staff – Council Rep: Kathleen
Staff Support Team – Works closely with Pastor to supervise and support all employed or contracted personnel (Music Ministers, Administrative Assistant, Youth Director, Cleaning Staff and Nursery Director). Team Leader: Susan

MINISTRY TEAMS FOR SPIRITUAL LIFE – Ministries to help us grow in our spiritual life and worship. Council Rep: June

Altar Guild Team – Responsible for preparation for Holy Communion; changing paraments; cleaning Communion vessels, linens and acolyte robes; acolytes, banner bearer, crucifer, and lay readers and notifying members of their assigned Sunday for altar flowers. – Team Leader: Brenda

Christian Education Team – Works closely with Pastor to provide opportunities for members of all ages to study and grow in understanding of Christian faith and life. – Team Leader: Open

Prayer Team – Assists in communicating prayer needs to the congregation – Team Leader: Bob & Gloria

Worship & Music Team – Works closely with Music Director and all music related groups: Hand Bells, Adult, Youth and Children’s Choirs. Assists in planning music for worship services. – Team Leader: Open