You Are Safer with Resurrection Hope

It is hard to know in every circumstance today what the "safer" thing to do is. We are given guidelines and recommendations that may help us or others be safer from Covid-19. However, those same guidelines and recommendations may also cause our livelihoods to be less safe. Our nation, our state, and our communities are all wrestling with how to answer the question, "what is the safer thing to do for our heath, for our livelihoods, for our mental health right now and in the months to come?" That is a tough question without a clear or clean answer. On top of that question, we as Christians and Christian churches have one more question to answer: "What is the safest thing to do for my soul and the souls of my brothers and sisters right now and in the months to come?" 

Exactly what your answer is to that question may differ from what I or another Christian beside you may answer. That is because it is a tricky situation. We are dealing with multiple commands from God at the same time! God calls us to not despise preaching and the Word. We are not to give up meeting together especially as we see the Day approaching so that we can encourage one another. But we are also told to obey those in authority even if we don't like what they are saying. There are many examples of bad rulers in the Bible and even then believers were called to obey those God had established. However, God also says that we must obey God rather than men. The apostles were faced with situations where their rulers told them to stop preaching and teaching in the temple, but they responded, "We must obey God rather than men." When the two were pitted against each other, they had to stand with God's command over the command of men. On top of those commands, God also calls us to love our neighbor, to protect him and keep him from harm. That would seem to suggest we should do all we can to keep our neighbors healthy by staying home. But do we love our neighbor more by doing what we think will help his physical body but at the same time we take away an opportunity for him to see us or join us to hear the Word of the Lord, that spiritual food we need for the health of our soul?

These are tough questions that expose intersecting teachings at our present time because we live in a broken and dying world. I like to picture it like this: God's principles are like iron rods that are sticking straight up out of a flat field. However, when sin entered our world it was like the ground got bumpy and warped. What happened to those principles? They got turned sideways and some of them now clash against one another at certain points. It is those clashes in our broken world where we have to wrestle with God's perfect commands intersecting in an imperfect world. 

I believe this is where we are today. Christians may differ on what they believe is the right thing to do right now to take care of their physical and spiritual health right now in the best possible way. May we be careful not to judge the hearts of others or their decisions made in faith and clear conscience with God. It is all too easy in times of uncertainty and disagreement to assign guilt to those who feel differently than us. That doesn't mean we can't discuss or wrestle together. We should! But let us respect those who in faith have come to different conclusions at this time. 

If we stay at home because that is what our governor has asked us to do, and we feel we can spiritually stay fed and nourished through our own study of the Word and through online worship, God be praised and God bless us! If we decide to return to our building at 31 N. Park this Sunday to worship with our church family, to hear our Pastor preach and to celebrate the Lord's Supper with the body of believers, and to encourage one another in-person, God be praised and God bless us! I believe both of these and other decisions are wonderful and God-pleasing decisions when made in prayer, fervent study of the Scriptures, trust in the Lord, and with the reason and wisdom that God has given us! 

It is so that this choice can be made by every person and family in our congregation that our leaders have decided that we will again resume in-person worship services starting this coming Sunday, May 17th. Without our in-person services, there was no choice. You had to remain home and it was as if we were saying, "This is the right thing to be safe." We are resuming in-person worship services so that we are instead saying, "It may be right for you in your situation to stay home for now and worship the Lord from there, but it may be right for you to return to the house of the Lord at this time." I pray the Lord leads you in your wrestling with what is right for you and your family to stay healthy both physically and spiritually.

Ultimately though, remember this: What is the right answer to what makes us safer both physically and spiritually today and forever? Our resurrection hope. It is our hope in Jesus Christ, the one who has overcome the world and with it, every physical disease or disaster, including death, that gives us real eternal health. Our bodies will be raised imperishable like his! That is healthcare! It is also our hope in Jesus Christ that raises our dead soul from despair, damnation and fear to optimism, salvation and fearlessness! With resurrection hope, we know that however long this virus keeps us from "normal life" it does not keep us from real life in Christ. 

