View/Download Bulletin: 2023-05-21_The_Ascension_of_Our_Lord_Observed_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Ascension Day is an opportunity for God’s people to celebrate Christ the King taking His throne in glory, honor, and authority at God the Father’s right hand. Like the ancient believers, who clapped their hands and shouted praises to God at the coronation of their king, we rejoice in the victory King Jesus earned for us, His people, by means of His death and resurrection. Our praises keep rolling from our Easter celebration some forty days ago, all the way to today and even beyond, as we witness Jesus now seated in glory and majesty. Shout your praises to God! The same King who is exalted over all things in heaven and on earth is the King who stoops to serve us as we gather to worship Him!

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-05-07_Fifth_Sunday_of_Easter_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The risen Lord Jesus alone is “the way, and the truth, and the life,” and we come “to the Father” only through Him (John 14:6). God is thus “glorified in the Son,” and those who believe in Him will do the works of Christ because He goes to the Father for us (John 14:12–14). Stephen, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5) and “doing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8), did the works of Christ. When he was falsely accused and put to death, he “gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). Fixing his hope there, he commended his spirit to the Lord Jesus and prayed for his murderers. In the same way, all the baptized are called to follow the example of Christ Jesus by faith. Though He was “rejected by men” in the sight of God, He is “chosen and precious” (1 Peter 2:4). He is the chief cornerstone of the Father’s “spiritual house,” and we are built upon Him as “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5).

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-04-23_Third_Sunday_of_Easter_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

From “before the foundation of the world” until heaven and earth pass away, “the word of the Lord remains forever” (1 Peter 1:20, 25). This “living and abiding word of God” is the preaching of Christ Jesus, namely that God “raised him from the dead and gave him glory” (1 Peter 1:21, 23). By this living word, we “have been born again” to eternal life (1 Peter 1:23) and ransomed from our sinful and mortal life “with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18–19). This living word also calls us to repentance, to dying and rising in Holy Baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). In this, we receive the Holy Spirit “for you and for your children and for all who are far off” (Acts 2:39). Through the preaching of His cross and resurrection, Jesus draws near to bring us “into his glory” (Luke 24:26). As He opens the Scriptures, He opens our minds to comprehend “the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27), and He brings us to know Him “in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35).

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-04-16_Second_Sunday_of_Easter_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

We gather today still in the glow of the most joyous and amazing celebration of Easter, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, from the dead. The sights and sounds of that celebration linger in our memory, not as just a past event finished and forgotten, but as Peter calls it today, “a living hope,” as enduring and strong as the certainty of our living Lord and the promised future of our own resurrection. We return to continue the Easter celebration because in the afterglow of the days since Easter Sunday, many still do not know that hope. Like the absent apostle Thomas, we still face what seems to be a hopeless world. Today we remember that our only hope is built on a divine Savior whose crucifixion wounds were endured for us and for all. Indeed, we are to learn that every Sunday throughout the entire year is an Easter celebration as our living Lord draws us into His holy, life-giving wounds through His very same body and blood given us in Holy Communion. Thomas saw and believed. Peter rejoiced. Though we do not now see Him, “you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8), the only sure and living hope.

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-04-07_Good_Friday_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Since the altar is stripped and the paraments are gone, the wood of many altars, lecterns, and pulpits are fully exposed. Wood reminds you what took place on the tree of the cross, where your Lord once died. Jesus’ cross brings peace, forgiveness, and salvation. By it, the lives of Christians are rescued, sweetened, and lightened. We reflect upon these familiar words of “The Old Rugged Cross” penned by American composer George Bennard in 1912:

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,

Till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross

And exchange it some day for a crown.

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-04-02_Palm_Sunday_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The words of the prophet Zechariah echo throughout this special day: “Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). On this day, we remember how Jesus Christ, the King of all creation, came down the Mount of Olives riding “a colt, the foal of a donkey.” We know the time and the place of that coming down the hill and traveling in procession across the valley and up to the city of Jerusalem. Jesus rode down a real mountain in a definite time in history and at a place still very much there today. All this was for a most certain purpose. On this day of celebration and of sorrow, we have reason to rejoice in the salvation our humble King brought for us to and through Jerusalem and to the cross on Calvary’s hill. The people there called out Hosanna!—which means “save us now!” And Jesus fulfilled their—and our—heart-felt request.

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-03-19.Fourth_Sunday_in_Lent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

When someone calls you on your phone, do you always answer?  How about when God calls?  Especially, if that call is one to repentance?  Do you answer?  The Lord is grieved by the spiritual blindness of His people, yet in mercy He does not forsake them.  He restrains His anger and keeps His peace, until He opens their ears and eyes to hear and see Him.  Jonah was a reluctant follower.  He went to Nineveh begrudgingly, but through him God would issue a call for the Ninevites to repentance.  Jesus turns “the darkness before them into light” (Is. 42:16) because He is “the light of the world” (John 9:5).  The incarnate Son of God does the works of His Father and displays the divine glory in His own flesh “while it is day,” until that night “when no one can work” (John 9:4).  By the washing of water with His Word, He opens the eyes of the blind and grants rest to the weary.  In Baptism, God has called us to follow Him in a life of faith and repentance, and He promises that through us, others will also be called to that same repentance and new life.

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-03-05.Second_Sunday_in_Lent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The pages of the Bible are filled with some very human people. In today's Readings for the second Sunday in Lent, we encounter several. In today’s Old Testament Reading, we hear of Noah, who followed the guidance of God faithfully through The Flood but didn't handle himself well afterwards.  Nicodemus, to whom Jesus explained the Gospel in great detail, kept his association with the Lord a secret. Even at the time of the burial of Jesus after the crucifixion, Nicodemus labors with Joseph of Arimathea “secretly for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). It is well that we are reminded as we confess in the Nicene Creed that “for us men and for our salvation” our Lord “was made man.” As imperfect and very human people, we are assured by the Spirit that we are loved by God, who knows us as we are, and that we truly are “precious in the sight of the Lord” in life and in death (Psalm 116:15).

