November 17th, 2024
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Community Thanksgiving Service TONIGIHT, November 17th, 6:00 pm.
Deer Hunter’s Worship, Wednesday, November 20th, 6:30 pm. Wear your blaze orange and camo
No Sunday School on November 24th.
Help us decorate the church for Christmas on Sunday, November 24th, after the worship service!
No Wednesday worship on November 27th.
Office Closed November 28th and 29th.
Crew on Wednesday, December 4th, 3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3rd-6th graders!
Sunday School Christmas Program practice starts on Sunday, December 1st at 9:45 am!
Lefse Making! Come be part of the annual Trinity Tradition! Everyone of all ages and abilities can help!
Wednesday, December 11th, 7 am till 11:30 am (Potluck Lunch), then 11:30 am till we are done for the day.
Thursday, 7 am till 11:30 am (Potluck Lunch), then till we are done.
Come for an hour or stay all day!
Lefse Pre-orders! Order your lefse today to guarantee you get this delicious treat! 3 pieces for $5. Sign-up in the Narthex or call the church office.
Voices of Praise, every Wednesday night at 7 pm. Come join us to sing together in praise to the Lord!
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
At Crew, two of the kids favorite games is Hide & Go Seek and Pew Battleship. The first one is pretty self-explanatory. The second is where the kids lay down in the pews and another kid is up front, with their back to the church, and they call out a pew based on section and row number, like you do in the game Battleship. If a kid is in that pew, it is a “hit.” If not, it is a “miss” and the caller gets three misses before we switch it up and choose a new caller. Got it?
Both of these games get kids that are chosen, either to be seekers or callers and I cannot tell you the pressure there is to choose the kids. They run up to me, “Can I be a seeker? Can be a caller? I’ve never been chosen! I never get to do it!” It got so bad last year that we had to come up with a solution, and I think it was Nichole Roemhild who came up with it. We wrote all the kids names down on piece of paper and put it in a bucket and drew them out. That way, everyone got a chance and I didn’t get a thousand kids rushing up to me between every game asking me if they could be selected. Of course, they still do this, despite the bucket, but not quite as bad.
It feels good to be chosen, to be picked, to be the one. It gives validation, makes you feel important, makes you feel like someone has noticed you and wants you. So often in life we feel rejected, cast aside, pushed to the edges, forgotten. Being chosen means being noticed. It is why I like this verse from John 15, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” Jesus says this to us. You did not choose me but I chose you. How does it feel to know that Jesus chose you? We often feel like we choose Jesus but it is the other way around. Jesus comes to us. Selects you. Despite your sin and your flaws. Calls you friend, brother or sister. Calls you to be a disciple not because you are perfect but because you are loved, valued, and an important child of God.
Even more so, as the verse goes, Jesus has chosen you for a job. “And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” We are chosen not only because we are loved but because Jesus trusts us to go bear fruit in his name. To spread his love, shared his Gospel, care for the neighbor and lift up the needy, the hurting, and to let those who feel alone that they are not. They are not forgotten. They are chosen. Just like us. Just like you.
You are chosen, my friends, chosen by a Savior who calls you friend and who has given his life for you. You are loved, forgiven, saved, and sent to go bear fruit in Jesus’ name. Most importantly, you are not alone, not ever. May you know how important you are in the eyes of the God who has sent his only Son to bring you to eternal life and to walk with you every day. For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!” Amen.