Our Wednesday morning Bible study will resume on September 7th with a study of Jesus’s parables. From the parable of the Mustard Seed to the Parable of the Rich Man and Poor Lazarus, we will look closely at the teaching of Jesus as he shares what it is to live the life of a person of faith. No materials are needed except your Bible and a willingness to read along with the members of your church family. We have enjoyed many wonderful discussions during our Wednesday Morning Bible studies and pray that more church family members will join in. Bible study will begin at 9:30 AM each week in the fellowship hall.
Worship and Music Archive
Mid-Week Bible Study Resumes
Posted September 1, 2022 By adminUp And Going News
Posted August 26, 2022 By adminOn a beautiful Thursday Morning, Sept 18th, nineteen members and guests of St. Jacob’s Up and Going gathered at Macedonia Lutheran Church (Church on the Lake) to enjoy the 4 Churches Annual Meeting hosted by the Macedonia Goldies.
Upon arrival each person signed in and received a beautiful handcrafted bulletin with a prize ticket attached. We then gathered in the Sanctuary for the Program. Sandy Bennett, president of the Goldies, warmly welcomed us to Macedonia.
She invited each of us to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor Terry Hundley then opened with prayer. Pastor then gave a short program on the Blessings of Every Day with Christ. He encouraged us to enjoy each day with Christ and not worry about yesterday or tomorrow but to concentrate on our work for Christ today. He encouraged us to read the book “Win The Day” for more on this subject.
Ms. Michelle Hancock entertained with beautiful songs that she had selected to sing for our enjoyment. Her singing was so beautiful and touched our hearts. Pastor Terry then gave the Blessing for our meal. We then gathered in the Fellowship Hall for our Meal and prize drawings.
The meal was so, so delicious. There was such a selection to choose from. Much more than you could get a taste of everything …your plate just wouldn’t hold it.
After the meal, we excitedly enjoyed the drawings for prizes. Beautiful handmade items made by the Goldies members were given out as prizes. There were aloe plants potted in precious tea and coffee cups. These were for everyone to have one.
We then visited with old friends, near and dear to our hearts. This was the first time that we had met since COVID. What a pleasure to see our friends from Holy Trinity, Mount Tabor, Macedonia and St. Jacob’s gathered together for fellowship and fun.
St. Jacob’s will host the next 4 Churches Meeting in August of 2023.
The next Up and Going Meeting will be the Annual Apple Run on Thursday September 15rh. Please let Helen or Ann know by September 1st if you plan to go. We will enjoy lunch in Hendersonville, NC. Seats are limited so notify one of them soon.
Worship While Pastor David Is In The Congo
Posted July 28, 2022 By adminDue to the current shortage of available supply pastors, worship on the Sundays of August 7th and 14th will be led by our St. Jacob’s Church Elders. They will lead us in liturgy and distribution of Holy Communion. On August 7th, David will be preaching a sermon written by Pastor David prior to his leaving for the Congo. On Sunday, August 14th Sherrie will be doing the same. We are blessed by the service of our Elders while our pastor is away.
Choir Notes
Posted July 7, 2022 By adminThank you to everyone who has helped in the music ministry during this year of rebuilding. It is exciting to once again have choirs, a little bit of bell music, and even the occasional guitar, trumpet and saxophone.
Thank you also to the parents who have brought their children to Sunday rehearsals and to our choir members who commit to Wednesday rehearsals and being at church each week to help lead worship.
The choirs are enjoying a well deserved break from rehearsals over the summer but the work still goes on. I will be attending the week long Chorister’s Guild Institute in July, remotely due to the pandemic, to build my skills in choral directing. Also, this summer break allows me time to plan the music programs for the upcoming year. I hope you will choose to join us in the fall when rehearsals resume.
Filed in Other Happenings, Worship and Music
Choir Notes
Posted April 29, 2022 By adminChrist Is Risen. He Is Risen Indeed Alleluia!
