February 26, 2023
First Sunday in Lent
Sermon Notes for Sunday
- Sermon Notes
Sermon based on Matthew 16:13-20
Today we hear about Peter’s confession of faith and how, like Peter, we are given the Spirit of Christ to confess the one true Christian faith boldly and confidently, and that even when we do not confess as we ought, our God and Savior continues to forgive, strengthen, and renew us so that we learn to confess His name before others.
Serving Schedule
This Week’s Servants
- ELDER: Alan Marxhausen
- Usher: Travis Bemboom
- Reader: Derek Marxhausen
- Organist: Jane Marquardsen
- Acolytes: Makenna Miller/Ella Roehl
- Sound Booth: Waylon Dreyer
- Altar Guild: Jane Marquardsen
- Fellowship: Cassie Yeats/Lane Frazier
Next Week’s Servants
- Elder: Derek Marxhausen
- Usher: Mike Maurer
- Reader: Jaiden K./Makenna M.
- Organist:
- Acolytes: Brock/Brayden Theisen
- Sound Booth: OPEN (still need volunteers)
- Altar Guild: Sue Drury
- Fellowship: Nancy Roeschlein/Virginia Maurer
Statistics for Last Week
Financials
- Regular Offering: $1,790.00
- Online Giving: $125.00
- Non-Budget: $0.00
- Other: $0.00
Attendance
- Worship Attendance: 67
- Sunday School: 6
- Youth Group: 3
- Mid-Week: n/a (canceled – snow)
Important News & Announcements
New Website Now Live!
Our newly formatted website is now live and nearly every page is completed. Because of the additional capabilities of the new website, the weekly news will be emailed directly, without reformatting or converting to images. This means that you can click on any included links, as well as enjoy other features. Be SURE to subscribe, not only to the weekly news, but to the daily devotionals. Note: Printed announcements will still be available under your mailboxes.
Today is NOISY OFFERING SUNDAY!!
If you have some loose change lying around, bring it to church on Sunday and drop it in the buckets and make a BIG NOISE in support of our Scholarship program.
DCE INTERN UPDATE
News about the current status of a DCE Intern will be coming at the next Voters Meeting in April.
Maundy Thursday Seder Needs Your Help!
We will hold the Maundy Thursday Seder on April 6th. We’ve invited Rum River Circuit churches to join us, so we will certainly have a full house once again. To make the night a success, we are looking for volunteers to provide food, to help prepare, and to take part in the Seder liturgy with speaking parts. A sign-up table is now available in the Narthex. Please prayerfully consider volunteering. If you’ve not done a lot of volunteering, make the Seder Meal a great way to start.
Sunday School/Pre-Confirmation/Youth Group
Our Sunday School/Pre-Confirmation and Youth Group hour has been low on attendance these past few weeks. The Scripture teaches us that we are to raise our children in the faith, bring them to church, and teach them every day about the love of God in Christ. The Education Hour on Sunday morning is a GREAT time to do this, to supplement your time at home with your kids in prayer and study. If you haven’t brought your kids to church in a while, why not start this Sunday? And while they’re in class, why not stick around and attend the Adult Bible Study, taught by one of our Elders? Like the kids, we must also be in regular study of God’s Word and use these opportunities to grow in Him.
Youth Food
Fun
Fellowship
CALLING ALL YOUTH! On Friday, March 10th, we will be gathering at St. Paul’s for a Youth night with games, fellowship, FOOD, and devotion. The Youth from our circuit is also invited. Mark your calendars and bring a friend or two. We gather at 6:00PM. Remember to bring a few non-perishable food items with you for the Milaca Food Pantry.
Prayer Requests
| Tom Litfin | Glen Hamann |
| Terry Bemis | Harry Totzke |
Weekend Devotion
Prayer: Father in heaven, give me strength to fight against my old sinful nature and to trust in Your Spirit and grace, for I still sin so much. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SCRIPTURE: “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” – 1 John 1:10
Not only have we sinned, but we continue to sin. This is due to the fact that we still have a corrupt, sinful nature battling for dominance within us, and we will have this nature for as long as we have these bodies. St. Paul says it like this: “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18). And it’s more than the “big sins” such as sexual sins or violence or substance abuse. It’s the little sins, the white lies, the minor thefts, the sour looks, these things that, to others, seem harmless or casual, but to the Lord are no different than any other sins. Because sin is of the heart and are born from such things as envy, jealousy, a hostile heart, a lack of trust in God’s provision, and a falling away from faith.
As believers, we still have sins which bite and entice us and throw us for loops that we even still do them. But no sin rules over us because we have the Spirit of Christ ruling our hearts instead. It’s as if the sin still gripping within us is like a tried and condemned prisoner who fights and claws for freedom as he is dragged to the gallows. He has no weapons to harm anyone, his hands are tied and with all of his crying and bellowing out, there is no chance he will be set free. Likewise, the sin in our bodies might surge up, rant and rave, and keep on trying to free itself because it is our nature to love what we consider ours and think everything is up to us and our own abilities. We don’t, by nature, trust God or His Word, or even believe in God, and our old nature wants it to stay this way. But the best way to fend off the rantings of our old nature is to be in God’s Word, in prayer, and before Word and Sacrament in church.
This Week’s Meetings
- Lent Midweek II, Wednesday @ 5:00pm
- Confirmation, Wednesday @ 6:30 PM
- Book of Concord Study Thursday 9:00am
- Next Sunday is the Second Sunday in Lent
- Elders Meeting, March 5th
Coming Events
- Lenten Midweek Services continue this Wednesday and through the end of March. Make an effort to attend these wonderful services. Our theme this Lententide will be the Sixth Chief Part of the Catechism: The Sacrament of the Altar
- Youth Night, March 10th from 6-8
- Seder Meal, April 6th
- Good Friday, April 7th
- NO EASTER VIGIL THIS YEAR
- Easter Sunday Services, April 9th
“Beware of despairing about yourself: you are commanded to put your trust in God, and not in yourself.”
— St. Augustine (354-430)