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-02-22.Ash_Wednesday_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Lent begins with ashes. The wearing of ashes on our forehead may seem like an unusual tradition, but it is rich with meaning. From the earliest days, God’s children have repented before Him in sackcloth and ashes, a visual reflection of their hearts turning to Him for forgiveness and restoration. Fixing our eyes on Jesus during the forty-day season of Lent, we journey with Him to Calvary’s cross where, enduring the “ashes” of our sins and the penalty they deserve, He grants to us the beauty of His forgiveness, full and free. Let us be renewed in our hearts and minds this day as we gather in the Lord’s house. His Word will show us our great need for His saving love and deliver to us the treasures He has promised.

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-02-12.Sixth_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The God who reveals Himself in His incarnate Son promises life and blessing to all who obey His commandments “by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules” (Deut. 30:16). However, we are “people of the flesh” and “infants in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1), among whom “there is jealousy and strife” (1 Cor. 3:3). Jesus must instruct us against the human ways of anger, adultery, divorce and false witness (Matt. 5:21–37), because all who live in these ways “shall surely perish” (Deut. 30:18). On the cross, He died to forgive our sins and free us from the ways of curse and death. Since Jesus Christ is our “life and length of days” (Deut. 30:20), we can be reconciled to our brother, live in chastity and marital faithfulness, and speak with honesty. He who serves from His cross also offers His gift of reconciliation at His altar, and we can be at peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are “God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9).

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-01-29.Fourth_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The Lord tells His people, “I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery” (Micah 6:4). By the sacrifice of His beloved Son, He has redeemed us from our slavery of sin and death; He has forgiven our transgressions by the shedding of His blood. His great mercy and salvation lead us “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly” with our God (Micah 6:8). We boast only in the incarnate and crucified Lord Jesus. He is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). He is our life and salvation, our “wisdom” and “righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Now He opens His mouth and teaches us His wisdom. By His cross and Passion, the kingdom of heaven is ours. We receive mercy and are satisfied; we see God and are called sons of God in Christ. “Blessed are you,” therefore, “when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely” on account of Christ (Matt. 5:11).

View/Download Bulletin: 2023-01-15.Second_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“The Lord, the Redeemer of Israel,” calls forth “his Holy One” (Is. 49:7), Jesus, the Christ, “from the womb” of His mother (Is. 49:1). The incarnate Son of God is revealed as the Savior, not only for Israel but also “as a light for the nations,” whose salvation reaches “to the end of the earth” (Is. 49:6). John came “baptizing with water” (John 1:31) to reveal Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and who glorifies His God and Father by His atoning sacrifice upon the cross. When Jesus was baptized in the waters of the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended “from heaven like a dove” and “remained on him” (John 1:32). By our Baptism, we are anointed by the same Spirit, adopted by God the Father, and “called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:9). Therefore, we “are not lacking in any gift,” but we can trust Him who promises to sustain us to the end, “guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7–8).

View/Download bulletin: 2023-01-01.Circumcision_and_Name_of_Jesus_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

A new year begins! Yet, often so little changes. For most, a new year means little difference regarding life, vocation, house, and home. Outside of annually changing one number on our calendar, much of life remains the same, including the daily battles we face against Satan, sin, and our own flesh. With that, we rejoice today not just in the year’s changing, but a daily changing we recognize every day as we live in this world through the blameless One born for us. Christ was under and has fulfilled God’s Law perfectly for us, even as an infant child brought to a rabbi for circumcision under Mosaic Law. It would mark both the promise of redemption and the burden of the Law—and with Jesus marking the sacrifice that would set us free. Try as we might with new year’s resolutions to become better people, we still find ourselves falling short of God’s moral law that remains today. Rejoice in the newness that has come! More than a new year, we are given a new life, for Christ has fulfilled all and set us free! As we are marked in Baptism and bear Christ’s name, we become inheritors of His promise. It is a newness to celebrate each day of every year!

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-12-24.The_Nativity_of_Our_Lord_Christmas_Eve_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Heaven and earth rejoice on this night because the glory of the Holy Trinity is manifested in the human birth of “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), through whom the Father’s grace and mercy permeate the world. Death’s silence is nullified by this “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). And all we who have gone astray like lost and wandering sheep, who have “walked in darkness” of doubt, fear and sinful unbelief, behold “a great light” in the nativity of Jesus Christ (Is. 9:2). In Him, “the grace of God has appeared” (Titus 2:11). For this child of Mary who is born for us, this dear Son of God who is given to us, bears the burden of our sin and death in His own body on the cross. By initiating and fulfilling His earthly journey from nativity to crucifixion, Christ establishes a government of peace, “with justice and with righteousness,” which shall have no end. This is not by any work of man, but “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Is. 9:7).

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-12-11.Third_Sunday_in_Advent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Who is the son of David? Just like Adam and Eve and Abram and Sarai, so also David received a promise from God. The Lord’s promise for King David was that his house and kingdom would be established forever. But this promise seems to be in jeopardy when David’s son Absalom rebels against his own father. In the end, however, this disobedient prince dies, hanging from a tree. Yes, God would indeed establish David’s reign, but it would be through Jesus, the greater Son, who is obedient to the will of His Father in heaven. This Prince of Peace dies by hanging nailed to the tree of the cross so we can be restored as sons and daughters of the King of kings.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-11-27.First_Sunday_in_Advent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Who is the son of Adam? When Adam and Eve held their firstborn son, Cain, in their arms for the first time, perhaps they wondered, “Who is this son?” After all, following their sin, the Lord God promised salvation from Eve’s offspring (Genesis 3:15). Could this baby boy be that Savior from sin and death? Not yet. Instead, Cain becomes the first murderer and spills the blood of his brother, Abel. Thankfully, a greater Son of Adam would fulfill the promise of a Savior. This Son would be held in the arms of another couple—Mary and Joseph. This Son would allow His very own blood to be shed for the salvation of Adam, Eve, and all their descendants.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-11-20.Last_Sunday_of_the_Church_Year_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19–20). On the cross, Jesus died for the sins of the world. On the cross, Jesus comforted one of the criminals crucified with Him. On the cross, Jesus interceded even for those who crucified Him. On the cross, Jesus makes peace by His blood.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-11-06.All_Saints_Day_Observed_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“A great multitude … from all tribes and peoples and languages” cry out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne” (Rev. 7:9–10). Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we, too, “shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Joined with the throng of angels and countless saints, we shall “serve him day and night in his temple” (Rev. 7:15). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ, propels us forward, fortifying us in Word and Sacrament, to our eternal home. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we need to be blessed. And so we are. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure and the persecuted are all blessed, and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:1–12).

