COMMUNION

The Lord's Supper is a fantastic blessing from our Savior Jesus Christ that gives each one who eats forgiveness of sin, the strength of faith in salvation and eternal life by the Holy Ghost.  These blessings are given to those who understand this and trust it.  Our Lord points out that Christians who commune together are showing agreement in all that they believe.  Therefore a great responsibility is placed upon this congregation that those who commune are instructed and are in agreement.  We do this in love, because the opposite and reckless use can result in eternal harm.  Therefore, we invite all communicants of this congregation, and those in fellowship with us to Holy Communion.  We respectfully ask that our guests please announce their intention to the pastor prior to the service.  Also we want you to know very clearly why we stand on these teachings and that such action is a show of love, and not a "better than you" attitude.  Please see the pastor after this service.

The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month for all confirmed members of WELS or ELS congregations.

QUESTION:  What does God tell me about myself in His Holy Word?

ANSWER:  He says that I am a sinner and deserve only His punishment.

QUESTION:  What should I do if I am not aware of my sins or am not troubled by them?

ANSWER:  I should examine myself according to the Ten Commandments and ask how well I have carried out my responsibilities as a husband or wife or single person, as a parent or child, an employer or employee, a teacher or student?  Have I loved God with all my heart, gladly heard His Word and patiently endured affliction?  Have I been disobedient, proud, or unforgiving?  Have I been selfish, lazy, envious, or quarrelsome?  Have I lied or deceived, taken something not mine, or given anyone a bad name?  Have I abused my body or permitted indecent thoughts to linger in my mind?  Have I failed to do what is right and good?

QUESTION:  When I realize that I have sinned against God and deserve His punishment, what should I do?

ANSWER:  I will confess before God all my sins, those which I remember as well as those of which I am unaware.  I will pray to God for His mercy and forgiveness.

QUESTION:  How do I receive His gracious forgiveness?

ANSWER:  His Word assures me that Jesus led a pure and holy life for me and died on the cross for me to pay the full price for all my sins.  Through faith in Jesus, I have been clothed in my Savior's perfect righteousness and holiness.

QUESTION:  What further assurance do I have that Jesus is mine and I am His?

ANSWER:  In Holy Communion He gives me His body and blood together with the bread and wine as a truly life-giving food and drink to unite me with Him and my fellow believers.  By means of this sacrament, Jesus not only forgives my sins but sweeps away all my doubts about His love for me, gives me His own strength to live a God-pleasing life and grants me a joyful foretaste of heaven.

QUESTION:  How can I be sure that I receive all these blessings in the Lord's Supper?

ANSWER:  I have His own Word spoken as His last will and testament on the night before He died.  There He tells me:  "Take and eat; this is My body.  Drink from it, all of you; this is My blood which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this in remembrance of Me."

QUESTION:  How will I respond to this priceless gift from Jesus?

ANSWER:  I will daily thank and praise Him for His love to me.  With His help I will fight temptation, do my best to correct whatever wrongs I have done, and serve Him and those around me with love and good works.

Lord Jesus, with joy and gratitude I now come to your table to receive the precious food of Your life-giving body and blood.  May it strengthen me to remain in You as You remain in me, so that I bear much fruit in devoted service to You and in acts of kindness to others.

Forgiveness --- God's Way

Colossians 3:13 - Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Friends let you down [and vice versa]. - Friends and family let you down from time to time.  They don't follow through on their word.  They may break their promises.  They may do something that hurts you emotionally or physically.  You and I also let friends and family down.  Sometimes we don't keep our work or do some things that hurt someone else.

God did something despite our letting Him down. - God knows and sees that you and I are imperfect.  What we do or think everyday sometimes hurts God.  And despite our imperfection, God did something about it.  God is a just God.  He established consequences for those who do not follow His guidelines for living.  The result of our imperfect thoughts and actions is separation from God.  We have a broken relationship with Him now, and after death we are eternally separated from Him.  He is also a loving and caring God.  He came to live the perfect life for us in the person of Jesus.  Jesus then took the judgment that was ours and bore the punishment that we deserved for our imperfection.  God forgives, takes punishment away and creates a new relationship with Him because of one's faith and trust in Jesus.

How do I forgive?  Forgiving someone is giving up your right to pay him or her back.  So often when others hurt us we want them to hurt just as much as we hurt.  Forgiving those that hurt you does not necessarily mean that you are going to forget your pain or that you forget the action that occurred.  Forgiveness is letting go of that desire of getting even or paying back hurt for hurt.

Forgive as the Lord forgave.  God forgives us continually through Jesus.  He doesn't stop at a certain quota.  We offend God a huge amount of times, but His capacity to forgive is more huge.  As God has forgiven us, so we will forgive those who hurt us.

COMMISSION ON YOUTH DISCIPLESHIP

Call 414-256-3274 or e-mail:  cyd@sab.wels.net

The WELS International Youth Rally, under the theme "Follow the path, Lead the way," will be held July 8-11, 2009 at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.  The theme is based on I Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."  Several district youth rallies also are planned for 2008.  To learn more about the 2009 International Youth Rally and the 2008 district rallies, go to www.welsyouthrally.net.

MARTIN LUTHER COLLEGE NEWS

MLC CHAPEL PROJECT

The Synodical Council approved the release of $7.5 million in gifts from individuals designated for a chapel and organ on the campus of Martin Luther College (MLC) in New Ulm, MN.  The chapel project will now move forward with available funds and a goal of completion in August 2009.

Funding comes entirely from gifts already on hand - gifts specifically given for this project from the synod's 150th anniversary thank offering in 2000.  The project was on hold until a design could be developed based on funds availabloe.  No other gifts will be sought.

