Grace Lutheran Church

Announcements for the week of June 1, 2008

Bring all your fleas to church next Sunday, June 8 for the sale to support Grace members who will attend Christian schools this fall. Our sale is Saturday, June 14 from 9:00 a.m.-until 2:00 p.m. Contact Christi Gaertner with any questions.

Needed: VBS Volunteers!

There will be a brief meeting in the lounge after the worship service Sunday for those wishing to volunteer their services. We will preview this summer’s program entitled Friendship Trek: Jesus, Our Forever Friend. VBS is scheduled for the week of July 21-25, and will be held in the evening, beginning with a simple supper at 5:30 and ending nightly at 8 pm. Anyone interested in helping us bring the wonderful word of God to the young people of our community is welcome to attend. If you are interested in volunteering, but can not attend please contact the church office at 283-1843 so we may contact you. Together we can make a difference.

Sunday School closing is June 15. Events include Sunday school, 10:30 a.m. Divine Service and a Congregational Cookout at 11:45 p.m. There is a sign up sheet in the chapel for salads and dessert.

Through you contributions to the mission fund at Grace, we reach out and support different missions locally, nationally, and international. Friends of Mercy is the special mission for the month of June. Friends of Mercy is a recognized service organization of the LCMS that provides aid and care to women and children fleeing genital mutilation, AIDS orphans, and Lutheran Hospice and Cancer society.

Grace Lutheran Church will add a Morning Prayer service at 9:30am on June 22. The Morning Prayer service will consist of Scripture Readings, a Sermon, and prayer. Coffee Fellowship will take place at 10:00am to provide opportunity for people attending the 10:30 a.m. Divine Service and the 9:30am Morning Prayer Service to enjoy time of fellowship. This schedule will run June 22-August 31. The Saturday Divine Service at 5:00pm continues throughout the year.

The summer coffee fellowship needs a coordinator. If willing to help out please contact the church office.

Be sure to check your family mailbox, in the chapel area. The June Gleanings is out. Also check out the church’s website. You can see a calendar of all the church happenings, read the sermons, request a prayer and read the announcements. Take a look! www.gracenf.org

Through the LCEF Joyful Response program our church can receive electronic payments directly from personal bank accounts or LCEF Steward Accounts. It is simple, safe, convenient, and stewardship-minded. This is a wonderful program to help you support the ministry of Grace Lutheran Church during the summer when you might be away camping. Interested? Talk to Jon Lehning.

THIS WEEK AT GRACE

SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Communion Worship Service

11:30 a.m. VBS Planning Meeting

MONDAY

6:30 p.m. Elders’ Meeting

6:30 p.m. Community AA Meeting

WEDNESDAY

9:30 a.m. Bible Study

10:30 a.m. Craft Group

FRIDAY

6:00 p.m. Wedding Rehearsal

SATURDAY

2:00 p.m. Stackpole/Hegwood Wedding

5:00 p.m. Worship

NEXT SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Worship Service

Sermon Proper 4A “Home Inspection” June 1, 2008

+ In Nomine Jesu +
The Rev. Evan Gaertner
4^th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 4a)
Matthew 7:15-29
“Home Inspection”

Before buying a home it is suggested that the buyers have a home inspection done by a professional. For some people this will appear to be just a formality because they trust what they have seen with their eyes. They are buying a house they love and are sure that looks beautiful. But because the bank requires the home inspection before providing a mortgage the family goes through the formality of having a home inspection done.

The couple is surprised when the report from the home inspector comes back with the news that the home that they thought was the perfect home for them is pretty on the outside but rotten on the inside. The inspector said the rot is in the beams. The inspector made his report. Everyone should be informed.

But the buyers are committed to buying this home, it looks so attractive. Unfortunately the first winter came after buying the home and the roof leaked and ruined the first floor ceiling.

People will talk about a home becoming a money pit, when money keeps getting thrown at the home without any progress towards making the home truly habitable.

