Professional Documents
Culture Documents
T h e N e w s l e t t e r o f Z i o n L u t h e r a n C h u rch
Volume 8, Issue 9
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+ Catechism will be starting up for the 2013-2014 academic year beginning on September 18th at 6:00
pm. Pastor will be in touch with students and their parents.
+ Our Minnesota Valley Circuit of LWMS is celebrating their 40th Anniversary this year. They will
be holding their Fall Rally at St. Pauls in St. Jamesthe site of the very first LWMS rally 40 years ago! The theme for this Rally is Generation to Generation (or unofficially High Heels to Flip Flops). The Rally will be Saturday, September 28th, beginning at 9:00 am. There is no cost to attend and childcare will be provided also free of charge. More information can be found in the bulletin in the coming weeks.
+ A seven week Bible Class has in the Sunday morning slot. It emphasizes the worship emphasis also
going on this month; more information is found in the bulletin.
+ We switch back to the 10:00 am service time beginning on September 8th; Sunday School will also
begin September 8th and all children and parents are encouraged to make every effort to come to both Sunday School and worship that week for mutual encouragement and edification.
Zion Lutheran Church is affiliated with and actively supports these Christian institutions:
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Worship
Sundays at 10:00 am (9:00 am June-August) Wednesdays at 7:00 pm
Anniversaries
John & Char Altermatt24th Ed & Roxy Cohrs27th
The list on which the above dates are based is a continual work in progress. PLEASE let Ladies Evening Circle know if we have either missed or misdated your birthday or anniversary. The following designations have been made for offerings at special services in 2013. The offering is collected from the envelope for that day along with any unmarked loose offerings:
New Years Eve, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Christmas Eve & Christmas DayZions General Fund Midweek Lenten Services & EasterMissions (CMO) Ascension & ThanksgivingThe Church Extension Fund
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. II Corinthians 8:9
Bible Class
Sundays at 8:45 am (10:30 am June-August) Sundays at 7:00 pm
September 1st
September 8th
Sunday School
Sundays at 8:45 am (September-May)
CLOC Week FourLove Speaks Passionately CLOC Week FiveLove Speaks with a Focused Heart CLOC Week SixLove Speaks with Urgency
September 15th
Volume 8, Issue 9
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Why should children obey their parents? Ask different people and you get different answers: Theyre supposed to... or Im the parent! or If they dont, theyll be grounded. A Christian parent might reply, The Bible tells children to obey their parents. And it does. But none of these responses gets at the real heart of God-pleasing obedience. The answer to that question sets Christian children apart from others. Take away Christian faith, and a childs obedience is usually connected either to the fear of punishment or the promise of reward. For the Christian child, obedience to parents flows out of a love for Jesus. All of us as Christiansadults or childrendo what we do because its our way of showing our gratitude for all that the Lord has done for us, beginning with His gracious gift of salvation. The Bible says it this way: We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). This is a fundamental principle: We obey God by living according to the Ten Commandments, and we live that Christian life out of love for Him. So, the essence of all Christian discipline is serving the Lord with our lives. Loving the Lord doesnt happen on its own. The Holy Spirit plants the seed for such an obedient life at the moment of Baptism. And God is with Christian parents every day as they teach children that misbehavior and disobedience are sins. Its really quite simple: Christian parents teach their children that wrong is wrong because it ignores Gods Ten Commandments. But along with teaching children right from wrong, parents need to tell their children about the wonderful gift of forgiveness that is theirs through faith in Christ Jesus. Their sins are forgiven. That forgiveness brings joy. And the joy is expressed in the childrens obedience. Its that message of forgiveness that motivates them. Yes, a child will sin again. And probably again and again. But each time, there is forgiveness and joy and a renewed commitment to do Gods will. Parents dont need to go through this explanation every time their child does something wrong. The key is to remain consistent with Gods will in setting rules and expectations for children; let the Ten Commandments set the standard. There is still an appropriate time and place for timeouts, grounding, other types of punishment. Sin has consequences. Star charts posted on the refrigerator door and surprise hugs can still reinforce good behavior. But these things in and of themselves do not bring about Christian behavior. Christian children obey their parents because they love their Savior.