We have once again celebrated Christ’s victory over death on Easter Sunday and with that comes some changes to our church service. We once more proclaim, “Alleluia”, praise to God, throughout the service. During Lent all our Alleluias went away. Do you know how many times we say “Alleluia, praise the Lord” during our service? I once had the children count them in the bulletin and it’s a lot. Check it out this Sunday. As we come together to praise God, we say Alleluia quite a few times. Another change in the service is that the Hymn of Praise, “Glory to God”, has returned. It too went away during Lent. After the Kyrie, we sing “Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God in the Highest.” This hymn of praise is based on the Gloria sung by the angels at the birth of Christ. We are rejoicing at the coming of Christ. He has come into the world and taken away our sins. He has risen and is seated at the right hand of God. We ask him to have mercy on us. During Lent, we did not sing the hymn of praise as we remembered the forty years Israel wandered lost in the wilderness. Lent is a time when we focus on just how lost we are and how much we need a savior. But Glory to God, it is Easter, Christ has arisen and we join with all the host of heaven singing praises to the Lord. During this Easter season rejoice in the Lord and sing out his praises with gusto. This Sunday focus on the beautiful words given to us at Jesus birth and remember all that he has done and continues to do for you.
I hope that you enjoyed the return of bell music to our service on Easter morning. If you have rung bells in the past or have thought I’d love to learn to ring bells, please let me know. I would like to put together another small group to play on Pentecost Sunday in June. We would require a few weeks to practice. I pray for your help as we begin to rebuild the music ministry at St. Jacob’s.
Worship & Music
Posted April 29, 2022 By adminWe’d like to say a big thanks to Brandon and Marie that served our last Lenten Meal in April. We’d also like to thank Ole Timey Meat Market for their kind donation of the cubed steak that was served. We appreciate all the support each group did over our Lenten season. Thanks to all that participated.
Choir Notes
Posted March 31, 2022 By adminBefore our service even truly begins, spoiler alert, the start of the communion service is the opening hymn, we usually have the brief order of confession and forgiveness. These words are so familiar to us that it can be easy to say them without giving a lot of thought to what we are saying. Our worship service comes to us from scripture, from glimpses of heavenly worship shown to man in Revelation and the prophets, and from our early church fathers. The words we hear each week in the confession, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us…” comes from 1 John 1:8-9. There is something very comforting to me in knowing that the words of our liturgy have been said by so many worshipers before me and were given to us by God.
I thought it would be interesting to see where in scripture some of the other elements of our weekly service are located. So, I challenge you to a matching game. Look up the scriptures below to match them to a few of the parts of our worship service. There are many other scriptural references for liturgies we use at different times of the year.
Joel 2:13 Sanctus- Holy, holy, holy Lord…
Matthew 6:9-13 The Blessing- The Lord bless you and keep you…
Isaiah 6:3 and Matthew 21:9 Words of Institution- In the night in which he was betrayed…
Luke 22:19-20 Lenten Gospel Acclamation- Return to the Lord your God…
John 1:29 Lord’s Prayer
Numbers 6:223-27 Agnus Dei- Lamb of God… Read the remainder of this entry »
Worship & Music
Posted March 31, 2022 By adminWe’d like to say a big thanks to all the groups that served Lenten Meals in March. Lutheran Women, Lutheran Men, the Children’s Choir, as well as the Church Council. We appreciate all the individuals that took the time to serve us the delicious meals.
Filed in Other Happenings, Worship and Music
From the Pastor’s Heart
Posted March 15, 2022 By adminRead Joel 2:12-14
Return to the Lord your God!
Recalling the forty days during which Christ spent in the wilderness, our Lenten journey begins with a call to repentance and to resist temptation. “Return to the Lord your God, who is merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Joel 2:13)” is the refrain sung by the church at worship. Forsake the ways of the world and return to following the path set before you by your Lord and God. In order that we may do this, we begin our Lenten journey together with the corporate confession of Ash Wednesday and hear the words of God’s love and promise of his grace. These are but the first steps along the path toward Golgotha, and ultimately the empty tomb of Easter. So that we may make this journey together in faith, I strongly encourage everyone at St. Jacob’s to focus on God’s activity in your lives and to participate in the services and activities of Lent.
Return to Worship
The season of Lent is always a good time to center ourselves and our families in the rich traditions of the church. Gathered with God’s people on Sundays and again during Wednesday vespers, we renew our commitment to offer God our worship and praise, hear God’s Word through sermon and song, and receive his forgiveness and grace through the sacrament of the altar. Lent is a good time to renew our passion for such worship through rich liturgy and prayer, begging Kyrie eleison, Christi eleison, that is Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. Each Sunday during Lent, our sermon series will focus on the humanity of Christ as God came to live among his people, and how Jesus gave himself away as sacrifice for all so that we may live in God’s mercy and be recipients of his grace.