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-10-23.Twentieth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

In Humble Repentance, Faith Lives by Grace and Mercy and Is Exalted by God in Christ

Jesus tells a parable “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous” (Luke 18:9). In this parable, the Pharisee unjustly boasted before God on the basis of his own merits, whereas the tax collector intently prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). That poor, miserable sinner trusted Christ, and he went “down to his house justified, rather than the other” (Luke 18:14). So do little children, “even infants,” come to Jesus with their need, and they “receive the kingdom of God” through faith (Luke 18:15–17). For “the one who humbles himself will be exalted,” but “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled” (Luke 18:14). That is why “the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard” (Gen. 4:4–5). St. Paul’s life, “poured out as a drink offering,” was another sacrifice like Abel’s (2 Tim. 4:6). The Lord stood by Paul and strengthened him, that “the message might be fully proclaimed” (2 Tim. 4:17). It is by that Gospel message of Christ that we “have loved his appearing” and as repentant sinners pray to “the Lord, the righteous judge” by faith (2 Tim. 6:8).

John Gehring

September 9th, 1959 - October 7th, 2022

View/ Download Bulletin: 2022-10-12.Funeral_For_John_Gehring_-_Default_2_.pdf

John L. Gehring, 63, of Northbrook, passed away suddenly October 7, 2022. He was the beloved husband of Debbie Gehring nee Picciolo; loving father of Amber (Paul) Nowacki and Lana Gehring; proud grandfather of Brooke and Bryce; dear son of Lorraine and the late Irving Gehring; dear brother of Blanche Gehring and Mark (Donna) Gehring; fond uncle of Adam (Jen), Emily (Jamie), Nick (Amber), Pam (Troy), Brandon, Jenna (Greg) and Krystle.

John was always full of energy – working on cars, dirt biking, water skiing and flying radio-controlled airplanes. Later in his life he built a log cabin completely from scratch using whole trees from his land. He never liked to sit still and would always be doing something. At the age of 31 he started his own plumbing business, JL Plumbing, after working years in the Chicago school system. So many of his clients became family to John and Debbie.

The resort in Post Lake, Wisconsin was a large part of his life. He met his wife of 40 years there when he was 14 years old and she was 12. Every year he looked forward to being in Wisconsin so he could be in the woods, plant trees, work on the log cabin and smell the fresh air. John taught both of his daughters how to be self-efficient and mechanically inclined. He started teaching these skills and values to his beloved grandchildren as well.

John left a lasting impression on everyone he met through his energy, unwavering drive and genuine ‘good guy’ personality. He would always help others before himself and without knowing it, he was a mentor to so many.

John is already greatly missed and lives on through the memories and lessons he taught everyone around him.

View/Download bulletin: 2022-10-02.Seventeenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

1[Jesus] said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

    5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

                7“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-09-18.Fifteenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter_1_.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Because God, our Savior, “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), He urges “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1 Tim. 2:1). Christians should so pray “without anger or quarreling,” but “adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control” (1 Tim. 2:8, 9). For the Lord does not forget “the poor of the land” (Amos 8:4). He remembers them according to the foolishness of the cross. “For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). Though we try to justify ourselves “before men,” God knows our sinful hearts and calls us to repentance (Luke 16:15). Though we are “not strong enough to dig,” and we are “ashamed to beg” (Luke 16:3), He justifies us by His grace and welcomes us into His “eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). More shrewd than even “the sons of this world” (Luke 16:8), He requires His stewards of the Gospel to bestow forgiveness freely.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-09-04.Thirteenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

A disciple of Jesus Christ will “bear his own cross” (Luke 14:27) and follow the Lord through death into life. Discipleship is costly because it crucifies the old man with “all that he has” (Luke 14:33), in order to raise up the new man in Christ. The disciple disavows “his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life” (Luke 14:26), in deference to Christ. That way of the cross is impossible, except that Christ Jesus has already paid the cost. His cross is set before you as “life and good, death and evil” (Deut. 30:15). Taking up His cross is to “choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him” (Deut. 30:19–20). To live that life in Christ is also to bear His cross in love, “that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord” (Philemon 14).

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-08-21.Eleventh_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

With the cross of Christ, the time has come “to gather all nations and tongues” (Is. 66:18). The sign of the cross is set forth in the preaching of the Gospel, the declaration of the Lord’s glory “among the nations” (Is. 66:19). Many “will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29), but only by the narrow way of the cross. Those who refuse to follow Christ crucified will ultimately find only “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28), whereas Christ’s disciples, called from all the nations, will eat and drink with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God. They will come into “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22).

Marion Gerken

October 10, 1929 - August 8, 2022

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-08-13.Funeral_Service_for_Marion_Gerken_-_Default.pdf

