Pastors
July Message…..
Celebrating Freedom: For God and
Country
I’m sure
you have heard this phrase “For God and Country” at one time or another. If you would picture a person who would make such
a statement, you might have the picture of a U.S. Marine, Special Forces or
other service person in their battle fatigues holding an AK-47 (that’s a pretty
powerful gun) in their arms. You might
even call such a person a Christian patriot.
But you could get in trouble for calling such a person a
“Christian” patriot. Some would call this term an oxymoron if such
a character I just described is meant, because Jesus taught us to turn the
other cheek when it came to our enemies.
Some would declare such a statement very bigoted and limited, because
our soldiers are more than Christian, and the Jew, the Muslim, the Hindu, the
Buddhist would have to be included in that patriot part, although you might get
arguments about that too from folks who live in Texas and Alabama; and maybe
the peace seeking Buddhist might not mind being left off the list. The atheists and agnostics would also take
exception to the “Christian” part of the patriot description, for they don’t believe
in God, so I guess that exempts them anyway from the phrase “For God”, but for
the agnostic, they just can’t be sure if there is a God or not so maybe they
would be more comfortable being off this list.
And maybe you didn’t catch the picture that I put in your mind, but the
soldier is not even holding an American M-16, but a Russian rifle of
renown. Bad choice of
weapons for an American patriot.
And why did I especially pigeon-hole the good people of
As I write this
month a little tongue in cheek I want you to understand that the arguments for
silence rather than speaking about things that may not be p.c. (politically
correct) can be found in that go around you just read in the previous
paragraph. We may keep quiet about
important things, even eternal things, because we are
afraid we may offend another person or persons.
The majority of us don’t really like conflict and confrontation and we
will do whatever we can to avoid it. You
can probably name a few people, however, who are just the opposite, those who
look for ways to push the buttons of another individual or individuals just to
get them going. This month I will step
out of character a little, be courageous and of good cheer and look at this
phrase “For God and Country” more closely.
First of all I would like for you to notice
the order of this statement and then the content. And I would like you to consider these
questions, “Can a person too closely link their Christianity with their
patriotism toward their country, making their country into an idol? And “Can a person be a true patriot toward
their country without any thought of taking up arms to defend it?” This article has little if anything to do
with being a conscientious objector. It
does however have to do with how closely one should link their Christian faith
with a country or cause or political party.
I hope by the end of this article that you will have to conclude that
Christ needs to be in the center of this statement for it to be a living, valid
statement that transcends country, political party or anything else. Maybe after I’m done you may think that this
statement can be more truthfully used in conjunction with the spread of the Good
News of the Christian Gospel than with a physical war with an enemy or
enemies. There is a battle against God
in our country going on as I type. There
are many who would like to define our country by keeping God out of it and
think they are doing us a service. And
our battle as Christians to which this battle cry can be understood is against
more than flesh and blood, though flesh and blood is included. The Apostle Paul writes by inspiration of the
Spirit: “For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)” As powerful as an
AK-47 or an M-16 or Sherman Tank is, it can do nothing to turn the tide of the
battle against such an enemy.
Rather than the
soldier I pictured above I would rather you would picture the servant of God
Joshua as he prepared to lead God’s people into the promised
land as you think of this phrase “For God and country”. He is a better picture of what a true Godly, Christian patriot should look like in our day. This man of God put his trust in the Lord as
he led an often disobedient people into the Promised Land. He told the people before they marched on
To consecrate
themselves they needed to obey the voice of the Lord, His Word, putting aside
their fears, their worldly wisdom and reason, their worries and anxieties about
the enemy they were facing and dedicate themselves to trusting the Lord with
all their minds, hearts and lives. And
they weren’t to rely on their own strength in this battle to come, but rather
on the strength and the promise of the Lord to “go before them”.
God was their true leader and Joshua was His spokesman. And what about Rahab
the harlot of
Putting God first
can make our country strong again. We
are sliding so far from this as a people and as a nation. Many of our leaders give the Lord lip
service, calling upon Him with false prayers seen by man when the going gets
rough, but thumbing their noses at the freeing truth of His Word to gain the
support of the godless forces of human wisdom and power. Many of us too give the Lord lip service,
just like the people in Joshua’s day when they promised to “serve the Lord”,
but when push comes to shove they are more involved in serving self and
satisfying even the human pleasures that stand against the Lord and His living
Word. It is one thing to speak the
statement “for God and country”, it is a much more
difficult endeavor to live it with truth.
