CLOC: Love Speaks Week Five

As He did at Pentecost, we ask the Holy Spirit to continue to infuse the hearts of His faithful people with a fiery zeal to share the life-giving Gospel with a dying world. The Liturgical color is red. It is the color of fire, fervor, blood, martyrdom, and the shining truth of the Christian faith based on the blood of Christ.

September 22nd, 2013

The Lords Supper at Zion

participation in the Blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the Body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. Those who celebrate the Sacrament together are expressing unity with both each another and Christ Jesus their Savior. When the faith publically confessed by the participants is unified, what God gives us in the Sacrament is pure Gospel and a truly a blessed communion and union with one another and our God. But if there is disagreement concerning Gods Word underlying a celebration of the Sacrament, its intended purpose is spoiled and those involved are improperly declaring unity where unity does not fully exist. The Lords Supper is truly a most high and intimate expression of unity. Paul writes in I Corinthians 10:16-17: Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a

Welcome in the Name of Christ!

We pray that you enjoy your time with us and that your spirit is enriched as we together sit at the feet of our Savior. Gods richest blessings be on you! Bathrooms are located in the north and south side of the entryway as you go down into the basement. The mens is on the north side and the womens on the south side. A small Nursery with a changing table and rocking chair is in the back of church on the south side; a carpeted play area is found in the basement; and black activity bags are available in the entryway. If you would like talk to Pastor about anything, catch him after worship or give him a call at 507-648-3601 (Cell: 507-276-5225).

Our practice as it involves the Lords Supper is based on a deep reverence for God and His Word; it is based on our profound respect for the purpose of the Sacrament; and it is based on a deep desire to in every way honestly, accurately, and clearly confess all of Gods Word to the world. Therefore, those who are not yet fully united to us are cordially invited and encouraged to speak with Pastor or an Elder so that we may work together for the truth (III John 8); for when spiritual unity is achieved on the basis of Gods Word, outward unity can and will be joyfully celebrated. Those who have declared their unity with us, either by their membership here or by their membership in another congregation with which we are unified, are cordially invited to express that unity at the Lords Table.

Order of Service Sermon Text Sermon Theme Hymns Psalm

The Common Service on Page 15 I Timothy 6:6-16 Love Speaks with a Focused Heart 484, 421, 492, 310, TLH 175 38 on Page 81

Service Notes
Normally, green banners and paraments would adorn our Sanctuary this time of year. The red color helps us set off these weeks as being part of our special worship focus. This week we continue our fourth and final year of the Fall worship emphasis: Christs LoveOur Calling. This years theme is Love Speaks. Our Closing Hymn, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, fits the theme of our worship this week quite wellparticularly verses 1 and 4. We sing this morning the optional Second Tune from TLH, it is printed for you on the goldenrod insert.

First Lesson: Genesis 14:8-24 Then the king of Sodom, the king of

Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasarfour kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abrams nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the Kings Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, I made Abram rich. I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with meto Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.

one of his masters debtors. He asked the first, How much do you owe my master? Eight hundred gallons of olive oil, he replied. The manager told him, Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred. Then he asked the second, And how much do you owe? A thousand bushels of wheat, he replied. He told him, Take your bill and make it eight hundred. The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone elses property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Second Lesson: I Timothy 6:6-16 But godliness with contentment is

great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own timeGod, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

Gospel Lesson: Luke 14:25-33 Jesus told his disciples: There was a

rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer. The manager said to himself, What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. Im not strong enough to dig, and Im ashamed to begI know what Ill do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses. So he called in each

Opportunities to Grow and Serve

SundaySeptember 22nd
Greeters Youth 8:45 am 8:45 am 10:00 am 7:00 pm 7:00 pm Sam Altermatt Karlee Eichten Morning Bible ClassLove Speaks Sunday School in the School Building Sunday Morning Worship ServiceLove Speaks: Week 5 Evening Bible ClassHow Can They Teach That? Ladies Evening Circle in the School Building Worship Service at Cottonwood Ridge in Springfield Televised Worship Service (Springfield Channel 8) Catechism Class in the School Building Regular Midweek Worship Service Valley View Worship Service in Lamberton Televised Worship ServiceLamberton Channel 6 Televised Worship ServiceSpringfield Channel 8 Fall LWMS Rally at St. Pauls in St. James Lynn Weber Josh Altermatt Morning Bible ClassLove Speaks Sunday School in the School Building Sunday Morning Worship ServiceLove Speaks: Week 6 Evening Bible ClassHow Can They Teach That?

Monday Tuesday
10:30 am 4:00 pm 6:00 pm 7:00 pm

Wednesday

Thursday
10:00 am 4:00 pm

Friday
4:00 pm

Saturday
Greeters Youth 8:45 am 8:45 am 10:00 am 7:00 pm

9:00 am-3:00 pm

SundaySeptember 29th

Altar GuildRoxy Cohrs & LaVonne Reese Councilman on DutyJim Kosel UshersNoel Pidde, Curt Schenk, Terry Schenk, Cary Fredrickson, Jim Zimmerman

helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? This applies

to how we deal with strangers, with prisoners, with money, even with our own spouse.

Week 3Love Speaks Sacrificially: Everything Paul had he

considered loss for the sake of knowing Christ. Like Abraham in the Old Testament and like all who would follow Christ, we consider the resurrection worth the cross. Focusing on the cross Christ suffered, we willingly count and pay the cost of discipleship and sharing our faith. Love speaks sacrificially because it is worth the cost.