Marion M. Gerken of Glenview, beloved wife of the late Donald; dear mother of James (Donna) Gerken, Cheryl (Bill) Byron and Kathy Gerken; loving grandmother of Bill (Megan) Byron, Amanda (Clint) Raabe, Megan Gerken and the late Colleen Byron; cherished great grandmother of Dresden and Liam; fond sister of Gene (Sheryl) Kohl.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-07-31.Eighth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The three Readings today all tell of the contrasts between people who have faith in Christ and those who do not. The important message is that we recognize God’s gracious blessings and so reflect them as we live. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15) and warns about one who is “not rich toward God” (v. 21). When in Ecclesiastes “the Preacher” sees vanity all around, he writes, “to the one who pleases Him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy” (Ecclesiastes 2:26). In the Epistle, Paul promises that we who, in our Baptism, “have been raised with Christ, . . . will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1a, 4b). We have been given not only physical life but also eternal life.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-07-17.Sixth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-07-03.Fourth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The Lord restores Jerusalem, His Church, because she is the mother of His children, whom He comforts “as one whom his mother comforts” (Is. 66:13). We are “satisfied from her consoling breast” with the pure milk of the Word, and we “drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance” (Is. 66:11). The messengers of Christ bestow such gifts upon His Church. For He sends them out “as lambs in the midst of wolves” (Luke 10:3), bearing in their bodies the sacrifice of His cross, by which “the kingdom of God has come near” (Luke 10:9, 11). Wherever He enters in with this Gospel, Satan is cast out and falls “like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Thus, we do not “boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). Rejoicing in this Gospel, we “bear one another’s burdens” in love, according to “the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-06-19.Second_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The Lord finds those who did not seek Him or ask for Him. He spreads out His hands “to a rebellious people” (Is. 65:2) and calls them to be His people and to dwell in peace upon His holy mountain (Is. 65:9). For wherever Jesus Christ enters in, Satan is cast out. Those who were enslaved and driven mad by the assaults and accusations of the devil are set free by the Word of Christ. He drowns and destroys the old Adam in us with the waters of Holy Baptism and thereby brings us out of death into life. No longer naked in our shame, living “among the tombs” (Luke 8:27), we are brought into the Lord’s house, fully clothed by Christ; He has come in “the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4) to fulfill the Law on our behalf and to redeem us from its every accusation. Therefore, having been justified by His grace through faith in His Gospel, “you are no longer a slave, but a son” (Gal. 4:7).

View/ Download Bulletin: 2022-06-05.The_Day_of_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Following the flood, Noah’s descendants failed to spread out and fill the earth as God had spoken. Rather, they exalted themselves; with “one language and the same words” (Gen. 11:1), they spoke proudly and arrogantly. The Lord humbled them by confusing “the language of all the earth,” dividing and dispersing the people (Gen. 11:9). That dispersal was reversed on Pentecost Day (the 50th day of Easter), when God caused the one Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to be preached in a multitude of languages. “At this sound the multitude came together” (Acts 2:6), for the preaching of Christ is the primary work of the Holy Spirit, whereby He gathers people from all nations into one Church. The Holy Spirit teaches and brings to our remembrance the words of Jesus, which are the words of the Father who sent Him. These words bestow forgiveness and peace to those who keep and hold on to them in love for Jesus. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-05-22.Sixth_Sunday_of_Easter_-_Letter_1_.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“In that day,” Jesus told the disciples in the Upper Room, “whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you.” They could not understand, hearing Him before Easter and Pentecost. But we know now that the day has arrived, thanks to His death and resurrection, when our heavenly Father’s ears are open to our every prayer. In this our day, we can anticipate by faith seeing Him and Jesus, the Lamb, in the perfect Jerusalem, as John writes in the reading from Revelation. Hearing the good news, Lydia, in the Reading from Acts, asked if the disciples deemed her worthy for Baptism. Indeed, with the gift of faith by the Holy Spirit, Christ’s worthiness and her sins had been exchanged on the cross. She provided a home for Paul and Luke, and God had an eternal Jerusalem awaiting her entry. What Easter joy!

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-05-08.Fourth_Sunday_of_Easter_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

It is Good Shepherd Sunday, and the familiar twenty-third Psalm is echoed throughout our worship. Our Lord went through the valley of the shadow of death in our place, leading from death to eternal life. There is work to do before we get to eternity, for following our Shepherd entails confessing our faith even when death’s shadow falls on us. It means vigilance against wolves attacking amid Christ’s flock, as Paul warns in the First Reading. But in his vision, John tells us that Christ is now the victorious Lamb on His eternal throne. We can be confident that what we believe by faith we shall know by experience in the unending joy of the Father’s house.

View/Download bulletin: 2022-04-24.Second_Sunday_of_Easter_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

On the Lord’s Day, St. John the apostle was given a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. He is the Living One, “the firstborn of the dead” (Rev. 1:5). He died for all people, and behold, He is alive forevermore! Therefore, He has “the keys of Death and Hades” (Rev. 1:18). For His death atoned for sin and conquered death, and in His resurrection He opened the kingdom of heaven to us. The “sharp two-edged sword” of His mouth (Rev. 1:16) calls you to “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,” that by such faith “you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). To that end, He sends His ministers of the Word, as the Father sent Him, “to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31).

View/Download bulletin: 2022-04-15.Good_Friday_-_Letter.pdf

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-04-10.Palm_Sunday_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The words of the prophet Zechariah echo throughout this special day: “Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). On this day, we remember how Jesus Christ, the King of all creation, came down the Mount of Olives riding “a colt, the foal of a donkey.” We know the time and the place of that coming down the hill and traveling in procession across the valley and up to the city of Jerusalem. Jesus rode down a real mountain in a definite time in history and at a place still very much there today. All this was for a most certain purpose. On this day of celebration and of sorrow, we have reason to rejoice in the salvation our humble King brought for us to and through Jerusalem and to the cross on Calvary’s hill. The people there called out Hosanna!—which means “save us now!” And Jesus fulfilled their—and our—heart-felt request.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-03-27.Fourth_Sunday_in_Lent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

No parable more fully describes the profound character of God’s mercy than the prodigal son and the waiting father. We are the rebels who begin to think we deserve our heavenly Father’s kindness and who demand from Him what is not our right to claim. But instead of disowning us, He meets us with joy, welcomes us with His forgiveness, restores our tattered righteousness with the robe of Christ’s holiness, and sets His Table before us. This is what happens every Sunday as the Lord reclaims us from our sins, restores joy to our heavy hearts, reminds us of His baptismal promise, and feeds our body and soul with the body and blood of His Son. This is the source of our holy joy and this is the peace that passes all understanding.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-03-20.Third_Sunday_in_Lent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). By this warning, the Lord would turn us away from wickedness and bring us to life in Himself. For He is patient with us, that we would not be cut down in our sin but live and bear fruit in Him. As He lives, the Lord has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11). So the Scriptures have been “written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11), that we should not desire evil but trust in Christ. He alone is faithful, the Rock who feeds us with His “spiritual food” and pours out His “spiritual drink” (1 Cor. 10:3–4).

