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2008 |
Dear
Friends in Christ:
The theme for Sunday worship during the month of February
will be "Jesus our High Priest". One is reminded as one begins on
Ash Wednesday that God's wrath is a consuming fire. Scriptures tell us that
at the Last and Terrible Day, the earth itself will be burned up. The fire of
God's just judgment leaves us in ashes.
But the Living God, the Creator of heaven and earth, does
not desire to see us spend an eternity in hell, separated from Him forever.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner, but rather wills that the
sinner turn from his sin and live. Lent is a time for us to learn how to turn
to the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and live. As the Prophet Joel says in
the verse that we sing in during Lent: "Return to the Lord, your God,
for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast
love".
Our focus is on Jesus as our High Priest who in His work
took on our sins and sacrificed Himself for all of our sins. The call goes
out during Lent to RETURN TO THE LORD. This act of returning to the Lord is
called repentance. God's gracious gift of forgiveness breaks the chains of
sin and opens up the door to a new and lasting relationship with Christ
Jesus, who becomes both Lord and Savior in one's life.
Join us as we center on Jesus, our High Priest on Sunday
mornings at
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YOUNG
FAMILIES/COUPLES/INDIVIDUALS MEETING From now on known as THE PARABLES The Parables met in January for a fun-filled family potluck and
game night. In February we will be
meeting for bowling. This is an adults
only event. It will be held at the Black
Eagle Community Center Bowling alley at COME |
The appearance of Lent was between 200-300 A.D. Lent was a time of preparation for persons
being instructed in the Christian faith before their baptism. Following the
model of Jesus' time in the wilderness, new adult converts practiced Lenten
penance and prayer for 40 days while waiting to receive their baptism,
confirmation and first Lord's Supper at the Saturday evening vigil before
Easter.
Today Lent calls us to take time out and look back on the impact
of our baptism on our lives. How are we doing? We who have died to sin and come
alive to new life in Christ? In repentance we ask our Lord to clear our hearts
and lives of sin's self-centeredness.
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday's somber repentance and leads us
to Holy Week's bitter story and Easter's joy in Christ's resurrection.
These 40 days [Excluding Sunday's] are
the time to direct attention to what is to come - Easter itself and then after
Easter to celebrate our baptismal rebirth in Christ!
MIDWEEK LENTEN THEMES (Wednesday's at
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Date |
Text |
Explanation |
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February 6 Ash Wednesday |
Isaiah 53:1 |
A Christian custom on Ash Wednesday is to
receive a mark of the cross made with ashes upon the forehead. Ashes are a
symbol of repentance and of our mortality. |
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February 13 |
Isaiah 52:14; 53:2-3 |
Judged by outward appearances, the crucified
Christ held no attraction. But He took upon Himself the ugliness of our sin. |
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February 20 |
Isaiah 53:4-5 |
We mortals are characterized by
sickness and disease. The wounds in Christ's body, now risen, promise us the
healing of bodily resurrection. |
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February 27 |
Isaiah 53:6 |
We all like sheep have gone astray.
The Good Shepherd became a sheep and laid down His life to bring us back into
the fold of salvation. |
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March 5 |
Isaiah 53:7 |
Countless are our sins of speech, especially
against the 2nd, 4th, and 8th commandments. Jesus kept quiet when He could
have spoken out. In suffering and dying in silence, He atoned for all our
talk. |
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March 12 |
Isaiah 53:8 |
Travesties and miscarriages of justice are all
around us. Jesus suffered the greatest injustice of all, He was cut off from
the land of the living. |
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March 20 Maundy Thursday |
Isaiah 52:15 |
On this day Christ instituted a new covenant in
His own blood - Holy Communion. |
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March 21 Good Friday |
Isaiah 53:9 |
The Father provided for His Son an honorable
burial, in a grave owned by a rich man. By His temporary rest in the grave,
Christ has sanctified our graves and made them temporary. |
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WORDS USED IN LENT |
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An ancient symbol of victory used by the
disciples as Jesus entered in |
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"Maundy" comes from the old word for
"commandment" because on that night Jesus gave his disciples what
he called a "new commandment, that you love one another" and used a
basin and towel to wash their feet. |
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Greek word meaning
"thanksgiving". The word is used with the Lord's Supper because of
the thanks we give for this holy meal that brings forgiveness of sins through
the working of the Holy Spirit through the actual words spoken by Jesus
before He gave out the bread and wine. |
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This is the Hebrew expression
"Lord, save us!" shouted in solemn procession in the ancient Jewish
festival of the Tabernacles, where it turns into a shout of jubilation with
thoughts that the Lord will appear to save us. So it was that in Jesus God
came to save us. This is what the chanting crowds recognized on Palm Sunday. |
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Christians understand that God took
the awful events of this day [Jesus dying on the Cross] and made them work
for the good of all mankind. Some would say that this day might be called
"God's Friday". |
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REMINDER: The church van is still available on Sunday mornings to
transport members to and from church.
Call Kathie Sybrant at for a ride. |
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RESPECT FOR CHURCH PROPERTY A few hymnals have been found in
recent weeks that have pencil scribbles on a number of pages and on the top
and sides of the hymnal. It appears
that small children may do this. We
would appreciate the monitoring of children in this regard. There are pieces of paper (scribble sheets)
located in the pew for children to write on if necessary. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping
our hymnals in good condition. |
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FRIDAY LADIES BIBLE CLASS
The Friday Ladies Bible Class will meet in February at the
home of Ann Nimmick,
Wee
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I believe in God . . .
my Friend
Luke 19:1-10 Children are very aware that they are
small. Doorknobs, drinking fountains and cookie jars are all beyond their
reach. The story of Zacchaeus is a wonderful reminder of how even though
heaven is beyond our reach, Jesus comes to us. The faith of Zacchaeus grew 10
feet in one day! He went from being a sad, selfish sinner to a sinner who was
loved by his Savior and then wanted to share that love. We are so privileged to tell the story
to the children, share it in newsletters and printed materials with families,
and now to pray for God's direction as we seek, in this new year, to share it
as He would have us do it in Great Falls. We have some openings for the second
half of the year in the 4-year-old preschool program - the 3-year-old classes
are full and childcare has a waiting list.
Job Opening - We would like to add a
part time staff member to our team that would spend some time in the kitchen
and some with children. Please contact
either Debbie Lee or Peggy Norris if you are interested in applying for this
position. Easter is coming quickly and we will be
learning songs and verses to share at the Wee Disciples Easter Program on
Tuesday, March 18th at Blessings, Debbie Lee & Peggy Norris - Wee
Disciples |
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Come join us
for Bible Study
and Fellowship
Calling all Women and Teens The upcoming LWML
33rd Biennial Convention at
1)
The Keynote Speaker will be
former National President Virginia Von Seggern who will speak on her trip
to
2)
Our National LWML
Representative will be Pastor Mattoli, the newly elected Junior
Counselor.
3)
Diane Thompson from Billings who will speak as a Parish Nurse; Pat
Billows who is a gift giving counselor of LWML and is employed
through a grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and
Rev. Matthew Nelson from
Columbia Falls who will speak about his
experiences living in