Message from Our Pastor
Fathers: Spiritual Leaders
The Apostle Paul writes
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep
your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and
now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their
belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it
we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:17-20
There are certainly some
obstacles that stand before fathers, some dominating cultural and stereotypical
mindsets that keep fathers from taking up the mantle as spiritual leaders in
their families. One that predominates in
our American culture is that “religion” and “spiritual things” are for
women. Go to any regular worship service
in almost any typical church on a Sunday morning and count the number of men
present in comparison with the number of women, maybe even the number of
fathers in comparison to the number of mothers.
There are some of you fathers out there who have not bought into this
lie that “God stuff” is anti-masculine.
In fact the not so subtle picture we are given of fathers by many
branches of media is the picture of a father not unlike that portrayed by the
cartoon character Homer Simpson, as a bungling, boorish, not so very bright
member of the family that has to be constantly protected and corrected by his
children and wife. Have we allowed the
media to create this cartoonish illustration of
fatherhood by our own neglect?
I want you fathers
reading this to pay close attention to who the Apostle Paul directs this
exhortation from God. We don’t find him
with the Ladies Aid group of the local
Judaizers
were Jewish leaders and teachers who taught in full or in part that you had to
keep the Law, that is the 10 Commandments, to be sure
of salvation. They may have given lip
service to the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, but
their emphasis when it came to salvation was on living a holy life. There is a two-edged sword in their way of
thinking when it comes to fathers raising their children. Certainly fathers want their children to be
“good” kids. If you are a father of even
a little worth, your aim for your children is that they grow up knowing right
from wrong and aim their lives toward living a godly or outwardly moral
life. But the greatest trouble with this
is that is far as some dads go. Fathers
are not only to teach their children right from wrong, but also to show and
model Jesus’ forgiveness in their families.
Fathers are to lead their children to the cross of Jesus by word and
example, that is, by teaching and living in the blessed freedom that Jesus’
work on the cross brings to them. Some
fathers see the church as only a place to instill morals in their
children. They need to be drawn into the
reality that their children will not make it to heaven by being good citizens
of
The other group of false
teaching men that plagued the early Christian Church were
the Antinomians. They stood in stark
contrast with the Judaizers in that they taught a
complete freedom from the Law of God.
The 10 Commandments didn’t matter anymore. Certainly the same kind of attitude
concerning God’s Law can be found in our own day too with the current aims of
secular society to redefine the Law of God under the secular wisdom of
humankind. We find this happening even
in institutions that define themselves as the Christian Church. Just look at the battle that is going on to
redefine the Law when it comes to human sexuality. God’s Law clearly states that this same sex
active sexuality that is being almost imposed on us by our society is sin. It stands against God’s clear Word. And yet, how many have bought into the new
secular definition of “love” that suggests that such same sex active sexuality
is actually acceptable to God. And
joined into this is the feminization of our society.
The roles and
characteristics of men and women are being blurred by those who would suggest
that our world would be a better place if we ignored the differentiation of
gender. Boys are no longer to be raised
so that they become gentle-men. And
girls are not to be raised to become gentle-ladies. Feminization has lead to a new standard of
raising children as unisex. Fathers, if
you can’t see this happening in our society today you had better wake up. You are called to be the teacher of Godly
masculinity to your sons. You are called
to teach and model to your daughters this Godly masculinity that they may be
able to differentiate between a man and a Godly man. And what is a Godly man? God’s Word from the very beginning shows that
men and women were created by our perfect Creator to be different from one
another. Hear this from the first book
of the Bible, Genesis:
“So God created man
in His own image, in the image of God He created him;
male and female He
created them…(and then after the Fall into sin)…To the
woman He said, ‘I will surely
multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you
shall bring forth
children. Your desire shall be for your
husband, and he shall
rule over you.’ And to Adam He said, ‘Because you have
listened to the voice
of your wife and have
eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘you shall
not eat of it,’ cursed
is the ground because of you; in pain shall you eat of it
all the days of your
life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you
shall eat the plants of
the field. By the sweat of your face you
shall eat bread,
till you return to the
ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and
to dust you shall
return. (Genesis 1:27, 3:16-19)
In Genesis 2:18-25 (get
out your Bible and read this) we find the account of the creation of woman from
the rib of Adam and the very first reference to Godly marriage (between a man
and a woman only). In this section we
find that the Lord is concerned that man have a mate
like unto himself with whom he can procreate other men and women after his
kind. Eve is called a “helper fit for”
Adam. We find God’s order for both men
and women established here.
We turn to the New
Testament to see this Godly masculinity even better defined in Christ
Jesus. Read Ephesians 5:21-33. Here the Lord describes the nature and role
of a Godly husband and a Godly wife, again describing marriage only in the
context of between a man and a woman. A
Godly father is to model the same kind of love toward his wife that Christ, the
holy Bridegroom, models toward His bride, the Church. And again we find the model that the Lord
holds before women in their marriage relationship with their husbands. Such a relationship is based upon Christ’s
perfect agape love, not this re-defined in our world human type of love.
And this gets us to
Paul’s second warning to men and especially to you fathers. He and the Holy Spirit says to you: ”Do not set your mind ‘on earthly things’. Fathers want the best for their children, but
sometimes define that “best” by focusing only on earthly things like a nice
home, nice clothes, a good education, a good job. Sometimes fathers fail to focus on the best
that the Lord would have their children receive, His Word in their hearts, a
growing and living faith in their Savior Jesus, a life that is growing in an
active love of God and neighbor, heaven.