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-03-06.First_Sunday_in_Lent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Jesus Christ, our champion against the devil, endures and overcomes “every temptation” (Luke 4:13) on our behalf. He worships the Lord, His God, and serves Him only by trusting the Word of His Father: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Jesus’ victory is now ours through His gracious Word, which is not far away but near us — in our mouth and in our heart, in the proclamation of repentance and faith. For “with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:10). Our confession of Christ includes the prayer of faith, which is not disappointed, “for ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom. 10:13). The Lord is not oblivious to “our affliction, our toil, and our oppression” (Deut. 26:7), but has mercy upon us. He has brought us out of bondage through the “signs and wonders” of Holy Baptism, “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut. 26:8), and now He leads us by His Spirit even in the wilderness.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-02-27.Pastor_JK_Installation_-_Letter.pdf

The official installation of Pastor James Kirschenmann as our Intentional Interim Pastor. Led by Reverend Michael Brown, representing the Northern Illinois District office.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-02-20.Seventh_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Your inheritance as a child of Adam is sin and death, but in Christ you are made alive through His resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:21–22). As you have died with Him in Holy Baptism, so are you raised with Him to newness of life. Therefore, “do not go on sinning” (1 Cor. 15:34). Instead of serving your desires and harming your neighbors, live as “sons of the Most High,” and “be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35–36). Deal with others as you would have others deal with you (Luke 6:31, 37–38). As Christ loved you when you were at enmity with Him, as He blessed and prayed for those who abused Him, and as He did good to those who hated Him and hurt Him, so also “love your enemies, do good” (Luke 6:27–29, 35). For God sent His Son to bear the cross and suffer death, not to condemn the guilty, but “to preserve life.” So does He provide a place for you within His Church, where He is near and deals kindly with “you and your children and your children’s children” (Gen. 45:5–10).

View/Download Bulletin:  2022-02-06.Fifth_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

When Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,” he was overcome with an awareness of his sin and “unclean lips” (Is. 6:1, 5). But the Lord atoned for his sin, took away his guilt and sanctified his lips with “a burning coal” from the altar (Is. 6:6–7). Not only was he rescued from death, but he was called and sent as a prophet of the Lord’s Word (Is. 6:8–9). Similarly, when Simon Peter and his companions “enclosed a large number of fish” at the Word of Jesus, he humbled himself and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:4–8). But Jesus comforted Simon, called him to discipleship and declared that he would be “catching men” (Luke 5:10–11). So in the Office of the Ministry, the Church remains the little boat from which Jesus teaches His people (Luke 5:3). Thus are we instructed in the faith, so that we say “Amen” and return thanks with heart, mind, tongue and life. For the preaching of Christ Jesus is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, by which He builds up His Church on earth (1 Cor. 14:12–19).

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-01-23.Third_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

At Easter, on the road to Emmaus, the Lord Jesus taught us how all the Scriptures ultimately point to Him and His ministry of salvation. Today, we hear the same claim at the beginning of His ministry. Quoting Isaiah 61, He tells His hometown neighbors, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). They were impressed. But only for a short moment. Not everyone will listen to the Word of God until it first inspires repentance over sin. Only when God gets us to face up to our real need, the forgiveness of sins, does the Spirit of God work true faith in the heart that results in praise of God who saves us. The world wants only to cover up and does not like hearing God call what we are doing and what we are sin. In a strange way, however, the Christian actually likes getting honest and facing up to sin, confessing it in order to receive God’s gift of forgiveness and new life. As one Body in Christ, we respond with one voice in praise to God.

View/Download Bulletin: 2022-01-09.The_Epiphany_of_Our_Lord_Observed_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a “Thirteenth Day” of Christmas; yet, it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season. While Christmas has focused on the incarnation of our Lord — that is, on God becoming flesh — the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. The Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth — not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6). With gold, they confess His royalty; with incense, His deity; and with myrrh, His priestly sacrifice (Matt. 2:11).

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-12-26.First_Sunday_after_Christmas_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

When the Lord destroyed the firstborn sons of Egypt, He spared the sons of Israel by providing a lamb in their stead. Hence, all the firstborn sons belong to Him. Every firstborn male animal was sacrificed, and every firstborn son of man was redeemed (Ex. 13:12–13). Therefore, the parents of Jesus “brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22). However, He is not redeemed from priestly service but is consecrated for “the redemption of Jerusalem” and “the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25, 38). For God the Father did not spare His only begotten Son, but offered Him up as the true Passover Lamb, in order to redeem His people from bondage. His cross has caused many to stumble and fall, but His blood atoned for the sins of the world and delivers us from death. We now depart in the peace of Christ because we are also raised with Him. As we receive His body and blood, we join Simeon and Anna in “giving thanks to God the Father through him,” “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” including the Nunc Dimittis, with thankfulness in our hearts (Luke 2:28–32, 38; Col. 3:15–17).

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-12-24.The_Nativity_of_Our_Lord_-_Christmas_Eve_-_Letter_1_.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Heaven and earth rejoice on this night because the glory of the blessed Trinity is manifested in the human birth of “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). In Him, the Father’s grace, mercy and peace rest upon the world. The silence of death is broken by this “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). And all we who have gone astray like lost and wandering sheep, who have “walked in darkness” of doubt and fear and sinful unbelief, behold “a great light” in the nativity of Christ (Is. 9:2). In Him, “the grace of God has appeared” (Titus 2:11). For this Child of Mary who is born for us, this dear Son of God who is given to us, will bear the burden of our sin and death in His own body on the cross. He thereby establishes a government of peace, “with justice and with righteousness,” which shall have no end; not by any work of man, but “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Is. 9:7). 

View/Download Bulletin:  2021-12-12.Third_Sunday_in_Advent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The Third Sunday in Advent has traditionally been called by the Latin word Gaudete, meaning “Rejoice!” For as you are called to repentance, so also are you urged to rejoice in the coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ. By His own cross, He has accomplished salvation for you; “he has cleared away your enemies,” “taken away the judgments against you” and come to reign in your midst. Indeed, He rejoices over you with gladness and song (Zeph. 3:15–17)! Therefore, even from prison St. Paul encourages us to “rejoice in the Lord always,” knowing that the peace of God will guard and keep us in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:4, 7). We find an example and encouragement in the case of John the Baptist. As he languishes in prison, he calls upon Jesus and is strengthened by the Word of the Gospel that he receives. The same good news is preached to you, by which all things are made new and even “the dead are raised up” (Luke 7:22). Do not be offended by the cross, therefore, but let your life be one of prayer and thanksgiving (Luke 7:23; Phil. 4:6).

