Pastor's Points for January 3rd service
As we gather on New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day: New Year’s Eve worship begins at 6 p.m. today and New Year’s Day worship at 9 a.m. tomorrow. We are asking you to choose one or the other service to attend, but not both, please. These services, which will include Holy Communion, will be identical, so that everyone will have the opportunity to worship while safely social distancing from those not in their household. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation as we try to safely navigate, for all, this time of pandemic.
As We Gather on Sunday, January 3: Because we believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,” it is difficult for us to think of him as a pre-teen or teenage boy who somehow needs to “increase in wisdom and in stature.” Paired with today’s Epistle reading (“heavenly places,” “before the foundation of the world”), in our Gospel reading, we are given a glimpse of God’s eternal plan, and we are able to see our Lord’s presence in the Jerusalem Temple as just one stop on His “business trip” of salvation.
Something to celebrate: By God’s grace, you are about to be led into a new year, 2021; a new year of fresh opportunities to grow closer to the Lord; to serve Him and His people; to reach out to those who do not yet know Him. What a time to be alive! What a time to be a part of God’s family! What a time to be a child of God! Celebrate what God has done and is doing in you.
Stewardship thought for the week: I Kings 3:4 says, “And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” Now that’s a big sacrifice! But, of course, Solomon offered sacrifices in proportion to his wealth. The Lord had blessed him greatly, so his sacrifices were correspondingly large. Jesus also praised the widow’s mite, a small amount of money, but a great sacrifice in proportion to her means. How has the Lord blessed you? And how will you respond?
After a one-week detour, the Concordia Sunday morning Bible class resumes its look at Christians and social media, beginning at 8 a.m. This weekend’s topic is “Likes and Selfies: Identity on Social Media.”
The Proverbs Bible study for our younger couples resumes at 6:30 p.m. Monday, January 4, in the multi-purpose room at Concordia. For more information, contact Whitney Hemman at 573-768-4344, for more information.
The Concordia Wednesday Bible study group resumes next Wednesday, January 6. The morning group starts at 9; the evening group begins at 7. Our new study in 2021 will focus on the book of Revelation.
Offering options – As there has been since the beginning of the pandemic, there is an offering plate at the door of the sanctuary in which you can leave your envelope as you come and go for worship. Concordia also offers online giving through our website (click on the “Give” tab) or there is a mobile app you may download (“GivePlus Church”). You can choose to donate as a guest or set up an account which can be used for recurring offerings. Contact the Concordia treasurer, Derek Miesner, or the financial secretary, Jenny France, if you have questions or need more information.
An important FYI: We are not planning, any time soon at least, to participate in the annual Labor Day Highway 61 garage sale. So please do not bring your rummage/items to the hall at Concordia. The space has been cleared so that it can be used for other purposes. Thank you so much for your cooperation!
Did you know…if you are 70½ years old, or older, and have an IRA, you can instruct your IRA trustee to make a distribution directly from your IRA to Concordia Lutheran Church. This distribution is called Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). It counts toward satisfying any required minimum distributions (RMDs) and is excluded from your income for tax purposes. If you have questions, or want to know more, please contact Carol Duggan at 573-824-6060.
Lutherans for Life “Life Quote” for January 3: “God is not just our God, or the God of just our people, or just our nation, or our congregation or our denomination, or our demographic category, or our tribe or our ethnicity or our language. There is no justice if it’s just about just us. No, God is the God of all time and all space and all people. In Christ, all things hang together. Step into your new year with this fresh recognition that the Holy Spirit wants to fill every nook and cranny of your life until you overflow with God’s everlasting love for everybody.” Pastor John Nunes on The Lutheran Hour – A Life Quote from Lutherans For Life • lutheransforlife.org
As We Gather on Sunday, January 3: Because we believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,” it is difficult for us to think of him as a pre-teen or teenage boy who somehow needs to “increase in wisdom and in stature.” Paired with today’s Epistle reading (“heavenly places,” “before the foundation of the world”), in our Gospel reading, we are given a glimpse of God’s eternal plan, and we are able to see our Lord’s presence in the Jerusalem Temple as just one stop on His “business trip” of salvation.
Something to celebrate: By God’s grace, you are about to be led into a new year, 2021; a new year of fresh opportunities to grow closer to the Lord; to serve Him and His people; to reach out to those who do not yet know Him. What a time to be alive! What a time to be a part of God’s family! What a time to be a child of God! Celebrate what God has done and is doing in you.
Stewardship thought for the week: I Kings 3:4 says, “And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.” Now that’s a big sacrifice! But, of course, Solomon offered sacrifices in proportion to his wealth. The Lord had blessed him greatly, so his sacrifices were correspondingly large. Jesus also praised the widow’s mite, a small amount of money, but a great sacrifice in proportion to her means. How has the Lord blessed you? And how will you respond?
After a one-week detour, the Concordia Sunday morning Bible class resumes its look at Christians and social media, beginning at 8 a.m. This weekend’s topic is “Likes and Selfies: Identity on Social Media.”
The Proverbs Bible study for our younger couples resumes at 6:30 p.m. Monday, January 4, in the multi-purpose room at Concordia. For more information, contact Whitney Hemman at 573-768-4344, for more information.
The Concordia Wednesday Bible study group resumes next Wednesday, January 6. The morning group starts at 9; the evening group begins at 7. Our new study in 2021 will focus on the book of Revelation.
Offering options – As there has been since the beginning of the pandemic, there is an offering plate at the door of the sanctuary in which you can leave your envelope as you come and go for worship. Concordia also offers online giving through our website (click on the “Give” tab) or there is a mobile app you may download (“GivePlus Church”). You can choose to donate as a guest or set up an account which can be used for recurring offerings. Contact the Concordia treasurer, Derek Miesner, or the financial secretary, Jenny France, if you have questions or need more information.
An important FYI: We are not planning, any time soon at least, to participate in the annual Labor Day Highway 61 garage sale. So please do not bring your rummage/items to the hall at Concordia. The space has been cleared so that it can be used for other purposes. Thank you so much for your cooperation!
Did you know…if you are 70½ years old, or older, and have an IRA, you can instruct your IRA trustee to make a distribution directly from your IRA to Concordia Lutheran Church. This distribution is called Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). It counts toward satisfying any required minimum distributions (RMDs) and is excluded from your income for tax purposes. If you have questions, or want to know more, please contact Carol Duggan at 573-824-6060.
Lutherans for Life “Life Quote” for January 3: “God is not just our God, or the God of just our people, or just our nation, or our congregation or our denomination, or our demographic category, or our tribe or our ethnicity or our language. There is no justice if it’s just about just us. No, God is the God of all time and all space and all people. In Christ, all things hang together. Step into your new year with this fresh recognition that the Holy Spirit wants to fill every nook and cranny of your life until you overflow with God’s everlasting love for everybody.” Pastor John Nunes on The Lutheran Hour – A Life Quote from Lutherans For Life • lutheransforlife.org
