January 7, 2024
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Last Day to bring items for the Savers Fundrive is Wednesday, January 8th! We are looking for help to load on Thursday, January 9th, at 9 am if you are able.
First Communion Class this Sunday, January 12th, WILL NOW BE AT 6:30 PM (WAS PREVIOUSLY AT 6 PM) Class is for all youth 3rd grade and above who have not been previously instructed. Please bring a Bible. Parents should attend with their child. Make up class is January 26th at 10:30 am. First Communion Sunday is February 2nd.
Crew January 15th, 3:30 pm till 5 pm for all 3rd-6th grade youth.
Voices of Praise every Wednesday night at 7 pm! Come join us for a time of song. A great time to sing with others and have some fun!
Lagers with the Lord, Monday, January 20th, 6 pm, Buckshot’s
We are collecting Cereal for the WestCAP food pantry in January! Bring your boxes and place them by the altar in the Narthex.
Trintiy Lutheran Annual Meeting is on Sunday, February 2nd, at 10 am. Annual reports will be available on Sunday, January 19th.
MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD
SUNDAY, THE CHICAGO BEARS BEAT THE GREEN BAY PACKERS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 6 YEARS. THE FOLLOWING SERMON WAS GIVEN THAT MORNING. I HAVE INCLUDED THE TWO SCRIPTURES THAT WERE THE INSPIRATION FOR SAID SERMON. REMINDER THAT I NEVER REALLY TRULY PREACH WHAT I WRITE, SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT IN FULL, GO TO THE TRINITY YOUTUBE PAGE OR FACEBOOK PAGE, IGNORING THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OF SILENCE BECAUSE I FORGOT TO MAKE SURE THE SOUND REMOTE WAS ON. JUST FAST FORWARD TO THE SERMON PART.
First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14
For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.” See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.” For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the Lord.
*Holy Gospel: John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Well, today, it mercifully comes to an end. What might that be, you might ask? The Chicago Bears football season. It will end with their 11th straight loss in a row, as the Packers will beat them today for the 12th straight time. . What started out with a season of promise has gone into the proverbial toilet. Before the season started there was a lot of hope. Two top ten picks, a great end to last year, a good defense, some good signings. And things started great overall. We were 4-2 and just a few seconds from 5-2. Then, a Hail Mary happened, and the entire season went down the tubes. We lost so many close games. We fired our offensive coordinator and then our head coach. And those firings didn’t make things better, we have actually gotten worse. It has been bad. Hopeless even.
The people who first heard these words from the prophet Jeremiah today had it bad. Hopeless even. Jerusalem has been destroyed. The people of Israel are scattered, and many are in exile. They mourn the loss of their country, their homes, their place of worship. Even their trust in God, who they blame for everything. Yet, here is a vision of hope. God will restore them. God will lead them back. God will redeem them, they will sing for joy, they will have feast, they will have comfort and gladness. It is a promise, a promise of hope, of new life, and restoration and goodness for people who have had it bad. It is a promise for us.
We have this same promise that comes in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the light that shines in the darkness. For at times it feels like our world has been destroyed and we have been scattered into exile by sin, pain, and suffering. We are in mourning and languish in hurt, but we have a God who has sent his only Son, full of grace and truth, to come in the flesh to us, to give us new life. To give us the victory over sin and death, to restore us. Sometimes in life it feels like we are on a ten-game losing streak and it will never end. But in Jesus Christ, we have the final victory. In Jesus Christ, who dies on a cross and rises from the dead for us, we have the promise of eternal life. In Jesus Christ, we can rejoice for we are children of God, who gives us a feast of strength, hope, and love.
This is the promise we have in Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Just as I believe that someday the Bears might win again and even beat the Packers, I trust, even in the darkest of times, that the light of the world shines on me. That light shines on you today and you are have the final victory through the word made flesh, the Son of God, who is full of grace and truth and gives that grace to you every day. For that we can say, “Thanks be to God!” Amen