January 21, 2024
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
First Communion Class for any youth 3rd grade or above on Sunday, January 21 at 10:30 am. Make up class on January 28th at 6 pm. Parents should attend with their child. Please bring a Bible. Please contact PB if you are coming on the 28th. First Communion Sunday is February 4th at 9 am.
Crew on January 24th, 3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3rd-6th graders.
Lagers with the Lord, January 22nd, 6pm at Buckshot’s
Super Bowl Pizzas! Order Pizza’s by February 4th to support our youth going to Luther Park Bible Camp this summer. Pick them up on Super Bowl Sunday, February 11th. Form included in this email.
Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 4th, at 10 am.
Lent Begins on Wednesday, February 14th. Worship is at Noon and at 6:30 pm. February 14th is Ash Wednesday and features a Baked Potato Bar served by the Confirmation Youth for the meal at 5:30 pm.
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
We can easily experience something a bunch of times and start to take it for granted or think that we know it all. Take your favorite movie. You know it inside and out probably. But that also means that there are times, even when you are enjoying it, that you might not be giving it your full attention. I’ve been rewatching all the Star Wars movies in narrative order recently (side bar: narrative order means that I’m starting with Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released in 1997, not Episode IV: A New Hope, released in 1977) and I’ve been trying to play really close attention. I have been noticing things here and there that I’ve never seen before, or enjoying parts better than before and so on.
We can get that way with our faith. Think about the Lord’s Prayer. We say it every service and it can just roll off our tongues without much thought. When was the last time you took a moment to think about what you were praying? Or the Apostle’s Creed? When was the last time you took a moment to think about what you were confessing? It is human nature to take stuff for granted. But it is also important to take a moment to remember why we say the things we say and do the things we do.
At the same time, we must also have patience, for sometimes faith isn’t the easiest of things. One of the reasons we do some of the things we do is that it brings comfort in the midst of its familiarity. It is why I watch Star Wars movies when I’m sick or just need to veg out for awhile. I know them so well they bring me comfort when I need to turn my brain off. It is ok if you aren’t going into deep contemplation every time you pray the Lord’s Prayer or sing “Amazing Grace.” But I do hope that, from time to time, you take a moment to think about those things that we do so often and can take for granted.
Lastly, I hope that you never take for granted the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It is easy to take this most precious of gifts for granted, for we are reminded often that we are loved and saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus. But we need that reminder so that we do not forget, so that we do not take it for granted. Today, take a moment to give thanks for the salvation you have received in Jesus, and every now and again, reflect on your faith and those things we often take for granted. And watch the Star Wars movies! They are fun! 😊