The Lord blesses
those who put Him first and are not ashamed to stand on His voice of truth, and
that voice is the Holy Scriptures in their entirety. There is no picking and choosing when it
comes to the Word of God. There is no
watering down or denying or changing the Word to make it fit into the sinful
human standards of the world of our day.
Sometimes the blessing that comes is the blessing of trial and trouble
that proceed from an unbelieving audience who try to cover or mangle God’s
clear Word using the reason and standards of political correctness. Truly standing for God will indeed change our
country one person at a time.
To truly love this
country means to bring the reality of our heavenly country to the foremost of
our thinking and doing. Time here on
earth is short. If you really want to
live for God and country, you are called to be like Abraham and Joshua and Rahab and all the other heroes of faith listed in Scripture
whose hearts were not set primarily on
the kingdom of this world, but who by faith saw beyond the temporal earthly
into the holy land of God’s promise. To
love this country is to live with Christ as your Savior, openly, so that the
whole world can see it and hear it, can observe this living faith in Christ
Jesus every day. How we are failing in
this as the people of God. God forgive
us. And He does forgive us. That is the most grand
blessing of being a Christian day in and day out. Without this redeeming forgiveness there is
no reason to have hope for an eternal country whose architect is God. To truly live for God and country means to
take up the cross and follow Jesus. For
the cross is the power of such a life, not the red, white and blue of old
glory. And yet such brings honor to the
flag of our nation. Without the cross of
Christ that flag is just another national symbol with changing meaning
depending on the heart of a people for a particular time and moment. The cross can bring a
timelessness to our American flag that impacts not only the people of
this nation, but the nations around the world.
Think on some of
these things as you gather this 4th of July. Pray for
the Lord to renew us in faith in Him as a nation. Pray that those who would sanitize our nation
of the Lord and His Word, that they and their work would come to nothing. Be a Christian patriot, growing in your
knowledge of God’s Word that the flesh and blood and the evil spiritual forces
of the day may not gain control of your thinking and life. We are armed with the cross of Christ Jesus
as His own special people and nation.
May we proudly bear it for His glory and the saving of this nation and
all nations.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Paul Sajban
Help Needed
Can you host a
Pastor or fix a noon meal?
On August 12-16th we will host an informative course on Defending the
Christian Faith. We are looking for members who are will to help with hosting
an out of town Pastor for the weekend for sleeping accommodations. We are also looking for some help on preparing
the noon lunches on that weekend. If you are willing to help in either of these
areas, please talk to Pastor Sajban or call the
church office at 831-3522.
Trustee’s Report…
The fire alarm system was checked out with the Windom
Fire Department and Ron's Electric and is in operation. The system runs through
Ban Koe System, a company from the Cities who
monitors our church 24 hours a day seven days a week. They notify the fire
department when something is wrong. When you make a contribution to the fire alarm system mark it on your
church building fund envelope so we can get the 20% matching funds from the Elsing Fund.
The State required
boiler repair bid was given to Schwalbach and Ron's
Electric. Schwalbach has ordered the parts; they are
on back order, but when received the work will be done. Cost is $2,485.00.
We want to thank
the “
One of the
refrigerators in our church kitchen quit cooling and was not repairable. A new
replacement refrigerator was ordered and delivered by Smith Appliance of
Windom. The ladies of the two circles of our church, the LWML and the PR
committee donated the money to pay for the new refrigerator. Thank you to all
for the donation.
The new operating
note at Bank Midwest for our church repairs was prepared and signed by the
trustees.
A letter notifying
Waste Management was prepared and sent to them terminating our lease. We will
have our local collector do the work.
