April 14, 2024
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
LAST CREW OF THE YEAR, APRIL 17TH 3:30 pm till 5pm for all 3rd-6th graders.
Bring your household items and clothes to Trinity in April! Every Saturday in April, from 9 am till noon, we are collecting items as a fundraiser for the Women of Trinity. All items should be clean and in good condition. Place clothes and shoes in trash bags and all other items in boxes.
Men’s Band Worship, Sunday, May 5th, 9 am
Smelt Feed, Sunday, May 5th, 10am till 11:30 am. Smelt, Meatballs, Chips, Baked Beans, Garlic Bread, Dessert. Free-will offering taken to benefit our Youth going to New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering.
Calling all Men! We are looking for help with the Smelt Feed on May 5th. See the sign-up in the Narthex. We are also looking for some turkey fryers and oil as well.
Luther Park Work Day Saturday, April 20th, 8:30 am till 4:30 pm. Help Luther Park get ready for the summer! Painting, yard work, carpentry, wood splitting, staining, and much more! If you are interested in going, please let PB know or just head on up to camp and they will assign you a job! All ages can help!
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
There is a t-shirt company that was founded by a single guy in Chicago called “Obvious Shirts” in which very straightforward obvious phrases are placed on a shirt. It started with him making a shirt for himself and wearing it to Wrigley Field that said “Jake Arrieta is good at baseball” during one of the last regular season games in 2015. It got so many positive comments from people at the game that he decided to start making shirts fulltime and now he has a thriving business that not only does Chicago shirts but shirts in other cities as well. I own a couple of them, my favorite being, “The greatest game ever played was on a Wednesday in Cleveland,” referencing Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
I also have one that says, “I like the Cubs.” Straight forward. Obvious (duh). I like the Cubs. States who I am. We have a scripture reading in 1st John that is an obvious statement that is so obvious that we might take it for granted. Here it is, from 1John 3:1: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” We are children of God. You might be thinking to yourself, “Well, duh, PB. I know this. I’m a child of God.”
But do you? I think it is really easy to forget who we are. I think the world likes to tell us all sorts of things about our identity and who we are or who we should be. That we should place our identity on financial and material success. That it should be placed on how other people view us, on accolades and accomplishments garnished at our jobs or in our communities. I know I have done this. I remember struggling when I turned 40 wondering how I would be perceived that I would no longer be considered the “young pastor.” It is fun to hang out with young pastors now who actually accept me despite me being ten years older than them. We so often wrap our identity up in so many other things than the one that matters the most: we are children of God.
You are a child of God. This means you are loved, even when you sin. You are a child of God, which means Jesus Christ is there to carry your burdens, forgive you of your sins, and bring you to everlasting life. You are a child of God and God’s promises to you will never be taken away and you are never alone. I know it seems to be the most obvious thing in the world. But it is something we need to be reminded of every day. Hmm, maybe we should put it on a shirt. 😊
May God bless you today and always!