In our lives we all can do things that may look very noble to others. The Word of God tells the truth. Even when the outside may be saying all the right words, the insides are the problem. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Read the rest of this entry »

Sermon Proper 3A May 25, 2008 “Engraved”

+ In Nomine Jesu +
The Rev. Evan Gaertner
Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 3)
Isaiah 49:8-16
“Engraved”

Tomorrow on Memorial Day flags will decorate the graves of those men and women that in their life worked to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy in the United States. Those men and women answered the call to duty and did not forget the liberty that they worked to preserve.

Medals, flags, and memorial stones in parks all serve to remind us of the sacrifice that they made.

For even the most forgetful person the human brain has an amazing potential for memory. In the news this past week was Jill Price, a woman who has a superior autobiographical memory of her entire life. From any random day she can tell you what she wore, the weather that day, what she watched on TV, and family events. If you have ever forgotten where you put your keys you may be envious of this woman’s memory. But she said that this vivid autobiographical memory places an incredible emotional toll on herself because she will relive tragic events vividly, she does not just get over it.

The prophet Isaiah quotes the people of Jerusalem saying, “The LORD has forsaken me; my LORD has forgotten me.”

The feeling of being forgotten is a deep tragic feeling. A child in a store that suddenly looks up and finds that she has been following a different skirt than what her mother was wearing will scream, turn around quickly, panic. We do not want to be forgotten. Read the rest of this entry »

Sermon Holy Trinity May 18, 2008 “By the Word”

+ In Nomine Jesu +
The Rev. Evan Gaertner
Feast of Holy Trinity
Genesis 1:1-2:4
“By the Word”
May 18, 2008

In the beginning.

Those are the words that open up the Scriptures to us.

In the beginning.

With these words we are invited to find ourselves. Explorers and adventurers throughout the years have sailed the seas, climbed the highest mountains, and soared into the clouds with the goal of discovering the world. Where does your adventure begin? Where does your journey begin?

In the beginning.

God created.

Where does my life begin? I exist because God has made me. I can have all sorts of dreams and desires, but all of this exists because God began creating.

Where does your life begin? Read the rest of this entry »

Announcements for the week of May 25, 2008

Grace Ladies Supper is this Tuesday, May 27 at 6:00 p.m. We start with hor d’oeuvres then make your own salad. Dessert and beverage will complete the meal. See the sign up sheet in the chapel. Following the dinner, Karen Kumm will give a presentation on her recent trip to Camp Restore in Louisiana. All women are invited!

The Wednesday morning Bible study will begin studying the Apostles’ Creed, starting next week May 28 9:30-10:30. Please join us!

Needed: VBS Volunteers!

There will be a brief meeting in the lounge after the worship service on June 1 for those wishing to volunteer. We will preview this summer’s program entitled Friendship Trek: Jesus, Our Forever Friend. VBS is scheduled for the week of July 21-25, and will be held in the evening, beginning with a simple supper at 5:30 and ending nightly at 8 pm. Anyone interested in bringing the wonderful word of God to the people of our community is welcome to attend. If you can not attend, but are still interested please contact the church office at 283-1843. Together we can make a difference.

We are seeking a donation of a TV for use with our DVD and VHS players. If you are upgrading your TV, please consider donating your old one to the church.

Holy Ghost Lutheran School is having an Open House for the 2008-09 school year on Tuesday, May 27.

Calling All Fleas… Beginning Sunday, June 8 you may bring to church any fleas that you would like to donate to the Flea Sale supporting Grace members who will be attending Christian schools this fall. We will accept any items. Our sale is Saturday, June 14 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Contact Christi Gaertner with any questions.

Sunday School closing is June 15. Events include Sunday school, 10:30 a.m. Divine Service and a Congregational Cookout at 11:45 p.m.