Willard
Schroeder,
Secretary of the Trustees
Sunday, July 11th thru
Thursday, July 15TH, 2010
Dinner:
5:15pm Program: 6 - 8:30 pm
Closing
Program: Thursday, July 15th
7:45-8:30pm
Come and join Noah & his
family
Learn about the great flood and building the
Day One: “God Is Just” Day Two: “God Is ood”
Day Three: “God Is Our Guide” Day Four: “God Cares”
Day Five: “God Keeps His Promises”
Your prayers are appreciated for our Let’s Build an
children to hear about Jesus, our Lord and Savior. As staff recruitment begins, ask
God to provide willing helpers, eager to share His
love in Jesus.
We look forward to a great week! Laura Alvstad
(831-2365) Kim Rabbe (831-1767)
To register call the church office at 507-831-3522 or place registration in the box in the narthex
Orphan Grain Train
Sunday, July 11, 2010 From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Boiled Fish
Feed 
EVERYONE IS INVITED!
At
-FREE WILL OFFERING WILL BE
TAKEN-
Matched by
LWML Annual Pie & Ice
Cream Social
On
July 18, 2010 at 11:15 am
Following
the Quarterly Voters Meeting
Free—Will Offering
Next Voter’s
Meeting July 18, 2010…..
The Quarterly Voter’s meeting of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior was
called to order by President Bruce Mews
on April 18, 2010 with 31 members present. Two new members signed the
constitution. Pastor Sajban led in opening devotions.
The Secretary’s report
was accepted as printed in the April newsletter.
Treasurer’s Report:
Gail Maras presented the treasurer’s report; some figures were
reviewed and questions answered. A motion was made and passed to move $734.23
from Undesignated Fund to the Technical Equipment Fund. Motion made and passed
to accept the treasure's report.
Pastor’s Report: Pastor
Sajban stated #1. A conference on the Stephen’s
Ministry will be held at
Trustees’ Report: See written report. Ted Horkey reported that the Fire Alarm System is now hooked up
to a dedicated phone line. A new bank loan will be obtained to cover the cost
of the Fire Alarm System and additional small projects that need to be done. He
reminded us that our janitor is only part-time and we should continue to assist
in cleaning up when we use the church facilities. He urged everyone to turn in
any duplicate charges slips that they incur, with their signature and committee
attached.
Elders: No report.
Financial
Secretary: No report.
Old Business: Pastor Sajban announced that
#1. Rev. Matthew Harrison had received our 1300 votes from Missouri Synod
congregations participating in the voting for a new Missouri Synod president.
Our delegates to the Synodical Convention in
New Business: None
Statistics: Death: Jo Olson,
Sig Lillegaard, Russell Jurgens, Vi Moratzka.
Transfers in: Carl Pabst Jr. from Redeemer Lutheran at
Meeting was adjourned with prayer.
Respectfully submitted,
Adelia (Sis) Woizeschke
Faith In Action
…..
What makes a Caring Friend:
An open heart,
a listening ear; A love that comforts and brings
cheer.
A caring way, a
thoughtful deed, A faith that prays when there's a
need.
A walk that’s
true, a life that’s blessed; A will that always seeks God’s best.
For all these
way His love shines through Whatever kindness you may
do.
Faith in Action
Committee:
If you have not already done so,
please fill out the volunteer sheet on the table in the lower narthex. There is
also a sheet for anyone who has a need. Thank you for your participation.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We are planning a trip to view
The
We will be going on July 6, 2010
Ordination of Nathan Hausch…..
Nathan will
have his Ordination into the Office of Holy Ministry on July 11, 2010 at
On August 1,
2010 Nathan will have his installation at Rock of Ages Lutheran Church in
If you would like to send greetings to Nathan and his wife
Lindsay, you may send it to:
Nathan & Lindsay Hausch
Sedona, AZ. 86336-4332
Ordination & Installation of Joseph Behnke…..
Joseph Behnke will have his Ordination &
Installation into the Office of Holy Ministry on August 8, 2010 at 2pm at St.
Matthew Lutheran Church in
Issues Etc. from Lutheran Public Radio, is finally 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. This Sundays message “The Gospel-Driven Life”, will be given by Dr. Mike
Horton of the White Horse Inn.
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.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hy Vee Labels…
Please save your Hy-Vee &
Sunshine 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.
________________________________________________________________________________