MLC currently has no chapel.  Among other things, the chapel will allow for much greater flexibility in the use of choirs and instrumentalists - and allow MLC to model worship more effectively as it trains future worship leaders.

For conceptual drawings of the chapel, visit:  www.wels.net/together/mlc.

GOODSEARCH

GoodSearch is an Internet search engine that  donates 1 cent for every search made to a charity of your choice.  Martin Luther College is registered as a charity with this
search  engine. Go to www.goodsearch.com and enter "Martin Luther College" in  the "I'm Supporting" box. Every time you do an Internet search using GoodSearch, a penny will go to MLC. With as much Internet searching as  most of us do at
home and at work, this could really add up in a hurry.  Some say the search results are as good as Google. You can track how  much has been contributed to MLC by clicking on the "Amount Raised"  button. Please share this information with others.

PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL SKILLS

Very few people in the WELS are fluent in the languages used in the Middle East.  You can help by placing us in contact with qualified native speakers who can translate basic Lutheran Christian materials accurately.  We also need people to revise translations to make sure that the doctrinal message is faithful to Scripture.  And we need people who can do word-processing in the languages of the Middle East.

The Middle Eastern languages for which we are especially in need of help are Arabic, Farsi, Kurdish, and Urdu.  We are also looking for help with Nepali and Burmese.

Please send names, address and telephone information to Rev. Paul Hartman at: 

Multi-Language Publications
2500 George Dieter
El Paso, Texas 79936
Phone [915] 857-5852
1-800-876-1388
Fax:  [915] 857-7644
e-mail:  staff@wmcwels.net

Join us on Sunday February 1st 9:00 a.m. for a concert by Chris Driesbach!  "Feed Your Faith," Christian songs for kids - Chris's new CD will be available.  Suggested donation is $10.  There will be envelopes provided, checks are welcome.  Mark your calendars, you won't want to miss him.

9:00 a.m. Adult Bible Study and Sunday School

10:15 a.m. Worship Service

5:00 p.m. 1/4/09 North FL Circuit Called Workers meets at Zion, Gainesville

MONDAY

9-11:00 a.m. Adult Information Class

2:30-6:30 p.m. Homework Haven

TUESDAY

6:30 p.m. Education Committee meeting

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

2:30-6:30 p.m. Homework Haven

7:00 p.m. Confirmation class

FRIDAY

9-11 a.m. Adult Information Class

3:00 p.m. Freedom Library Adult Bible class

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Announce Holy Communion (if 1st or 3rd Saturday of the month.) 694-1861.

TV SERVICE

Have you seen Pastor Mark Jeske, WELS pastor from Milwaukee on TV lately?  Tune in on WACX (channel 55) on Sundays at 11:30 a.m., or WTGL (channel 45) on Sundays at 9:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m., Daystar (a Christian network) on Wednesdays 6:00 p.m.

Morning Worship for the Homebound - A 1/2 hour radio message on 104.7 FM Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. is now offered.

2:30-6:30 p.m. Homework Haven

7:00 p.m. Confirmation class

LADIES AID AND VISITATION

The Ladies' Aid is a "helping arm" of Abiding Hope and meets at 10:30 a.m. on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.  (Bring a bag lunch, dessert will be served.).  All Abiding Hope women are members of the Ladies' Aid - be it active or inactive.

One of our functions is to provide opportunities for Christian fellowship such as:

Monthly coffees; special welcome to new members; potluck dinners; Easter breakfast; support for grieving families; Christian greeting cards at a nominal cost.

We are members of the Lutheran Women's Missionary Society, attending rallies twice a year and collecting contributions for projects not budgeted by Synod.

What benefits do our congregations receive by being members of WELS?

IDENTIFICATION:  Churches affiliated with WELS are identified as members of a conservative, Bible-believing church body.  The WELS logo helps people quickly identify a congregation as a member of the WELS church body.

TRAINING:  Our pastors, teachers and staff members all have been trained by the same ministerial education system that focuses on proclaiming God's word in its truth and purity.

OVERSIGHT:  Our Conference of Presidents serves as an oversight committee of our congregations and all called workers as far as doctrine and practice are concerned.

MISSIONS:  Our World Missions division carries the gospel throughout the world.  Our Home Missions division strives to assist congregations with the opening of new missions and daughter congregations in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.

FINANCES:  WELS Church Extension Fund provides grants and low interest loans to mission congregations that are purchasing land and building church structures.  The WELS Foundation provides financial services to our congregations in the area of special and deferred gifting.  Most of this work is done through the Gift Planning Counselors who provide services to all our congregations in the U.S. and Canada.  Some of the gift planning tools include:  Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Life Estates, Insurance Trusts and Donor Advised Funds.  The Foundation is also the manager of the WELS Investment Funds, the money management skills which are available to all congregations and affiliates of the WELS.

PUBLISHING:  Northwestern Publishing House produces literature that is true to God's Word.  This includes Bible Study materials for all ages, Bible commentaries, devotional books, Sunday school materials etc...WELS Parish Services provides Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Jesus Cares, Christian Day School, Lutheran High School, youth ministry, elder ministry, special ministry, worship, evangelism and stewa5rdship services at a reasonable cost.

CALLED WORKER SUPPORT SERVICES:  WELS VEBA provides health, disability and pension coverage to all our called workers.  WELS VEBA strives to produce results that are advantageous to our called workers and financially prudent for our congregations and synod.  WELS Human Resources is available for advice as congregations strive to display the "double honor" we are to show our pastors, teachers and staff ministers.