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-11-28.First_Sunday_in_Advent_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The season of Advent focuses on the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and this first Sunday establishes this theme for the rest of the season. The Son of God came long ago to be our Savior, “a righteous Branch” descended from David (Jer. 33:15). As He then came into Jerusalem, riding on a lowly donkey to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the world (Luke 19:28–40), so does He come to His Church today in the humility of Word and Sacrament to deliver the fruits of His Passion: the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He absolves us and establishes our hearts “blameless in holiness before our God and Father” (1 Thess. 3:13). The same Lord Jesus, who came to Jerusalem then and who comes to us now in peace, will come again with power and great glory on the Last Day. Then there will be “distress of nations in perplexity,” with “people fainting with fear.” Yet, as we anticipate that great and terrible day, He bids us to rest securely in Him: “Raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:25, 26, 28).

View/Download Bulletin:  2021-11-14.Twenty-fifth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

We ought to know from experience that the end times will not be quiet. The world is ending its days with wickedness and destruction. Soon all of mankind’s accomplishments will stand in ruin, but the Word of the Lord will endure forever. There will be blood, but the blood that matters is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all our sins. The Lord who covered us with this blood in Baptism will not now abandon us to the persecution, suffering, and death around us. We belong to Him. Even now, He is at work sanctifying and purifying His Church that we may meet Him in holiness and righteousness at the end of our days and at the end of all days. Thanks be to God who gives us this promise: He who endures to the end will be saved!

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-10-31.Reformation_Day_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Jesus calls us to abide in His Word. To abide means to dwell or be at home. Are you at home in Jesus’ Word? Is it the place where you long to be? Jesus’ Word is the only place in all the world where we can find the absolute guarantee of sins forgiven, hope restored, and new life granted as children of God the Father. Today, Jesus mercifully calls us to come to Him, confess our sins, and be filled with His pardon and peace. He will renew us by His Word, strengthen us at His Table, and send us forth with His blessing to proclaim to all creation: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-10-10.Twentieth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter_1_.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The Lord is the Author and Giver of life, as well as a consuming fire of judgment against all “who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate” (Amos 5:12). “Seek the Lord and live,” therefore, by hating what is evil, loving what is good and doing what is just and right, according to His Word. “And so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you” (Amos 5:6, 14–15). Understand that “no one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). The life that you are called to live is found neither in your “great possessions,” nor in your good works, but only in Christ Jesus. Let go of “all that you have” and follow Him, even unto death, and “you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21–22). Do not harden your heart against His voice, nor turn away from Him, lest you “fall away from the living God.” Rather, hear and heed His call, cling to His Word, and “exhort one another every day,” that you may remain steadfast in Christ and “firm to the end” (Heb. 3:12–15). 

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-09-26.Eighteenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

When the people of Israel wept, complaining that they had no meat to eat (Num. 11:4), Moses cried out to the Lord that “the burden of all this people” was too heavy for him and that he was “not able to carry all this people alone” (Num. 11:11–14). So the Lord had Moses gather “seventy men of the elders of Israel” (Num. 11:16), and the Lord “took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders” (Num. 11:25), so that Moses would not carry the burden alone. All who thus labor are honored, and all the people are cared for, in the name of the Lord (Mark 9:39–41). Everything is done with reference to Christ Jesus. So we cling to Him, and we flee from all sins that would separate us from Him (Mark 9:42–48). The life of the Church is one of repentant faith in Christ. Christians confess their sins to one another, and they “pray for one another,” that each would be raised up and healed by the Lord Jesus, who covers “a multitude of sins” and saves our souls from death (James 5:15–20).

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-09-19.IELC.Seventeenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.docx.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The sinful heart is filled with “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” (James 3:14), which causes hostility, quarrels and conflicts, even among those who are fellow members of the Body of Christ. This should not be so! Rather, God “opposes the proud” with His Law, in order to humble them unto repentance; He “gives grace to the humble,” in order to exalt them by His Gospel of forgiveness (James 4:6–10). This true “wisdom from above” is found in the gentleness, mercy and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself and sacrificed Himself for the salvation of sinners (James 3:17). He was “like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter,” committing Himself to God, His Father, “who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind” (Jer. 11:19–20). Therefore, “after three days,” His Father exalted Him by raising Him from the dead (Mark 9:31). In Holy Baptism, He takes disciples of all ages into His arms like little children. In receiving Him through repentance and faith in His forgiveness of sins, they receive from His Father a share in the glory of His cross and resurrection (Mark 9:36–37).

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-09-05.Fifteenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

The Lord proclaims the Gospel “to those who have an anxious heart” to comfort and encourage them with His presence. He comes not only with threats of “vengeance” and “recompense,” but with His gracious salvation (Is. 35:4). He opens “the eyes of the blind” and “the ears of the deaf,” and He loosens “the tongue of the mute” to “sing for joy” (Is. 35:5–6). Like water on thirsty ground, He speaks His life-giving Word to people of all nations. With His Word and the touch of His hand, He does “all things well,” so that you may now speak “plainly” (Mark 7:31–37). You confess the truth of God in Christ to the glory of His holy name, and you call upon His name in every trouble, confident that He will hear and answer. As you pray and confess with your tongue, so also “love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8).

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-08-22.Thirteenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

What is your favorite family tradition? Perhaps it is an annual celebration such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Perhaps it is a more common tradition—an old family recipe or a favorite game. Traditions are passed down from generation to generation. They are often wonderful and meaningful. But sometimes we pass down traditions that are not good for us or the world. The Israelites had passed down traditions related to divorce and giving that were not what God had intended. Jesus rightly criticizes such traditions. Today we consider the most trustworthy tradition that we continually pass from generation to generation: Jesus.

Ethel "Susie" Jane Severn

October 01, 1939 - May 14, 2021

View/Download Bulletin:  2021-08-14.Memorial_-_Susie_Severn.pdf

Susie was a cherished wife, beloved mother and adored grandmother and great-grandmother who’s joy was to share stories, her passion of gardening, and her love of reading. Her artistic talent, sharp humor and the ability to feel loved and accepted in her presence was gifted to so many over the years. You never left her house without a hug and a meal.

