Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Christmas Week Worship Schedule
- WED 12/23- No Confirmation this week
- THR 12/14- Christmas Eve
- 5:00PM Worship @ St. Paul, Hanover TWP
- 6:30PM Worship @ St. John, Charter Oak
- 9:30PM Candlelight Worship @ Immanuel, Soldier TWP
- FRI 12/25 Christmas Day- 9:00AM Worship @ St. John
- SAT 12/26 5:00PM Sunday School @ Immanuel
- 6:00PM Worship with Communion @ Immanuel
- SUN 12/17 @ St. John:
- 8:45AM Sunday School
- 9:00AM Bible Class
- 10:00AM Worship
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Monday, December 14, 2020
Advent & Christmas Caroling
Since Covid restrictions prevent us from visiting the area nursing homes and care centers in person, we've chosen to sing virtually.
Wednesday, December 09, 2020
Monday, December 07, 2020
Saturday, December 05, 2020
Daily devotion for November 5, 2020
Jesus' Word that Sustains the Weary (Isaiah 50:4)
Today's Devotion from Pastor Merrill Saturday, December 5, 2020
"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and His glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising." Isaiah 60:1-3 [ESV]
The Christmas carol, "We Three Kings of Orient Are," describes the visit of the Magi, or wise men from the East, to see the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. We don't know if they were three (the Bible does not give a number; it does mention three gifts--gold, frankincense, and myrrh), and they were almost certainly not kings, but many nativity scenes portray them that way.
Perhaps that is because of this passage from Isaiah, which predicts that the Savior of Israel would come, and that "nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." We recall the light of the star that guided the Magi to the infant Jesus. The "light" in this passage certainly is Jesus, the promised Savior, and the coming of the Magi is the first time we see "nations" outside Israel coming to worship the newborn King. Verse 6 of Isaiah 60 mentions camels, which are traditionally the transport of the Magi, and includes the phrase, "they shall bring gold and frankincense."
It all adds up. Jesus was predicted in the Old Testament to be not only the Savior of the Jewish nation, the children of Abraham, but the Savior of the nations. All nations would behold the glory of the Lord in the Messiah who was born King of the Jews.
Advent reminds us that Jesus at His first coming came for all people. We rejoice that by God's grace we who were not born into the family of Abraham have been brought into the family of God. We have seen the light of God's glory, shining from the cross. By grace we have believed, and we, too, worship the newborn King.
Advent also reminds us that all nations will be represented in the family of God when Jesus comes again. We remember the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20). Advent is a time to remember and support our missionaries, who bring the light of Jesus to nations in darkness. By the preaching of the Gospel, nations still come to the Savior's light, and kings to the brightness of His rising.
Prayer: "Savior of the Nations, come, Virgin's Son, make here Your home!
Marvel now, O heav'n and earth, That the Lord chose such a birth."
(LSB #332, v. 1) Amen.
Friday, December 04, 2020
Daily Devotion for December 4 2020
Here is Friday's devotion.
Jesus' Word that Sustains the Weary (Isaiah 50:4)
Today's Devotion from Pastor Merrill Friday, December 4, 2020
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which He will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'" Jeremiah 23:5-6 [ESV]
The family tree of Jesse in the Old Testament is pretty impressive. Jesse was the father of King David, and his family tree produced kings! For fourteen generations, spanning over 450 years, a descendant of Jesse reigned on the throne of the nation of Judah.
But over time the kings from Jesse's family drifted away from faith in the LORD and led the nation further and further away from him. Finally the LORD allowed Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to invade Jerusalem and take the people captive. There was no more son of Jesse on the throne; God's people were captive to a foreign king in a foreign land. The family tree of Jesse had been reduced to a stump.
But from this stump, God promised a live Branch. Echoing Isaiah 11, which predicted that a shoot would come forth from the "stump of Jesse," the prophet Jeremiah predicted, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely...And this is the name by which He will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'"
The "Branch" is capitalized, so this passage traditionally has been seen as a reference to Jesus. He would be born into the family tree of Jesse, a living Branch from the line of David.