May we all wrestle with the difficult situation we find ourselves in but ultimately rest secure in our risen Lord. If we put our hope in him, our decisions will be the right decision. With resurrection hope, we are safe already. 

Announcements:

• Wednesday office hours will continue for personal communion, spiritual counsel, offering drop-off, however this Wednesday (5/13) Pastor will only be available in the evening from 5-7pm.

• Wednesday Live Devotion at 7pm on Facebook and YouTube.

• We will have an In-Person Sunday Service at 9am THIS SUNDAY at 31 N. Park St.

• Our Sunday Service will be live at 9am on Facebook and YouTube

• Our Sunday Service will be broadcast on FM 89.1 within 2 miles of church.

• We will have Bible Study at church after the service

• Online Giving is now available! If you would prefer to give online vs. bringing in your offering or writing out a check, you can now go to our website and click on the tab on the top of the page that says, "GIVE." It will take you to a secure giving site where you can give an offering by acccount or card. 

• Thank you Sunday School teachers! This Sunday we would have had our end of the year picnic for our Sunday School program and as a thank you to our Sunday School teachers. Please make sure to thank Wendy Spatz, Brooke Spatz, Austin Retzlaff and Stephanie Buelow for all their work this year!

• Catechism draws to a close. Our year of catechism instruction will also be coming to a close this week. All four of our students are in their first year of instruction so we will not be missing their confirmations as they won't finish until next year. Please encourage and congratulate our four catechism students when you do get a chance to see them or talk to them for their outstanding work this year and their growing faith and trust in their Savior! Teagan Laack, Lily Russow, Susannah McGlone, & Evan Retzlaff.

• Many More Thank You's are in order! A special thank you from me to our leaders for all their work to help us navigate these uncharted waters. A special thank you to Dave Schley for his weekly help to set up communion and to be at hand for anything else I or anyone else might need. A special thank you to Dave Heup, Ann Hintz, Becky Hintz, Heather & Jeff Hayes for all their work behind the scenes to make our online worship experience better and better each week. God has really been blessing us through their work! Another thank you to Jeff Hayes for his craftsmanship in building new bookshelves and cabinets for the basement and his current work on our visual/sound booth for the back of church. A special thank you to Tom Ganster and the trustees for staying on top of needed maintenance at church and at the parsonage. A special thank you to our angels who have been delivering packets to our internet-less members so that they stay connected to our church family and to their Savior. And finally, a special thank you to all of you for your partnership in the gospel! All of you encourage me as you remain committed to hearing the Word of your God, encouraging one another, and serving your neighbors in whatever way you can.

God bless and keep you all in Christ Jesus.

“In this world you will have trouble but take heart, I have overcome the world.” - Jesus

Focus & Wisdom

As we begin our day and our weekend facing another Sunday where we will be "safer at home," I thought it would be beneficial for us to focus on something deeper. We all have been spending so much time thinking about Covid-19, how we should respond, how our leaders should respond, and what normal is today and what it will be then. While these are not bad for us to think about, what is better, even (and especially) in the midst of a storm, is to listen to the one voice that matters, His. Our God calls us to shut out what we think, what we HAVE to do, and whatever concerns we have, and to first sit down and listen to Him. He can give us peace like nothing else can. He alone can give us perspective that we can't have. He alone can teach us to see what matters most. He helps us focus on what He has done vs. focusing on what we can do for ourselves. 

This is not easy for us to do, to shut out all the demands, the voices, the fears, the opinions, and to listen to His voice. Is it easy for you to read your Bible? Is it easy for you to focus on the online service at home with all the other distractions around you? Even though you may have more time at home these days, do you make more time for God and his Word? Are you hearing less of your God's voice during this storm or less? 