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-08-01.Tenth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Letter.docx.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Bread, in one form or another, is a diet staple in most every culture. Though today we can be overwhelmed at the grocery store with countless types and styles, even in its simplest form, bread continues to sustain stomachs in a variety of ways. Bread, or the simplest form of manna, is what the Lord would use to sustain His people in the wilderness, and the image of bread is what He would use to help people understand the greater gift He came to give in His own Son. Yet, more than sustaining a diet for this body and life, Jesus, the bread of life, has come to serve us salvation, sustain our souls, and feed us with His forgiveness.

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-07-18.Eighth_Sunday_after_Pentecost_-_Portrait_2_.pdf

AS WE GATHER

An old Jewish prayer begins, “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe.” To call God “King” is to acknowledge Him as the highest ruler over all. Earthly kings never created the subjects of their rule out of nothing as has the one Creator God. So much higher and more exalted than any earthly sovereign king is God. In the Old Testament, God gave His people kings for their nation. But unlike the rulers of other nations, Israel’s kings were to rule in God’s name and after His heart and will and word. They were to rule God’s people like shepherds tending sheep, like David of old. Few, however, were faithful to their calling. Through a king named Zedekiah, God both condemned the former faithless kings and promised the future righteous Branch of the great King David. In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus, God’s Son, having compassion on people as a shepherd has compassion on the sheep. Because of Jesus’ blood and righteousness, you have a King that cannot fail. He cares for you and will deliver you safely to your eternal home.

View/Download: 2021-07-04.Sixth_Sunday_after_Pentecost.pdf

AS WE GATHER

When Israel was in exile, God called Ezekiel to speak for Him to tell the truth to Israel. The Lord made no promises about results, but at least the people would recognize that a prophet had been among them. After His hometown did not believe His Messiahship, Jesus still sent out the Twelve to the surrounding towns. Not only did He instruct them about what to do or say, He also prepared them for rejection and how to respond to it. Now it is our turn, as we are called to tell others the truth about sin and grace. But we might think we are not up to the task. Here, Paul is our model, for he was well aware of his limitations, including his thorn in the flesh. Rather than keep silent, he spoke and wrote, confident that God’s power was made perfect in weakness. Our worship today is a reminder that above all else, the truth reveals God’s great love for us in Christ.

View/Download: 2021-06-20.IELC.Fourth_Sunday_after_Pentecost.pdf

AS WE GATHER

In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands the wind and the sea to become calm, which understandably stuns the disciples. “Who is this?” they wonder. The other Readings today reaffirm that we know that Jesus is one person of the Holy Trinity. The Creator puts creature Job in his place. We also ought to remember with whom we are dealing when we request or complain. Paul encourages his readers, then and now, to put their circumstances into the context of the whole Church. Our situations do not define us! Sure of God’s care and emboldened by the strength He provides, we are called to live out our faith confidently. We know who this is: He is Jesus, our Savior.

View/ Download: 2021-06-06.Second_Sunday_after_Pentecost.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“Whoever does the will of God, He is My brother and sister and mother,” said Jesus. What is the will of the God? That all people would come to the knowledge of the truth in Christ and be saved by His mercy. Faith is the will of God and family is the fruit of this faith—a people united in Christ’s death and resurrection by Baptism. A house divided cannot stand. We know this to be true in an earthly sense, but it is an eternal truth. We belong to the Lord, not just in part but in whole. God was even willing to own our sins to restore us from Satan and his dominion. What keeps us from this wonderful identity and this future is only this: our refusal of God’s mercy and our rejection of His work to save us. The goal of God in all that He is doing is faith, for by this faith we are made one with Him and are united together as His family, the Church.

View/Download: 2021-05-23.The_Day_of_Pentecost.pdf

AS WE GATHER

A familiar sight along highways and roadways in summer is the posting of work-zone signs as repairs are made to streets and bridges during the season of good weather. These signs bring a special level of care and concentration for drivers. For Christian people, the Church is the “work zone” of the Holy Spirit. In his hymn paraphrasing the Apostles’ Creed, Martin Luther writes of the Holy Spirit at work: “Who the Church, His own creation, Keeps in unity of spirit. Here forgiveness and salvation Daily come through Jesus’ merit” (LSB 954:3). As we are called and gathered, we are assured that we are in the most vital of work zones—the one to which we can give our greatest care and concentration.

View/Download: 2021-05-09.Sixth_Sunday_of_Easter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“In the sight of God” is a phrase used throughout Scripture. It reminds us of God’s unceasing care and concern for His creation. In Proverbs: “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:3–4). All our life is in God’s amazingly loving sight as He watches over all His creation and especially over people. Out of love for Christ and one another, we can strive to see others around us in the same way that God sees them.

View/Download: 2021-04-25.Fourth_Sunday_of_Easter.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Of all the animals that could have been used to portray humanity, does it feel strange to be called a sheep? After all, it is not the most honorable creature. There are no defense mechanisms to escape a predator, no intimidating roar, and limited ability to fend for one’s self when it comes to seeking nourishment, water, and safety. Yet these things reveal the point we are called to understand. It may not be good to be a sheep on our own, but it is great to be a sheep with a Good Shepherd to care for the flock. Jesus is our perfect shepherd who protects and defends, feeds and nourishes, leads and provides all we need in this body and life. Together as His flock, we are blessed to follow Him as by His Word and Means of Grace He leads us to streams of living water and paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

View/ Download: 2021-04-11.Second_Sunday_of_Easter.pdf

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE BELIEVED

AS WE GATHER

We tend to look for things to make faith easier. Signs, wonders, or just little hints here and there would help. But the disciples had all these things and heard Jesus promise His resurrection, and still they gathered behind the locked doors of their fears. What we do have is Christ, His Word that bestows and sustains our faith, and His Holy Sacrament wherein He feeds us with His body and blood. Though we have not seen with our eyes, we see with faith and join with doubting Thomas to confess, “My Lord and my God!”