Grace Lutheran Church will add a Morning Prayer service at 9:30am on June 22. The Morning Prayer service will consist of Scripture Readings, a Sermon, and prayer. Coffee Fellowship will take place at 10:00am to provide opportunity for people attending the 10:30am Divine Service and the 9:30am Morning Prayer Service to enjoy time of fellowship. This schedule will run June 22-August 31. The Saturday Divine Service at 5:00pm continues throughout the year.

The summer coffee fellowship needs a coordinator. If willing to help out please contact the church office.

What We Learned in Sunday School Today… As it was for Peter, so it is for us is the message of today’s Sunday School lesson (Acts 12). The Word of God is never proclaimed in vain. Though we suffer because of the sin of others, God’s will is done. Talk with your children about modern day persecution of the church of God and how, even in the midst of persecution, God sustains and increases His Church. How does God’s Word break through the chains of our sin and the suffering it causes?

THIS WEEK AT GRACE

SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Worship Service

11:30 a.m. Coffee Fellowship

MONDAY

6:30 p.m. Community AA Meeting

TUESDAY

6:00 p.m. Grace Ladies Dinner

WEDNESDAY

9:30 a.m. Bible Study

10:30 a.m. Craft Group

SATURDAY

5:00 p.m. Communion Worship

NEXT SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Communion Worship Service

Announcements for the week of May 18, 2008

Calling All Fleas… Beginning Sunday, June 8 you may bring to church any fleas that you would like to donate to the Flea Sale supporting Grace members who will be attending Christian schools this fall. We will accept any items. Our sale is Saturday, June 14 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Contact Christi Gaertner with any questions.

Sunday School closing is June 15. Events include Sunday school, 10:30 a.m. Divine Service and a Congregational Cookout at 11:45 p.m.

Grace Lutheran Church will add a Morning Prayer service at 9:30am on June 22. The Morning Prayer service will consist of Scripture Readings, a Sermon, and prayer. Coffee Fellowship will take place at 10:00am to provide opportunity for people attending the 10:30am Divine Service and the 9:30am Morning Prayer Service to enjoy time of fellowship. This schedule will run June 22-August 31. The Saturday Divine Service at 5:00pm continues throughout the year.

The summer coffee fellowship needs a coordinator. If willing to help out please contact the church office.

Ally Coleman and Girl Scout Troop 908 are working on their silver award. They will be collecting food for the less fortunate and would like to ask Grace congregation to help by bringing a non-perishable food item and placing it in the boxes located at the entrances of the church during the month of May.

Grace Ladies are having a supper on May 27 at 6:00 p.m. We will start with hor d’oeuvres then make your own salad. Dessert and beverage will complete the meal. See the sign up sheet in the chapel. Following the dinner, Karen Kumm will give a presentation on her recent trip to Camp Restore in Louisiana. All women are invited!

What We Learned in Sunday School Today…The children learned the story of Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10) and how like them the Good News comes to us. Talk about how in church we receive the Good News that, although we are judged unrighteous and deserving of death, God mercifully declares us holy, righteous, and innocent because of Christ. What does this mean for our daily lives is a good question to discuss as a family.

We received $510 from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in support of our Spring Workday. Projects funded included painting the stairs leading up the balcony, cleaning the church and landscaping around the church.

The flowers on the altar today are given to the Glory of God in honor of the confirmation of their sons Adam Ezak, Robert Lehning and Sean Petri, by their parents.

Through the LCEF Joyful Repsonse program our church can receive electronic payments directly from personal bank accounts or LCEF StewardAccounts. It is simple, safe, convenient, and stewardship-minded. Interested? Talk to Jon Lehning.

The Athanasian Creed was written after the Nicene Creed to further delve into the mystery of the Trinity. It can be found on page 319 of the hymnal. Take a moment to look at it.