If you are struggling to listen, repent! Admit to yourself that you are sinning. You are hurting yourself! Confess it to your God. Ask him for mercy and forgiveness. Then pray he gives you a new heart and mind through his Holy Spirit to help you listen to Him. Once you have done that, make a plan on how you will devote yourself to hearing the voice of your God. As you do, the Lord will help you find a deeper peace, a solid foundation, and a sure hope for the future. 

To help you listen to his voice today, I would like you to read two things:

1. a quote from C.S. Lewis, a great writer and apologist of the Christian faith, about the struggle to listen to THE voice over all else:

The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.

We can only do it for moments at first. But from those moments the new sort of life will be spreading through our system: because now we are letting Him work at the right part of us. It is the difference between paint, which is merely laid on the surface, and a dye or stain which soaks right through. He never talked vague, idealistic gas. When He said, ‘Be perfect,’ He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment. It is hard; but the sort of compromise we are all hankering after is harder—in fact, it is impossible. It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

2. 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16. This section talks about the wisdom that we can only gain from hearing God's Word. Without that wisdom, we can't understand what God has done and is doing. It is foolishness. 

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. 19 In fact, it is written:

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nothing.

20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Jewish law? Where is the probing thinker of the present age? Has God not shown that the wisdom of this world is foolish? 21 Indeed, since the world through its wisdom did not know God, God in his wisdom decided to save those who believe, through the foolishness of the preached message. 22 Yes, Jews ask for signs, Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified—which is offensive to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 We preach Christ crucified, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For example, consider your call, brothers. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view, not many were powerful, and not many were born with high status. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are strong, 28 and God chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to do away with the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before God. 30 But because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom from God, namely, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 31 God did this so that, just as it is written, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

2 As for me, brothers, when I came to you, I did not come with superior speech or wisdom in order to proclaim to you the testimony of God. 2 For I had no intention of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not marked by persuasive words of human wisdom, but by a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, but it is not a wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are being reduced to nothing. 7 Instead we speak God’s wisdom that has been hidden in mystery—before the ages, God foreordained that this wisdom would result in our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this world knew it. (If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.) 9 But as it is written:

What no eye has seen and no ear has heard
and no human mind has conceived—
that is what God has prepared for those who love him.

10 But God revealed it to us through his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 Indeed, who among men knows a man’s thoughts except the man’s spirit within him? So also, no one else knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit.

12 What we received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the blessings freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak about these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual truths with spiritual words. 14 However, an unspiritual person does not accept the truths taught by God’s Spirit, because they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually evaluated. 15 But the spiritual person evaluates all things, and he himself is evaluated by no one. 16 Indeed, “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who will instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Other Announcements:

Wednesday Office Hours will continue as long as our "Safer at Home" order is in place. You can come to church from 10a-12p and 5p-7p for spiritual counsel, prayer, personal communion and offering drop-off. I'd love to see you!

Wednesday Live Devotion at 7pm. We will be streaming a devotion to our facebook and youtube page live at 7pm every week. Make sure to tune in at that time or watch it later.

Sunday Online Service at 9am. Our Sunday Worship service premiers on our webpage and our youtube page at 9am Sunday mornings. Bulletins for the service are on our website as well. Consider dressing up or changing your routine on Sunday mornings to make our usual time of worship a special time for you and your family at home. Turn off your devices (except for the one streaming the service!). It is easy to get distracted (more so at home!) during worship. Do what you can to focus your hearts and minds on Jesus!

Angel delivery. We have had about 20 households receive packets of printed emails, bulletins, and sermons delivered to their door by some wonderful volunteers I like to call "angels" (which means messengers). Thank God for them! Also, if you or someone you know would like printed copies dropped off as well, reply and let me know so I can add more to the list!

Viewing Times. Another idea brought up was having the church open at different times for small groups (10 or less) to come and watch the service in the sanctuary. This could happen easily and would make it possible for those without a TV or streaming device to still see the service and sermon and also allow members to be in our house of worship to better be able to focus on the service. Plus, you may miss it! If this is something you are interested in, could you reply to this message and say, "Yea I want to do that!" We could have several times on Sundays or a couple different times during the week.