Christs Love, Our Calling (CLOC) has been the theme for our synods four-part stewardship program. Each year focuses on a different area of stewardship. Year One focused on our use of time. Year Two focused on our use of spiritual gifts. Year Three focused on our use of our treasures. Our focus for the fourth and final year of this series is our use of Gods truth. The title for this years emphasis is Love Speaks. Our goal is to encourage Gods people to respond to the love of Christ by boldly and courageously speaking Gods truth and witnessing their faith. This series is based on Pauls words in II Corinthians 4:13: It is written: I

Week 4Love Speaks Passionately: The emphasis in the

Gospel on the passion felt by the shepherd, the rejoicing in heaven, and the celebration of the woman with the found coin is our passion as our love speaks the rescuing message of salvation that Paul considered his undeserved privilege to share. Love speaks passionately because it values the lost.

Week 5Love Speaks with Focused Heart: Love speaks

with focused heart because Christs love has set our priorities right. The shrewd manager was a secular example of someone focused on the long term. In the sermon text God is glorified as we focus not on earthly riches, but the glory of God.

believed; therefore I have spoken. With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.
All of the sermons and services, lessons and Bible studies will help encourage people in their sharing of Gods Word in their everyday lives. The Seven Week Bible Class and Worship Emphasis begins Sunday, August 25th and concludes Sunday, October 6th.

Week 6Love Speaks with Urgency: Love puts God first

Week 1Love Speaks Precisely: Some will be saved and

some will be damned. As the love of Christ flows out of us and speaks, we are compelled to speak precisely about our salvation through Christ since the door to heaven is narrow.

in its speaking. In Pauls second letter to Timothy, seeing his end in sight, Paul expends everything for the gospel. Time is limited for each of us as well as for the ones we are called to love. With the Lord at our side we can speak with the urgency of heart that an appreciation for human frailty brings us, knowing that God will bring in his elect, and He uses us to do that as the time grows short.

Week 2Love Speaks Confidently: Todays texts stress the

humility that we have in our own importance and position. Yet love speaks confidently because it isnt our own agenda or message that we speak. Love speaks confidently because we have Gods promise that he will never leave us. We say with confidence, The Lord is my

Week 7Love Speaks Unconditionally: Micah wonders

at this God that loves the sinner, Luke records Jesus love of the sinner Zacchaeus, and our epistle text celebrates the reconciliation won while we were still sinners. Love speaks unconditionally because that is the kind of love weve been shown.

Weekly Attendance in Worship

Wednesday 7:00 pm on September 4th: 23 Wednesday 7:00 pm on September 11th: 20 Sunday 10:00 am on September 8th: 69 Sunday 10:00 am on September 15th: 64

Announcements Continued
Minnesota. He will be out the end of the month to remove any bats that may be in the building and to seal up the building to prevent their return. The work comes with a complete three year warranty and he should be here on or around the 24th of this month. Sunday School: September 8th we began Sunday School for the 2013-2014 school year. Start time will be 8:45 am on Sunday mornings and there are two singing dates scheduled so far for the kids: Christmas Eve and Palm Sunday. Offering Envelope Update: A letter from Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church in Milford was published in this last months Newsletter; it informed us that they had decided to close their doors effective the end of September. This means that at the end of September we will be discontinuing our monthly pledge. Members are also asked at that time to no longer earmark offerings for that box on your envelope since there will no longer be a congregation to send them to. Please keep the souls in Milford in your prayers and thanks for your assistance in this matter. The Offering Envelopes will be updated for the coming year. Hospital Visits: If you or a loved one is going to be in the hospital for surgery, tests, etc., please call Pastor Prell and let him know. He will add you to the Prayer Chain (if you wish) so that others can join in prayers for you. This also helps Pastor know who he needs to visit; due to health care regulations concerning privacy, hospitals no longer publish who is in the hospital. Thanks in advance for your help!

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another. Hebrews 10:25 I rejoiced with those who said to me, Let us go to the house of the LORD. Psalm 122:1

Announcements
CIC Meeting Update: A meeting of the Church Improvement Committee was held next Thursday, September 19th, at 8:00 pm in the church basement. Those in attendance discussed both short-term and long-term capital projects and their connections to the ministry of this congregation. They will come to the Voters Meeting in October with recommendations as to projects for both the remainder of 2013 as well as 2014. Catechism: Catechism began this past week in the school building. It will meet most Wednesdays beginning at 6:00 pm. Confirmation students and their families are encouraged to attend the Wednesday evening service beginning at 7:00 pm if they will be unable to attend worship the upcoming Sunday. DVD Presentation and Invitation: On the Wednesdays of October 9th and 23rd our Catechism students will view of the DVD God of Wonders. This DVD defends the Creation account as contained in Scripture and lays out evidence for the historicity of Genesis. The parents of our confirmation students and any other interested individuals are cordially invited to come watch this movie at the church. Both Wednesday evenings we will begin at 6:00 pm and go until 6:45 pm. The Regular Midweek Service (which everyone is invited to stay for) will begin at 7:00 pm. 2013 Fall Choir Season: The first practice of our choir will be on Wednesday, October 2nd. Our first singing date will be on Reformation Sunday, November 3rd. All past members of the choir are cordially invited to attend as well as all members of the congregation. For those planning on singing or who are interested in singing Pastor is looking for one piece of feedback: in years past choir practices have been held either late in the afternoon or early in the evening, specifically 5:00-6:00 pm or 7:30-8:30 pm. Due to the Wednesday Evening Worship Service a later start time would need to be pushed back to approximately 7:45 pm. What Pastor is looking for is which practice time would work best for the most people; please give him your feedback over the next couple of weeks. Special Voters Meeting Update: At the special Voters Meeting held two weeks ago it was decided to go with the bid from Bud's Nuisance Wildlife Removal from New Ulm,