But most significant about this Branch is the name He is given in Jeremiah's prophecy: "The Lord is our righteousness." "None is righteous, no, not one," the Bible says. (Romans 3:10) The universal predicament of all human beings is that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None of us have a righteousness of our own before God. Indeed, Scripture tells us that "all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." (Isaiah 64:6)
Enter the Branch from Jesse's stump. Jesus comes to be our righteousness. He lived the perfect life God desires, the life no human being can live. He offered that perfect life as a sacrifice for our sins on the cross. He took our sins, and in exchange He gives us His righteousness. We stand before God now clothed with Christ. God looks at us and He sees the perfect righteousness of His Son. The Lord is our righteousness!
Prayer: "O come, Thou Branch of Jesse's tree, Free them from Satan's tyranny
That trust Thy mighty power to save, And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel." (LSB #357, v. 4)
Amen.
Wednesday, December 02, 2020
Evelyn Friedrich, wife of St. John's former Pastor Henry Friedrich, called to glory.
Evelyn Friedrich, 92, of Algona, IA died on November 27 at Windsor Manor Assisted Living. Services to be held at Trinity Lutheran Church on Saturday, December 5th at 11:00 am. Burial will be at a later date in East Lawn Cemetery, Algona, IA. Evelyn's services will be live streamed on Trinity Lutheran's YouTube page https://youtu.be/zce5hYIAFLE
Evelyn was born on February 1, 1928 at Lotts Creek, IA. Her parents were Ernest E. Meyer and Ella nee Nemitz. She was baptized at St. John Lutheran Church, Fenton, IA and later confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Burt, IA. She grew up in Kossuth County where she graduated from Burt High School in 1945 after which she attended Iowa State Teachers' College at Cedar Falls, Iowa. She taught school in Portland Township for four years before moving on to teach Junior High in Forest City, IA for three years.
On June 21, 1953 she was united in marriage to Henry Friedrich at St. John's Lutheran Church, Burt, IA. Following their marriage they moved to Oakridge, OR where Henry was installed and ordained at his first parish, St. Luke's Lutheran Church. Evelyn's first years of marriage were spent as a homemaker and as secretary of the churches they served. Moves were made to The Dalles, OR, Marcus, IA, Charter Oak, IA, Jamestown, ND, and Juneau, Alaska. In addition to assisting with teaching and secretarial work in churches she was a member of Band Boosters, Tourist Club, Arts and Crafts work at the Marcus Fair, Librarian at Alfred Dickey Library in Jamestown, ND, and Librarian in Algona Public Library.
Evelyn enjoyed being part of her church family by teaching Sunday school and confirmation classes, Vacation Bible School, and participating in LWML. Vacations with family and friends in the United States included trips to Alaska and Hawaii, and international trips to Scandinavian countries, Germany, Austria, the Holy Land, England and Canada.
She is survived by Henry, her husband of 67 years, their four children, Barb (David) King, Lacey, WA, Brian (Laurie) St. Paul, MN, Mark (Cindy) Apache Junction, AZ, and Linda, Oakland, CA; nine grandchildren Aaron King, Micah Friedrich, Leah (Phil) Vogel, Philip Friedrich, Megan (Andrew) Ramsey, Daniel Friedrich, Nikki Friedrich, Nathan Friedrich, and Abby Friedrich; and four great-grandchildren Haley Ramsey, Camden Vogel, Hercules Guerrero, and Piper Ramsey. Preceding her in death were her parents, her brothers, Eugene Meyer and Eu Claire Meyer, and one daughter-in-law Kathy.
Loving her Savior and life with family and friends were highlights, especially as she was able to share friendship, smiles, hugs, meals, and laughter with them. “I thank my God for His love and the love I have known because of you. God's love and peace be with you! As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!”
Evelyn desired memorial gifts be designated for Concordia University, St. Paul, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Lutheran Hour Ministries, or Mountain View Lutheran Church.
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