Drive-In Service. Another opportunity that could be coming NEXT Sunday is us hosting a Drive-In service. This depends on the transmitter arriving in the next few days. I will keep you posted on that. If it does come, we would be able to have a full in-person service in our parking lot! We can welcome the community to join us. From your vehicle, you would be able to tune in to the radio station for the service, see me in front of you, and be together with your church family. Stay tuned for updates on that. 

May God bless the rest of your Friday and the weekend coming up! Keep your faith strong and your focus calibrated with God's Word! God bless and keep you all!

In his grace,

Pastor

Resources to Draw Near to Your Savior

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

I hope this message finds all of you well. I am  praying for all of you during this time of waiting and watching! I know I am constantly reminding myself to trust the Lord that this too shall pass and the Lord will use these times to glorify his Name and draw us closer to Him. 

To help you do that, I have assembled a bunch of resources to help you draw closer to your God during this extended time of being at home (click below). Don't be overwhelmed! You don't have to make use of all of these resources. However, I wanted to put them before you so that you could make use of the ones that will work best for you and your families to make part of your daily and weekly routine to dig into the Word and to hear the comfort of your God's promises. 

I pray these will help you stay diligent in remaining close to the source of your faith. Remember that the Devil loves any chance he can get to pull you away from a constant flow of Living Water which you can only get from your God and his Word. For health concerns, our government has asked us to avoid gathering together. Because of that, you have now been separated from a main source of your spiritual health, Sunday Worship with the Body of Christ. While we wait for our chance to return to regular Sunday Worship, watch out that you don't get unhealthy in a much more dangerous way than Covid-19, spiritual starvation. You have a privilege and a responsibility to yourself, your family and to all who need to know the gospel, to keep yourself well-fed with spiritual food. Use the resources below, watch our online services, make use of our office hours (Weds. 10a-12p, 5p-7p) for personal communion and time to meet with your pastor, and/or give me a call or email anytime. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you stay healthy in your faith!

Remember what Jesus told his disciples to do: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Let us use this time to refocus our lives on the things that matter most, starting first with seeking God and his righteousness that we have already in Christ, and God WILL take care of the rest. Let us trust in Him!  

In His name,

Pastor

The Dawn Approaches...

Greetings brothers and sisters,

I pray you have had a wonderful Holy Week thus far! If you have not watched our services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, please do so! You can find them on our facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stpaulclintonville), our youtube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFrso0m0pKyVwuUBfGEF21g/), or directly on our website (http://www.stpaulclintonville.com/sermons). Also on our website are the bulletins for each service so that you can follow along, speak the responses, and sing the hymns. I pray they are a benefit to you as you look to appreciate what your Savior has done for you.

I am also very excited to worship with you in the morning! There is no greater festival for the Christian than Easter. It is the crown jewel of our faith, celebrating Jesus' resurrection which proves he defeated sin, death, and the devil and guarantees life everlasting for all who hope in Him! 

The sad part this year is not being able to worship in person. I am very sad about that too! But as one pastor said to me, "It will be Easter Sunday the Sunday we do get to worship together again!" I would agree with that. It will definitely feel like it! However, just because we are sad about that and can't gather together in person this year, doesn't mean we shouldn't shout from our homes that our Lord is risen. He lives!

Our Easter Worship Service will premiere on our youtube page (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFrso0m0pKyVwuUBfGEF21g/) and on our website (http://www.stpaulclintonville.com/sermons) at 9am tomorrow morning. The service bulletin is attached to this email and also on our website as well. Plan to tune in then with your church family! The video will also be available throughout the day.

You don't have to do this, but consider dressing up! I know you are at home and with family, but it does help oneself take seriously what you are celebrating and making your worship more distinct from the rest of your day. It is hard to have the same feeling at home that you have when at church itself, but maybe this is one way to help!

