May 8, 2016
THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP: Acts 1:16: “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” Judas sold out our Lord for 30 pieces of silver – that is, he sold out his friend, and Master, and teacher for the sake of greed. That is a sharp reminder for us to search our own hearts for greed and to pray that the Lord would help us to turn away from greed before it consumes us.
THE ADULT BIBLE CLASS, led by Pastor Lueck and meeting in the church basement at 9:15 a.m. is studying “Lutheran Doctrine and Practice Today”.
TODAY’S SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON IS “Jesus Raises Lazarus.” In resurrecting Lazarus, Jesus demonstrated that He can indeed raise all who believe in Him for salvation. True life is eternal life with Jesus. Consider asking, “Where do we see and experience the effects of sin in our lives? What does Jesus promise to all who believe in Him as Savior?”
TODAY will be our final door Offering for Seminarian Brad Ferch and his family. Brad received his Divine Call into the ministry recently. He will serve God’s people at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. A recent thank-you from the Ferch family is posted outside the church office. We will receive a new adopted seminary student in the fall.
FROM THE OFFICE: There are more copies of the Church Directory on the table in the narthex. Please help yourself to a copy. If you picked up a copy previously, please note that there have been three changes that you should know about. 1) Lorene Backsmeier has a new Apartment #, it is: Apt. 1212. 2) Gerald Semelka has a new cell phone#, it is: (309) 825-6607; and email is: jerrysemelka@yahoo.com.; 3) Helen Jensen’s email address is: utex96@gmail.com.
THANK YOU to everyone who participated in our Red Cross Blood Drive. Everyone’s help was appreciated and we were able to save lives through these blood donations.
PORTALS OF PRAYER: The April-June 2016 Portals of Prayer are available on the bookrack located in the narthex. Pick up your free copy today.
FELLOWSHIP HOSTS: The sign-up for help with coffee/doughnuts is posted on the wall by the north stairwell. We need an individual/family to sign-up each week to pick up the donuts and make the coffee. If no one is signed up by Friday of each week, the order will be cancelled. We thank everybody who continues to help with this part of our church fellowship.
THE LUTHERAN HOUR: “Jesus Gives Us the Help We Need” is the topic for next Sunday. The sermon text will be from John 14:23-31. Jesus doesn’t want you to be in the dark about how much He loves you. The speaker is Reverend Gregory Seltz. Hear this Sunday’s message on the Lutheran Hour on WGN (720) at 6:00 a.m.; WJWR (104.7 FM) and WJWR (90.3 FM) both on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Also, if you can receive Lincoln, IL radio station WLLM (1370 AM) the program is broadcast two times on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tune in! You can also listen to The Lutheran Hour on your personal computer at RealAudio, www.lhm.org.
PRAYER CHAIN: If you have a prayer request please submit them by email to Mary Anne Kirchner at makirchner@yahoo.com or you may phone a Prayer Request to Mary Anne; her home phone is (309) 661-6522; her cell phone is (309) 532-2582. The Prayer Request box is on the table in the narthex for any written requests.