Focus on Scripture
In the early church, the forty days of Lent was a time for instruction in the basic truths of the Christian faith. Commitment to daily reading and study of Holy Scripture; therefore, a central part of one’s faith formation during Lent and beyond. In order to live lives of faith and be followers of Christ Jesus, one must continue to learn of the mighty acts of God and the history of our salvation. So many of our members do not take advantage of Sunday School and small group Bible study, thus my question for you during this Lenten pilgrimage is, from where are you learning the elements of the Christian faith? Where are you learning about your faith and call if not from the church at Sunday School and Bible study? Worship is meant to praise and glorify God while connecting faith and life. It is imperative that Christians continue in life long faith formation within the community of Christ. I strongly encourage each of you to dedicate yourselves to daily reading of Holy Scripture and to participate in study of God’s Word in the fellowship of the church.
Focus on Prayer
What is prayer if not our personal and intimate communication with God? Given the reality of what prayer is, let me ask another question; How is your prayer life? Living in such a fast paced world, we often forget to slow down and enjoy conversation with our loving God. Yet God is always with us, always walking by our side, leading us to the good gifts of his kingdom. Lent is a good time to remember to slow down, be still and listen to the voice of God. It is a good time to enjoy quiet moments in prayer and hear God’s answers to the concerns we bring before him. I encourage everyone during these forty days and beyond to take time for daily prayer, either in the quietness of your homes, or in the quietness of your hearts. Then join your sisters and brothers in Christ on Sundays for the prayer and ritual of worship on Sunday as we join our voices lifting the concerns of others before God.
Focus on Discipleship
As we continue to study God’s Word and grow in faith, our thankful response to God’s grace grows as well. During the forty days of Lent, Christians recommit their lives to being faithful disciples of Christ, following his example of ministry for the sake of others. Lent, therefore, is a good time to examine your level of giving of time talent and treasure, to become a cheerful giver of the gifts which God first has given unto us. Again, I strongly encourage everyone to examine their level of giving in each of these areas. I encourage you to participate in the services of the Lord’s house, the ministries we share for the sake of those in our community and world, and to give thanks daily for the opportunity to be as Christ for others.
On Ash Wednesday we begin the pilgrimage anew, yet it is the journey of our lives as people of God. Yes, this is a rather lengthy contribution to the newsletter, but hear in my words the invitation to grow in faith, learn the ways of God, and become a blessing for those whom God places in your midst. When the steps toward Golgotha become especially strenuous, remember what it is that Christ endured for our sake. Gather with your sisters and brothers at St. Jacob’s, and return to the Lord your God, who is merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila
Lenten Vespers Series and Schedule
Posted March 2, 2022 By adminThrough the words of the prophet Joel, God called to His people and commanded that they turn from their sinful ways and return to Him for His grace and blessings. This has been the focal point of Lent for Christians as they observe the forty days of this season of penitence and reflection. Lent is a time for listening and responding to the call to return to faithfulness to the God who has been ever faithful to His people. Joel’s exhortation, “Return to the Lord, your God” will serve as our call to Lenten vespers each Wednesday leading to Easter. It is more than a verse sung as part of the liturgy. It is a heartfelt directive for our lives as together we follow the pathway of Lent.
Pastor David will join four other NALC pastors in a preaching series where each will visit one another’s congregation and preach according to five themes of Lent. The schedule for our Lenten series at St. Jacob’s is:
1st Week in Lent – Pr. Bill White (St. Peter’s Lexington) – Return from Betrayal
2nd Week in Lent – Pr. David Nuottila – Return to Prayer
3rd Week in Lent – Pr. Dave Tholstrup (St. Peter’s Chapin) – Return from Denial
4th Week in Lent – Pr. Andrew Loomis (Immanuel, Sumter) – Return to the Kingdom of God
5th Week in Lent – Pr. Cassie Boehringer (St. Peter’s, Lexington) – Return from False Witness
The liturgy we will follow for the Wednesday Vespers is Holden Evening Prayer. Please note that traditional Vespers liturgy does not include the Sacrament of Holy Communion, so there will not be communion on the Wednesdays in Lent. Please plan on attending each week as we journey together toward repentance and the cross of Christ, and finally are confronted with our risen Lord at the empty tomb of Easter. As it has been our tradition, a meal will be served prior to our Lenten mid-week worship services. Keep an eye on our weekly worship bulletin for more details.