See you tomorrow morning! May God bless and keep you.

In His grace,

Pastor

The Week of the Cross

This week started with a bit of trembling, didn't it? I know it did for me. We heard a call from our president last week to brace ourselves for these next two weeks. He said, "I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. We're going to go through a very tough two weeks." This is in response to expectations that over these next two weeks, much of the hardest hit areas of America will hit their highest point of infections per day, as well as deaths. It truly is a sad time for our the world, the country, and so many families and loved ones. However, Trump did end that conference with this, "And then hopefully, as the experts are predicting, as I think a lot of us are predicting, after having studied it so hard, we're going to start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel, but this is going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks." Whether you believe in Trump and his team's predictions about the timetable of everything, we are told to expect a light at the end of this corona-virus tunnel. And I think all of us are thinking, "the sooner the better!"

But we don't just have to take Trump's word for it, or the experts word to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have a much more certain Word to rely on when the darkness presses in. We have the Word of THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. John begins his Gospel by giving us some perspective about Jesus:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5

When we have Jesus, we know we have the Word of Life that shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. It is impossible! Jesus cannot be snuffed out, even when he carries all the sin, the death, and the destruction that so shakes our world and our hearts. Remember that this week is not only a week of virus but it is also a week to celebrate a darker week, the week when Jesus walked to the cross for us. THAT was the darkest week in history... for Jesus carried every evil for us. The light was burdened with every darkness. But the Light was NOT overcome. Easter still comes. The dawn appeared on that third day. The darkness of the world had been buried, but the author of life, the Light of the Word, could not stay dead. For the darkness cannot overcome THE LIGHT.

This week is the week of the cross, for more reasons than one this year. This week we will be suffering with those who suffer. We will be mourning with those who mourn. We will be praying for those who need protection and healing. And in so doing, we will be following Jesus in his path to his cross. But this week and every week will end in a light at the end of the tunnel for those who follow Jesus who has conquered every darkness. He has to. He will. He has already saved us from this. 

As hard as it is to be apart during this Holy Week and we wish we the timing could be different so we could gather together for these special days ahead... let us see the beauty of how Holy Week empowers us during this time. It reminds us that in EVERY dark time, Jesus overcomes. He gives us hope that this chapter, this life, and this reality is not the end, but the beginning of new life in Him. 

But don't take my word for it, hear it from THE WORD himself:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Let us pray:

Dear Jesus, be very near to us this week. Help us confess our fear and insecurity to you as we walk this way of the cross with you. Keep us from abandoning you as the way gets difficult and dark. Give us faith to remain near you when our instinct tells us to run and hide. Forgive us for the times we fail, like Peter, to boldly confess that we are with you. Forgive us for the times we flee, like the other disciples. Comfort us most of all with the truth that you are our light, not because of our fire, but because of your life! Because you suffered and died and rose again, we will persevere through every suffering and even death and rise to new life with you. Help us cling to you and you alone, especially when the going gets tough. You are our light at the end of the tunnel, now and forever.

We also ask that you be very near to those who are sick, who are suffering, who are grieving, and who are serving during this dark hour for the world and especially, for our country. Give hope where there is none. Give light where many see only darkness. Give life to the dying. Give eternity to all who look to you. For your mercies sake, Amen.

Some Announcements:

This MAUNDY THURSDAY we will have open hours at church for you to come and receive in person spiritual encouragement, counsel, individual communion, and/or to drop of your offering. Those open hours are from 10am-12pm, 5:30pm-6:30pm, & 7:15-8pm. Please only come if you feel comfortable doing so. Be assured that we will do all in our power to honor the guidelines set forth by our State to protect all who come. 

I CHALLENGE you! As a way to remember and honor the command of Maundy Thursday (Maundy means command), "Love one another as I have loved you," and as another way to connect us to one another, I challenge you all this week to love each other by:

1. Calling someone from church you always talk to when you come. Check in and see how they are doing. Tell them you miss seeing them and Jesus loves them.