View/Download: 2021-04-02.Good_Friday.pdf

View/Download: 2021-03-28.Palm_Sunday.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Sunday, “the eighth day of the week,” is celebrated by Christians as the first day of the eternal life into which they were baptized. Today, the beginning of the great and Holy Week of Lent, we begin with the note of great joy as the crowds receive Jesus entering Jerusalem. This will be the last time He comes to the holy city. For we then follow Him to the judgment hall, the cross of suffering, and the fearful tomb of death. The penitential season of Lent concludes with the three holy days, the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Let us follow our Lord and allow Him to take our sins upon Himself that we may receive His new life in the forgiveness of our sins and the joy of the resurrection.

View/Download:

 2021-03-14.Fourth_Sunday_in_Lent.pdf

WELCOME - AS WE GATHER…

Few are as popular in America as is Jesus. Polls and books may show that people don’t like the church, but they do like Jesus. In fact, any religion that comes to America has to find a way to account for Jesus and treat him positively in order to survive in America. And in recent years several books have come out highlighting that very fact. One by Steven Prothero is entitled American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon. The other by Richard Fox, is entitled, Jesus in America: Personal Savior, Cultural Hero, National Obsession. So, from movies like Last Temptation of Christ down through Jesus Christ Superstar, to Godspell, to Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, Jesus has been an object of fascination for Americans. But which Jesus?

Jesus is the center of the gracious Good News. We are God’s workmanship, and now He holds the door open as we walk through, looking up to Jesus, just as the Israelites looked to the pole with the bronze serpent…

View/Download: 2021-02-14.The_Transfiguration_of_Our_Lord_-_Creative_Worship.pdf

AS WE GATHER

There is nothing quite like being an eyewitness, giving a special perspective to share on the event. Peter writes about being on the Mount of Transfiguration as he, James, and John were privileged to have a special vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. He states: “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16b–18). Today, through the words of Scripture, we, too, become eyewitnesses and are given a glimpse of glory in the vision of our transfigured Lord!

View/Download: 2021-01-31.IELC_Fourth_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany.pdf

AS WE GATHER 

In today’s Gospel from Mark 1, we are reminded of Jesus’ divine authority in His teaching to the people and also in His power over evil spirits. This power and authority was foretold by prophets such as Moses, pointing to the One who would fulfill all things as the long-awaited perfect prophet and Savior. In that power and authority, Christ has won our victory through His death and rising, and we are blessed with freedom in that faith to be used to His glory in service to others.

View/Download: 2021-01  17_Second_Sunday_after_the_Epiphany_Bulletin.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Today we consider the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. How we live and interact with others is important, for we are representing the Holy Spirit. How we act when we are alone is important, for the Spirit is always present with us, and He has no desire to take part in sin of any kind. As we reflect, we remember the glorious news that we were bought with a price—the blood of Jesus, which forgives all our sins and removes all our shame. For that we are most thankful!

View/Download Bulletin: 2021-01-03_Second_Sunday_after_Christmas_Bulletin.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“Let our gladness have no end, alleluia!” (LSB 381:1). “Let our gladness banish sadness All throughout creation!” (LSB 371:1). These two songs of the Christmas season remind us that we are in glad times as we celebrate the birth of our Lord. This year, because of the way the days of the week fall immediately after Christmas Day, we are blessed by having not one but two Sundays after Christmas! Through the Holy Gospel today, we hear about our Lord Jesus when He was a young man—one who increased in wisdom and stature. Jesus was glad to be in God’s house when He was in Jerusalem. Our gladness in these special days is heightened by our being here for worship as we grow in wisdom and in stature by God’s endless grace!

View/Download Bulletin: 2020-12-24-25_The_Nativity_of_Our_Lord_Bulletin.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Advent has long been a time of preparation, preparation for the celebration of Christmas. Yet the road to Christmas is anything but easy. It twists, it turns, and we meet many strange figures along the way. The Midweek series during this Advent has been presenting a different perspective. We have been hearing “Voices from the Edge.” Prophets cry out in visions. John the Baptizer preaches in the desert. The voices are varied, the places are strange. And... Angels! Angels appear whether you are asleep or awake. One thing is certain: in each encounter, God is preparing us for the celebration of the greatest encounter of all, the birth of Jesus, his Son, our Savior, the Redeemer of the world. As that event is upon us at our Christmas celebration in this service, we hear of that Great Joy for All people that was announced by an Angel!

View/Download Bulletin: 2020-12-13_IELC_Advent_3_Bulletin.pdf

AS WE GATHER

“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). What a beautiful proclamation from the Father! Jesus is more than meets the eye—more than a mere man. He is the Son of God. Yet, His identity will be challenged. Immediately following His Baptism, Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He tempts, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3). But Jesus remains faithful and does not sin. Then, at the cross, we hear a similar temptation from those gathered, “If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). But again, Jesus remains faithful, doing the will of His Father. Rejoice that for Jesus’ sake, God looks at you as His baptized child and says, “This is My beloved son, my beloved daughter, with whom I am well pleased.” What a beautiful proclamation from our heavenly Father!

View/Download Bulletin: 2020-11-29_IELC_Advent_1_-Worship_Bulletin.pdf

As We Gather

“Very good.” These are the words used in Genesis 1 to describe what God sees as He looks over everything that He has just made. All of creation, including humanity, is perfect and just as God intended it to be. Yet, that perfection does not last long. With Adam and Eve’s disobedience of God’s command to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin enters the world. What was once “very good” is now fallen, imperfect, and not-so-good. Yet, already in Genesis 3:15, the Lord promises One who will save. Eve’s offspring, Jesus, will bring redemption by another tree—the tree of the cross. Through His birth, life, death, resurrection, and return, all creation will be restored and will again be “very good”!

View/Download: 2020-11-22_Last_Sunday_of_the_Church_Year_Bulletin.pdf

AS WE GATHER

Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. This Sunday is traditionally filled with themes of Christ’s roles as King and Judge. But consider these words from Psalm 95: “We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” We are God’s chosen sheep. He is our Shepherd. We follow Him as He goes to seek the lost, bring back the stray, and bind up the injured.

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As We Gather

We hear today the extremely encouraging words from the apostle Paul concerning our everlasting life. Paul tells us, “We will always be with the Lord.” What comforting words! What encouraging words! You have the assurance that when Jesus returns, you will spend everlasting life in His gracious presence.