These latter things are the greater and more important for your children
to receive. Preparing for heaven the children
God gives us is the greatest responsibility of fatherhood. It is your responsibility to see this
through. Teaching your children God’s
Law and sin, the transgression of His Law and with that the Gospel of
salvation, God’s forgiveness in Christ Jesus, is the most important task set
before you as a dad. Your kids can live
without a new PS-3 gaming system. They
cannot live without faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. If you are to prepare them for heaven,
fathers, you better start right now today.
Leave behind the old ways. Grow
yourself in a knowledge of God’s Word and faith. Show your sons and daughters by word and
example what a Godly father is in faith and life in Jesus and you have raised
your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Get to it, now!
A Dad and your Pastor,
Paul Sajban
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Church Officers
for 2012-2013
Chairman:
Don Miller
Vice Chairman: Scott
Becker
Secretary: Sis Woizeschke
Treasurer: Bruce Mews Assistant
Treasurer: Jeanette Schuur
Finance Secretary: Donna Dunse Assistant Finance Secretary: Ruby
Finance Committee:
Tracey Schramel Phyllis Heinitz
Sherri Lyons Paige
Scholl
Cheryl Peter Kerri Oltmans
Jan Meier Jeff Post
Gail
Verna Jans Esther Kalash
Trustees:
Jim Vellema 2-yrs. Dave
Schettler 2-yrs.
Andy Manteufel Matt Peters 1-yr.
Elders:
Ted Horkey Dennis Johnson Carl Nehlsen
Wayne Witt Scott Oltmans Bob Heinitz
Auditor:
Daryl Tasler Jim Dunse
LWML Soup & Sandwich Luncheon
Thursday, Feb. 2. 2012 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. In the church fellowship hall.
Menu: Homemade Soups Sandwiches, Home-baked Bread, Bars, & Beverage
FREE-WILL OFFERING
Sunshine
Preschool…
Brrrr! It’s Cold outside. Come to the
LWML Prayer
Service & Brunch…
The LWML of the
invite all women of the congregation
to
join us in our annual
Prayer Service and Brunch,
on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Service will begin at 9:30 a.m.
followed by brunch at approximately 10:30 a.m.
There is a sign up sheet in the upper narthex
make
your reservation by Monday, February 27, 2012.
We look forward to having many of you join us for this
service.
Faith in Action…
Add to your faith goodness; add to
goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control,
perseverance; and to perseverance,
godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in
increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive
in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8
God does not want us to sit
in self absorbance and idleness but rather to grow in His Word inwardly and
show love and kindness to others outwardly.
To do this we are repeatedly encouraged in scripture to grow in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This
means to get out our Bibles and read what God says to us.
Dear Lord, bless us with a willingness to learn your word and act on it.
Amen
In order to give assistance
to others, you are needed. Please fill
out the proper form on the table in the lower narthex. If you are in need of some assistance please fill out that
form. These forms may be put in the box
on the table. If you would like to contribute money to help others, you may put
it in the box marked Faith in Action on the wall in the upper narthex.
Thank you,
Faith in Action Committee
1st ANNUAL SPRING RETREAT Scrap-a-thon & Card-O-Rama
Friday, April
20 & Saturday April 21
Friday, April 20, 3:00 - Midnight (??) Saturday, April 21, 8:00 - 6:00 p.m.
8’ table, two people at each, $50.00 per person
ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO
**Elevator and
help to bring supplies to tables**
**Friday Night supper and late night ice cream bar
**
**Saturday, coffee time (rolls etc), lunch, pop, water,
coffee and snacks**
*Free gift for
each paid person registered * * Door Prizes*
Outlets located around the room for your electronic. Bring extension cords along.
Call Joyce Oltmans or Gail Maras for more information
Daffodils
for
Anyone wanting a bouquet of daffodils may place their order anytime from
now to Feb. 24th. All orders should be prepaid, please place money
inside of envelope provided. Order form is in the upper narthex. Delivery date
is during March 13th—16th. For more
information see details on order form.
Thank You, American Cancer
Society.
Flower Chart…
If you would like to grace the
altar with flowers for a special occasion or from your garden please use the
flower chart on the bulletin board in the lower narthex.
Issues Etc. from Lutheran Public Radio, is on the air locally on KDOM
94.3 FM or 1580 AM. You can tune in every Sunday evening at 6:05pm for a one
hour broadcast of this popular and informative program.
Quilting……..
The Quilting Gals have started putting quilts together Fridays around
9:00am. We have been blessed with lots of sheets and blankets so we will need
lots of workers. If you can't come on Fridays, we can work any
other day and as long as we want to. Let either Marg
Koch or Betty Tasler know if you would or could come some other day and we will
make arrangements. We need lots of workers to tear off the hems of
the sheets and help finding tops and bottoms for the quilts besides we need workers to tie the
quilts. You do not have to stand, as we make arrangements for those who
would rather sit. We have fun, we eat, we visit and we also
do some work. Please come and help us as we have lots of material to
work with. If anyone needs a quilt or baby blanket
or knows of someone who could use one, let us know as we have several
finished. Hope we have a good turn out as there is
much need for these quilts. Men are invited, as they do
give us good advice, plus they work really well with us. God bless you
all for what you have done throughout 2009.
Betty Tasler
The
Cottonwood County Food Shelf is in need of food. During the
snowy and cold months we all get busy and forget about donating to the food
shelf. Any non-perishable food items will
be accepted. They are open Tuesday and Wednesday or you may bring your items to
the church.
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Hy Vee Foods Labels…
Please save your Hy-Vee Foods labels for Sonshine
Preschool. Please bring in the entire
label, the workers on Friday will cut out what is needed to mail in for credit.
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