2. Calling someone who you never have talked to at church (or haven't much). Tell them who you are, tell them that Pastor told you to call them (lol), and then ask them if they are doing ok during all of this and you are praying for them. 

3. Calling someone who does not belong to our church and who you think does not have much hope from their faith or from other family or friends. 

I will not be asking for you to prove that you did this challenge! I am not saying you have to! I do hope, however, that you consider doing this challenge as a way to practice love to others during this time and to give you an active way to practice your faith by sharing it with others who need LIGHT too. Jesus told us to love as he has loved us. When we do, we remember all the more the love HE has for us.

And here is our Holy week Schedule for Online Services:

Maundy Thursday Service- Thursday @ 6:30pm - LIVE on facebook at 6:30pm, Later it will be uploaded on our youtube page and our website. The bulletin will be on the main page of our website.

Good Friday Service - Friday @ 6:30pm - LIVE on facebook at 6:30pm, Later it will be uploaded on our youtube page and our website. The bulletin will be on the main page of our website.

Easter Festival Service - Sunday @ 9am - Premiers on YOUTUBE and our website at 9am.  A link will be provided on Facebook shortly before the service begins as well. Plan on, if possible, to watch it then with your congregation throughout their homes at the same time. We then pray at the same time and sing at the same time, apart, yet together through the Spirit! 

May the Lord bless and keep you this blessed day.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled, Trust in God, trust also in me." - Jesus

In His service,

Pastor

Holy Week Begins!

So many things have been cancelled. Many things have been postponed. So much isn't happening that normally happens this year... 

But not Holy Week. 

It may be different... but our Holy Week celebrations are not cancelled. Why? Because it has been finished. Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Jesus gave his body and his blood for a new covenant and he commanded us to love one another as he has loved us. Our Savior bled and died carrying our punishment and sin. Then three days later he rose again. These events can't be cancelled because they have already been done. What happened that first Holy Week applies just as much for us today as it did when Jesus entered Jerusalem to die 2000 plus years ago. We need to remember Jesus and him crucified and risen all the more this year!

To help you begin your Holy Week celebration, our Palm Sunday Worship service will premiere on our website here: www.stpaulclintonville.com/sermons and on our youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFrso0m0pKyVwuUBfGEF21g) at 9am tomorrow (April 5) morning. I would encourage you to watch it then with your church family if you can! If you can't then, you will be able to watch it later at any time. 

May God bless you as you worship at home. Remember that while we are separated physically, we are united by the same faith and the same Spirit. We are gathered together in his name and by his name we are saved!

God bless and keep you this night,

In His service,

Pastor

Be Still, Wait, Watch

Good morning!

If you were not able to tune in last night on facebook to our Midweek devotion, you can still find it on our facebook page at facebook.com/stpaulclintonville. It is also now uploaded to our youtube page and on our website here:  http://www.stpaulclintonville.com/sermons/2020/4/2/april-1-midweek-lent-devotion . At that link, you will also find the service bulletin and passion history reading for this week!

I hope that these devotions are helping you still feel connected to your church, to your pastor, and most importantly, to your Savior! It is definitely not the same as being gathered together in person. However, what a blessing it is that the Lord provides a way for us to still hear the same Word, pray together, and "gather" in spirit. 

I also thought I would direct you to an awesome article I read earlier today about three Hebrew words that repeat so often in the Psalms and throughout the Old Testament. Those words tell us to be still, to wait, and to watch. You can find that article here: https://www.1517.org/articles/three-hebrew-handholds-in-a-spinning-crisis?utm_source=New+Master+List+%286%2F23%2F19%29&utm_campaign=fe8cd77ee1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_19_07_23_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_752a9844e8-fe8cd77ee1-462879325&mc_cid=fe8cd77ee1&mc_eid=64ecfc8d1c

May God bless and keep you this day and every day. God is with you.

