Pastor Samuel Rodebaugh of Faith Lutheran Church, Manchester, MO has accepted the call to St. John’s Lutheran Church, Okabena, MN following Pastor James Albrecht’s retirement. <> Pastor Zachary Sippert will be installed at Grace Ev. Lutheran Church, Sleepy Eye, MN on September 29, 2024. <> Pastor Drew Naumann of Trinity Ev. Lutheran, Spokane, WA has received the call to St. Stephen Lutheran Church and School, Mountain View, CA. <> Pastor Emeritus Mark Gullerud has been called and has accepted the call to serve as vacancy pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church and School, Mountain View, CA beginning October 15, 2024. <> Pastor Timothy Wheaton of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Loveland, CO has announced his retirement from the ministry on September 29, 2024.
Dissolution of Congregation:
St. Stephen-West (Mountain View) and East Bay (Hayward) are effectively now a combined congregation. St. Stephen Lutheran Church of the East Bay has resolved to dissolve the congregation on 12/31/24. The members of the congregation have been encouraged to transfer their membership to St. Stephen-West in Mountain View prior to the dissolution date, which most of the East Bay members have done already. Sunday worship services in Hayward will be maintained through the end of Pastor Bernthal’s service in October. The hope is that in the near future a preaching station in the East Bay region (Oakland area) will be established, along with our current preaching stations in Stockton and Sacramento.
– Applications are still being accepted for the 2024 CLC Mission Helper Trip to Africa. Participants will have the privilege of helping to spread the Gospel to children in Kenya/Uganda, Tanzania, or Zambia in July. The application period will end on January 16th. Find more information and apply online at www.mht.lutheranmissions.org.
National Women's Retreat--You're Invited! Join your Christian sisters near and far at the next virtual retreat held via Zoom on Saturday, January 20th (Noon Eastern / 11:00 a.m. Central / 10:00 a.m. Mountain / 9:00 a.m. Pacific). This year's theme is "Press Pause: God Made Me..." and will highlight the differing gifts that God gave each of us to use to His glory. Register at: http://tinyurl.com/NatRetreat24 Questions? Contact teichstadt@gmail.com or 651-398-2386.
For many years the ILC Tour Choir has been granted a special rate for using a charter bus during their yearly tour in holding concerts at various CLC congregations. This year that rate is being discontinued. After comparing the cost of using various bus companies, the common rate would be approximately $11,000 higher than expected for budgetary reasons. Normally an offering is collected during the tour which will still happen. But this year CLC President Michael Wilke is authorizing this synod wide announcement to allow others to share in their support of the Tour Choir. This offering would help offset the extra expense needed for the bus. Therefore, if members of CLC congregations wish to support this, please designate your offering to “ILC Tour Choir.”
In early December, Cyclone Michaung struck the eastern coast of India and damaged and flooded churches of the BELC as well as the Martin Luther Bible School (MLBS) pastor training center. Eleven of the fourteen districts of the BELC were affected. A total of 55 churches, as well as the MLBS, were damaged by the cyclone and are in need of repair. The Board of Missions has approved $12,000 of disaster relief to be sent from Kinship to assist with building repair and reconstruction. Please remember our brethren of the BELC in your prayers, and consider supporting this effort through offerings to Kinship.
Wisconsin, offers an academically excellent, Christ-centered college education. There are four-year degree programs in Education (BS) and Pre-Theology (BA), as well as a two-year Associate of Arts program. ILC offers a range of student aid to help you finance your education; apply by the May 1 deadline to receive priority consideration. If you are a high school junior or senior (or older) thinking about college, check out our academic and registration information at ILC.edu, or contact our CLC recruiter, Pastor Sam Rodebaugh, at sam.rodebaugh@gmail.com, cell (414) 534-7279.
Missionary Todd Ohlmann has shared another monthly prayer list with items related to our overseas congregations and the current health crisis. Make sure you take the time to read his message and to pray for our brothers and sisters who are facing far more hardships that we are. https://missionaryohlmann.blogspot.com/
... is seeking sponsors to support overseas orphans and seminary students. Opportunities are expanding in these important fields but can only expand as fast as our financial support allows. One example is the Congregation Confessionnelle Lutheranienne Du Congo (CCLC). The CLC-sponsored seminary in the Congo is hoping to expand their enrollment to fifteen students from their current enrollment of seven. There are eight men waiting to enroll, but we need sponsors to make that enrollment possible. This particular sponsorship is $40/month. For more information please see, call, email, or text Dan Roehl— danroehl@hotmail.com / 507-381-2042).
If you have a smart speaker device in your home, you can now use it to listen to morning chapel services from Immanuel Lutheran College. For Amazon Echo, first enable the Stitcher skill, then say, "Alexa, ask Stitcher to play Morning Chapels from ILC." For Google Home, simply say "Hey Google, play the most recent episode of Morning Chapels from ILC." They can also be accessed from many popular podcast apps, including Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, and Spotify.
"Daily Rest" - quarterly devotions that are in booklet form and can be ordered from the CLC Bookhouse.
"Daily Devotions" - devotions that are e-mailed to you each day of the week - to order e-mail "devotions@redeemerclc.info"
"The Lutheran Spokesman" - monthly CLC publication featuring devotional articles, and information regarding the happenings around the CLC in the United States and world wide.
"The Journal of Theology" - a bi-annual publication with the intent to dig into deeper theological matters. Most often it contains papers given at the CLC regional and general Pastor Conferences along with Book reviews.
Sequel to Pastor Em Daniel Fleischer's work “Standing on the Wall” is in the final stage of review. It is titled Christ - No Other Foundation. It touches on a variety of Scriptural teachings and studies and includes some poetry. He hopes to be able to release it by Reformation with a projected cost of$15.If you are interested in ordering a copy, please speak with Pastor.
What a great idea! Nothing could be better than a devotional and original Christian poetry (many of these poems have been used here at St Matthew especially during Christmas and Lent). That and other material have been written by retired Pastor L. Dale Redlin which can be purchased either from the ILC Book House or from the author directly: L. Dale Redlin: Phone 507-625-2572 or email hope-dale@juno.com
Matthew 19:23–26 (NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Camels Through Needles; Sinners Saved? Impossible!
If you were to walk up to someone on the street and ask them if a camel could pass through the eye of a needle, they would probably look at you like you were crazy. When you think about it, it is an absurd statement to make. There is no possible way for something the size of a camel to pass through something as tiny as a needle’s eye.
That is exactly Jesus’ point. It is impossible for someone who holds onto the things of this world to enter heaven. Jesus says in Matthew 6 that you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money. This is what He wanted His disciples and the rich young man, to whom He was originally talking, to understand.
Man cannot earn his own way to heaven. It is impossible.
With God, however, all things are possible. This includes the redemption of sinful mankind through Jesus Christ’s atoning death. The proof of this is in His resurrection.
You are an example of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. What seems impossible has been made possible—and even brought to pass through what Christ has done for you.