THIS WEEK AT GRACE

SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Communion Worship Service

MONDAY

6:30 p.m. Community AA Meeting

TUESDAY

12-9:00 p.m. School Board Elections

WEDNESDAY

9:30 a.m. Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Craft Group

7:00 p.m. Choir Practice

7:00 p.m. Confirmation Class

SATURDAY

5:00 p.m. Communion Worship Service

NEXT SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Worship Service

11:30 a.m. Coffee Fellowship

Flowing River of Life - Pentecost Sermon May 11, 2008

+ In Nomine Jesu +
The Rev. Evan Gaertner
The Feast of Pentecost
“Living Water”
John 7:37-39

Feasts

Mothers Day, Pentecost, Tabernacles

Procession of Water

Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

Procession and Festival of Tabernacles are about remembering the time in the wilderness after the Exodus. The Water procession is about when the people came to Horeb and there was no water. They complained to Moses that they had been brought out to the wilderness to die of thirst. Moses struck the rock at Horeb and outflow water. The place there was called Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

The festival during Jesus time was a reminder to the people that the Lord had heard their complaint and had sent the promised water.

This idea of water being delivered is used by Isaiah to describe not just the water that quenches our thirst but indeed the very promise of salvation. Isaiah 12:3 “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

People at the festival knew that the water of the procession was about more than just water. It was a celebration of God saving the people in the past and trusting that he would do that again.

Jesus standing up and crying out, “Everyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” Jesus offers himself as the salvation that they have been looking for. He offers himself as the truth that this festival pointed to. So do you want to keep going through the motions or do you want to experience the real thing.

Festivals and celebrations whether in the Old Testament or in our times today our about pointing us to the truth that our hope has been realized. Christ has come our salvation is not just a future hope, it is a present reality.

This truth of salvation in Christ, deliverance from our hunger for hope, is found answered in Jesus and this truth is not just for us but for all those that thirst for deliverance.

The fullness of Christ is not just a one time drink of water that leaves us thirsty for more. Jesus is the full and complete salvation that we need. Jesus does just invite people to come and drink from him he offers to them the effect of this drinking of salvation. Out of the belly will flow rivers of living water.

Illustration of drinking and flowing.

How many times when you take a drink of water to massive waters flow out of your belly?

Jesus offers to the people a fullness, completeness, everlasting salvation that they not only can enjoy but that they will be able to reach out to others with and bring them this deliverance.

Soli Deo Gloria

Announcements for the week of May 11, 2008

Calling All Fleas… Beginning Sunday, June 8 you may bring to church any fleas that you would like to donate to the Flea Sale supporting Grace members who will be attending Christian schools this fall. We will accept any items. Our sale is Saturday, June 14 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Contact Christi Gaertner with any questions.

Sunday School closing is scheduled for June 15. We will have Sunday school that day followed by 10:30 a.m. worship service and a Congregational Cookout at 11:45 p.m.

Ally Coleman and Girl Scout Troop 908 are working on their silver award. They will be collecting food for the less fortunate and would like to ask Grace congregation to help by bringing a non-perishable food item and placing it in the boxes located at the entrances of the church during the month of May.

Save the Date! Grace Ladies are having a potluck supper on May 27 at 6:00 p.m.

Following the dinner, Karen Kumm will give a presentation on her recent trip to Camp Restore in Louisana. All women are invited!

Sunday, June 22 after Sunday school ends worship time will remain at 10:30 a.m. but we will introduce a 9:30 a.m. Morning Prayer service with coffee fellowship taking place between the two services.

We are looking for a volunteer to coordinate the summer coffee fellowship. If you are willing to help out please contact the church office.

Through you contributions to the mission fund at Grace, we reach out and support different missions locally, nationally, and international. St. Catherine’s Seminary Food Pantry is the special mission for the month of May.

What We Learned in Sunday School Today… Today in Sunday School the children learned that as God did with Paul, so God does with us. Through the Law we are crushed by the weight of our sin and are helpless. As God revived Paul through Ananias (Acts 9:1–31), He revives us through our pastors with the proclamation of His Word and the administration of His Sacraments granting forgiveness, life, and salvation to all who believe. Talk to your children about how the Sacraments and God’s Word revive you so that you may live as God’s child.