In His service,

Pastor 

Today Is the Day the Lord Has Made

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24

Good morning! Maybe you have several reasons this morning to not feel good. It is a bit dreary outside. We are still to be "safer-at-home." You can't come to church to see your family of believers and worship in person yet today. 

However, there are even more reasons to rejoice. Today is still a day that the Lord has made. Let us live it to his glory! Today is another day of God's grace. Let us revel in his love! Today is an opportunity for us to learn more about God and rejoice in the great things he has and continues to do for us, so let us worship the Lord!

There are several ways for you to worship with your family at St. Paul this morning:

RADIO - Tune in to WTCH AM 960 at 8:30am. Pastor Buelow was invited to lead the service hosted by our sister church, Friedens Lutheran, in Bonduel. Excited to be a part of a radio broadcast for the first time!

YOUTUBE - Video will be posted at 9am sharp! Here is the link: https://youtu.be/BITTN-zfbwI. If you click it before 9am, the video will not appear yet. It is set to appear right at 9 so we can watch it together then! It will also be available any time after 9am and throughout the week.

OUR WEBPAGE - hover over the resources tab and select "sermons." There you will find the post that will have the video from youtube as well. Again, the video will be live at 9am and after. The bulletin is linked into that post if you would like to follow along.

If you know of someone who could use comfort and hope during these times and you are wondering if they can be added to these emails or get more information, please let me know and I can add them to this email chain and get them more Jesus! 

God bless your Sunday! I am with you in Spirit and in prayer. And the Lord is always with you.

In His service,

Pastor

Safer-In-God's-Hands

With yesterday’s announcement by Gov. Evers of a new order called "Safer at Home," you may be feeling a little more claustrophobic. Maybe you even feel a bit afraid on how long this whole situation will last. Maybe you are worried about the effects this will have on our economy in Wisconsin, including your employment and your way of life. Maybe you are growing more anxious about the virus itself getting closer to home. I have had many of those thoughts running through my head as well. But when we have fear crowding into our thoughts, what must we do? We must return to our God and his Word and we will find comfort.

Today God gave me comfort with these words and I pray they bring comfort to you as well:

But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”My times are in your hands; 

Psalm 31:14-15

I had a dear member today tell me, "You know what I say to my wife every day, Pastor? I tell her that there is only one person who will get us through this and it is not the medical professionals, it is not our government. HE has to see us through and he will." What true words! I was so thankful he said it to me because I needed to hear it said to me. What a beautiful truth this is in uncertain times. Whose hands are we in? We are in the hands of the Lord. He, ultimately, is working behind the scenes to accomplish his good will for the world and especially for his children. He will see us through this. Our times are in his hands. 

So while we listen to what we are being ordered to do for the health of our neighbors, let us also see the hand of God protecting us, reminding us of his presence, urging us to call to him, and hoping we will cling to his promises. 

Remember who you trust in. You trust in the Lord. He will do whatever it takes to save you... especially when the plot thickens!

Some Announcements

With yesterday’s announcement, you may be wondering if we will still have some open office hours today. The answer is yes! Our church is classified under "Essential Businesses and Operations" to which I glorify God! Hearing God's Word and being a community of faith is essential to who we are as Christians and as human beings! I am very glad that this is at least acknowledged in the recent order by Evers and Co.. The applicable sections of the order to prove that exemption are attached so you can read it too if you wish. I double checked!;) 

So today, if you would like to bring in your offerings, pick up your mail and other resources, receive communion, and/or receive some spiritual encouragement or counsel, I will be at church from 10a-12p, 5:30pm-6:30pm and 7-8pm.

We will also be livestreaming a midweek devotion and prayer this evening at 6:30pm if you would like to join us on our facebook page (click on the facebook logo above). That devotion and prayer will also be posted after the fact on this website (under the resources/sermons tab).

May God bless your evening and please, more than anything else, put your hope in God in these uncertain and uneasy times. He will see us through! Our times are in his hands.