Patient Parenting: Raising Your Kids in the Shadow of the Cross, is currently found
either on our Synods website www.wels.net or at the following link for Northwestern Publishing House: http://online.nph.net/p-959-patient-parenting.aspx
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The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity. (NLT) A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pigs snout. (NLT) Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. (NLT) The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (NLT) Proverbs 11:20, 22, 24-25
Martin Luther College in New Ulm currently has no formal commitment. We are currently committing $2500.00 per student to St. Johns Lutheran School in Redwood Falls.
Volume 8, Issue 9
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Treasurer
Don Steffen
Financial Secretary
Jim Rogotzke
Elders
Lynn Weber Sam Altermatt Brian Pabst
Trustees
Al Larson Dale Fennern Jim Kosel
The Ministry of Elijah will begin September 4th, 2013. Marvel with us at the grace of God...even in times of rampant apostasy. Prof. Keith Wessel will lead this six week online study. For more information: http://www.wels.net/adult-discipleship/online-bible-studies
Cemetery Board
Jim Kosel John Rogotzke John Ohlemann A full listing of elected positions, delegates & phone numbers is posted in the back of the church.
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There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service , but the same Lord. I Corinthians 12:4-5
Councilman on Duty Jim Kosel Altar Guild Roxy Cohrs & LaVonne Reese Youth Josh AltermattSeptember 1st, Kory SchenkSeptember 8th, Katelyn
RogotzkeSeptember 15th, Karlee EichtenSeptember 22nd, Josh Altermatt September 29th
8th, EichtensSeptember 15th, Sam AltermattSeptember 22nd, Lynn Weber September 29th
May the prayers and intercessions of Gods people be offered in the coming month for:
+ Doug Leopoldwho is undergoing rehabilitation for back issues. + Robin Pape-Leegaardwho continues to recover from open heart surgery. + Betty Fennernwho is in hospice care for cancer. + Arlan Beyerwho continues treatment for a chronic medical condition, and has undergone surgery in
Sioux Falls
+ The beginning of our Sunday School Yearmay God bless us not only in turnout but spiritual
growth and stronger bonds of friendship and faith.
+ Christians undergoing persecutionmay God keep safe all who trust in Him. At this time showing
special care on those Christians in danger in the Middle East.
+ The Christian Church in Americamay God preserve us from violent persecution, and may He further strengthen His Church to speak clearly, confidently & lovingly the Word of God to a nation which has drifted away from Him.
Volume 8, Issue 9
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WELS Q&AHypocrisy
What exactly is hypocrisy? Are churches full of hypocrites? Am Ione when Ifall into temptation and am called hypocritical?
Hypocrisy in a wider sense is pretending to be someone or something we arent. This can be all right for actors and undercover cops, but not for con artists or swindlers. Biblically and culturally, hypocrisy refers to bad behavior, that is, purposeful pretense or intentional insincerity that is self-serving, unloving, and unhelpful to others.
Confess Sin
Churches arent full of hypocrites, but theyre full of sinners. We freely confess our sinfulness to God and to the world, so the charge of widespread hypocrisy is usually unfair. We seek to deceive no one. But as forgiven sinners and new creations in Christ, we despise sin and struggle against itand earnestly wish we were as holy as God declares us to be because of Jesus. This tension can lead religious people to pretend they have attained a higher level of godly conduct than they really have. So hypocrisy can surface among sincere believers. When this is diagnosed among us, let us confess the sinto God and outsiders. Additionally, there likely are insincere church members among us. Those seeking outward respectability, wanting to develop business connections, or merely appeasing family members or friends join churches for reasons other than a Christ-centered faith life. The result is hypocrisy in churches. We are wise to admit this.
Confront Excuses
Usually the accusation that the church is full of hypocrites is little more than an excuse to evade the topic of personal church membership or a tactic to defend ones own lifestyle at the expense of anothers. The charge itself is a version of hypocrisy. This should surprise no one, since the world as well as the church is full of sinners who by nature want to be or look better than they really are. I am reminded of a quote attributed to D. James Kennedy a generation ago in response to someone who spurned churchgoing because of hypocrites in churches: Well, theres always room for one more. It is fitting that we testify to hypocritical attitudes outside churches as well as within them. Sometimes unbelievers may honestly be confused. They really dont understand the sinner and saint at the same time reality of Christians. The unchurched may be thinking, They say theyre Christians, and Christians arent supposed to sin; since they are sinning, they must be hypocrites. The logical deduction rests on a flawed definition of what a Christian is. In love we can expose the false idea by stressing churches are hospitals for sinnersforgiven sinners who nevertheless remain sinners and struggle against sin.