Announcements for the week of May 4, 2008

Calling All Fleas… Beginning Sunday, June 8 you may bring to church any fleas that you would like to donate to the Flea Sale supporting Grace members who will be attending Christian schools this fall. We will accept any items. Our sale is Saturday, June 14 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Contact Christi Gaertner with any questions.

Sunday School closing is scheduled for June 15. We will have Sunday school that day followed by 10:30 a.m. worship service and a Congregational Cookout at 11:45 p.m.

Ally Coleman and Girl Scout Troop 908 are working on their silver award. They will be collecting food for the less fortunate and would like to ask Grace congregation to help by bringing a non-perishable food item and placing it in the boxes located at the entrances of the church during the month of May.

Update on first quarter expenses and offerings received. In support of God’s mission to make disciples of all nations we spent Jan 1-Mar 31 $39,493.59. To support this work we received $32,911.75. Our deficit for the first quarter is ($6,581.84). Please continue to support the work of advancing the good news of Jesus through planned proportionate first-fruit giving.

We are looking for a volunteer to coordinate the summer coffee fellowship starting June 22. If you are willing to help out please contact the church office.

Through you contributions to the mission fund at Grace, we reach out and support different missions locally, nationally, and international. St. Catherine’s Seminary Food Pantry is the special mission for the month of May.

What We Learned in Sunday School Today… In Sunday School today the children learned that as Jesus came to the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26–40), He comes to us in our weakness, for we cannot by our own reason or strength come to Him. In your family faith talks, discuss how the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies us, keeping us with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

The flowers on the altar today are given to the Glory of God and in celebration of Pastor Herfurth’s 89^th birthday and Pastor and Barbara’s 1^st wedding anniversary, both on May 5, by Ron, Jane and Katelyn Schulz.

THIS WEEK AT GRACE

SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Communion Worship Service

11:30 a.m. Sunday School Staff Meeting

MONDAY

6:30 p.m. Community AA Meeting

6:30 p.m. Elders’ Meeting

WEDNESDAY

10:00 a.m. Craft Group

7:00 p.m. Choir Practice

7:00 p.m. Confirmation Class

SATURDAY

5:00 p.m. Communion Worship Service

NEXT SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Sunday School/Adult Bible Class

10:30 a.m. Communion Worship Service

Casting Your Cares on the Lord - Sermons Easter 7A May 4, 2008

+ In Nomine Jesu +
The Rev. Evan Gaertner
Easter 7A
May 4, 2008
1 Peter 5:6-11
“Casting our Cares”

My first year at Grace as pastor there were quite a few funerals. I remember asking my father how after so many years he continued to sound so fresh and purposeful with the gospel when he preached at funerals. He advised me to different passages of Scripture and how we found those passages to be foundational for his approach to different situations. The one passage that was especially important to me was the one that he referenced for when he believed he needed to speak about the burden of grief the family was carrying.

The passage that was suggested to me was 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Some translations will put part of it this way, “Cast your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you.” I like the way the word care gets used for burdens and relief in the same sentence.

During my first year of ministry I struggled with preaching at funerals when I did not know the people as well as I thought I should. Interestingly, now my struggle is I know you all so much better that I don’t want to be preaching at your funerals.

There are many things that I care about and I care about them so deeply that they become quickly anxieties. Although I don’t want that to sound like my problem is that I care too much. My problem and I think a problem for a lot of people is not that we care too much it is that we do not know or forget what to do with these cares. To give some perspective I want you to consider how I have found myself before entering a grocery store and thinking that I am only there to pick up a few items. So instead of grabbing a cart and pushing that around I pick up just one of those small baskets. But without a doubt I find myself in not too long carrying an overflowing basket and I still have more shopping to do. I keep trying to put new items into that already too full basket and struggle as items that I need to get simply bounce out of that shopping basket. Read the rest of this entry »