In His service,

Pastor

Faith, Hope & Love

Dear brothers and sisters,

I apologize if I am overloading your mailboxes, but want to keep you posted on what your congregation is doing and how you can serve and be served with the Word of God and acts of kindness!

Yesterday Livestream Service

I hope some of you were able to tune into our livestream broadcast yesterday on our facebook page. You can still find the video there if you missed it yesterday. You can also check out our youtube page (search st. paul clintonville and subscribe to save the website and get an update when a video is posted) or go directly to our website, hover over the resources tab, and select sermons. You will find all past sermons as well as each new video posted there within a day. Here is the link for that page: http://www.stpaulclintonville.com/sermons

Sunday Service

This Sunday Dave and I hope to have the full service recorded for you live on both facebook and youtube so that you can worship right along with us as if you were present at our normal time of 9am! I will have the bulletin posted on the main page of the website and sent to you by email before the service so you can follow along. Once the livestream is over, those videos will still be available after the fact and you can view them at any time.

Other Opportunities

Next week Wednesday, I plan to have a few sets of "open hours" for members to come to church for spiritual encouragement, mail, offering drop off, and/or personal communion. You will be able to arrive at any time during those hours as long as we have not exceeded the limit of 10 inside at the time... if we have, Dave Schley or I will simply ask you to come back in a little bit or to wait a few minutes. The hope is this will provide a way for you to remain connected to the Lord's Supper and give you an opportunity to touch base with me if you have a concern or need guidance that I can help you with. Those hours on Wednesdays will be 10am-12pm and 5:30pm-6:30pm and 7:00pm-8:00pm. 

Offerings

If you are able and would like to still give faithfully during this time, there are a couple of ways you can do that. You can mail your offering to the church's address at 31 N. Park St.. You can drop it off during those open office hours or another time if you call pastor and let him know when you can come. Or you can directly drop off a check or amount to fox communities credit union and apply it to the church's account. I will ask Dave Heup for online options that may be available as well. Again, this is not something you should feel obligated to do, but if you would like to keep supporting the ministry of your church and give to the Lord, there are opportunities for you to still do that!

Service

One of the hardest parts of the time right now is the isolation it brings especially to those who are higher risk to the virus. On top of this, we also have members who do not use or have internet access and are not receiving all the updates, devotionals, and connection through livestream, email and social media. We want them to feel connected to each other, to us, and to Jesus as well! The question is... how do we do that?

One way we think we can do that is by dropping off "mail" by their door. That mail would include printed copies of these emails, the bulletin, the sermon, and any other notes or ideas you have! Part of this effort will require some help from you! I would love to assemble a "team" of willing deliverers who can bring these materials and correspondence to those members who are disconnected from others and the internet. Do I have any volunteers? My thought is this can be done sometime between Friday afternoon and before Saturday evening. That way they can have materials after they have been printed and prepared and before our normal time of worship on Sunday. If you are willing and able to be an "angel" (messenger) then respond to this email with, "I want to be an angel!" Or you can simply say, "I would like to help!" There shouldn't be that many deliveries to make, but having a larger team makes light work. Let me know!

Also let me know if you would like to be added to the delivery list for these materials or if you would like a volunteer to pick up your offering.

One other thing I would like to ask you all is, do you need any needed supplies? Are there any of you, because of health concerns, who need help getting groceries or anything else? If so, we could also create a team to shop and deliver those supplies to you as well. Let me know if there are any other ways that we can help each other during this time! 

Faith, Hope, and Love

We get to love God and neighbor as a reflection of the hope we have as Christians even in times like this. We know we have everything in Christ and nothing can take that from us. That gives us the motivation to love and serve one another no natter what. God be praised!

As I close this "novel";)... I would like to leave you with these words form Hebrews that have been on my mind as we consider how we can continue to spur one another on to love, serve and gather around the Word together, even as the Day approaches:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25 

In His service,

Pastor