Pastors
March Message…..
Love and Sin: Getting Back to the Truth
Is all love that people share with others Godly love? We live in a world where the predominant
teaching of the culture is “Love is God” rather than “God is love”. Love then is defined according to human
criteria and not the wisdom of God as found in His pure and unchanging
Word. God’s definition of love is being
challenged even by many within the “church” as they use culturally acceptable
human definitions and arguments to overturn the clear teaching found in God’s
Word about human love. There is human
love that is not God pleasing and which God clearly in His Word identifies as sin. We also know by the clear teaching of God’s
Word that sin separates us from God, from His presence and His promises. Those who sin willfully without repentance
will be separated from Him forever. So
this is an important issue for caring and loving Christians to study, that we
may have a truly loving answer for those who might be trapped in sin.
So often as our more
culturally sensitive media (just look at the controversy on the Focus on the Family
ad on the NCAA web site has evoked) characterizes the Christian church’s
teaching about the homosexual lifestyle, they show the church as unloving
toward a group of people. Even the
recent actions of the ELCA show the great power of this media as it impacts the
historic teaching of the church. There
are those in this church body who argue that the church should be all inclusive
in its acceptance of every person, notwithstanding their behavior. And this is the key point. Does God confront human behavior, what we
would call morality? If you know
anything about the Ten Commandments you would know that He indeed does confront
human behavior and sets a standard of human behavior that is Godly and by His
standards holy. Almost all of society
has either laws set down in the law books or that are part of the culture of
the people that are based upon these clear laws of God. Scripture tells us that the law is set in the
hearts (conscience) of all people whether they are believers in the God who
gave the laws or not. But even here, the
church that looks past God’s clear law and declares that which is sin to be no
sin at all, does no favors to the individual that may be living in a sin that
separates him or her from God. Such
modern “tolerance” is not only unloving it brings a confusion of truth to bear
for the individuals that are struggling with such sin in their lives.
And let me explain the
understanding of tolerance in today’s culture.
The classical meaning of tolerance is “putting up” with things we do not
agree with or know as wrong; but in our day and age it has been redefined as
“accepting” things we do not agree with and know as wrong, including sinful
behaviors. A Christian is called to have
true (classical) tolerance for sinners, that is, they put up with them in love
on the one hand loving the sinner while on the other hand they do not tolerate the sin, but clearly identify it as
sin. This is not an acceptable stance by
the standards of the secular policy makers of our day. Christian, do not be set in your opinions, in
what you believe is right and wrong, by these standards, which are indeed
standards of a dying world, a dead without Christ world. Rather we are called to let the Word of God speak
clearly to us as we meet the challenges of dealing with sin in the lives of
people we know and love, people we want to be with
their Savior and with us in eternity (and isn’t this every person you know,
even those you may not like very much).
True Godly agape love deals
with sinners and sin in this way. It is
not judgmental, but is compassionate and humble recognizing that “all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His
grace, through the redemption the came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24). It is ok to talk about sin, to identify it
clearly in our own lives and the lives of our neighbors. To do anything else is in no way showing
“love”.
Through this Lenten season
we are studying the parables of Jesus, stories with a strong heavenly point to
them. Through these parables Jesus
identified sin to the sinner as something that kept them out of the
Pastor Paul Sajban
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday Morning
Services 11:00 am followed by luncheon (each Wednesday during Lent) Beginning February 24th thru
March 24th Wednesday Evening Services 6:30
pm Preceded by Light Supper (each
Wednesday during Lent) Beginning February 24th thru
March 24th Maundy Thursday Service of
Confession/ Communion 6:30 pm Good Friday Service at Noon,
April 2nd Passion according to Tenebrae Candle Light Service 6:30 pm, April 2nd Easter Vigil Service 5:30 pm at Saturday April 3rd Easter Sonrise
Service 6:30 am,
April 4th Easter Festival Service 9:00 am Easter Breakfast following Sonrise Service and Festival Service
Lenten Supper Meals prepared
by: February 24th: Youth Committee March 3rd: Elders/ Stewardship March 10th: Public Relations March 17th: Education Committee March 24th: Men’s Bible Class
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Trustee’s Report…
Ron's Electric is installing the Fire Alarm System in our church which will
be completed shortly. We removed the pews on the left side of the sanctuary for
the electricians to set up the
scaffolding. When the electricians complete the work, the inspector will
check to make sure everything meets code. When approved we will return the pews
to their correct location.
The
carpet in the educational wing was cleaned by Holt Carpet Cleaning Service.
This
has been a year of excess snow on the roofs, roof valleys, property and parking
lot. As the snow melts on the roof the eaves fill with water and freeze. This
causes water to get into the sanctuary and other areas. There is some water
damage in the sanctuary. Tony Nichols was hired to come with his backhoe and
skid loader to remove snow on both sides of the church so Ron's Electric could
get the hoist set up by the roof. The snow was raked off the roof and valleys
where possible. We wish there was somebody in the area that would remove the
ice from the eave troughs to prevent water from seeping into the building.
Respectfully submitted,
Willard Schroeder, secretary of the
trustees
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We will be taken orders for Easter Lilies & Spring Flowers
to grace the sanctuary for Easter.
You can donate
in honor of someone special,
a special occasion, or in memory of
a loved one.
Cost is $10.00.
Deadline to order is March 16th.
Please fill out a flower order form & return it to the church office
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LWML…
The LWML held another
successful Soup and Sandwich Luncheon on February 4, 2010. Approximately 140 people came to enjoy our
home-made soups and famous egg salad sandwiches. Thank You to everyone who
helped in anyway. A special thanks to Paul Woizeschke
who again prepared and donated his popular Bean and Ham soup.
Our Spring Rally will
be held on April 24, 2010 at St. Matthew’s in
March 6th is the date
for our annual Prayer Service and Brunch which will begin at 9:30 am. All
ladies of the congregation are invited to join us. Please sign up by March 1st.
There is a sign-up sheet in the upper narthex. Our guests will also include
fellow members of the LWML societies of the Windom Zone.
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.
Fellowship, ice cream sundays
& root beer floats are planned for Saturday evening 6:30pm to 8:30pm.
Sunday worship service at 10:00am with Synod Vice President Dr. John Wahlrobe speaking. Noon meal and program following.
If you plan to attend, RSVP to sporchurch@yahoo.com or call 507-853-4585
are appreciated
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jesus Company,
Jesus Company has been meeting on
Wednesdays since October. Our lessons
have focused on the stories from the Gospel of Mark. The children enjoy singing and spending time
together. From January to April the
Bible lessons will be from the book of Acts.
The children will learn about the early Christians. Appropriate songs and crafts will help the
children as they grow in knowledge and faith.
All the children received an Arch Christmas
Story Book for their very own.
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.
________________________________________________________________________________
Jazz Ambassadors Band…
The Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cottonwood
County Chapter, along with the financial reps, are
sponsoring the military band, the Jazz Ambassadors, on March 25, at 7pm, at
BARC, in Windom. This 20 piece group plays big
band, popular tunes, patriotic selections, Dixieland, along with other music
styles. Free tickets are available at the
Thrivent Financial office and the BARC office.
Page Kern