I hope everyone had a great time at the Spring Fling Breakfast. It was great to see so many people at this event. Thank you to all those who helped make this event possible. It was awesome. I think we need to do this more often. Many people I knew and some I didn’t. Besides the great food, it is a good event to bring in new people and to show off our church. Also, thank you to all those who donated food items to make this event possible.
Our last Wednesday Lenten service is this week. It will be on the abundance of God’s love. Even though our numbers are not great, I hope those who are coming are enjoying the worship service.
Next week, we will be celebrating Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. We will be doing both of them. There is a reason for this. The National Church wants its members to hear two readings every year: The Christmas story and the Passion story. It used to be that many people would come to the Good Friday service. Now, attendance is not as high as they would like. Therefore, you will hear the Passion story according to John next Sunday and then on Good Friday, you will hear Luke’s version. We will not be processing with palms or waving them during the opening song. You are more than welcome to pick up palms at the front of the altar.
Patty came home on Friday. Most of you know she is the Y’s Swim Coach. One of her swimmers made it to YMCA Nationals in North Carolina. That is one of the things I am proud of her. She takes big fish in little ponds and brings them to a much bigger pond. As you can imagine, Y Nationals is a big event. If it is your first time going to one of these events, it can be pretty intimidating. But the more you go to these big events, they don’t seem to be as big and intimidating. This swimmer is a sophomore in high school. Hopefully, she will have many more big events and become a big fish in a big pond.
The other reason Patty enjoys going to this event is she gets to visit with Kathy Billard. Some of you know her because she was a long-time member of our church. A couple of years ago, she followed her children to North Carolina. I think she lives about 40 minutes away from the pool. Visiting with Kathy is always a good time. I know she still receives this letter. We miss you Kathy.
Holy Week is one more week away. It is such an important week for our faith tradition. We hope you plan on attending many of the services. Thursday, April 17, we will be performing the Living Last Supper. It is always a great event for the church. We will also have 5 of our children receiving their First Communion. This is one of those big events like Baptisms, Confirmation, etc., where it is important that the church members need to make a statement of support. I’m sure you all can remember your First Communion and how life changing of an event it is. Let’s help make this event special for them.
Truth: Only by filling up with God’s love, do I have love to share. (Living Lutheran, March 2023)
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for Palm/Passion Weekend – April 12 & 13
Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 22:14-23:56
Reading the Bible in a Year- Monday, April 7 to Sunday April 13
Day 1st Chronicles Psalms Proverbs 1st Corinthians
Monday Ch 19-Ch 21 91:1-8 Ch 1:18-Ch 2:5
Tuesday Ch 22-Ch 23 91:9-16 Ch 2:6-16
Wednesday Ch 24-Ch 26:19 92:1-15 Ch 3
Thursday Ch 26:20-Ch 27 19:13-22 Ch 4
Friday Ch 28-Ch 29 93:1-5 Ch 5
2nd Chronicles
Saturday Ch 1 – Ch 1:17 94:1-11 Ch 6
Ecclesiastes
Sunday Ch 1- Ch 3:22 94:12-23 Ch 7:1-16
1st Chronicles-We start reading about the history of the Kings of Israel and Judah. After King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom is called Israel. The Southern Kingdom is called Judah. So, in 1st Chronicles, we learn about the Kings of both kingdoms. The rule is basically this: Where the King goes, the country will follow. The great majority of the Kings did NOT please God. Therefore, we can say the majority of the people of that country did not please God. What is God to do?
Psalms-If you look at Psalm 91:11-12 you might have heard this before. Do you remember the temptation of Jesus by the devil? The devil quoted these two verses…sort of. It definitely received my attention.
Proverbs- Not only is God concerned about the poor, but also the writer of Proverbs. There is no clearer mandate in the Bible. Take care of the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger(immigrant) in our midst. How is our country doing? How are we doing?
Ecclesiastes – When you read this Wisdom Literature you may want to take special note of the word “vanity.” You will see it many times in this short book written by King Solomon (they are pretty sure). “In the Bible, “vanity” (often translated from the Hebrew word “hevel”) signifies emptiness, futility, or the fleeting nature of things, particularly when applied to worldly pursuits and pleasures lacking spiritual significance” (Google search).